Conference Interpreting
(or Simultaneous Translation)
Frequently Asked Questions
There are few conference interpreters and they are in high demand.
It only takes for several conferences to be held on the same dates to make recruiting teams difficult. The number of interpreters and their language combinations vary from country to country.
It therefore makes sense to recruit interpreters well in advance.
For "rare" languages (say Korean in France or Italian in Vietnam) there are only a few local interpreters with the languages.
Recruit the interpreters well in advance to avoid having to bring them from elsewhere at a higher cost.
Many people do not genuinely understand English and speak it poorly.
Conference interpreters are "conveyors of meaning" and nuance between cultures.
In your own language you say what you want; in another language you say what you can.
The cost of conference interpreting is minimal compared to what is at stake.
It facilitates communication and makes the presence of the participants worthwhile. When seen as part of the overall budget for an event it is a small yet vital investment to ensure genuine communication.
Consider the cost of communication breakdown and its impact on your image.
No, professionals bill by the day.
It is akin to a lump sum that covers preparation time (sometimes several days), the interpreting service itself and availability if the event runs overtime.
What is more the intensive mental concentration that the profession requires limits the number of hours that an interpreter can work in a day and days per year.
The only guarantee is membership of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC).
The interpreting profession is not regulated in the same way as doctors or lawyers.
AIIC checks languages and professional skills before admitting a new member. Most international organizations recruit mainly among AIIC members, who undertake, inter alia, to respect absolute professional secrecy.
Membership of AIIC guarantees a conference interpreter's professionalism.
Conference interpretation requires great mental concentration that cannot be maintained over long periods.
Interpreters generally work turn and turn about in pairs (swapping every 30 minutes or so) and set a maximum working day - as do air traffic controllers.
You therefore need to plan for at least 2 interpreters per language and per booth.
- Private sector companies
- International organizations and associations
- National and regional governments and local authorities
- United Nations and its specialized agencies
- European institutions (Commission, Parliament, Court of Justice) who are the world's biggest users of interpreters.
You need equipment for simultaneous interpretation, although not for consecutive: booths, consoles, mixing table, P.A. system and headsets for the participants.
If there are no built-in booths in your meeting room you will need to hire the equipment and the services of a technician.
Consult our page Equipment.
