ПСИХОЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ КАК ФАКТОР ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ СИНХРОННОГО ПЕРЕВОДЧИКА

It takes more than knowing a foreign language

to be a professional simultaneous interpreter.

Introduction

The profession of interpreter is one of the oldest. The need for it arose as soon as there was a need in international communication. According to the biblical story, it happened when people that spoke one language began to build a tower in Babylon to the height of heaven to make a name for themselves. In order to disrupt the construction of this monument of pride, God separated one language into many languages and people ceased to understand each other. Translator’s profession perhaps was born then to help people communicate with each other since they were not able to do it on their own. According to the biblical text a man was created in God’s own image and spoke the initial language before it was separated into many different languages. The work of our mind created by God in His likeness and the language that once had one origin still amaze the scholars that are studying them. The number of people knowing multiple languages is growing, but the number of good specialists in simultaneous interpretation is very few. This is why there are more and more researchers trying to find the secret of simultaneous interpretation in the interpreter’s mind. What is it that makes person a good simultaneous interpreter? The levels of language knowledge and cognitive skills have often been viewed as the main indicator of an interpreter’s professional success [1], [2]. However, over the recent years, more and more scholars have been devoted to the research of psychological aspects of interpretation work, such as self-confidence, self-regulation, integrity, initiative, responsibility, punctuality, motivation, empathy or stress resistance, etc. [5], [2], [6].

Method and Results overview

By observing the qualities that are necessary to perform a successful simultaneous interpretation we will be able to distinguish linguistic qualities from the psychological ones to see if both aspects are important. And then we will overview the researches done by modern linguists to provide the practical evidence of the matter.

It is known that every human being consists of body and soul; therefore it is necessary to view the language phenomena through the prism of both of these components that the person has. Psycholinguistics is a science that studies the use of the language from different perspectives involving psychological, neurobiological and linguistic aspects. 

Let us look at the qualities of effective simultaneous interpreter. A survey of the linguistic literature reveals that the descriptions of the qualities may vary. The following qualities are identified by various authors as essential for simultaneous interpreting.

1. Mental skills - language knowledge, cultural knowledge, subject knowledge.
2. Practical skills - active listening, flowing speech, fast thinking, good memory, concentration ability, multitasking, anticipation, analytical skills, ability to use equipment.
3. Emotional skills - stress resistance, self-control, motivation.
4. Social skills - work ethics, teamwork.

By observing these qualities we can distinguish that two categories - mental and social to some extent are the ones that are easy to obtain by learning new information and putting it into practice. The other two categories are not so easy to be obtained. The reason for it lies in the very heart of Psychology, a science of mind and soul. Psychology studies:

• mental formations (knowledge, skills and abilities acquired during life, which are the result of an individual's activity);
• mental properties of the person (orientation to certain life goals, temperament, character, abilities, such as diligence, sociability, etc.);
• mental processes is as developing, dynamic phenomena that generates images, feelings, thoughts, etc.

Mental properties and mental processes just like practical and emotional skills of interpreter are knitted together and have their foundation in the personality that each individual receives by birth. It shows us that some very important qualities of the interpreter lay the area of psychology. The basic characteristics of any personality are temperament and character, emotions, abilities, motivation and will.  Temperament is something that doesn’t change, it stays pretty much the same throughout the person’s life. It influences person’s character, emotions, abilities, motivation and will. Temperament is a set of dynamic characteristics of psychophysiological human activity. It determines the speed, intensity of psychophysiological processes, plasticity and stability of the emotional state, the degree of overall mental activity, etc. In other words, every person is born with a set of qualities that may be good or bad for a chosen profession. In our case we need to find out which temperament is most suitable for a profession of simultaneous interpreter.

Nancy Schweda Nicholson [5] had studied a group of simultaneous interpreter trainees using Mayers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). In her research she came to conclusion that in the group that was tested were as many introverts as extraverts despite the common opinion. She also discovered that there were twice as much Thinkers then Feelers. Although every personality type was represented in Schweda-Nicholson group of translators, some types outnumbered the others. ISTJ (I=Introvert, S=Sensing, T=Thinking, J=Judging) was discovered to be the largest group among the tested trainees. Of interest in that ISTJs represent only about 6% of the population in general.  This personality type can be characterized as sedate and serious, interested in being thorough, and pay great attention to detail. They absorb and enjoy using an immense number of facts. ISTJs are considered contemplative, quiet, grounded, objective, accountable, and conservative, act quickly, communicate a message of reliability and stability in emergencies.

Another researcher, Hubscher Davidson [3] used MBTI to survey a group of interpreters. Her personality analysis showed that Intuitives were the most successful students and Sensors were the weakest.

In the works of Timarová and Salaets (2011), Heidi (2011),  Bontempo and Napier (2011), Williams J.E., Miram G.E. (2000) and other researchers we see the input into the psycholinguistic aspect of simultaneous interpretation. None of them diminish the importance of the linguistic education and experience. “We will proceed from the fact that you have a special language education and you have been regularly engaged in consecutive interpretation for several years. If you do not have such education or sufficient practice of consecutive interpretation, you can hardly become a simultaneous interpreter.” Says Miram G.E. But then he continues on “…as for any extraordinary business, simultaneous interpretation requires talent. I am deeply convinced that without a certain set of innate psychophysiological characteristics it is impossible to become a simultaneous interpreter. And these innate features must be complemented by acquired qualities.”

Let us also look at the results of the brain study of the interpreter to see what areas of the brain are involved in the process of simultaneous interpretation.

Barbara Mouser-Mercer is a professional translator into English, German and French, however, in recent years she has devoted a lot of time to neuroscience. Along with colleagues specializing in brain research she had studied the brain of the simultaneous interpreter. During their research they have discovered that the involved parts of the brain are activated extremely intensively and go beyond the language. Magnetic resonance imaging during the simultaneous interpretation found a connection of the brain areas that provide the process itself. Brock’s area allows us to remember what we think and control what we do. Neighboring departments that help to control the understanding and reproduction of the language are connected to this area. Many other departments are involved in the process of interpretation. Two parts of the striatum (a caudate nucleus and a putamen) proved to play a big part in managing the work on this complex task. These structures are involved in the processes of learning, planning and execution of movements. The researchers came to understand that no single area is solely responsible for simultaneous interpretation. The departments that are involved in this process are universal for human activity in general. This research revealed that not only areas responsible for speech and understanding of speech are involved during interpretation but all the other departments as well, which makes it more than just a linguistic matter.

Conclusion

All the recent researches on simultaneous interpretation reveal to us how amazingly unique is every person and suitable for a special profession. It takes body and soul to become an affective interpreter. It is not enough to know a foreign language very well or be bilingual to be able to translate. Mere knowledge of the language does not make a person professional interpreter. It takes very special characteristics to be effective and to succeed in this profession. The work of simultaneous interpreter requires a high level of language and culture knowledge, practical skills and emotional intelligence. Answering a question raised in the beginning, it is necessary to conclude, that simultaneous interpretation is a skill and a gift coming together in a beautiful masterpiece. One will not be complete without the other. 

It is necessary to conclude that some changes can be made in educational system for training interpreters. First of all, the students should take a personality test to be aware or their strengths and weaknesses. Their personality type will either confirm their ability to become an excellent simultaneous interpreter or direct them into becoming a different kind of translator suitable for their personality type. This leads us to a second recommendation. The programs for training language students should be reconsidered and include courses for different types of translations that the students could choose to learn. We also hope that this study will cause a further research of the linguistic personality.