Interpreters and Conference Interpreting

Hi everyone on the forum,

Ive been reading with concern the European Commissions recent statement that the number of interpreters is in a rapid decline. I was not surprised to read that this is a particular problem for English A interpreters. (http://www.euractiv.com/fr/culture/ue-i ... cle-179551).
In fact it got me to thinking, I know just one English A interpreter and I was wondering the extent of this problem.

If you are an English A interpreter or interpreter in training, or even soon-to-be interpreter in training, please share your views on this.
Is it the lack of students taking language GCSEs? Are English native speakers convinved its unnecessary as 'everyone speaks English'?
What says you?

I would like to get to know the English As on this site as tbh, Im beginning to feel theres not that many of us based on what I read!

Hello,

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that there are LOADS of English A interpreters. It's just that not so many of them are based in Brussels, hence the fuss (as EU institutions are reluctant to pay for travel and accomodation)...
I know a few of them who are EU-accredited and never get EU work because they are 'too far' from Brussels (despite still being based in Europe), but please do correct me if I got it wrong!

Hi,

I'm an English A. While it's true that language GCSEs aren't so popular any more, I certainly didn't see any shortage of interpreting students on my course: there were probably about 40 of us with English A in my year. And there were plenty of applicants.

I think that people drop out of interpreting in the first year or so after graduating from a Masters course and that's why there is a shortage of English mother tongue interpreters in Brussels. In my (humble) opinion, the Commission is targeting the wrong group in its campaign: it's not a lack of awareness and enthusiasm on the part of potential students but rather a lack of experience and confidence in recently-trained interpreters. I agree with Aymeric that there are tons of young English A interpreters out there, we're just not necessarily very successful (speaking for myself of course).

It seems to me that in the UK the market is more based on Public Service Interpreting and liaison interpreting: from what I have heard it's very hard to get work as a conference interpreter there. Conversely, interpreting degrees in the UK seem to be largely aimed at passing institutional exams (for the EU and the UN), so the emphasis is on C languages. However, the local private market normally requires a B language and PSI skills and therefore graduate interpreters in the UK are not necessarily suitably adapted to work there. Although you have French B if I remember correctly so I guess it won't be so much of a problem for you.

It can be difficult to get enough experience to pass UN and EU tests: I've met a lot of other young interpreters who work for translation companies and do volunteer interpreting for NGOs in their spare time, for example. This can be very discouraging and it's common for people to retrain in other fields. From my Masters course, I think four or five English As are still interpreting: either in Brussels or on private markets in other countries. That's out of about 40 (I think). None of them live in the UK.
I know a handful of English As who actually interpret for a living and lots more like me who are starting out and volunteering and doing other jobs at the same time. Don't get me wrong, volunteering is enormous fun and it's a great way to get in the booth more often, but it can be an expensive hobby

To be perfectly honest, I haven't had a lot of experience so far: I've done tons of volunteer work and dummy boothing but most of my income is from translation. And I regularly catch myself wondering whether I shouldn't just get an ordinary job in a bank (perhaps not a bank at the moment). Last year I said I'd keep freelancing until the end of the year and then reconsider... now I've postponed it til the end of this year... and then we'll see

Anyway, it sounds as though you have a great combination and plenty of motivation, so good luck!

I am an English A future student.

I doubt I can give my advice on anything at all, but out of the few conference interpreters I've met, several of them have been English A's.

I have a question, though. Does dialect play much of a deciding role in whether or not you're hired? Like American vs. British English, is one preferred on the European market?

RJONES wrote:Ive been reading with concern the European Commissions recent statement that the number of interpreters is in a rapid decline. I was not surprised to read that this is a particular problem for English A interpreters. (http://www.euractiv.com/fr/culture/ue-i ... cle-179551).

I'm an Italian A, and I've read that the EU institutions will be looking also for Italian A interpreters in the near future.

I'm wondering (just out of curiosity)... is it possible for an English B interpreter to work for the English booth (at an EU institution, I mean)? Or is that only in the private market?

My combination will probably be Italian A, English B, French C. Do the EU institution accept ABC combinations? Or do they prefer C languages?

I have a question, though. Does dialect play much of a deciding role in whether or not you're hired? Like American vs. British English, is one preferred on the European market?

Interesting question. I tend to speak with an American accent and sometimes I wonder the same thing!

As far as I know it doesn't matter whether you interpret into English with a British or an American accent.

I don't think that you can apply to the English booth as a native speaker of another language with an English B: I think you'd have to apply to your own booth with English B in your combination and then I guess you would work into English in the event that no English A interpreters with for example Italian C were available. I'm not an expert in this area though so I should wait for someone else to confirm!

I'm an Italian A, and I've read that the EU institutions will be looking also for Italian A interpreters in the near future.

Indeed, there is a similar discussion in other booths, too. The reason for this is that many interpreters, both staff and freelance, will retire in the next 5 - 10 years or so.

I'm wondering (just out of curiosity)... is it possible for an English B interpreter to work for the English booth (at an EU institution, I mean)? Or is that only in the private market?

I think theoretically you could claim that your English is more or less an A and apply with this (Italian and English A). But this would mean that your English must be as good as your mother tongue. And you would have to work also from French into English (and before pass the test for this combination).
I do not think that with Italian A - English B you will work in the English booth just because they don't have an English interpreter with Italian C in a certain meeting. In such a case the English booth would use another booth as a relay. In meetings with 22 languages or so obviously no booth covers all of them.

My combination will probably be Italian A, English B, French C. Do the EU institution accept ABC combinations? Or do they prefer C languages?

Basically yes, you can apply with such a combination. There is a certain need for interpreters with a B language (e.g. bilateral meetings etc.). I do not know the exact situation in the Italian booth, so I do not know whether with „only” two languages you will get much work (probably not....).

Does dialect play much of a deciding role in whether or not you're hired? Like American vs. British English, is one preferred on the European market?

I do not think that this is very important. As far as you are clearly understandable, American English should not be a problem. Even at the EU institutions some interpreters have an American accent, both in the English booth and from those having English as a B language.

Thank you for answering my questions!

Dear Dolmetscherin,

In order to work for the EU as an Italian interpreter, you'll need to have at least 3 C languages , one of them being German.
Things are a bit easier for other booths, i.e. the English one.
Still regarding the Italian booth, accent in your mother tongue does play a role, but I heard people with an American or Indian accent in the English booth.
Hope it helps.

violetta wrote:In order to work for the EU as an Italian interpreter, you'll need to have at least 3 C languages , one of them being German.

Thanks for your answer!
How come I should have German in my combination? Are they looking for interpreters with German C?

Have a look at this...

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAct ... &format=HT


Andy
for AIIC TC