The role of first language as a hindrance in consecutive interpretation

Interpreters are increasingly being called upon to interpret into their first language and into their second language as a matter of course. Interpreters have to deal with a large number of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective processes simultaneously, all of which pose major challenges for the interpreter who must deal with them simultaneously. It is therefore crucial that interpreter training should be as effective as possible and that during their training period, future professional interpreters should develop a series of strategies or tactics that can be used to solve the problems encountered. The findings suggest that interpreters may face different challenges depending on whether they are working from the first language into a second language or vice versa. The use of formulaic phraseologies, which are stored in memory as single lexical units, can facilitate fluent speech production for interpreters, particularly in stressful contexts.

Keywords:

first language , consecutive interpretation , strategies , fluent speech