Using your language skills : Interpreting

An interpreter converts spoken statements from one language to another in a range of settings. Interpreters facilitate effective communication between clients at international events and conferences; at technical, business, legal or political meetings; at court hearings; and at police interviews.

There are several types of interpreting:

• simultaneous interpretation (SI): The interpreter sits in a soundproof booth and immediately converts what is being said, so listeners hear the interpretation through an earpiece while the speaker is still speaking. A variation of this is whispering, or chuchotage, where the interpreter sits near one person or a small group and whispers the translation;
• consecutive interpretation (CI): The speaker will pause after each sentence and wait while the interpreter translates what is being said into the appropriate language;
• liaison interpretation (also known as ad hoc and relay): The interpreter translates every few sentences while the speaker pauses. The interpreter is there to support and ensure understanding of people who are not fluent or the language being used is their second language;

More information can be found in Interpreter.

Who employs interpreters?

The European Union

The institutions of the European Union (EU) are the largest employer of staff interpreters, with the majority working in the European Commission or European Parliament (UK Office).The Commission currently uses just over 1000 interpreters. At present, around 550 are staff and the remainder are freelancers.

The Directorate General for Interpretation services most of the institutions of the EU, providing interpreters for about 50 meetings every day. The European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the European Communities have their own separate interpreting services.

Within the EU, there is a great demand for interpreters with English as their mother tongue. A great deal of interpreters recruited in the 1970s and 1980s are due for retirement creating deficits within interpreting. The most sought after languages are German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch. Interpreters who can offer unusual combinations of languages are also in demand. To work within the EU, an approved qualification in conference interpreting is required.

The UK Civil Service

In the UK Civil Service there are occasional specialist vacancies for linguist officers as translators or interpreters in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also employs a few interpreters. There are very few other staff interpreter posts in the UK as most employers will use freelancers.

Public service interpreting

The National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) provides public services with a register of professional, qualified interpreters. Interpreters with a diploma in public service interpreting are employed in public services such as health, law and local government. African and Asian languages, including Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali and Turkish, are often in demand and more recently Romanian and Bulgarian.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has a large pool of freelance interpreters which they use at numerous locations in the UK. Each freelancer has an approved qualification or must attend an assessment or training programme.

International organisations

International organisations, such as the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) usually employ members of the Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence (AIIC). Most members of the AIIC work as freelancers.

Freelancing

The profession is becoming increasingly dominated by freelance interpreters and few full-time jobs are advertised even for public sector work. Emerging areas such as cultural consultancy are also accessed mainly through freelancing.

Interpreters often have to be flexible in the work they are willing to do and the context, whereas it is more common for translators to specialise. Starting out can be tough and success will depend on factors such as:

• the combination of languages you can offer;
• your ability to market yourself;
• networking;
• using professional bodies, such as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) or the Chartered Institute of Linguists (IoL), which run specialist short courses.

Much of what applies to translating also applies to interpreting but you should also consider:

• a qualification in interpreting is an asset. When considering courses, check their relevance to the areas of interpreting you are interested in. For example, to work within the European Union (EU) you need a recognised course in conference interpreting;
• initially, it might be useful to get some experience volunteering for a charity or a voluntary sector organisation. It is important to keep up to date with developments in your area;
• interpreting takes place in various environments, such as conferences (overseas as well as the UK), courts and police stations, you need to decide where you are willing and able to work.