Diasporas, Smart Mobs, and the Creation of a Digital Interpreting Commons

“When we change the way we communicate, we change society.” –Clay Shirky

I have spent the last few years observing macro trends in technology, communication, and social interaction wondering when and how these larger trends would eventually affect the world of interpreting. Last week at the annual SCIC Universities Conference held in Brussels, I no longer had to wonder. 

A new initiative called SpeechPool.net is poised to help student interpreters and their trainers alleviate one of the vexing problems of interpreter training efforts around the world—a lack of quality, level-appropriate speeches for beginning and intermediate interpreting students to practice with.

The idea is strikingly simple, as most revolutionary ideas are—provide a simple, easy, universally accessible platform where students and trainers from around the globe can upload audio and video recordings of speeches being given in classes and practice groups in a myriad of languages at training institutions the world over so they can be used by students and trainers everywhere. The initiative is the brainchild of conference interpreter and trainer Sophie Llewellyn Smith. You can watch her introduction of the platform here or read a recent interview about it on The Interpreter Diaries. 

Speech banks have been around for years at individual schools and institutions. But due to the rapid advance of technology and the time-sensitive nature of much of the speech content, these platforms were quick to obsolesce and the speeches grew stale. So what’s so groundbreaking about this initiative? Put simply, it has the potential to harness the collective creative power of the diaspora of thousands of interpreting students and trainers around the globe to the benefit of all, thereby encouraging mutual improvement and success while allowing competition at a higher level of competency.[1] It is a clear example of win-win thinking, which is the basis of the emerging sharing economy. This is not one group offering content to others out of the goodness of its heart. It is not altruism. It is a platform for a dynamic exchange of value between equally interested parties, and that makes all the difference because SpeechPool.net will only succeed if there is sustained value generated by all who contribute to and benefit from the platform.

Of course, there are many unknowns in this budding effort. But that is not the point. The days of certainty and a near perfect product before going to market are over. This platform can adapt and change as new needs and ideas emerge. Serial iteration in the new hyper-connected digital world where everything is software based and resides in the cloud makes it easier than ever to adapt and evolve. 

To my knowledge, this is the first bona fide example of intelligent crowdsourcing that has the potential to improve the quality of interpreting services around the world, not to dumb down or cheapen the profession. That is powerful.

 The key to the success of this endeavor is participation and meaningful contribution, so dust off those old video and audio files that are languishing on your hard drives, digital recorders and smartphones and contribute them to the greater good of a growing profession, and while you are at it, practice some consecutive with notes. Oh, and fasten your seatbelts, this is just the beginning of a coming wave of innovation that is already affecting our noble profession.

Barry Slaughter Olsen

Interested in learning about how today’s technologies are changing how interpreters work and promote their careers? Then join us at InterpretAmerica 4 on June 14-15, 2013, in Reston, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Register today! Early-bird registration ends May 12, 2013.

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[1] See Leaders Make the Future by Bob Johansen, p. 165.

Wild Wild West Conditions Persist in Medical Interpreting

This week, InterpretAmerica Co-President Katharine Allen, along with interpreting student Kaitlin Heximer, is the guest blogger for the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters' (NAJIT) weekly blog.

The topic? Lamentable work and language access conditions that still persist in too many healthcare settings. Raising the profile of the interpreting profession is a major focus for InterpretAmerica. The theme for this year’s 4th InterpretAmerica Summit is On The Cutting Edge: Bringing Interpreting To The Forefront. A major goal of the Summit is to impart the knowledge and skills we all need to create a highly visible platform for our field. 

Our keynote speaker, Michael Hyatt, author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Busy World, will apply the depth of his expertise to creating such a platform not just for individuals, but for an entire profession. His talk will be followed by a panel of three of the most effective social media users in the interpreting industry - Ian Andersen of the European Uniion, Nataly Kelly, co-author of Lost in Translation, Brandon Arthur of StreetLeverage.com.

The blogpost, Wild Wild West Conditions Persist in Medical Interpreting, highlights the story of Masters candidate Kaitlin Heximer, whose initial interpreting work in the community interpreting sectors was anything but smooth, due to the lack of even basic training she had received in interpreting ethics, standards, and protocols.

“When I think back to the first time I ever interpreted in a formal setting, I would have done things differently if I knew then what I know now about interpreter ethics and best practices. A “simple” medical appointment turned into an epic 11-hour saga at the hospital emergency room with a patient whose sinus problems were quickly overshadowed by his mentally unstable condition.” **

Kaitlin is currently a student in the newly-minted and highly-innovative Masters in Conference Interpreting program, offered through the Glendon College School of Translation at York University. She already has a Masters in translation, and is no stranger to the healthcare system herself. She started interpreting just a year ago, as a volunteer interpreter for a refugee resettlement agency.

