Interpreting Settings

BA Program in Translation & Interpreting

University of Maragheh

Conference Interpreting
Interpreting Settings

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What is Conference Interpreting

 The history of conference interpreting begins with the introduction of

simultaneous interpreting, and the two terms are therefore closely connected in
the literature.
 However, other modalities of interpreting, specifically consecutive and
whispered, are also used in conference settings, and simultaneous interpreting
occurs in settings other than conferences.
 For example, multilingual court hearings, social fora and churches.

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What is Conference Interpreting

 Conference interpreting is generally understood to be the communication of

messages which have been delivered in one language into another at formal
and informal conferences and conference-like settings in either the
simultaneous or consecutive mode.
 Conference interpreting thus refers to the setting where different modes of
interpreting are carried out to enable communication between interlocutors
who do not speak the same language.
 These settings are typically international conferences, multilateral meetings,
and workshops, but can also include official dinners, press conferences,
parliamentary sessions and a wide range of other gatherings.

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Common Form of Conference Interpreting

 The most prevalent mode used in conference interpreting is simultaneous

interpreting.
 In the simultaneous mode, the interpreter gives an interpretation of the
incoming speech quasi-simultaneously with the speaker. There is generally a
minimal time lag of only a few seconds between the presentation of the
original speech and its rendition in another language.
 Simultaneous conference interpreters working between spoken languages use
soundproof booths which are equipped with a simultaneous interpreting
system, which allows interpreters to hear what the speakers say while
simultaneously transmitting the interpreted version of the speeches to the
listeners who are wearing headsets.

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Booth Facilities

 In this mode, interpreters tend to be in the same room as the conference

participants, but typically are not directly visible to the interlocutors.
 Occasionally, simultaneous interpreting can also be done without a booth. One
means of doing this is whispered interpretation (chuchotage) and the second is
interpreting via a mobile interpreting system.
 Working in the absence of a proper simultaneous interpreting system with
soundproof booths, however, can be very taxing for interpreters.
 Interpreting in a proper booth gives interpreters control over the amplitude of
the incoming sound and this enables them to strike an optimum balance
between listening, speaking and monitoring their output.

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Booth Facilities

 When whispering, however, the interpreter has no control over the incoming
sound and can face serious difficulties hearing the interlocutors, especially
because the interpreter’s own voice tends to interfere with what she or he can
hear.
 Furthermore, when whispering or using a mobile application, the interpreter
must control his/her voice and keep it low at all times to avoid distracting the
other participants in the room.

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Booth Facilities

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Common Form of Conference Interpreting

 Long consecutive is used where one speaker takes the floor for a longer period
of time, and this allows for a train of thought to continue in an uninterrupted
manner.
 In long consecutive, the interpreter can wait up to 20 minutes and even longer
before starting to interpret, and this requires strong note-taking skills. In this
process, interpreters generally make use of their notes to reconstruct the speech
in another language.

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Common Form of Conference Interpreting

 Consecutive interpreting is often used during lunch or dinner speeches, and

during bilateral talks and missions in which delegations travel from one site to
another.
 In large conferences, both modes can be used for different reasons. For
example, while simultaneous may be the preferred mode during the main
sessions of a conference, consecutive may be used at an opening dinner where
the host delivers a short welcome speech.

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Professionalism

 With the impetus provided by the proliferation of international organizations in

the post-WWII period, conference interpreting underwent a rapid process of
institutionalization.
 While consecutive interpreting set the initial stage and continued to play an
important role in conference interpreting, the simultaneous mode ultimately
became more closely associated with conference interpreting.

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Key Terms of the Profession

 Working languages (also referred to as a ‘language combination’):

 This term is used to refer to the languages with which an interpreter works.
The working languages of interpreters are classified into two groups, namely
‘active languages’ and ‘passive languages’.
 In most cases, conference interpreters work from their ‘passive’ languages
(also referred to as the ‘C language’) into their native language (also referred
to as the ‘A language’). For example, an Iranian interprets from English (C
language) into Persian (A language).
 In other words, active languages (A and B) are those that interpreters work
into while passive languages (C) are those that they only work from.

