Russian - English and English - Russian interpreting

Translation is usually used to describe the process of translating written material.
Interpreting is the dynamic translation of a live presentation, a conference or a dialogue.

Simultaneous translation

Simultaneous translation is exemplified by the system in use in places like the United Nations. Here a speaker's words are translated, as he speaks, from his native language into one or more intermediate languages.

For delegates who understand neither the native speaker nor one of the intermediate languages there will be an interpreter translating from one of the languages available into their native languages.

In a bilingual meeting there need only be facilities to translate between the two languages involved.

A major difficulty with simultaneous translation arises from the fact that a speaker's intention may not be clear until a sentence is complete but the aim of the translation service is to keep pace with the speeches. This means that the interpreter is doing a certain amount of prediction.

Simultaneous translation is very demanding, it is an almost mechanical process, there is no time to think or go back and correct, the thread of the ongoing dialogue will be lost. Those with the rare talent to be able to provide simultaneous translation can seldom work for more than 30 minutes of each hour and can command very high rates of pay.

Consecutive translation

Consecutive translation is appropriate for bilingual conferences or one to one dialogues.

Each speaker completes a sentence and then pauses for the interpreter to translate it to the other party.

This is slower than simultaneous translation but allows for better interaction and the translator is better able to take into consideration additional factors such as body language, hand guestures and facial expressions.

Generally the quality of the translation will be better than that resulting from simultaneous translation.

Interpreting is also possible if the interpreter is joined into a 3-way telephone conversation. In the absence of body-language cues then the precise wording becomes more important and so telephone interpreting is best handled as consectutive translation.

We can offer both Simultaneous and Consecutive translation services.