The document discusses the necessary knowledge and skills for novice translators and interpreters. It outlines the roles of translation and interpretation in facilitating communication between parties. Key skills discussed include reading comprehension, research, analysis, and translation abilities. The document also provides strategies for interpreters to employ before, during, and after performing interpretation work, such as preparing by improving language skills and researching subject matter. Finally, it offers suggestions for training programs, including providing cultural knowledge, technology instruction, and opportunities to observe professional interpreters.

1. SHARING INFORMATION ON
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
NECESSARY FOR A NOVICE
TRANSLATOR AND INTERPRETER
Nguyễn Văn Tuấn
Hue College of Foreign Languages

2. A. INTRODUCTION
B. CONTENT
I. The roles of translation and interpretation
II. The skills necessary for a translator
1. Reading comprehension skills
2. Researching skills
3. Analytical skills
4. Translation skills
III. Strategies for new interpreters before, while, and after
performing interpreting work on stage
1. Before
2. While
3. After
C. CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS

3. INTRODUCTION
• Translation/interpretation is very necessary.
• A translator/an interpreter should have
good knowledge and special
communicative skills.
• In order to be successful in his
translation/interpretation, a translator/an
interpreter should make a good preparation
before starting his actual work.

4. ROLES OF TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATION
• Translation/Interpretation helps to overcome
language barriers and enables the parties
involved to understand the intended message
fully
• A translator/an interpreter plays a critical role in
and gives a significant contribution to the
communication between the parties involved.
• A translator and interpreter is required to do
both translation and interpretation work.

5. ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR A TRANSLATOR
Essential criteria for a good translator:
- Good ability to comprehend texts
- Good knowledge of the subject
- Sensitivity to language (both mother tongue
and foreign language)
- Competence to write the two languages
clearly and concisely
Newmark (1995)

6. Reading skills
• Reading for gist and main ideas
• Reading for details
• Identifying the meaning of new words and
expressions through affixation, word order, syntax
and context
• Identifying the meaning of new words and
expressions through lexical cohesive devices
including synonyms, antonyms and hyponyms
• Identifying the writer’s style: literary, scientific,
argumentative
• Identifying the language level used in the text:
formal or informal
• Identifying the culturally-specific words

7. Researching skills
• Using bilingual dictionaries for looking up
meanings of new words
• Using monolingual dictionaries to check the use of
the new words in the source language and the
target language
• Using related encyclopedias and glossary lists for
the terms
• Referring to journals to be familiar with the subject
to be translated
• Using online resources effectively
• Researching and using CAT tools

8. Analytical skills
• Analyzing beginnings and endings of ideas in the
text and the relationships between these ideas
• Analyzing to identify the appropriate meaning that
fits into the context
• Analyzing to identify the structure in the target
language that best represents the source text
• Analyzing to identify coherent ideas and the best
cohesive devices in the target language that
represent the source text

9. Translation skills
• Using correct word order of target language
• Using correct sentence structures of target
language
• Translating the meaning of the source text
precisely
• Using paraphrases to convey the overall meaning
translated
• Making changes to the text as a whole to give it a
sense of the original without distorting the original
ideas
• Trying one or more of the following strategies
when problems of untranslatability arise

10. Strategies
• Syntactic strategies
+ Shifting word order
+ Changing clauses/sentence structures
+ Adding or omitting conjunctions
• Semantic strategies
+ Using synonyms
+ Redistributing the information
• Pragmatic strategies
+ Changing style for natural translation
+ Making the text more explicit

11. WHAT A NOVICE INTERPRETER SHOULD DO
• Before interpreting
- Language and its use:
+ Improving knowledge and use of target and source
languages through reading books and newspapers,
listening to the radio and television to be familiar with
different discourse genres related to interpretation
+ Searching for an appropriate, accurate, and natural way
of using both the source language and the target language
by observing how native speakers to use their language in
real-life situations
+ Searching for proper addressing terms

12. WHAT A NOVICE INTERPRETER SHOULD DO
• Before interpreting
-Psychological Readiness
+ Being ready to face tension with an I-can-do-it feeling
+ Being confident to think that nobody can interpret
better and find out his mistakes
-Researching the subject to be translated
+ Having to understand the subject to be translated in
advance
+ Having to collect as many documents to be
translated as possible from project workers,
presenters
+ Having to look up terms and study discourse genres
to be interpreted by referring to different kinds of
dictionaries and reports already collected from
presenters

13. WHAT A NOVICE INTERPRETER SHOULD DO
• Before interpreting
- Bringing tools and asking for payment
+ A recorder for recording the interpretation to
improve interpretation, remembering to ask for
+ Pens and papers for taking notes the
numbers, organization names
+ Asking for the presenters’ copies for the new
terms or asking about the information to be
presented if the copies are not available
+ Negotiating the price and signing a payment
contract if possible

14. WHAT A NOVICE INTERPRETER SHOULD DO
• While interpreting
- The interpreter
+ always speaks up to ensure that the message is
clearly heard and understood by the audience.
+ should ask the speaker to raise the volume of his
voice when he speaks too softly.
+ should listen to the speaker with full concentration
while performing the job.
+ should not look at the written version of the speech
if the speaker provides him with one, because this will
interfere with his concentration.
+ should take notes some particular points during a
discussion in a way that he understands the notes
clearly.
+ should raise his voice to reach the audience
standing far from the speaker when interpreting at the
project site.

15. WHAT A NOVICE INTERPRETER SHOULD DO
• After interpreting
+ The interpreter should be proud of and
satisfied with the mission he has just
completed successfully.
+ The interpreter should play back the
recording to assess what happened on
stage in order to ensure a poor
performance can be improved in future.
+ The interpreter should recall and
record necessary terms that may appear
in next assignment.

16. SUGGESTIONS
1. The students majoring in translation and interpretation
should be provided with sufficient linguistic
competence and performance for their future jobs. The
students majoring in translation should be well
equipped with reading and writing skills while the
students majoring in interpretation should be well
equipped with listening and reading skills.
2. It is advisable to supply basic translation theory for the
students so that they can apply the theory to their
translation practice.
3. The students should be provided with good cultural
knowledge and cross-cultural knowledge in
communication.
4. It is necessary to teach the students to use the Internet
for referring online dictionaries and exploiting CAT
tools.
5. The students need to be supplied with the way to
identify and analyze different discourse genres
necessary for their future professions.

17. SUGGESTIONS
6. Note-taking techniques, short-term memory
techniques and other techniques for effective
translation and interpretation should be included in
the curriculum.
7. There should be seminars where professional
translators and interpreters can share their experience
with the students right in their early years at
university.
8. The students need to familiarize themselves with
pressure of translation and interpretation work
through observing interpreters doing their jobs at the
conferences or project sites.
9. The themes included in the curriculum should be
suitable for the students’ future actual work.
10. The knowledge of subject matters needs to be wisely
selected to satisfy the social needs and the knowledge
should be basic and up-to-date.

18. Thank you for
your attention.

19. Watch the video and answer the
questions below
1. Did the boss feel satisfied with the
interpreter’s work? Why?
2. If you are the interpreter, what should you
do to prepare for your interpretation?