Simultaneous interpreting

Simultaneous interpreting requires equipment!

Without equipment, all you will hear is a racket.

Interpreters interpret while speakers speak.

Interpreters wear a headset in a booth to isolate themselves and stay focused. Since the delay between speakers and interpreters is only a few
seconds, participants hear the two languages simultaneously.

Static and portable equipment may be used.

• Portable equipment can be used for informal meetings, ideally in two languages only: 1 wireless microphone/transmitter and wireless receivers per language pair (e.g. French/English).

Portable equipment is advantageous in that it does not take up much space, need to be set up or require a technician to be on site. This makes it more manageable and cheaper too. Be that as it may, portable equipment is less flexible, noisier (the interpreters are not isolated), less efficient (the interpreters are less concentrated), and a lot more cumbersome to use.

• Static equipment – booths, receivers, interpreter desks, transmitters, infrared equipment, etc. – is used for conferences and seminars. Each booth is used by a team of 2 or 3 interpreters. Sometimes 3 interpreters are required for complex languages, such as Japanese, or dense subject matter – medical and/or financial conferences, for instance.

The use of static equipment optimises the interpreting service provided in terms of comfort, transparency (seamless interpreting) and quality.
As such, it is crucial to use the most recent, high quality equipment and have access to the very best technical assistance when providing services of outstanding quality to customers.

• Interpreters working on simultaneous interpreting assignments only work alone for 45 minutes (1 hour maximum). This is why each team of interpreters takes it in turns to interpret for a period of 20 or 30 minutes. This way of working maintains the interpreters’ concentration levels, resulting in an outstanding service.

Customer documentation (agenda, speeches, background information, specification sheets, company overviews, etc.) is very important if interpreters are to prepare for the assignment, understand the subject as well as the issues, and have immediate access to the right terminology, regardless
of their being specialists.

  Contact our Interpreting Manager

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