Knowledge

The analysis indicates that it is necessary for conference interpreters to have excellent linguistic skills; nevertheless, even for individuals who have both working languages as their mother tongue, conference interpreting might still be a task that is extremely challenging. As the news anchor pointed out in All Walks of Life-

Interpreter, “It takes more than proficient English to be a professional interpreter.

Chinese ability and background knowledge are important as well²⁶” (USTV, 2016).

Other than linguistic skills, knowledge is one of the most critical elements of conference interpreting because conference interpreters must be equipped with

background knowledge to capture the meaning of the messages. This is also supported by an article shared by Meet the Translator on Mar. 28^th 2016, which enlightens readers on how to work with interpreters in an international online interview for a customer satisfaction survey, and one of the suggestions is that “Interpreting is not just paraphrasing what researchers say in another language. The more the interpreter understand the research, the more precise the interpretation will be²⁷” (Chen, 2015).

26 其實要成為專業的口譯人員，可不是只有英文好就可以，中文造詣和專業產業知識都不可以 少。

27 千萬不要覺得口譯只要聽得懂研究員在講什麼照翻便是，口譯越了解研究內容，就越能提升

As a result, one should provide as much related information and knowledge as possible for conference interpreters to enhance the accuracy of interpretation.

Through analysis, it could be observed that insiders-general believe that

knowledge could be divided into general knowledge and field knowledge as shown in the following post by Nai-Yu Ker on her Facebook page on July 4^th 2016. Ker posted a public letter to a high school student who asked her which department he/she should apply for to become a conference interpreter in the long run. Ker encouraged this student to apply for other majors rather than English: “English ability is a must, but other abilities are even more important. Interpreters will not only deal with languages, but all kinds of knowledge. To stand out among other interpreters, you must also possess professional knowledge in other fields²⁸” (Ker, 2011). Clearly, knowledge is one of the pillars of expertise of conference interpreting, and includes general knowledge and field knowledge. In fact, general and field knowledge are closely interconnected and cannot be easily separated, but to facilitate discussion here, the following part analyzes knowledge in the following order: general knowledge, field knowledge, and the interconnectedness.

General knowledge

Insiders-general are aware that conference interpreting is often associated with

28 英文能力是必須，但更重要的是其他的能力。將來成為譯者，你會接觸到的文本豈只跟語言 有關，而是上及天文下通地理。在眾多競爭對手中想要脫穎而出，關鍵在於你是否具備其他領域

obscure technical knowledge, whereas general knowledge might be neglected. The truth is general knowledge might possess as much significance as linguistic skills for conference interpreters; in other words, conference interpreters must be generalists.

General knowledge serves as the foundation on which conference interpreters build up field knowledge. Anyone with outstanding linguistic skills yet lacking a strong base of general knowledge might fail to carry out the task of conference interpreting due to lack of knowledge. A strong base of general knowledge would effectively allow the interpreter to decrease the probability of being uninformed when

interpreting for a speaker. Amy Chiang said in the preface of her book, “Working as an interpreter, I have to acquire knowledge in other fields. I often force myself to read or browse through all types of books, so I may understand knowledge in other

subjects other than liberal arts, the subject I majored in²⁹” (Chiang, 2016). Michelle Wu also pointed out that “Interpreters are always hungry for knowledge and new information. We are constantly breaking the barriers between different professions (and they are indeed difficult to break)³⁰.” This feature of conference interpreting has helped conference interpreters learn persistently and become active learners: “lifelong learning is all the rage now, but we interpreters have already been learning throughout

29 因為口譯，我必須涉獵各種領域的知識，強迫自己廣博閱讀群書，不論瀏覽或精讀，文科畢 業的我因而得以一窺各門學科的堂奧。

30 口譯員永遠處於資訊焦慮的狀態，不斷在追求新知，探索新的知識領域，爬過一座又一座的

our lives³¹” (Wu, 2016).

