What is consecutive interpreting? Consecutive interpreting is one of the three modes § that go to make up what we call conference interpreting. It involves listening to what someone has to say and then, when they have fi nished speaking, reproducing the same message in another language. The speech may be anything between a minute and twenty minutes in length, and the interpreter relies on a combination of notes, memory and general knowledge to recreate his or her version of the original. This form of consecutive is sometimes called long consecutive to distinguish it from short consecutive, which usually involves a speaker stopping after each sentence (or a couple of sentences) for the interpreter to translate. Short consecutive doesn’t necessarily require notes at all and is not the subject of this book. When is consecutive interpreting used? Before World War II, conference interpreting meant consecutive interpreting. Simultaneous interpreting § , or the equipment to make it possible, had not yet been invented, and consecutive interpreting was the standard for international meetings of every kind. Simultaneous interpreting came along after World War II and by the 1970s had overtaken consecutive as the main form of conference interpretation. Consecutive interpreting has not disappeared, however. It is still an essential part of an interpreter’s repertoire and is considered by many to be the superior of the two skills. Indeed on the free market, it is often better paid! Although simul taneous interpreting has replaced consecutive almost entirely at the meeting room table, where conference facilities often include the equipment required for simul taneous interpreting, there are many situations where consecutive survives and will continue to survive. Ceremonial speeches There are many occasions where a speaker makes a formal speech that needs then to be interpreted but where no simultaneous equipment is available. After-dinner speeches at banquets or speeches to open receptions are a classic example: the host will want to say a few words to the guests, and the guests will want to reply. You, the interpreter(s), are there to facilitate that. You may also fi nd that you have been recruited to interpret for the opening of a cultural event held at a centre like the British Council or Goethe Institute. The organizer will introduce the event in, say, English or German, and you will interpret into the language of the host coun try. There is no real limit on the type of ceremonial speech you will be asked to interpret. It could be the opening of a French supermarket in Poland or the launch of a German ship in Korea. It could be a foreign winner of an award making an acceptance speech in their own language or a composer’s 70th birthday at the Philharmonic. Visits, guided tours and escort interpreting § Groups of MPs, business people, technical experts and others will often make trips abroad as part of their jobs. Often these visits will involve seeing how things work in another country. This means getting out of the fully equipped conference centre and off into consecutive country. If your clients have come to see a certain industrial process, then you may be bussed off to a plant where it is used, and you will be expected to interpret consecutively the explanations offered by a knowl edgeable guide about how it all works. Alternatively, if you are accompanying a group of agricultural experts, you can expect to fi nd yourself down on the farm for a round or two of consecutive. There is no end to the type of place you may visit. Slaughterhouses, pharmaceutical production units, fi sh-fi lleting plants and furniture factories – you name it, and one of our colleagues has already been there and worked in consecutive mode§. Visiting groups also have social programmes arranged for them in the eve nings or on the free afternoon at the end of the trip. So when you get back from the slaughterhouse, you may well fi nd yourself interpreting consecutively what a tour guide has to say about the local sights and attractions, or the owner of a local brewery as he introduces his products to your clients, or the host of the visit wish ing everyone a pleasant meal and opening the buffet. Working meetings without equipment Sometimes, of course, you will still fi nd yourself in an old-fashioned meeting room, interpreting consecutively what the participants have to say to one another across the table – including those days when the simultaneous equipment breaks down! The meeting rooms will all look much the same, but the subject of the debate will depend on who your clients are.
