DEFINITIONS
Translation – The transference of a written
text from one language to another.
Source Language – The language of the original message, the one being translated “out of”. For example, when a witness answers questions in Spanish, and the interpreter renders them in English, Spanish is the Source Language.
Target Language – The target language is the language into
which the message is being translated. In the above illustration, English is the
Target Language.
Roseann Dueñas González, Victoria F. Vásquez, Holly M.
Mikkelson, Fundamentals of Court Interpretation, Theory, Policy and Practice, p. 296, (c )
1991, Carolina Academic Press.
Simultaneous Interpretation - refers to the technique whereby the interpreter speaks at the same time as the source language speaker. The term "simultaneous" implies that the interpreter is uttering the same message at the same time as the source language speaker, but the word is misleading. In fact, though the interpreter is speaking at the same time as the source, he is lagging behind the speaker at least one unit of thought as he interprets. He is hearing one idea while stating another.
Consecutive Interpretation - refers to the technique whereby the
interpreter waits until the speaker has finished the source language message before
rendering it into the target language. The source language message may last anywhere
from a few seconds to several minutes, and the rate of speed and density of discourse
may vary with each speaker and subject.
*Roseann Dueñas González, Victoria F. Vásquez, Holly M. Mikkelson,
Fundamentals of Court Interpretation, Theory, Policy and Practice, pp. 359, 360 and 379,
(c ) 1991, Carolina Academic Press.