Interpreting is a
translational
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a
source language.
The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interpreting, which is done at the time of the exposure to the source language, and consecutive interpreting, which is done at breaks to this exposure.
Interpreting is an ancient human activity which predates the invention of writing. However, the origins of the profession of interpreting date back to less than a century ago.
History
Historiography
![Dr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Dr._Thomas_Colledge_with_Patients.jpg)
Research into the various aspects of the
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
of interpreting is quite new. For as long as most scholarly interest was given to professional conference interpreting, very little academic work was done on the practice of interpreting in history, and until the 1990s, only a few dozen publications were done on it.
Considering the amount of interpreting activities that is assumed to have occurred for thousands of years, historical records are limited. Moreover, interpreters and their work have usually not found their way into the history books. One of the reasons for that is the dominance of the
written text
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
over the spoken word (in the sense that those who have left written texts are more likely to be
recorded by
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
s). Another problem is the tendency to view it as an ordinary support activity which does not require any special attention, and the
social status
Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...
of interpreters, who were sometimes treated unfairly by
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
s,
chronicle
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
rs and historians.
Our knowledge of the past of interpreting tends to come from
letters
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
, chronicles,
biographies
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
,
diaries Diaries may refer to:
* the plural of diary
*''Diaries: 1971-1976'', a 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus
*'' Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years'', a 2006 book by Michael Palin
*''OFW Diaries
''OFW Diaries'' is a Philippine television documentary ...
and
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
s, along with a variety of other
document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...
s and
literary works
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include o ...
, many of which (and with few exceptions) were only incidentally or marginally related to interpreting.
Etymology
Many
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
have words for ''interpreting'' and ''interpreter''. Expressions in
Germanic,
Scandinavian and
Slavic languages denoting an interpreter can be traced back to
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
, around 1900 BCE. The Akkadian root / also gave rise to the term
dragoman
A dragoman or Interpretation was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish-, Arabic-, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A ...
via an etymological sideline from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
.
The English word ''interpreter'', however, is derived from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
(meaning 'expounder', 'person explaining what is obscure'), whose semantic roots are not clear. Some scholars take the second part of the word to be derived from or (meaning 'price', which fits the meaning of a 'middleman', 'intermediary' or 'commercial go-between'), but others have suggested a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
root.
Modes
Consecutive
![Stéphane Brizé in Buenos Aires in 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/St%C3%A9phane_Briz%C3%A9_in_Buenos_Aires_in_2019.jpg)
In consecutive interpreting (CI), the interpreter starts to interpret after the speaker pauses; thus much more time (perhaps double) is needed. Customarily, such an interpreter will sit or stand near the speaker.
Consecutive interpretation can be conducted in a pattern of short or long segments according to the interpreter's preference. In short CI, the interpreter relies mostly on memory whereas, in long CI, most interpreters will rely on
note-taking
Note-taking (sometimes written as notetaking or note taking) is the practice of recording information from different sources and platforms. By taking notes, the writer records the essence of the information, freeing their mind from having to reca ...
. The notes must be clear and legible in order to not waste time on reading them. Consecutive interpreting of whole thoughts, rather than in small pieces, is desirable so that the interpreter has the whole meaning before rendering it in the target language. This affords a truer, more accurate, and more accessible interpretation than where short CI or simultaneous interpretation is used.
An attempt at consensus about lengths of segments may be reached prior to commencement, depending upon complexity of the subject matter and purpose of the interpretation, though speakers generally face difficulty adjusting to unnatural speech patterns.
On occasion, document
sight translation is required of the interpreter during consecutive interpretation work. Sight translation combines interpretation and translation; the interpreter must render the source-language document to the target-language as if it were written in the target language. Sight translation occurs usually, but not exclusively, in judicial and medical work.
Consecutive interpretation may be the chosen mode when bilingual listeners are present who wish to hear both the original and interpreted speech or where, as in a court setting, a record must be kept of both.
When no interpreter is available to interpret directly from source to target, an intermediate interpreter will be inserted in a relay mode, e.g. a Greek source language could be interpreted into English and then from English to another language. This is also commonly known as double-interpretation. Triple-interpretation may even be needed, particularly where rare languages or dialects are involved. Such interpretation can only be effectively conducted using consecutive interpretation.
