From the editor. Milfgard inspired me to make this article. I came back from a seminar that the all-helping Habrahabra editors held for editors of corporate blogs. Sergey told there that there is interesting information in any company, we just need to be able to dig it out. I came back from the seminar, opened Facebook and saw a short note there that ABBYY LS - one of our companies engaged in linguistic services - organized the entire simultaneous translation at a trade and economic forum where Russia, Mongolia and China participated. I wish I could dig out how the simultaneous translation works at a large international forum ... In the excavations, our new author AnastasiyaMaksimova helped me, but what did we get with it - read below. luciana

In some universities, where future translators are taught, there is such an exercise. The teacher begins to read some text, and you must repeat after him with a lag of 3-4 seconds, no matter what is distracted. Just repeat word for word, without adding anything from yourself and not forgetting anything. Unprepared "fall off" in a minute or two, those who are stronger, stand ten minutes. At some point, your mind shrinks to a thin chain of words, you don’t think about anything, you don’t notice anything around you - you just repeat.

This exercise is only a weak shadow of the real work of the synchronist. The profession of simultaneous translator is one of the most stressful professions in the world, in the opinion.
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What are the interpretations

Oral translations are simultaneous and consecutive. Sequential translation is carried out in the pauses between the segments of the speaker's speech, equal to about 5 sentences. It looks like this: the speaker utters a replica and pauses, allowing the translator to process the information and translate it. Usually, consecutive translation is used at small events, where you can multiply the speech time by two relatively easily - for example, at business meetings and one-on-one negotiations, or at protocol events. The main advantage of this type of translation is that the translator very accurately conveys the content of the conversation.

The second type of interpretation is simultaneous translation, the most psychologically and physically difficult, during which the translator transmits the speaker's speech with a lag of several words or 2-4 seconds. It is usually used in large events with a tight schedule that cannot be broken. Simultaneous interpreters, as a rule, work in special soundproof booths in headphones and with microphones. “As a rule,” because sometimes they work with a “whispering” technique, that is, they go after a participant in an event (meeting) and literally whisper a translation into his ear. At major events, synchronists are always working in twos, because one person cannot physically cope with such a load. Translators should be replaced a maximum of every half hour (better - more often).

How does the interpreter's booth

Simultaneous translation requires a lot of concentration, so it is important that the translator does not distract anything. Such conditions help to create small soundproof cabins. These are not just “some” self-made booths, but special booths for simultaneous translation.



It is very important that the cabin provides sound insulation, climatic conditions and a good overview of the speaker. The design of such cabins is usually quite primitive: they consist of several panels - walls, doors, windows and a roof. There are floor and table, they are also called "birdhouses."



Since it is rare in which conference halls there are booths for synchronists, usually all the booths are mobile, you can disassemble them and carry them by car, or even take them on a plane.

Sound insulation is achieved by a special foam with aluminum foil or other sound absorbers. If the cabin is not acoustically isolated, the translators will hear with their headphones everything they don’t need to hear - conversations between delegates, paper rustling, coughing and everything else that will confuse them with their thoughts and interfere with their work.

There are certain standards for sound insulation , and if more precisely, then:

21 dB at 250 Hz;
24 dB at a frequency of 500 Hz;
27 dB at 1000 Hz;
30 dB at a frequency of 2000 Hz;
33 dB at 4000 Hz.

Due to the high degree of sound insulation, such cabins practically do not let air in from the outside in a “natural” way, therefore all of them are equipped with a ventilation system with forced air extraction, in other words, with two low-noise fans. Cab air should be updated approximately every 3 minutes. In the cabins it is still stuffy, so, as you saw in the photo above, translators sometimes sacrifice silence for the sake of fresh air.

In the cockpit, large windows — the translator must see well everything that happens in front of him on the stage — follow the speaker’s articulation and his presentation so that he doesn’t miss anything.


View from the cabin

Of course, translators must also have free space to put conference materials there or to put a laptop.

The complex for simultaneous translation (DSS) consists of a cabin, which we have already described, interference-free digital infrared equipment, headphones with receivers for participants and sound equipment.

How is the sound

In short, the speaker system is arranged like this: the sound is taken from the mixing console and output to the console, which is part of the equipment for simultaneous interpretation in the interpreter booth.



With the help of the console, the translator listens to the speaker, translates his speech into the microphone, adjusts the volume, frequencies and other characteristics of the sound. For example, he can press the Mute button if he coughed or if now his partner’s turn is to translate. Their headphones, by the way, are sound-proof so that translators do not have to hear their own voices. They say their transfer, this transfer goes back to the central unit, and from there it goes to the radiator, which goes through the IR signals to the reflectors. Reflectors also let this radiation throughout the audience, the receivers at the audience "catch" it and transmit a signal to the ear.

