Contents introduction chapter definition and concepts of the methods of simultaneous interpretation

CHAPTER 3. THE IMPORTANCE OF USING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES ON METHODS AND STRATEGIES OF SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION
3.1 Ways of using innovative technologies on methods of simultaneous interpretation at conferences.
Providing interpretation services for a large conference. Not as easy as it sounds. An interpretation project manager must source and schedule simultaneous interpreters. Make sure all interpretation equipment works and that it gets delivered to the convention location on time. Deal with changes to dates, rooms available, number of languages desired, and more.
In-house event planners prefer to delegate the entire interpretation process to us. Still, with the inevitable mission creep of an interpretation project, even our seasoned project managers have moments of feeling inundated. Every U.S. Translation Company interpretation project includes the following four pieces of equipment, made by the likes of Listen Technologies and Williams Sound.
1. THE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETER’S HEADSET.
The simultaneous interpreter works linguistic magic, taking in a presenter’s speech and instantly transforming it into another language. The interpretation headset facilitates all of this. It incorporates a receiver, a microphone, and headphones into one device. The receiver operates on low-frequency FM channels to bring the presenter’s voice through the headphones and into the interpreter’s auditory cortex, where billions of neurons work overtime to process each diphthong, fricative and plosive, assigning meaning in milliseconds and outputting that meaning in an entirely different semiotic system. The interpreter articulates this second language into the mic, which plugs into the console (more about which below).
2. THE INTERPRETATION BOOTH
The behemoth of the interpretation equipment entourage, interpretation booths provide a quiet space in which the interpreter works her verbal magic. A normal interpretation contract specifies an interpretation booth for each outgoing language. Interpretation booths serve several important roles. They dampen the simultaneous interpreter’s voice, cutting out any echo effect for the interpreter’s listeners. They quell ambient noise. They also house the console.
Interpretation booths come in two primary forms: tabletop and freestanding. Tabletop booths, as the name suggests, rest on top of a table. Typically, one booth accommodates two interpreters, who lean forward, extending their heads into its sound-dampening interior to listen and to speak. Freestanding booths resemble a fully-enclosed office cubicle. They feature padded walls, glass panels, and soundproof design. In this silent womb, an interpreter might as well be miles away, so removed from the event does she feel. Often, however, the freestanding booth occupies the back of the event space. Whenever the interpreter glances out of her confinement through the soundproof glass, she sees the gesticulations of attendees and presenters, the flickering of gigantic projection screens. Yet, the only sound enters through her headphones. If she takes these off, she experiences an eerie, powerful silence.
An enclosed interpretation booth seats two to three interpreters (though they can run even larger), contains a table running the length of the booth’s interior. The booth offers shelving or storage slots for interpreters to stash and retrieve their items. Notes, conference agendas, speaker bios, briefings, technical documents, and other materials. They contain their own ventilation system and air supply with individual climate controls for adjusting the heat or air conditioning within the booth.
The interpretation booth has its own lighting system, allowing the simultaneous interpreter to view her console and materials even if room lighting has been dimmed. Booth lighting features a dimmer and uses incandescent or LED bulbs. Fluorescent light, with its crackling, degrades the simultaneous interpreter’s sound fidelity, and also interferes with interpretation equipment frequencies.
For enclosed (freestanding) interpretation booths, proper seating is essential. The tight quarters and the length of interpretation stints demand small, comfortable chairs. Optimally, the chairs have wheels for interpreter mobility. Wheels and other chair functions should operate silently, for obvious reasons.