So What Are Phone Interpreter Services?
Imagine you’re at work and your manager needs you to speak to a person with whom you do not share the same language. We all know that language barriers tend to cause unexpected delays or can even jeopardize an entire project.
How do we overcome potential communication pitfalls with someone that we must work with or care for but can’t communicate with? Instead of wasting a lot of time trying to clumsily Google translate emails or written down text back and forth, hundreds of thousands of people around the world rely on what we call Telephonic Interpretation, or more commonly Phone Interpretation.
What Are Phone Interpreting Services?
This specialized service within the spectrum of language services offers a quick and easy way to communicate with someone who speaks a different language. Phone Interpreting Services provide the opportunity to speak with someone in real-time, without the worry of language barriers.
Phone Interpreting Services work as a conference call connecting you with the interpreter and the person you want to talk to. They deliver spoken interpretation over the phone in real-time, in a consecutive approach. In this fast-paced business world, often faced with limited budgets, you can effortlessly bridge the language gap with the help of phone interpreting services.
Who Can Take Advantage of Phone Interpreting Services?
A large range of industries can benefit from Phone Interpreting Services like courts, law firms, government agencies, educational institutes, insurance companies, financial institutes, immigration service providers, police departments, business owners and more.
With markets, content and media being international now – you can’t miss out on an opportunity or supporting your customers and clients due to language gaps! The fact that you can access any spoken language globally simply by using our Phone Interpreting Services puts any language fears to rest.
Industries that have a high volume of customers with different languages are the ideal candidate for phone interpreting services, so healthcare and medical facilities are at the top of the list. Hospitals constantly have to treat foreign patients and Limited English Proficient patients. When hospitals don’t have a staff member on hand that also speaks the language, phone interpreting services come to the rescue!
How Did Phone Interpreting Services Start?
Translators and interpreters have always supported communication between people with different cultures and languages, but with increases in global connectivity and technology came new gaps in communication. Australia was the first country to introduce Telephone Interpretation Services in 1973 for their immigration department. The service was provided free and around the clock with only eight languages. In 1981 America started using mobile interpretation services, followed by Japan in 1986, and the UK in 1990 for their Royal London Hospital.
The technology for mobile interpretation started with IBM as wired systems and experienced breakthroughs with the introduction of the internet. VoIP (Voice over IP) is the technology used by mobile interpreters. You can imagine it’s basically a telephone network that works over the internet. This technology can be used over the telephone, mobile phone or a computer. A dual handset phone with two receivers can be used or even a simple speakerphone setup.
How Do Interpreter Networks Work?
The phone interpreting network consists of highly qualified, certified, and professional language interpreters who provide their linguistic services through computers or phones. The phone interpreting network works simply. Once you’ve been setup with an account to access our interpreter network, getting access to your required language is as simple as dialing a phone number, saying the language you need and getting connected.
Can Phone Interpretation Services Be Tailored?
Just as no two people are similar, the requirements of interpretation differ from organization to organization in a similar way. Phone interpretation services provided to you can be deeply customized according to your needs.
We can dedicate different toll-free numbers to different languages for an organization and easily assign language combinations or hot keys. Online guides, printable dial-in sheets, QR codes and more can be created to ensure your team can connect quickly and easily to our Phone Interpretation Services. Take the example of a hospital, instead of dialing a hospital number and listening to someone speak English, the patients can dial the toll-free number specific to their language. Or when the patient calls, after a greeting, a list of available languages is provided to them.
The languages that you encounter most can be prioritized into a customized menu or order. When you dial your tailored number, your customer ID is entered automatically, and each interaction is carried out in a short time, which also saves the cost.
When Is There A Need for On-Site Interpretation or Video-Based Interpretation?
Phone interpretation provides only spoken language communication, but in some cases both verbal and non-verbal communication is required. Events that have technical and deep subjects may need on-site interpretation, life-or-death health procedures, some mental health therapy and communications, and language support for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Video allows for verbal and non-verbal cues to be communicated clearly, allowing for a more accurate and engaged interaction.
The Bottom Line
Phone interpreting services are cost-efficient and provide high-quality, multilingual communications over the phone. At Ad Astra, we have an experienced team and advanced technology that convert the complexities of language into assets for your business. Our trained interpreters are present to help you with 200+ languages in all manners and subjects.
So, what are you waiting for? Connect with Ad Astra, where we guarantee unprecedented Phone Interpreting Services quality!
