Liaison interpreting – a new work opportunity?
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This year I have discovered what liaison interpreting is. Of course, I knew this term before, but I had never had an opportunity to implement my knowledge and skills in such a stressful way.
As we can guess, liaison interpreting doesn’t consist of immediate translations unlike
simultaneous or consecutive interpreting. Mind you, it’s also known as
conference interpreting, and the professionals are supposed to work with small
groups, sometimes without taking notes and by memorising as much as possible
what has been said during interactions. Liaison interpreters can work at
meetings, business negotiations, site visits, various discussions and
interviews. It can be in demand in many different fields – law, medicine,
economy, finance, culture and sports.
Let’s have a closer look and
try to figure out what it is. It could first be useful to dispel any misconceptions one may have about it.
Interpreting bit by bit is a piece of cake!
Opinion: It’s even
easier than translating because there are none of those tedious processes such
as revising, editing and re-re-editing a document. Your work is done once a
work assignment is finished.
Reality: FALSE
Even though liaison
interpreters have no need to perform any post-editing, the preparation itself
requires considerable time. Obviously, they should research the issue and
create a small glossary. Now imagine that they have several different
appointments a week. For example, interpreting while visiting a cement plant is
way different from interpreting during court proceedings, and they must be
prepared for each one of them equally well.
Opinion: I am good
at translation, therefore I can easily work as a liaison interpreter. In
addition, we don’t interpret simultaneously, so it will be a piece of
cake!
Reality: FALSE
No matter how good we are at
translating, interpreting is still something different. Liaison
interpreting is carried out sentence by sentence or in short passages that
express a completed idea. Notes can be made for key information like names,
figures, dates and places. This is the theory, but the reality is that speakers may
sometimes keep on talking without being concerned about the fact that the
interpreter is running out of free gigabytes of memory. If this occurs, taking
notes can be a solution. But how to do it in the most proper and efficient way?
I will explain you what I’ve learned.
Get the most out
of your notes for the best result
The main error that I used to
make during our first lessons was trying to write everything down. Only later I
realised there was no need to write every single word, and, in fact, it was just
impossible. Whereas the most important thing was to grasp the sense and convey it in
my own words. If multiple details of a message are difficult to retain, make a
concise resume of what has been said. In my case, this worked only when I
was listening carefully without being focused on my
notes.
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| Example of “coded” sentences |
For efficient notes, we can use any signs, abbreviations and drawings we want. Good news – we can use any other language we speak if a word is shorter or helps you to recall the discourse. Make sure you don’t mix up the languages and don’t get lost in your scribbles. Cross out the notes you have already used so as not to forget what has already been said.
It may happen that
you haven’t understood a word or even a phrase. Don’t panic, just ask the
speaker to repeat the section you haven’t understood. If you don’t know an
essential term, ask the speaker to explain it to you. As we translate, we
always try to find a better word that sounds perfect in the context. As we
interpret, we have no such opportunity. Do not try to search for the best word
in your memory (it may never come), and try to explain as you can. Practise on
your own with videos on YouTube and you’ll get impressive results.
Why do this?
The work of a liaison interpreter is hard and stressful, so why do this? Nowadays multi-skilling is highly in demand on the market, and a good specialist must be capable of performing several functions. Moreover, in the world where the development of neuronal machines threatens the work of translators, they can't interpret better with no need for post-editing than a human - at least not for now.
Why do this?
The work of a liaison interpreter is hard and stressful, so why do this? Nowadays multi-skilling is highly in demand on the market, and a good specialist must be capable of performing several functions. Moreover, in the world where the development of neuronal machines threatens the work of translators, they can't interpret better with no need for post-editing than a human - at least not for now.
Thank you for your article! I really liked when you talked about the preparation. This is an aspect often overlooked by people who are not familiar with the translation and interpretation world.
RépondreSupprimerI also liked the paragraph about asking questions to the speaker - this seems to be something that interpreter are a bit shy to do.
Marine B.
Thank you Marine.
SupprimerI think that casual observers not involved in the process of interpreting do not realise what a huge preparation work lies behind each assignment. They may consider that a perfect language mastery enables you to work on any subject and at any time without preparation.
I am convinced that people do not notice a thorough preparation when interpretation is performed smoothly and impeccably. By contrast, the lack of preparation can be discerned right away. In other words, I would say that people think of preparation only when it is missing.
As for asking questions, I was reassured when I discovered that it was allowed. In my opinion, it’s not shameful to not know something, and it’s not the end of the world, but it’s too bad and not professional if we do not want to fill our knowledge gaps.
Tatiana
I sincerely admire interpreters. You must listen carefully at the same time as you take notes, translate them correctly in your head and summarise every idea that has been said.
RépondreSupprimerPersonally, I am still shy to ask the speaker to explain a term, mainly if it occurs in a very formal situation, but now I know what I should work on. We cannot always rely on the speaker sending notes to the interpreter before the meeting so he or she could prepare its glossary, we sometimes need to improvise (or do a wide research on the topic of the conference).
What was your biggest personal challenge in Interpreting classes?
Anezka T.
I share your opinion about interpreters. I read that the level of stress they encounter can be compared to the one of aircraft dispatchers, foreign exchange traders and senior executives. Indeed, it’s a very challenging job, but it must be rewarding, I guess.
SupprimerI also faced many challenges during our interpreting classes (as many of us, I suppose). Just as you mentioned, the most difficult assignment was to interpret without knowing the subject in advance. In such cases, it was not so easy to find an appropriate term immediately, so I had to resort to descriptive approach.
Tatiana