Language of the Notes

In order to facilitate the reading of the notes and to improve the speaking, it is preferable to solve all problems of translation while the notes are being taken. For this reason it is best to take notes in the language in which the interpretation will be given. The only normally justified departure from this rule is when the interpreter feels extremely tired. He can then seek comparative rest in a lesser mental tension while the original speech is being delivered. An exception may also be made for such phrases which can be noted much more briefly and easily in one language than in another, and in such cases nothing prevents the interpreter from occasionally using even a third language.

The first point about the notes is that they should be easy to read and therefore as visual as possible. The interpreter cannot afford to hesitate and cogitate before he can decipher them.

The handwriting must therefore be perfectly clear and allow of no ambiguity; all that relates to one idea in the speech should preferably be on the same page, and therefore the size of the page should be sufficiently large, taking account of the type of handwriting, the margins, etc.

It is a well known fact that:

a) The very best stenographers cannot read several lines of their notes at one glance, as can usually be done in longhand; and still more so when many signs and symbols are used. Such global reading is indispensable when a speech has to be abbreviated, duplications removed, etc.

b) It is impossible to correct or supplement a stenogram sufficiently quickly when the speaker modifies what he has said, or to reconstruct a sentence which the speaker has not finished, or to change the grammatical construction en route.

c) Even the very best specialists cannot read the shorthand of a speech at the speed and with the assurance required from an interpreter.

There is no objection, however, to using a small number of shorthand signs as symbols and abbreviations under the conditions mentioned below.