A Report On Consecutive Interpreting Practice Under The Guidance Of Gile’s Effort Model

This report is based on a simulated English-to-Chinese consecutive translation.The practice is selected from an exclusive interview,entitled “A Future Worth Getting Excited About”,with Elon Musk by TED Chairman Chris Andersen on April 6,2022.Musk introduced his innovative ideas in an interview in which he looked ahead to the exciting world of the future.Given that this interview included specialized,colloquial and sometimes haphazard discourse,it presents a good opportunity to test interpreters’ abilities in scientific and technological fields.This report examines and analyzes the textual material based on the record and transcription of the interpreting.Consecutive interpretation is a process that combines the skills of listening,speaking,reading,and writing,each of which demands attention,time and effort from the interpreter.The Effort Model proposed by French scholar Daniel Gile divides the process of consecutive interpreting into two stages and seven aspects,making interpretation studies more systematic.Under the guidance of this theory,I mainly reflect on the four basic efforts of the consecutive interpreter,namely listening and analysis effort,note-taking effort,short-term memory effort,and production effort,and propose some feasible interpreting skills.Seven interpretation strategies used in actual practice include extra-language knowledge,manifestation in word choice,specific marks in note-taking,omission,word selection,restructuring and amplification.Through post-interpretation reflection,I summarize more feasible interpretation techniques for similar texts to reduce the interpreter’s cognitive load and improve the quality of interpretation,such as preparing mind-maps and a glossary during the preparation phase.These skills may be helpful in future interpretation work.