Simultaneous Interpreting Output Assessment of Earnings Conference Call: Case Analysis of Tencent 2022 Q3 Result Announcement ()
1. Introduction
1.1. Research Background
With China’s increasing openness to the outside world and international market, many Chinese companies are choosing to be listed in Hong Kong, China or the United States, such as Tencent, Alibaba, JD and so on, to raise capital to drive their growth. Tencent, a major giant of Chinese Internet companies, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004, attracting a lot of foreign investment and growth for its further development. It has a broad business including social communication, financial technology, domestic and international games, music and video entertainment, and so on. The listed companies’ earnings conference calls or global product launches require a large number of simultaneous interpreting services, and interpreters.
Earnings conference call, also referred to as earnings calls, investor calls, or result announcement, all have subtle differences in their purposes. However, the earliest origins of the meeting are found in developed capitalist countries in Europe and the United States. This institutional arrangement primarily pertains to earnings calls that are regularly held by listed companies in Europe and the United States. In developed capital markets like those in Europe and the United States, listed companies’ management, including CFOs, CEOs, and other key business leaders, typically arrange and conduct earnings conference calls on the day of or following the release of quarterly or annual reports. Although all investors are able to access and listen to the conference call, typically only senior analysts and significant institutional investors are provided the chance to ask questions [1] .
This corpus is available on the Tencent Investor Relation web, and is acquired at BiliBili.com by the present author.
1.2. Research Significance
From the perspective of the audience in an interpretating product, the selected corpus is Tencent 2022 third quarter earrings conference call, a large listed Internet company, in which the participants include Tencent’s main executives, analysts, major shareholders, major investment institutions, financial media workers and shareholders, etc. In addition, the interpreting of this kind of subject matter is very popular among the public. In addition, the service population of this kind of interpreting also includes some common stockholders and financial media workers. Being able to obtain accurate simultaneous interpretating of the earnings conference of these large listed companies in the first time is of some significance for common stockholders to stop their losses in time or add bricks and mortar to the holding shares, or for major shareholders to strategize, for large investment institutions to look for new clients, or for small self-media operators to increase their subscriptions.
1.3. Framework of Simultaneous Interpreting Assessment
As indicated from Figure 1, the basic framework is from Lu [2] , who established complete gauging criteria of simultaneous interpreting quality, namely, fidelity, fluency, and accuracy. Each has further classification. In fidelity, it talks about information loss. In fluency, it talks about phenomena like miscue, hesitation, filler, self-repair, repetition, pause affecting fluency and smoothness of the output. In accuracy, it talks about wrong expression in target language and information that missed in target language.
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Figure 1. SI quality measurement criteria by Lu.
After considerable literature review and thoughtful consideration on the interpreting performance of the case Tencent 2022 Q3 Earnings Conference Call, “Fidelity”, “Fluency”, and “Appropriacy” the three parameters are considered suitable to as the perspectives to conduct a descriptive study. Also, the present author adds “Error”, and “Shift” to the “Fidelity”, and combine “Miscue”, “Filler” into “Hesitation” for clear classification and study. Under this framework and the three parameters, all phenomena affecting simultaneous interpreting quality can be detected and marked.
2. Earnings Conference Call
2.1. Definition and Characteristics of Earnings Conference Call
The earrings conference call encompassed an overview, a strategic assessment, a business analysis, a financial evaluation, and a Q & A session, conducted exclusively in English to facilitate the exchange of views and the resolution of doubts. Earnings calls provide a crucial forum for investors to connect with listed companies. Moreover, such calls represent the primary means by which investment institutions and financial media obtain financial information. Simultaneously, holding earnings calls can also bolster investor confidence, attract investment, and enhance the enterprise’s outlook [3] .
The earrings conference call for typically commences with a brief overview of the company’s previous quarter given by the executive team, headed mostly by the CEO. This is followed by analytical presentations covering strategic, operational, and financial segments, delivered by various analysts. A question-and-answer session concludes the day’s proceedings, providing an opportunity to address any inquiries. This format has become standard for companies in China. However, due to differing listing markets, the earnings conference call will utilize different language. For instance, Nio, a Chinese Electric car company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a significant foreign weighting, must conduct its earnings conference call in English. Tencent, the company chosen for this study, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with numerous foreign investors and organizations. Thus, Tencent has always conducted its earnings conference calls in English since its listing.
The primary participants comprised of Tencent’s CEO Pony Ma, President Martin Lau, Chief Strategy Officer James Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer John Lo, and leading analysts. The attendees included significant shareholders, investment firms, financial media, self-publishers, shareholders, and those interested in obtaining financial insights from the occasion.
2.2. Difficulties of Interpreting an Earnings Conference Call
First, the formal and solemn atmosphere at an earnings release conference sets a high standard for the interpreters who work in such environments, often under significant psychological pressure. Company executives, investment analysts, and financial journalists, who are often highly proficient in both languages, have high expectations for the accuracy and fluency of the interpreters’ renditions, as well as their voice modulation, tone, and even professional conduct.
