Information

Languages and teams

Interpreters working into their native languages are a plus! Every German attending a conference can confirm how much easier it is to listen when the interpreter speaks in accent-free, grammatically correct German – and this applies to all participants and theirlanguages. It is particularly important for the English booth, which – in the very nature of things – tends to have a large number of listeners. And these listeners have the right to expect clear U.K. or U.S. English, which they have no difficulty in following, not always the case if the English is heavily accented… International organisations only employ interpreters who work into their mother tongue. This is the ideal, though not always possible in the private sector.
When interpreters speak of “exotic” languages they mean those which are seldom used. Examples could include Laotian, Bengali, Basque or Ghanaian Akan. In such cases it can be near impossible to find sufficient interpreters who are competent in these languages, in which case we use the “Relay System”. This means using one or more colleagues who interpret from/into the relevant language (but possibly not into the target language), while other interpreters use the rendering of these interpreters, and work into what their audience requires. There are only so many interpreters… so cost or scheduling considerations sometimes dictate this approach. Whenever possible, it is always better to organize language booths for direct interpretation  thus guaranteeing optimum quality.
 

Team composition

The size of the team and the selection of members is made on a case by case basis according to specific requirements.