How do You Do That?!
The conference opens with an address in a foreign language. The speaker launches headlong into a highly complex subject at breakneck speed. The talk is replete with terms whose spelling I can only guess, most of which encoded in the alphabet soup of acronyms. To make matters worse, he insists on cracking jokes as culturally-specific […]
The Accidental Protagonist: Book Review
Endearing, controversial, genuine or stereotypically mean, a relatable character is key to any book plot. It helps if the protagonist’s life is eventful and glamorous, or if her job is somehow awe-inspiring or tinged with a hint of mystery. Add a drop of mischief and intrigue, some eavesdropping and world-changing encounters, and the magical spell is cast. Perhaps partially for that reason, […]
KUDO on Interpreting: A Reassuring Message
Cloud-based interpreting (a.k.a. RSI) is the biggest technological innovation in interpreting since the Nuremberg Trials. Granted, audio quality, microphone design and headset ergonomics have all improved markedly since World War II. But despite the modern technology, a microphone is still a microphone. And the headsets used in Nuremberg don’t look drastically different from the ones […]
Interpreting Technology Tasting (for ice-cream lovers!)
The field of interpreting is undergoing some ground-shaking changes. Ubiquitous broadband has made multilingual streaming a reality. Neural machine translation is flirting with voice recognition. And Google has just introduced its first version of a babel fish that you can literally stick in your ear. Pretty exciting news for users who believe they can now […]