Challenges related to the job of interpreter Thread poster: Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)
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Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X) 
Romania
Local time: 00:39
Romanian to English
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What is, in your opinion, the three most difficult things about being an interpreter ?
| | | | Milen Bossev
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:39
English to Bulgarian
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| remembering, comprehending, relaying of names | Aug 3, 2009 |
Apart from the obvious - not knowing how to translate a word, term or a phrase - I would say the three most difficult things in interpreting are:
1) Remembering what the speaker said and not omitting anything from the translation;
2) Comprehending various regional accents and words used only in a specific locale. For example in the case of English there are so many native speaker accents even within one country, while the so called International English spoken by non-native sp... See more Apart from the obvious - not knowing how to translate a word, term or a phrase - I would say the three most difficult things in interpreting are:
1) Remembering what the speaker said and not omitting anything from the translation;
2) Comprehending various regional accents and words used only in a specific locale. For example in the case of English there are so many native speaker accents even within one country, while the so called International English spoken by non-native speakers also varies tremendously around the world;
3) Relaying personal names, names of organisations, street names, etc.
I do mainly telephonic interpreting between English and Bulgarian and I never know who the next caller will be, where they come from or what the subject will be. I've experienced all 3 of the above and at times it could be very challenging. Unfortunately once you've taken the phone call you cannot say "I'm sorry, I cannot go on. Please find another interpreter." ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Numbers in simultaneous interpretation! | Aug 3, 2009 |
I'm getting better at this now, but it took me many years (literally - years) to learn this aspect of the interpreting skill.
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 15:39
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
Not three, just one. Hearing. My hearing has always been somewhat deficient. In most normal situations I am OK, but when interpreting, I must be able to hear speakers loud and clear, which means an excellent sound feed or complete mobility (and yes, intrusiveness), and even then, room acoustics, background noise, sound distortion, people's voice quality and other factors can diminish my ability to hear and understand.
My interpreting assignments have mostly involved subjects that ar... See more Not three, just one. Hearing. My hearing has always been somewhat deficient. In most normal situations I am OK, but when interpreting, I must be able to hear speakers loud and clear, which means an excellent sound feed or complete mobility (and yes, intrusiveness), and even then, room acoustics, background noise, sound distortion, people's voice quality and other factors can diminish my ability to hear and understand.
My interpreting assignments have mostly involved subjects that are part of my daily diet, so as long as I can hear and understand, I can do an outstanding job. But if I am not understanding, then I will start to falter.
Fortunately with translation my vision defects help me. I am somewhat myopic, so I can easily read the small print without glasses. ▲ Collapse
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Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:39
Flemish to English
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| The ability to follow a TGV-speaker | Aug 3, 2009 |
When somebody rattles at 200 words per hour, it is rather difficult to follow.
However, I have been told that you can do this by interpreting in a slower voice.
| | | | polskiexpert
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:39
Member (2010)
Polish to English
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| Difficult people | Aug 10, 2009 |
The most difficult things?
Just one:
Dealing with stressed, angry about something LES (often the case:( and
impatient, unfamiliar with the protocol LEP...
Enjoy
M
| | | | NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 17:39
Member (2002)
French to English
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Moderator of this forum | Hearing, and greetings | Aug 10, 2009 |
Like Henry, I find it a challenge to hear speakers, especially if they are, for example, unveiling a new building downtown and there are motorcycles, sirens, etc. in the background.
Another stopper for me is the greetings speakers extend to certain individuals attending the conference: "And I want to thank (incomprehensible name in a foreign language), minister of the (department in a foreign government, with a name that has no corresponding, top-of-mind title here)" and at TGV spee... See more Like Henry, I find it a challenge to hear speakers, especially if they are, for example, unveiling a new building downtown and there are motorcycles, sirens, etc. in the background.
Another stopper for me is the greetings speakers extend to certain individuals attending the conference: "And I want to thank (incomprehensible name in a foreign language), minister of the (department in a foreign government, with a name that has no corresponding, top-of-mind title here)" and at TGV speed, as mentioned by Williamson, on s/he goes naming a long list of people s/he obviously knows, but I've never heard of.
