Vol/53 No/6 2014
DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015 The Linguist 31
INSTITUTE MATTERS
DIVISIONS & SOCIETIES
How to harness our new technology
WHY THE INTERPRETING DIVISION AGM AND SEMINAR PROGRAMME WAS A GREAT SUCCESS
Constantly evolving technology affects every profession, and
interpreting is no exception. We are, by now, all aware of remote
interpreting via telephone and video link, and there are new
innovations emerging for both interpreter training and practice, such
as tablet and digital pen technologies (for example Livescribe
smartpen for note-taking). In our experience, interpreters are very
keen to learn and keep up to date with the latest developments, and
with this in mind the Interpreting Division decided, at its AGM on
7 June, to include presentations describing two very different means
of harnessing some of these new technologies.
Our first speaker, Danielle D'Hayer, an Associate Professor at
London Metropolitan University, introduced us to the 'Community of
Practice' (CoP) approach to sharing a body of knowledge, where
virtual media, such as Google+, Facebook and Twitter, can play a
significant role. This involves a group of people agreeing to interact,
learn together and build relationships, and in that process develop a
sense of belonging and mutual commitment.
In the competitive interpreting sector, in which interpreters are
often geographically separated due to the nature of the job, CoP
can be a very useful tool. It can improve their ability to cooperate
with each other using various forms of multimedia. For this to
work cooperation, rather than competition, is needed, and a
willingness on the part of the professionals to share their knowledge
and experience. Danielle went on to cite examples from sectors
such as teaching, nursing, university and, of course, interpreting
and translating, as well as from the business sector, where CoPs
can be very successful, including Shell, McKinsey & Company, and
Hewlett Packard.
Our second seminar was led by Roni Bandong from Eurosis, a
company with many years' experience in the provision of services
and equipment for simultaneous interpretation and conferences
across the world. The company has always aimed to be a leader in
technological advances and Roni came to talk about their new
web-based simultaneous interpretation, currently being piloted. The
audio feed from a client's conference is streamed to London,
interpreted into the various languages and then streamed back to
the delegates via their phones, laptops, mobile devices or Eurosis's
receivers and headsets.
Some audience members already had experience of similar
systems and raised the critical issues of speed of connection/delay
in transmission and reliability of connection. They were also
concerned that such a system could lead to a reduction in rates,
even though the medium can be very challenging for interpreters.
(For further details, see Roni's write-up on the Eurosis website:
http://eurosis.com/web-based-interpretation-ciol.)
It was clear from the two presentations that two kinds of change
are required: cooperation to replace competition; and remote
working (perhaps) to become the norm. Both sessions attracted
many questions and much discussion, which continued over a buffet
lunch, and into and after the formal AGM.
For the names and roles of the newly elected Management
Committee, as well as the Chair's Annual Report, see the Interpreting
Division page of the CIOL website (www.ciol.org.uk > Membership >
Divisions > Interpreting Division).
Trevor Adcock MCIL and Christine Pocock FCIL from notes by
Andrea
Ďuristová MCIL.
©
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