Reconsideration of the Lecture Methods of Korean

Reconsideration of the Lecture Methods of KoreanJapanese Interpretation and Translation
– Focusing on field experience –
KIM, Chul-soo
Ewha Womans University
Abstract/ Résumé
La grande majorit des experts interprtes ou traducteurs affirmentque la meilleure mthode
d’interprtation ou de traduction est de reproduire la langue d’arrive quivalente, tout en
considrant la fois les lements liguistiques et extraliguistiques de la langue de dpart. C’est
dans ce contexte, appuye sur des tudes permettant d’amliorer les comptences linguistiques et
extralinguistiques, que l’cole suprieure d’interprtariat et de traduction donnera alors aux
tudiants une vritable formation professionnelle. La ralit n’est cependant pas si simple.
D’abord, la dure limite des tudes posera un problme pour ce qui est de l’approfondissement
des connaissances sur les langues trangres de spcialit. Deuximement, afin d’amliorer les
comptences extraliguistiques des tudiants, il faut non seulement une pdagogie adquate mais
aussi la comptence des professeurs. Par ailleurs, quand bien mme les tudiants possderaient
les comptences linguistiques et extralinguistiques, ils ne pourraient pas s’adapter aux
demandes du march de l’interprtation et de la traduction. Par consquent, il est ncessaire de
trouver une nouvelle mthodologie pdagogique pour l’cole suprieure d’interprtariat et de
traduction. Tout d’abord, la mthode existante, qui consiste relever et rsoudre les problmes
d’interprtation et de traduction propres chaque tudiant, doit tre approfondie. De plus, il faut
souligner l’importance d’une certaine sensibilit que le march professionnel attend des
experts. Dans cette thse, je dvelopperai donc 1) les problmes de la pdagogie actuelle, comme
ceux rencontrs dans les cours de simulation de l’interprtation 2) l’analyse des difficults
auquelles je me heurte dans mon travail d’interprte 3) la recherche de solutions selon un
outil d’analyse pertinent 4) la ncessit de donner des cours aussi bien thoriques que pratiques
ds la premire anne de l’cole suprieure. Enfin, en m’appuyant sur les manques combler que
les experts connaissent, je chercherai une nouvelle mthodologie. Il est evident qu’un norme
dcalage existe entre les tudiants dans la classe et les professionnels de haut niveau. Pourtant,
en tenant compte du fait que la sensibilitest une cl de l’interprtation et de la traduction,
j’essaierai de surmonter ce dcalage, dmontrant l’effet positif de la pdagogie de l’interprtation
conscutive applique cette sensiblit.
Keywords/ Mot-Clés
level, experience, sense, effort to understand, teaching of consecutive interpretation
I. Introduction: Identification of problems and methods of analysis
1.1 Purpose of study and identification of problems
The ultimate goal of those who are interpreters and translators, or those intending to
pursue the profession, would be to achieve perfect results. More exactly, the goal would
105
be to approach closer to the summit called “perfection.” Furthermore, in actual
interpretation and translation, interpreters and translators may at times feel that they
have conquered the summit and actually achieved results that surpass the “summit.”1 In
learning methods aimed at achieving this goal, the learning effect may vary because of
all kinds of differences in the given environment between the field and the classroom.
The biggest difference may be the atmosphere in the field where the interpreter and
translator is ready to comprehend thoroughly the speaker or writer who desires2 that the
audience or readers perfectly understand what he or she is trying to say. Along with this
difference, in the field there is a sense of tension to provide the best interpretation and
translation service for the audience and readers. In other words, in the field, there is a
sense of tension between the speaker (writer) and the audience (reader) because the
level of interest and professional knowledge is higher. On the other hand, in the
classroom, tension is sometimes lost due to the lack of interest and professional
knowledge. Therefore, evaluations on interpretation and translation results are, in many
cases, confined to superficially pointing out and correcting errors. It may be realistically
difficult to overcome the gap in the level of tension that arises from the difference in the
level of interest and professional knowledge, but it may be possible to increase the
effect of lectures by using improved lecture methods to create a substitute effect for the
sense of tension that exists in the field. Students may also be aware of some tension
when taking part in a lecture, but this study aims to examine the feasibility of
establishing the “authority of a lecture method” that responds to the needs of
“speakers/writers and audience/readers” by building a systematic lecture method based
on accumulated knowledge through experience.
Meanwhile, since the Japanese language has great similarity 3 with the Korean
1
If the interpretation and translation process is not perceived as “translation” between languages
but as “projection” of a certain aspect of the mind or ideas before many diverse elements are
resonated and the entire text of the object of interpretation and translation become verbalized
individually, then, the object and the result of interpretation and translation will form the
“relationship of projecting on each other.” Then interpreters and translators will be free of the socalled “theory of text supremacy” in interpretation and translation. (川本浩嗣・井上健編,
Translated by Lee Hyeon-gi, p. 250-251.)
2
Human beings have the basic desire to make others understand what they say. (D. Seleskovitch,
Translated by Jeong Ho-jeong. p. 46.)
3
As to the similarity of the Korean and Japanese languages, Hong Sa-man (1993) gave a detailed
description from the standpoint of syntax, morphology, lexicology and phonology.
106 Reconsideration of the Lecture Methods of Korean-Japanese Interpretation and Translation