- January 10, 2020
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Blog
Interpretation plays an important role in global business. It can also be referred to as translation. However, these two terms differ in terms of execution. Interpretation may be done orally by a person especially one who translates speech or by sign language. Today, interpretation is done by computers for efficiency and in a situation where documents are in bulk and required under a short time limit.
Interpreters as well play a major role in today’s economy. Some of the roles of interpreters include:
• Facilitate communication between two or more people
• Translating high-level instructions into an intermediate form
• In education systems used to help students program interactively
Interpreters just like a translator work as a compiler in that it takes a high-level language and converts it into machine code bit by bit for efficiency. An accredited interpreter works for professional and educational services and companies in conferences and event settings, courtrooms, schools, and hospitals.
Therefore certain qualities should be adopted by a good interpreter. These include:
• Must be a good listener to be able to convey the required information
• Possess excellent sensory, motor and cognitive skills
• Be culturally aware
• Have an extensive vocabulary of multiple languages
• Cope up with stress and self-control when dealing with difficult speakers
• Show emotional resilience
Their main work though is to facilitate communication between parties who speak two different languages. The following subtle things will make all difference during your next appointment though and needs to be taken into account:
1. Proper schedule for interpretation to take place
Appointments requiring consecutive interpretation require extra time since the interpreter has to wait for one party to speak before relaying what was said.
2. Reviewing of key points before appointments begin and adjourn
In health care for example, for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or are emotionally disturbed needs to be handled differently. Let the interpreter know the patient’s concerns or gender preference to be aware of how to handle it without discomfort being felt by the patient. The patient should at no time fear the involvement or feel uneasy with the third party introduced.
3. Proper research
Thorough background research and information about the culture of the non-English speaker will go a long way.
It is so embarrassing for an interpreter to get stuck or use gestures suggesting a missed point through the conversation.
4. Maintaining eye contact during the appointment
Looking directly at the deaf person or the person conveying the message will play a major role since the interpreter will actively be involved in the conversation.
5. Avoid interrupting the interpreter
Don’t ask irrelevant questions to the interpreter during the session however one is allowed to speak to the interpreter before the session begins to incase need be.
Following these steps will not only improve the operation but also offer an upper hand in improving communication between you and your client, colleague or even patient.
The interpreters should however not be:
• Too expensive such that the company spends most of its income on payment rather than service delivery.
• Elastic-proper channels of communication should be created so that when the need arises they can be reached.
Conclusion
Interpretation presupposes a certain love of language and deep knowledge of more than one language.
The art of communicating between different cultures, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds is the key to accurate interpretation and understanding from the source message to the target message.
The interpreter has no other option than to learn cross-cultural differences between non-English speakers and the English-speaking community, this gives him easy work while administering.
