Why do interpreters say they need better sound than normal listeners? And what’s wrong with sound quality in video-conferencing?Here’s a quick guide. Why is my interpreter saying the sound quality isn’t good enough? I can hear the speaker just fine!There are two issues here. The first is that interpreters need to be able to hear...
Sharing a physical space with your boothmate has numerous professional and personal advantages over working alone from home. Covid lockdowns and the rise of the Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) platform have had an extraordinary effect on the interpreting profession. One of the big changes is that conference interpreters are no longer...
Count Smorltalk asks the question: is this the end of the road? When I was little, nobody had had the genius idea of adding wheels to suitcases. I reckon that the late dawning realisation that you could add wheels to bags is a prime example of linguistic determinism: we called it luggage because we lugged it. End of. I was lucky to...
Count Smorltalk takes up rocket science As I was just saying, I’m going to give up interpreting and try something a little easier. You see, I just don’t know if I can do this much longer. It’s not the interpreting. No, that’s the easy bit. Bring on the interpreting! No, it’s all the other stuff. All the stuff that has to happen before I even get...
Count Smorltalk pulls his hair out It lies in wait in at the cheese counter – Cornish Yarg? Bath Blue? Double Gloucester?… Decisions, decisions! It ambushes you in the socks department – cotton Argyles? woollen cable-knits? thermal ribbed?…. Decisions, decisions! It has you by the short and curlies in the Ford dealership –Oxford White? Sterling...
Count Smorltalk on the case again The Smorltalk column is back by popular demand, but don’t be surprised if this turns out to be my last. When the NSA terrorism algorithm chomps its way through this piece about murdering delegates I may be forced to up sticks and disappear for a while to a location where the long arm of the law cannot reach me...