General Job Description
Interpreting must indeed be one of the oldest trades in the world. Back in the dim and distant past, primitive tribes will have sought to communicate with each other, just as throughout history kings and emperors have negotiated with their counterparts from foreign territories– and, in all this, interpreters were a prerequisite for effective communication.
Conference interpreting in its present form, however, only came into being as an organized profession in its own right, with its own status, rules and ethical code, following WWII, as a consequence of the many international organizations being then founded. Accordingly, interpreting probably ranks as both one of the oldest and one of the youngest “trades” in the world.
Hans Jacob, the former chief interpreter at UNESCO for many years often said: “The interpreter is paid for being available and for listening, the interpreting is thrown in for free.” This may well have been valid for the old guard of interpreters. However, nowadays, as an ever greater complexity of subject matter calls for ever greater specialist understanding and expertise on the part of the interpreter, this is certainly no longer the case. Knowledge of the specialist terminology relating to the subject matter in question does not in itself suffice. Above and beyond fluency in the specialist terminology and linguistic idiom of the trade sector involved, the interpreter also needs to have a basic understanding of the specific industry concerned, its current situation, and of the problems and concerns it faces. Only then is the interpreter able to perform at specialist congresses to his own and to the client’s optimal satisfaction.
Conference interpreters usually work either predominantly for international organizations, or rather on a freelance basis for a variety of companies and authorities. Due to the different work requirements, the difference between the two is usually the number of active and passive languages offered by an interpreter.
Let’s define terms!
Active languages are those which an interpreter both understands and speaks well.
Passive languages, on the other hand, are languages which an interpreter can understand well but into which the interpreter does not interpret.
For a more precise distinction, an interpreter has three language categories: A languages, B languages and C languages:
The A language: This is the interpreter’s native language. An interpreter who grew up multilingually may even have more than one native language, although this is indeed rather more the exception than the rule. The A language is an active language (see explanation above).
The B language: This is a language which the interpreter has mastered almost as well as his or her mother tongue. Consequently, the interpreter can understand and speak this language exceedingly well. The B language is likewise an active language (see explanation above).
The C language: Though the interpreter understands this language perfectly well and can render it into other languages, he or she would not interpret actively into this language. The C language is a passive language (see explanation above).
Though the interpreter understands this language perfectly well and can render it into other languages, he or she would not interpret actively into this language. The C language is a passive language (see explanation above).
An interpreter working on a freelance basis usually interprets in the direction A language to B, and B to A, whilst an interpreter working for international organisations interprets from as many C languages as possible into his or her A language. This is the consequence of the different requirements set by their working environment.