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Key Terms of the Profession

 Relay Interpreting
 This term refers to the type of interpretation in which an intermediary third
language is used when interpreting from one language to another.
 For instance, during meetings of the European Union at which all 24 official
languages can be spoken, the interpreters in the Maltese booth might not
know Estonian well enough to interpret from it. In this case, when a speaker
speaks in Estonian, the interpreters in the Maltese booth can ‘connect’ to
another booth and listen to the interpretation provided by their colleagues
who are able to work from Estonian into a language they know.
 ‘Relay’ can be used both in simultaneous and in consecutive interpreting.

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Key Terms of the Profession

 Retour Interpreting
 Normally interpreters work into their mother tongue, although some
interpreters know a second language well enough to be able to work into that
language from their mother tongue. Working into a foreign language is called
‘retour’ interpreting (after the French word for ‘return’).
 Pivot
 If only one or two interpreters have a less common language as a passive
language, they are said to be the ‘pivots’ for the interpreters working in other
booths who take relays from them. The French term (and pronunciation) is
universally employed.

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United Nations

One of the other main players in the institutional market is the UN, which has four
stations, each of which has its own interpreting divisions (known as the
‘interpretation service’ in New York and Geneva (Switzerland), and the
‘interpretation section’ in Nairobi (kenya) and Vienna (Austria). Interpreters are
also hired by the regional commissions of the UN in Addis Ababa )Ethiopia),
Bangkok (Thailand), Beirut (Lebanon) and Santiago (Chile).

The organization has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian and Spanish, and two working languages, English and French.

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United Nations

 All United Nations staff are required to know at least one of the working
languages. The conferences and meetings held by the UN bodies may be
conducted in all six official languages.
 Consequently, there are six corresponding language sections (booths) in the
Interpretation Service. Normally, only these languages may be used at UN
meetings.
 However, under the UN Charter, any member state may decide to speak in its
own language at certain meetings on the condition that they provide their own
interpreters who can work into one of the official languages.

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United Nations

 The largest interpreting service in the UN system is at the UN Headquarters in

New York, which provides interpretation during General Assembly and other
regular meetings. There are 124 posts for the six languages, and currently, 113
of those posts are filled.
 During the regular sessions of the General Assembly, 160 to 180 interpreters
are needed. The UN relies on its list of freelance interpreters to meet the
demand for interpretation in peak periods.

 The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-making organ of the Organization. Comprising all Member
States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the
Charter of the United Nations. Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations has an equal vote.

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United Nations

 Interpreters wishing to work for the UN need to pass the exam, and to be
eligible for the exam, candidates need to prove that they have studied
interpreting or have considerable experience working as a simultaneous
interpreter.
 Additionally, they must have as their main language one of the six official
languages of the UN and know two more of the six core languages well enough
to interpret from them into their main language.
 If the main languages of candidates are Arabic or Chinese, they also need to
demonstrate an ability to interpret from their main language into another
official language.

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United Nations

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 Facts and Figures

 According to the figures issued by the International Association of Conference

Interpreters (AIIC) in 2010, simultaneous interpreting is the most frequently
deployed mode in conference interpreting both in the private and institutional
market.
 In 2010, 82% of all working days reported by freelance and staff interpreters
were carried out in the simultaneous mode, whereas pure consecutive
represented on average only 5.5% of all working days (‘working days’ is used
as a reference as conference interpreters tend to work by the day).

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 Facts and Figures

 According to the same survey, interpreting in ‘typical’ conference settings such

as conferences, meetings of intergovernmental organizations, workshops and
training sessions constitutes the main workload for conference interpreters.
 Interpreting in non-conference settings, such as for the media and in community
and court settings constitutes a fairly marginal share of the workload of
conference interpreters.

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 Quality in Conference Interpreting

 Content-related criteria
 Form-related criteria
 Delivery-related criteria

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 Videoconference Interpreting

 The interpreter can be either co-located with one of the parties, or work from a
separate site.
 The earliest documented experiment with videoconferencing and interpreting
took place in UNESCO in 1976. It linked the UNESCO headquarters in Paris
with a conference center in Nairobi via satellite.
 Legal institutions have turned to videoconferencing to make legal proceedings
more efficient, minimize security concerns arising from prisoner transport, and
support cross-border judicial co-operation.
 This has led to a growing demand for VCI in legal proceedings, normally
conducted in consecutive mode.

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