Poll: Have you considered branching into remote interpreting?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 4, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you considered branching into remote interpreting?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:52
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Apr 4, 2020

I’m a translator and I’m not looking to other branches. I couldn’t be an interpreter. I love choosing my words carefully and taking the time to search for the right word when translating instead of the immediacy of interpreting.

Heather Oland
Clement Cheung
Elke Fehling
Christopher Schröder
Zibow Retailleau
Alix Paupy
Lina Efthimiadou
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:52
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Apr 4, 2020

Interpretation was part of my portfolio up to 2011, quite against my will, as I had an in-house job, and I had to do it. Since 2012, it was excluded, hopefully for good.

Fernanda Gonçalves
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:52
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Speaking as a former interpreter..... Apr 4, 2020

....I found it very stressful, particularly in smokefilled meetings in Milan when I was interpreting in both directions (Italian to English and English to Italian) which meant that I was speaking *all the time*. When everyone decided to go to lunch I was supposed to continue doing all the interpreting whilst also having lunch (although eating was completely out of the question).

HOWEVER I've been watching a lot of police/crime documentaries recently (don't ask) and I've become inte
... See more
....I found it very stressful, particularly in smokefilled meetings in Milan when I was interpreting in both directions (Italian to English and English to Italian) which meant that I was speaking *all the time*. When everyone decided to go to lunch I was supposed to continue doing all the interpreting whilst also having lunch (although eating was completely out of the question).

HOWEVER I've been watching a lot of police/crime documentaries recently (don't ask) and I've become interested in the work of police and court interpreters, who assist recently-arrested people over the telephone. But these jobs can come at any time, often in the middle of the night, and require mastery of the particular vocabulary that is used in these situations. Moreover I believe that in order to get on the shortlist of accredited police interpreters you have to jump through all sorts of hoops and that the pay is poor. So I've kind of discarded that sort of work as an option/possible sideline.

But interpreting - remote or otherwise - in some other field perhaps closer to my own specialist areas, might still be interesting as long as the interpreting is one-way only (Italian to English) and someone else is doing it the other way (English to Italian). Bi-directional interpreting is a killer.



[Edited at 2020-04-04 17:52 GMT]
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Liviu-Lee Roth
 
Aline Amorim
Aline Amorim  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:52
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Apr 4, 2020

I’m a translator and I’m not looking to other branches. I couldn’t be an interpreter.

 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 10:52
Romanian to English
+ ...
YESSSS! A big YES! Apr 5, 2020

I have been doing both translation and interpreting for over 20 years and I enjoy doing both, although in a very narrow niche. At first, about 5-6 years ago, I was reluctant do try OPI (over the phone interp) but now, I love it. In March I earned as much by doing OPIs, as in the previous years interpreting on-site. With the current situation, with all criminal and immigration courts closed and cancelled assignments, the OPI is the fad.

lee


Mina Chen
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Absolutely Apr 5, 2020

I know two languages, what more could I need?

There are many other jobs besides that are closely related to translating and we could pick up straight away:

- rocket scientist (we’re used to dealing with hot air)
- computer programmer (we can press keys on a PC as well as anyone)
- fashion designer (we wear clothes most days)
- banker (we provide plenty of credit with precious little due diligence)
- brain surgeon (all that typing must have done
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I know two languages, what more could I need?

There are many other jobs besides that are closely related to translating and we could pick up straight away:

- rocket scientist (we’re used to dealing with hot air)
- computer programmer (we can press keys on a PC as well as anyone)
- fashion designer (we wear clothes most days)
- banker (we provide plenty of credit with precious little due diligence)
- brain surgeon (all that typing must have done something for our manual dexterity)
- the next Shakespeare (we already write for a living)
- mafia enforcer (collecting money in multiple countries is already a core skill)
- lawyer (we argue on here all the time)
- mixed martial arts (ditto)
- yoga teacher (we often have to take a deep breath)
- Coronavirus expert (well, everyone else is)
- Brad Pitt (well, maybe only me)
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Alix Paupy
Liviu-Lee Roth
 
Matthias Brombach
Matthias Brombach  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:52
Member (2007)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Some more to add: Apr 5, 2020

Chris S wrote:

There are many other jobs besides that are closely related to translating and we could pick up straight away:

- rocket scientist (we’re used to dealing with hot air)
- computer programmer (we can press keys on a PC as well as anyone)
- fashion designer (we wear clothes most days)
-


- clairvoyant (experts in identifying "English" source texts written by non-native speakers of English)
- rubbish chute (experts in swallowing "English" source texts written by non-native speakers of English)
- to be continued

[Bearbeitet am 2020-04-06 07:29 GMT]


Christopher Schröder
 
Danni Li
Danni Li
Australia
No Apr 8, 2020

Translators and interpreters rely on different skills.

Interpreting is more emphasized on the ability of paraphrasing. Interpreter listened in one language, grasp the content and then paraphrase the meaning into another language. However, translator rely more on understanding the language and culture behind it, and then translate the text by choosing the words accurately.


 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 10:52
Romanian to English
+ ...
Beg to disagree Apr 8, 2020

Danni Li wrote:

Translators and interpreters rely on different skills.

Interpreting is more emphasized on the ability of paraphrasing. Interpreter listened in one language, grasp the content and then paraphrase the meaning into another language. However, translator rely more on understanding the language and culture behind it, and then translate the text by choosing the words accurately.





I have been doing both for over 15 years, translating ONLY in the criminal field and interpreting in court, legal, political and medical fields, including foreign delegations of judges and law enforcement.

Translation and interpretation interact and help each-other. Translation helps you to improve your vocabulary while interpreting helps you to think fast; as a result, I am able to submit before the due date most of the written translations requested by the Department of Justice.

Legal interpreting is not about "gasping the content and paraphrase the meaning"; try to do that in front of a jury at a criminal trial and they will shoot you!

Best,


MollyRose
Mina Chen
 


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Poll: Have you considered branching into remote interpreting?






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