[Interpretation Skills] The Chief Chinese Interpreter of the British Foreign Office teaches you how to take good interpretation notes.

About the author: 1995, Lin Chaolun acted as an interpreter for the talks between the Queen of England, the Prime Minister, the leaders of the upper and lower houses of Parliament, and the top leaders of China, and was responsible for the translation of documents in the British Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Notes are the key to advanced interpretation. The purpose of using notes is to supplement the short-term memory and endurance of the brain, ensure the accuracy of translation, and ensure that it is not affected by the length of the speaker. If you rely entirely on memory and have no unusual talent, even energetic young people can't meet the requirements of advanced interpretation for accuracy and endurance. Practical examples, I have met many times in my work. There are no experienced translators who don't rely on notes. However, notes used in advanced interpretation have nothing to do with general concepts. Please note that everyone's memory, thinking and reaction have their own characteristics. There is no need to copy all my methods. The best way to take notes is to develop your own system that suits you. My introduction is to give you an opportunity, give you a direction and open your mind. For example, the simpler the notes, the faster the records. But when the notes are simple, the requirements for short-term memory are relatively high. Therefore, the number of notes is the best, which is easy for people. You need to find a balance that suits you. Mainly: 1. Writing less underlined lines is faster than writing words. Line image is equivalent to the "semi-finished product" of translation, which helps the translator to read the notes and pronounce the translated text. Try to use lines in two situations: words and expressions that express actions and dynamics. For example, the rising diagonal line represents "development", "increase", "progress" and "further"; Declining diagonal lines represent "reduction", "decline", "deterioration" and so on. Words that express cause and effect or context. For example, a line is used to express "because/so", "after …" and "before …" to reflect the relationship between the top and the bottom. 2. Less words and more meanings form the habit of not taking more words. A large number of words in Chinese are composed of two or more words. As long as you see one of them, your short-term memory should be able to complete the rest of the words. Not much to write. For example, "China" can be written as "China" at most, and "Beijing" can be written as "North" at most. English words are also treated in this way. "Politics" is written as "Li Po" at most, "government" at most, and so on. In addition, we should cultivate the interaction between notes and memory; The ability to say several words or even a string of words when you see a word. In the context, this is not difficult. For example, when talking about the recent situation in China, it is not difficult to tell the original text by short-term memory when you hear the word "reform and opening up". When you hear "British Prime Minister Tony Blair" and think of "PM", you can also say the original text. 3. Less lines refer to a common set of lines/marks. Otherwise, in addition to Chinese and English that you are familiar with, you will make up a set of unfamiliar codes to use, which will lead to the need to think about which symbol to use, which is counterproductive. 4. Take a trapezoidal structure from top to bottom with less horizontal and more vertical records, and use horizontal records as little as possible when writing. The ladder structure vividly reflects the logical structure of context, simplifies the translator's thinking process and facilitates translation. 5. Fast writing must develop its own Chinese character fast writing system. Interpretation notes are completely read by yourself, and it only takes a few minutes to understand. The reduction of strokes in many Chinese characters does not affect the confirmation. What I'm talking about here is not scribbling, but in addition to scribbling in actual interpretation, spend some time thinking about words commonly used in practice or interpretation to see how to reduce strokes, or straighten out strokes and make them into words at once. 6. At the end of interpretation, the speaker said a paragraph, stopped for the interpreter to translate a paragraph, and then continued. In this way, there must be a clear boundary between the previous paragraph and the next paragraph. The end of the last time becomes the starting point of the next translation. Its importance lies in that if the notes in the notebook start with 1/3, then the next paragraph may be written on 2-3 pages. When you turn it back to explain, your eyes can't determine which line or symbol on this page is the starting point of this translation. So it needs to be marked. At the beginning, I draw a line at the end of each speaker. Later, I found that the time from the end of the speaker to the time when I had to speak as an interpreter was very precious, which was often used to supplement my notes and I was reluctant to draw the ending line. Later, I simply postponed this program until I finished translating it. Since the time from my end to the speaker's start is within my control, I will draw a line at the end and then signal the speaker to continue. In addition, I don't think the lines are clear enough. Now I change them into circles and horizontal lines. Finally, talk about the equipment needed. It is recommended that you use a notebook with a loose-leaf ring. The loose-leaf ring can be easily turned back and forth. The size of the notebook depends on your comfort. I like to use A5 made in England. Lying on my slap is neither too big nor too small, just right. It's just that these books designed for shorthand in Britain are printed with bars. Blank pages are more ideal. Remember a page, turn over a page. After the speaker shut up, he grabbed all the ground and turned it back. As soon as the joke started, my eyes fell. Then, translate a page and turn over a page. After translating this paragraph, press the pages in your hand. This is equivalent to clearly separating the turned notes from the next paragraph with the palm of your hand. This is very important.