Telephone Interpreting

What Is Telephone Interpretation?

Telephone interpreting is simply consecutive interpreting over the phone instead of face-to-face. This service provides an ideal solution when geographically dispersed people need to talk but do not share a common language.

London Translations provides its own bespoke telephone interpreting service, which we call LanguageBridge. This system allows you to dial into the service with your own PIN. Mere moments later, an interpreter will join you on the line. These are frequently used for public service bodies, such as Medical and healthcare facilities, whose patients require over-the-phone interpretation to assist with bookings and appointments.

Our telephone interpreters are available 24/7 and can be booked in advance or organised at the last minute. However, any ad hoc telephone interpretation made through LanguageBridge will not normally connect you to an interpreter with specialist knowledge of your sector. Consequently, this type of service is often requested by academic institutions, as it facilitates instant interpretation support between pupils, parents and teachers. However, booking ahead is strongly recommended for any conversations which require in-depth knowledge of your industry sector.

Pre-arranging a telephone interpreting service through London Translations can also allow us to pass on any necessary background material that your interpreter may need. This will ensure that we can give you the most accurate telephone interpretation service we possibly can.

As with most forms of interpreting, telephone interpretation can be conducted in consecutive or simultaneous form. Most of the time, it is carried out as consecutive interpretation. This requires regular pauses in conversation in order to allow the interpreter to repeat what has just been said, in the target language, before the other person responds.

Simultaneous telephone interpreting is a more complex process, which requires careful planning and specialist equipment to complete. Often, simultaneous interpretation over the telephone is used for one-way, broadcast type applications. For instance, if a company CEO wishes to make a live announcement to their employees in different countries, a conference call can be set up where staff dial in and are able to listen to the speech in their own language. As such, giving the announcement to your telephone interpreter in advance will allow them to make any necessary preparations in order to complete their work in the most thorough and accurate manner they can.