You know Translation Agency™ as a translation agency, but we can provide interpreters as well. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as translation and interpretation are two related disciplines. Even so, they are two distinct fields; more about that below.

Translation Agency™ was once created as a translation agency. At that time, we did not think about also providing interpreting services. However, if your customers start asking for it repeatedly, you start to explore that market, resulting in now being able to offer a ‘full service’ for interpreting as well. That means; high quality and speed at an unmatched competitive price .

Interpreters in all kinds

Interpretation is divided into two main types; consecutive and simultaneous. With consecutive interpreting, the interpreter and the conversation partners will be, for example, sitting at a table. One speaker speaks a few sentences, waits for the interpreter to do his job, then continues or waits for the other speaker to respond. Another well-known and common situation in which a consecutive interpreter does his job is in an audience hall. You can also think of calling in a consecutive interpreter for job interviews, training sessions, press conferences, and interrogation of suspects and witnesses.

Depending on the need, it can be arranged that an interpreter accurately translates smaller pieces of spoken text, or provides summaries of longer pieces of text.

The ‘rush interpreter’

For police work and cases in which immediate (medical) care is required, there is often an additional difficulty; an interpreter is needed immediately. The magistrate must decide whether someone should be detained, evidence must be traced and secured, there are wounded and witnesses which need an interpreter for communication, etc.

But how do you get an interpreter with the right language combination on the spot in the middle of the night? The answer is: by phone. At such times, a telephone interpreter is often used.

The ‘silent interpreter’

The interpreter must be aware of the likelihood of being confronted with an extreme form of confidentiality. Secrecy and discretion are always at the forefront of interpretation, but there are situations where even a court cannot force an interpreter to speak. Such situations occur if the interpreter works for a lawyer, doctor, clergyman, or notary, and has been involved in confidential conversations. For these professions, the so-called legal professional privilege applies, which means that those persons cannot be forced by anyone to tell them what has been communicated in confidence; not even a judge. This also applies to an interpreter who is present during such conversations. He may in this case rely on the so-called derivative privilege, which means that he falls under the legal professional privilege of the lawyer, doctor, clergyman, or notary. Mentioning the things he has heard in confidence isn’t only not done; it is even punishable.

The ‘whisper interpreter’

The work of a simultaneous interpreter starts with the so-called whisper interpreter; a private interpreter who sits next to a person for whom he needs to interpret. Such an interpreter translates everything that is said during a meeting or conference simultaneously. The interpreter does this in such a way that only his client can understand him and it does not bother anyone else.

Such an interpreter may be needed if during a conference or meeting, only one person who doesn’t understand the language is present. Interpreting everything out loud for one person would greatly delay the meeting. And meetings tend to take long enough as it is…

Obviously, the work of a simultaneous interpreter is particularly strenuous and requires extreme concentration. The interpreter must translate immediately while listening at the same time, and make sure he does not miss anything while speaking.

The ‘simultaneous interpreter’

The best-known image of the simultaneous interpreter is probably that from newsreel footage of meetings of the European Parliament or the United Nations. The people in the meeting hall have headsets at their disposal via which a variety of languages are being translated simultaneously. Sometimes, the viewer is given a glimpse of the interpreters working from soundproof booths.

Such a simultaneous interpreter often works approximately one and a half to two hours straight before passing it over to a colleague who speaks the same language combination. Therefore, simultaneous interpreters rarely work alone.

The ‘interpreter king’

You already knew Translation Agency™ as a translation agency which offers the highest quality at the lowest rates;the same now also applies to our interpreting services. We can provide you with an interpreter in virtually any requested language combination; you name it.