Interpreter

You may have seen or heard interpreters at work whispering for heads of state or interpreting in sound-proof booths at large international conferences.

The ability to interpret is a skill many claim but few truly possess. Consider the process of interpretation: the interpreter listens to a speaker, understands the message and converts it into another language, speaks into a microphone and all the while monitors his output to ensure elegant delivery. And while this is happening the interpreter is absorbing the next part of the speech.

What are the processes involved? Interpreting is first and foremost understanding the intended message perfectly. It can then be detached from the words used in the original language and be reconstituted, in all its subtlety, in words of the target language.

Interpreting is a constant to-ing and fro-ing between different ways of thinking and cultural universes.

Nowadays interpreters spend most of their time performing simultaneous interpretation. For smaller meetings, where only two or at most three languages are used, consecutive interpretation is also suitable

The interpreting profession has suffered from a lack of understanding and recognition from the general public and even from users of interpretation for many years. Recently, however, Hollywood came to our rescue with the film The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman, which gives viewers some idea of the interpreting profession.

What does an interpreter really do? Who is an Interpreter? What skills are required? How does she or he work before, during and after each assignment?

The common belief is that an interpreter is the linguistic intermediary between two or more parties who do not speak the same language. However, an interpreter is much more than that. An interpreter is a facilitator of communication who can bridge language and cultural differences; an excellent public speaker skilled in simultaneous and consecutive interpreting; the peacemaker, the confidant of delegates, the poet, the comparative terminologist, the linguistic expert who must have the appropriate university training and experience. An interpreter must have a sea of knowledge one fathom deep and be well informed about current affairs.


CIAP

interpreter ;  interpreting ;