Interpreters and Conference Interpreting

dawncloack wrote:If you are kicked out from ESIT you cannot go back... with the same combination. If you change combination you can go back.

Hi Pablo,

Thank you very much for your reply!

There is just something that I do not understand well. You wrote that you can go back to ESIT after being kicked out if you simply change your language combination. It sounds both weird and absurd to me. Most of the time, you actually study interpreting with languages which you have an excellent command of. Thus, you rarely have an in-depth knowledge of the other languages you may know. Furthermore, as you explained it above quite well, the interpreting techniques seem to be more important than the knowledge of languages. What I mean is that if you do not master the interpreting techniques, you will not be able to work as an interpreter since these techniques are the same whatever the language combinations ...

Take care,

Vincent

Hi Vincent

I'm glad to help, that is what this forum is for.

Now, your doubts are, of course, based and logical, but I'll try to answer from ESIT's point of view.

A bit of background knowledge first

Furthermore, as you explained it above quite well, the interpreting techniques seem to be more important than the knowledge of languages.

Well, I have to nuance that. At ESIT it is more imporant to learn the technique, yes. But that is not because technique is more important than knowledge of language, it is because complete command of your languages is a prerequisite.

Languages are an instrument here, so you have to know them inside and out before coming to ESIT and learning the technique. Essentially, all the technique in the world is not going to save you if you lack vocabulary.

The rest of what you say, particularly

What I mean is that if you do not master the interpreting techniques, you will not be able to work as an interpreter since these techniques are the same whatever the language combinations ...

is perfectly, unarguably true.

But consider this: there are two ways to get kicked out of ESIT

- Not mastering interpreting techniques.
- Not getting your languages up to level.

In the first case, if someone seems REALLY incapable of doing it, the teachers will say so after evaluation. And trust me, they do say it. But maybe someone just needs more time, not just the two years at ESIT, so why close all the doors? It's their time and money, they are not stealing it from anyone! (We are assuming that they have some other language up their sleeve, of course)

And in the second case, I already talked about alingual people and the like, but I didn't mention that there are cases when people would enter into ESIT with language combinations which are a bit too large for them. That is normally done after evaluation. I have a friend of mine, former ABCC, for example, who was given the option to pass into second year if she dropped her Spanish C. Another one, ABC, had to downgrade her English B to C, and since she hasn't got any reserve language to make ACCC, she got kicked out. But imagine that this person really improves another language and comes back. In that case it is not the technique that is lacking, it is a simple re-adjustment of languages.

The short of it: that rule was written essentially for language readjustments, and not for people who really don't have the mindset to be interpreters.

The perfect example of this was my AA friend who was kicked out, who is planning on improving her German and make a comeback as an ABC or ACCC.

That is ESIT's theory, but I pretty much agree with it.

Enjoy

Hi Pablo,

Thank you very much for your reply

All is much clearer to me now and, as you do, I must say that I completely agree with ESIT's theory!

Talk to you later,

Vincent

[quote="dawncloack"]Now, as I probably told you, I passed the first year at ESIT, that was last year, and I've been given a year off to improve my Russian. So I'm in Moscow, and I will be until june. (You can also ask me about my tips for improving a language in-country, which might suprise you).[quote]

Hi Pablo,

I would like to ask you the following questions about your year off in Russia:

1) Were you advised by ESIT to spend a year off in Russia or did you make this decision on your own?

2) What are you exactly doing in Russia? Working, studying?

3) Are there some schools for interpreters in this country? I have not seen any on the AIIC website ...

4) What do you do to improve your languages, including your mother tongue of course?

5) Do you already have an idea about how, where and for which institution(s) you would like to work as an interpreter once you have graduated from ESIT?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Ciao,

Vincent

1) Were you advised by ESIT to spend a year off in Russia or did you make this decision on your own?
*** Mmhh... well, it was a sort of shared conclusion. I reached the conclusion months before the exams, and the teachers adviced that to me both before and after the exams.

2) What are you exactly doing in Russia? Working, studying?
*** I keep working as a freelance translator, but that I do wherever I am. As to what I am studying see answer to question 4.


3) Are there some schools for interpreters in this country? I have not seen any on the AIIC website ...
*** There are, and you will not catch me dead in them. There are several reasons why they are not in AIIC's website, among them that they preferred to go their own way. The reason I evade them is because they insist on fidelity, on interpreting literally.

4) What do you do to improve your languages, including your mother tongue of course?
http://interpreters.freeforums.org/view ... ?p=628#628

5) Do you already have an idea about how, where and for which institution(s) you would like to work as an interpreter once you have graduated from ESIT?
***Heh, do you feel like hearing what I dream of when I'm bored?

To sum up, I'm not peeky.

My combination is, essentially, a UN combination, so I'm going to try that angle. I simply cannot make my mind wether to set up my professional adress in Vienna or Paris... probably Vienna, there are more institutions than just UNESCO...

And I'll get as much as I can in the private market.

