{"id":2331,"date":"2015-12-15T14:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T18:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/?p=2331"},"modified":"2018-11-07T08:14:50","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T12:14:50","slug":"remote-simultaneous-interpreting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/remote-simultaneous-interpreting\/","title":{"rendered":"Remote Simultaneous Interpreting: Options and Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><strong>By Cyril Flerov<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 40px;\"><span class=\"firstletter\">E<\/span>ven though experiments with Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) have been taking place since the early 1970s, it is only relatively recently that we have heard more and more about this type of interpretation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"imgbox aligncenter wp-image-2341\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/wp-content\/uploads\/e-voice\/remote-simultaneous-interpreting\/Flerov-featured-image-soundwave.jpg?resize=700%2C460&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"[Remote simultaneous interpreting - featured image]\" width=\"700\" height=\"460\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 20px; text-indent: 40px;\">It may exist in several configurations, namely:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Internal cable<\/em> \u2013 interpreters are in the same building but not in the conference room. Professional consoles, booths and equipment are used. Professional quality audio feed and the video feed of the speaker and of the PowerPoint charts are provided. Interpreters have the ability to interact with delegates and ask questions.<\/li>\n<li><em>External cable<\/em> \u2013 interpreters are in a different location than delegates or users of interpretation. This is a more problematic option, because interpreters may have no access to the delegates, video feed may not be provided and sound quality may be substandard. Dedicated audio and video feeds might not always be used.<\/li>\n<li>RSI <em>from home<\/em> \u2013 attempts are being made by various commercial parties to develop platforms to be used by simultaneous interpreters from their homes or offices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">While <em>internal cable<\/em> is certainly possible (though not ideal) and <em>external cable<\/em> might be possible under very specific and tightly controlled conditions with a possible loss of quality, RSI <em>from home<\/em> is the most problematic option for a variety of technical and logistical reasons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">It would be a mistake to promote RSI <em>from home<\/em> as equal to or better than <em>internal<\/em> or <em>external<\/em> cable.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sound Quality<\/strong><\/h2>\n[pullquote align=&#8221;right&#8221; color=&#8221;#195392&#8243; size=&#8221;18&#8243;]&#8221;Interpreters need better sound quality than do delegates&#8221;[\/pullquote]\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">Source-language sound quality should not be evaluated by interpreters subjectively. For professional simultaneous interpretation, sound quality is defined by ISO Standard 2603 (fixed booths for simultaneous interpretation) and ISO Standard 4043 (mobile booths for simultaneous interpretation). The standards require to \u201ccorrectly reproduce audio-frequencies between 125 Hz and 12500 Hz.\u201d Sound quality either is or is not ISO compliant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\"><em>From home<\/em> platform designers intend to use Voice over IP (VoIP), landlines and cellular phones with their RSI systems. The quality of VoIP connections varies significantly as can be seen in this example:<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\" align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/133871472\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">VoIP (even the Wide Band Audio option limited to 7,000Hz instead of 12,500 Hz required by ISO) does not provide sufficient sound quality. As a result, higher frequencies such as treble, which are important for speech intelligibility, are lost. The use of landlines and cellular phones results in a loss of lower frequencies as well as in an additional deterioration of sound quality.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"imgbox aligncenter wp-image-2332 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/wp-content\/uploads\/uncategorized\/remote-simultaneous-interpreting-options-and-standards\/Flerov-Figure-1.jpg?resize=792%2C612&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"[Remote Simultaneous Interpreting -- Figure 1]\" width=\"792\" height=\"612\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px; margin-top: 20px;\">The human voice becomes more difficult to understand when using VoIP\/Wide Band Audio and landline\/cell phones. It becomes <em>muddy<\/em> and <em>tinny<\/em>, and loses its dimension. While conference participants may be more tolerant as far as sound quality is concerned, it is worth remembering that they are only listening to the presentation and are not interpreting. Interpretation is a very different cognitive task from listening, and therefore, interpreters\u00a0require better sound quality than do delegates.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">Additionally, VoIP has a number of other complications not related to the poor frequency reproduction. These include excessive gain, packet loss, packet delay, jitter, signal latency, etc.