Attorneys graduate from law schools and doctors earn their medical degrees, and all the years of study allow them to become knowledgeable in their specialty. An interpreter needs to master the specialized vocabulary in 2 or more languages, without obtaining the specialized training the individuals practicing the specific profession do.
Additionally, due to the shortfall of interpretation demand in many fields (rarely can an interpreter remain employed full-time by working in a narrow, specialized field), interpreters develop broad, multiple fields of expertise.
Therefore, many interpreters work in legal, medical, educational, business, and many other subject areas throughout their career. They develop a pretty good understanding of these fields and become familiar with filed-specific terminology; however, the more specialized the subject matter, the harder it becomes to follow, understand and, therefore, interpret. You cannot interpret what you cannot understand.
Receiving information ahead of time is especially imperative when the topic/terminology or case is highly complex. By receiving this background information, interpreters create topic-based, in-depth glossaries ahead of time to prepare for any linguistically tricky vocabulary or concepts.
This will increase the quality of interpretation and make your event run smoothly.
Depending on your event, consider providing the following information…
