A Quick Look At Conference Interpretation

By Leigh Bean


Linguists theorize that language started its life in Africa; they further postulate that while the original inhabitants spoke a similar language, migration eventually separated people to the extent that this evolved into separate tongues that were mutually unintelligible. The bible gives a slightly different account, saying that language differences are a result of human sin. Whatever the cause, there is no doubt that a multilingual world needs conference interpretation.

This service enables people from different linguistic backgrounds to share their knowledge and insights. The skills of these individual are required where speeches need to be done in front of an audience, not where communication is between individuals. Translation takes place as the speaker talks; there is no pause. This means that the individual needs very advanced language skills in order to do their job.

This requires a lot from any practitioner. It makes things easier if the professional is intimately familiar with whatever is being discussed. Many speakers actually require that of their translators. This may require period of research for the practitioner so that they can familiarize themselves with the subject matter.

The translator needs to use syntactic linearity while doing their work. This means they will analyze each sentence for its constituent parts, and seek to extract its deeper meaning. This is done in real time as the speaker gives their speech, and will obviously require very advanced linguistic skills. This is why it is so important for clients to find a qualified person; this could be the difference between communication and disaster.

A translator's active role is confirmed by a requirement on them to provide any additional information necessary for the audience to grasp the context of whatever is being spoken about. They may do this in any way they deem appropriate to the situation, such as the use of humor. This is another reason why it is so important for the professional to familiarize themselves with the speaker's goals, subject matter and intentions.

If a translator has worked with the same speaker for some time, they will probably be able to anticipate whatever they are going to say next. This can help a session proceed more smoothly, and the information will probably be clearer for members of the audience. It also makes the speakers work much easier, and more effective. This is one reason why many communicators prefer to work with certain translators.

Considering the burdens placed on a translator, training is extremely critical. However, a number of individuals have managed to pull of the job with no iota of prior knowledge; a good example are the translators who did a superlative job during the trials at Nuremberg in post World War Two Germany. The lessons they learnt made the profession richer, and ensured that future generations had a foundation to build on.

Translators obviously have to be familiar with the languages they are going to handle. Since a lot of what people say tends to have a certain cultural context, the professional should get familiar with that if they are to understand the speaker, and translator concepts without distorting them. A conference interpretation provider should have a passion for creating bridges between people.




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