Nuevas tecnologías para la transmisión de la interpretación simultánea: una revolución ya en marcha

The first instances of use of a technological medium (telephone, in that case) for simultaneous interpreting date back to the 20th century (Baigorri-Jalón 2000). In the past few decades, conference interpreting in simultaneous mode was possible thanks to radio technology or, more frequently and especially for wider audiences and multiple language combinations, the infrared one, which transmits a high-quality audio signal to the audience in the conference hall, through special receivers. With the ever growing globalization, the constant development of ICTs, the incredible speed at which international meetings and events are organized and, last but not least, the constant need of public and private institutions to reduce management times and costs on their events, new alternatives to the infrared technology are being developed, transmitting audio and video signals over the internet. Different platforms on the market offer various possible configurations. Despite the extra stress and fatigue remote interpreting seems to cause to interpreters (Moser-Mercer 2003), this scenario appears to be the present, rather than the future of conference interpreting. For those who approach these new technologies for the first time it can be hard to find their way among a large number of different features and understand their potential. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the current scenario of new technologies for the transmission of simultaneous interpreting, describing their possible uses, similarities and differences.