Interpreters in the media
Press articles
- ‘See Hear – Series 29, Episode 18′ (October 2009) – BBC (video)
The BBC programme See Hear investigates a whole range of issues related to sign language communication.
- ‘EU seeks more English translators’ (19 February 2009) – BBC (text)
‘The European Commission has launched a recruitment drive for native English speakers, predicting a serious shortage of interpreters.’
- ‘The learning curve – SHORTAGE OF INTERPRETERS’ (4 February 2008) – BBC 4 (audio)
Judy Merry talks to Dr Svetlana Carsten, Director of the National Network for Interpreting, Sophie Llewellyn Smith and students from the University of Leeds Centre for Translation Studies.
Libby Purves also tackles this topic together with Heather McGuinness, Programme Manager, Routes into Languages; and Brian Fox, Director of Interpretation at the EU.
- ‘Wanted: English speakers with fluency in sarcasm’ (29 January 2008) – The Guardian (text)
- ‘Interpreter shortage poses threat‘ (10 November 2005) – BBC (text)
- ‘Lost in translation‘ (10 November 2005) – BBC (text)
- ‘Translation trouble at top-level talks‘ (24 January 2004) – BBC (text)
- ‘Thinking Allowed‘ (19 February 2003) – BBC (text)
Dr. Svetlana Carsten, Director of the National Network for Interpreting, and Brian Fox, Director of Interpretation at the European Commission, speak to Peter Kingston about the current shortage of interpreters with adequate skills.
Article about the serious problems posed to the British justice system by the lack of trained interpreters in court houses and police stations.
This story is about the shortage of interpreters working with certain languages and willing to take on the stress of certain work environments.
Article about interpreters’ experiences with UK, US and Soviet leaders.
This story included a feature on ‘Birth of a Profession’, discussing the 50 year anniversary of AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters).
Audio/video interviews
- BBC Radio 4 PM programme on the shortage of English interpreters (5 September, 2008) – source: the European Commission (audio)
- ‘Interpreters “fear for lives”‘ (8 August, 2007) – BBC (audio)
- ‘Keeping in touch with the game‘ ( 5 March, 2007) – BBC (video)
- ‘Translation costing public £100 million‘ (12 December 2006) – BBC (text+video)
- ‘Cost in translation‘ (12 December 2006) – BBC (text+video)
- ‘Strachan has interpreter in stitches‘ ( 6 October, 2006) – BBC (video)
- ‘Roderick Jones – helping Europeans understand each other‘ (6 January 2004) – Radio Praha (audio+text)
Radio interview with an Iraqi interpreter claiming asylum in Britain. The interview also highlights the different ways in which different countries look after the interpreters who work for them during military conflicts.
“A deaf and blind Celtic supporter uses a communicator to interpret the game through the palm of his hand.” (BBC)
Article about the rising cost of translation and interpreting in the UK. It is also possible to watch the video The translation services on offer in the UK from this page.
Article about the rising cost of translation and interpreting in the UK. It is also possible to watch the video The translation services on offer in the UK from this page.
“Gordon Strachan’s quips reduce an interpreter to fits of laughter during a Champions League news conference.” (BBC)
“Rob Cameron’s guest in this week’s One on One is EU conference interpreter Roderick Jones. Roderick’s been translating and interpreting for twenty years. Currently he’s based in Prague, where he’s coordinating a team of translators working on a raft of documents that have to be translated by May 1st 2004, when the Czech Republic joins the European Union.” (Radio Praha)
This page also contains links to the audio recording of the interview.
Miscellaneous
- Bel Canto (by Ann Patchett) 2001.
Award-winning novel featuring an interpreter as one of the central characters. (Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction and of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction)
- The Interpreter (2005)
Trailer for the Holywood film starring Nicole Kidman as a conference interpreter. (Disclaimer; the job may not always be this exciting!)
- Catherine Tate Interpreter sketch
This comedy sketch certainly highlights what not to do; not only that, it unwittingly flags up some of the misunderstandings prevelant today about what interpreting actually is…
