The floor language is the main language or languages used by the chairperson, principal speaker or presenters (as opposed to ad hoc interventions from the floor).
In the simplest scenario, there is only one floor language and with the exception of short interventions made, for example, during a question and answer session all proceedings from the top table are in the same language. In this case the floor language is the active language and other languages are passive languages.
However, it is more common for presentations to be given in a number of languages. In this case there are a number of active languages.
It is important to assess how many floor languages there will be and what the share of floor time will be between them. This has implications for us when putting together the best team of interpreters for the assignment.
Active and passive languages
Interpreters classify their abilities in their various languages as their active and passive languages. Their active languages are languages that they interpret into and out of with equal ability. However, they only interpret out of their passive language(s).
They may also describe these as their ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ languages. Their ‘A’ language is their mother tongue (active language), their ‘B’ language(s) are their language(s) of habitual use (also active language(s)) and their ‘C’ language(s) are passive language(s).
Obviously, the more active languages represented by the team of interpreters, the greater the number of language combinations that can be catered for without use of the relay. The relay occurs when it is necessary to interpret twice; the first time from the floor language into a common language (often English) and subsequently from the common language into the target language.
Depending on the number of languages used actively and passively during the conference, the team of interpreters is composed in order to cater for the greatest number of possible language combinations. Obviously, where interpretation is being offered for several languages, the total number of language combinations increases exponentially. Some language combinations are difficult or at least uneconomic to cater for directly.
For example, language combinations including English as one of the language pairs are easy to cater for. A combination such as Finnish and Czech may be more difficult to cater for (partly depending on the availability of interpreters covering such combinations).
This point should be taken into consideration when inviting speakers to make a presentation at a conference. It is worthwhile discussing the availability of interpreters with your interpreting company if you intend to cater for less mainstream language combinations. Of course, it is always possible to cover all of the possible language combinations even if it is necessary to fall back on the relay.
Room layout is usually mainly dictated by the nature of the conference. There are three main room layouts:
Theatre style: Speakers at a top table, delegates in rows of chairs facing the top table.
Classroom style: Speakers at a top table, delegates in rows of chairs with their own tables facing the top table.
Boardroom style: Round a single large table. Sometimes one or two advisors may sit behind the main delegates, who are seated at the table.
Even if the natural acoustics of the conference venue do not always require microphones to be used, it is essential that every intervention, whether from the top table or from the floor, is made through a microphone. This is for the sake of the interpreters, who receive their audio feed straight into their headphones inside their soundproof booth. If a delegate asks a question without using a microphone, the interpreters won’t hear it and the question won’t be interpreted.
The range of available microphones is as follows:
Table microphones: These are the standard type of microphone. Also referred to as Push-To-Talk microphones. When a delegate or speaker wishes to make an intervention, he/she activates the microphone by pressing the button on the microphone base and presses it again to mute it. The sound technician is able to mute or activate each microphone remotely should delegates forget to switch their microphone on or off.
Lectern microphones: Microphones mounted on a stand, useful for speakers giving a presentation from a podium or placed strategically in the aisles amongst delegates as positions from which questions are asked from the floor.
Tie microphones: A small clip microphone, sometimes hard-wired sometimes radio, that is fastened to a lapel, particularly useful for speakers, who like to have a bit more freedom to roam.
Radio or roving microphones: Radio microphones (wireless) often used by delegates asking questions from the floor in a theatre style room layout. For these to be used effectively, somebody should be responsible for passing the microphone from person to person. It is also important to remember to switch the microphone on and off.
Positioning booths and technical equipment
The position and orientation of the interpreters’ booths is extremely important to ensure that the interpreters are able to provide the highest quality of interpretation. The following guidelines should be observed:
- The interpreters must have direct eye contact with the chairperson and speakers.
- The interpreters should have a discrete means of leaving the conference venue, ideally with access to a door behind the booths.
- The booths should all be clustered together.
- In some situations, it may be helpful to mount the booths on a small stage to offer the interpreters a better view of proceedings.
- The technician’s control position should be adjacent to the booths.
- Care should be taken to ensure that fire regulations are observed, e.g. do not block fire doors.
- There should be an adequate supply of adjacent power sockets.
Preparing the interpreters
Although it is rarely possible to provide full information well in advance of a conference due to the many stressful constraints placed upon the conference organiser, providing the interpreters with reference material will help the interpreters to prepare for the conference thereby adding to the quality of interpretation. The following information is useful:
- speakers’ key notes
- transcripts or outlines of presentations
- a list of delegate names
- a list of participating organisations
- a list of industry-specific acronyms or abbreviations
- background material
- conference handouts
- previous conference notes or minutes
On the day of the conference
Here are some useful tips of things to remember for the day of the conference:
- Appoint a person responsible for handing out delegate headsets on the door.
- At the very start of proceedings, explain to delegates how to operate their headsets and microphones and emphasise the need to use microphones at all times.
- At the end of proceedings (before breaks and at the end of the day) remind delegates to hand in or leave their headsets on chairs accordingly and not to unwittingly walk out with them.
- Arrange for water to be provided to the interpreters’ booths.
- Introduce the sound technician and the interpreters’ team leader to the conference co-ordinator. If unexpected ad hoc changes need to be made to the agenda, keep both informed.
We are able to record conference proceedings. A twin-track cassette can be made with the floor language on one track and one of the interpreted languages on the other (often useful when producing minutes).
It is also possible to record each interpreted language from the booth or combined with the floor language. The latter requires the full-time services of a second technician to monitor and change the tapes.
If proceedings are being recorded, it is important to obtain the permission of the speakers and of the interpreters. It is normal for interpreters to request a single royalty for recording and reproducing their voice.
Recordings can be made to normal compact cassette, to DAT or CD. Compact audio cassette recordings include an overlap time of 3 minutes at tape change-overs to ensure that nothing is missed.
Two sets of recordings can be made for redundancy in instances where the recording is critical.