What you might like to know about conference interpreters

Conference interpreters have been specially trained for their demanding work. They are professionals who aspire to provide a professional service to ensure that their clients' events are successful. Conference interpreters who are members of aiic (the International Association of Conference Interpreters, see below) have demonstrated their competence in peer–reviewed procedures and have the credentials to guarantee a professional service.

There are many "interpreters" around, and finding the right ones for your event is a very difficult and time–consuming task: there are simply too many criteria to be borne in mind.

Our proposal is to do this onerous task for you.

As consultant interpreters (and experienced conference interpreters), we are fully aware that providing a good interpreting service essentially means teamwork and requires all the parties concerned to work together: organizers, speakers, interpreters, sound engineers.

Your consultant interpreter can advise you, on the basis of your event programme, on matters such as how many interpreters you will need, what equipment would be most suitable, where the interpreters' booths should be positioned, etc.

Once these basic facts have been established, your consultant interpreter will prepare a cost estimate which includes all chargeable items, e.g. interpretation fees, per diems, travel time allowances, travel expenses.

The consultant interpreter liaises between the event organizer and the individual interpreters assigned to the team; this arrangement streamlines communications and avoids unnecessary duplication of work. The consultant interpreter attends to the needs of the organizer (the client) and also ensures that his or her interpreter colleagues receive the material needed to prepare properly for the assignment. The consultant interpreter also coordinates the preparations in the run–up to the event and makes sure that the interpretation provided will be of the required high standard – not least by selecting the "right" interpreters – those who are both expert linguists and are known to have a sound understanding of the subject of the meeting.
Further information is available from your consultant interpreter.

Simultaneous interpreting

For this interpreting mode, the interpreters work in soundproof booths, which may already be installed at the venue or, if no such facilities are available, are hired and erected on site for the duration of the event. A team of two or three interpreters work in each language booth, taking turns at the microphone on a 30–minute basis. The interpreters "translate" the proceedings into the designated conference languages, and the delegates hear the interpreted proceedings "simultaneously" through a comfortable headset. This interpreting mode overcomes the ubiquitous language barrier and the speaker can address his or her audience almost direct. For the delegates, the interpreters working in their booths are usually invisible – but you will certainly have heard us somewhere.

Consecutive interpreting

For this interpreting mode, the interpreter takes notes as the speaker speaks. When the speaker finishes or, in the event that the speech is lengthy, pauses for the foreign–language rendering, the interpreter uses his or her notes to repeat what has been said in the required language. This interpreting mode is frequently used for dinner speeches, brief reception announcements, welcome/farewell announcements at various events, press conferences, interviews, negotiations, etc.

Whispered interpreting

In this case, the interpreter sits or stands next to or behind the person requiring interpretation and "whispers" what is being said in that person's preferred language. If, subsequently, the delegate concerned makes a spoken contribution to the proceedings, the interpreter interprets the contribution consecutively (see above) for the other delegates. This mode of interpreting is used when only one or, at most, two delegates require interpretation. Its disadvantage for the meeting as a whole is that it always means background noise: the interpreter does not actually "whisper" but in fact speaks at a volume which is just audible for the listener.

Another form of whispered interpreting uses some basic technical equipment –a wireless infra–red communication system – and is helpful for guided group tours, factory tours and similar. In this case, the interpreter remains physically close to the speaker and interprets what is being said into a microphone. The listeners are equipped with a headset and can hear the interpretation even if they roam several meters away from the speaker or interpreter. This makes the method ideal also for larger groups.

Consultant conference interpreter

A consultant conference interpreter can advise you on the interpreting mode most appropriate for your event and what technical equipment you will need. Consultant conference interpreters have gathered ample experience during their professional careers of the hazards which can be encountered when organising conferences. They will be happy to put this experience to good effect for the benefit of your event.

Conference languages

Conference languages are the languages which the organizers have designated as languages which may be spoken at the conference; in interpreting terms, they are the languages from and into which interpretation is provided.

aiic

aiic stands for the Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence, and is the French acronym for the International Association of Conference Interpreters, headquartered in Geneva.
Membership of aiic is recognised as a “quality mark” for conference interpreters, usually signifying that the interpreter concerned has successfully completed a graduate or post-graduate training in conference interpreting, hat met the organisations's practical experience requirements in terms of days worked as a conference interpreter and has had his or her professional credentials verified on the basis of a strict peer–review procedure.
http://www.aiic.net

Did you mean ...

If what you are looking for could be described as a simultaneous translator, synchronous translator, background interpreter, direct translator, booth translator, voice in your ear, or someone who translates while the speaker is still talking, then our simultaneous interpreters will be happy to help.

If you are thinking more in terms of piece–by–piece sequential translation of sentences or blocks of text while the speaker waits, then a consecutive interpreter is what you need.