Her story is worth hearing. It is a stark reminder that despite so much rapid change transforming the healthcare interpreting profession, the “bad ‘ol days” of pressing untrained bilingual staff or volunteers into service are not yet a thing of the past. Hospitals may be jumping on the technology bandwagon in droves, doctors now access video medical interpreters through their smart phones and there are not one but two validated national medical interpreter certifications in the US[1]. However, patients and bilingual individuals trying to help them are still put in high-risk situations with depressing frequency.

To read the rest of her story, visit the NAJIT Blog.

Then register for the 4th InterpetAmerica Summit, to be held June 14-15, 2013 in Reston, Virginia! Add your voice to the discussion!

Best-selling Author and Pashto Interpreter Saima Wahab Coming to InterpretAmerica!

Interpreting in conflict zones has garnered significant attention in the mainstream media in recent years, in large measure due to the plight of interpreters left behind after military forces withdraw. At InterpretAmerica, we have sought to shine a light on interpreters working in conflict zones, as have others in the field.

A recent post by Nataly Kelly on the New York Times blog “At War” vividly illustrates just how serious their plight is.  The non-profit organization Red T and its dedicated group of volunteers are doing great work to protect translators and interpreters in conflict zones, while international organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have been cooperating with the Interpreting Department of the University of Geneva to train interpreters in conflict zones through the innovative InZone program.

The work of these programs is invaluable, yet despite how compelling their stories are, we seldom get the chance to hear directly from the interpreters themselves. This year's InterpretAmerica Summit will change that.

We are proud to announce that the closing keynote speaker for the 4th InterpretAmericaSummit in Reston, Virginia, on June 14-15, 2013, will be conflict zone interpreter and author of the New York Times bestseller In My Father’s Country Saima Wahab. A naturalized US citizen, Saima spent six years as a Pashto-English interpreter in Afghanistan, her native country, becoming one of only a handful of female Pashtun interpreters in the world. During her time in Afghanistan, she interpreted in hospitals for injured civilians, in high-level political and diplomatic meetings, and on patrol with coalition forces in some of the most hostile territory in the country. Saima will share her experiences as an interpreter in Afghanistan.

Register today for the 4^th InterpretAmerica Summit!

Can’t wait until June? You can hear an interview with Saima by NPR’s Rachel Martin here or watch Saima on The Daily Show with John Stewart here.  

See you at the Summit!

The (Potentially Positive) Power of Disruption

dis.rup.tion

noun: a disturbance or problems that interrupt an event, activity, or process

New Oxford American Dictionary

For the average person, the term disruption automatically brings to mind a negative process. An unexpected power shortage disrupted the Super Bowl. Hurricane Sandy disrupted life on the East Coast. Crispy Creme was out of chocolate creme donuts, disrupting my breakfast.

But sometimes disruption refers to concepts that we usually view in a more positive light: innovation, cutting edge technology, the growth in human interconnectedness. Indeed, the rapid change we are all experiencing encompassing just about every aspect of human interaction so frequently combines innovation with a profoundly disruptive effective, that we now speak of disruptive technology and disruptive innovation. 

In general, a disruptive technology is a "new technology that has a serious impact on the status quo and changes the way people have been dealing with something, perhaps for decades." (http://www.answers.com/topic/disruptive-technology)

Few industries are more impacted by disruptive technology than the interpreting profession. From the introduction of new video conferencing technologies, to the growth of social media and increasing global interconnectedness upending traditional practices for hiring interpreters, to instant translation and interpretation apps and the proliferation of digital terminology resources, technology is penetrating all levels of our profession.

But perhaps no innovation will change the face of our profession more profoundly than the rapid world-wide adoption of the smart phone. The first iPhone was introduced in June, 2007, the iPad tablet in April 2010. Barely more than half a decade has passed since these mobile devices hit the market, yet smart phones and tablets with internet access, together with traditional PCs, are now in the hands of more than 5 billion people around the world. 

Journalist Christoper Mims of The Atlantic posted a year-end article last December titled: The 5 Most Disruptive Technologies of 2012. Number 5 on the list? "Ultra-cheap Web Devices: Five Billion People with Internet Access." 

In this article, Mims asks the reader to consider:

"What does it mean that another one or two billion people are encountering the internet for the first time? If the value of the network is proportional to its size, what happens when most of Earth's inhabitants can tap into a common pool of information and contacts?"

For our profession, some are answering these questions by racing to develop apps and other technologies to take advantage of these hand-held computers. As a result, almost every aspect of the traditional model for delivering interpreting services is being challenged. Everything from training and hiring practices, to marketing and service delivery are now possible through a mobile platform, upending a profession that has for more than half a century functioned primarily with a face-to-face model.

Google Translate, real-time machine interpretation, real-time video delivery of live interpreting services over smartphone and tablets, the ability to interpret for any client anywhere in the world from the comfort of your home, are examples of just a few new technologies available to the interpreting profession. 

