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that we do justice to the original, representing it accurately and maintaining our credibility with listeners, showing them the original and not our idea of it, with a disclaimer, of course, that it has passed through the interpreter's individual consciousness. Inner boundaries There are several very subtle boundaries/ skills interpreting students have to develop, and some important questions they need to ask themselves: 1 Adjustments are necessary but to what degree? Where is the line beyond which my ego begins to interfere with the process of interpretation? To what degree does interpreting make me feel more powerful? By asking these questions, a student begins to shift from a Type 1-Type 2 dichotomy to self-observation. 2 When is the interpretation too literal? Can interpretation be too close to the original? (When an interpreter translates literally and Basketballs may have to be added for a number of reasons: 1 To reduce verbosity or when you feel that your short-term memory will not be able to handle the information load and there is a danger that you will miss the next segment. 2 When the original is too fast, illogical or awkward to follow literally (which happens much more rarely than advocates of Type 2 tend to believe). 3 When you are confident that following the original will undermine your credibility as an interpreter. Determining the balance is a dynamic decision made not only per conference, per speaker or per speech, but even per sentence or meaning unit. Sometimes you have to approach the original or get away from it several times in one sentence. The ability to 'play' with the distance from the original develops alongside other interpreting skills. However, there must be a guiding principle, and I believe that this should be thelinguist.uberflip.com AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 31 OPINION & COMMENT without grace it is not interpretation, after all.) Following the original is different from literal translation: where is that boundary? 3 Is the interpretation too far from the original? Is it my ego at work or is it linguistically justified? How can I develop the skill of instant decision-making to maintain the correct distance: not too far and not too close? Interpreting is an exercise in balancing, finding correct boundaries or tolerances in which we operate, and in self-observation. So students should beware of those who say: 'Let me show how it is "supposed" to be done, because I know the way and it is the only type of interpretation that should be used.' Cyril Flerov is a conference interpreter and a lecturer at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies Monterey, California. TL INITIAL ASSUMPTION PERSONALITY TYPE SOURCE OF ENJOYMENT STATEMENTS TO THE OTHER TYPE PERCEPTION OF THE OTHER TYPE VS. SELF PERCEPTION THE TWO TYPES OF INTERPRETING TYPE 1 Interpretation is literal and follows the original as closely as possible. Deviations, adjustments and corrections are not permitted. Interpretation is a reflection of the original in all its facets and delegates should be left to judge for themselves. The interpreter is just a conduit. Follower. Interpreter derives pleasure from finding ways to stay as close to the original as possible without breaking the norms of the target language. 'You miss a lot. The interpretation does not resemble the original at all. You decide rather arbitrarily what you can change or omit. It is not your job as an interpreter to adjust the letter of the message as you would like it to be.' Type 2 interpreters do not have enough brain power and speed to follow the original closely; I can. They maim the original: their ego is too active and too much involved. I am doing a great service to the listener by being close to the original. Sometimes you do not have enough time in the booth to do anything but follow the original, there is no time for any major transformation of the source text. The only 'true' interpretation is Type 1. TYPE 2 The interpreter should say only what the listener needs/ wants to hear. Everything else should be omitted to ease understanding; otherwise you overload the listener. Interpretation is pragmatic and essentially digesting information. That is why it is called 'interpretation'. It is not what the speaker says but what they mean. The interpreter is entitled to make those changes. In charge, in control. Interpreter derives pleasure from using the original as 'playdough' from which to carve their interpretation. They actively shape the translation. 'You say too many words. Delegates do not need to hear everything. Your interpretation is too complete. You complicate your own life by giving too many details. It is hard to do relay from you.' Type 1 interpreters think that interpretation is just repeating words in a different language. They are slaves to the original; I can reformulate and get rid of all the 'junk'. They do not have the brain power and are not fast enough to explain the original or get its meaning. They do not understand the tricks and devices I use. I am doing a great service to the listener by reformulating. The only 'true' interpretation is Type 2.