Online and telephone interpreting service

How an online video conference interpreting service takes place

In addition to face-to-face interpreting, where the interpreter works at a location agreed with the client, SMG can provide online interpreting using platforms such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, GoToWebinar, Webex or Skype. In the latter case, the interpreter translates remotely for your videoconferences, online events or one-to-one video calls, using an innovative service delivery method that reduces intervention times in cases of urgency or logistical difficulties and can respond to unforeseen situations.

If you choose to entrust us with the technical management of your online conferencing platform, we will provide you with our professional multilingual web meeting and online interpreting system with the following technical features:

• High resolution video quality;
• Image fluidity;
• Audio clarity;
• Ease of use from any fixed or mobile device: PC, laptop (Windows, Mac, Linux), tablet (iPad and Android), smartphone (Android, iOS-iPad and iOS-iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone), room videoconferencing systems, telephones and compatible audio conferencing devices;
• Information security: the ISO/IEC 27001 and SSAE-16 certified system offers content sharing protected by a secure and reliable network;
• Availability of videoconferencing for up to 8 participants (this limit can be increased at the client’s request);
• Availability of the service to a large number of conference participants;
• Ability to hold multiple simultaneous videoconferences;
• 24-hour service availability.

The videoconferencing service complies with the technical specifications set out in the Guide on videoconferencing in cross-border proceedings, which was drawn up by the Secretary-General of the European Council in order to define the organisational, technical and legal aspects of the use of videoconferencing technology in proceedings characterised by institutional sensitivity. This will ensure that communications using this technology meet the security, privacy and efficiency criteria defined by the European Council.

When the client needs an interpreting service with remote simultaneous interpretation systems (Zoom, Teams, GoToWebinar, Webex, etc.), we address the following critical issues together:

• The client is asked to provide us with direct contact with their technician so that we can carry out functional tests with them and get in touch when necessary, or in case of technical anomalies before or during the service. If the client does not have a technician, we can provide an expert in the use of the chosen remote conferencing and online interpretation platform.
• Check the quality of the event venue’s internet connection to ensure that it is sufficient to provide a service that can be used by the audience, bearing in mind that, in general, a constantly stable connection of at least 500 K/b upload speed is required for each interpreter.
• Set up the audio channels on which simultaneous online interpretation is to be carried out, taking into account the limitations of each platform with respect to the number of languages to be translated simultaneously and the order in which speakers and audience members will speak.
• Ensure that the interpreters’ working environments are quiet and free from interference.
• Provide two interpreters for simultaneous services lasting more than one hour, in order to implement the shift work that guarantees linguistic quality.
• Carry out a functional test at least 1-2 days before the event, simulating the processes of the interpreter receiving the audio signal and transmitting their own to the audience.
• Repeat the functional test on the day of the event, 1-2 hours before it commences.
• Ensure that the audience has the necessary technical means to participate in the conference (a computer configured to access the chosen platform, adequate headphones and microphones for listening and speaking, as well as sufficient connectivity(.

USING ZOOM FOR SIMULTANEOUS ONLINE INTERPRETATION FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Simultaneous interpretation is an effective form of oral translation for business meetings and corporate events that allows several parties from different countries to take part without having to find a common lingua franca to assist them. In fact, simultaneous interpretation guarantees immediate translation of the conversation thanks to the presence of a team of professional interpreters who work inside a soundproof booth, equipped with a microphone base and control unit, which sends the acoustic signal to the receivers distributed to the public for listening to the translation.

However, the preventive measures put in place in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a setback for simultaneous interpretation services because the prohibitions on gathering and rules on social distancing have inevitably ruled out the presence of both the audience and the interpreters (the latter usually work in pairs for each language combination, sharing the same booth). This should not be seen as an obstacle to the organisation of simultaneous interpreting services because, thanks to smart working, it is possible to resume business meetings and corporate events remotely.

Remote simultaneous interpretation is in fact a translation technique born from the precise need to re-establish connections that were broken by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are several ways of carrying out simultaneous remote interpretation, although to fully understand them it is necessary to start from the assumption that, to guarantee simultaneous interpretation, it is necessary to work on two or more parallel audio channels: an input channel, on which the interpreter receives the speech in the original language, and a second output channel (or channels), on which the interpreter sends out the translation. Unfortunately, in online conferences there is usually only one channel and it consists of the so-called “virtual room” in which the guests are located.

During the pandemic, the first widespread use of remote simultaneous interpreting was implemented to support business meetings on platforms such as Skype, Zoom or Google Meet, in which listeners, speakers and interpreters were all invited to participate in the same virtual room. The presence of listeners and interpreters on the same audio channel, however, lead to the unfortunate situation where the interpreter would end up talking over the speaker and vice versa. Nevertheless, the interpreters were able to carry out the simultaneous translation by overcoming the limitation of the single audio channel, often with imaginative and somewhat inefficient technical methods. For example, they thought of using a computer connected to the videoconference (and thus to the audience for whom the interpretation was being made) along with a mobile phone. This way, the interpreter could listen to the speaker through the mobile phone and translate into the microphone connected to the computer. However, this way of working does not allow for linguistic inversion of the speech channel, so the interpreter can only output to one language, that of the audience.

Another remote simultaneous interpretation option, the most popular to date, is that offered by the Zoom platform through a monthly or annual subscription to a paid version, which enables the Zoom Webinar feature. This version of Zoom allows you to organise virtual meetings of up to 500 participants. The webinar organiser can select which attendees should speak directly from the meeting settings, which ones can share the screen, and, importantly, who can translate the speaker’s speech. Zoom Webinar makes it possible to create a channel parallel to the meeting in advance, which only the interpreters have access to and which allows them to translate the speeches.

Today, Zoom Webinar is an efficient form of remote simultaneous interpretation that allows interpreters to use the same virtual platform to listen to the meeting audio in their headsets while simultaneously translating for the audience from the microphone. The translation can be carried out in both languages of the interpreter’s language combination; the interpreter can thus change the audio channel autonomously, depending on the language required. Similarly, the audience can decide which language to listen to depending on which speaker takes the floor, simply by using the interpretation button in the settings bar. Zoom Webinar is a user-friendly and fully digital platform, which can be used through any device, whether it is a computer or a mobile phone. Simply download the application, register and, depending on your pricing plan, decide whether to create a meeting or a webinar.

The remote simultaneous interpretation option offered by Zoom is only effective in two contexts, however: if the language of the speakers is the same or if the meeting is only being held in two languages. Here are some examples: in the first case, when the language of the speakers is the same, the translation can be made into all the required languages because all the interpreters will always translate from the same language, that of the speakers. In the second case, however, the Zoom Webinar platform is effective because if the meeting takes place between speakers of two different languages, the interpreters can decide for themselves which language to translate into according to the speaker. In all other cases, however, this version of remote simultaneous interpreting is not optimal because, in meetings where there are more than three languages in the speaker panel, it does not provide the so-called linguistic bridge, i.e. the option that enables interpreters to listen to the translation of colleagues.