Second, the content of earnings release conferences is highly specialized, involving a wealth of company-specific and financial terminology. Interpreters must be familiar with a wide range of terms related to the internet companies’ operations, financial jargon, and specific proprietary terms pertinent to the business. These include, but are not limited to, acronyms and terms like non-IFRS, APRU, YoY, QoQ, YTD, FCF, CAPEX, OFC, and non-IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders. Additionally, interpreters must deal with industry-specific terms such as DAU, MAU, AAA franchises, SaaS, in-feed ads, F & B, and a multitude of proprietary names related to Tencent’s services.
Third, moreover, earnings conferences are characterized by the frequent mention of figures, which necessitates a high degree of skill in instantaneously converting numbers between Chinese and English. This can be particularly challenging with large numbers, where precision is paramount. Interpreters must have a robust understanding of the subject matter, which includes background knowledge and a strong grasp of relevant terminology in both languages, to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the translation.
Otherwise, errors in translation can lead to serious misunderstandings among the audience regarding the company’s operational performance.
Forth, Publicly-listed companies often utilize earnings release conferences as a significant platform for external communication to promote their new strategies to investors and the media, thereby enhancing market confidence in the company’s future. For example, regarding policies for preventing addiction among minors, interpreters must be thoroughly familiar with the official translations of the company’s significant policies and strictly adhere to the established official wording during live interpretation. This wording is the best version as determined through expert deliberation and should not be improvised. Furthermore, the English expression of the same policy should be consistent across different contexts to avoid giving the audience a negative impression of the company being arbitrary or lax in its management.
3. Literature Review
3.1. Previous Studies on Simultaneous Interpreting Quality Assessment Abroad
The author collects relevant English word “Interpreting Quality Assessment” through Google Scholar to collect literature, and collects foreign research by reading the references of the articles on interpreting quality in core translation journals.
The earliest person who proposed to establish a scale for interpreting quality assessment was Bühler, and the scale he developed contains some criteria such as: adequacy and completeness of information, fluency of expression of the interpreter, logical organization of the interpreter, application of terminology, grammatical accuracy of the original language, status of interpreting voice of the interpreter, interpreter’s style of interpreting, etc. [4] . Later, some scholars conducted user expectations surveys on several groups of interpreter users of different categories. The results of the survey show that the top six “significantly important” items are: semantic consistency with the source language, logic of the translation, accuracy of terminology, completeness of information, fluency of expression, and grammatical correctness [5] .
But at the same time interpreting assessment for different purposes of use should be categorized into different assessment methods. To obtain an assessment of the quality of live interpreting, a relatively complete finished interpreting product is needed; for scientific research purposes, analyzing in a language laboratory, precise measurements are needed; in teaching and training, the need to check the level of interpreting of students in a foreign language school, evaluative judgments need to be made once the interpreting has been completed [6] .
The demand for conference interpreting and community interpreting in Europe has increased considerably, and the quality of interpreting should be viewed from a relative quality perspective, as interpreting is not only a “product” but also a “service”, so its quality should be assessed according to different occasions and contexts [7] . Interpreting is not only a “product” but also a “service”.) Interpreting as a product, the target discourse has to be evaluated on three levels: the inter-discourse level, the intra-discourse level, and the instrumental level of the interpreting service [8] . In order to grasp the essence of interpreting quality, five key points must be considered, namely: interpreting as a service; interpreting as a cross-linguistic activity; interpreting as an intercultural activity; interpreting as a discursive output activity; and interpreting takes place in a certain communicative situation [9] .
The quality of interpreting is closely related to all parties involved in interpreting activities. If interpreting is regarded as an inter-language communication activity mediated by an interpreter, all parties involved in this communication activity should be taken into consideration when evaluating the quality of interpreting, i.e., conference organizer/client/employer, speaker, audience, and interpreter [10] .
As far as we can see, there are not many foreign articles that systematically explore the theoretical meaning of quality in interpreting, in order to go and test the definition and understanding of quality in different fields and interpreting research and practice, and come to the conclusion that the notion of quality in interpreting is relative, and that it depends on the person who is assessing the quality, and also on the particular context and situation. However, this relativity allows us to set up a set of standards, focusing on the application to interpreter training, practice and interpreting research [11] .
3.2. Previous Studies on Simultaneous Interpreting Quality Assessment at Home
The author uses CiteSpace bibliometric visualization software and CNKI visualization function to make the domestic research under this topic clearer and more thorough. The author collects “interpreting”, “simultaneous interpreting” and “quality” in the advanced search of CNKI, and imports them into CiteSpace software for the visualization and analysis of keywords. The keywords were imported into CiteSpace software for visualization and analysis. Because the author relationship in the new version of CiteSpace cannot display the name of the person, so “author cooperation network” of CNKI.com is used to reflect the author relationship.
As shown from Figure 2, studies on simultaneous interpreting quality assessment starts from the year of 1998, then a rise after entering the 20th century, with a publication increase to 3 articles. In the year of 2010, it reached a peak to 6 articles while a sharp dip two years later. Two years later it again reached a peak of 6 articles again until 2022, though a reasonable drop in 2018.
