Left-Hand Margin

The way in which ideas are connected to each other is as important as the ideas themselves. In terms of meaning, idea is a single unit. It is only when they are linked together that a complete message is formed. Thus the crucial role of the links between ideas is never denied. As mentioned above, one of the most major elements that must be reflected in notes is the link. In other words, the interpreter when taking notes cannot afford to ignore “link words”, for instance: therefore, consequently, nevertheless, as a result, on the other hand, however, but, or, and, yet etc.

There is already diagonal layout for ideas to be put in logical order; then there should be some spaces “dedicated to” the links only. It is best to leave a left-hand margin of one or two centimetres for links to make sure that they are not confused with the other parts in notes. Obviously left-hand margin will make links stand out and easy to identify. That is the reason why a left-hand margin is frequently found in the notes of professional consecutive interpreters. Furthermore, a left-hand column is ideal for marking missing ideas or denoting any change in the flow of speech. The following example extracted from Conference Interpreting Explained written by R. Jones [43:47] shows how successfully left-hand margin works.

e.g.: “Hungary has complained that its steel exports to the European Union are not able to develop because of excessively restrictive tariff quotas. But the Union representative pointed out that quotas are still underused by Hungary by a large margin, so the tariff quotas themselves didn’t appear to be creating the difficulties” could be noted:

HU	steel export cannot develop to EU
because	tariff quotas too restrictive
but EU :	HU Underused a lot quotas
so	quotas not problem

The example is purely given to show the function of left-hand margin; hence it has not been abbreviated and symbolized. However, as a matter of fact, because of frequent appearance of link words in notes, it is prudent to have a system of symbols for them. Some symbols for link words are given in subsection How to note of this investigation.

Thus, many of experienced interpreters use a margin on the left hand side of the page when taking notes in consecutive. Be it real or virtual, a margin can be a very useful part of note-taking technique.

Why should we use a margin during taking notes?

There are at lest two answers to this question:

1) when reading, your eyes automatically come back to the left hand side of page to start next idea (a la typewriter);

2) clarity – words in margin stand out and meet eye.

As Jean-Francois Rozan says, the first rule of consecutive interpreting is that the real work must already have been done when you start reading back your notes: the text, its meaning and the links within it, must have been perfectly understood.

Now, let us finalize, what do we note in the margin?

a) First of all, links, as was mentioned above. The table below represents a note-pad onto which we have drawn a margin near the left-hand side of the page (and a horizontal line across the page after the “idea”, with the purpose of splitting it from the other ideas). Links are noted on same level on the page as the Subject, for example:

cos	USA decided stop exports

b) Contrasting the actions of two subjects

....the EU is doing this, the US is doing that....

EU	doing ………..
US	doing ………..

c) Structural markers:

- Paragraphs (§);

- list numbering (1 …… 2 ……);

- digressions({ …});

- question marks (? );

1.	………..
2.	………..

- dates;

- anything important;

By the way, the margin does not have to be real. Some interpreters actually draw a line (before the meeting starts) on every page; others simply imagine it but note the elements above on the left. Some interpreters circle these elements to highlight their importance.

According to Jones, the left-hand margin can be used for noting two important elements in a speech: links between ideas and points of view. Logically speaking, a link will fall outside the subject-verb-object presentation and should thus have a separate place on the page, but a place that makes them easy to find and does not confuse them with the subject of the sentence. The most appropriate place is the left-hand margin since following the diagonal layout by the interpreter will force him/her to go from left to right when starting a new idea. Points of view can also be placed on the left-hand margin to stand out clearly and be picked up easily by the interpreter. [43: 50-53]

It is worth mentioning here, however, that some of the suggestions in the two principles mentioned above can only apply to some, not all languages as Jones himself acknowledges [43: 50] for in addition to the fact that some languages, such as Arabic, use the right-to-left system of writing, there is the problem of word order. For example, Arabic uses the verb-subject-object structure. The problem of word order is found even in western languages which use the left-to-right system such as German with its verb-last structure.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Vertical (Diagonal) Layout	\|	When to Note

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