Once a teacher in a college acted as an interpreter for a foreign teacher, as all the leaders of the college were seated in the sitting- room. The foreign teacher was happy to have so many important guests in his house. After some courteous greetings, the foreign teacher had a suggestion. “Would you like to play Chicken Foot?” “你们想玩鸡爪吗?”the teacher interpreted immediately. The leaders looked at each other in surprise. The foreigner didn’t know why. He rushed into his bedroom and returned with some toy. He showed how to play them just as our Chinese play chess. Only by that time did the teacher know that he had made a mistake. Chicken Foot is kind of game in South America!
4.2The qualities of an interpreter
Interpretation is a job with high professional requirements. There is no doubt that the qualities of an interpreter determine the result of interpretation. These basic qualities include: A. a strong sense of duty. B. a good command of the languages involved. C. an encyclopedic knowledge. D. acute hearing. E. a good pronunciation. F. familiarity with simultaneous note-taking. G. a good memory. H. quick and accurate response, etc. I don’t want to go further into the qualities of an interpreter. But an interpreter must at least have profound knowledge about current affairs, politics, economics, business, trade, science, history, geography, etc. Just as a common saying goes “A good interpreter should know something of everything”.
4.3Regional Differences
Regional differences in the same language may be found in pronunciation, intonation or rhythm; or in the choice or usage of certain words and idioms; sometimes, even in syntax, although this is not so common. Regional differences in English may be quite a problem for Chinese who are used to hearing the standard or more common forms of English. There is no easy solution. One must gradually accustom oneself to the differences through frequent hearing and trying to figure out the meaning. Otherwise, you can’t interpret them well.
In American English, regional differences are not so great, but there are dissimilarities that should be mentioned. People in New England——the northeastern states in America——tend to pronounce certain words the way the British do. People in the South——the dozen or so states in the southeastern part of America——tend to speak with a drawl; they speak slowly and the vowel sounds are greatly prolonged. Also, for a number of objects they use terms that are different from those commonly used in other regions; for example, a bag in other states would be called a poke in the South; a purse would be called a pocketbook.
5The importance of transmission for cultural factors in E-C interpretation
Since we have known the relationship between culture and language, the importance of transmission for cultural factors in E-C interpretation is self-evident. No language doesn’t reflect its culture. Though language is different from one another, it can be interpreted from the angle of culture. Culture covers a broad content. But “Genuine knowledge comes from practice”. As long as the interpreter masters the two languages as well as their cultures, the transmission of cultural factors in E-C interpretation can not be boasted.
6Conclusion
E-C interpretation is a difficult task. To be a good E-C interpreter is even more difficult. As far as E-C interpretation is concerned, it is vital to be quick, accurate and fluent. Cultural factor transmission is only an important part of E-C interpretation. So it is very important for an interpreter to master the connotation of cultural-loaded words and the techniques of cultural factors’ transmission in E-C interpretation.
Reference
1 Deng Yanchang & Liu Renqing. Language and Culture[M]. Foreign language Teaching and Research Press, 1989
2 Hu Wenzong. A Dictionary of British and American culture. Foreign language Teaching and Research Press, 1995
3 Mei Deming. An Intermediate Course of English-Chinese Interpretation. Shanghai Foreign Language Teaching Press, 1998
4 Wang Fuxiang & Wu Hanying. Culture and language[A]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1994
5 Tan Baoquan. Techniques of Modern English Translation[M]. Shanghai. Transportation University Press, 1997
6 Zhong Shukong. A Practical Handbook of Interpretation[M]. Beijing. China Foreign-oriented Translation Publishing Press Co, 1999
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