Simultaneous
![Defendants in the dock at nuremberg trials](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg)
Simultaneous interpretation (SI) has the disadvantage that if a person is performing the service the interpreter must do the best they can within the time permitted by the pace of source speech. However they also have the advantages of saving time and not disturbing the natural flow of the speaker. SI can also be accomplished by software where the program can simultaneously listen to incoming speech and speak the associated interpretation. The most common form is extempore SI, where the interpreter does not know the message until they hear it.
Simultaneous interpretation using electronic equipment where the interpreter can hear the speaker's voice as well as the interpreter's own voice was introduced at the
Nuremberg trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
in 1945. The equipment facilitated large numbers of listeners, and interpretation was offered in French, Russian, German and English. The technology arose in the 1920s and 1930s when American businessman
Edward Filene
Edward Albert Filene (September 3, 1860 – September 26, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for building the Filene's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the Un ...
and British engineer
Alan Gordon Finlay
Alan Gordon-Finlay (8 June 1890 – 6 June 1959) was a British engineer and inventor of Scottish descent born in Australia. He is best known for having co-created the Filene-Finlay (incorrectly spelled Findlay) simultaneous interpretation system ...
developed simultaneous interpretation equipment with
IBM. Yvonne Kapp attended a conference with simultaneous interpretation in 1935 in the Soviet Union. As it proved successful, IBM was able to sell the equipment to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, where it is now widely used in the
United Nations Interpretation Service
The United Nations Interpretation Service is a part of the Meetings and Publishing Division (MPD) of the UN's Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM). Its core function is to provide interpretation from and into Arabic, ...
.
In the ideal setting for oral language, the interpreter sits in a sound-proof booth and speaks into a microphone, while clearly seeing and hearing the source-language speaker via earphones. The simultaneous interpretation is rendered to the target-language listeners via their earphones.
The progressive shift from consecutive to simultaneous
Pavel Palazchenko
Pavel Palazhchenko ''or'' Palazchenko (russian: Па́вел Русла́нович Пала́жченко, born 17 March 1949) is a former high-level Soviet conference interpreter who was the chief English interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev and S ...
's ''My Years with Gorbachev and Shevardnadze: The Memoir of a Soviet Interpreter'' gives a short history of modern interpretation and of the transition from its consecutive to simultaneous forms. He explains that during the nineteenth century interpreters were rarely needed during European diplomatic discussions; these were routinely conducted in French, and all government diplomats were required to be fluent in this language. Most European government leaders and heads of state could also speak French.
Pavel Palazchenko
Pavel Palazhchenko ''or'' Palazchenko (russian: Па́вел Русла́нович Пала́жченко, born 17 March 1949) is a former high-level Soviet conference interpreter who was the chief English interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev and S ...
, ''My Years with Gorbachev and Shevardnadze: The Memoir of a Soviet Interpreter'' (Pennsylvania University Press, 1997), pp. 32–33. Historian
Harold Nicolson
Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West.
Early lif ...
attributes the growing need for interpretation after World War I to the fact that U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
and British Prime Minister
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
"were no linguists". At the time, the concept and special equipment needed for simultaneous interpretation, later patented by
Alan Gordon Finlay
Alan Gordon-Finlay (8 June 1890 – 6 June 1959) was a British engineer and inventor of Scottish descent born in Australia. He is best known for having co-created the Filene-Finlay (incorrectly spelled Findlay) simultaneous interpretation system ...
, had not been developed, so consecutive interpretation was used.
Consecutive interpreters, in order be accurate, used a specialized system of note-taking which included symbols abbreviations and acronyms. Because they waited until the speaker was finished to provide interpretation, the interpreters then had the difficult task of creating from these notes as much as half an hour of free-flowing sentences closely matching the speaker's meaning. Palazchenko cites ,
Jean Herbert
Jean Herbert was one of the first generation of interpreters for the United Nations organization. He was a former chief interpreter of the United Nations interpretation service in New York City.
Biography
Herbert was one of the pioneer, veteran ...
and the Kaminker brothers as skilled interpreters, and notes one unusual case in which André Kaminker interpreted a speech by a French diplomat who spoke for two and a half hours without stopping.
