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Note Taking Skill

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5 views

Note Taking Skill

Uploaded by

huynhlanhuong5511
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NOTE-TAKING SKILL IN INTERPRETATION

A personal system of note-taking is very useful not only in consecutive


interpretation but also in simultaneous interpretation (e.g. to jot down
the jargon of a meeting as it is taking place, or to jot down figures,
names or proposed wordings in a drafting group), as well as for
translators (who, in some jobs, are required to write summary records
from notes). Developing a personal system of notes also helps to form
the habit of summarizing and symbolizing words and phrases, which is
an important aspect of the interpretation process.
Note-taking is most important to the consecutive interpreter.
Consecutive interpretation relies on long-term memory. Psychological
studies have shown that long-term memory fades very rapidly. A
successful note-taking technique for consecutive interpretation calls
for a method of reducing words to ideas and putting the ideas into
symbols that can then be re-expressed in another language. An
interpreter must not try to write down word for word everything the
speaker says because a hundred words may contain only one idea,
while one word may imply several ideas
There are some basic guidelines on note-taking that should be
followed:
• Your note-taking system must be your own. It must be one that you
can easily use, based on your own style of handwriting.
It is helpful to learn a stenographic system such as shorthand, or a
note-taking system such as Speedwriting, or to invent your own way of
“writing phonetically” (representing sounds as well as words or ideas).
English, for example, has only about 40 sounds. But it is not helpful to
get into the habit of trying to write down everything a speaker says
verbatim.
• Adopt and use symbols that are useful for the subjects you are
dealing with.
• Always use a symbol to mean only one thing in a given context.
• Use pictorial or graphic devices like circles and squares or lines and
arrows. You are not “writing out the speech”; you are “drawing a
picture for yourself” of the speech.
• Arrange your notes on the page in a meaningful way (for example,
with the main points at the top and minor points at the bottom). Use
indentations logically and consistently.
• Learn and use conventional abbreviations and acronyms (for
example, the telegraphic business abbreviation “cak” meaning
“contract”, or the morse-code acronym SOS to mean “help”).
• Adopt a simple, one-stroke symbol which, whenever you write it,will
mean “the main subject of the speech”.
• Adopt a simple sign which will mean “three zeros”, so that you can
write down large numbers quickly (for example, if – means “three
zeros”, then 89 – – means “89 million”). Adopt another symbol to
represent two zeros.
• Adopt or coin abbreviations or acronyms for often-used
phrases(examples: asap = as soon as possible; iot = in order to; iaw =
if and when).
• Invent symbols for common prefixes and suffixes, such as
“pre-”,“anti-” or “-tion”, “-ment”.
• When you write out words, do not double any consonants, and delete
any vowels that are not necessary to make the word recognizable or to
distinguish it from another similar word.
• When interpreting consecutively, write your notes as much as
possible in the target language.
• Always have enough sharp pencils or functioning pens at hand.

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