Conference Interpreters Interview Results

1.) How do you characterize good conference interpreters?

The traits listed by the conference interpreters interviewed are as follows:

Proficient in core-interpreting abilities, such as consecutive and simultaneous interpreting abilities and multitasking; able to speak clearly and fluently, possess excellent language ability, and

understand the culture of the languages; a broad knowledge base. Conference interpreters must also be able to deal with a wide variety of topics; interpreters must have fidelity, which means they can faithfully convert the speaker’s message into target language; the ability to react immediately; a

pleasant voice and steady poise; value work ethic; exercise self-discipline. This includes the ability to recognize what subject field one can and cannot interpret for, always be prepared, be able to cooperate with one’s partner, and be committed to the job; obtain proper training, experience; he/

she must be a good listener, willing to communicate and assist communication; interpreters need to maintain a good relationship with fellow interpreters, especially partners whom they often work with in booths. Also, they should have good people skills and be able to communicate with the clients; the ability to work under pressure is also important. Each conference resembles a test. Each time there is a possibility that one might fail, but interpreters must face it head on.

In all, the traits can be divided into two large categories: the abilities needed to enter the market and the traits required to survive the market.

Basic abilities needed to enter the market include: Proficient in core-interpreting abilities, such as consecutive and simultaneous interpreting abilities and multitasking as indicated by participant F, I, and K; able to speak clearly and fluently; possess excellent language ability, and understand the culture of the languages, as indicated by participant F, G, H, and J; the ability to react immediately to the challenges arises on site, as indicated by participant F and H; have fidelity, as indicated by participant F and K; Also, participant F, H, and K deem a broad knowledge base essential for the line of work.

As for interpreters who wish to survive in the market, they need: a pleasant voice and steady poise, as indicated by participant F; value work ethic, as is specified by participant F; exercise self-discipline, as indicated by participant G, I, and J; obtain proper training and experience, as indicated by participant F; willing to listen, to communicate, and assist communication, as specified by participant H; furthermore, participant H and J believe that conference interpreters need good people skills, and participant I think they should be able to work under heavy pressure.

2.) What difficulties do conference interpreters face?

All of the participant interviewed reflect that the conference interpreting market is small and competitive. Work flow fluctuates greatly, and the recent trend has seen a decline in the total

number of international conferences. A decade ago, the interpreting market is the seller’s market, now it is the buyer’s market. As a result, qualified candidates may not feel secure about taking on interpreting as a full time job. Only conference interpreters that are at the top of the trade can be spared from the insecurity. Furthermore, as participant H and K point out, the topics of conferences become ever more specialized and difficult. Interpreters with no in-depth knowledge in a certain domain may face an ever-increasing amount of challenges from fellow interpreters and novice who wish to enter the market.

The second major types of difficulties identified by the interpreters are what participant F, G and J point out: insufficient client education. The interpreting profession is not truly and rightfully appreciated by the society yet. Some clients would even ask consecutive interpreters to double as master of ceremony. The presence of interpreters is usually ignored unless the interpretation goes wrong. Participant J specifies that the nature of interpreting sometimes require interpreters to become shadow speakers. They produce the target language rendition of the speakers’ speeches but do not get credit for it. So it is quite natural that they are overlooked. It is actually, “part of the job, part of the parcel of becoming an interpreter.”

Participant H also states that speakers still do not know how to work with interpreters. Most of the time conference interpreters will not receive powerpoint slides, materials or a chance for briefing before the conference starts.

The conference interpreting market has not really changed much over the past decade, but there are improvements. Generally speaking, although still scarce, clients now have a better understanding of what interpretation is and are more willing to engage qualified interpreters.

Participant H and G agree to this point made by participant J, adding that the rise of conference

organizers have actually helped this development. They believe that conference organizers not only provide clients in need with conference interpreters, but also conduct client education and handle the details of the transactions for interpreters.

Other problems conference interpreters encounter in the market include: clients reluctance to pay more for high quality interpreters, as observed by participant F. Actually, participant J also points out that the standard payment for conference interpreters hasn’t seen a great increase in the past decade.

Participant G feels that the lack of communication between interpreters is the reason why this professional group can hardly come together behind a united front and fight for their rights.

There is no professional organization to hold the interpreters together, to collect data, and establish an interpreter database for future reference, research and use as a talent pool for the industry. Also, as participant I observed, there are no set rules or professional standards in this industry. For example, an interpreter can apply for the same job through three or four different conference organizers at once. Furthermore, senior interpreters in the market practically have their hands in every aspect of the industry, including training, market entry, the design of interpreting certification and the judging after that. Participant F points out that clients and conference organizers generally do not know how to evaluate interpreting quality, therefore often place their trust in the senior interpreters. Senior conference interpreters are truly powerful and if they only have their own interest in mind, the industry will never head towards a healthy development. Interpreters graduated from T & I schools abroad would have less advantage in the market. Participant K stresses that, at present, most of the novice interpreters need to be introduced into the market by senior interpreters.

