Growth in U.S. immigration and a recent boom in international business transactions create more need for interpreters and translators.

Language Line, with annual revenue of $300 million, was founded 30 years ago andis set up to interpret 170 languages. It hopes to hire 2,000 additional translators in the coming year. In Southern California, where more than 200 languages are spoken, it's the type of problem that businesses and their customers face every day. As a result, companies that offer interpreters over the phone are in great demand by retailers, hospitals, banks, restaurants and other merchants.  

But let start with some more basic concepts about the interpretation profession:
Interpreting is not translating.
Interpretation is spoken, translation is written. Interpretation is carried out in real time (simultaneously / simultaneous mode) or very close to it (consecutively in concepts and packages, with notes or free). In interpretation communication is immediate, intonation, technical knowledge, deep understanding of interdisciplinary concepts is accumulated over the years. A good interpretation is involving an interaction between speakers, listeners, and interpreters and the best compliment one can make to the interpreters is to say:

<We forgot you were t-here!>.

Some basic skills of the conference interpreter.


Interpreters must have complete mastery of their working languages, including an excellent command of their native language. Cultural understanding, emotional intelligence and expert understanding is as important. When building a communication bridge interpreters need an immediate grasp of their passive languages. 
Another essential requirement is a good mind and clear thinking. An interpreter can be as good as the speacker. So please be as straight forward as possible. Interpreters need: a good level of general education, analytic capacity, the ability to put themselves in the minds of the people (empathy is an asset) for whom they are interpreting (all thought avoiding the Stockholm or capture-bonding syndrome), to be able to concentrate, have a good memory, have a pleasant voice (many interpreters I know are singing or had music lessons) and good diction, be physically and mentally robust. Interpreters need to be willing to travel, since their work often takes them a long way from home. Since 2007 the clients approach to travel expenses is different, but still, when clients are satisfied they prefer to keep the interpreters team and avoid miscommunication.

In 2014 & 2015 I travelled to the following countries: Spain, Switzerland, France, Greece, Ireland, China, Netherlands, Belgium, Morocco, Germany… and we are still January 2015!

 

So, as described above, there is a lot going on during the interpreting process and many skills are needed, which is why there are always 2 interpreters per language taking turns every 30 mins. Next time you go to a conference just look around and notice sometimes even three or four or even five interpreters in a single booth. On Television, watch during the EU summits behind the politicians they relay on interpretation for all their communication. Sometimes it is a matter of Peace or War! Sanctions or corporation.

Most known Interpreting modes:


Simultaneous Interpretation definition: 
In simultaneous mode, the interpreter either sits in a booth with a clear view of the meeting room and the speaker he listens to and simultaneously interprets the speech into a target language; or there is mobile equipment. Simultaneous interpreting is used when a large audience (starts at six or eight persons) is involved and it requires equipment (booths and headsets or mobile devices).
In case you hesitate between choosing simultaneous interpretation and think of introducing cost cutting to your communication, just calculate what it means (what it costs) to your organisation to have eight personnes sitting around a table half a day and waiting so that the one single interpreter translates in consecutive mode!



Consecutive interpretation definition:
 The interpreter providing consecutive interpretation sits at the same table with the delegates or at the speaker's platform and interprets a speech into the target language after the speaker speaks. In Legal Depositions you always have two interpreters (one translating one checking if everything was said correctly). The speaker pauses regularly (specks only 50% or half of the time) to allow the interpreter to reconstitute the message thanks to a purpose-developed note-taking system. Do you see the saving? Except the cost of the rent of the material I do not.

Back to market evolution: 

The demand for such language services has been surging in the last few years, partly because of growth in immigration to the U.S. over the last few decades but also because of a recent boom in international business transactions with people in such countries as China, Japan, India and South Korea. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 2,600 translation and interpreting companies make up what is estimated to be a $3-billion industry.

The number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English at home has more than doubled in the last three decades, a pace four times as fast as the nation's population growth, according to a new census report analyzing language data from 1980 to 2007.

During that period, the percentage of speakers of non-English languages grew 140% while the nation's overall population grew 34%.

Moreover, the amount of foreign investments made in the U.S. tripled from 2000 to 2010, and more than 5% of the nation's workers are employed by firms majority-owned by foreign entities, according to the Commerce Department. 2025 it should be double of 2014. 

