Simultaneous Interpretation
Definition
The interpreter renders speech in real time as it is produced, typically used in international tribunal settings. Cognitively demanding and more prone to omission under speed pressure.
- Timing
- Rendered in real time as speech is produced
- Typical setting
- International tribunals
- Main risk
- Omission errors under speed pressure
Common questions
Why is simultaneous interpretation more error-prone than consecutive interpretation?+
The interpreter must listen, process, and speak nearly at the same time with no pause to consult notes or clarify ambiguity, which under sustained cognitive load leads to more dropped clauses, simplification, and omitted qualifiers than the pause-and-render consecutive method allows.
What does an omission error in simultaneous interpretation look like in a transcript?+
It typically appears as a shortened or generalized rendering that drops a qualifying phrase, a number, or a hedge word the original speaker used, which can subtly change the apparent certainty or scope of testimony if not caught by a monitoring interpreter.
Related terms
- Consecutive Interpretation
- The interpreter waits for the speaker to complete a stretch of speech, then renders it into the target language. Common in witness...
- Hedge
- A lexical or grammatical signal of uncertainty, approximation, or qualification: 'I think', 'about', 'maybe', 'something like that'. Omitting hedges makes tentative statements...
- Lacuna
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- Register
- The variety of language associated with a particular situation, task, or relationship. Register varies along dimensions of formality, technicality, and interactional mode....
- Verbatim Interpretation
- Reproducing the source utterance word for word or as close to it as the target language permits, preserving hedges, qualifications, and false...