Domestic research on interpreting quality assessment started relatively late, but there is no lack of scholars like Hu Qingping, Wang Binhua, Cai Xiaohong, Zhang Wei and other scholars who conducted research on the development of
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Figure 2. Study trend of simultaneous interpreting quality assessment at home.
interpreting assessment standards earlier. From 2002 to 2023, the number of domestic interpreting assessment studies has steadily increased, and the research methods and contents have become richer. Among them, there are two major fields: one is the field of examination and testing, and the other is the field of interpreting teaching, around which scholars conduct the development of interpreting assessment scales [12] .
Considering that interpreting is a kind of complex mental labor, interpreting quality assessment is a series of factors to be considered comprehensively. Therefore, it needs to be assessed quantitatively through the interpreting scoring formula, in which the three principles of “faith”, “reach” and “elegance” are proposed, and “faith” is the most important. The most important thing is “faith”. In addition, when scoring, the level of the interpreter and the difficulty of the task should also be taken into consideration, and points should be given or subtracted as appropriate [13] .
Interpretation quality is a difficult criterion to assess, and the quality assessment of simultaneous interpretation is even more so. The assessment method of simultaneous interpreting is mainly a questionnaire survey of users of interpreting products, together with field observation, in addition to which the quality assessment of interpreting should be shifted from subjective to objective. The evaluation of an independent interpreting program should take into account the nature of the interpreting work, the different task requirements, the subjective efforts of the interpreter, the feedback of the speaker and the audience, etc. By evaluating the above factors, it can provide the interpreting quality assessment with parameters that may be comprehensive and objective [14] .
In addition to proposing the construction of an interpreting assessment scale, many scholars also analyze it from real cases. Because how to apply the results of interpreting assessment to practice is the ultimate goal. The three strategies of semantic finiteness, structural parsing, and word simplification are the three conclusions drawn after summarizing the case studies on how to improve the quality of interpreting since the 1980s [15] . Even professional simultaneous interpreters have problems with information errors, linguistic errors, and communicative errors in the process of interpreting, and evaluating and analyzing the translations of professional interpreters is of great significance for simultaneous interpreting learners the user of the interpretation product, i.e.
The audience is one of the most important indicators for the assessment of the quality of interpretation. Data collection for interpreting quality assessment mainly relies on questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire is designed to use Lecter scale five levels of classification, and the statistical analysis of data mainly uses Excel and SPSS software [16] . Early research aimed at finding static quality standards for interpreting, and mainly used survey methods for interpreters or interpreting users to determine assessment criteria and parameters [17] . In recent years, however, the research community has begun to realize the complexity of interpreting assessment, that interpreting quality is a dynamic concept that involves many variables, and that interpreting quality is related to all the participants in the interpreting activity, the on-site working conditions, the interpreting scenario, and even the social and cultural environment. Therefore, the study of interpreting quality and its assessment should use dynamic criteria rather than finding a solution to static interpreting quality standard [18] . Evaluation of interpreting quality varies between different survey respondents such as interpreters and users of interpreting products. Generally speaking, interpreters have higher expectations of interpreting quality than interpreting users, but on special occasions, interpreting users have higher requirements for interpreting quality. For example, in scientific and technological conferences, interpreting users pay more attention to “logical organization” and “professional terminology” than interpreters; in cultural and educational conferences, “fluent expression” and “logical organization” are more important than interpreters. In cultural and educational conferences, the expectations of “fluency of expression” and “logical organization” are higher than those of other types of conferences [19] .
4. Case Analysis on Simultaneous Interpreting
4.1. Case Analysis from the Parameter of Fidelity
As details mentioned by theoretical framework, one of the most important criteria is Fidelity, especially in business and financial setting. The fidelity parts include omission, error and shift. “OMS” for omission, “ER” for error, and “SFT” for shift.
4.1.1. Omission
Omission is one of the phenomena hurting fidelity. Like a speaker said “I miss you so much” while interpreter says “eh…”, which totally missed the information that the speaker what to express. The meaning of “I miss you so much” is omitted from the source language. The underlined parts in source target are information omitted.
Example 1
Source Text (hereinafter is referred to as “ST”): Total revenue was launched 140 billion RMB, down 2% year on year, but up 5% quarter on quarter, growth profit was sixty-two billion RMB down 1% year on year [OMS1], and up 7% quarter on quarter. Non-IFRS operating profit was forty-one billion RMB, flat year and year and up 12% quarter on quarter. Non-IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders was thirty-two billion RMB up 2% year on year [OMS2 + PS] and 15% quarter on quarter.
Target Text (hereinafter is referred to as “TT”): 我们现在是1401亿元这一个季度总收入。那么我们可以看到它是同比是下降2%，那么同比的收入我们可以看到是7%这样的一个，去年的盈利是3%，然后我们可以看到这是整个的每一年，这是每一季度的这样的一个比价，然后我们可以看到从它的，我们可以看到呢就是每一季度的增长是15%。
Example one is the most serious omission case in this interpreting greatly affecting its quality. There are two omissions and one error and pauses in this example. The first one omits the “growth profit… 1% year on year”, and the second omits “Non-IFRS… 2% year on year”. The second omission contains a lot of information like “Non-IFRS operating profit”, “flat year and year”, and “Non-IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders”. Those are all important notions and indexes in the earring conference call. Omission on those numbers and indexes are unacceptable for the audience who are eager to know those figures in clear.
