Hello fellow students.
How well do you interpret into your second, or third language?
Just wanted to open up a discussion about "Retour."
"Retour" is French for "return." But in the interpreting world it basically means that you interpreter INTO your foreign language.
Some major institutions around the world require their interpreters to ONLY interpret INTO their native language, under the belief that the end result will be a more "polished" interpretation.
Usually the interpreters that work for the United Nations or the European Commission, speak three languages, AT LEAST. So at that rate, it's no wonder the presumption prevails that you can only give a polished rendition in your native language. Just the the sheer amount of work that must go into the upkeep of 3, 4 and 5 languages is enormous. And if that weren't enough, you must constantly be ready, at a moment's notice, to use any one of those languages to interpreter for presidents and prime ministers who may be discussing everything from nuclear arms chemicals, to the science of water farming, to the use of technology for intelligence purposes.
However, here in the United States, court interpreters are required to interpreter INTO and OUT OF their second language all the time. But then again, when you only speak two languages, generally, it's easier to concentrate on them, nurture them and give them the attention they deserve (you become almost a specialist).
Some experts also feel that when working INTO your native tongue, you're under less stress, you generally think more coherently instead of wondering if you got the grammar correct, or whether your accent is getting in the way, or whether you pronounced the "R" correctly. That infamous "R." It seems no matter what language you speak, that darn "R" is always an obstacle.
So, I would be interested in seeing what all of you think about "retour." Do you feel more comfortable interpreting INTO your native language, or INTO your foreign language?
Here's a direct link if you'd like to read more about the topic.
http://www.jostrans.org/issue06/rev_godijns.pdf
Look forward to you comments.