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">All of these small, but multiple, issues may start to add up, and if the presenter has poor public speaking skills, RSI\u2019s proverbial camel\u2019s back might just break.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"imgbox aligncenter wp-image-2338 size-full\" style=\"margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/wp-content\/uploads\/e-voice\/remote-simultaneous-interpreting\/Flerov-Figure-2b.jpg?resize=960%2C720&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"[Remore simultaneous interpreting]\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px; margin-top: 20px;\">Excessive use of relay, unclear hiring practices, undefined equipment requirements, acoustic shock, legal issues, lack of video, interpreter provided hardware \u2013 these are but a few items from a laundry list that can complicate the quality of the interpretation and therefore affect the end user.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">Interpreters are effectively being asked to work in substandard conditions with poor sound quality and potentially user-un-friendly interfaces, something that may be justified by statements such as, \u201cfor convenience\u2019s sake\u201d or \u201cyou cannot stop progress.\u201d However, the reality is such that, as of today, there are no RSI platforms known to this author that would provide an ISO quality experience for the interpreter.<\/p>\n[pullquote align=&#8221;right&#8221; color=&#8221;#195392&#8243; size=&#8221;18&#8243;]&#8221;Clients must be aware that today RSI is still a very experimental technology, not yet ready for commercial application&#8221;[\/pullquote]\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">While we need to appreciate all attempts to develop Remote Simultaneous Interpretation for whatever the setting may be, both interpreters and their clients must be aware that today it is still a very experimental technology, not yet ready for commercial application. Purchasing such services is at the client\u2019s own risk, and standards of the profession cannot and should not be lowered to accommodate underdeveloped technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">In the future, we may see more one-time RSI <em>external cable<\/em> events with large budgets and possibly somewhat improved sound quality. The question as to when ISO compliance will be achieved in RSI remains unanswered. Governments of some countries are already participating in, and in fact piloting RSI projects, with mixed results.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 40px;\">In its current state, RSI poses a significant danger of degrading and dehumanizing our profession. The situation is somewhat similar to that of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, when new technology was introduced without considering the impact it would have not only on those producing the goods, but also on those receiving the end product.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>This blog entry is based on the author\u2019s presentation at the 2015 ATA Annual Conference. Full downloadable PowerPoint slides can be found at: <a href=\"https:\/\/app.box.com\/s\/n7tjbw4jpgxr9iiepsefqwjmjyypcnuq\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/app.box.com\/s\/n7tjbw4jpgxr9iiepsefqwjmjyypcnuq<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"circular-image-150\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2373 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/wp-content\/uploads\/e-voice\/remote-simultaneous-interpreting\/CyrilFlerov.jpg?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"[Cyril Flerov picture]\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/div>\n<p><strong>Cyril\u00a0 Flerov\u00a0<\/strong> is\u00a0 a\u00a0 professionally\u00a0 trained\u00a0 USA\u00a0 based\u00a0 Russian\u00a0 conference\u00a0 interpreter\u00a0 (Russian\u00a0 A, English\u00a0 B).\u00a0 He has over 25 years\u00a0 of\u00a0 experience and worked freelance at events organized by major US and international clients. A member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) and of The American Association of Language Specialists (TAALS), he has extensive experience teaching\u00a0 conference interpretation\u00a0 both\u00a0 in\u00a0 Russia\u00a0 and\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 United\u00a0 States,\u00a0 including\u00a0 at MIIS &#8211; Middlebury\u00a0 Institute\u00a0 of International\u00a0 Studies in\u00a0 Monterey,\u00a0 California. His speaking engagements and seminars about interpretation include ATA, CHICATA, NCTA, CFI, NASA, STIBC, and others.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyrilflerov.com\/\">www.cyrilflerov.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 40px; font-size: .8em;\">Image:\u00a0Mary Theresa McLean\/pixabay<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/133871472\">Audio comparison &#8211; interpretation<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/user23802214\">JS Cote<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\">Vimeo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Cyril Flerov Even though experiments with Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) have been taking place since the early 1970s, it is only relatively recently that we have heard more and more about this type of interpretation. &nbsp; &nbsp; It may exist in several configurations, namely: Internal cable \u2013 interpreters are in the same building but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[167,38,174],"tags":[183],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Remote Simultaneous Interpreting: Options and Standards - ATA Interpreters Division<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"e-Voice. 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