Example 2
ST: For international games, we launched new hits, Tower of Fantasy, and Goddess of Victory: Nikke [OMS1], demonstrating our strong publishing capabilities [OMS2].
TT: 那么国际的这些游戏是包括推动推动我们的幻塔以及还有其他的类似于像和平精英之类的这些游戏。
In this example, there are two omissions, the first omission is “Goddess of Victory: Nikke”, a new game launched by Tencent. This term is omitted by interpreter, probably because of unfamiliarity to this brand-new game. It should be rendered as “胜利女神: Nikke” Here is a suggestion to the interpreter that they should be as much familiar as possible to their employer, and try to update the background knowledge about them, because those updated information has a strong possibility of occurring to your coming interpreting. The second omission “demonstrating our strong publishing capabilities”. These adverbial expresses “Tencent has strong ability in publishing new games”, which is quite important in this sentence.
Example 3
ST: We have recently launched a subscription bundle [OMS1] combining WeCom [OMS2], Tencent Meeting and Tencent Docs together, which is seeing good adoption among larger enterprises. In addition, we are encouraged to see positive signals across the path of micro and regulatory normalization [OMS3].
TT: 我们也会向我们的腾讯会议，还有腾讯的文件，共享文件等等，那这些都是有一个可持续增长的。当然我们还会有一些非常好的消息，那么比如说也会不断的提高我们的收入。
In this example, there are three omissions, “Subscription bundle”, “WeCom” and “across the… regulatory normalization”. “Subscription bundle” is a term specific for internet companies. It refers to bundled membership subscription like Tencent Music and Tencent Video together for 30 yuan a month. “WeCom” is an enterprise edition of WeChat designed for company staff. The final omission contains an background information “micro and regulatory normalization in internet industry” in this sentence, which is quite important. Knowing this background, the audience will get the “positive signals” is made from a negative environment.
4.1.2. Error
Error means the information the speaker wants to convey is misunderstood and then translated as wrong or inequivalent expression. For example “I like playing basketball” into “我喜欢踢足球” (“I like playing football”), “basketball” is wrongly interpreted as “足球” (“football”), which is an error.
Example 4
ST: Additional commerce and municipal service use cases [ER1] contributed to growing the number of users and the daily activation per user [ER2].
TT: 那么其他的一些用户还有一些流量【ER1】，它可以帮助我们用户的一个流畅度【ER2】。
This is a very typical example about error. The first error is “additional commerce… use cases”, and the second is “growing the… per user”. On these two parts, the interpreter made mistakes. The first error should be translated into “额外的商业和市政服务的使用案例” (“additional commercial and municipal service use cases”) which is the reason contributes to “growing the number of…”. There are two terms in the second error, “growing the number of users” and “the daily activation per user”. But the interpreter misinterpreted it as “fluency of users”. The terms should be translated into “用户增长” (“user growth”) for the first, and “每用户日使用次数” (“daily activation per user”) for the second. Those two terms are very common terms in internet companies or industry.
Example 5
ST: Was the highest grossing mobile game internationally [ER] in the first 10 days following its November launch.
TT: 在11月发布之后的前10天里面，这个游戏就排到了非常前的一个发布【ER】。
In this example, the interpreter did omit some minor information, but most important is the error, “这个游戏就排到了非常前的一个发布” (“this game is launched at a very early time”). It is not the speaker intends to say, while he wants to convey that the game was attracting many users at it early launching, but not how early about its first issue.
Example 6
ST: On the non-IFRS basis, operating profit was 40.9 billion RMB [ER]. Largely stable year on year or up 12 % quarter on quarter.
TT: 而非IFRS我们的是405亿元【ER】的净利润，环比增长12%。
Except error underlined in the example 6, there are also some phenomena like omission in this case. A serious error should be given more attention, “40.9 billion RMB” into “405亿元” (“forty point five billion yuan”). Here a suggestion from the present author that in interpreting like earrings conference call, numbers should be accurately interpreted and translated. Minor difference on expression on unimportant words and phrases are allowed, but indexes and its figures, on which are not allowed to make mistakes.
4.1.3. Shift
Shift refers to that the interpreter misunderstands speaker’s speech, or translates it in unappropriated expression. Like “I like playing basketball” into “我喜欢看篮球” (“I like watching basketball”). In this case the interpreter did convey a part of speaker’s content, but comparing to the source text “I like playing basketball”, “I like watching basketball” has some shift. So, shift is most frequent phenomena in this interpreting.
Example 7
ST: Video accounts, in-feed ads revenue has been ramping up fast [SFT1] since we made additional inventory available on thing basis in mid-August.
TT: 比如说第一个视频号，那么视频号有更多的一些这个市场当中的广告的需求【SFT】，那么从8月中旬就这样。
In this example, shift is underlined and marked. Example 7 is a very serious shift. “In-feed ads revenue has been ramping up fast” is a result the speaker wants to express. While the interpreter translated it into “有更多的一些这个市场当中的广告的需求” (“there are many demand for advertisement market”). First, the interpreter make a minor mistake on a term “in-feed ads” it should be translated into “信息流广告” (“in-feed ads”), a very common type of ads in short video platform. Shift happens. Second, the interpreter also make mistake on the clause. The speaker means that the revenue of in-feed ads growing very fast. If translated correctly, it should be “信息流广告收入增长迅速” (“revenue of in-feed ads grows rapidly”).
