Conference interpretation

Terminology

Like all professions, conference interpretation has developed its own terminology and some of the words or expressions are little known outside the profession. Here are the most frequently used expressions, in alphabetical order:

Bidule: A portable SI equipment, without a booth. Participants speak into microphones. The interpreter sits among the participants, listening with a headset, and speaks into another microphone. The participants can tune into the interpreter and listen to the speech in another language through their own headsets. The system usually covers only a small distance range and has a limited number of receiver-headsets. It is not as good as a full SI system with soundproof booths and creates some disturbance for the participants. It is also very taxing for the interpreter due to the absence of sound proofing and for this reason can only be used for a short meeting, but it is preferable to whispered interpretation.

Booth: A small room or series of rooms looking onto a meeting room, or a set of mobile boxes with large windows, placed inside a meeting room. The purpose of a booth is to provide soundproofing so that the interpreters hear only the speaker using a microphone and not other room noises and so that the participants hear only the speaker or the selected interpreter channel. The booth is the interpreters' place or work. It must conform to ISO standards 2603 or 4048, which set dimensions, ventilation, lighting, seating, working surface height, visibility, etc. The location of booths in relation to the rostrum and projection screens is crucial, since interpreters need to be able to see the speakers and any projection in order to understand properly. The interpreters working in one booth are frequently referred to as a booth. Thus the 'French booth' at a conference means all the interpreters who work from other languages into French.

Conference interpretation: Is the rendering of a speech at a conference in a different language and cultural setting than the original. It can be simultaneous or consecutive. It is different from community interpreting, escort interpreting, business interpreting, etc.

Consecutive interpretation: The interpreter takes notes while the speaker speaks, then renders a speech in a different language after the speaker. During the days of the League of Nations, all speeches were interpreted in consecutive and some interpreters were such excellent masters of their skill that they could take notes for 30 minutes and render the same and equally eloquent speech in another language.

Consultant interpreter: An interpreter who advises conference organisers or clients on what they may need in terms of language services and who organises teams of interpreters.

Copyright: Conference interpretation is protected by international copyright law, in the same way as performing artists' interpretations are protected. If an interpretation is to be recorded and used for commercial purposes (broadcasting, selling of tape-recordings), the organiser usually negotiates a copyright fee with the interpreters concerned.

DSA: Daily subsistence allowance, also known as per diem, is an amount negotiated between organisers and interpreters to cover their daily expenses (hotel accommodation, meals, local transportation) when working away from their professional address. It is usually in line with what the UN pays its officials on mission.

ISO standards: The ISO standards 2603 and 4048 covering fixed booths and mobile booths. They are completed by the IEC standards for SI equipment.

Language classification: The classification of an interpreter's languages into 'A', 'B' and 'C'. (See article on Language Classification.)

Language combination: The set of languages covered by an interpreter or used at a conference. (See article on Language Classification.)

Non-working day: A day or days during a conference when there are no meetings requiring interpretation, i.e. the interpreters are off duty. Such days, when the interpreters are prevented from accepting another assignment, are usually remunerated at a lower fee than working days.

Pivot: A booth or an interpreter whose interpretation will be translated by other booths into their language. This happens when the interpreters do not know the speaker's language, e.g. when Japanese is spoken, the French booth will listen to the English interpretation provided by the Japanese booth to render it into French. The Japanese booth, in this case, is 'pivot'. Interpreters and booths working as pivots have to be of the utmost reliability, since the rest of team depends on them.

Professional address: The home town or city in which an interpreter is based. This place is taken as the point of departure for calculation of travel costs and travel times of interpreters when they are working in a different place. Thus, when you hire an interpreter from Singapore to work at a conference in Bangkok, you pay her/him the return airfare from Singapore to Bangkok plus the DSA for Bangkok for the number of nights spent away from his/her professional address.

Professional secrecy: Members of AIIC are bound by their Code of Ethics. This includes an oath of absolute secrecy about anything the interpreter may have heard at a non-public meeting, in the same way as a lawyer's or doctor's oath of secrecy. This means that delegates at a meeting can be sure what is said in confidence will not be repeated by any interpreter and any documents the interpreters receive to acquaint themselves with the subject of a meeting will be kept confidential.

