With the opening up of the economy, new companies of all hues and tongues are coming to our land in search of fresh business opportunities. In the global village, economic barriers may undoubtedly be coming apart, but the language hurdle remains a problem.

In times of such linguistic variety, an interpreter becomes pivotal to bringing about an optimum understanding between the two sides.

The field of interpretation is essentially divided into two categories: simultaneous and consecutive. Simultaneous or conference interpretation, as the name suggests, is exercised in a conference situation. The interpreter has to listen to the speaker and keep communicating the spoken content in the target language simultaneously.

In the case of consecutive interpretation, on the other hand, one has to listen to the speaker, wait for a pause and then interpret. The job undoubtedly requires not only a high level of language, but also excellent reflexes and unflexing concentration.

Even though the number of conferences has gone down a little, particularly in Delhi, the scope for interpretation is immense. Meanwhile, the decline in the number of conferences in Delhi has helped other countries such as Nairobi and Indonesia, which now occupy the top slot as business conference centres. The reasons behind the decline in the number of conferences in Delhi are said to be a dearth of hotel rooms, sky-high tariffs and political instability.

But things are happening still. For instance, Spain is organising a trade fair in Delhi this October. Around 600 Spanish companies are expected to participate in the fair, where almost every company will require an interpreter. This may be more of an exception

than a rule, but it's definitely an indication of things to come.German and Japanese organisations have been around for a comparatively longer duration and have been extensively using Indian interpreters. French companies are also eyeing the Indian market with definite interest.In short, better times are round the corner for those who know a foreign language (along with English).

But knowing a language does not necessarily equip you to become an interpreter. It is an extremely specialised field, in which your knowledge needs to be effectively combined with a lot of practice. Unfortunately, our country does not have an institute dedicated to this particular field. If you have the money and the interest, you can go to any one of the institutes in Paris, Geneva or Heidelberg and, maybe, even do a PhD there.

Back home, Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of Languages provides a sound grounding in Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German and Spanish and awards degrees BA upwards, offering intensive courses in interpretation.

Most of the other institutes offer a grounding in the language rather than prepare you for a career in interpretation. As of now, various conference organising agencies provide interpreters as part of their language services. Otherwise, there are freelancers loosely organised under the FTI (Freelance, Translators and Interpreters).

The government pays interpreters Rs 2,000 per day. If that sounds like good money to you, go sign up today!

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.