Interpreting

Interpreting can be defined generally as the activity of linguistic mediation that consists in transmitting a speech given orally or in sign language into an equivalent speech in a different language, either orally or in sign language. The result of said activity is also called interpretation.

The interpreter is the person who performs this activity of linguistic mediation by observing various factors, such as the register, the information implicit in the message, and the emotions. Starting from the distinction between translation and interpreting, and from their origins, we will explain the modalities and areas in which they are usually practiced in the following sections. We will dedicate a brief section to sign language interpreting and remote interpreting; then, we will call attention to the influence of factors including stress or psychological impact on the interpreter’s work. We will conclude by defining a few lines of investigation.