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Danica Seleskovitch on Sound Quality

3/19/2021

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In Danica Seleskovitch's 1968 book "Interpreting for International Conferences" (1978 English translation by Daily and McMillan), she explains why interpreters need good sound: "As soon as [the interpreter] has to make a conscious effort to perceive what is being said, his attention is diverted, his technique upset and he begins to give a literal translation instead of re-expressing the meaning of the message." 

In addition to the important reminder that we interpret (and "re-express") the message, not the words, we also learn that i
n 1968 what we now call conventional simultaneous interpretation equipment left much to be desired, much like RSI today.

The process by which poor sound undermines interpreting (see also my video: http://bit.ly/DViolet-WhyQuality) is crucial to convincing platforms to up their game and meet ISO sound requirements for simultaneous interpreting.

But this quote should give us pause for another reason: did interpreters like Seleskovitch reject the new technology and go back to doing consecutive exclusively?



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  • Home
  • Be a Top Interpreter
    • Learning to be a Top Interpreter
  • Conference Interpreting Today
  • Contact
  • Save Your Ears
  • Some history
  • References
  • Practice Sessions Link
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