In the interview of CBS Event, simultaneous interpreter Bell Wang talked about his work experience and offered advice from different aspects biased on his knowledge of the profession and the current state of the industry.
Simultaneous interpretation is probably the most difficult kind of translation. “That’s like a conversion of the meaning of the word because of the rearrangement of the the language and the language.And four consecutive interpretive interpretation, the biggest difficulty is your short term memory.” He says, “And of course, what I meant by short term memory. Is your memory plus your note taking skills and your ability to rearrange your note into your speech, so sometimes the speaker can go on and on and on.”
He talks about the impact of the present worldwide epidemic on the industry. “I immediately anticipate it this kind of swung in this industry in this year. And actually what everybody in the industry knew what was going to happen because well with the the quarantine.” This makes it more difficult for today's students to join the industry, even if it is a competent person.
Moreover, his suggestion for everyone to join this career is “get a little bit of hint by taking the exam like the senior interpretation certificate in Shanghai” and “join a university or join a foreign University”. He himself did not go through this way and found it tough, so he adds, “That is the best way because you get the the professional training and you get the resource of your alumna.”
Written by Wendy Jiang on September 23, 2020.
