Sara Cantaro (oneword GmbH) and Benjamin B\u00fchl (Dolmetscheragentur24 GmbH)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Sara Cantaro (SC):<\/em> It’s great that you’ve found time to talk to us, Benny. Since we’ve already completed a huge range of different interpreting projects together, I’d like to take a look with you at how interpreting has changed over time, what has stayed the same, where the challenges lie and where new fields of business have opened up. The key theme in all of this is digitalisation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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Benjamin B\u00fchl (BB):<\/em> I’d love to. We’ll certainly have plenty to talk about.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> So, let’s get started… Interpreting differs from written translation primarily in that interpreters work in live surroundings and in person. How has the work and working environment of interpreting changed?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Interpreting, like so much else, has become more digital. In recent years, digitalisation was already becoming a clear trend \u2013 and then Covid came along. The restrictions on any form of face-to-face contact during the pandemic have massively accelerated digital applications and virtual formats for everything from small meetings to large conferences over the last two or three years.<\/p>\nToday, meetings via MS Teams, Google Meet or Zoom are taken for granted. Since the pandemic, people no longer fly to Barcelona for a two-hour meeting. Instead, meetings are held in ten, sometimes fifteen languages, and with participants in locations all over the world. The same applies to the possibilities offered by live streaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> From where and to where does live streaming take place?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB:<\/em> Product launches are a good example. In the past, you might have rented a venue in Frankfurt that could hold 10 000 people. Now you can do something similar in a live stream and reach many more participants in one go. If you deliver your event synchronously in English, Spanish, French, you can get pretty far in the world. And many customers have discovered this for themselves and it can be done with relatively little effort.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> What does this small amount of effort look like?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB:\u00a0<\/em>It doesn’t really matter whether you set up the live stream in German only or interpret various languages in the background because you have to put in a basic amount of effort anyway. We then provide the interpreters virtually with special tools. So we can interpret meetings or workshops into many languages, no matter whether they last an hour or three days. The client then just sets up a landing page for access \u2013 or we can help with this \u2013 and then they can switch the French-speaking participants to the French live stream, the Spanish speakers to the Spanish live stream, and so on. This creates great opportunities for reaching out to a broad clientele.<\/p>\nFor hybrid events, which we now do a lot of \u2013 500 participants sit in one room and the others are connected digitally \u2013 the customer gets the complete technology package. We also provide a contact person and we take care of everything needed for the event.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> Tools are a good keyword. What work do the tools do for you?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>So, first of all, it’s very important to note that in interpreting, we work one hundred percent with people. When I talk about tools, I either really mean our tools, i.e. everything that makes up our conference technology, or the digital platforms and the associated interfaces we use for interpreting. If, for example, a meeting takes place in MS Teams, the interpreters can log in via an interface, follow the meeting and interpret everything from the source language into the desired target language.<\/p>\n\n“We work one hundred percent with people.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> In our work, we know that it’s always important to formulate detailed requirements and to work closely with our customers so that we can deliver the desired quality in the end product. Does that apply to interpreting too?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Definitely. Interpreting isn’t just dependent on the situation, either. It’s a misconception that simultaneous interpreting, for example, happens spontaneously. Knowledge and information about the content and context are critically important. The interpreter must know what it is about and be prepared for it.<\/p>\n\n“A good briefing and the right skills determine the success of the project.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> What is essential for successful interpreting assignments?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>A good briefing and the right skills. I know I’m repeating myself (laughs)<\/em>, but that’s what matters.<\/p>\nWhen it comes to the briefing, we need both good documentation and consistent terminology \u2013 i.e. the relevant technical terms, ideally listed in the source and target languages, so that simultaneous interpreting doesn’t involve talking about something completely different from what is perhaps written in marketing documents or things like that.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> One very important detail of our cooperation is that oneword does the preliminary work in terms of terminology so that the interpreters can do their work well.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Exactly. It would be great if all our other partners always did this too. I also need to know what kind of event it is and who the target audience is. Is it an introductory seminar or a C-level event? Are we providing interpreting for a presentation or a training event? If it’s training, we need the training materials to research the technical terms in advance. If it’s a presentation, the interpreter needs to be familiar with the manuscript so that the speaker doesn’t get ahead of them during the presentation \u2013 because many presenters speak very quickly. Or they speak unintelligibly, which should also be avoided.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> What do you mean?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>For example, when people try to speak English at all costs when delivering a presentation, to show their internationality. From our experience, often it is best to advise speakers to use their own mother tongue because they speak it clearly and that is the best starting point for interpreting it clearly as well.<\/p>\nOf course, it always depends on the context. In the preparation and planning stages, we need to know what the event is about so that we select the right interpreters in terms of qualification, specialisation and language combination \u2013 and make sure that they not only have the language and cultural context, but also the professional knowledge and experience. I can’t take an interpreter specialised in law to a medical congress. Or get someone to interpret economics if they are an expert in sport. Our interpreters each have their own specialisations.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> Contrary to popular belief, interpreters are of course not professional speakers. Where do they come from? What do you need to become an interpreter?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>I assume the requirements are similar to those of your translators. Our interpreters are usually native speakers who have undergone translator training. The only difference is that they perhaps prefer to speak than to write. In addition to their specialist skills they have expertise in a particular field such as business, technology or law. Experience is also important \u2013 especially for simultaneous interpreters, life experience and empathy are often crucial factors. Of course, good interpreters must not only know the language, but also the cultural context. That’s why we use native speakers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> The word ‘interpreter’ presumably implies that the job involves not a mere word-for-word translation, but that it’s more about localisation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Good point, exactly. This applies both to different cultural areas, such as the understanding of specific Asian mannerisms compared with European ones, and to differences in what is often taken to be the same language. For example, subtle differences between Iberian and South American Spanish or North American and British English. You have to know the subtleties to be able to interpret them.
