The following excerpts are from GoresanPenakoe:

1.2  Modes of Interpreting

According to Hatim and Mason (1997: 36), there are three principal modes of interpreting: simultaneous, consecutive and the liaison. Those are inevitably place different demands on the interpreter

a. Simultaneous

This mode is considered a harder mode of interpreting and involves the interpreter continuously interpreting from the source language into the target language as the source speaker is speaking.

Simultaneous interpreting is rendering an interpretation continuously at the same time someone is speaking. Simultaneous interpreting is intended to be heard only by the person receiving the interpretation and is usually accomplished by speaking in whispered tones or using equipment specially designed for the purpose in order to be as unobtrusive as possible. It is usually used in a conference or in a big seminar.

According to Seleskovitch (1978:125) in Mikkelson (1998), in simultaneous interpretation the interpreter is isolated in a booth. He speaks at the same time as the speaker and therefore has no need to memorize or jot down what is said. Moreover, the processes of analysis-comprehension and of reconstruction-expression are telescoped. The interpreter works on the message bit by bit, giving the portion he has understood while analyzing and assimilating the next idea.

Because of the short time frame and the complexity of language, a simultaneous interpreter must be quick-thinking and decide on the most likely interpretation and follow it through. To spend unnecessary time agonizing over the speaker`s phrasing could amount to losing important information in the next sentence.

According to Hatim and Mason (1997 : 45), texture comes to the fore in simultaneous interpreting. The term texture refers to various linguistic devices applied in a text with a purpose to build a flow of sense and to make a sequence of sentence operational or what are said as cohesive and coherence. In simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter should react and interact from one utterance to other utterance where overlapping between various element of sequence is unavoidable. It is impossible to get the whole structure nor the context of a text in simultaneous interpreting, As an anticipating strategy, an interpreter should pay attention on the variety of cohesive devices used in the text as a reference as texture provides the interpreter with “a point of departure” that enable him to be able to follow the sequence or the flow of the text

b. Consecutive

Unlike the simultaneous interpreting where the interpreter has at least something to embark upon, the consecutive interpreter has to wait before he/she can deliver the output text. It means that it will add pressure and extra load on memory, which results that information related to texture and context become rather too detail to hold.

According to Hatim and Mason (1997: 42), consecutive interpreter, whose output comes after the source text has been delivered, tends to focus on information relevant to text structure. Effective consecutive output thus exhibits a clear outline of the way the text is structured.

Further discussion about consecutive interpreting will be presented on the next section. More.

See: GoresanPenakoe