To become a staff interpreter at the United Nations, one must pass the Language Competitive Examination (LCE). This exam has always had a low pass rate that seldom exceeded 20%. With many staff interpreters retiring by 2018, a shortage of qualified interpreters in certain language combinations exists and needs to be addressed. This led the UN to...
The position of chief interpreter was one of the oldest at Oriental courts. "At the Sultan's court in Constantinople the position of baştercüman (grand, chief, or court interpreter) was one of the most highly respected court and government offices".[1] Nowadays, chief interpreters do not work for royal courts but for international organisations....
Last academic year, I was invited to participate in a careers day at an inner-city school in Birmingham. The students came with a list of questions to ask the professionals to help them guess what they did. One of the questions was: is your work dangerous? I found myself saying yes, although up until that moment I had never really...
