subject: Do You Need A Simultaneous Interpreter For Your Event? [print this page] If you are planning a large event of some sort and you need to reach some people who do not speak English, you may need a simultaneous interpreter. If you need to interpret something to another person and there is a communication barrier to overcome, you might find that this type of translation specialist is just what you need to keep things going at a faster pace without having to wait for a conventional translator to work. What is a simultaneous interpreter? What is the difference between that and a conventional translator? Here is an overview so that you can decide which type of professional you should hire for your event.
Depending on your particular event, you may need one of these specialists or you may be able to pass with just a conventional translator. Here is the difference: with a conventional translator, one person does the speaking in his or her native tongue, then pauses. The translator then takes what the speaker said in his language and mentally translates it into the listeners language. The translator reports in the listeners language to the listener what the speaker has said. If the listener has something to say, the translator may be able to interpret it back to the speaker some people have the ability to translate both ways, but others are more comfortable doing it one way.
A simultaneous interpreter is someone who does not need the speaker or the listener to pause at all to allow time for translation. This type of specialist is very rare, and they are difficult to schedule but they are certainly available. These specialists listen to the speaker talk in his native language, and at the same time, they speak to the listener in his own native language. There is no break in between the speaker speaking and the listener. As you can imagine, this takes an incredible amount of skill and concentration.
A simultaneous interpreter has to concentrate so hard, in fact, that they can only work for about 15 minutes before they either are permitted to take a break or they are replaced with a fresh translator. For long, drawn out events, these professionals are never hired by themselves they must always work in teams so that they can switch with their other translators and take a break. It is for this reason that simultaneous interpreters are so expensive to hire you are not just hiring one person, you must hire an entire team, depending on how long your event will be.
