Doing tiredness justice

Having interpreted simultaneously for four days running last week, I was pretty much brain dead over the weekend.

My work as a business and public service interpreter involves approximately 70% consecutive interpreting and 30% simultaneous interpreting. Consecutive interpreting allows the speaker to say a few sentences followed by a pause to allow me to speak. I rely on my memory in this type of interpreting making notes only for numeric information. Simultaneous interpreting is completely different. The speaker continues to speak while I interpret at the same time. I don’t memorise anything and I certainly have no time for any note taking.

Why is it so tiring? When you talk to people you normally have time to consider how to formulate your sentence, which words to use, when to pause to gather your thoughts, and then ultimately you hear your chosen words as you say them.

When I interpret simultaneously, I focus on listening and comprehending the speaker. The speaker controls the pace, the words, and the interludes.  Because I speak at the same as the client, I rarely hear my output. I’m usually a sentence or a thought behind the speaker, as obviously I need to understand the meaning of what they say before I repeat it in another language; my entire focus is on the input.

I don’t find transferring the meaning from one language to another difficult. The challenge is to stay focussed, not to miss what the speaker says, not to hesitate for too long, not to fall behind and never to miss information, which would be unacceptable.

Research suggests that human brain is capable of staying focussed on a task for up to 2hrs [ref. “The science behind concentration and improved focus” by Alina Vrabie], for learning purposes it is 45-50 minutes. [ref: “Improving your concentration” by Dorinda Lambert]. Conference interpreters in the UN interpret simultaneously for 20 minutes at the time at which point they switch with the second interpreter. They often have the speech pre-published on screen in front of them. International organisations rely heavily on the work of interpreters and at this level tend to have a deep understanding of how simultaneous interpreting works.

My experience with public service organisations in the UK is that they lack an understanding and appreciation for our work. Solicitors and barristers stand several meters in front of the interpreter in court, usually facing away.  They quickly forget that what they say is being relayed in another language behind them. Many courts make little allowance for interpreters’ fatigue and expect unbroken focus for hours at the time approaching the limit of human capacity for continuous language interpreting.

Of course interpreters can request break when it is needed. However, the reasons behind such requests may not always be understood leaving interpreters feeling awkward and that they may be inconveniencing the court.

It must be appreciated that the UK court system is overstretched and therefore time is of the essence. However, the adage placing speed over haste has to be moderated with an appreciation of our profession, if Justice is to be accurately served.