The strategy for training in cursive writing in military interpretation

Abstract

This article deals with the strategy for cursive writing training mechanisms in military verbal interpreting work. The authors give a definition of military interpreting work and a brief description of its characteristics. The article analyses the definition of interpreter’s notation and its specificities in terms of military interpreting. The analysis leads to the conclusion that interpreter’s notation improves the quality of interpreting in terms of highlighting the core of the original message, which is essential for both an efficient and fast note-taking of incoming information and interpreting itself, as well as in terms of reducing the memory workload. Many consecutive interpreters use various interpreter`s notation elements in their work, and each of them has their own special writing techniques. Although there are many guidelines available, each specialist develops a personal algorithm. Emphasis is placed on the fact that interpreter`s notation is one of the forms of speech eff orts economy, and by learning of interpreter`s notation methods, any military interpreter simultaneously explores and adapts to speech economy of local dialects, as s/he traces over the incoming information from native speakers. The aim of this article is to review the most common strategies for teaching note-taking in military interpreting, to point out their disadvantages and to propose an original system of procedures and instructions aimed at improving the interpreter’s notation skills. The theoretical significance of the problems reviewed in the article lies in the development and application input of the proposed various models of private notes abbreviations, substitutions and signs in the Russian, Arabic and English languages. The conclusions drawn in the article can be applied in the drafting of lecture courses and practical classes in training Arabic and English military interpreters, as well as in researching the speech eff orts economy principle put into practice by foreign language speakers. This study for the first time attempts to improve the effectiveness of note-taking instruction in military interpreting by applying fundamentally new patterns of exercises developed by the authors during their special interpreting activities in the Middle East.

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