After World War II, simultaneous interpretation came into use at the
Nuremberg trial
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...
, and began to be more accepted. Experienced consecutive interpreters asserted that the difficulties of listening and speaking at the same time, adjusting for differences in sentence structure between languages, and interpreting the beginning of a sentence before hearing its end, would produce an inferior result. As well, these interpreters, who to that point had been prominent speakers, would now be speaking invisibly from booths.
In 1951, when the United Nations expanded its number of working languages to five (English, French, Russian, Chinese and Spanish), consecutive interpretation became impractical in most cases, and simultaneous interpretation became the most common process for the organization's large meetings.
[Jesús Baigorri Jalón. ]
Interpreters at the United Nations. A history
'. Universidad de Salamanca; 2004. . p. 29–30. Consecutive interpretation, which provides a more fluent result without the need for specialized equipment, continued to be used for smaller discussions.
Whispered
![Johannes Nyholm presenting Koko-di Koko-da at BAFICI 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Johannes_Nyholm_presenting_Koko-di_Koko-da_at_BAFICI_2019.jpg)
Since time immemorial, whispered interpretation has been used, known in the trade by the French term ''chuchotage''. To avoid disturbing the original speaker and those present listening to the original speaker, the interpreter's voice is kept at a low volume. To do this, the interpreter and the person requiring interpretation must sit or stand in close proximity to one another. No actual whispering is involved as this is difficult to decipher as well as being too much of a strain on the voice: the interpreter uses normal 'voiced' speech at a low volume. Only one or at the most two people in need of interpretation can be accommodated, unless portable electronic equipment is used.
This form of interpretation puts a strain on the interpreter who has to sit for long periods leaning towards the person in need of interpretation.
Types
Conference
![Heads of Delegation meeting, 11 December (38130168095)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Heads_of_Delegation_meeting%2C_11_December_%2838130168095%29.jpg)
Conference interpreting refers to interpretation at a conference or large meeting, either simultaneously or consecutively. The advent of multi-lingual meetings has reduced the amount of consecutive interpretation in the last 20 years.
Conference interpretation is divided between two markets: institutional and private. International institutions (EU, UN, EPO, et cetera), which hold multilingual meetings, often favor interpreting several foreign languages into the interpreters' mother tongues. Local private markets tend to have bilingual meetings (the local language plus another), and the interpreters work both into and out of their mother tongues. These markets are not mutually exclusive. The
International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC)
The International Association of Conference Interpreters - AIIC (AIIC – Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence) was founded in 1953. It represents over 3,000 members present in over 100 countries.
Overview
AIIC is the only ...
is the only worldwide association of conference interpreters. Founded in 1953, its membership includes more than 2,800 professional conference interpreters, in more than 90 countries.
Judicial
Judicial, legal, or court interpreting occurs in courts of justice, administrative tribunals, and wherever a legal proceeding is held (i.e., a police station for an interrogation, a conference room for a deposition, or the locale for taking a sworn statement). Legal interpreting can be the consecutive interpretation of witnesses' testimony, for example, or the simultaneous interpretation of entire proceedings, by electronic means, for one person, or all of the people attending. In a legal context, where ramifications of misinterpretation may be dire, accuracy is paramount. Teams of two or more interpreters, with one actively interpreting and the second monitoring for greater accuracy, may be deployed.
The right to a competent interpreter for anyone who does not understand the language of the court (especially for the accused in a criminal trial) is usually considered a fundamental rule of justice. Therefore, this right is often guaranteed in national constitutions, declarations of rights, fundamental laws establishing the justice system or by precedents set by the highest courts. However, it is not a constitutionally required procedure (in the United States) that a certified interpreter be present at police
interrogation
Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
. This has been especially controversial in cases where
illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...
with no English skills are accused of crimes.
In the US, depending upon the regulations and standards adhered to per state and venue, court interpreters usually work alone when interpreting consecutively, or as a team, when interpreting simultaneously. In addition to practical mastery of the source and target languages, thorough knowledge of law and legal and court procedures is required of court interpreters. They are often required to have formal authorization from the state to work in the courts – and then are called certified court interpreters.
