The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2018 - 25

smoothly and achieves the objective. By working remotely,
the interpreter loses all control over the situation and is
compelled to work under certain conditions that cannot be
changed or fixed on the go. Also, since the interpreter is not
onsite, attendees will be unaware of their presence and the
focus and order the job requires. As such, the conversation can
become noisy and chaotic. Such noise and chaos may be even
more predominant according to the cultural background of
the audience and the languages being spoken. If interpreters
are onsite, they can use their skills as cultural liaisons to help
bring order to the flow of conversation to make sure each party
is heard. The interpreter is unlikely to perform this function
when RSI is used.
So, how did my initial experience with RSI turn out?
Overall, the output was good because the interpreters
could leverage their experience to do the job and offset the
technical challenges. But how would a junior interpreter who
has not yet built up enough resources cope with so many
unexpected factors?
At the beginning of this article I said I wanted to approach
RSI with an open mind. I guess that being used to working in a
completely different environment for so many years somehow
impaired my open-mindedness at first, but I truly made an
effort to see the upside of it. And RSI does have an upside.

I don't think all innovations necessarily improve our
quality of life, but once they become real, they force
us to make a decision: whether to adapt or not.

WHY RSI CAN BE A GOOD THING?
The 2008 financial crisis affected the world economy at
large, and interpreters were no exception. We saw the
number of assignments drop markedly, with international
conferences that usually lasted five days being cut to two
days or even just one day. In the private sector, multinational
companies holding internal events with employees from
around the world began to force everyone to speak "English"
by default to save on the cost of interpreters. Interpreters were
then hired only when deemed absolutely necessary or when
the difficulties people had communicating in English became
too evident. The financial crisis also shrank companies'
budgets for travel expenses, pushing the market to provide
new solutions.
Like any other product or service, RSI arose to meet
a specific demand: allowing communication in different
languages at a lower cost. The economics of this solution are
www.atanet.org

ADDITIONAL READING
"Conference and Remote Interpreting: A New Turning Point?"
(International Association of Conference Interpreters),
http://aiic.net/p/3590.
Flerov, Cyril. "Remote Simultaneous Interpreting: Options and
Standards," ATA Interpreters Division Blog (December 2015),
http://bit.ly/Flerov-remote-interpreting.
Jenner, Judy, and Tracy Young. "Adventures in Remote Interpreting
at a Rural Hospital," The ATA Chronicle (March-April 2016),
http://bit.ly/Jenner-Young.
Olsen, Barry S. "Remote Interpreting: Feeling Our Way
into the Future," The ATA Chronicle (May-June 2017),
http://bit.ly/Olsen-remote-interpreting.
"Using Videoconference Technology" (International Association
of Conference Interpreters), http://aiic.net/p/5935.
Video Remote Interpretation as a Business Solution,
http://bit.ly/VRI-business.

pretty evident, RSI being nearly half the price of traditional
interpreting. The price difference doesn't lie in the interpreters'
fees-which are the same regardless of the work setting-but
in the cost of hiring the technical equipment. Needless to
say that developing and deploying RSI technology requires a
significant investment, but once amortized, it enables vendors
to offer highly competitive prices.
Another argument in favor of RSI is that it can help
avoid consecutive interpreting, which is often viewed as a
time-consuming technique that makes communication less
dynamic. I agree that simultaneous interpreting is usually
more agile and effective for small meetings where people don't
have the time or the patience to wait for the interpreter to
deliver his or her speech, or when only a few people require
interpreting services.
RSI can also help clients schedule last-minute meetings with
people in different parts of the world, therefore increasing the
number of potential assignments.
Webinars, in turn, have become a common learning tool
that can also open new opportunities for RSI, allowing people
to attend online webinars in real time or access them any time
afterwards without the hassle of subtitles.
American Translators Association

25


http://www.aiic.net/p/3590 http://www.bit.ly/Flerov-remote-interpreting http://www.bit.ly/Jenner-Young http://www.bit.ly/Olsen-remote-interpreting http://www.aiic.net/p/5935 http://www.bit.ly/VRI-business http://www.atanet.org

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