Emitters that transmit a signal work, as a rule, on the basis of one of two technologies: radio and sound transmission via the IR channel. The first option has two serious advantages: firstly, it does not require installation, and secondly, you can go beyond the territory and walk with the earphone in the radius of the wave. The conference participant receives a small pocket radio with a channel selector and a miniature earphone. This option is suitable for "complex" rooms - with columns, elevations and other obstacles - or for open spaces. But there are also minuses - the radio channel can be paralleled with signals from other equipment, it can be drowned out by “jammers”, besides this there is technical noise in the radio channel.

The infrared emitter works on the same principle as the television remote control. The signal is clear, of excellent quality, but the receivers only work in direct line of sight from the radiator. That is, if you put the receiver in your pocket, the signal disappears.
A meticulous reader will surely say that infrared wireless headphones, which can be touched in the store, give just a disgusting sound. Of course, for the organization of simultaneous translation, professional high-class equipment is taken, and there is complete order with the sound quality.

Difficulties usually arise when setting up the “native” sound equipment of the hall and equipment for simultaneous translation. For example, the speaker turned off the microphone, he decides that the hall is not so big, he can do it on his own - and starts broadcasting without a microphone, and the sound to the translators in the headphones, of course, does not go. Usually such cases are solved with the help of a messenger technician who sits all the time next to the cabin. But it happens, and translators have to show ingenuity. At one conference there was a case when the sound stopped translators going to the headphones, but continued to go to the audience. The cabin was not closed, as is usually the case, but the table was a “nesting box” with an open back wall, and the translators raised their consoles, put them on the roof and spoke into the microphone. So it was two hours.

Sometimes there are purely mechanical wiring problems. Once we organized a simultaneous translation at a major event in Grozny, where we had to work in a huge arena. There were wires running from the cockpit all over the arena, and the radiators were located around the perimeter of the hall just below the dome. Accordingly, everyone who was sitting at the top, now and then touched these wires with their feet, and those were disconnected. The technician then ran throughout the arena and constantly straightened the wires.

Sometimes there are non-standard cases. Last year at the “Picnic. Poster "we did the simultaneous translation in a class in yoga. The trainer introduced the audience to meditation, gave detailed instructions, and our task was to enable participants to perform asanas and at the same time hear the trainer. It was important that the translation process was as inconspicuous as possible and did not prevent participants from immersing themselves. We then decided not to output the sound at all to the speakers, and distributed to all participants the receivers, which they attached to their clothes. The speaker spoke into the microphone, the sound from the microphone went directly to the headphones

How does the translation into several languages

Sometimes speakers speak in forums not in one foreign language, but in several. In these cases, students can simply switch between translation channels in their receivers. The maximum number of channels is 32. At the same time, translation is often carried out in several stages.

For example, the speakers of the Eastern Economic Forum in 2015 spoke in five languages: English, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese. At each forum session, 32 simultaneous and 19 consecutive interpreters accompanied them. 18 translators worked with English and 11 people with each of the Asian languages.

The translation of the WEF took place in parallel in 11 halls, with the participants in each session switching to any of the five available languages. Such a complex scheme was provided with several stages of translation: if the speaker spoke Chinese, his speech was first translated into Russian, and other translators translated from Russian into Korean, Japanese and English.

How are the translators

Selection of translators

Selection of translators is always very hard work for the organizers. Of course, we try to work with those in whom we are 100% sure. There are always two ways, one is long, the other is short. The short way is to start working with an already “ready” translator. If the interpreter has an impressive CV, experience on this subject, and another one of our proven old-time translators has already worked with him in a pair, the chances of successful cooperation are excellent. Recommendations in the interpretation industry play a huge role. This is not the case when a friend will advise a friend, because they have a wonderful personal relationship. After all, he has to work with him in a pair. The second way is a longer one - it is the “cultivation” of one’s own staff, when it’s not a very experienced but talented translator, he aspires to the synchronous laurels and is ready to work on himself.

But regardless of how a translator came to us, we are obliged to organize primary testing. We ask some of our proven translators to listen to a beginner. At the appointed time, we send him a link, say, to a video clip on YouTube, and then listen to his translation by phone or via Skype.

For some projects, before the linguistic test we carry out the “adequacy test”. And this is not a joke: when we were preparing for the VEF, we even attracted an HR department for these purposes. And only those who were interviewed were allowed to linguistic testing. This is a very important part of the selection, because we have to be sure that during the work “in the field” the translator will not throw out anything unexpected. The level of stress in people of this profession exceeds the limit, so a person should be calm and balanced.

