How the Technology of Interpreting Services has Changed Over Time
Over the years and leading up to today, there has been many advancements and changes for interpreter services. The demand for interpreting services around the world has increased tremendously, with more people needing interpreting services in industries such as healthcare and corporate.
Today, a staggering 360 million people across the world are unable to hear, so it’s quite obvious there is always room for improvement. In today’s world, hearing aids aren’t at the top of the list anymore as new changes in science, such as interpreter services are being offered and are proposing a variety of progressive techniques. These developments could increase the quality of life for those hard of hearing. In particular, their effect could help millions of people, many of whom have been waiting a long time to finally be able to understand the world around them.
Nonetheless, the technology for interpreter services has grown and changed over the years for the better, and here’s how.
The Progress
Overtime, the understanding between cultures has progressed tremendously because of technology. Today, speech recognition is quite incredible, and communication barriers are overcome due to amazing innovations. Moving forward, we can expect to find more tools and advancements that change the way we communicate.
Many businesses across the globe now have access to interpreters who are able to negotiate speech barriers. Although over the phone interpreting has been useful for businesses, users have found that this method has become quite difficult to really connect their clients with the interpreter on the other end of the phone. Luckily, newer technology has been able to solve these problems. An even more forward-thinking way of interpretation is video remote interpretation (VRI). VRI is changing communication between healthcare professionals, medical settings, legal matters and other uses in the corporate world.
Instead of having someone present on site, remote interpreters can communicate through video chat at any given time. This includes the added advantages of face-to-face contact.
This is possible via tablets, computers or any smart devices.
How Video Remote Interpretation Is Making a Difference
VRI has been the preferred method of interpretation in healthcare, corporate conferences and courtrooms for quite some time now. VRI is gradually making a difference and its modern techniques have clear advantages over their regular counterparts.
These changes are very common in the US health system, and hospitals are using video remote interpretation now more than ever. While some face-to-face roles are now obsolete, others are changing to suit needs. VRI is often common in the conference and diplomatic circles. However, despite their use, barriers to effective implementation were very high.
With the progression in new technology, this has changed a lot.
Some interpreters take part in conferences on site, albeit not in the same room.
These changes are always happening. We must understand and be able to recognize the value of face-to-face interpretation. Pressure to reduce costs while having more access to interpretation will only increase, so it is important to highlight the importance of video remote interpretation. Considering this can reduce overheads while still providing an adequate service, the use for VRI has increased drastically and is incredibly beneficial.
Conclusion
The field of video remote interpreting is the epitome of how interpreter services have changed drastically and is part of a larger wave of technological developments. These work together to change how we do things in society. The demand for interpretation is always changing and growing.Mobile communications, in particular, have shaped our interactions a lot. These changes have happened very quickly. It’s been 10 years since the rapid transformation of smartphones, but it’s difficult to work out how much this technology has changed our communication. Suffice to say, it has altered how we speak to each other, especially in ways we may never have thought of. This evolution in technology means interpretation is accessible in places that might never had seemed possible.
Interpretation can be expanded in a variety of ways, which helps create more opportunities for those using the technology.
If you would like to learn about this topic please check this article from TopTal: https://www.toptal.com/insights/distributed-teams/cross-cultural-communication-barriers
