Glamourous side of Interpreting Profession

In the last blog I mentioned one disadvantage of being an Interpreter.
So on this post I am going to mention some positive aspects of the interpreting
profession.I am sure all of you would be intrigued by this.

Last year a Film Production company approached me ( they made a Film on Global
Warming and it was filmed in Bangladesh).In the Film there were some interviews
with the local Bangladeshis.They were non English speakers.So the Director wanted
me to go to their offices and sit down and watch the clips and translate it for them. can you think of any more Glamourous job than that ? Has this tickled your
imagination? I hope it has. I certainly found it very interesting and satisfying!

Interestingly enough, few weeks later a foreign student approached me for a similar project. That student chose to go to Bangladesh for their Post graduate research and guess what ? Made a Film ! Again, I had to provide the interpreting service for the interviews on the Film.But this time, it was at the IT Resources room/ Laboratory
of the University rather than the offices of the Film Director where I did the Translation.
Continuing on the same theme, only last week I was approached by some body to translate some film clips for an Aid Agency.Unfortunately though, this time, I could not take up the offer. I was too busy ! Can you imagine ? Some of you probably would have killed to get such an opportunity!I am sorry , I don't say this to brag or to demean you, but only pointing out the interesting possibilities that you could come across in this Field. And I may be wrong; may be some of you would not be as thrilled as myself to get this kind of opportunities.
I think I better finish here today.I will talk about other interesting aspects of Interpreting profession in the future posts.Bye for now.See you later.

Ordeal of an Interpreter !

O.K; last time I promised to tell you few things about my experience
of working in the community.I will just mention some of the lighter
things rather than going in to any serious stuff.
I hope you would get some amusement and entertainment at my expense.
May be you can give me some tips on how to avoid this kind of suffering.

Alright, what I want to mention first of all is having to work closely
with people having bad breath ! As interpreter you have to be in close
proximity of the people using your services.You need to be quite close
to them to be able to listen to them and also to speak to them. So there
is no escape for the poor interpreter ! You need to endure this experience
for as long as necessary !Having arrived at the venue and after starting
your assignment you can hardly leave ! How do you tell somebody you have just
met that their breath smell without being rude ?

And don't worry, I don't just mean that its just people from our
community suffer from this embarrassing problem. Some of the English
speakers I have worked with also suffer from it.
But I think it is worse in our community because a lot of people in our
community has the habit of chewing Paan and Betel Nuts( and smoking).And I find that
that also gives out some unpleasant smell.Ofcourse people who chew Paan
would disagree with me.But what do you think ?

Bengali / Sylheti Interpreters

Well, it's been a while since I added something on this blog.
Now that I have some time on my hand today ( as it has been the
heaviest snowfall in London for as long as I can remember),I feel
compelled to write something.
Yes, I started this blog so that Bengali/Sylheti interpreters or
any language interpreters for that matter could help each other,
give tips to each other or just have a common forum for interpreters
or would be interpreters.
well, I am glad that I started this.Because through this I have got
to know few people and I have been able to offer help (albeit not much)
to some readers of this blog.
It's interesting because people from as far as the USA have contacted me
regarding Bengali Interpreting jobs after coming across this blog.
Some agencies also have contacted me after reading my blog.So, overall
it's been a good experience for me.
sometimes I can be a bit radical in my views and I have expressed some
strong views in the past.But I do not do that to hurt anyone's feelings.
I just do that in good humour.So I hope my readers would see those comments
in that light.
And yes, it's always a pleasure to hear from somebody who has read the posts.I love getting your phone calls and emails.So don't be shy, if you come across this blog and like it (or even dislike it), or you feel that I could help you in any way
for your interpreting career,do get in touch.
I have done some interpreting at the GP surgeries recently.It has been an interesting experience ! I will write about some of those experiences in the next post.(ofcourse maintaining confidentiality; I won't name any names or disclose anybody's personal details; that would be against the ethics of Interpreters.)so keep checking this blog regularly ! I have also posted a couple of other blogs. If you click on the link that says 'view my complete profile' you will find them.Why don't you check them as well? I think you will like them.