Even the most experienced and experienced translators are very nervous when they are tested. Therefore, you need to give the synchronist time to accelerate. During a simultaneous translation, the brain works very intensively, it is impossible to “crack” it in a second. Therefore, when we conduct testing, we always listen to the person for 10-15 minutes, because after 5 minutes the situation becomes clearer. We had cases when the session began, the translation was launched, and in the first minute the translator gives out some pearl or skips the first two phrases. But then translates brilliantly.

Two in the same boat

Pair work for synchronists is a real necessity. At the same time, it is important that translators complement each other well. Some synchronists work in the same team for many years. They not only replace each other during the breaks, but also help: if one translator cannot translate some particularly complicated word, the second one has a second and a half to find this word in the dictionary.



As a rule, translators take laptops with them into the booth, where they can open a presentation and draft outline (for example, a list of names and positions of speakers, trademarks and their correct pronunciation, some other specific terms). If the speaker suddenly starts talking about a topic that has not been previously reported and which translators are not familiar with, then the second translator may help the first user to google the term or search it in Wikipedia to understand what it is about.

There are funny cases when the conference organizers do not warn about some features of the translation, and this surprise is waiting for translators at the event. At one of the major forums we had a case where two booths were located nearby - translators from English and Chinese. And when one of the speakers finished his speech in English, another speaker, a Chinese, came out. The English booth relaxed, and now the speaker begins to speak, but there is no translation. "The British" ran up to the Chinese booth, asked: "Why do not you translate?", And they answer: "And this is not Chinese." “And what?” - the “Englishmen” were confused. We are not sure, they say, but it seems to us that English. In fact, there was English, just with such an accent that even professional translators did not immediately understand it.

There is a widespread opinion that, since simultaneous translation is more complicated than sequential, a simultaneous interpreter can also work perfectly on sequential translation. This is not true. Usually a person has only one superpower. If the brain has to be “tuned” in a special way for simultaneous translation, then for sequential a large amount of “RAM” is needed, because you need to memorize a lot. Synchronists do not own the translation cursive and do not know how to memorize information, their “trick” is speed, and the standard of memorization of a consistent translator is 5 average sentences.

In any case, translators must be very resourceful and, yes, ready for stress. One of our brilliant consecutive translators shared one of his not so pleasant experiences. He told me how he came to order, and he was suddenly put in a cabin and said: “You will be in sync. 4 hours". He is in a panic. And it was a meeting of two ministers of ecology, so it was impossible to just get up and leave (although I really wanted to). He says it was the worst and hardest practice in his life. Worked out. Out of the cabin all wet.

How the translator's brain works

Medical experiments have found that while running, the synchronizer pulse reaches 160 beats per minute. After half an hour, the brain turns on a protective inhibition and a "dead center" sets in. There will be no proof-link, but we have seen a lot of synchronists in the work - frankly, it seems.

Simultaneous translation is more than just bilingualism, says Nerli Golestani, the leader of a group of researchers in the laboratory of the brain and language of the Geneva University. Two languages ​​are active at the same time: the translator is forced to simultaneously perceive speech and reproduce it. Therefore, the process involves not only the areas of the brain responsible for languages, but also other, higher levels. What areas it was found out during functional magnetic resonance imaging. As Nerli writes, there is a whole network of different areas of the brain that make the translation process possible. One of these zones is, of course, the Broca zone, which is responsible for the speech motor organs and the working memory, which helps maintain attention. This zone is also associated with neighboring parts of the brain that are responsible for speech reproduction and understanding. The whole question is how exactly the translators “switch” between these zones? How can the brain manage them?

Two areas in the striped body served as the key and the answer to the question of how the translator's brain manages to “manage” such difficult tasks: the caudate nucleus and the so-called “shell” (putamen).Neuroscientists already know that these structures serve to perform such complex tasks as training, as well as planning and executing a movement. This means that there is no single brain center that would deal exclusively with monitoring the translation, it involves many areas and areas of the brain. Read more - read here .

The translator is also a man

There is an important detail that often eludes organizers of events, especially large ones. Translators are often perceived as a “resource” - on the one hand, this is the case: here is the work, it needs to be done, and here it is - the one who can. But it is important to remember that he is also a living person who needs to rest and who may experience discomfort, want to drink or go out for some fresh air. When we sent translators to the economic forum in Vladivostok, where they had to work hard for several days, each of them was given a health reminder: for example, how many hours to sleep and how much to drink water a day, how to transfer acclimatization and where to go if you feel badly. For synchronists, rest is especially important. Very often translators begin to be distracted at lunchtime,when they just need to take a breath before the next session. Their work is already not easy, you should not complicate it even more.