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Interpreting

Babel Linguistics has expertise in both consecutive and simultaneous modes of interpreting with extensive experience in courthouses, law firms, press meetings, and educational conferences. Babel Linguistics also offers on-call service for onsite and phone interpreting in case of emergencies.

There is a fundamental difference between both modes of interpreting:

Consecutive interpreting: the speaker stops every 1-5 minutes (usually at the end of every "paragraph" or a complete thought) and the interpreter then renders what was said into the target language. A key skill involved in consecutive interpreting is note-taking, since few interpreters can memorize a full paragraph at a time without loss of detail.

Simultaneous interpreting: it involves translating as the speaker speaks and it takes a complete linguist to excel in such a psychological phenomenon. This is performed from an isolated booth and its main purpose is to save time from a major event (a conference, a congress, etc.) When World War II was over, an international military tribunal was set up in Nuremberg to try the leading Nazi criminals. Although the League of the Nations and other international meetings had used simultaneous interpretation prior to Nuremberg, this method gained great significance there in 1945.

Just like translating, interpreting is not a matter of substituting words in one language for words in another. It is a matter of understanding the thought expressed in one language and then explaining it using the resources of another language. In other words, what an interpreter does is change words into meaning, and then change meaning back into words -- of a different language. Interpreting is basically paraphrasing. And just like we cannot explain to someone a thought if we didn't fully understand it, nor can we interpret something without mastering the subject matter. Good knowledge of the subject matter is just as important as making sure that the interpreter is an experienced one.