Where have all the translators gone?

This panel discussion will examine the current problems of insufficient numbers of new English translators and interpreters, with particular emphasis on the needs of the institutions of the European Union.

English, a rare language? (Terry Clough)

Although the universities are beginning to produce a steady flow of good candidates for EU institutions' freelance interpreter tests and competitions, as yet the numbers coming on stream are not sufficient to meet present or projected demand, particularly in view of the age pyramid in the English interpreting units. The institutions will lose at least one third of their English language interpreters by 2015 due to retirement – and about half in a ten-year perspective.

The staffing of the English unit is critical to the operation of the European Commission's interpreting service – and by extension for the Institutions and bodies it serves - as almost all meetings require English interpretation. If no English interpreters are available, the meeting has to be cancelled, even if interpreters for the other languages can be found.

Taking into account the current trend in demand and potential future, larger conference centres, we are looking at a need for about 300 English native speaker conference interpreters within the next ten years. To this we have to add the needs of other international organisations and, of course, business.

LInk to Klaus Ahrend's paper
Link to Myriam Salama-Carr's paper
Link to Marcel Lemmens' paper