A Case Study on Omissions in Chinese-to-English Consecutive Interpreting

Abstract

Based on previous studies on omission in interpretation, this paper first reviews Gill’s multi-task processing model and establishes a theoretical framework on this basis. Through analyzing the recorded text of one student interpreter’s on-site alternating interpretation, it is concluded that there are several types of omission: omissions caused by inadequate knowledge of the translator, omissions caused by misallocation of energy and memory overload, and omissions consciously employed by the translator as an interpretation strategy. It is also found through research that the translated text after consciously omission processing is more focused, clearer, and more conducive to the audience’s acceptance of effective information. Therefore, it is concluded that it is a feasible and desirable strategy to omit non-core information in interpretation to ensure the effective transmission of the speaker’s subject information and to optimize the allocation of the interpreter’s multitasking ability.