Top 5 Challenges Facing Language Interpreters & Translators
As an interpreter, I can name 5 challenges that have made my job harder. Feel free to add to the list.
Jokes/Puns
This is especially true for American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, where the client is not exposed to the auditory component of the pun.
Take this pun for example: “Don’t trust atoms, they make up everything.”
The tricky part here would be “make up.” The english version combines the meanings “compose” and “invent” which have two different interpretations in ASL as well as Spanish. In ASL you may try to sign it as literal as possible signing “make” then spelling “up” and you may get lucky and relay the joke, otherwise you might just get stuck explaining away the joke. Even though this is not the optimal way to convey the meaning, it is sometimes the only way. It will also help the client understand why people are laughing, avoiding any feelings of being left out.
Technical Presentations Without Prep Material
In a perfect world, this wouldn’t happen. Interpreters would have access to the material beforehand in order to get familiar with terms, names, concepts…etc. in order to have an idea of how best to interpret the material. In reality this is practiced much less than it ought to be. From an ASL interpreter point of view, this is especially difficult since we often have to resort to spelling technical words and new names. This often causes undue physical and mental stress. The physical stress comes from spelling let’s say 10 letters, versus having one pre-established sign that conveys the same meaning as those 10 hand shapes in one single hand shape.
Names are even more difficult, since English provides sounds that can be spelled in various ways. I was once working as a Video Remote Interpreter (VRI) for an ancient art class chock full of Roman and Greek names (e.g., Callikrates or Praxiteles). I was not given the slides, nor could I even see them as I was interpreting. To top it off, the professor was speaking at such a fast pace that it seemed as if he was intentionally toying with the interpreters. Spanish language interpreters have the benefit of repeating the name with a Spanish accent. Technical words, on the other hand, present the same challenges to spoken language interpreters.
Not Knowing How to Work With Interpreters
This often happens simply out of not being exposed to the proper way of working with interpreters, and can often be remedied simply through education. Some people who haven’t worked with interpreters before may keep saying things like “Tell them…” or “What did he say…” referring to the client in third person, when they should actually be talking directly to them. They may also make side comments intended just for the interpreter, not knowing that it is the interpreter’s duty to communicate everything that is said in the room.
Regarding ASL interpreters, placement can sometimes be an issue. Some presenters are resentful of having interpreters on stage or even in front of the stage, so sometimes we have to educate them about the Deaf preferring a line of sight to the presenter with the interpreter just off-center, so as to minimize their gaze shift between interpreter and presenter.
Unclear Speakers or Accents (Or A Bad Connection)
When a speaker mumbles, has a heavy accent, or a bad connection (in the case of VRI) then this can really stress out an interpreter. We thrive on context, so even if we are catching 90% of what is said, it can result in only 75% of the message being accurately interpreted. Taking one or two words out of a sentence can cause us to lose the whole meaning of the sentence. It’s helpful to have a team, who may or may not have caught the missing words or a lapel microphone feed (VRI). Ideally we would stop and ask for clarification, but in reality this is not often feasible especially if the speaker is too far on stage somewhere, or there is a large audience where it may not be appropriate to stop the entire presentation to ask for clarification, just as it would be for a regular attendee to stop the speaker for the same reason.
Language Variations
Occasionally I am hired by attorneys for a deposition, trial witness, or medical appointments and face real difficulties understanding the client. In one case the client had a degenerative disease and could not move their fingers, which as you can imagine made it very difficult to understand her. In another case the client had recently moved from another country and barely spoke even the sign language from her country, much less ASL. These are extreme cases, but the truth is that there may be even more variation in sign language than spoken English, which can present quite a challenge for the interpreter.
Furthermore, the hearing client may not understand why you, as a certified ASL interpreter, cannot understand what the Deaf person is trying to say. At this point if you think it would be beneficial, then you could ask for a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI), who can often facilitate communication in such difficult situations. In many circumstances, the hearing clients are aware of the difficulty and are appreciative of the effort to facilitate any communication. Of course, if you just find yourself way in over your head, you should probably state so and have them bring in other resources for their purposes.
It is the agency’s job to flesh out the situation and have enough information to send out the best interpreter(s) for the job. If they send you out unprepared for a difficult assignment, then you have the right to tell them you weren’t aware of the special needs of the client, and that you don’t feel able to effectively interpret for them. It’s not your fault you were put in that situation, but it will be your fault if you know you aren’t getting the job done, but pretend to be.
This is also true for spoken language interpreters. Spanish has quite a few varieties such as Castillian, Mexican, Central American, Caribbean, Rioplatense (Argentina & Uruguay), Andean-Pacific Spanish (Chilie, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela & Bolivia), and Chilean Spanish. German, Chinese and French also have several major varieties that can pose challenges for some interpreters.
For all your professional linguistic needs such as document translation, simultaneous or consecutive interpreting, conference equipment, over the phone interpreting, video interpreting, entertainment industry, depositions, trials, court reporters, and more then don’t hesitate to request an interpreter, email us at spotoninterpreting@gmail.com or call us at 855-562-7768 and we’ll be glad to help out in any way we can.
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