How do translators listen to someome else speak while also repeating the words themselves in another language with some delay?

Question

How do translators listen to someome else speak while also repeating the words themselves in another language with some delay?

In: 47

Answer 1

Practice. Nothing more.

Preparation is everything. The more you know about a topic / speaker, the more you can anticipate their words and ideas. Now you’re no longer having to “listen, process, produce”, but instead simply metering out your words as the speaker hits the expected beats.

The above is particularly helpful when interpreting two languages whose words and ideas are ordered differently. Japanese/English and German/English come to mind—verbs come at the end typically, meaning unless you can anticipate how the speaker will conclude their phrase, you have to hold everything in memory until you can deliver your interpretation.

Others with more experience will surely add their two cents—there are quite a few techniques.