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Hi, my name is Joe Hernandez. I'm a certified interpreter for the State of California and also for the federal courts. I've been a professional interpreter for over 20 years. Before we get to our consecutive exercises, we are going to go over the rules for consecutive interpreting. Hopefully, you have already printed the text that says "Rules for Consecutive Interpreting," and we're going to go over them together. We have to make sure that we follow each and every one of these rules in order for us to be successful at the oral exam. When we get to the consecutive portion, the consecutive portion gets a lot of people, and that's because it has so many rules that we have to keep track of while we are providing our interpretation. So let's make sure we know them before we get to our consecutive exercise. So please follow along.
Number one: Do not interrupt the speaker. The entire question or the entire answer must be finished before you commence your interpretation. Do not attempt to mentally interpret until you have heard the entire message. So all we're doing number one is listening very attentively to the entire message. Okay, the entire question must be finished, and the entire answer must be finished. We cannot interrupt the speaker. That is rule number one. Don't try to interpret as you hear it. We do that in the simultaneous. Even the consecutive, we take in the entire message first. Okay.
Number two: Do not add anything to the message. No additions of any kind are allowed. So if we receive a message with so many thoughts, when we convey that same message, it has to have the same number of thoughts. We cannot add anything to the message. The message must be identical.
Number three: Do not omit from the message. Do not leave anything that was said out of the interpretation. So if the message has six thoughts, then my interpretation must have six thoughts as well—not three or four or five. So number three: Do not omit from the message. Do not leave anything that was said out of the interpretation.
Let's call it number four: Do not change the message. Do not make changes to the message received. So if I receive a message, then I'm going to interpret that same message with no changes. This is very difficult to do. The only way to get good at this is to practice all the time. Okay, so number four: Do not change the message. It has to be the same message in the other language.
Number five: Use the formal "you." The "tu" form is strictly prohibited. There is always the formal "you." Never say "tu."
Okay, that takes us to number six: Take brief notes—at the consecutive, and only the consecutive. They will provide to you a writing utensil and lots of paper for you to take notes if you wish. The notes don't count for you or against you; they're going to be thrown away when you're done with the exercise. But take advantage, take the piece of paper and the writing utensil, and take notes. And my suggestion is to write down all concrete information, such as names—well, abbreviations of names. We don't have time to write out the whole name. We want to write descriptions like "five foot six, 160 pounds," the colors blue, yellow, green, the numbers like Social Security numbers—five, five, two, two, eighty-five—so that we are able to bring the message back correctly. We need to take those notes for sure. So years—absolutely. In '85, what didn't happen in '86 or '97? So take brief notes. Write down all concrete information, such as names, descriptions, colors, numbers, years, addresses, etc. All that is absolutely concrete. It cannot be the wrong address; it cannot be the wrong apartment number. If that's why you have a pencil and paper.
Okay, number seven: No extraneous noises. Do not make any sound such as "ah," "um," "well," "okay," etc. If the speaker did not say "well," if the speaker did not say "okay," then you cannot either. However, as you can tell, "ah" and "um" are just extraneous noises. You cannot say "well"; you cannot say "okay" unless it was said by the speaker. So no extraneous noises coming from the interpreter.
Number eight: No double interpretations. Provide a one-word interpretation for one word heard. Mark it. You see how you gave yourself two opportunities? It has to be one for one.
Number nine: Maintain the same register of the speaker. In other words, raise or lower your level of sophistication of the language in accordance to what you have heard. If it is a very sophisticated vocabulary, so will the interpretation be at the same sophisticated level. If it is a low-level register, so will my interpretation be at the same low level. So maintain the same register as the speaker.
10. Slowly, clearly, and confidently. He must project professionalism at all times. Absolutely. You are going to be recorded, and you will be interpreting from recordings the entire time you're at the test. You will be recorded. So speak up, speak clearly, and speak confidently.
Okay, that gets us to number 11: If you do not know the interpretation for a word or expression, then make your best educated guess. Absolutely. If you leave it in the same language, you are wrong. If you omit it, you are wrong. So take—or make your best educated guesses in accordance to the text that you're listening to. So number 11: If you do not know the interpretation for a word or expression, make your best educated guess. Absolutely.