Example 8
ST: Within the media subcategory, a long-form video ad revenue decrease year on year, primarily due to fewer releases of drama series and tough comparisons versus airing the [SFT] Tokyo Olympic Games in the year ago period.
TT: 在媒体这部分，我们的长视频的在同比方面是下降了，主要是因为我们发布了较少的电视剧，还有就是跟去年的东京奥运会举办【SFT】了一个对比的话，现在来讲是同比下降。
“Airing” is just a minor verb in this sentence, but it makes big difference if interpreter misinterprets it. The interpreter translated “airing” into “举办” (“holding”) not convey the accurate information. It may cause misunderstanding in audience that Tencent Company holding the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Actually, Tencent is the official broadcaster for this Olympic Games.
Example 9
ST: As transitional challenges resulted in lower paying use accounts. Honor of kings and Peacekeeper Elite contributed decreased revenue due to the minor protection measures [SFT] which took effect from September 2021 onwards.
TT: 同时我们可以看到整个的行业遇到了一个挑战，就是要保护这个2021年开始保护年轻人【SFT】的时候。
In example 9, “the minor protection measure” is a shift. The interpreter translated it into “年轻人”( Young people aged from 15 to 24), which is inappropriate. What speaker refers is the law on protection of minors implemented in first day of June, year of 2021. In this newly revised law, it is said online products and online service providers like Tencent are not allowed to provide products and services inducing to addiction to minors. “年轻人” (“Young people aged from 15 to 24”) is a vague noun that is not accurate. “未成年” (“minor”), person who is under age of 18, is an appropriate interpretation.
4.2. Case Analysis from the Parameter of Fluency
In this section, there are pause, self-repair, repetition and fillers, and those four types of phenomena are most frequent in this interpreting. “PS” represents Pause, “SRP” represents self-repair, “RP” represents repetition, and “MD” represents fillers.
4.2.1. Pause
Pause is a most serious and frequent phenomena affecting interpreting fluency. pauses just stop interpreter’s voice. In this section, all the pauses over 0.25 second can be detected are marked in the software. And marked with “[X.xxxS]” represents the duration of a pause, e.g. 3.312S representing a pause lasting for 3.312 seconds.
Example 10
ST: Total revenue was launched 140 billion RMB, down 2% year on year, but up 5% quarter on quarter, growth profit was sixty-two billion RMB down 1% year on year, and up 7% quarter on quarter. Non-IFRS operating profit was forty-one billion RMB, flat year and year and up 12% quarter on quarter. Non-IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders was thirty-two billion RMB, up 2% year on year and 15% quarter on quarter.
TT: 我们现在是1401亿元这一个季度总收入。那么我们可以看到它是同比是下降2%，那么同比的收入我们可以看到是7%这样的一个，去年的盈利是3%，然后我们可以看到这是整个的每一年【0.725 S】，这是每一季度的这样的一个【1.156 S】比价，然后我们可以看到从它的【3.312 S】，我们可以看到呢就是每一季度的增长是15%。
As indicated from Example 10, three pauses are marked in TT. The pause 0.725 S and pause 1.156 S largely exceed 0.25 seconds and occur in the middle of this sentence “Non-IFRS operating profit was forty-one billion RMB, …flat year and year and up 12% quarter on quarter”. And the 3.212 S pause occurs in the middle of this sentence “Non-IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders was… up 2% year on year and 15% quarter on quarter.” Those three pauses all occur in the middle of a sentence.
Example 11
ST: Since the beginning of the year, we have bought back U.S. $3 billion worth of shares. In march 2022, [0.99 S] we paid a dividend in kind through distribution of JD. Com shares, which amounted to U.S. $13 billion of value to shareholders. To date, we have returned a total of over U.S. $18 billion to our shareholders.
TT: 那么在今年开始之后，总共是30亿啊是回馈给我们的股东，那么在2022年的3月份，【0.99 S】你可以看到呢就是通过股份的这种形式，那么它是总共是达到了130亿，那么到现在为止我们总共是是180亿元是回馈给了我们的股东。
As exhibited from Example 11, the syntactical position where pause occurs is behind “In march 2022,”, so the 0.99 S pause locates behind a comma. It is normal that speaker will pause after a comma, and so the interpreter will pause waiting for the speaker. However, this pause last over 0.5 second which is a standard that easy to be detected by the audience as a phenomenon of disfluency.
Example 12
ST: Thank you, Wendy.
Good evening. Thanks everyone for joining us.
TT: 非常感谢温迪。
【1.631 S】大家晚上好。非常感谢大家。
As shown from Example 12, the 1.631 S pause locates in the end of the “Thank you, Wendy”, and in the beginning of “Good evening”. At the beginning of a sentence or a new paragraph, there will always be pause by speaker. Pause by interpreter lasting over 1 second at the end or beginning of a sentence should be accounted and marked.
4.2.2. Self-Repair
Self-repair (hereinafter is referred to as SRP in examples) is also a phenomenon affecting interpreting fluency. Self-repair is made by interpreter during the interpreting to correct his mistake. There must be enough time for interpreter to find the mistake, and extra time for interpreter to repair or correct it. Although self-repair will affect the fluency of interpreting, but it will improve fidelity and accuracy.
