The language of consecutive interpreters’ notes: Differences across levels of expertise

This paper presents an empirical study of the language of the notes produced by three groups of subjects with different levels of interpreter training and experience (beginner students, advanced students and interpreters) during an experimental consecutive interpreting task from English into Spanish. The variable under study was the note-taking language — source language vs. target language. Analyses of the notational corpus involved the application of quantitative methods so as to obtain data on the language of the notes at different skill acquisition and professional stages. The results show that as the subjects’ expertise level increases, there is a shift from the use of the source language towards the use of the target language. This finding suggests that the expertise level in consecutive interpreting may be a relevant factor in the interpreter’s choice of language. Finally, some conclusions are drawn regarding interpreter training.