Interpretation: What is it?

what someone does that makes it possible for you to understand what a third person is saying (or signing) when that person is using a language that you do not understand.

is the competent and accurate use of either of two naturally evolved languages for the purpose of negotiating the opportunity for a successful communicative interaction in real-time within a triad involving two principal individuals or groups who are incapable of using, or who prefer not to use, the language of the other individual or group.

requires that the interpreter knows both languages (yours and the language being used by the other person), understands the meaning of the specific message being conveyed, determines how that meaning must be expressed in your language, and produces an utterance that expresses that meaning in your language.

Participants

there must be at least three individuals involved in the interaction, two (or more) primary participants and the interpreter. (Triad)

the interaction belongs to the primary participants; only they can (or should) introduce new topics or change topics; only they can challenge or correct each other; and only they can determine whether, for them, the interaction has been successful or not.

Two Languages

each of the primary participants must be competent in at least one language.

The interpreter must be competent in both languages.

The primary participants may also be fluent in more than one language, but they either do not share a common language or they prefer not to use a shared language for this particular interaction.

In Real-Time

unlike translations, interpretations occur while the interaction is taking place. This means that the interpreter is involved in a rather complicated process.

A overly simplified explanation of this process might be that the interpreter is producing message A, while analyzing message B, while receiving message C.

The point is that an interpreter is engaged in several cognitive tasks simultaneously. This means that the task is an extremely demanding one.

Interaction Goal

since the interpreted interaction belongs to the primary participants, it should be clear that the interpreter's goal is to make possible the opportunity for a successful communicative interaction between the primary participant's.

An interpreter must remain impartial. That is, the interpreter's allegiance must, as far as humanly possible, be with the interaction taking place, not directly with either of the participants.

What constitutes an accurate interpretation?

The basic answer is that the interpreter must extract meaning from the message and then convey that meaning.

The interpreter must first understand the original message and then determine how that meaning would be expressed in the other language. Often understanding what someone means is not an easy task, even for someone who does not have to interpret.

What constitutes an accurate interpretation? Cont’d)

Basically, the interpreter's ability to render an accurate interpretation is directly related to whether and how the interpreter understands the original message.

If the original message is misunderstood, it will be misinterpreted; if it is not or cannot be understood, it cannot be interpreted.