The downside, or disruption, can include lowered wages, a decrease in face-to-face assignments, difficult sound, visual and voice conditions with imperfect new technologies, and the loss of hard-earned labor/management employment models, among others.

The potential upside can include a hugely increased market, more full-time work for languages of lesser diffusion and interpreters who work outside of urban centers, greater awareness and visibility for individual interpreters and the profession as a whole, and the ability to provide previous hard-to-come-by training to a greatly increased geographic area, to name a few.

For the interpreting profession, the key question remains not whether we respond, but how. In a nutshell, we can reactive or be proactive.

We are excited to be highlighting this issue at the upcoming 4th InterpretAmerica Summit taking place in June with the interactive panel, The Coming Wave: Technologies That May Disrupt Interpreting. Representatives from Babelverse are among those presenting. Their services provides an excellent example of a proactive response to disruptive technology.

We encourage you check out our program and speaking and presenting opportunities, and register for the Summit today!

Proposed Best Practices for Simultaneous Interpreting in Non-Conference Settings

Many in the industry have been following recent developments in the Federal Immigration Courts. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has decided to start using simultaneous interpreting during immigration court hearings. While this decision is certainly a step forward in increasing language access for the non and limited English-speaking persons involved in immigration proceedings, the move highlights a conundrum that many in our profession face: how to ensure proper working conditions for the interpreter when simultaneous is the required mode.

In response to concern that this innovation would not be accompanied by necessary changes in work policies and conditions in immigration courts, the interpreting profession has recently made a concerted and unprecedented unified effort to reach agreement on what does constitute "best practices" for simultaneous interpreting in non-conference settings.

Earlier this week, the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters (NAJIT), in collaboration with eight national and international interpreter professional associations representing conference, legal, medical, and sign language interpreters, published a joint statement promoting best practices and proper work conditions for interpreters providing simultaneous interpretation in the immigration court system. You can see the full statement here: http://www.najit.org/Lionbridge%20letter%20pdf.pdf

Today, InterpretAmerica follows suit with our own statement on Best Practices for Simultaneous Interpreting in Non-Conference Settings. InterpretAmerica worked in tandem with NAJIT and the professional association collaborative, to ensure that our position is in full support of the consensus rapidly forming industry-wide.

In what we plan to be periodic statements on best practices on issues relevant to our profession, we share our Best Practices on Simultaneous Interpreting document with the field. It is our hope that this document, along with the effort of other key stakeholders in the field, will go a long way towards defining proper working conditions for interpreters in sectors where these guidelines are lacking or non-existent.

The Best Practices statement can be viewed here:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7OAPyAQ9PNwVUVmLTgzdEt1b2c


We look forward to your feedback!

New Logo! New Name! New Programming!

It’s official! InterpretAmerica has a new look – a new logo – and a new name for our annual conference.

We are excited about our new logo, which can be seen in its various formats on our Facebook page. The logo design is symbolic of interpreting, with two opposing dialog balloons representing different languages. They are connected in the middle by a vertical line, one color seamlessly fading into another, representing interpreting.

Our new logo is meant to convey that we support anything and everything that helps make communication and understanding possible between languages and cultures.

We also have streamlined the name of our annual conference. Formerly the North American Summit on Interpreting, we have shortened it to the InterpretAmerica Summit, in recognition of how most people already refer to the event.

In celebration of our new logo and summit name, we have finalized the preliminary program for our 4^th Summit, which can now be view at http://interpretamerica.net/program2.

Check out the planned program for 2013, a blend of the familiar and new, and mark your calendars to attend the 4^th InterpretAmerica Summit this coming June 14-15, 2013 in Reston, Virginia.

And let us know what you think of the new look!

Interpreting Finds Its Voice

InterpretAmerica Co-President Katharine Allen is this week's author for the NAJIT Blog. In a piece titled Interpreting Finds Its Voice: The Shared Vision of Association Leaders Cruz and Ferreira, she explores the encouraging trends both men see in our profession.

When will “I am an interpreter” have shared meaning for the average person in the same way that “I am a teacher” or even “I am a politician” does?

And perhaps more pertinent, how will that shared meaning come about?

If NAJIT Chairman Robert Cruz and California Federation of Interpreters (CFI) President Michael Ferreira have their way, that broader recognition and clout will only come about as a result of the efforts of all of us, whether as individual interpreters or as larger association and agency players. However, they see a vital and special role for us, the individual practitioner.

And the moment may indeed be ripe to achieve that kind of visibility.

Both leaders keynoted the recent California Federation of Interpreters (CFI) 10^th Annual Continuing Education Conference in Los Angeles. In his address, NAJIT Chairman Cruz emphasized the growing synergy between initiatives undertaken by individual interpreters and interpreter associations, and those spearheaded by outside fields, such as lawyers and the Department of Labor..

You can read the full blog post here. 

Be sure to leave your comments as to what you see as the most important trends you are experiencing in the interpreting profession.