Hi Pablo,

Thank you for your swift reply!

dawncloack wrote:3) Are there some schools for interpreters in this country? I have not seen any on the AIIC website ...
*** There are, and you will not catch me dead in them. There are several reasons why they are not in AIIC's website, among them that they preferred to go their own way. The reason I evade them is because they insist on fidelity, on interpreting literally.

It sounds really surprising!!

dawncloack wrote:5) Do you already have an idea about how, where and for which institution(s) you would like to work as an interpreter once you have graduated from ESIT?
My combination is, essentially, a UN combination, so I'm going to try that angle. I simply cannot make my mind wether to set up my professional adress in Vienna or Paris... probably Vienna, there are more institutions than just UNESCO....

Geneva could also be a good option for you, couldn't it? Even if the cost of living is incredibly high

Have a nice evening,

Vincent


And I'll get as much as I can in the private market.[/quote]

Hi Pablo,

Thank you for your swift reply!

Yes, Geneva is another option, and they sure as hell will know when I'm available.

It's just not a place that attracts me to move there.

dawncloak wrote:During first year you are learning the basic, underlining technique of interpreting. I'd even go further, and say that you are assimilating a way of thinking and analyzing.

This is very interesting Pablo, I was precisely discussing that with Vincent. Could you expand on that new "way of thinking and analyzing" as taught at ESIT ?

Now that I re-read it, it sounds a bit pompous, doesn't it? Sorry for that.

What I mean is that you have to interiorize the technique to listen to a speech, dissect it (to get all the information) and process how can you express that in the best possible way, (With a bit of thinktime reserved to decide how to note things down) all at the same time. All in consecutive

It is, of course, what you do in other schools, so it's not a bit deal

And I was talking about the "basic technique" because in simultaneous the tune is exactly the same. You need less long term memory (you only have to memorize facts or names that will come up many times), but that more reflexes (because you can't think things over while you hear the rest of the speech, as you do when in consecutive). That's it.

The reason I commented on that was that they put a lot of emphasis on all parts. I don't know, for example:

- If you get all the objects of a phrase (persons, facts, etc) but you miss the relationship among them, you'll fail.
Of course this might seem obvious,there are students from start-up schools that hear things like

"There are enough good Argentinian musicians in the diaspora to form three Vienna Philarmonic Orchestras"

and interpret

"Argentina's Philarmonic Orchestra has three times more musicians than the one in Vienna"

It might seem a banal example of someone who is deaf or dumb, but in fact in happens a lot when you start doing consecutive. I have done things like that, many times.

So, in short, there are reflexes that have to have trained, like complete attention, suspicion and paranoia (to think that there might be something behind those words... usually there is), a solid range of expressions and ways of saying at your disposal..l

Another important point: you have been told, many, many times, that you shouldn't be literal, that you should go for the meaning and not for the words.
That is true, but I should add, you should go for the meaning and the best possible way of expressing it.

Which means that, at ESIT, the theory that you should be detached from the original text only when literal translation is unworkable is false. We are not just allowed, but encouraged to change to any extent the shape of the speech if, by doing that, you find a nicer way to say it in your language.

In other places you are told to keep it literal, unless you can't.

Mh... those are just random thoughts, but I hope they clarify you what I meant.

Thanks Pablo, you didn't sound pompous at all, actually you explained very clearly the point I was discussing in private with Vincent. At Westminster, it seems that they don't insist on how you analyze information as much as they do at ESIT, but they do give us advice of the same nature.

It also seems to me that this is one ability that could be developed before starting to study interpreting. The simple effort of trying to pay more and more attention to the information thrown at you on the radio or on TV for example, and of getting into the habit of analyzing it as deeply as possible may prove to be a crucial asset for the exams.

The answer is on their website.

En vue de l'insertion professionnelle des diplômés, l'ESIT s'efforce d'assurer une adéquation entre les combinaisons linguistiques acceptées et les besoins sur le marché de l'interprétation. Ainsi une combinaison quadrilingue est exigée dans certains cas (actuellement le grec, l'italien et le portugais en A).

Meaning that at the moment, if your A language is Italian, you can apply only if you have three other languages, two of which being French and English.

And I have a question for Didine: you said you finished ESIT last year, didn't you?

Yes, in June 2006.

And now you already work for the EU? so does this mean that the EU is very keen on assuming interpreters coming from ESIT?

I took (and passed) the EU's accreditation test in December 2006. I started working as a freelancer for the European institutions in January 2007. I have an usual language combination, that's why I was lucky enough to be offered a contract as a temporary agent straight after my accreditation test. My contract at the EP started last April.

(the very last one, which is just a curiosity: which is your language combination?)

French A, English C, Finnish C, Polish C at the moment, and I'm planning to add Russian some time next year. I had a different language combination at ESIT: French A, English B (not very useful at the EP), Polish C, Russian C (couldn't have Finnish C at ESIT, I wanted to work with Finnish first since it's much more useful here).

Let me ask you a question: how is it working out? Working I mean.

It's brilliant! I love my job!

... is awesome. If I may say so.

I am so happy things are going well... I wish you all the best of luck!

And, if you add Russian, we will probably meet sometime. At least I hope so, there still second year to go.