4.3.1 Using interpreters
When doing business with international partners, the lack of a shared language can be an issue. Both of the speakers in the next two videos use the term translation as they describe interpreting jobs. These two skills are often confused, and you will learn more about each of them in Activities 31 and 32.
Activity 31
In this video, Declan O’Dea, sales manager at Guidance’s international marine department, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using plurilingual staff as interpreters to facilitate communication in international business situations.
Watch the video and complete the sentences below.
1. The advantage of using an interpreter is that …
Answer
It enables people to understand what their interlocutor is saying.
2. The disadvantage of this approach is that …
Answer
You rely on somebody else to deliver your sales message and so you lose control of the situation.
3. One way to get around this problem is to make sure you have …
Answer
A basic knowledge of the other language, so that you can at least figure out the gist of what is being said.
Activity 32
You will now watch another account of an experience involving language mediation, this time from the perspective of the person doing the interpreting. Alessandra Bunel is a business development manager who occasionally also acts as an ad-hoc interpreter. Watch the video and answer the question below.
In what way do the challenges described by Alessandra Bunel differ from those mentioned by Declan O’Dea in the previous step?
Answer
While Declan O’Dea considered the potential impact of mediation on sales, Alessandra Bunel’s concerns are principally related to safety. She also mentions the added difficulty resulting from the Brazilians’ habit of talking at the same time as each other.
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