Lacuna, myth and shibboleth in the teaching of simultaneous interpreting

Abstract Written by a practicing intepreter, this article is a critical appraisal of some widely held dogmas and a general failure to address some uncomfortable facts of interpreting life. The author first challenges the widespread injunction to “translate the meaning not the words”, and offers many instances of why it is counterproductive and does not work. He then turns to the ‘2 F's’, namely that simultaneous interpreting is Finite and Fallible. He discusses the adverse effects of ‘denial’ of the ‘2 F's’ by the profession and its clients. He questions the role played by consecutive interpreting at many institutions even today, e.g. a) as an aptitude test, b) as a prerequisite for admission to training for and qualification as interpreter, and c) as a training method for simultaneous interpreting, and he discusses the psychological and historical roots of the ascendancy of this approach. The author argues that the case for ‘shadowing’ as an aptitude test and a training method for simultaneous interpreti...