In school I was always under the impression that translation and interpreting were synonyms of each other and entailed the same type of work. However, I later learnt that they are quite the contrary, with translation regarding written work, and interpreting dealing with verbal/oral translation which requires a completely different skill set. During interpreting, a person will repeat out loud what a different person has said but in a different language and thus enabling real-time cross-linguistic communication.
As with translation, there are various types of interpreters available, who all work using different means and methods, as well as in different specialisations. Below is a list of the main types of interpreters one can find today and some of the contexts/ scenarios you can find them in:
-
Simultaneous interpreting.
As you may have guessed from the name, this type of interpreting involves the interpreter translating the spoken sentence into the target language whilst simultaneously listening to and comprehending the following sentence. In simultaneous interpreting, the goal is to keep the translation as precise and close to the original language as possible. A simultaneous interpreter is most commonly used during large meetings/conferences, such as the UN, where the interpreter sits in a booth wearing headphones and whispers the translation into a microphone. This whispering method of simultaneous interpreting is also commonly used for smaller, private events such as dinners or dates.
-
Consecutive interpreting.
Contrary to simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting entails listening to the speaker for a duration of anything between 1-5 minutes, and then interrupting a suitable point to provide the translation of what has been said. The key skill for this type of interpreting is having a good memory and have the ability to take note of everything that has been said in order to give an accurate translation. Consecutive interpreting is most commonly present in small court hearings and business meetings.
-
Escort/travel interpreting.
The role of these interpreters is usually to accompany people (usually on business trips) who travel to foreign countries. Their duties can range from helping to adjust to the foreign culture, such as ordering in restaurants, to securing international business deals.
-
Scheduled telephone interpreting.
During this type of interpreting, an interpreter will sit in on a scheduled call and either provide simultaneous interpreting or consecutive interpreting. Where the callers are both happy to only hear the interpreter speak, a simultaneous interpretation will be carried out, otherwise it is usually done by consecutive interpreting.
-
On-demand telephone interpreting.
With this type of interpretation service, callers to places such as customer services, organisations, pharmacies, etc. can access immediate interpretation if they don’t have the sufficient level of proficiency in the target language to follow or understand the conversation. The caller is required to select the language they required and then they are immediately connected to an interpreter.
CBLingua is a translation firm that specialises in legal translations, so what would the same service look like in an interpreting context?
A court interpreter ensures that a trial be fair for clients who cannot understand or communicate adequately in the target language. Whilst ensuring that all parties of a court room understand each other and information is accurately transferred from one party to another, the interpreter must remain unbiased and cannot take turns with other interpreters – their job in continuous. They will work legal cases varying from immigration all the way to arrests. Finally, for legal interpreters, consecutive interpreting is the most common form of interpreting used, allowing for a person to speak and then repeating it into the target language during a sentence or thought break.