Exploring the Applicability and Feasibility of Note-Taking in English-Arabic Simultaneous Interpreting

The present study aims to investigate the applicability and feasibility of note-taking in English-Arabic simultaneous interpreting. Thus, this research aims to answer two questions. Firstly, can interpreters employ the strategy of note-taking while they conduct simultaneous interpreting from English into Arabic? Secondly, is note-taking strategy feasible in case it is employed in simultaneous interpreting from English into Arabic? The researchers employed a qualitative analytical approach to achieve the objectives of the present study. As such, the researchers utilized two research instruments: a simultaneous interpreting test, and a questionnaire. A mixed research method is adopted with the analysis of the notes and the data of the questionnaire with twenty participants, who’s major is translation and interpreting at Wasit University of Iraq. Specifically, both descriptive data analysis and correlation analysis are used for quantitative data, and thematic analysis aims to better describe qualitative data. The findings of the study reveal that the strategy of note-taking is inapplicable to English-Arabic simultaneous interpreting. Moreover, the data analysis shows that the inability of applying the strategy of note-taking in English-Arabic simultaneous interpreting arises as a result of four main reasons; the time space allowed for the interpreter to do the interpreting is very limited, the interpreters may miss key information when they take notes, speeches may include inconsistent abbreviations, which confuses the interpreter and may lead to misinterpreting, and the fact that note-taking may distract the interpreter as he/she is supposed to be fully focusing on listening, processing the source language, and producing the target language utterances. In light of the above findings, the researchers presented many helpful recommendations for English-Arabic interpreters in terms of note-taking in simultaneous interpreting, including looking for appropriate alternatives to assist them other than resorting to note-taking.