Consecutive interpreting is the process in which interpreters translate a few sentences at a time for their audience, alternating with the person who is talking. In this case, the business interpreter acts as an intermediary between the speaker and the listener or group of listeners. This 'after you' technique is widely used in business negotiations or factory tours. Consecutive interpreting is used throughout many industries, including legal, medical, media and educational.

Court Interpreting

Spans the interpretation that takes place in a legal setting such as a courtroom or an attorney's office, wherein some proceeding or activity related to law is conducted. Legal interpretation is subdivided according to the legal setting into quasi-judicial (e.g. a police inquiry) and judicial interpreting, normally referred to as court interpreting.

Medical Interpreting

Interpreting in medical settings encompasses a variety of situations, from routine consultation with a physician to emergency procedures, from prepared childbirth classes to support for complex laboratory testing.

Media Interpreting

A catch-all term encompassing the interpreting performed at press conferences, publicity appearances and interviews, as well as films, videos, videoconferences, and television / radio programmes.

Educational Interpreting

This is a rapidly growing field of specialisation. It involves interpreting in the classroom for students who cannot understand the language of instruction, interpreting between teachers and parents and at school board meetings or disciplinary hearings.

Qualities of interpreters

There's a certain tendency to consider translation and interpreting as one and the same thing. Whilst the principle remains the same - conveying the content of a source language into a target language - interpreting belongs to a distinctive breed. The translator deals with static text; he'll have time to swing back and forth in the quest for that perfect sentence. The interpreter hasn't got that privilege. Decisions have to be made in real-time or near-real-time, which means the threshold between success and disgrace is even thinner.

Apart from the obvious language skills, the qualities required of an interpreter are very demanding. This section gives you and idea of what you should expect from a fully qualified interpreter.

Language Skills

In the same way an omelette can't be cooked without eggs, language is just a pre-requisite for mastering the techniques of interpreting.

Analytical Skills

Analysis is foremost amongst the strategies employed by court interpreters. It is so essential that it can be considered an intrinsic part of the process rather than an subsidiary strategy. Many standards of practice for medical interpreters also cite analysis as a key element in interpreting proficiency.

Listening and Recall

Effective interpreting requires effective listening skills. The specific kind of listening that interpreters perform is known as "active listening", which is quite different from other forms of listening, and has to be learnt by the interpreter. Having a good memory is especially important for a legal interpreter, who must retain and include in the target language message even extra-linguistic elements.

Ethical Behaviour

Although the interpreter's code of ethics has the greatest impact in legal settings, ethics are a major consideration for all interpreters. Some delicate situations can arise in international conferences, requiring that interpreters thoroughly understand their role and exercise good judgment. Medical interpreters must be particularly attuned to the importance of patient privacy issues.

Speaking Skills

Even consecutive interpreters, who generally interpret in more intimate settings, need to be able to express ideas well: effective speaking skills range from quality of voice to choice of intonation vocabulary, phrasing, etc.

Subject and Cultural Skills

Although the sentence 'You don't need to understand it, just translate it!' is quite often heard, interpreters need to acquire technical terminology and knowledge pertaining to the relevant fields, and, whenever possible, to suppress potential 'gaps' with their cultural knowledge.