Example 13
ST: We’ve also achieved breakthroughs in publishing new studio and licensed games with the release two major new titles leveraging our content marketing and user community management capabilities.
TT: 还有就是我们在这些投资，还有特许经营和牌照的游戏中也取得了一些突破，还有体现了我们的国际品牌的Level Infinite，在本地化内容营销及用户小区管理能力方面的能力【SRP】。
In this example, “方面的能力” (“ability in field of”) is the self-repair for “用户小区管理能力”. The interpreter translate “community management capabilities” into “用户小区管理能力” (“user community management capability”) is serious error. It should be translated into “社群管理能力” (“community management”). So the interpreter finds the mistake, and use a fuzzy language “方面” (“aspect”) to reduce the inaccuracy she made.
Example 14
ST: Looking at fin-tech and business services, segment revenue was 45 billion RMB up 4 % year on year and 6 % quarter on quarter. The fin-tech services year on year revenue growth was higher compared to the previous quarter, mainly benefiting from a recovery and commercial payment activities, both offline and online.
TT: 那么在金融科技在这个是445亿元448亿元人民币【SRP】，同比增长了4%，跟上个季度相比它的增长收入是更高了，主要是因为线上和线下的商务支付的活动恢复了。
The “45 billion RMB” said by speaker is a vogue number of this fin-tech segment revenue. The accurate number is 44.8 billion. At the beginning, the interpreter just follows what speaker says, but unfortunate she made a mistake. With the visual aid, the interpreter repairs it with the correct number.
Example 15
ST: We received approval for investment in Samsung Property and Casualty Insurance in China. For domestic games, we received approval for a new game publishing license, and an amendment to an existing license in September. Believe me, more licenses will be forthcoming in the future.
TT: 那么同时也可以看到，就是在三星还有呢在中国的一些这个财险投资上面呢也有一定的拿到了这个许可【SRP】。那么国内的这些游戏方面呢，我们也会不断地增加啊它的这个国内的游戏的更多的一些投入。
In example 15, When interpreter interpreting sentence “We received approval for investment in Samsung Property and Casualty Insurance in China.”, she misses “received approval” this information. She initially renders “Samsung Property and Casualty Insurance in China”, then realizes she omitted the “received approval”. In the end of interpretation of this sentence, she adds “拿到了这个许可” (“acquire this license”) as a repair to the lost information.
4.2.3. Repetition
Repetition is one of the less frequent phenomena in this case, it always occurred when interpreter was tired. Repetition can be concluded into two kinds. The first kind simply repeats the sound or speech, while the second kind repeats the meaning of speeched sound.
Example 16
ST: After taking into account payments for capital expenditure, media content and lease liabilities. A free cash flow amounted to U.S.$15 billion.
TT: 那么包括在内容还有它的一个可靠性上面，我们的【RP】自由的一个现金流达到了150亿美元。
There is a repetition “我们的”. After receiving terms like “capital expenditure”, “media content”, and “lease liabilities”, the interpreter made a mistake with the tired mind. This repetition doesn’t come from the speaker, but from the interpreter.
Example 17
ST: For the third quarter of 2022, our total revenue was down 2% year on year. Vas represented 52% of our total revenue within which the social network subsegment was 21%, domestic games 22%, in international games 9%.
TT: 那么我们看到2022年第三季度，我们的总收入是下降了2%，达到1401元，那么可以看到社交【RP】是21%，国内游戏端22，国际的游戏是9%。
“社交” is the repetition in this example. Interpreter may feel confused about “Social network subsegment”, which makes him nervous. When the interpreter tries to give these words a correct interpretation, she finds it hard to make up one. Therefore, she just translates it into “社会” (“society”) to make sure this part correct at least.
Example 18
ST: Time spent from users aged under 18 years old has decreased by 92% year on year.
TT: 然后你可以看到在那么每一年超不到18岁以下【RP】的这些年轻的用户，他的打游戏的时间已经下降了92%。
“以下” (“below”) is a repetition equivalent to “不到” (“under”). It affects interpreting fluency and may cause misunderstanding to the audiences. What speaker wants to convey is that “young user aged under 18 years”, while this repetition conveys a meaning of “young user aged over 18 years”.
4.2.4. Hesitation
Hesitation is quite similar to filled pause or filler, like a combination of the two phenomena. Because it contains filler like “这个”, “就是”, “一个”, and so on, and pose a negative effect on interpreting fluency just like pause. It usually occurs when the interpreter facing a difficult term or forget some key information or some problem on comprehension. Hesitation will be marked with “[HS]” and its filler will be underlined.
Example 19
ST: And please be advised that today’s webinar is being recorded.
TT: 那么今天的这个【HS】会议是全程录音的。
“这个” (“this”) has no actual meaning or significance to the speech or the sentence. It can only reduce the fluency and simplicity of interpreting.
Example 20
ST: So, in terms of the content ecosystem and monetization.
TT: 那么讲到呃，生态就是内容生态性，和它的这个呃【HS1】，和它的这个【HS2】变现。
In this example, it is clear to see that “monetization” is the words make interpreter hesitate for twice. As we can see, “它的这个呃” (“its”) has no relation with the term “monetization”, the reason why the interpreter say it twice is to leave more time for herself to think about the correct translation of it.
