Destabilizing factors in simultaneous interpreting (using the example of oral syntactic features in speeches delivered by French politicians)

Zigmantovich Dar'ya Sergeevna PhD in Philology Senior Lecturer; Faculty of Higher School of Translation; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p. 51, --- dashazigmantovich@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

Simultaneous interpretation (hereinafter – USP) is one of the most difficult types of cognitive and communicative activity. It is distinguished from other types of translation by a number of factors: a high rate of perception, processing and reproduction of incoming information; simultaneous perception of speech in the original language and generation of speech in the target language; the one-time nature of the presentation of the original; limited volume of processed data; work in conditions of time shortage and in the presence of stressful factors.

Mediation of simultaneous interpreters is necessary today in the course of multilingual communication at various events: conferences, summits, forums, round tables, exhibitions, etc. At the same time, there are no restrictions in terms of the subject matter in relation to which translation is required. This can be military affairs, politics, healthcare, court case, cinematography, science and education, trade, etc. From the first days of its existence, simultaneous interpretation has been in demand precisely in the field of international politics: the first courses on the introduction of USP into the activities of international institutions were opened at the International Labour Organization in 1928 ^{[1, pp. 140-143]}; the first relevant large-scale experiments concerned issues of politics, peace, security and diplomacy ^{[2, p. 172; 3, p. 21]} (in particular, we are talking about the Nuremberg trials in 1939-1945). The existence of a political agenda, as well as the fact that simultaneous interpreters turn out to be the main actors of interlanguage mediation and provide oral communication in the field of politics in a situation of multilingualism, determine the importance of studying the factors influencing the USP, its features and mechanisms through the prism of political discourse.

The experiments conducted, as well as the practice of simultaneous interpretation itself, have shown that there are elements of a destabilizing nature in the speeches of politicians that influence the handling of information in the translation process ^{[4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9]}.

Destabilizing factors in simultaneous interpretation

In simultaneous interpretation, a crucial role for the process and result of translation is played by "communication participants using signs" ^{[8, p. 238]}. It should be noted that the elements of the USP as a "systemic intellectual activity of a person" are connected with each other by systemic relations. The work of simultaneous interpreters, as direct participants in this system, is influenced by a number of external factors: informational, psychological, technological, historical, economic, ethical, aesthetic, etc. ^{[11, pp. 18-19]}. Speakers and the peculiarities of their speech also have a significant impact on the process, result and quality of translation. The factors that can destabilize the translator's activity, in particular, include: prosodic features of speech; syntactic features of speech; lexical and stylistic features of speech; personal attitude to the topic; circumstances of the speech.

Let's turn to the definition of the concept of "destabilizing factor". A destabilizing factor is an element of the present situation that disrupts the steady course of a process or phenomenon ^{[12, p. 254]}. With regard to simultaneous interpretation, destabilizing factors in the form of the presence of individual prosodic, syntactic, and lexico-stylistic features in political speeches affect the handling of information in the process of translation and determine the translatability/ untranslatability of these speeches.

In this study, the author will show how the individual syntactic features inherent in the speeches of French-speaking politicians can destabilize (complicate) or optimize (facilitate) the work with information in the implementation of the USP. To achieve this goal, we have analyzed the syntactic features characteristic of the speeches of French speakers.

Syntactic features of speakers' speech as a destabilizing factor in simultaneous interpretation

Working with the syntactic features of the speeches of certain speakers often underlies systems of exercises aimed at practicing, improving and automating the skills of simultaneous interpretation ^{[13; 14; 15; 16, etc.]}. The didactics of interpretation is actively developing today and is complemented by various kinds of theoretical and practical research.

The definition of syntactic features of speech inherent in certain speakers – rows of homogeneous sentence members, introductory words, participial and adverbial phrases, simple and/or complex syntactic constructions, repetitions, rhetorical questions, etc. – helps in identifying communicative parameters characteristic of speakers ^[17].

The research was carried out on the basis of speeches by two French politicians – presidents of the French Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) and Francois Hollande (2012-2017).

