In early March of 2020, when it became transparent that the effects of the international public health crisis were going to be far reaching and more significant on daily life than imagined, the greater part of the interpreting supply chain, revolving to a large extent around face-to-face, onsite interactions, disappeared in days, leaving interpreters and interpretation companies with no income. Read more HERE
Additionally, courts began to close and international conferences were cancelled, leaving interpreters to deal with the new reality and uncertain future of their professions. The writing was on the wall: the entire interpreting supply chain needed to go remote along with the rest of the world.
How does remote interpreting work? Remote interpreting occurs when interpreters are located in different places and is organized into two broad types. The first type is audio interpreting such as Over-the-Phone Interpretation (OPI) and was first introduced in 1973 in Australia. It is used in medical settings such as hospitals, clinics and for 911 calls, among other situations. OPI is also used in courts when a rarer language of lesser frequency is needed. Interpreters need to use landlines, not cell phones, when doing OPI, because landlines lead to a better connection as well as audio quality.
Video remote interpreting (VRI) was first introduced in 2010, again in the medical field. It differs from OPI because the interpreter can be seen through video. Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) is a solution which is offered for only the simultaneous mode of interpretation, not the consecutive mode, for online events such as small meetings and conferences. It was first used in 2003 for European Institutions during a plenary in Strasbourg, France. RSI platforms are a way to increase language access and participation of organizations who can’t realistically meet in person. Some platforms include Kudo, Interprefy, Voiceboxer and Interactio, among others. Zoom, which has become very popular during the pandemic, is a video conferencing platform with an interpretation add-on.
When using a platform for either OPI or VRI, it is important to understand the differences among them, their technical aspects and the challenges that may arise, whether acoustic or cognitive load. Similarly, it is essential to accept the fact that RI and their platforms are here to stay. Ultimately, nobody can predict the future of the interpretation market but the fact remains that people want to see and interact with each other. Therefore, I believe it’s inevitable that we will eventually return to onsite interpreting. In the meantime, however, interpreters will need to adapt to the new technologies to remain competitive in today’s market.