Considering Location When Researching How To Find An Interpreter
A lot of factors come into play when researching how to find an interpreter for your event, but perhaps none is more pervasive than location.
Location raises a lot of questions when choosing an interpreter for your project – are there any close to your event location? Do they speak the local dialect of your target language? Would your audience prefer an interpreter from their country? etc. Knowing the answers to these will help you coordinate with an interpretation agency to find the best solution for you needs.
Now that you have a better grasp on some of the location factors to consider when researching how to find an interpreter, you can plan out your linguistic requirements with more confidence. Remember to also take into account factors such as the mode of interpretation you require, as well as finding an interpreter with industry specialization for your particular event.
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Video Transcript:
Considering Location When Researching How To Find An Interpreter
Clients frequently wonder how to find an interpreter who will best suit their needs. Often they end up searching for interpreting services based on location. While linguistic services don’t necessarily need to be location-based, sometimes it does matter where you are and where you’re requesting linguistic services from.
In this video we’ll discuss three location-related challenges you may face when researching how to find an interpreter, and whether or not locality really affects how your language needs are addressed.
If there isn’t a high demand for my target language in my location, does this mean I won’t be able to find an interpreter?
To start, interpreting can face some location barriers. When researching how to find an interpreter, it’s important to understand who your audience is and where the event or situation you require an interpreter for is taking place. If the location for your event does not have a large population that speaks your target language, it will be more challenging to find an interpreter in the immediate area.
In these instances, while the physical location of the interpreting agency doesn’t matter, the breadth of their network does. If an interpreter for your target language is not available locally, interpreting agencies may need to look to professionals from a different city, state, or even country.
This can present a challenge if you have a limited budget. The closer to your event a professional interpreter is available, the less cost you will incur in transportation and lodging fees. However if there isn’t a supply of interpreters for your target language in the area, they may have to be brought in from another locality.
It is also important to keep in mind that there are instances when a highly skilled interpreter in your language pair that also has an appropriate background in the subject matter may not be available locally. Part of your research into how to find an interpreter that meets your language, quality, and budget requirements must be to discuss your particular needs with interpreting agencies so they can determine the availability of interpreters and the best solution for you.
I know the target language, but I don’t know how to find an interpreter that best suits an audience based in my city, not abroad. Does it make a difference where the audience lives?
Location can again come into play when it comes to the language spoken by your audience as very often, languages change based on geography. For example the Portuguese spoken in Portugal will differ greatly from the Portuguese spoken in parts of the United States or elsewhere. Informing your interpreting agency of the demographics of your audience will help them decide the most appropriate target language or dialect to contract an interpreter for.
I have a group of international, non-English speakers that I will need an interpreter for – is it better to choose an interpreter who lives in the United States, or bring one in from abroad?
Generally you should be fine using an interpreter from the United States. Professional interpreters undergo an immense amount of education and training for their profession, and absolute fluency in their working languages is the bare minimum requirement to be able to work. However, if you know your audience would prefer an interpreter who has grown up in their culture, as opposed to the United States for example, then bringing in an interpreter from abroad may be your best option.
Again, there may be times when you have no other option except to bring an interpreter in from abroad if specialization, language pair, and experience level can’t be met by any local interpreters.
How To Find An Interpreter For Your Needs
Choosing between interpretation agencies is as much about the convenience for you and your business as it is about a trusting relationship between an agency and yourself. Making sure project managers take the time to understand the needs of your project is important to ensure there are no surprises with your interpretation. It will also benefit you as the provider will be able to contract interpreters who meet your requirements and your budget perfectly!
At Language Connections each project begins with a conversation between clients and a dedicated project manager regarding the specific interpretation needs, who your target audience will be, what the context for the interpretation is, project budget constraints and much more.
We ensure full satisfaction for all interpretation requests, no matter the location, by taking the time to fully understand the scope of your project from the start!
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com