Example 21
ST: Then second one is on the interplay between monetization of video accounts and the content ecosystem of the video accounts has you guys observed the monetization of video accounts helped content ecosystem of a video accounts at all.
TT: 第二个问题呢，就是有关于【HS1】视频号的变现和有关于这个【HS2】视频号所在的生态环境之间的一个互动性，我想大家可能已经看到了视频号的变现能力，那么呃就是【HS3】，有补充了我们的生态系统。
In this example, the HS1 and HS2 occur before enumeration with “有关于” (“about”) as a filler to hesitate. HS2 also use “有关于这个” (“about this”) again to make this hesitation less obvious or detectable. Then for HS3, “那么呃就是” (“well then”) is a hesitation occurring between verb and object. Usually during this time, interpreter has to think about the grammatical allocation of the translated output, which causing hesitation. It is quite funny and understandable that the interpreter used those fillers to fill the hesitation to leave more time for herself to think out of an appropriate expression.
4.3. Case Analysis from the Parameter of Appropriacy
4.3.1. Ungrammatical Expression
Inappropriate use of words is similar to shift. But here is example to distinguish them. First, appropriate use of words should be “I like playing badminton” into “我喜欢打羽毛球” (“I like playing badminton”), while inappropriate one can be “我喜欢踢羽毛球” (“I like kicking badminton”). Following three examples will demonstrate it in clear. The interpretation given by interpreter is basically equivalent to the source text, only a little bit inappropriate target language.
Example 22
ST: On QQ we provided more scenarios and super QQ show for social interaction. We collaborated with brands such as GUCCI and KFC to launch virtual spaces where users can conduct immerse of interactions. For example, users can participate in online or offline campaigns, collect branded virtual items and socialize with other fans.
TT: 我们也推动了一些虚拟的空间【UE】，同时也可以增加像快消产品或流行的这些品牌，那么也可以加入很多的一些活动，那么在QQ当中那么有很多的一些超级QQ秀，那么互动性也是非常好的，我们像跟 Gucci还有 KFC，那么也会使用我们的QQ秀的空间给大家举一些例子，比如说你可以参加一些线上线下的一些活动，或者是一些虚拟的一些物件，或者跟其他的一些粉丝进行共同互动。
When translating “ launch virtual spaces”, the interpreter renders it into “推动了一些虚拟的空间” (“Push some virtual space”). This Chinese expression is inappropriate. “推动” (“push”) a verb is not idiomatic for being used with “虚拟的空间” (“virtual space”). This inappropriacy can be corrected by replacing “推动” (“push”) with “构建” (“construct”). Or add “的构建” (“the construction of…”) behind “虚拟的空间” (“virtual space”).
Example 23
ST: Firstly, cost progress in recent quarters has been an important support for a return to profit growth, even though G & A costs continue to grow. Am I correct to think that this group includes one of restructuring costs associated with headcount reduction and other savings? Could you quantify those one of costs to help us think about underlying cost growth?
TT: 首先关于这个成本的部分，关于这个我能不能正常得说【UE】，它其实包括，包括我们在其他部分省钱了，还有人员也减少了，所以带来了结构性的成本的一个调整这是第一，我的理解对吗？
Although the interpreter misinterprets “Am I correct to think that ‘into’ 我能不能正常得说” (“Can I speak in a normal manner”). It sounds really wired to Chinese native speaker because it means “I feel bad to say that” or “Can I say that in a normal manner？”. “正常” (“normal”) shouldn’t be coupled with “说” (“speak”). It should be said in this way “我说的对不对？” (“Am I right to say?”) or “对不对我说的？” (“Am I right to say”), which is much better.
Example 24
ST: And in terms of the other two factors that we expect in more new game licenses, more commercial games, that’s come to relatively quickly.
TT: 我们预期有新的游戏的发布，新的游戏的许可【UE】，新的商业化游戏。
“New game licenses” is translated into “新的游戏的许可” (“new game permission”), which basically conveys the meaning of source text. While “新的游戏” (“new games”) shouldn’t be collocated with “许可” (“permission”). It is correct to say “新的游戏的获批” (“more licensed games”).
4.3.2. Inappropriate Syntax
Inappropriate order of sentence refers to wrong sequence in a Chinese sentence, listening to that, a Chinese native speaker will feel uncomfortable. In the example, the words interpreter uses are appropriate and the meaning he convey is equivalent to the source text. for example, “I like playing badminton” being translated into “打羽毛球喜欢我” (“Playing badminton likes me”) is a wrong sentence order.
Example 25
ST: In terms of your video accounts. Right now. I think very clearly, as we have seen from the evidence that monetization is actually incremental for us, there are a number of aspects of it.
TT: 那么首先我们再看一下这个视频号，那么我们已经有很多的证明，就是表明 [变现的能力] [视频号]【IS】还是循序渐进的，对我们来讲还是逐渐发生的，有很多的方面。
“表明变现的能力视频号还是循序渐进的” (“demonstrating the monetization ability, video accounts is gradually growing”) is a sentence with wrong sequence. “视频号” (“video accounts”) should be prior to “能力” (“ability”). It should be “表明 [视频号] [变现的能力]还是循序渐进的” (“demonstrating the monetization ability of video accounts is gradually growing”).
