The Linguist

22 The Linguist Vol/63 No/3 thelinguist.uberflip.com FEATURES From safety concerns and excessive noise to getting lost, interpreting at a factory isn't easy, reports Sue Leschen Interpreting at factory visits requires hard and soft skills, several different dress codes, health and safety considerations, insurance issues and the ability to interpret on the go. Yet there seems to be a dearth of courses, qualifications and even guidelines for interpreters working in this area. So I hope my tips and experiences from several recent factory visits will be helpful. Dress code(s) This is a difficult one! Unlike most other interpreting assignments, factory visits may require several costume changes. You may start off in business dress at a briefing in the boardroom with similarly suited and booted company directors and their assorted visitors, and then have to don steel-capped boots, a hard hat and maybe a high-vis jacket (all provided by the factory) to accompany them on a tour of the factory floor. Later in the day you may be back to your original business dress to interpret PowerPoint presentations for the visitors before changing yet again into evening attire for a formal dinner. You will only get the dress codes right if you ask the client in advance for a programme of the day's activities. A trouser suit is probably the best option for warmth on the factory floor, and adaptability when morphing into 'meeting mode' later on. Health and safety Issues of health and safety can be numerous and varied, with noise being the most difficult problem for interpreters as the machinery can be absolutely deafening. It is unlikely that production will be halted for the visit – or at least not throughout the factory. It is also not uncommon for piped music to be blasted around the factory floor. Add to this frequent and (necessarily) very loud announcements on the tannoy, and it means that factories are definitely not interpreter-friendly! It might be difficult or even impossible for us to hear and be heard above the din. This may be the case even where a tour guide system is used (whereby interpreter and visitors are linked by handheld microphones and headsets as they walk around). It is worth advising clients of these issues in advance and suggesting that their visitors note down any questions/comments for discussion when everybody is back in the office. Factories are potentially dangerous places due to the machinery and tools, some of which will probably be demonstrated during visits. While interpreters need to get reasonably close in order to see, and to try to hear what is being said by the factory official, being too close could result in an accident. We need to have eyes in the back of our heads when navigating the factory floor – not least because there may be potential trip hazards from trailing wires and cables. Interpreting on the go Unlike most interpreting assignments, which tend to be mainly sedentary, factory visits involve 'mobile interpreting' as we walk and talk our way around the building. Depending on the size of the group, this needs careful planning by interpreters and factory officials, including instructions about staying together at all times during the tour. It is common for visiting delegates to try to detach themselves from the main group if they want to spend more time looking at a particular product or piece of machinery. Others may hold side conversations with each other as the interpreter is speaking. The visit may involve going out of the main factory building in order to view warehouses or external equipment on the site. The group may even drive across town from one venue to another. If the clients aren't returning to the first venue, the interpreter will need to take their own car and follow the clients' vehicle. While this gives us a rest from interpreting, it can lead to trouble. On one recent job, my clients' minibus sped ahead and disappeared from sight, leaving me to cope with fast-moving rush-hour traffic in an unfamiliar town. Factories tend to be located in industrial zones on the outskirts of town centres. While they are reasonably well sign-posted from town, they aren't always well sign-posted within the site itself – and some sites are tantamount to small cities! To make matters worse, one warehouse often looks very much like another, so it's easy to go to the wrong one. Sat navs aren't infallible and are rarely as helpful as stopping and asking passing operatives for directions. Where possible, a trial visit the day before is probably the most useful thing interpreters can do by way of preparation. At the same time, we should be wary of agreeing to use our own transport on site due to lorries and trucks hurtling around every corner. Terminology and other prep It goes without saying that preparation is important, depending on the extent of our previous knowledge of the factory. Interpreters should negotiate reasonable deadlines for the provision of any relevant materials, such Hard hats and steel caps

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