Simultaneous Interpretation: A Hypothetical Model and its Practical Application

Research on simultaneous interpretation (SI) may be said to be in what Kuhn (1970) described as the pre-paradigm stage. According to Kuhn the invention of different models is one of the characteristics of such a period, since more than one theoretical construction can always be placed upon a given collection of data. Empirical research to date has been well reviewed by Gerver (1976), whose model of SI attempts to account for the data so far collected. The presentation of another model of SI may thus be seen as one of the consequences of the varied nature of research during the pre-paradigm period, since no model ever solves all the problems it defines and no two models leave all the same problems unsolved. Therefore, models need not even be in conflict with each other. As each of them usually emphasizes different aspects of the problem under investigation, they may potentially even complement each other. The tentative description of SI offered in this paper should thus be regarded as only one of a host of possible alternatives. My training and on-the-job experience as an interpreter may very well have prevented me from seeing and integrating various important aspects of the process into this model, a fact for which I would like to apologize in advance.