Óscar Jiménez Serrano
Universidad de Granada
Title: Conference interpreting research as a bridge between training and the profession
In the last few years, conference interpreting has experienced an outstanding development as an independent research domain, and it can even be regarded as one of the main research areas within the general field of Translation and Interpreting Studies.
Relevant research has been carried out through different approaches, although some of them must be highlighted, such as neurolinguistic aspects, cognitive and psycholinguistic models, quality in interpreting, interpreter’s skills, intercultural and communicative aspects, etc. Specific studies have also been aimed at certain interpreting environments such as media and court interpreting.
Likewise, interpreter training has indeed become one of the main fields of research within this domain. In fact, researchers have even studied the interaction between training and research. All this has provided interpreting trainers with more systematic and efficient pedagogic tools, primarily through Computer Assisted Interpreter Training (CAIT).
Technology is precisely the element that stands out from the rest, and it is observed from two main perspectives: technologies to improve interpreting performance and technologies designed to replace human interpreters. Remote conference interpreting, in particular, has become the hottest topic in every discussion forum today and is actually the biggest paradigm shift since Nuremberg.
In view of all this, we need to understand the connection between research, training and the profession in conference interpreting.
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Óscar Jiménez Serrano is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting and Head of the Master’s programme in Conference Interpreting at the University of Granada. He defended his PhD thesis with honours. He has published about 60 specialized articles and books in English and Spanish (in Argentina, Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and Peru), including the only existing monograph on English-Spanish technical translation, La traducción técnica inglés-español (2002), which is recommended in both Spanish and foreign translation training centres. He carried out research and teaching in numerous Spanish universities and internationally, in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, USA, France, Greece, Ireland, UK and New Zealand. He was a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley in the USA and a Visiting Professor in MA in Conference Interpreting at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (California, USA), most renowned formation centre for interpreters in the USA. He participated in the projects CEVU (Collaborative Virtual European University) and OPTIMALE (Optimising Professional Translator Training in a Multilingual Europe). He has almost 30 years of professional experience as a translator and interpreter for leading institutions (European Union, United Nations, Interpol, Olympic Committee), organizations (UNESCO) and companies (Microsoft, Vodafone, Santander Bank, AT&T, Pfizer) worldwide, which allowed him to work in Europe, Africa, Near East, America and Asia. His work has been broadcast on the radio and television and, over the past 12 years, he has been part of the interpreting team of Spain’s Princess of Asturias Foundation created by King Felipe VI. He has interpreted some of the most influential people worldwide: monarchs, presidents, Nobel laureates, leaders of the biggest tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Twitter) as well as renowned artists, writers and sport celebrities. In the last years, his main teaching and research field of expertise was centered on the intersection of interpreting and new technologies. He has been invited to give workshops and specialized seminars on the subject in various Spanish and European institutions, including Imperial College London, University College London and Association of Conference Interpreters of Spain.