Clients Interview Results

1.) How do you characterize good conference interpreters?

All participants agreed that good conference interpreters must be fluent in the languages they interpret into and out of, be able to interpret professionally, respond to the changes of situation immediately, learn fast, and facilitate communication without causing confusion and

misunderstanding. To participant O, work ethic is also a critical virtue. Participant P and Q demand conference interpreters be responsible and committed. But the most important of all, they should always be well prepared for the conference.

2.) When do you need to hire conference interpreters?

Participant O says that they employ conference interpreters to interpret for annual

conferences when colleagues all over the world come back to Taiwan. They also need interpreters at Computex or other exhibitions where they host a series of events for costumers from abroad.

Participant P and Q need conference interpreters at openings and seminars related to exhibitions.

3.) How do you recruit conference interpreters?

All participants reported that they would ask people who are familiar with the interpreting industry or who has prior experience with the interpreting service to recommend competent interpreters. For escort or consecutive interpreters, participant P and Q will first contact the retired employees who had interpreting experience or interpreters whom their colleagues have worked with.

Surprisingly, all participants claimed that employing interpreters through conference organizers will not be their first choice. Participant Q claims that they do not fully trust the quality of the interpreters sent by conference organizers for they have no prior knowledge as to the

proficiency of these interpreters and have no way of testing them in advance.

4.) When hiring conference interpreters, what would be taken into consideration?

Referrals from people they trust or interpreters they have worked with are what the clients count as their first priority. Others like language ability, interpreting proficiency, related experience, education and work ethic would also make a difference.

Participant O claims that interpreting certificate will become a determining factor, if all the interpreters applied have similar backgrounds. To him/her, certificate equals quality. Participant P thinks that if the conferences are highly specialized in nature, then professional background will be the first thing he/she take into consideration. If the topics of the conferences are more general, than C.V. is more important. Participant Q places more emphasis on commitment and prior experience in the related field. To him/her, a good interpreter is always well prepared.

5.) When hiring conference interpreters, what make recruiting difficult?

The lack of access to interpreters and of a sufficient interpreting proficiency measuring tool is most troublesome for clients. Clients usually could not invest a lot of time and effort into

searching for qualified interpreters. They are under time pressure and budge limit. Furthermore, all the participant interviewed express uneasiness when it comes to determine whether the interpreter is competent or not. Therefore, many of them are reluctant to seek the service of a new interpreter.

Another problem identified by participant Q is that it is difficult to locate conference interpreters in the language combination other than Chinese-English. These interpreters are scarce and often without proper training, which would add to the risk of failure. In all, under the present

circumstance, clients in general still feel fairly insecure when it comes to recruiting interpreting services.

6.) Is implementing interpreter certification a necessary step for the conference interpreting industry? Why?

Participant O, P, and Q suggest that many companies are in need of interpreting service but lack the channels to locate competent conference interpreters. Once the accreditation system has

established credibility, it will service as a valuable reference for the clients. Although it may not become the only standard the clients employ when selecting conference interpreters, it could be service as a basic screening tool.

Participant P also believes that with a clear standard instituted, the clients will have a better idea as to the nature of interpreting work. Participant Q mentions that an accreditation system can decrease the sense of insecurity when clients employ conference interpreting services. They will be more willing to hire interpreters whom they have not worked with before but possess a certificate issued by the government or professional agencies.

7.) What purpose should an interpreter accreditation system achieve?

All three participants believe an accreditation system can exercise quality control and thus lower the search cost for qualified interpreters. But participant Q thinks that the test should be divided into several proficiency levels. Sometimes the clients only need and could afford a lower level interpreter for escort services. An accreditation system broken into different levels enable the clients to hire the one they need.

Participant O lists other purposes an interpreter accreditation can achieve. First, establishing a goal for continuing education for interpreters and monitoring interpreting performances to ensure the quality of interpreters in the market. The professional authority that issues the certificate should also be able to evoke the certificate if the practitioners fail to perform with competency and was begrudged by the clients. Clients feel safer knowing they can actively participate in the selection process of service providers, namely, the interpreters.

Second, an accreditation test improves the professional status and working condition of interpreters. If the accreditation is credible, interpreters with the certificate will be immediately recognized by the market as a professional and in turn have more bargaining power in negotiating payments and working condition.

8.) How does interpreter accreditation affect the conference interpreting industry?

Participant O, P, and Q all agree that an accreditation system would help clients form a correct idea as to the nature of conference interpreting and locate capable interpreters more

efficiently. However, participant P expresses doubts on the effectiveness of an accreditation system.

The needs of the market are too diverse, and it is not possible for a single test to be very comprehensive and effective. A test divided into several subject fields or select one or a few questions from every subject field in each test and scored them respectively will provide more information and deemed as more useful.

Other impacts identified by participant O are: first, an accreditation system will assist the healthy development of the interpreting industry. After all, business is all about supply and demand.

If the supply side increases in quantity and quality, it would sure motivate demand.

Second, the talent pool formed by interpreters who passed the interpreting proficiency test will service as a database and a platform for the clients and the interpreters to interact with each other.

With the establishment of an interpreter database, clients are able to locate suitable interpreters without wasting time and energy.

What’s more, the accreditation test also serves as an information base for future research in interpreting and in turn facilitate the growth and prosperity of the interpreting industry and

discipline.

9.) Would you be more inclined to employ interpreters with credentials?

Participant O, P, and Q all express inclination to work with interpreters who have passed the accreditation test, but participant O would like first to establish that the test must be credible before it can be used as an indicator to employ conference interpreters.

10.) Are you familiar with the translation and interpretation proficiency test held by the Ministry of Education last December? What do you think of the test?

None of the clients heard of the translation and interpretation proficiency test held by the Ministry of Education in December 2007.