Zur Dolmetschersuche »
Interpreter Search »
Recherche d’interprète »

Working with interpreters

The interpreters' team

Conference interpreters distinguish between the following language categories:

  • A language: mother tongue, active working language. The conference interpreter interprets from and into this language.
  • B language: foreign language, active working language. The conference interpreter interprets from and into this language.
  • C language: foreign language, passive working language. The conference interpreter only interprets from this language.

On the basis of this, the composition and strength of the team of interpreters has to be matched to the language requirements of the particular event or conference. The relevant factors are:

  • languages in which speakers will be delivering their papers and the approximate share of each of these languages
  • languages understood by delegates who will be listening to the speakers.
  • As a rule of thumb, one booth per conference language is required, with at least two interpreters per booth.

Planning the language and team configurations for interpretation projects is a very complex task and many aspects must be taken into consideration.
Conference interpreters should be contacted early in the planning stage of the conference or event. Although recruitment and team composition may be easy when only two languages are involved, as soon as three or more languages are involved, team and booth planning can become fairly tricky, and a client may require professional advice. Such advice is provided by Consultant Interpreters. Consultant interpreters are professional interpreters who, in addition to working as interpreters, manage entire interpreting projects for their clients so they can focus on other things.