Example 26
ST: Tencent Real-Time Communication is increasingly deployed in industrial use cases, such as enabling remote control for mining and container trucks,
TT: 还有 TRTC腾讯实时交流，通讯功能就扩展了我们的，[尤其是进行一个远程的控制]，[对于采矿业还有就是集装箱的]【IS】。
“for mining and container trucks” corresponding to “对于采矿业还有就是集装箱的” (“for mining industry and container’s”) is a qualifier for “remote control” corresponding to “尤其是进行一个远程的控制” (“especially to conduct a remote control”). The interpreter dislocates the two parts. If expressing in a correct syntax order, interpreter should say “尤其是[对采矿业还有就是集装箱的] [远程控制]” (“for the remote control of mining industry and container”).
Example 27
ST: then thirdly, we actually do believe that there will be a further issuance of new game licenses in the nearer future. And so, to some extent, this in a headwind, the game industry will mitigate as more new games are released.
TT: 那么第三件事情我们所做的我们也是深信不疑的。就是[更多的一些许可]在 [我们的游戏当中]【IS】，比如说这些游戏的许可，尽管整个的行业的规范可能会对于游戏的新开发会有些限制。
In this example, the “更多的一些许可” (“more licenses”) and “我们的游戏当中” (“in our games”) are given in wrong order. If being corrected, the sentence should be “在我们的游戏当中有更多的一些许可” (“acquire more licenses in our games”).
5. Conclusions
5.1. Major Findings
There are many phenomena affecting the interpreting quality in this case from three perspectives, fidelity, fluency, and appropriacy. The interpreting quality of Tencent 2022 Q3 result announcement is quite acceptable though there are still large improving rooms for better. First, on the parameter of fidelity, there are too many omissions, causing serious inaccuracy and infidelity. And to tackling down this, the interpreter has to learn more terms and abbreviations about the industry and the company, and do more preparation for the interpreting. For service providers, they need to provide a stable and easy-to-use simultaneous interpreting platform, making sure a smooth conference experience and high-quality sound and image system input and output. Their speech rate in a more reasonable way, or provide more tools and methods for interpreter to interpret, such as a simultaneous text-recognition subtitle. For the speakers or client, they need to manage their speech rate into a reasonable range, to meet the competence of the interpreter if possible. Second, the pause in this interpreting is so much especially the ungrammatical pause that lasts for a very long duration, easily detected by the audience. Meanwhile there are also many hesitations making the interpreting less fluent. To address these, except what talked above, interpreter needs to control saying unconsciousness filler such as “这个” (“about”), “那么” (“well then”), “就是” (“namely”), and so on in the interpreting and keep clam when facing obstacle, then try their best. Third, for the inappropriacy of the interpreting, it is actually a higher requirement for the interpreters, because it is already arduous for them to give a complete oral rendition to the audience, with the least pause, repair, hesitation and repetition. So, interpreter needs to perfect their oral speaking with the standard of correct grammar and syntax, if there is still effort and time left.
5.2. Suggestion for Interpreter
Firstly, maintain communication with the company’s Board Secretariat to obtain the bilingual earnings release report as early as possible and study it thoroughly to become familiar with the company’s operational status and financial data for that financial period, while studying, combine the accumulated knowledge to compile a list of relevant terminology. This terminology list should be clearly organized according to personal preferences of the interpreter, such as alphabetical order or categorization, for easy and quick reference during use.
Secondly, regardless of the interpreter’s proficiency in numerical conversion, to ensure optimal performance in the face of frequent numbers during live interpretation, it is still necessary to engage in intensive training in Chinese-English number conversion. This training can utilize textual materials containing numbers from the earnings report, thereby enhancing the relevance and specificity of the number conversion training.
Thirdly, for executives with a unique personal language style, interpreters can summarize and organize their use of metaphors, colloquialisms, and other distinctive expressions in public speeches in recent years. It has been proven that executives tend to repeatedly use certain characteristic expressions over time in different contexts. It is advisable for interpreters to translate these distinctive expressions into high-quality English through deep thought or discussion with colleagues and then reinforce them in memory.
Lastly, interpreter should take advantage of the slides and speech, combining them together to do interpreting. Good PowerPoint slides are very succinct, displaying only a few key words, numbers, and images. With the prior study of the report, interpreters can understand the logic and thought process of the executives’ speeches from the limited cues on the slides. This understanding can reduce the mental energy consumed by on-site auditory processing, thus allocating more energy to note-taking, short-term memory, and translation output.
Funding
This paper marks a stage in a research that was made possible by the First Batch of First-class Undergraduate Course Construction (offline) Program funded by Education Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (grant#11600-222507/008), Research Project of Undergraduate Teaching Reform funded by Education Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (grant# 2022JG20220222502022-09- 01000016) and New Liberal Arts Research and Reform Practice Project “New Model and Practice Innovation of Digital Intelligence Collaborative Training of Foreign Language Teaching with Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary Empowerment in the Context of New Liberal Arts” funded by Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (grant#20900-231528).