Entry | Conference interpreter

SPA Intérprete de conferencias SWE Konferenstolk

Introduction

As implied by the name, a conference interpreter works in different formal or informal conference-like settings (Diriker 2015a, 2015b). In numbers, meetings may be very large—accommodating a wide variety of languages such as the plenary sessions of the European Parliament, with 705 members and 24 languages—or very small, gathering, for instance, only Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and their respective interpreters.

The conference interpreter is required to master all modes and techniques of interpreting: simultaneous, simultaneous with text; long and short consecutive, and sight translation (prima vista). Simultaneous interpreting includes being able two translate simultaneously both without and with access to a written source text. It also includes being able to interpret using technology (in a booth and/or behind a computer), or without technology (also called whispered interpreting or chuchotage). Long consecutive interpreting also includes mastering a special note-taking technique for interpreters. Short consecutive interpreting is sometimes called dialogue interpreting.

Literature on training conference interpreters (e.g., Setton & Dawrant, 2016a; Setton & Dawrant, 2016b; Gillies, 2013; Jones, 2014; Nolan, 2012; Taylor-Bouladon, 2005; Seleskovitch & Lederer 1995) often offers lists of the skills and background knowledge students need to have before, or develop during, a conference interpreting course. The literature agrees that the conference interpreters need to master their first language, L1, (their A-language, in conference interpreting terminology) to a very advanced level. Furthermore, their second language, L2, (B-language) needs to be at a near-L1 level. Any other working languages (i.e., languages the interpreter can interpret from) are C-languages, and the conference interpreter needs to master them fully, but not at a L1 level (AIIC 2018). The potential conference interpreter is also expected to have both general and specific background knowledge.

Apart from the interpreting modes and techniques, the conference interpreter should also master other skills to fulfil their task. These include, but are not restricted to active listening, memory techniques, note-taking and public speaking. To this list of hard skills, we can also add soft skills, such as interacting with colleagues and clients, as well as perception of underlying nuances. Last, but indeed not least, the interpreter also needs to acquire and master the skill to render an utterance in another language.

Origins and professionalization

During the first part of the 20^th Century, following the emergence of a plethora of multilingual bodies and events demanding interpretation, there emerged the notion that conference interpreters needed specific training, and led to different training programs focusing specifically on conference interpreters seeing the light of day all over the European continent (including Moscow) and also in Washington DC (Sawyer & Roy 2015). The establishment of conference interpreting programs at post-graduate (MA) university level, together with the early emergence, in 1953, of a professional organization for conference interpreters (Keiser 2004), the Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conferences (AIIC), have probably contributed heavily to conference interpreter being the most professionalized of the interpreting professions.

The interpreters’ section at the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal. March 29, 1946 [Source]

Professionalization of an occupation includes the social and symbolic construction of that occupation and also the development of its status (Parsons 1978; Diriker 2004; Sigriest 2015). A profession is created around the trust that the general population has towards a certain group to deliver a certain specialized service (Svensson, Evetts, Sciulli et al. 2008).

For the conference interpreting profession, the trust is created through the very specific setting or context where the profession is performed, together with the development of professional association, training programs and even research in the field. As Pöchhacker (2011) points out, conference interpreting implies a highly professionalized and also the most prestigious form of interpreting, although, as shown both by Dam & Zethsen (2013) and Gentile (2016), the interpreters’ own perception of their status varies.

The task of a conference interpreter

In a publication by AIIC which dates back to the 1980s, a conference interpreter was described as a person who has the ability to provide simultaneous or consecutive interpreting of speeches, regardless of how long or complex they are. Furthermore, according to this description the interpreter is a professional, and “responsible linguistic intermediary” (AIIC 1984: 21) who works in formal or informal conference settings. To paraphrase Wadensjö (1998: 18), the task of any type of interpreter is to render and co-ordinate other’s talk. Or, in the more recent words of Setton & Dawrant (2016a: 4), the task is to mediate “communication between people speaking different languages”. Jones (1998: 4) describes the task of the interpreter in the following way:

to instil meaning into the text for the target audience, if necessary (and if possible) by providing the requisite explanations or even changing the original speaker’s references, provided this conveys the audience precisely what the speaker wanted to say.

