Interviews, round 8
Say Ciao to Eleonora Monoscalco, Italian-born, Spanish lovin’ and passionate live interpreter. Here’s some of her thoughts about the crazy and dynamic world of #interpretation
1) Do you fear AI walking slowly into the room or have you found some way to integrate it into your workflow?
Eleanora Monoscalco (EM): I am a bit concerned, but I’m sure in the end we all need to adapt to it and integrate it into our workflows.
For now I still haven’t done it, because I am still receiving “old school assignments” and all of my colleagues are on the same page.
Once a client or a colleague suggests that we try and use it, I’ll do it with pleasure. But I think in fairs it is less applicable, so it will mainly impact conference interpreting (mainly simultaneous interpreting).
I don’t like it, but it is here to stay so we’ll all be impacted at some point (think of journalists, writers, even singers, nobody is “safe”) 😊
2) How much research on a super specific topic do you usually do on average? Like, how will you prep for a panel on… Botanics?
EM: Uff, this is a good question😊… it really depends. If it is something I do regularly, 2 days are enough to prepare or even less if I have already interpreted at the same event.
If it is something new, it may take up to 2 weeks, depending on the subject. Since it wouldn’t be good to “waste” 2 weeks on an assignment, I tend not to accept very specialized assignments in fields I really hate (like finance for example).
3) What are the first things you say to Interpretation learning students?
I would say it is a long-life journey.
There is room for everyone, but it is not an easy market, nor it is an easy job. So if you want it to be your job, go for it. But never stop learning and studying! And you’ll be a freelancer, so you need also to work on your confidence, marketing, invoicing skills and many more 😀
many thanks for Eleonora for her kind words!