Number 12: When an idiomatic expression is utilized, then you must provide the equivalent expression to convey the meaning and not explain the expression. Let me give you an example: "How much did it cost you?" "It was very expensive." That is explaining it; it is not the equivalent expression. The equivalent expression would be "It cost me an arm and a leg." Now we have expression for expression, and that is what is required at the test and in real life interpreting as well. So that takes care of number 12.
Number 13: Interpret all filler words utilized by the speaker. Now, when the speaker says "well," "you know," "okay," they must all be interpreted with equivalent filler words. These are not extraneous noises; these are words, and words are to be interpreted. "Well," "bueno," "you know," "okay," "esta bien"—filler words must be interpreted as well.
14. Remember in what language you heard the source information so that you may go into the correct language when interpreting. So if I hear the message in English, I must remember that I heard it in English so I can go into Spanish. If I hear it in Spanish, I must remember that I heard it in Spanish so that I can go into English. At the test, if you hear it in English and you say it in English, or you hear it in Spanish and you say it in Spanish, the proctor is not going to correct you; they're just going to say "failure to interpret," and you're not going to get any points whatsoever. So keep track of what language you heard the message in so that you may go into the correct language.
Number 15: Remember the gender of all speakers. This is a must when going into Spanish. In English, "he is sick," "she is sick." In Spanish, I must remember. So if we are going from English to Spanish, remembering the gender is absolutely vital. Okay, that is care of 15.
Number 16: Follow the story. It's just one story—one mugging, one robbery, one hold-up. Remember everything that has transpired in the story so that you may provide a better interpretation of upcoming events. It's easy to interpret what's coming up if you can remember what has transpired already. It's just one story. And this includes terms used. In other words, if the speaker says that this happened on a sidewalk and uses the word "banqueta," when you go back to interpret "sidewalk," say "banqueta," do not say "acera." So we're going to leave the terms the same as well. I even write them down so I don't forget.
Number 17: Interpret all profanity. Do not use more bland terms; they're called euphemisms for vulgarisms. Cuss words for cuss words—just as strong, just as obscene or vulgar. It doesn't matter; we will interpret them just the same.
Number 18: Do not do any conversions when answers are provided in pesos or kilos, or you have the 24-hour clock is utilized. Those will be interpreted in just the same fashion and not converted. We do not do any conversions whatsoever. Leave them just the way they are.
Number 19 is very important: You must wait at least two complete seconds before you commence your interpretation. It's two complete seconds—"one one-thousand, and two." We want to make sure that the speaker is not just taking a breath and it's going to continue. Two complete seconds as a minimum we will wait. However, you must begin your interpretation no more than seven seconds after the speaker has finished the question or the answer. That means that you must begin your interpretation no later than seven seconds after the speaker has finished. That doesn't mean that you're going to finish interpretation in seven seconds. All I'm saying is wait two seconds before you commence, but wait no more than seven seconds and then commence your interpretation. That will give us plenty of time to finish within the allotted time. It is a timed exercise—maybe 20 to 22 minutes. Make sure you ask the proctor how much time you have. If you go abide by this window, you will—you will be finishing very comfortably within that time. So wait at least two seconds but no more than seven seconds.
Number 20: You may ask for repetitions. You will state, "May the interpreter have a repetition, please?" We refer to ourselves in the third person. So say, "May the interpreter have a repetition, please," and the question or the answer will be repeated. In California, for the consecutive portion, you are allowed only two repetitions during the—doing this may be different. So make sure you ask the proctor how many repetitions you will be allowed.
Number 21: No Spanglish is allowed. You may not say, when in English you heard, "We went to the market in our pickup." This is called Spanglish; it is absolutely prohibited. You must remain in Spanish the entire time that you're interpreting into Spanish. The Spanish has to be 100% authentic, genuine, and real Spanish. When you go into English, there has to be 100% authentic, genuine, and real English. We cannot mix the languages up whatsoever. Spanglish is strictly prohibited.
Number 22: Concentrate 100%, visualize the message, and sound self-assured and poised. All they have to base themselves on to give you your license is how you perform on that day. So we are going to sound self-assured, poised, and very professional. Okay, so keep in mind all of these rules when we do the consecutive exercise. So I will see you at the consecutive exercise. For joining us, see you in a little bit. [Music] Thank you. [Music] Thank you. [Music]