Interpreting

Why choose OFFI when you need interpreting services?

• Because we have 150 years of experience in language mediation.
• Because our qualified professional interpreters fully meet the highest professional standards.
• Because we can provide interpreters in rare languages too.
• Because our accredited interpreters also work for the European Court of Human Rights, the European Parliament and the European Commission on a regular basis.
• Because our interpreters meet your needs in all kinds of interpreting scenarios including official procedures, court cases, conferences, business meetings and informal events.

Our interpreters perform their work in very strict confidentiality, in accordance with the professional code of conduct.

What kind of interpreting service do you need?

1. Consecutive interpreting

   We recommend this service for business negotiations, small-group meetings, official events, talks, etc. The negotiating partner or the speaker stops after each thought segment (typically a couple of sentences), and waits for the interpreter to translate. The advantage of consecutive interpreting is that there is no need for complex technology, as the parties are generally in direct contact. Even in cases where there is a large audience (e.g. at an opening ceremony), it is generally enough to have a microphone and loudspeakers. The disadvantage is that events accompanied by consecutive interpreting take twice as long, because the time for interpreting should also be taken into consideration.

2. Escort (or liaison) interpreting

   Escort interpreting is recommended for non-high-profile, informal meetings and events (e.g. plant visits, shop floor training, simple administrative affairs, city tours, etc.). Interpreting is in a consecutive mode with the speaker stopping to wait for the interpreter to translate, but it does not require the level of preparation and accuracy as would be required, for instance, at a business negotiation. The interpreter is an intercultural mediator well-versed with the host and the foreign cultures, but is not expected to have an in-depth knowledge of technical language.

3. Simultaneous interpreting

   We recommend this service for high-profile lectures, and multilingual conferences and events. Simultaneous interpreting is the type of interpreting requiring the highest level of professional training and stamina. The interpreter sits in a booth, listens to the speech and translates it continuously in real time, with a minimum of time lapse. The audience follow the interpreting through headsets. Simultaneous interpreting is a highly demanding mental process, therefore interpreters work in pairs and take turns approximately every 20 minutes – otherwise the continuous accuracy and high quality of interpreting cannot be ensured. The advantage of simultaneous interpreting is that no extra time is required, unlike in consecutive mode. In addition, it is a solution for events with several working languages and a multilingual audience, as interpreting can be provided into multiple languages at the same time. Its disadvantage is that it requires appropriate technology, which means additional costs.

4. Chuchotage (whispering simultaneous interpreting)

   As its name suggests, chuchotage is actually whispering simultaneous interpreting without the technology. The interpreter sits next to, or behind one or a few clients and whispers in simultaneous mode. The advantage of chuchotage is that it doesn’t require expensive and sophisticated technology. Its disadvantage is that it can be used with only one or two, and certainly no more than four people listening to the interpreter.

NB: The quality of interpreting depends to a large extent on how well the interpreters could prepare for the event in advance. The customer can help the interpreters by providing advance material such as the event’s program, list of speakers, abstracts and written texts (if any) and/or ppt presentations of the speeches.

DID YOU KNOW that OFFI is by law obliged to provide judicial interpreting services? If you need an interpreter in a civil lawsuit or before an authority, OFFI will provide you with the right professional interpreter.

We help you find the interpreting service best suited to your needs. Ask for information by phone, via e-mail or personally, at one of our customer service offices. For a price quote for any information service, tolmacsolas [at] offi [dot] hu (click here).