Interpreting has always gone hand in hand with technology, and as technology has advanced, the job of interpreter has also had to adapt to new demands.
In recent years, technological advances (free video conferencing software, mobile telephony, immediacy...) have made remote interpreting (telephone or video conferencing interpreting) progressively more effective. In addition, we have more and more companies with a large team of professional interpreters, available at virtually all hours of the day, providing a wide variety of languages, such as International Congresses. All this means that, little by little, remote interpreter work is being increasingly valued and recognized.
The fact that voice and image can be transmitted from anywhere in the world means that the interpreter's work takes place within a market, not only national, but also global. Therefore, new technological advances are the reason why this new mode of interpretation is increasingly popular, especially in public services.
Professional results of remote interpretation
When we talk about working as an online interpreter, we have to distinguish between two areas of work: videoconference interpreting and telephone interpreting. These two worlds are relatively new and little known.
Fear of the new and unknown can be paralyzing. This is why we wanted to write about the many professional opportunities of remote interpreting and to communicate that this area of interpreting represents the future for all those who are looking for jobs as interpreters. This is because, as we have said before, the world of technology is always advancing and we with it.
Videoconference interpreting and telephone interpreting
To talk about the professional opportunities of working as a remote interpreter, we will first discuss video conference interpreting and then telephone interpreting.
Videoconferencing interpreting is a type of remote negotiation interpreting that takes place via videoconference. It is not yet widespread in Italy, although some encouraging signs can be seen in the sectors of private companies and, less strongly, public services. However, in other countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia, videoconferencing interpreting is having a greater impact and this service is being used mainly in the health, justice or police fields.
There are three types of interaction in which work as an interpreter via videoconferencing is required:
- When customers are in different places.
- When clients are at a distance and the interpreter is instead with the recipient of that service (e.g., in prison, with an inmate).
- When clients and the interpreter are in different geographical locations and the interpreter operates following a process similar to that of the telephone interpreter.
Side note: this type of interpreting is developing mainly in the sector of those who work as sign language interpreters.
Telephone interpreting is a type of liaison (remote) interpreting that is done by telephone. Keep in mind that in this type of interpretation, both users and interpreters must follow specific steps to establish contact. The person wishing to contact the interpreter must know in advance about the user operation. Interpreter work in this area has been developed all over the world, particularly in public services.
The work of the telephone interpreter takes place in these areas:
- Interpreted telephone conversations or three-way calls where all parties are on the phone in different locations.
- Face-to-face conversations interpreted through a hands-free phone.
- Face-to-face conversations where the interlocutors pass the phone to each other.
The need in our country to work as a telephone interpreter occurs mostly in health care, police and foreign customer service. In previous International Congresses blog posts, you can see how this type of interpreting works and what exactly we do.
Finally, we want to banish your fear and encourage you to discover the incredible world of distance interpreting. We know that in Italy there is no specialized postgraduate training in this field. However, aware of this lack of training, several universities and professional orders offer courses and seminars on working as a distance interpreter.
Marketing Team Congressi Internazionali
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