Semiotics of note-taking in consecutive interpreting

Abstract

The present thesis focuses on semiotic aspects of note-taking in consecutive interpreting, in particular with respect to the process of semiosis and factors influencing the interpreters' conception of their notes. Chapter 1 mentions the basic features of note-taking in order to trace its semiotic characteristics in the following parts of the thesis. In Chapter 2, the notes as a specific semiotic system are briefly discussed within the framework of the second Peircean trichotomy of signs (cases of iconicity, indexicality and symbolicity are demonstrated) and in terms of their function, productivity and spatial settings. After these general considerations, Chapter 3 introduces the main theoretical approaches to the technique of note-taking (principally those of the Geneva and Heidelberg schools) including the issues of the languages involved in interpreting or the nature of signs. As the accent is on the process of semiosis (apprehension of signs by interpreters, generating signs according to the meaning of the speech and searching for the motivation for the interpreters' concrete choices of signs and their form), the chapter lists some basic signs and methods well- tested by practitioners. The signs are also analysed in terms of their origin and possibilities of expansion (composition, derivation..