EXERCISES FOR SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION PREPARATION BASED ON BOOKS BY ANDREY FALALEEV AND ALENA MALOFEEVA

ABSTRACT

A. Falaleev together with A. Malofeeva compares the system of simultaneous interpretation training to a martial art. It sets the motivation for the battle - for yourself, for your position in the profession. Andrey places a great deal of emphasis on self-work since he views it as the primary requirement for producing high-quality simultaneous interpretations. This article contains exercises for self-preparation of simultaneous translation based on different books by A. Falaleev and A. Malofeeva.

Keywords: simultaneous interpretation, exercises, preparation, practice.

Andrey Falaleev is a practicing simultaneous interpreter and a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters. [6] A. Falaleev considers himself a coach. According to him, the coaching philosophy is based on certain rules which are introduced in his books.[1] Together with his wife, Alena Malofeeva, A. Falaleev published training manuals on simultaneous interpreting that are widely used around the world.

Firstly, to give you some clue about the works of A. Falaleev and A. Malofeeva, I would like to mention the appeal to the reader written by Irina Alekseeva - Director of the St. Petersburg Higher School of Translation. I agree with her opinion claiming that Andrey and Alena are magicians who allow us to plunge into the world of interpreting without making us feel like strangers in this world. Their works convey authentic linguistic material verified by experience. From the very first pages of their books, we learn the rules and laws of a certain game called "interpreting". [5, p.4-5] Falaleev's system is based on an abundance of training material, which is provided in this article. [6]

The first exercise I would like to mention is called «А значит». This exercise demonstrates that in simultaneous translation we don’t translate just words separately but situations. In other words, we cannot translate “Please keep your shoes on” as «Пожалуйста, оставьте обувь на своих ногах». It would sound unnatural to a Russian native speaker. We should try to see the situation from the other side (Russian in our case): If you can keep your shoes on, you, therefore, do not have to take your shoes off. Here you ask yourself «А значит» and the answer is «Просьба не снимать обувь». It’s a very good tool for analyzing the source text and giving the same expression to the target audience. This exercise trains you to avoid the literal translation of separate words and helps you to convey them more naturally. Here some other examples: I hope he did not misbehave - Надеюсь, он вел себя хорошо; It was the first time this question came up - Раньше подобный вопрос не возникал; The case is still open - Расследование еще не закончено [5, p.11-13]

The next exercise is called «Три-один-два». This exercise consists of collocations of three words and the scheme is connected to the word order. Look at this example: remote control system = система дистанционного управления. When translating these word combinations into Russian, we skip the first two words, translate the third word, then the first, and then the second. To start developing automaticity in this skill, the most crucial aspect of this practice is learning to translate three words in precisely this order. You will eventually be able to identify this structure and react to it right away. [4, p. 6-8]

Next and the last exercise is called «Икс-один». Brevity, fluency, and clarity are important criteria in simultaneous translation. Often phrases or word combinations in English can be translated into Russian with one word that accurately conveys the meaning. And sometimes this is the only solution. Look at these examples: white button mushrooms - шампиньоны; temporary leave of absence – отгул; running shoes – кроссовки; bowling pins - кегли. All of the rules remain the same: dig into the meaning of the English word combination, "take out" this meaning - otherwise, you'll receive a word substitution rather than a translation - and transmit it in Russian with only one word. [2, p. 33-35] [4, p. 6-7]

Simultaneous translation is one of the most complex types of translation and therefore requires strong preparation. In the books I have listed in the references, you can find a large number of other different and useful exercises for self-training in simultaneous interpretation.

References:

1. Андрей Фалалеев. Основные принципы синхронного перевода. "Косинус Пи 2020" https://youtu.be/vWMJxE_xwCU?si=W2oKu0esBei-EGC9
2. А. Фалалеев, А. Малофеева. Ваза династии Мин. — СПб.: Перспектива, 2018. — 176 с. (Серия «Высшая школа перевода»)
3. А. Фалалеев, А. Малофеева. Вертолет береговой охраны. — СПб.: Перспектива, Юникс, 2015. — 192 с. (Серия «Высшая школа перевода»)
4. А. Фалалеев, А. Малофеева. Глазунья. — СПб.: Перспектива, 2020. — 176 с. (Серия «Высшая школа перевода»)
5. А. Фалалеев, А. Малофеева. Зеленое яблоко. — СПб.: Перспектива, 2014. — 187 с. (Серия “Высшая школа перевода”)
6. Акимканова Кундуз. Специфика преподавания синхронного перевода. Ala-Too Academic Studies №2, 2022
7. Фалалеев, Андрей Геркуриевич — Википедия. (n.d.-c).