Damien Fan also described the life of an active learner in the Professional Interpreters Got Highly Paid for Speaking interview: “'Even when I am shopping, I study the ingredients of a toothpaste,' said Fan. If our brains were databases, we should store as much information as we can every day. In addition to professional field knowledge, interpreters should also understand the cultural background, humor and even mythologies of different countries. In other words, all kinds of knowledge help. The more, the better³²” (Du, Fan, & Huang, 2007). It may be seen that, being active learners, conference interpreters learn everything everywhere anytime, not limited to professional field knowledge. With that being said, conference interpreters might be a group of strategic active learners who absorb knowledge mainly from key fields that are often discussed in conferences. On Howard Interprets, Howard Chien shared an article on Jan. 17^th 2017. The article is titled “10 Ways to Prepare – How to Prepare for Life as a Translation, Interpretation, and Localization Management

Student,” which was originally published on the website of the Middlebury Institute

of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), an outstanding conference interpreting training institution in the US. The third way suggested is to “Strengthen your general

31 現在大家都在談終身學習，口譯員是最名副其實的終身學習者。

32 「我是個連逛街時都會去看牙膏背後成分的人」范家銘說。如果腦袋是一個資料庫，平日就 要勤於儲存，對於知識「廣度」的增加除了專業知識以外，各國文化的背景、幽默方式甚至神話

knowledge of economics, history, the law, international politics, and scientific concepts and principles (in that order),” reflecting that general knowledge serves as necessary foundation for conference interpreters when they have to research field knowledge for interpreting assignments in a short period of time.

Field knowledge

Insiders-general revealed that, working in all types of professional conferences, conference interpreters must be equipped with professional field knowledge, and this is one of the factors that make conference interpreting extremely challenging. Fan was quoted explaining why conference interpreting is a stressful job in the Prepare

Yourself to Work as a Language Specialist interview: “The greatest stress comes

during the preparation process. [...] 'You may be the one who understands the issue least in the conference.'³³” (Chang & Fan, 2009). Michelle Wu echoed that, “It takes interpreters several days to prepare for a meeting that last only for a day. We have to study papers, consult professionals or experts, memorize special terms, and so on³⁴” (Wu, 2016). Wu also shared a photo of her interpreting booth where she posted all the glossaries she had prepared before an interpreting assignment on the glass (Fig. 3). In this light, Wu said, it might be hard to conclude whether the wage rate for conference

interpreting is high enough.

33 他認為最大的壓力，在於之前的準備 […] 「你可能是全場那個最不了解這個議題的人」。

Figure 3. Interpreting booth posted with glossaries. This figure illustrates

conference interpreters’ preparation.

As Michelle Wu pointed out, conference interpreters tend to spend great amount of time to prepare and research for a conference so that they can fully understand the speeches and make sure their interpretations make sense in professionals’ ears. Amy Chiang shared her preparation and research process in a supermarket for an

interpreting assignment about cookies: “I tried to memorize those terms, again and again. It reminded me of the time when I was preparing for the Entrance Exam. I tried my best to memorize the names of the brands, goods and ingredients, so I could make a glossary about cookies³⁵” (Chiang, 2012, p.115-116). The above quotes reflect that conference interpreters must study field knowledge extremely hard for any single interpreting assignment, and be active learners who absorb all types of general knowledge all the time, just as Amy Chiang described “In the short term, an interpreter, after getting a case, has to prepare as much as possible according to the

35 我拼命背啊背！有如重溫過去準備大學聯考時絞盡腦汁的背書功夫，盡力把所有廠牌、品名

theme of the meeting. However, in the long term, interpreters have to read a lot every day, absorbing knowledge like a sponge³⁶” (p.147). However, it is worth pointing out that general knowledge and field knowledge are highly connected for conference interpreters as described by Nai-Yu Ker,

I've had the opportunity this year to participate as an interpreter in several Industry

4.0 and robotics related conferences. Materials for these conferences all came last

minute, leaving us very little time to prepare, and we were literally still jotting

down terminology that came out of nowhere and anything else we finally

understood as the speaker gave the presentation. With a little time on my hand, I

located all scattered sheets, looked up the concepts I vaguely understood, and

compiled them all into my glossary.

Industry 4.0 is the going trend, so is robotics. By finishing the preparation

post-conference, I'm now better prepared for the next.” (Ker, 2011, Sep. 20^th 2016) In sum, conference interpreters represent themselves as professionals who learn persistently all the time to enrich their general knowledge, cram in field knowledge when hired by a conference organizer, and then adjust their scope of active learning according to their work experience.

36 接到案子之後針對主題盡量準備，屬於短期的努力；長期而言，口譯員平日就得培養大量閱