A Comparative And Contrastive Study Of Note-taking Techniques In Consecutive Interpretation-methods And Utilization

As time is limited and so is human memory, note-taking is indispensable inconsecutive interpretation. Instead of writing down what the speaker says verbatim,the interpreter should note down the main ideas of the speech. This thesis drafts asystematic picture of how to takes notes when doing consecutive interpretation: whyto take notes, what to take and how to take, abbreviations which involves acronyms,syllables, syllables/initial letters+suffix and symbols to represent the words, how toarrange the notes, horizontally or vertically, and ultimately the essence of taking notes,i.e., to interpret with the help of the notes.By referring to books of experts and the writer’s own experience as well, thisthesis is a comparative and contrastive study of note-taking techniques in consecutiveinterpretation, mainly focusing on how to take notes and how to use them when doingconsecutive interpretation. This thesis lists the main note-taking methods used bysome experts in this field, such as abbreviations and signs, some of which are quiteuseful and referential. But some methods may not be that useful. In the writer’s ownopinion, the capitalized abbreviations take too much time to write down. Therefore, inthe process of studying interpretation, interpreters need to find out a note-takingsystem that is suitable to them and apply it to daily practice as what the saying goes,“Practice makes perfect.”...