Relay: Is interpreting taking the rendition of a speech provided by another booth or interpreter. It is the reverse of pivot. This happens when the interpreter does not know the language of the speaker and has to go through another language to interpret him. It is not as good as direct interpretation and should be avoided whenever possible.

Rest day: After a long trip from his/her professional address to a conference venue, an interpreter is entitled to a rest day or more, depending on the length of travel, particularly when crossing several time zones. Because conference interpretation is such an intense intellectual activity it requires a rested brain and body. Such rest days are usually remunerated at a lower fee than working days.

SI equipment: Equipment needed for simultaneous interpretation includes: Dedicated conference microphones for the rostrum and speakers in the room; receivers with headsets for all participants; amplifier and central control unit; ISO standard booths (mobile or built-in) for interpreters; interpreter console with volume, tone, input and output channel selection controls, cough button, microphone switch for each interpreter; microphone for each interpreter; headset for each interpreter; infra-red radiators for infra-red system or cable for wired FM system. All this equipment is normally installed in convention centres. For meetings in hotels and other venues it usually is provided by specialised companies. CIAP has a list of reliable SI equipment providers in Asia-Pacific.

Simultaneous interpretation: An oral interpretation produced at the same time as a speaker speaks and transmitted to participants. The interpreters sit in soundproof booths listening to the speaker through their headsets and interpreting instantaneously into their respective languages, speaking into their own microphones. Their interpretation is transmitted to the participants via the central control unit and amplifier system. Participants select the language they want to listen to on their receivers.

Sound: The quality of sound is crucial for good simultaneous interpretation. Interpreters need a level of volume higher than ordinary listeners, since they are speaking at the same time they are listening. The sound they receive through their receivers must be clear, without interference and within a range of 125 to 12,500 Hz (for comparison: an ordinary telephone line has a range of 0 to 3,400 Hz, which means that ISDN transmissions are not suitable for interpretation). To ensure adequate sound quality it is important that only the speaker's microphone is switched on. Therefore, hotel sound systems with non-dedicated microphones are not good enough, because microphones without a switch usually must be operated by hotel staff who are either absent or are unfamiliar with conference procedures. Failing such operation, all microphones are switched on so that the interpreters are constantly receiving room background noise and side conversations in addition to the speaker's voice.

Terminal expenses: These are expenditure for transport to and from airports, visa costs, airport taxes, etc. related to an interpreter's travel. In some cities with very distant airports they can be fairly substantial.

Translation: Translation is the written transposition of a text from one language into another, as opposed to interpretation which is oral. Interpretation is frequently called 'translation' in ordinary language, but is actually a different activity.

Travel day: The day or days or part thereof needed for an interpreter to reach the conference venue from her/his professional domicile. Travel days are usually remunerated at a fee equivalent to two thirds of the working day fee. The remuneration is negotiated between interpreters and users.

Visibility: Interpreters need to see the speakers, the meeting room and, in particular, the screens used during a conference. Indeed, body language and gestures are an integral part of any discourse and need to be taken in by the interpreter in order to fully understand a speaker. The reaction of an audience, the expressions on participants' faces, the goings and comings in the room, are all part of the message the interpreter needs for his/her job. This is why the location of the booths is so important. They must be placed so that the interpreters, from their seats, can see the rostrum, the speakers, the screens and as much as possible of the room.

Whispered interpretation: Is used sometimes in small group meetings when one or two participants do not understand or speak the language of the others. The interpreter sits behind or between the participants in question and whispers an ongoing interpretation of the proceedings to them. If they in turn speak, the interpreter will give a consecutive interpretation of their statements aloud to the rest of the group. It is a form of interpretation that places particular stress on the interpreter, since he/she has to listen to speakers, often at a distance, speaking at varying levels of volume, all the while whispering to his participants.

Jean-Pierre Allain