Simultaneous interpretation German - English

[SubzeroedMind]

Just watching this gave me a headache... Respect to you Sir!

Thought about signing up for translation and similar, because I was lucky enough to learn a few languages (unfortunately not in-depth) so thought that using those might be a good idea... but since I lack finesse and elegant vocabulary in most of them, I doubt that'll be the case.

[ichliebesprachen]

I want to work as a simultaneous interpreter. I am a High School student, and I am learning german. I have learned german with Rosetta Stone program for almost 2 yrs, and have been studying abroad in Germany for around 4 months now, and will stay until the end of July 2012. Obviously you have to be fluent in at least 2 languages, so that's why I have a guestion: do you have any advice on how to learn German fluently? Any tips on how to better practice the language? Thanks.

[crzyrp11]

Out of curiosity, how does one get into this line of work?

[sprachbegeistert]

@crzyrp11

I was trained at a special institute for interpreters and translators and got a Master's degree in interpreting. After that it is all about creating networks with colleagues and potential clients, unless you (want to) land a job with an international organization and work there as an employee. In that case you will have to take a series of examinations before you are hired.

[MattRodrig]

To me it's very difficult to simultaneously translate even if I know both languages very well. Would listening to your L1 while reading your L2 help in it? I don't want to be a simultaneous translator, but I think it's very interesting. It's really an art, Congratulations for your achievements.

[sprachbegeistert]

@MattRodrig

I have never done what you suggest, but I guess it could help. You would have to try and see if it works for yourself. Not everything works for everybody in the same way. Personally, I'd prefer listening to the text in my L1 first (and fully concentrate on it) and then to the same text in my L2. I find that approach more natural. But as I said, your idea may work for you. Thanks for your interest in my videos.

[notalike9691]

Great job! Do you ever look at transcripts of what you're going to interpret prior to the event? Do you know anything interpreting between languages with different sentence structures, i.e. where in one language the verb is at the end of the sentence while other is in the beginning?

[sprachbegeistert]

@notalike9691

Thanks for your compliment. As for transcripts, if I get some material beforehand (an abstract of the speech for example) then I have a look at it, of course. But I never look at these documents while I interpret (some of my colleagues do, I don't like doing that). As for your other question, German is an excellent example of what you are referring to. We have the verb at the end, while you need it much sooner in English. That makes our job often quite difficult.

[notalike9691]

@sprachbegeistert

Thank you for the response. It helps a lot. I'm asked to do simultaneous interpretation which i have never done. Any advice? i'm most nervous about the different sentence structure.

[sprachbegeistert]

@notalike9691

Gosh, who expects you to do that? Don't get me wrong, but it normally takes years of intensive training (or at least months in case you have some sort of a personal tutor and get lots of practice) before you can do that. I'm afraid there is no easy way I could explain to you how simultaneous interpreting works. You would have to try and practise with some speeches (there are many on youtube) but I don't think one can do that just like that without proper training.

[notalike9691]

@sprachbegeistert

Thank you so much for the honest advice. I knew it would be insane of me to take up the job. So, I'll pass this one.

[translipcorsia]

Let me guess what your favourite movie is...

The interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman, ain't it?

[sprachbegeistert]

@translipcorsia

Actually, I thought the movie was really good even though the major plot was focusing on other issues and not so much on interpreting itself.

[Aalyandra]

Wow, I'm so impressed by you right now. You definitely inspire me want to work and study harder so that one day, perhaps, I can come close to matching your linguistic prowess. Thanks for sharing and greetings from a fellow Austrian :-)

[sprachbegeistert]

@Aalyandra

Danke für deinen netten Kommentar, auch wenn ich so viel Lob wahrscheinlich gar nicht verdiene ;-) Jedenfalls freut es mich, dass dir meine Videos gefallen.

[Sanyadr]

Marvellous! You're genius! Thanks for sharing.

[sprachbegeistert]

@Sanyadr

You are too kind...I'm just a language lover, that's all. But I'm happy you find my videos useful.

[Sanyadr]

@sprachbegeistert Well, it's kinda impressing because I've never seen simultaneous interpreters at work, except for inaccurate movie translations. So yes, this stuff inspires!

[glubglubhuge8itch]

Hi again, so are you listening to a german presentation and saying it in english as the presenter says it?

[sprachbegeistert]

@glubglubhuge8itch

Yes, that's what I'm doing in that video. 

[MrThony93]

Mi hai fatto davvero ACCAPPONARE la pelle. Sei un vero genio e ti ammiro moltissimo. Sai, il mio sogno è quello di diventare un interprete simultaneo, ma anche consecutivo, proprio come te! Però la vedo dura! Ho un'altro anno ancora di scuola, e mi piacerebbe studiare in Germania (adoro il tedesco). Davvero, sei un genio... Ancora complimenti!

[sprachbegeistert]

@MrThony93

Grazie, sei veramente molto gentile. Vedrai, se ami quello che fai risulterà molto più facile. Studiare all'estero è sempre una buona idea. Ti aiuterà non solo ad imparare bene la lingua ma anche a capire meglio la cultura di un paese. Inoltre, è anche molto divertente ;-)

[awilsonwunderkind]

Very impressive. Do you have any tips on how you prepare before you start? How many years of training did it take to get to this standard?

[awilsonwunderkind]

Very impressive. Do you have any tips on how you prepare before you start? How many years of training did it take to get to this standard?

[sprachbegeistert]

@awilsonwunderkind

I studied 4 years at university and graduated with a Master's degree in interpreting. Before a conference, I mostly go through the material the client provides me with or I collect information on the Internet about a certain subject. I spoke about this in more detail in an interview for the polyglot podcast project. If you go to the description section in my video about "My personal language experience" you can find the link to download the interview.

[RCMpianist]

impressive!

I adore you!

[sprachbegeistert]

@RCMpianist

Thank you very much for your kind words. But there is no reason to adore me, believe me, as flattering as your comment is ;-) Greetings from Austria.

[ihcahieh]

It's kinda scary, you really need to have good presence of mind for you not to get lost since it's simultaneous. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of your work, very informative video. Your English sounds very American by the way. I would have mistaken you for one had I not known that you are Oesterreicher. =)

[HawkeHound]

@sprachbegeistert: Thanks :)

[HawkeHound]

How does one do that with German - so many verbs come at the end of the sentences!

[sprachbegeistert]

@HawkeHound

You are right, this is one of the major challenges for us when we work from German into another language. The position of the verb can be really tricky. Normally, you just try to speed up once you have figured out the verb that needs to be used. Sometimes we have to use a verb that helps us finish a sentence but leaves us with enough options as to the way we continue. If the worst comes to the worst and you really used a wrong verb, you'll have to correct yourself. It all also

[sprachbegeistert]

@HawkeHound - continued

depends on the way a speaker gives his speech. His or her rhythm of speaking heavily influence the way you'll have to work. If a speaker speaks too slow, you might get just into as much trouble as if a speaker speaks too fast. The worst are speakers who don't finish their sentences and leave you out there with no verb at all. The audience might not always realize that it is not you but the speaker who failed to wrap up the thought he was trying to present.

[HawkeHound]

I'll never understand how people do this.

[offdare]

Every time you work can help so many people, it's great!

[thelinguistblogger]

Cool video. Most people have NO IDEA how demanding simultaneous interpretation really is.

[sprachbegeistert]

@thelinguistblogger

Thanks for your comment. It is indeed a demanding job but most of the time it is also quite gratifying. Greetings from Austria.