Interpreting at the European Union Parliament

“In consecutive interpreting, a speech is interpreted in segments, often with the help of notes, while a speaker pauses. Because of time limitations, this technique is rarely used when more than two active languages are present. In simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter sitting in a special booth listens to a speech through a headset and translates it into a microphone while the delegate is speaking. Chuchotage or whispering is a variant of simultaneous interpreting where the interpreter listens to the original speech and at the same time renders it by whispering into the listener's ear, but this often disturbs others nearby.

Except for face-to-face meetings and for missions away from Brussels or Strasbourg, practically all European Parliament meetings rely on simultaneous interpreting in specially equipped meeting rooms, where interpreters work in teams of at least two interpreters per active language. For a meeting with simultaneous interpreting in six or more languages there must be three interpreters in each language booth. Typically, interpreters work from three or more passive languages into but not from their mother tongue.”

(Extract from the official website of the European Parliament)

At Language Translation Inc. in San Diego, our highly qualified interpreters are available for both consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting, whether for large conferences, small meetings, depositions or court trials. “We speak your language…and theirs.”

Betty Carlson