Media Q&A ABOUT THE BOOK What inspired you to start this project? The interpreters themselves.  The job of an interpreter is awe-inspiring, rewarding and complex.  All one has to do is see or hear an interpreter in action to understand why interpreters are worth writing about.  But beyond that, every interpreter I’ve ever worked with has had a wealth of great stories. I wanted to give interpreters the chance to share those stories with the world. What kinds of stories will the book include? The book will be divided up into several sections, but we anticipate receiving stories from a large number of settings and that reflect a diverse array of emotions, situations and encounters.  We are encouraging interpreters from all settings to share their stories. What are some typical settings for interpreting? Medical interpreting, court interpreting, police interpreting, social services interpreting, conference interpreting, government interpreting, telephone interpreting, video interpreting – all of these settings, along with others, are members of the family of interpreting. Why did you choose this title? From Our Lips to Your Ears is a play on the phrase, “From your lips to God’s ears”.  To me, this phrase has always meant, “what you have to say is important, and may the universe hear it.”  Regardless of religion, I think this phrase expresses a universal truth: that people have both a desire and a basic right to communicate their experiences with others. How are interpreters “changing the world”? Interpreters are helping people communicate with others.  One conversation at a time, they enable changes, both small and large, to take place.  Whether the verbal speech they render involves purchasing a home, curing a sick child or sending police to the rescue, the information they are allowing others to hear is important.  When taken as a whole, these interpreted events have a huge impact on the world. INTERPRETING IN GENERAL Can any bilingual person be an interpreter? No, although that is a common misconception.  Not everyone who can write in English has what it takes to be a professional writer.  Similarly, just because you speak a language, it does not mean that you have what it takes to be an interpreter.  To be an interpreter, one has to have many additional skills that go beyond the mere ability to speak two languages. What is the difference between an “interpreter” and a “translator”? Translators convert written words from one language to another.  Interpreters, on the other hand, deal with spoken words. Do some people provide both interpreting and translation? Seeing as how these are two distinct professions that require very different skills, interpreters often stick to interpreting, and translators frequently do translation exclusively.  However, some professionals do work in both fields successfully, especially for languages that are less commonly requested. Is it common to specialize in one area of interpreting? Yes, it is very common for interpreters specialize in just one field, because each area has its own technical vocabulary and guidelines.  There are interpreters who work as full-time court interpreters.  Others work exclusively in health care.  Some interpreters perform conference interpreting.  Each of these is a separate specialty within the greater interpreting profession. CURRENT EVENTS English-Only Movements With “English Only” laws being passed, are interpreters spoiling people by preventing them from learning English? Without a doubt, learning languages, especially the official language of a country where one lives, is something that should be encouraged.  I’ve yet to meet an interpreter who did not agree with this – after all, most interpreters are advocates of language learning in general.  Still, the process of learning a language is neither quick nor simple.  Interpreters are not preventing anyone from learning a language, nor are they impeding society in any way.  On the contrary, they are providing essential communication services to enable society to function more efficiently.  Why aren’t more immigrants in the United States learning English? Various studies show that immigrants are currently learning English at a faster rate than ever.  In spite of this, in many areas, there is a shortage of programs to help willing learners of languages.  Many wonderful individuals around the country are becoming volunteer EFL instructors, helping people learn English, but the supply of classes still often does not meet the demand. Why should people receive services in other languages? The ability to communicate is a basic right of all humans. Because it is a basic right, it is recognized by many government bodies.  In the U.S., a federal law and many state laws exist to ensure that people can communicate in their own language, especially regarding vital services that are provided and/or funded by the government, such as public safety, health care and court settings. Technological Advances Will there be a time when we no longer need interpreters? It’s highly unlikely that interpreters will become unnecessary at any time in the foreseeable future.  Even in fully bilingual or multilingual societies, there will always be visitors from other countries who could require interpreters.  Consider the businessman visiting a foreign country who suddenly starts feeling chest pains at 2:00 am.  With interpreting services, he can call an emergency number and tell them he needs an ambulance.  He can communicate his symptoms while he is on his way to the hospital, and he can talk to the medical staff when he arrives. Without interpreters, his life could be at great risk. Won’t we have a handheld interpreter someday? Advances in technology are made each day, and these do impact the field of interpreting tremendously. Still, even in the written translation industry, where technology has made tremendous strides in automating some aspects of the work, translation cannot yet completely be automated without major errors and loss of meaning.  Interpreting, which must be done in the here and now, has even further to go before it can be fully automated. What about telephone and video interpreting? These technologies make the delivery of interpreting services more efficient in some ways.  However, they do not automate the interpretation process.  The actual interpreting is still performed by humans. Also, these types of interpreting are better suited to some situations than others.  For some settings, there is still no replacement for the presence of a human being.