As a result of the analysis, it was found that both politicians use a large number of complex sentences in their speeches: these are mainly complex sentences with various connections (concessions, goals, consequences, causes, etc.) with such unions as que, qui, parce que, car and pour que. Together with these conjunctions, in the vast majority of cases, such verbs are used, such as cgoige, être convaincu, (vouloir, devoir) dire, savoir, falloir, souhaiter, penser, voir, considérer, démontrer, évoquer, regretter, rappeler, être conscious, affirme r and others.

The speeches of French speakers are characterized by an anaphoric repetition of "individual words and phrases at the beginning of several relatively independent segments of speech" ^{[18, p. 110]}, which sets the necessary emotional background, which is very important in political discourse to properly influence the opinion of the audience and to form the desired attitude to the problem described in the speech. To significantly save time, simultaneous interpreters can resort to speech compression, reducing the volume of text in the target language by compressing duplicate elements of the speech chain and without losing the semantic content of the original, and thereby ensuring the maximum possible completeness and accuracy of translation ^{[19, p. 37; 20, p. 6; 5; 21; 6, p. 83]}. However, sometimes, if the translation situation itself requires it, the translator must translate the construction as many times as it was spoken in speech in order to have a relevant impact on the audience.

N. Sarkozy uses anaphoric constructions more often than F. Hollande, and to a greater extent this is true of the speeches that the politician made when addressing the United Nations General Assembly (note that a number of examples were also found in the speech that the politician gave at the university in Dakar):

Several interesting examples of anaphoric constructions were also found in F. Hollande's speeches, and this mainly refers to appeals to the United Nations General Assembly:

In the first of the above examples, the speaker shortens the second and third questions, while leaving only the beginning of the phrase.

The next syntactic feature inherent in the speeches of French politicians is a three–part construction - "a syntactic series of three homogeneous members of a sentence or three simple sentences" (see in more detail the dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Philological sciences "Oral political discourse: factors of translatability", 2021). The components of these constructions can either be synonymous (and then simultaneous interpreters can resort to the above-mentioned speech compression and translate only one of the three components), or indirectly or directly referring to the same topic, transmit different meanings (in this case, simultaneous interpreters must translate each of the three components of the structure).

In their speeches, French speakers prefer the first option (to a greater extent F. Hollande) – the components of three-part constructions are synonymous:

N. Sarkozy usually prefers the enumeration of homogeneous members of a sentence (more than three), which are not always connected by a common meaning:

Another feature of French political discourse, which acts as a destabilizing factor in simultaneous interpretation, is the presence of plug-in structures: speakers, without completing the development of an idea, insert another phrase into their speech, which is indirectly related to the main idea. This construction acts as a barrier for a simultaneous interpreter and creates additional difficulties, since there is a "gap" between the beginning and the end of the sentence (see in more detail the dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Philological sciences "Oral political discourse: factors of translatability", 2021).

Plug-in structures were found mainly in F.'s speeches. Hollande:

Conclusions

The syntactic features of the original speech works have a direct impact on the process and result of simultaneous interpretation, on the work of simultaneous interpreters. Unloaded sentences take the load off the translators' memory, and also allow the use of speech compression. In addition, knowledge of the features of speakers' speeches can have an impact on the ability to predict perceived information. The use of "typical" syntax by speakers helps to minimize semantic errors in simultaneous interpretation.

The study of the syntactic features of the speech of the original speech works makes it possible to establish destabilizing factors in the work of translators (which include, for example, plug-in constructions), which is especially important and relevant at the initial stage of mastering the technique of simultaneous interpretation. Along with pauses that do not correspond to the logic of utterance and a high rate of speech, these destabilizing elements can negatively affect the quality and accuracy of translation. Knowledge of syntactic (as well as prosodic and lexico-stylistic) features of speakers' speech is a promising area for further research and makes it possible to develop new exercises, which is very important for optimizing the training of translators for USP as a complex type of cognitive and communicative activity.