Over the past two decades, video and web conferencing have established themselves as tools for real-time communication between two or more sites. This has also led to alternative ways of delivering interpreting services. Several uses of video and web conferencing can be distinguished in connection with interpreting. ‘Remote interpreting’ normally refers to the use of these technologies to gain access to an interpreter in another room, building, town or country, but similar methods of interpreting are required for interpreting in virtual meetings in which the participants themselves are distributed across different sites.
Whilst uptake in traditional conference interpreting has been relatively slow, there is a growing demand for remote interpreting in legal, healthcare and business settings.
Against this backdrop, the aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of current practice and future trends in relation to remote interpreting in different sectors (e.g. legal, healthcare, business).
The presentation addresses newcomers to the interpreting market and experienced interpreters alike.
Its main learning objectives are:
- To share insights into how video and web conferencing technologies are currently used in interpreting and how the field of interpreting is likely to develop in this respect;
- To increase awareness of the motivation and rationale behind the different uses of remote interpreting;
- To provide an opportunity for discussing the challenges and benefits associated with remote interpreting;
- To offer practical guidance.
On a wider scale, the presentation also aims to highlight potential pitfalls in the process of implementing remote interpreting and to draw attention to the need for co-operation and informed dialogue between all stakeholders in order to design viable solutions.