[The majority of state court systems utilize a certification exam developed and administered by the National Center for State Courts. Most non-native speakers of English use the term "sworn interpreter," which is calqued from a civil-law position title common throughout the world. However, there is no common law country that uses this term.] In many jurisdictions, the interpretation is considered an essential part of the evidence. Incompetent interpretation, or simply failure to swear in the interpreter, can lead to a mistrial.
Escort interpreter
In escort interpreting, an interpreter accompanies a person or a delegation on a tour, on a visit, or to a business meeting or interview. An interpreter in this role is called an ''escort interpreter'' or an ''escorting interpreter''. An escort interpreter's work session may run for days, weeks, or even months, depending on the period of the client's visit. This type of interpreting is often needed in business contexts, during presentations, investor meetings, and business negotiations. As such, an escort interpreter needs to be equipped with some business and financial knowledge in order to best understand and convey messages back and forth.
Public sector
Also known as community interpreting, is the type of interpreting occurring in fields such as legal, health, and federal and local government, social, housing, environmental health, education, and welfare services. In community interpreting, factors exist which determine and affect language and communication production, such as speech's emotional content, hostile or polarized social surroundings, its created stress, the power relationships among participants, and the interpreter's degree of responsibility – in many cases more than extreme; in some cases, even the life of the other person depends upon the interpreter's work.
Medical
Medical interpreting is a subset of public service interpreting, consisting of communication among healthcare personnel and the patient and their family or among Healthcare personnel speaking different languages, facilitated by an interpreter, usually formally educated and qualified to provide such interpretation services. In some situations, medical employees who are multilingual may participate
part-time
Part-time can refer to:
* Part-time job, a job that has fewer hours a week than a full-time job
* Part-time student, a student, usually in higher education, who takes fewer course credits than a full-time student
* Part Time
Part Time (styliz ...
as members of internal
language bank A language bank is an organization that helps people who need translation or Language interpretation, interpretation services fulfill those needs through the assistance of qualified translators or interpreters. Such organizations usually, but not al ...
s. Depending on country/state-specific requirements, the interpreter is often required to have some knowledge of medical terminology, common procedures, the patient interview and exam process. Medical interpreters are often
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
liaisons for people (regardless of language) who are unfamiliar with or uncomfortable in hospital, clinical, or medical settings.
For example, in China, there is no mandatory certificate for medical interpreters as of 2012. Most interpretation in hospitals in China is done by doctors, who are proficient in both Chinese and English (mostly) in his/her specialty. They interpret more in academic settings than for communications between doctors and patients. When a patient needs English language service in a Chinese hospital, more often than not the patient will be directed to a staff member in the hospital, who is recognized by his/her colleagues as proficient in English. The actual quality of such service for patients or medical interpretation for communications between doctors speaking different languages is unknown by the interpreting community as interpreters who lack Healthcare background rarely receive accreditation for medical interpretation in the medical community. Interpreters working in the Healthcare setting may be considered
Allied Health Professionals.
In the United States, language access is a socioeconomic disparity, and language access to federally-funded health services is required by law. Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives Federal funds or other Federal financial assistance. Hospital systems and clinics that are funded by federal programs, such as Medicare, are required by this law to take reasonable steps towards ensuring equitable access to health services for limited English proficient patients.
Military interpreting
Interpreters are often used in a
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
context, carrying out interpretation usually either during
active military combat or during
noncombat operations. Interpretation is one the of the main factors in
multi-national and
multi-lingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
cooperation and
military cohesion
Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishmen ...
of the military and
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
populations.
During inactive military operations, the most common goal of military interpreters is to increase
overall cohesion in the military unit, and with the civilian population. One of the primary forces behind the feeling of an occupation is a lack of
mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
. During the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
, the use of American soldiers that did not speak the
languages of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a multilingual country in which two Iranic languages – Pashto and Dari Persian – are both official and most widely spoken.
Dari is the official name of the variety of Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. It is often referre ...
, and the primary recruitment from northern Afghanistan, primarily
Tajiks
Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...
, led to a feeling of the United States and Tajik forces as an
occupying force
Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...
. This feeling was most common in majority
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
areas of the country, which in turn was one of the main causes of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
's resurgence. If interpreters are not present inside war zones, it becomes extremely common for
misunderstandings from the civilian population and a military force to
spiral into an open conflict, or to produce animosity and distrust, forming the basis of a
conflict
Conflict may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton
* ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne
* ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
or an
insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...
