Simultaneous interpreting is recognised to be an extremely complex cognitive activity
placing high demands on linguistic abilities, extra-linguistic knowledge and
communication skills of those who perform it.
Specific difficulties identified in literature as the main factors contributing to the
complexity of the interpreters’ task include high information density, especially if
combined with a high speed of talk and/or not well structured utterances, proper names,
figures, culture-bound references, humorous, ironical or highly emotional passages,
unfamiliar accents and pre-prepared speeches read out with no chance for the interpreter
to have access to them.
Simultaneous interpreting for live media ceremonies entails even more difficulties due
to the peculiar features, structure and time constraints of the broadcast event. This study
discusses simultaneous interpreting of two Academy Award Ceremonies – in 2000 and
2010 – focusing on two specific difficulties: proper names and culture-bound references.
The interpreters’ performance is analysed using rendition categories based on the work by
Wadensjö (1998). Results are discussed in the light of previous studies and Relevance
Theory