Jones also describes the interpreting task as: to explain to a person, in another language, what another person just said. This description mirrors Seleskovitch’s (1980) interpretive theory of conveying the sense (as opposed to the letter) of an utterance into the other language, and also that there is an absolute underlying meaning (or sense) in anyone’s utterance, and that this meaning is accessible to the interpreter.

Yet, if we argue that there is a difference between a conference interpreter and other types of interpreters, we need to add other characteristics. As described by AIIC, the task of the conference interpreter also involves being able to render the talk by mastering different modes of interpreting, viz. simultaneous and consecutive. Pöchhacker (2011: 308) even labels the task a “professional communication service”, but he also stresses that what has become an important feature of conference interpreting, rather than the mere context, is the ability to render speeches of any complexity. Thus, to conclude, in addition to the basic interlingual rendering of talk performed by any interpreter, the conference interpreter’s task is also characterized by the complexity and length of the required interpreting and the advanced mastery of the techniques of the two modes, simultaneous and consecutive.

Requirements of a conference interpreter

It probably goes without saying that a potential conference interpreter needs to be at least functionally bilingual. In conference interpreting terms, it means mastering a first language, L1 or A-language in interpreting, in a vast number of language domains, and also being well versed verbally. It also means having advanced verbal and oral skills in at least one other or foreign language (the B- and the C-language). B- and C-language are differentiated depending on whether the interpreter uses the language actively when interpreting, B-language is interpreted into from the L1 or A-language i.e., being active when interpreting, whereas a C-language is only used passively, i.e., interpreted from, into the A-language.

Yet, as also well documented, being bilingual is not enough to become a successful conference interpreter (Liu 2008). As mentioned above, most manuals on conference interpreting will give a list of what the potential candidate will need in order to be successful. In their seminal pedagogical volume, Seleskovitch and Lederer (1995: 195-199) recommend the following criteria: college graduation; excellent and effortless A-language skills; broad and deep B- and/or C-language skills; verbal skills; general background knowledge. To this list others have also added concentration skills; fast information processing; stress resilient; analytical; good memory capacity (Rosiers, Plevoets & Eyckmans 2020: 26), and language transfer skills, communicative skills, sociability and empathy (Setton & Dawrant 2016a: 106).

To sum up, according to the literature, a potential conference interpreter is required to be an advanced bilingual, with broad and deep linguistic and general knowledge. Furthermore, general cognitive skills are needed such as concentration, information processing and working memory capacity. Finally, skills which enable communication and socialization are also desirable.

Conference interpreter training

Most conference interpreter programmes are post-graduate (MA) university programmes. They typically vary between one and two years (Sawyer 2004). Classical conference interpreter training follows, with little variation, the progression laid down by Seleskovitch and Lederer (1995) and also described in detail by Setton and Dawrant (2016a; 2016b). Potential candidates are screened both for language, and general knowledge, and also for potential interpreting aptitude (Russo 2011).

Note-taking class for consecutive interpreting. [Photo: Eva Dalin]

The progression of a typical conference interpreting course starts with memory exercises, where the student is required to retell short speeches first in the same language, and then in another one. In the next step, note-taking and consecutive interpreting are introduced, and finally the students are introduced to simultaneous interpreting. Simultaneous interpreting is introduced using the same progression as consecutive interpreting, first by reproducing the original utterance in the same language (shadowing) and then into another language. Language enhancement classes are also common as well as training in using other interpreting techniques such as on-sight translation, where the interpreting is done from a text, or simultaneous with text, where the speaker is reading from a manuscript which is available to the interpreter.

Memory and consecutive exercises have been deemed necessary to trigger the students’ analytical thinking and skills before starting simultaneous (Seleskovitch & Lederer 1995). This progression has been questioned, though, e.g., by Kalina (1994), who pointed out that several training programmes teach simultaneous and consecutive in parallel from the start. She also puts forward other exercises preparing students for simultaneous, for instance, summarizing (1994: 220).

Most conference interpreting programmes employ active conference interpreters as teachers, and organize a final test of interpreting in front of a panel of examiners, which students have to pass in order to get their diploma. These features are actually required for a programme to be admitted to the AIIC schools directory or for becoming a member of the European Masters of Conference Interpreting (EMCI).

