William Long’s Master Class at the Caspian High School of Interpreting and Translation

Lossless compression, a proper feedback technique and handy shorthand abbreviations – these and other secrets of successful interpreting were discussed at master classes given by Liam Long, a senior interpreter of the Directorate-General for Interpretation of the European Commission, for MA students of the Caspian High School of Interpreting and Translation.
The distinguished guest from Brussels has been sharing his experience with our MA students for several years. At the classes, held on April 2-5, the 1st- and 2nd-year MA students prepared their own speeches, practised consecutive and simultaneous interpretation and received recommendations on improvement of their skills.
Mr. Long assessed the students’ interpretation by 3 main indicators – content, presentation and language. He particularly focused on a feedback technique: it is not only the mistake itself that matters, but also its importance for audience’s perception of the interpretation. The expert gave some tips on an interpretation shorthand technique, noting that each interpreter has his/-her own specific way of taking notes.
“It is necessary to preserve the logic and structure of the original text in your interpretation. The interpreter’s main task is to convey the idea, not the words”, says a senior interpreter of the European Commission. In his opinion, the key element of high-quality interpretation is an ability to analyze speaker’s words and to transform them into simple verbal constructions.
The Directorate-General for Interpretation of the European Commission has been cooperating with the Caspian High School of Interpreting and Translation and contributing to our students’ mastering practical interpretation skills since the School was founded. Classes given by Brussels experts, in particular by Liam Long, have always been a special event for our MA students who anticipate fruitful interaction along with encouragement to further self-development.