As a result, businesses that offer translating and interpreting services are expanding to meet the exploding demand.

"For every transaction out there, 1 out of 10 will be in another language," said Louis F. Provenzano, president and chief executive of LanguageLine, which is one of the world's largest interpreting firms and is owned by Boston private equity firm Abry Partners.

Besides the explosion of international transactions, interpreting companies have also seen demand surge with other economic trends, such as the increase in home foreclosures during the recent recession.

Language Line's Provenzano said his company recently had to shift more interpreters to handle bank calls. "We still do a lot of foreclosures," he said. "For our interpreters it is quite emotional work." And, he said, then there are the routine calls from police agencies and hospitals to help emergency workers communicate with non-English speakers.

Torrance Memorial Medical Center recently added 400 dual-handset phones, putting them next to nearly every hospital bed as well as in the emergency room. With the help of LL interpreters, these new phones enable nurses and doctors to better communicate with and care for non-English-speaking patients. "The nurses are really using them daily," said Charlene Cottrell, clinical director of nursing at the hospital.

During Hurricane Irene last summer, LL was inundated with calls from insurance companies asking for help to interpret claims from non-English-speaking victims of the hurricane. "Our interpreters don't know what the next call will be," Provenzano said. "A majority of the calls are not pretty." The company employs about 100 counselors to help its interpreters deal with the stress of the job.

Janet Eckles, a Spanish interpreter for Language Line, recalls a day recently when she got a call from a hospital, asking her to interpret for a nurse who was trying to communicate with a Spanish-speaking pregnant woman. The baby's heartbeat was irregular and the nurse needed to tell the mother what was happening. "At the end of the call, everything was OK and they ended up doing a C-section," Eckles said. Language Line estimates that its interpreters help in the delivery of an average of 11 babies a day around the world. But the next call the interpreter got that day was from a nurse in another hospital. A baby had died during delivery, she said, and the nurse wanted to ask the mother if she wanted to hold her baby for the last time before the infant was taken to the mortuary. "What would happen if they couldn't communicate with the mom at that moment?" Eckles said, adding that she also helped interpret a prayer by the hospital chaplain for the woman.

more: http://www.the33tv.com/news/la-fi-interpreter-services-20120505,0,3882750.story

 

I (Elef) find it interesting to note the owner of this translation & interpretation offering English French German Greek and 171 more languages company is: ABRY Partners (Founded in 1989), one of the most experienced and successful media-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since 1989, ABRY has completed over $7.0 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity investments, representing investments in more than 450 properties. souce: www.abry.com; similar in the UK one of the top translation agencies (Applied Language Solutions) belongs since last year to a private equity company (Capita) http://www.elef.gr/en/latest-news/269-parlemenet-2 :-)

Some Industrial clients I interpreted for are: Paper Mill Rouen, Paper elevators Trancel (Sweden), Hamelin, Pechiney, Alcoa, Tata, Eiffage, Gemalto, Iveco, Sage, Murzan (USA), Aerospatiale, Dassault, Quillery, Rattunde (Germany), ISS, Schneider Electric, Lafarge (1998 - 2016), Lavalin (France & Canada) , EPC (2005 to 2016 France, Spain, Ireland, Uk, Maroc),  Elster (France & Belgique / Belgium), Alstom, Nexan, Cookson, Alcan, Stahl (Germany), Xylem, St Gobain...

Inspired by Language Line® On-site Interpreting - The perfect solution for situations when you need an interpreter at your side. Ideal for meetings planned in advance that require that extra human interaction and visual contact of a face-to-face interpreter. Over-the-phone interpretation allows communition from English into over 175 languages.

more:languageline dot com

Mergers can bring a lot of meetings, documents to be translated, some sworn official translations also. I'm translating & interpreting for Lafarge since a decade now ;-) Fiat Chrysler and Renault ... are companies I translated and interpreted for, as well for Daimler, Alcatel, Essilor, GE, and other companies that evolve throw joint ventures, acquisitions, exchange of shares, just like civil marriages. 

May 2019 @ uk Reuters one can read: 

... in Mergers of equals (including) French ... Bruno Lafont, Lafarge's CEO...the former CEO was clearedi in March (2019) ... LafargeHorcim shares have lost a third of their value since the merger closed in October 2015, much worse than rival HeidelbergCement's 8% decline.