Miss Interpretation; If You Have a Flair for Languages and a Steely Disposition, Interpreting Can Be a Lucrative and Fascinating Career, as Bonnie Estridge Discovers

Byline: BONNIE ESTRIDGE

INTERPRETERS have been compared to ducks - they may appear serene, but under the surface the brain is paddling frantically. "The biggest mistake people make is thinking that just because you speak two languages, you can be an interpreter," says Joanna Curtis, 37, who interprets between Spanish and English clients.

"It's actually a difficult skill to acquire. You need to learn to listen, translate, formulate your sentence and speak, while all the time listening to the next bit. You need to maintain your concentration."

Interpreters translate "live" speech, while translators work with written text. There has been a significantly increased demand for interpreters since the mid-1990s owing to the rapid expansion of the EU, as well as a steady increase in the need for speakers of Chinese and Indian languages in Britain, says the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

It currently has 5,000 interpreters registered in Britain, though there are likely to be many more who work on an informal basis or have qualified abroad.

Curtis, who is single, interprets …

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Publication information: Article title: Miss Interpretation; If You Have a Flair for Languages and a Steely Disposition, Interpreting Can Be a Lucrative and Fascinating Career, as Bonnie Estridge Discovers. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Evening Standard (London, England). Publication date: January 20, 2005. Page number: 59. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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