Lecture | Leiden Translation Talks
Interpreters’ Note-Taking: an international writing system?
- Luisa Bonvecchio (University of Macerata, Italy)
- Date
- Thursday 19 March 2026
- Time
- Serie
- Leiden Translation Talks
- Address
-
Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden - Room
- 0.09 (The Digital Lab)
During consecutive interpreting, interpreters take notes. To be able to write down all they need to remember, they adopt a series of techniques, which include abbreviating words and drawing symbols. Scholars say that Note-Taking happens during a non-verbal thought phase.
As challenging as it may be to ignore verbal thought, being able to separate signified and signifier can lead to the creation of interlinguistic symbols, based on common cognitive and intercultural backgrounds. Applying this principle is undoubtedly advantageous for interpreters, but it can also pave the way for new graphic forms that can be understood regardless of one's language.
Even though the symbols are chosen or created individually by each interpreter in total freedom, many professionals share an amount of symbols which are very similar if not equal. Is it therefore possible to hypothesize the presence of cognitive/cultural universal mechanisms leading to the same graphical stylization of a given concept? And, if so, is it possible to create a written language based on these mechanisms which can be understood internationally? A simple, intuitive, graphically feasible communication option that is independent of languages, to complement them without substituting or impoverishing them?