Depending on the region, conference interpreting programmes teach interpreting between an A-language and a B-language, so called bi-active interpreting, or into an A-language from several passive C-languages. The interpreting direction (A↔B or A←C) taught is generally determined by market demands. Major international institutions, such as the EU or the UN (although not for all language units there) have traditionally worked with the mother tongue principle (i.e., interpreting only into the interpreters A-language). Most private market customers, however, demand interpreters to work between two active languages, both from B into A, direct interpreting (Shlesinger 2010), and so called retour interpreting from A into B.

Work market

Pöchhacker (2016: 16) points out that the conference interpreter often works in a very ritualized format of interaction, viz. a conference. These conferences often take place in international and institutionalized contexts, for instance, the EU or the UN. There are, however, other national contexts which are very similar, such as parliamentary interpreting in bi- or multilingual countries such as Belgium, Canada or South Africa (Pöchhacker 2016; Ntuli 2012). Other typical areas of work for conference interpreters are international congresses and scientific conferences. Most of these assigments are characterized by simultaneous interpreting with technical equipment in a booth (potentially with many booths and languages in one conference) and in teams of two or three interpreters per booth. Nowadays, consecutive interpreting is rarely performed on a major level in large multilingual and multilateral meetings, but rather reserved for smaller bi-lateral meetings or press-conferences (although many of those are interpreted simultaneously too).

Interpreting booth with simultaneous interpreting equipment at the European Parliament in Strasbourg [Source]

Conference interpreting is very close to diplomatic interpreting and, in terms of being an interpreter for the EU or the UN, there is no difference. There is no specific training required to become a diplomatic interpreter, but many diplomatic interpreters have conference interpreter training. However, the job profile of the diplomatic interpreter working for a head of state may look very different, more like a liaison interpreter, since this type of interpreter follows the head of state closely and may work in the team of that person, and also using other techniques such as whispered interpreting or short consecutive in dialogues on a more regular basis than an interpreter working for an international institution (Olsen, Liu & Viaggio 2023). Furthermore, whereas the regular conference interpreting norm is to not favor any side in an encounter, and not let personal opinions slip (e.g., Jones 1998), the diplomatic interpreter may be required to do exactly that (see Setton & Dawrant 2016a: 32–33).

Conference interpreters can work as freelancers or as in-house employees. Market demands determine the possibility for an individual on a specific market to work one way or another. Regions with big employers of interpreting, such as Brussels with the EU or New York with the UN, naturally have many employed interpreters, but also many freelance interpreters. In contrast, smaller markets or regions, and places with no national or international institutions employing interpreters, such as Copenhagen or London, are dominated by a freelance market.

In 2020 and 2021, the job opportunities and market for conference interpreters changed dramatically, as the covid-19 pandemic entailed a disruptive change in recruitment and context of conference interpreters. Many meetings became on-line distance meetings, and the interpreting provided at these meetings also went on-line, and the supply of web platforms for interpreting exploded. Conference interpreters seem to have been recruited in similar numbers, but for more shorter meetings and often online or in hubs—special venues where interpreters can participate in remote meetings from a dedicated studio. It is still too early to determine exactly how the pandemic has changed the work of the conference interpreter, but some trends might be here to stay.

Research potential

Conference interpreting was the first field of interpreting which sparked research interests. The conference interpreter has mostly been the focus of research from a cognitive perspective. Research focused on working memory, interpreter strategies, expertise, as well as neuro-linguistic aspects of interpreting. Professional and pedagogical issues (as mentioned, including aptitude, assessment and quality of interpreting) are also considerably researched in conference interpreting (Pöchhacker 2015; Albl-Mikasa & Tiselius 2022). The sociological aspects of conference interpreters are less researched but worth mentioning. Diriker (2004) used discourse analysis to identify norms and perceptions of conference interpreters, and Duflou (2013) showed the socialization of interpreters into a profession using an ethnographic approach. Several corpora have been created using the output of conference interpreters, such as the EPIC (European Parliament Interpreting Corpus - Monti, Bendazzoli, Sandrelli et al. 2005), the EPIC-G (for the Ghent corpus - Plevoets & Defrancq 2018), or the PINC (Polish Interpreting Corpus - Koržinek & Chmiel 2021).

Future areas for exploration of conference interpreters are the impact of distance interpreting (Seeber & Fox 2022) and new technologies (Fantinuoli 2022), but also ergonomics in conference interpreting and the impact of simultaneous conference interpreting on auditory health.