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Multilingual phone interpreting is a service that connects people who need to communicate across languages by facilitating telephone conversations. The interpreter acts as a go-between, translating the conversation between the two parties in real time. This is a valuable service for businesses and individuals who often need to communicate with customers or colleagues who speak other languages.
Depending on the circumstance, cultural norms, or religious background, an individual may prefer to not have another person present in the room. Health conditions or legal issues can make one feel self conscious, embarrassed or exposed. In these situations, the patient or client’s preference to be anonymous is taken into consideration.
When the telephone is the primary means of communication, it makes sense to use telephone linguists versus in-person or video linguists. For example, most of us have heard an automated message like, “For English, please press one.” When this option is pressed, the caller is directed to a phone linguist. These services are common for customer service, medical help lines and other service phone numbers, making the familiarity of the phone translation experience a factor when choosing language services.
Over-the-phone services are ideal when a professional in-person translator is not available. It eliminates the risk of miscommunication and liability concerns should an inaccurate translation take place. For example, while family members, bilingual co-workers, or social workers may speak the required language, they do not necessarily have the same credentials and training that a professional linguist holds. A language services company really is the only way receive precise translation.
Most commonly we recommend using a telephone interpreter in an emergency, when the requirement for an interpreter is unexpected/short-notice, or when there are geographical restrictions on the people participating in the call. It's also proving to be extremely popular through the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic, but don't worry, we have plenty of capacity.
We always do our best to accommodate all needs - if you get in touch with us we will let you know if it's possible, but we always strive to work out the best solution for you, even when you need an interpreter 24 hours a day.
Telephone interpreters are consecutive interpreters, which means the interpreter only interprets after you have completed a thought, then the non-English speaker responds, and so on. Simultaneous interpreters interpret while you are speaking, which does not work effectively via the telephone because two parties speaking at once is often inaudible.
