Source language delivery speed and simultaneous interpreters’ strategies at the Pan-African Parliament

M.A. (Applied Linguistics)Much research has focused on general strategy use during simultaneous interpreting (SI), while little research has been conducted on how interpreters’ choice of strategies relates to source text (ST) delivery speed (DS). Hence, it is unclear whether interpreters use the same strategies when confronted with fast speech, average speech, and slow speech; or, whether they use different strategies under these three conditions. This research argues that interpreters use specific strategies to cope with the different ST delivery speed during simultaneous interpreting within the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). The PAP consists of delegates from African countries with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In order to facilitate communication in this multilingual setting, the PAP has adopted six official working languages. However, the latter still do not resolve institutional communication barriers; hence the need for such services as simultaneous interpreting. The PAP is situated in Midrand, South Africa, and plays an important role in African politics. It offers SI in English and French. Nevertheless, no previous studies on simultaneous interpreting have been conducted at the PAP. Thus, through empirical research based on primary data consisting of recordings of simultaneous interpreting in French and English at the PAP, this study examines interpreters’ use of strategies. The main focus of the study is the strategies for fast, average, and slow delivery speed identified by Gile (1995), during actual interpreting at the PAP The study categorises these interpreting strategies into meaning-based (lexical dissimilarity) or form-based (lexical similarity) and indicates those that are more appropriate for each DS during SI. By differentiating the various strategies used by interpreters to deal with all three ST delivery speeds, this study creates an awareness about and clarifies how certain interpreting conditions, such as speed, affect interpreters’ coping tactics. In particular, the study demonstrates that the faster the speed, the more form-based (FB) the strategies will be; and, the slower the speed, the more interpreters will resort to meaning-based (MB) strategies. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that strategies that lead to meaning-based interpreting are more successful than the others which lead to a form-based interpreting