A corpus-based study of problems in telephone interpreting

Abstract

In telephone interpreting, the first type of remote interpreting, interpreters interpret in consecutive mode over the phone in community interpreting settings. While it has various advantages, such as fast access to interpreters, flexibility of working hours, and no commute, telephone interpreting literature also depicts various problems such as lack of visual information, overlapping speech, low remuneration, low professionalism, fatigue and stress, which negatively affect interpreters. This study aims to present the challenges and problems of telephone interpreters. Document analysis was used as the data collection tool; a corpus consisting of forty-three entries related to telephone interpreting in Proz.com was created. The corpus was then analyzed with the content analysis method conducted with Maxqda 2020. Six main themes emerged in the analysis: general options regarding telephone interpreting, industry-related aspects, interpreting process, equipment, charging, skills and training. The results show that while there are various advantages of telephone interpreting, disadvantages such as low remuneration, demanding nature and lack of visual information are demotivation factors for interpreters. In addition, charging methods and rates are regulated by global companies, driving the wages lower to attract governmental organizations. The landline norm of companies persists, and the interpreters point out the dangers of using mobile phones. The frequently cited problems during the interpreting process were also mentioned in the corpus. The study concludes with suggestions for special training in telephone interpreting.