.
![Awara US-Peshmerga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Awara_US-Peshmerga.jpg)
Military interpreters are commonly found in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and have been largely effective, particularly in the
Kurdish held regions (Kurdistan Regional Government), during the fighting against
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
. Military interpreters were the primary drivers in
cooperation
Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...
between the
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
and the
Iraqi population
The Iraqi people ( ar, العراقيون; ku, گهلی عیراق; Syriac: ܥܡܐ ܥܝܪܩܝܐ; Turkish: ''Iraklılar'') are people identified with the country of Iraq.
Iraqi Arabs are the largest Semitic people in Iraq, whIle Iraqi Kurds are ...
and
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
. Likewise managing to produce
stability
Stability may refer to:
Mathematics
*Stability theory, the study of the stability of solutions to differential equations and dynamical systems
**Asymptotic stability
**Linear stability
**Lyapunov stability
**Orbital stability
**Structural stabilit ...
in areas held by the coalition, Kurdish interpreters were known for being a primary aid in this endeavour.
The fundamental act of interpreting during
active combat is an extremely
stressful and dangerous. It is, however, necessary when different-language
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s are fighting together with no common
intermediate language
An intermediate representation (IR) is the data structure or code used internally by a compiler or virtual machine to represent source code. An IR is designed to be conducive to further processing, such as optimization and translation. A "good ...
. Misunderstandings in this context are most often
fatal
Fatal may refer to:
* ''Fatal'' (album), by Hussein Fatal, 2002
* ''Fatal'' (film), a 2010 French film starring Michaël Youn and Stéphane Rousseau
* '' F.A.T.A.L.'', a tabletop role-playing game released in 2003
* Fatal Recordings, a record la ...
, the most common misinterpretations are
positioning Positioning may refer to:
* Positioning (marketing), creating an identity in the minds of a target market
* Positioning theory, a theory in social psychology
* Positioning (critical literacy), reader context
* Positioning (telecommunications), a t ...
and attempted
break outs. In the
chaos
Chaos or CHAOS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements
* Chaos (''Kinnikuman'')
* Chaos (''Sailor Moon'')
* Chaos (''Sesame Park'')
* Chaos (''Warhammer'')
* Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy''
* Cha ...
of combat, however, it can be very easy to make a mistake in interpreting, particularly with the immense noise and changing locations.
Military interpreters are also used within single
armies
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
instead of multi-lingual cooperation. In this context, a military interpreter is usually a given job in each
unit
Unit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''
* Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation
Music
* ''Unit'' (alb ...
. Common examples include
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
, Pakistan, Switzerland, and South Africa. This use of assigning soldiers with different languages to a single battalion helps reinforce a feeling of
unity
Unity may refer to:
Buildings
* Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building
* Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper
* Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England
* Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...
in the military force.
For an historical example, see also
Linguistics and translations in the Austro-Hungarian Army.
Sign language
![Interp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Interp.jpg)
A sign language interpreter must accurately convey messages between two different languages. An interpreter is there for both
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
and
hearing
Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psycholog ...
individuals. The act of interpreting occurs when a hearing person speaks, and an interpreter renders the speaker's meaning into sign language, or other forms used by the deaf party(ies). The interpreting also happens in reverse: when a deaf person signs, an interpreter renders the meaning expressed in the signs into the oral language for the hearing party, which is sometimes referred to as voice interpreting or ''voicing''. This may be performed either as simultaneous or consecutive interpreting. Skilled sign language interpreters will position themselves in a room or space that allows them to be seen by the deaf participants and heard clearly by hearing participants, as well as be in a position to hear and/or see the speaker or speakers clearly. In some circumstances, an interpreter may interpret from one language to another whether that is English to
British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on ...
, English to
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
, Spanish to English to American Sign Language and so on.
