The Institute of Spanish Communications, Inc., based in Lakeland, Florida, provides professional interpreting or Interpreting services when you or your staff needs assistance communicating with limited English speaking customers, clients, patients or simply for personal purposes.

 

 

Consecutive vs. Simultaneous Interpretation

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In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter speaks after the source-language speaker has finished a sentence or an idea. It is a bi-directional communication where the speech is divided into segments, and the interpreter sits or stands beside the source-language speaker, listening and taking notes. When the speaker pauses, the interpreter then renders the message in the target language. Consecutive interpreters are trained in special note-taking and memory techniques that enable them to render passages faithfully and accurately. The consecutive mode is appropriate for situations involving a small gathering of people. Often used in law offices for client conferences, depositions and mediations, medical appointments, business meetings, interviews, teleconferences, social engagements or any type of one-on-one communication.

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In simultaneous interpretation, the interpreter renders the message in the target-language as quickly as he or she can formulate it from the source language, while the source-language speaker continues to speak; the interpreter, usually sitting in a sound-proof booth, speaks into a microphone, while clearly seeing and hearing the source-language speaker via earphones. In this case, the simultaneous interpretation is rendered to the target-language listeners via their earphones. Simultaneous interpreting service is in high demand at international conferences, business, and community meetings or any settings in which a great deal of information has to be conveyed. This mode of interpretation permits presentations and discussion to advance at the same pace as a single language meeting. Due to the high level of concentration required, simultaneous interpreters always work in teams of two or more.

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