Last week, I worked as an interpreter in a religious conference. It was the first time I had the chance to use the famous portable equipment for conferece interpreting. I had seen this big case before during my Embassy days, but it was the first time I actually got to use it. Oddly enough, being so big I always assumed it was full of dollar bills. To be honest, from an interpreter’s point of view, I thought it was quite frustating. The headsets didn’t have any phones on, just the mic, so we had to listen to the speaker like a regular person. It was really hard concentrating inside a church – our location that day – and listen to the speaker the same way as if we were inside a booth.
The portable equipment is fantastic, though. Sound is clear both for us interpreters and the audience. However, when you have to switch turns with your booth mate, you need to plug the mic in or out one same receptor. I suppose our listeners got to notice that rough transition all times. They also may have felt uncomfortable having only one phone available, not two. Portable equipment for simultaneous translation is mono, yes, see the picture above, but I’m sure they’d be able to comment better on that.
Overall, it was as an experience that made me value the concentration environment we have available in an interpretation booth. Everything makes sense now. I’m sure portable equipment works better in small meetings or during field trips with small groups. Being too far away from the speaker – dealing with sound problems, echoes and a Scottish accent – was actually a nightmare for us interpreters.
But hey, everything worked out in the end. Take in consideration the fact that I’m just starting in the business, so I get scared easily these days.