Question 1

What is the difference between translation and interpreting?

Accepted Answer

It is widely accepted that translation refers to the written word whilst interpreting is best defined as the art of breaking the language barrier between two  people or groups of people by orally translating their speech on the  spot.

Question 2

What should I look for in an interpreter?

Accepted Answer

Community interpreters can get away with the Diploma in Public Service  Interpreting (They should also be registered with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters)(http://www.nrpsi.org.uk/).

Conference interpreters should have experience working in an interpreting booth and interpreting simultaneous. Ideally, they should also hold a qualification such as the Master's  Degree in Conference Interpreting. If you have found a suitable candidate online, remember to ask questions such as "What training do you have in simultaneous interpreting?", "How many days have you worked as a conference interpreter?" and "What specialist subjects are you most familiar with?".

Question 3

What is the difference between simultaneous interpreting and consecutive interpreting?

Accepted Answer

Simultaneous interpreting is what you see on TV: the interpreter talks  and listens at the same time as the speaker to provide as smooth an  experience as possible to the listener and is normally used in larger  events, court or online interpreting with MS Teams or Zoom interpretation.

Consecutive interpreting is more suited to small groups, such as  business meetings or police interviews. The interpreter takes notes  while the speaker talks, then recaps the informations in the other  language. It takes longer and is slightly more disruptive, but it  requires less equipment.

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