Candidates without the network have a greater of chance of being blocked out of the market.

3.) How do conference interpreters obtain job opportunities?

No matter what the channel is, the most important of all is that novice interpreters must be prepared and competent before they have any chance to secure any kind of opportunities. This view

is agreed by all the participants interviewed.

Also, all the conference interpreters interviewed state that presently, conference interpreters are introduced into the market by active conference interpreters or instructors from T & I schools.

Without referrals from peers or instructors, it is hard to obtain conference interpreting opportunities.

Participant F points out that sometimes conference organizers and clients will come to T & I schools and observe mock conferences or exams intending to seek out potential interpreters.

Students may also be recognized and approved by clients during practical training and offered an opportunity once they graduate. Sending out C.V. to conference organizers is another way, but not a very effective one.

Participant I says that many interpreters nowadays choose to engage the service of

conference organizers and rely on them to obtain job opportunities. An increasing trend even sees interpreters working solely for one conference organizer. Interpreters who work for many different conference organizers may be cut off after a while.

Another way to obtain cases would be referral from other clients, as participant I points out.

Although it may take a long time to build up a client base, it is possible for interpreters to gain market share if they have established good reputation.

Participant G states that sometimes interpreters would start out as in-house interpreters and later join the freelance interpreting market after they accumulated enough experiences.

4.) What would give novice interpreters a competitive edge if they wish to enter the conference interpreting market?

It goes without saying that, in order to enter the market, interpreters must first possess interpreting proficiency.

Participant F and K believe that novice interpreters can use certification to introduce

themselves into the market. Clients may not know how to differentiate one interpreting degree from another or the quality implied by interpreting training, but a certificate issued by the government

translates into quality to most of the clients. In other words, an interpreting degree has more effect on people from within the interpreting field, and accreditation or certification makes more sense to the general industry and clients.

Conference organizers have faith in professional examinations held in T & I schools, in-school performance and peer/ teacher review. Participant G, J, and F mention that conference organizers understand the nature of the T & I schools and interpreter cultivation, and know how and where to seek professional advice when it comes to recruiting new interpreters. As a result,

participant H, J and K point out the advantage of obtaining an interpreting degree locally.

Instructors in these institutions are mostly active interpreters in the market and some schools have already had a long-standing relationship with certain companies, conference organizers, and clients.

These connections can open a lot of doors for novice conference interpreters. Interpreters who possess an interpreting degree from schools abroad do not enjoy this advantage and has a more difficult time trying to enter the market.

Participant H and J indicate that a professional organization would help promote the professional status of interpreters and conduct client education. Many people have put some effort into this, but so far not much has come out of it. Participant H and I say that in Taiwan, T & I schools wield more influence than professional association for they do institute quality control and their professional expertise in doing so have already being recognized by the market.

Participant J holds a somewhat opposite point of view, stating that it is not easy to evaluate interpreters, especially conference interpreters; therefore the credibility of accreditation is doubtful.

Certificates from other areas might help but if interpreters have those certificates, they may not choose to become a fully committed interpreter anyway. Certification is not always the resolution, but it seems that our society value certificates above all the other indicators.

Participant G views curriculum vitae (C.V.), in other words, experience, important to novice interpreters. Without relevant interpreting experience in a certain field, relevant translation

experiences would also help. The clients will be more likely to believe the interpreter’s competence if related experiences are listed on the C.V., even if conference organizers have confirmed the capability of the interpreters’ skill through other channels.

Knowing how to leave a strong and positive impression on the clients is identified by participant I and K as something that will help interpreters survive the market. Interpreters have to believe that they are professionals and convince the clients so. Which means they need to be able to predict how the events will unravel and what the potential problems are, be assertive and ask the clients for cooperation in very specific details. Interpreters who fail to exert control over the interpreting task and foresee potential hindrances will loose clients’ trust and plant doubt as to the proficiency of interpreters. Another important thing is never agree to a conference case that is beyond one’s ability to interpret. In others words, interpreters should know how to present themselves and how not to expose their shortcomings in front of the clients.

5.) Is implementing interpreter accreditation a necessary step for the conference interpreting industry? Why?

Only two of the six conference interpreters interviewed believe that there is a need to implement an interpreter accreditation system for conference interpreters.

Participant G believes that it is necessary to implement an accreditation system. Some T & I schools such as GITI or GITIS knows how interpreters should be trained and has been working to set up clear standards, but not all interpreters come from training institutions with strict training and evaluation systems. These interpreters may be low in quality and in turn damage the professional image of the interpreting industry as a whole. An accreditation can service as a basic requirement for interpreters. Clients would feel more secure knowing that interpreters with the certificate at least possess the very basic interpreting ability, and they can choose a suitable service provider from this group. Of course, the credibility of interpreting accreditation system is the key to this achievement.