Numbers can be a problem too, especially when interpreting for someone speaking out of their native language, as they often make mistakes here (I recall one politician who mentioned some 14-million dollar budget in English, which he then referred to as 40-million dollars in French.)
Nancy ▲ Collapse
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 17:39
Romanian to English
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| convoluted agency names, numbers and mumbled addresses | Aug 12, 2009 |
I had the misfortune to interpret for a delegation whose members met with the American counterpart. When it came to present themselves, each member mentioned that he is president or secretary of an agency whose acronym was 5-7 letters long, but they expected to interpret the full name of the agency !!!
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| Challenges of interpreter | Aug 12, 2009 |
Besides all the points you have previously mentioned, my humble opinion that the greatest challenge and also most dificult thing is to take responsibility for the job you are doing. Because in translating process it is not all about just translating word or term or sentence from one language into the other.... it is also to find most suitable if not exact term so communication can be correct and job can be well done. This is especially important when one is speaking about technical terms in vari... See more Besides all the points you have previously mentioned, my humble opinion that the greatest challenge and also most dificult thing is to take responsibility for the job you are doing. Because in translating process it is not all about just translating word or term or sentence from one language into the other.... it is also to find most suitable if not exact term so communication can be correct and job can be well done. This is especially important when one is speaking about technical terms in various areas such as medicine, construction, engineering etc ... where one single word that is incorrectly translated can cause a lot of problems in practice. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Word_Wise
Local time: 22:39
English to Romanian
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| hearing and understanding | Aug 18, 2009 |
Henry Hinds wrote:
Not three, just one. Hearing. My hearing has always been somewhat deficient. In most normal situations I am OK, but when interpreting, I must be able to hear speakers loud and clear, which means an excellent sound feed or complete mobility (and yes, intrusiveness), and even then, room acoustics, background noise, sound distortion, people's voice quality and other factors can diminish my ability to hear and understand.
I have had the same experience, and without any hearing deficiency! In a court room where you sit in the back of the room next to the defendant, all, besides the judge, face other directions, and if there is the air conditioner on... it's a nightmare.
And another problem I find, hope I am not the only one, is working with illiterate people, who will not understand properly and without extra explanation some usual, even basic, terms; those who do not give clear answers and say "that thing" instead of naming the thing.
I do understand my responsibility for the job but it is silly when the defendant or whoever is the interlocutor you interpret for, does not understand what he is doing, why he is there, and it just puts the interpreter in an embarassing situation. This is just with public services I hope.
Otherwise, with a pen and paper... all is fine.
| | | | Sara Senft
United States
Local time: 17:39
Spanish to English
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| When doctors, nurses, etc speak to you instead | Aug 27, 2009 |
Don't get me started on dealing with doctors, nurses, etc who speak to you instead of the patient (or other person for whom you are interpreting.)! Dealing with this, and getting them speak directly to the patient/client/etc., can be quite a challenge.
When my sister started her first job as a nurse, I gave her one piece of professional advice: When you work with an interpreter, speak to the patient and not the interpreter.
[Edited at 2009-08-27 17:56 GMT]
| | | | | Language mixing by a non-English speaker | Aug 29, 2009 |
Sometimes, when I interpret for a Russian speaker or a Spanish-speaker, he or she throws in an English word, but so badly mangled that I cannot recognize it.
One example I still remember: About a year ago, I was interpreting in the courtroom for a Russian-speaking witness, and in the middle of her testimony she used the word "bathroom", which she said in English (or so she thought). It sounded like "vyatra" to me. It was clear from the context that she was referring to the bathro... See more Sometimes, when I interpret for a Russian speaker or a Spanish-speaker, he or she throws in an English word, but so badly mangled that I cannot recognize it.
One example I still remember: About a year ago, I was interpreting in the courtroom for a Russian-speaking witness, and in the middle of her testimony she used the word "bathroom", which she said in English (or so she thought). It sounded like "vyatra" to me. It was clear from the context that she was referring to the bathroom, but I thought, maybe it's a regional term for a batrhoom that I never heard in my life? It took me a minute to realize that no, it was not a regional word at all, but a mispronounced English word "bathroom"! ▲ Collapse
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