The 1st annual North American Summit on Interpreting was held in Washington, DC in June 2010.

One of the feature events of the Summit, organized by InterpAmerica, was a presentation of the results of a comprehensive study of interpreting in North America. The study was carried out by Common Sense Advisory.

In a recent article, study co-author Nataly Kelly points out the major findings of the research:

• Most interpreters specialize in multiple areas. The majority of interpreters reported working in diverse settings and across geographic boundaries, even though associations are divided on the basis of industry sector as well as countries, regions, and states or provinces.
• By and large, interpreters are translators. The vast majority of interpreters also do written translation work. Nearly eight out of 10 interpreters reported that they also work as translators. This does not mean that the reverse is true (that most translators are interpreters).
• Interpreters are getting older. The data reveals a clear “graying of the profession,” as the majority of interpreters are now getting on in age, while smaller numbers of new recruits are entering the field.

(Extract from Interpreting Stakeholders Join Forces, published on the Gerson Lehrman Group website, August 6 2010)

The second finding is of particular interest in order to understand the difference between translation and interpreting. While the two fields require one common base skill – language mastery – the complete skills sets for each profession are quite different.

Successful translation is based on writing skills and the efficient use of dictionaries and online technologies, whereas interpretation requires specific practice and training in interpreting techniques, and is certainly more stressful. That’s likely why few translators are trained and willing to cross over to interpreting jobs.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years.