This document discusses the history and types of conference and simultaneous interpreting. It began during World War I when international meetings were held in French but not all negotiators spoke French, requiring interpreters. There are many types of interpreting including business, court, community, and signed language interpreting. The history of conference interpreting is divided into four periods: the early writings in the 1950s-60s which produced the first manuals; the experimental period of the 1960s-70s when studies tested aspects like speed and pauses; the practitioner's period of the 1960s-80s when more research was conducted; and the renewal period from the 1980s onward which took a more scientific, interdisciplinary approach.

1. Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting
Deevid Alexis Tapia Visosso

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Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting
 Oral Translation of Oral Discourse.
 Been in existence since early times (Ancient Egypt).
 Played important roles in history (exploration and
invasion campaigns in Central and South America).
 Interest in specialized forms of professional interpreting
is recent.
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There are many types of Interpreting:
 Business Interpreting.
 Court Interpreting.
 Community Interpreting.
 Signed Language Interpreting.
Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting

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 Born during the first World War.
 International meeting were held in French.
 Some H-R American and British negotiators didn’t speak French.
 Interpreters were needed (widespread in Nuremberg and Tokyo trials).
Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting

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Most conference interpreters only work with two or three languages:
 ‘A’ language(s): Native tongue(s) => Native or near-native command.
Work into as well as out of their ‘A’ languages(s).
 ‘B’ languages(s): Non-native language(s) => Sufficient command but
not at same level as an ‘A’ language. Work into as well as out of their
‘B’ languages(s).
 ‘C’ languages(s): Passive languages => Work from a ‘C’ language into
their ‘A’ or ‘B’ language, but they do not interpret into a ‘C’ language.
Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting

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There are 4 periods on the history of conference interpreting:
1. Early writings (50s-60s):
Interpreters and interpreting teachers (Geneva, Brussels).
First manuals (intuitive and personal).
Practical and didactic aims (fundamental issues).
First Academic study by Eva Paneth (MA thesis, London).
Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting

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2. Experimental period (60s-70s).
 Psychologists, psycholinguists.
 Experimental studies.
 Putting to test of said manuals in previous period.
 Speed of delivery, ear voice span, noise, pauses, etc.
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3. Practitioner’s Period (60s-70s-80s).
 More and more Interpreting teachers developed interest in interpreting
research and theory.
 First Ph.D dissertation was defended in Vienna by Ingrid Pinter (Kurz).
 West/East Germany, Switzerland, URRS, even in Japan.
 Speculative or theoretical (worked in isolation).
 Sense theory [ESIT (Ecole Supérieure d’Interprètes et de Tradecteurs;
Paris)].
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4. The renewal period (80s-present).
 Sense theory was questioned by a new generation of practitioners.
 A more scientific view gave birth to an interdisciplinary approach.
 Seminar was held in the University of Trieste (Italy).
 Research is still largely done by practicing interpreters.
 Neurolinguistics; more communication; The Interpreter’s Newsletter.
Conference & Simultaneous Interpreting