Participant K states that the government has more resources and therefore is able to design

an accreditation test in many different professional domains. This is what T & I schools cannot achieve. It is too costly to divide the professional test into many participant for a very limited few.

Since conference interpreters need to have basic interpreting skills and in-depth domain knowledge, an accreditation test can achieve the purpose of selecting professional qualified for the job and in turn improve the professional image of conference interpreters.

Most of the participants agree that veteran conference interpreters do not need a license to proof themselves. A license would not help them become better professionals.

Participant I further points out that conference interpreters on the market have to work with all kinds of different topics and conference interpreting requires more than basic interpreting skills.

The ability required for conference interpreting cannot be standardized. Skills that cannot be standardized cannot be certified. Furthermore, the evaluation of quality interpretation is highly subjective and involves all kinds of professional knowledge that is impossible to apply to all candidates. Each candidate needs to be examined differently, taking all kinds of different factors into consideration. Therefore, it is not possible to establish a credible accreditation at this stage. In addition, a single test may not fully evaluate all the abilities recognized to survive the market. As participant H & I point out, every conference is a brand new challenge for interpreters and no matter how experienced they are, there is a fair chance that they may not perform in a satisfying manner the next time they take on a case. Therefore, a single test might not prove much other than that the interpreters were able to perform well that one time. There is no need to certify conference interpreters for it fails to exercise qualify control and it is not possible anyway.

Senior interpreters have established reputation and gained trust from the clients. These senior interpreters are the insiders and know how to the evaluate the quality of interpreting which in turn lower the risk of messing up a conference interpreting job. As participant F, G, and J point out, senior or active interpreters service as a screening mechanism of conference interpreters to enter the market. Clients and conference organizers ask them for professional advice. Senior interpreters are

effective screeners because every time they recommend another interpreter, it is their reputation that is on the stake. However, as participant H observes, once a novice interpreter entered the market, it is up to the market mechanism to decide if he/she can stay in. Interpreters who perform poorly would not be given another chance.

Participant F thinks that the existence of interpreting courses and professional examinations held by interpreting schools are good enough, the rest counts as additional reference. This does not mean the certification should not be implemented, but that it is not the most essential link for talent cultivation and selection. Participant J states that interpreting is highly complex and hard to test, especially simultaneous interpreting. Simultaneous interpreting is the most complicated form of interpreting and the testing is laborious and capital intensive. The difference between the school professional examinations and government accreditation test is that the schools put a lot of money and human resources into the professional examination for a limited number of students. And the national examination needs to accommodate a large group of candidates who demand a huge amount of time and effort if they were to be closely examined as T & I students are. As the candidates enrolled in the test increases, the costs could be too dear and far too complicated for a credible test to take place.

Participant I further expresses doubts on the reliability and validity of an accreditation. The interpreters and the researchers in the field know too little about the participant: the interpreting discipline is still too young and without a firm theory foundation. If interpreting cannot even be defined, it cannot be tested. Building a test on such a premises only leads to shaky results that can hardly be examined. In addition, the assumption that an accreditation system will help clients locate interpreters is an unreasonable assumption. Clients who are unable to locate professional interpreters for the job is not because they lack the channels to approach and contact interpreters or professional proficiency indicators to determine the competency of the professionals, it is because they are not willing to pay for high quality services.

As participant H points out, some candidates only wish to perform lower level interpreting services or simply prove themselves capable of such skill for occupations like tour guides. The interpreting industry as a whole may benefit from an accreditation system, but it will have no great impact on the conference interpreting sector.

6.) What should be tested in an interpreter accreditation exam?

Participant G states that the design of an accreditation test should be similar to the professional examinations held by T & I schools, including core-interpreting abilities and then maybe adds peer review or onsite observation by professionals. Observing interpreters at work would be a more authentic way to gain knowledge as to the competency of interpreters in dealing with all kinds of real time challenges. Language ability should be considered as the basic requirement for candidates wishing to become interpreters, not as a basic ability for interpreters who wish to enter the market; therefore it should not be included in the test. The test should not be divided into different professional subject. Participant F agrees to this view. Test conducted only in general topics means that the candidates cannot prepared beforehand and this to some extent can verify their ability to react immediately and handle the pressure of real time interpreting.

Interpreters should assume anything could go wrong at anytime and thus be prepared.

Participant K claims that the test should have two stages. The first stage includes basic level test that verifies core-interpreting proficiency and the second level tests goes beyond language conversion into knowledge application.

Participant H, I, and J think that there is no need to establish an accreditation test.

7.) Should interpreters be certified or licensed if a regulating mechanism is to be installed?

Participant F and G state that doctors and lawyers are licensed because their line of work

Participant F and G state that doctors and lawyers are licensed because their line of work