Deaf individuals also have the opportunity to work as interpreters. If they are certified they are referred to as a CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter), if not they would be called a DI (Deaf Interpreter). The
Deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
individual will team with a hearing counterpart to provide interpretation for deaf individuals who may not know the same sign language used in that country, who have minimal language skills, are developmentally delayed, have other mental and/or physical disabilities which make communication a unique challenge, or request one. In other cases the hearing interpreter may interpret in the sign language, whichever kind of sign language the team knows and the deaf team will then interpret into the language in which the individual can understand. They also interpret information from one medium of language into another – for example, when a person is signing visually, the deaf interpreter could be hired to copy those signs into a deaf-blind person's hand and add visual information.
Some interpreters have been formally trained in an Interpreter Training Program (ITP), though this is not always required. ITP lengths vary, and are usually two or four years to obtain a degree or certificate. Graduate programs are also available.
In the United States,
Sign Language interpreters
A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
have National and some states have a State level certifications. The
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc (RID) is a non-profit organization founded on June 16, 1964, and incorporated in 1972, that seeks to uphold standards, ethics, and professionalism for American Sign Language interpreters. RID is current ...
(RID), a non-profit organization, is known for its national recognition and certification process. In addition to training requirements and stringent certification testing, RID members must abide by a Code of Professional Conduct, Grievance Process and Continuing Education Requirement. There are many interpreter-training programs in the U.S. The Collegiate Commission on Interpreter Education is the body that accredits Interpreter Preparation Programs. A list of accredited programs can be found on the CCIE web site.
European countries and countries elsewhere have their own national associations of Sign Language Interpreters. Some countries have more than one national association due to regional or language differences. The European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (efsli) is the umbrella organization of sign language interpreters in Europe. In Canada, the professional association that recognizes and nationally certifies sign language interpreters is the
Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada
The Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters (CASLI), formally the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada (AVLIC), is a professional association that represents interpreters in Canada whose working languages are English, A ...
(AVLIC). Under AVLIC holds several affiliate chapters representing a specified region of Canada.
Sign language interpreters encounter a number of linguistic, environmental, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors that can have an effect on their ability to provide accurate interpretation. Studies have found that most interpreter training programs do not sufficiently prepare students for the highly variable day-to-day stresses that an interpreter must manage, and there is an ongoing conversation in the interpreting field as to how to appropriately prepare students for the challenges of the job. Proposed changes include having a more robust definition of what a qualified interpreter should know, as well as a post-graduate internship structure that would allow new interpreters to work with the benefit of supervision from more experienced interpreters, much like the programs in place in medicine, law enforcement, etc.
In Israel, Naama Weiss, a board member of Malach, the Organization of the Israeli Sign Language Interpreters, advertised a video which she produced. It was her paraphrase of the video ''So-Low'', and showed her viewpoint upon the Israeli Sign Language interpreters' jobs. A study which was made in Finland found that, in comparison to the foreign language teachers and non-linguistic experts, a high cooperativeness was found to be more characteristic to simultaneous and consecutive interpreters, and Weiss showed it in her video, although she claimed to be comic.
One cost-effective method of providing sign-language interpretation services are computer-animated sign language avatars, such as
SiMAX. The
World Federation of the Deaf
The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends. WFD aims ...
supports the use of avatars "for pre-recorded static customer information, for example, in hotels or train stations", and not to replace human interpreters.
Media
By its very nature, media interpreting has to be conducted in the simultaneous mode. It is provided particularly for live television coverages such as press conferences, live or taped interviews with political figures, musicians, artists, sportsmen or people from the business circle. In this type of interpreting, the interpreter has to sit in a sound-proof booth where ideally he/she can see the speakers on a monitor and the set. All equipment should be checked before recording begins. In particular, satellite connections have to be double-checked to ensure that the interpreter's voice is not sent back and the interpreter gets to hear only one channel at a time. In the case of interviews recorded outside the studio and some current affairs program, the interpreter interprets what they hear on a TV monitor. Background noise can be a serious problem. The interpreter working for the media has to sound as slick and confident as a television presenter.
Media interpreting has gained more visibility and presence especially after the Gulf War. Television channels have begun to hire staff simultaneous interpreters. The interpreter renders the press conferences, telephone beepers, interviews and similar live coverage for the viewers. It is more stressful than other types of interpreting as the interpreter has to deal with a wide range of technical problems coupled with the control room's hassle and wrangling during live coverage.
