~Enrique~

[TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION AS PROFESSIONS]


In today's world borders are becoming a mere cartographic detail rather than a barrier to human interaction. International, national, and local organizations, corporations, banks, government agencies, industrial enterprises, hospitals, the courts, the military, and the many other institutions that constitute global societies rely on the services of translators and interpreters to communicate with each other and with their clients and constituents.

The nature of the profession requires constant enhancement of broad general knowledge while focusing on new technical terminology and specialized information associated with a narrow field or a particular subject matter. GSTI graduates must be prepared to translate or interpret materials in an ever-growing variety of subjects. Their sophisticated sensitivity to other cultures and tolerance for ambiguity are assets in a profession that rewards integrity and dedication.

Translators and interpreters are indispensable as global communicators:

A United Nations Security Council debate on peacekeeping
Trade negotiations between Korea and Canada
A Japanese astronaut's description of weightlessness
English radio coverage of France is Mitterrand's funeral
Computer manuals for the German market
A conference on nuclear nonproliferation with Russian and American delegates
A Chinese immigrant's appearance in traffic court
A Guatemalan child's appendectomy in a US hospital
Managing the localization of high tech manuals in multiple languages




Conference Interpretation
Master of Arts in Conference Interpretation (MACI)

Conference interpretation enables participants in a multinational meeting to communicate with each other in a seamless fashion, making the language barrier almost imperceptible. Such interpreting is generally performed in two modes: consecutive and simultaneous.

In consecutive interpretation, the interpreter usually sits with conference delegates while a speech is being made, listens to the speech, and takes notes. When the speaker pauses or finishes, the interpreter renders the speech in the first person in the target language. Speech and interpretation generally occur in segments no longer than 10-15 minutes.

In simultaneous interpretation, interpreters sit in soundproof booths (one booth for each language), where they listen to the speech from the meeting room through headsets. As the speaker talks, each interpreter interprets at the same time into his or her native or A language. The interpreter's words are spoken into a microphone and transmitted via headset to meeting participants. In this manner, the same speech can be interpreted into several languages at once with very little time lag. In each booth, interpreters work as a team, sharing the workload at regular intervals.

Many conference interpreters work on a freelance basis, since staff positions at organizations that require the services of conference interpreters, such as the United Nations, the European Union, and the US State Department, are limited. Both freelance and staff conference interpreters are eligible for membership in the Association Internationale des Interprtores de Conference (AIIC), based in Geneva. As the only worldwide organization of conference interpreters, it maintains high admissions standards in order to guarantee the professional expertise of its members and their respect for professional ethics.