\nFor a basic understanding, for example in relation to Asian business contacts, we also offer intercultural training and condensed knowledge in written business guides.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n“You have to know the subtleties to be able to interpret them.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> What other services do you offer?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Whatever is needed. Our language services are customised and completely contextual.<\/p>\nFrom a technical standpoint, we also do a lot in the field of voice-overs, for example. We’ve just completed one such project with oneword. Your client had a video in German and English and needed it interpreted into Spanish. The choice was whether they wanted to have just the audio file and edit the video themselves or whether we would do it as a complete package. Then you still hear 20 per cent of the German or English sound \u2013 depending on what the original is \u2013 and the Spanish soundtrack is simply superimposed.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> And what do you offer in terms of non-technical services?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Then, we have even more to offer (laughs)<\/em>. For example, for our interpreting services we also handle everything else involved. It might be that we help during table talk at an evening event, accompany people on unplanned doctor’s appointments, book hotels and flights, procure visas and so the list goes on.<\/p>\nThis is what I personally understand by full service. This is where our distinct ‘caring gene’ comes into play.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> Where else are interpreters used? Do they work in areas that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with interpreting?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>The question is rather where interpreters are not<\/em> used (laughs)<\/em>. Seriously, the field is almost endless. Sometimes we are even surprised ourselves at what interpreters are needed for. For example, we go to Italy once a year when the FC Bayern Legends play the MAN Allstars and a simultaneous interpreter is needed for dinner conversations and the like. We have previously interpreted for Andrea Bocelli and other celebrities at German broadcaster MDR.<\/p>\nMost people think of interpreting in connection with industrial companies, but there are so many everyday and non-everyday areas where interpreters are needed. For the automobile association ADAC, for example, we can also be involved in sudden events, i.e. accidents when the people involved do not speak the language. Sometimes you experience things that really affect you.
\nOr we accompany people who cannot communicate in hospital. In person, but also on the phone when things need to happen quickly. Wherever there are language barriers to overcome, wherever we can help, even at short notice, even at four in the morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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SC:<\/em> So language services are basically life support.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>Yes, exactly. Generally speaking, our motto is “We never refuse to help”. There really is always a solution. When things have to happen at very short notice, it is sometimes just a question of cost. And enthusiasm. That is what we work for, both as people and for people.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> That leads us nicely into our next topic. Because recently, the human element has often been called into question and the use of artificial intelligence has been a defining issue for some time. In the world of translation, people are discussing machine systems such as DeepL, and in text production, ChatGPT or more recently Google Bard. Is this also an issue in interpreting? Where do you think this leaves human interpreters?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
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BB: <\/em>AI is certainly also an issue in interpreting. For example, when a platform like Zoom buys an AI startup to improve simultaneous translation in video meetings. But this kind of AI then only creates subtitles and transcribes. And who is going to read that? Speech is the crucial medium for being able to listen. No one reads the subtitles for an entire workshop. Not even if they turn out to be unintentionally funny because they were generated automatically.<\/p>\nIt becomes even clearer when it comes to the content: interpreting means not only translating the text, but also communicating the context, including the emotions and everything that goes with it. No AI can do that at the moment.<\/p>\n
\n“Interpreting means not only translating the text, but also the context \u2013 including everything that goes with it.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>
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SC:<\/em> So what tasks will algorithms and machines perform or be able to perform?<\/p>\n<\/div>
![\"Quality](\"https:\/\/www.oneword.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/quality-time-dolmetschen-sara-cantaro-benny-buehl.jpg\")
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