Telephone interpreting connects human interpreters via telephone to individuals who wish to speak to each other but do not share a common language. The telephone interpreter converts the spoken language from one language to another, enabling listeners and speakers to understand each other. Interpretation over the telephone most often takes place in consecutive mode, which means that the interpreter waits until the speaker finishes an utterance before rendering the interpretation into the other language. As the use of the telephonic modality is increasing it is allowing users to access an interpreter immediately, regardless of time and location.
Telephone interpreting is one modality or delivery mechanism for providing interpreting services. Other forms of delivering interpreting services include in-person interpreting and video interpreting for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Historical timeline
1950s: Telephone lines first proposed as a medium for the delivery of interpreting services. 1973: Australia introduces telephone interpretation as a fee-free service to respond to its growing immigrant communities. 1981: The first Over-the-Phone Interpretation (OPI) service is offered in the United States. 1981–1990: Telephone interpreting enters major U.S. industries including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, and public safety. 1990s: The demand for telephone interpreting grows significantly; contributing factors include decreased prices in long-distance calls, toll-free number access, and immigration trends. 1995: Language services company Kevmark, later known as CyraCom, patents a multiple-handset phone adapted for telephone interpreting. 1999: AT&T sells language services company Language Line Services. 2000s: Telephone interpretation becomes more sophisticated; quality of interpreting, faster connection speeds, and customer service become important to consumers. 2005: The U.S. telephone interpreting market is estimated at $200 million. 2013: Language Lines Services acquires Pacific Interpreters. 2016: France-based company Teleperformance announces plans to buy LanguageLine Solutions for $1.52 billion.
Providers
There are many types of organizations that provide telephone interpreting services, including for-profit companies, governmental organizations, non-profit groups, and internal divisions within organizations. For example, the government of Australia operates a telephone interpreting service, as do the governments of South Africa and New Zealand.
United States
In the United States, telephone interpreting is widely used by its federal courts. Numerous commercial providers are also available and commonly used. Many of the commercial telephone interpreting providers connect users with interpreters for more than 150 languages. Some providers claim to have the ability to connect an interpreter at any time of day, within a matter of seconds. Some hospitals and health care systems also provide telephone interpreting services.
Major providers of telephone interpretation in the United States include Language Line Services, Lionbridge, CyraCom International, Pacific Interpreters. As of 2022 Transperfect is the largest grossing language service provider in the United States, followed by Language Line Services, and Lionbridge who holds the third spot. As the demand grows for language services so does the amount of language providers.
In 2013, Language Line Services acquired Pacific Interpreters.
United Kingdom
British social activist Michael Young noticed that language barriers were leading to substandard services for ethnic minorities at Royal London Hospital, so he obtained grant funding to provide free telephone interpreters starting in 1990. He branded this service the Language Line, and which went on to become the UK company Language Line Limited. The company grew significantly in its public sector client base, from Police on the Isle of Dogs (his second client) across clients in most sectors.
In 2006, the US corporate Language Line Inc. acquired Language Line Ltd. However, during 2006, the Department for Work and Pensions created the "Pan Government Framework for Telephone Interpreting" (contract reference CAG/912/0181). This was the first national contract encompassing the UK public sector telephone interpreting provision, and it was awarded to UK competitor thebigword. Driven by the contract win, thebigword developed the UK's first proprietary telephone interpreting platform in 2007 under the stewardship of Simon Moxon and Jonathan Potter.