Reality about Bengali Interpreter jobs

I hope you don't get any false hope or wrong idea that there is easy
money or plenty of demand out there for Bengali Interpreters.
Yes, there is some demand but it certainly is not easy money.
I say this because recently some of the readers of this blog have
contacted me asking for Bengali Interpreting jobs.I do not own any
agency, I was just giving some tips to fellow or would be interpreters.
And it is also true that some agencies asked me to refer female
interpreters.And I am always happy to help fellow Bengali Interpreters
if it is within my capacity to do so.
I have referred those of you who contacted me,and I hope you are happy.
One of you actually sent me a message thanking me.That's good.That
gives me real satisfaction that I have been able to help someone.
(WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS ? Even if you decided that you were not going
to pursue it any further, it would have been nice to let me know.)

Like any other business if you want to come into this profession
looking to earn a lot of money very quickly; you are obviously
mistaken.Can I repeat the age old mantra that 'There really is no such thing
as a Free Lunch'? You really have to be very patient.
And you have to put in a lot of effort and time into it.
You need to get some qualification in this field before you can even start.
Otherwise it won't be right.Does that make sense ? I hope it does.
Otherwise everybody would be (well, almost everybody)interpreters.
Even after you get some qualification, you need a lot of practice and
you need to gain experience.You will make some mistakes.But the important
thing is you need to reflect upon those mistakes and take action to improve
your skills.
You also need to refersh your skills and techniques by attending regular
training sessions.( some of the good agencies arrange these trainings)
I started this blog so that we interpreters could help each other.Like
I have given some tips , others could have given their own tips.that way we
all would have benefited.Mind you, I do not say that no one has helped me.
Few people have indeed helped me(though not through this blog) and I am grateful to
them.

More Tips For Bengali Interpreters

I know some Bengali Interpreters are very busy and some rarely get
work.The reason could be the difference in how you market yourself.
There are plenty of work available if you know where to look.
Lot of interpreting work is available in the healthcare and social
services.
Then there are solicitors' firms,courts,Prison services etc.
And never forget the opportunity to do translation and transcription
work as well.
Female interpreters have another advantage here.Sometimes clients
ask specifically for Female Interpreters.( you can understand if it is
a lady and she has some medical condition and she does not feel comfortable
to be with a male interpreter.Lot of elderly Bengali ladies are 'old fashioned'
and I don't mean it in any wrong way.I respect that and that is also part
of our culture)
Couple of interpreting agencies have approached me to find female bengali interpreters in the recent past.So if you are a female bengali interpreter
and do not mind some extra work, you can contact me.I will put you in touch
with the relevant agencies.
But the main thing is you have to be good and competent.You should always
maintain your high professional standard and abide by the codes of conduct.
Always remember your role as an interpreter and don't do anything which goes
against your specific role.
My contact no. is 07832371577 and email is mognichoudhury@yahoo.com

Tools For Bengali Translation

Today let me tell you a bit about different tools which may be
helpful if you are a Bengali interpreter/translator.A lot of
times interpreters are asked to translate documents/letters etc.
In the last year I have been approached quite a few times and I
have done them quite happily.
Some of you are probably familiar with 'Bijoy'software.
But I know about another one. Its called 'AVRO Phonetics'.
As the name suggests it follows phonetics so you do not have to
spend time learning the 'Keyboard'.I found it useful. May be you
can let me know your own experience or opinion.
By the way it's free.And I am not getting any commission etc. for
recommending it.It's purely because I found it useful and thought
it might be useful to you too.
In future I will talk about a tool which helps doing Transcription work.
I hope you guys are exploring all different aspects of your interpreting skills and not just limiting yourselves to Interpreting only.
Personally I am always willing to explore and experiment and find out.
That's why on top of doing interpreting work,I have also done translation
and transcription.And have enjoyed doing so.
may be again you can tell your own stories. Your preferences ;what you like
what you don't like etc.
Before I finish let me give you my contact details for any body who is
interested to get in touch for whatever reason.
My mobile is 07832371577 and email is mognichoudhury@yahoo.com

Advice and Tips for Interpreters

The idea just came to my mind that rather than just talking
about myself why not use this blog to help other interpreters
as well?Interpreting can be a 'lonely' profession.I mean you
will be working with other people but hardly see anybody of
your own profession.
So this is an attempt to get the interpreters together and
give each other support and tips.And you don't have to be
Bengali to come on to the forum.You can be any nationality _
be it Polish, Arab, French, German,Gujrati,Punjabi whatever.
If any of you(interpreters) reading this have any question
you can email me the question and I will try and answer it.
Similarly if any of you want to give any advice or tips to
other interpreters, you can either do the same or add a comment
at the end of the post.
My email is mognichoudhury@yahoo.com