The first three quarters of 2020 have seen unprecedented changes take place in the language translation and interpretation industry. Namely, changes that are seeing many businesses start foregoing the use of in-person interpreters, in favor of fully remote interpreter services.
Sadly, while many businesses are celebrating this move, some interpreters feel like their work now feels similar to working in a call center. Some also believe that remote interpretation can pose risks to interpreters and members of the public.
What are the Dangers of Remote Interpreter Services?
Are some businesses in America being too quick to switch to remote interpreter services?
At present, many businesses feel like they have no choice but to utilize the skills of interpreters who can interpret via telephone or video links. However, multiple studies exist which show that remote interpreting does have some limitations.
- Studies show that in legal interpreting and American Sign Language interpreting contexts, remote interpreting can result in miscommunications and translation errors.
- Often, miscommunication occurs due to interpreters not being able to interrupt when several people are speaking at once.
- During remote interpretation, it is difficult for interpreters to establish a rapport with people speaking. It is also more difficult for interpreters to read body language and non-verbal cues during conversations.
Thankfully, most problems associated with remote interpreter services are easy to counter. In meetings and consultations where remote interpreters will be present, all hosts need to do is provide clear guidelines outlining how dialog with interpreters will be structured.
Try to Make Sure That Meeting Environments are Distraction Free
When interpreters are physically present in meetings or at events, people in attendance will naturally focus on interpreters as they are speaking. Sadly, this isn’t always the case when interpreters appear exclusively on video screens or interpret via telephone.
In contexts like medical consultations, it is easy for patients to feel overwhelmed by the environment in which they find themselves. This is especially true in ER ad urgent are contexts. Moreover, this can result in patients not really hearing what interpreters are saying.
Thankfully, it is possible to counter distractions by having patients talk with interpreters in private offices and distraction-free consultation rooms.
Sometimes it is Best to Consider Hiring More Than one Interpreter
When meetings, where remote interpreters are present take place in distraction-free settings, the chances of translation errors occurring, are greatly reduced. However, it can sometimes also pay to hire more than one interpreter.
During short meetings or conference calls, interpreters will usually have no problem interpreting dialogue. However, during longer meetings, interpreters can start to suffer from interpreter fatigue. This is especially true when several people keep interrupting or talking at once.
- At present, the International Association of Conference Interpreters advises that interpreters should only interpret continuously for 30-minutes.
- After 30-minutes of continuous interpreting, fatigue can set in and interpreters should take a break to refresh themselves accordingly.
- When interpreters are required to translate long-running conversations, hiring two interpreters can see one take over every 30-minutes while the other takes a break. In doing so, interpreters are less likely to suffer from fatigue and will be able to interpret dialogue with a high degree of accuracy.
How Can Businesses Hire More Than one Interpreter?
Are you planning a long-running event, presentation, or conference call? If so, our team at Languagers can help you hire one or more interpreters quickly. We can also help automate the rotation of interpreters whenever it is necessary for one interpreter to take a break. To find out more, click here.