Modalities
Interpreting services can be delivered in multiple modalities. The most common modality through which interpreting services are provided is on-site interpreting.
On-site
Also called "in-person interpreting" or sometimes colloquialized as "face-to-face", this delivery method requires the interpreter to be physically present in order for the interpretation to take place. In on-site interpreting settings, all of the parties who wish to speak to one another are usually located in the same place. This is by far the most common modality used for most public and social service settings.
Telephone
Also referred to as "over-the-phone interpreting," "telephonic interpreting," and "tele-interpreting," telephone interpreting enables interpretation via telephone. Telephone interpreting can be used in community settings as well as conference settings. Telephone interpreting may be used in place of on-site interpreting when no on-site interpreter is readily available at the location where services are needed. However, it is more commonly used for situations in which all parties who wish to communicate are already speaking to one another via telephone (e.g. telephone applications for insurance or credit cards, or telephone inquiries from consumers to businesses).
Video
Interpretation services via
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) or a
Video Relay Service (VRS) are useful for spoken language barriers where visual-cultural recognition is relevant, and even more applicable where one of the parties is
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
,
hard-of-hearing
Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken l ...
or
speech-impaired (mute). In such cases the direction of interpretation is normally within the same principal language, such as
French Sign Language
French Sign Language (french: langue des signes française, LSF) is the sign language of the deaf in France and French-speaking parts of Switzerland. According to ''Ethnologue'', it has 100,000 native signers.
French Sign Language is related ...
(FSL) to spoken French and
Spanish Sign Language
Spanish Sign Language ( es, Lengua de Signos Española, LSE) is a sign language used mainly by deaf people in Spain and the people who live with them. Although there are not many reliable statistics, it is estimated that there are over 100,000 s ...
(SSL) to spoken Spanish.
Multilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
sign language interpreter
Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language.
The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous inter ...
s, who can also interpret as well across principal languages (such as to and from SSL, to and from spoken English), are also available, albeit less frequently. Such activities involve considerable effort on the part of the interpreter, since
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
s are distinct
natural language
In neuropsychology, linguistics, and philosophy of language, a natural language or ordinary language is any language that has evolved naturally in humans through use and repetition without conscious planning or premeditation. Natural languages ...
s with their own construction and
syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
, different from the aural version of the same principal language.
With video interpreting, sign language interpreters work remotely with live video and audio feeds, so that the interpreter can see the deaf or mute party, converse with the hearing party and vice versa. Much like
telephone interpreting
Telephone interpreting connects human interpreters via telephone to individuals who wish to speak to each other but do not share a common language. The telephone interpreter converts the spoken language from one language to another, enabling lis ...
, video interpreting can be used for situations in which no on-site interpreters are available. However, video interpreting cannot be used for situations in which all parties are speaking via telephone alone. VRI and VRS interpretation requires all parties to have the
necessary equipment. Some advanced equipment enables interpreters to control the video camera, in order to zoom in and out, and to point the camera toward the party that is signing.
Venues
![2007 07 16 parlament europejski bruksela 45](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/2007_07_16_parlament_europejski_bruksela_45.JPG)
The majority of professional full-time conference interpreters work for phone interpreting agencies, health care institutions, courts, school systems and international organizations like the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, (for the
United Nations Interpretation Service
The United Nations Interpretation Service is a part of the Meetings and Publishing Division (MPD) of the UN's Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM). Its core function is to provide interpretation from and into Arabic, ...
), the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, or the
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
.
The world's largest employer of interpreters is currently the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, which employs hundreds of staff and freelance interpreters working into the official
languages of the European Union
The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which threeEnglish, French and Germanhave the higher status of "procedural" languages of the European Commission (whereas the European Parliament accepts all official languages as working la ...
and some others in
DG Interpretation. In 2016,
Florika Fink-Hooijer
Florika Fink-Hooijer is a European civil servant at the European Commission. She leads the Directorate General for the Environment, which holds large responsibilities under the European Green Deal.
She joined the European Commission in 1990 an ...
was appointed as Director General and the first ever Knowledge Centre on Interpretation was created. She had spoken about the need to "futureproof" services by strengthening the skills of colleagues to work with new technologies.' as well as how
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
may be an (un)desired revolution in linguistic services. Subsequently, she drove forward the digitalization of the service by introducing features like automatic speech recognition and other support services to interpreters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she scaled up multilingual interpretation in hybrid meetings via new digital platforms and technologies, which was a "watershed moment" for the interpretation profession.
