but you're not a professional are you...

(edited 17 November 2010)

I have written about this strange phenomenon before. Although usually we get compliments from people who simply can't fathom how you can listen to someone and speak at the same time - and in two different languages, too - conference interpreters get asked things like the question in the title a fair bit, as well.

Only a few days ago I was told by a colleague from another language booth that one of the delegates had approached him and opened a conversation with that very question. Now, interpreters are as proud as any other professional of the work they do and of their quite unique skills, so opening a conversation like this is not going to win you an instant fan in the person it is addressed to.

It has to be said, the conference was a medical one. And in a way the assumption on the part of the delegate was right - we are not qualified - or professional - physicians. But then again, that is pretty obvious, as we are interpreters, highly trained and uniquely skilled linguistics professionals in our own right.

Anyway, just think about it: what medical doctor would be prepared to give up a doctor's income to work in an interpreting booth for rates that don't reflect his/her professional experience and have only gone up once* since the new millennium began (and are still a pittance in comparison to what a consultant takes home) plus spend a day or two extra on every job to prepare for it with mostly little or no help from the client (like presentations and background material) and travel to the venue without getting compensated for it? Didn't think so. That's why medical professionals work in clinics and hospitals, not in interpreting booths.

In short, it is a flawed perception that if someone is a lawyer or a deep-sea oil rig engineer or a thoracic surgeon and so on and knows a bit of Spanish, then that person would be a good interpreter. Even if that person knew how to work in the booth, that kind of interpreter would never earn enough to make a living as they would be locked into a small proportion of the work that we do in a year. Interpreting sadly doesn't pay enough to compensate the interpreter for being fully qualified as a linguist AND fully qualified in the subject matter of the particular event, and being limited to that subject matter and hence maybe 10 days of work in a year.

In fact, this actually illustrates another issue: the importance of preparation. Like barristers, interpreters work better, the better they are briefed. If the end client or production company or agency doesn't consider it necessary to ask for or provide conference papers and other relevant material well ahead of the conference, interpreters may involuntarily come across as unprofessional because they have been robbed of one essential part of their work, namely preparation. This is at least in the UK the most common complaint of colleagues. Nobody likes to do a bad job, but sometimes I feel like a runner sent out to win the Olympics with my feet tied together.

So this is a plea to end clients: if you want interpreters for your event to convey your message to foreign delegates, make sure you get your money's worth by allowing the interpreters to do their jobs well. Give them what they ask for, and accept that there is a reason for it, even if you don't understand it.

This final comment goes to the delegates: if you don't appreciate the hard work interpreters do for you, at least don't go offending them by implying they are somehow amateurs. Thank you.

* in the UK

Picture from the conference room at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin Friedrichstraße, September 2010.