Interpretation (III): simultaneous

Good evening!

Today I'm going to speak about simultaneous interpretation, after speaking, a few weeks ago, about liaison interpreting and relay.

Simultaneous interpretation is the oral translation, which is performed at the same time that the speech in the original language. For this type of interpretation it is necessary a cabin, from which the interpreter listens to the speaker through headphones and while he's listening, he translates at the same time. The audience who don't understand the original language can hear the translation through headphones. The interpreter must wait a short time to listen to the speaker and the to star the translation, but not to much time, because the speaker will continue with the speech and it is important that the interpreter don't lose the thread. This gap is known as décalage.

The reason that I speak today about simultaneous interpretation is because yesterday took place at the University of Alicante the conference Terrorismo ayer y hoy: el desatino de la Fracción del Ejército Rojo en la Alemania de los años 70 (Terrorism yesterday and today: the mistake of the Red Army Faction in Germany in the 70s) Our teacher and the students of the subject Interpretation (III) gave speeches in German, while other students did simultaneous interpretation into Spanish. Myself gave a speech in German and I interpreted another one into Spanish. 

This was the interpretation cabin where we interpreted. As you can see, we were behind the audience and we listened to the speaker thought those headphones. The speaker spoke from the table that you can see at the bottom, and the audience could hear the interpretation in Spanish.

Each situation is different and every place have a different equipment. But this way you can see how it is a simultaneous interpretation and what it is necessary to make it possible. I hope you like it and hopefully also get you close to this fascinating world.