The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's other institutions (the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
and the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
) have smaller interpreting services.
The
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
employs interpreters at almost all its sites throughout the world. Because it has only six official languages, however, it is a smaller employer than the European Union.
Interpreters may also work as freelance operators in their local, regional and national communities, or may take on contract work under an interpreting business or service. They would typically take on work as described above.
Militaries often use interpreters to better communicate with the local population. One notable example is the US military during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Associations
There are a number of interpreting and translation associations around the world, including NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters), AIIC (The International Association of Conference Interpreters), CATTI (China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters), CTTIC (Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council), the
Institute of Translation & Interpreting, ADICA (Argentinian International Association of Conference and Interpreters) and TAALS (The American Association of Language Specialists).
Certifications
No worldwide testing or certification agency exists for all types of interpreters. For conference interpretation, there is the
International Association of Conference Interpreters
The International Association of Conference Interpreters - AIIC (AIIC – Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence) was founded in 1953. It represents over 3,000 members present in over 100 countries.
Overview
AIIC is the only ...
, or AIIC.
Specific regions, countries, or even cities will have their own certification standards. In many cases, graduates of a certain caliber university program acts as a de facto certification for conference interpretation.
China
The most recognized interpretation & translation certificate in P.R.C. is China Accreditation Test for Translation and Interpretation, or CATTI.
It is entrusted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of P.R.C. It is a translation and interpretation professional qualification accreditation test which is implemented throughout the country according to uniform standards, in order to assess examinees' bilingual translation or interpretation capability.
CATTI was introduced in 2003. In later 2013, translation and interpreting tests of different levels in English, French, Japanese, Russian, German, Spanish and Arabic were held across the nation.
Those examinees who pass CATTI and obtain translation and interpretation certificates acquire corresponding translation and interpretation professional titles.
* Senior translator or interpreter – professor of translation or interpretation
* Level 1 translator or interpreter – associate professor of translation or interpretation
* Level 2 translator or interpreter – translator or interpreter
* Level 3 translator or interpreter – assistant translator or interpreter
Relevant institutions from Australia, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and other countries as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the region of Taiwan have established work ties with CATTI.
Germany
In Germany, anyone can become and call themselves an interpreter; access to this profession is not regulated, but court interpreters must be sworn in and prove their qualifications, e.g. through a recognized certificate or professional experience of several years.
In order to learn and practice the necessary skills, colleges and universities offer studies in Translation and/or Interpretation Studies, primarily to/from English, but there are also Sign Language Interpretation studies.
Admission to higher education, however, is highly
restricted.
Some states offer a State Examination title .
Unlike a bachelor's or master's degree, this certificate merely ''certifies'' professional skills.
Access to the exam is far easier, but requires proof of the necessary skills.
For that, there are private schools that offer preparatory courses.
Attending these schools is usually sufficient to prove someone's aptitude.
Of course, a university or college degree is accepted, too.
Furthermore, the State Examination is offered in ''many more'' languages, including German Sign Language, yet primarily to/from German.
See also
*
Interpreting notes
Interpreting notes are used by some interpreters, who re-express oral communications (such as speeches) in whole or in part. Such notes may be used when the interpreter is working in " consecutive mode."
Interpreting notes are not part of any conv ...
*
List of translators and interpreters associations
{{Translation sidebar
This is a list of notable translator and interpreter organizations (professional associations, not commercial translation agencies) around the world.
Most of them are International Federation of Translators members as well.
...
Notes
References
Sources
*
Bertone, Laura: The Hidden Side of Babel: Unveiling Cognition, Intelligence and Sense. 2006,
ISBN 987-21049-1-3 volución, Organización intercultural* Farwick, Judith (2018). ''Between the Signs. How to take notes without words''. Duesseldorf.
*
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*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters) websiteRoutledge Translation Studies Portal – Interpreting Studies booksThe archives of the International Journal of Translation and Interpreting ResearchAssociation of Language Companies (USA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Language Interpretation
Articles containing video clips