In the fourth and final part of Sheila’s bird’s eye view of what it’s like to be a UN interpreter, she addresses mastering sight translation of complex written speeches and practicing interpreting “densely drafted speech.” Just another technique UN interpreters develop in their training, which requires tons of practice. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of articles about … [Read more...]
United Nations Interpreters: An insider’s view – Part 3
In part 3 of Sheila’s first-hand account of life as a UN interpreter, she takes us through the fundamental objective of our profession—communication—through the UN lens, and also addresses the traditional interpreter–client relationship in the same setting. Stay tuned for the conclusion in part 4! Aleyna Maria Tusa, Contributing Editor Read Part 1 | Part 2 | … [Read more...]
United Nations Interpreters: An insider’s view – Part 2
The second part of Sheila Shermet’s reporting regarding UN interpreting is here! It focuses on the four main UN duty stations around the world with resident teams of staff interpreters and the substantive work of each. Sheila’s first article, published last year, was one of our most read articles, and this one is sure not to disappoint. Enjoy learning more about UN … [Read more...]
Preparing to Interpret at a Conference: Lessons Learned from a Healthcare and Court Interpreter
By Liz Essary During my training as a conference interpreter, some of the most important advice I got was this: Don’t crush your listener with a wall of sound. But what does that mean? It took me a while to figure it out. Rather than parroting a word-for-word monotone (and likely meaningless) rendition of what the speaker’s saying, you must process the message … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Fields: Doing Research on Interpreting
By Deborah Giustini For most interpreters, whether they work in healthcare, media, asylums, international conferences, business meetings and so forth, the very idea of research – and doing research – on interpreting may be nebulous. The life of interpreters is a notably practical, hands-on and real-time occupation, and our training focuses mainly on acquiring the necessary … [Read more...]