ELAN Logo
Interpreter needed, but how many?

05.05.2025

Interpreter needed, but how many?

Your organisation will soon be conducting a multilingual meeting. You do see the benefit of interpreters, but how many do you actually need? Is one interpreter per language enough? Or are there interpreters who can interpret into multiple languages? In this blog post, we will help you decide how many interpreters you need to turn your assignment into a resounding success.

Interpreting as a team sport

First of all, you need to answer the following question: how many interpreter teams do you need? What? Interpreting teams? Don't all interpreters form one team together? In a sense, yes, but since interpreting is a very intensive job, interpreters normally work in pairs to alternate every half hour. We refer to such a pair as an interpreter team. So, how many interpreter teams do you need?

The rule is quite simple. You count the number of languages and subtract one. For a meeting in Dutch, French, English, and German, you will need a total of three interpreter teams. This means you don't need a separate interpreter team for each language - unless you aspire a constellation as seen in many international institutions (European Commission, NATO). But such constellations are outside the scope of this post.

How does it work?

In practice, the interpreting agency chooses one of the working languages of the meeting as the 'pivot language'. This is a language that all interpreters in question actively master, on top of a second language. Before I lose you: the explanation is more abstract than reality. Let's illustrate the magic of a pivot language: Suppose Dutch, French, English and German are spoken at a meeting and Dutch is chosen as the pivot language. You need three booths (four languages minus one):

  • an English-Dutch booth: to interpret all languages into English, except when English is spoken in the room: then they interpret into Dutch;
  • a French-Dutch booth: to interpret all languages into French, except when French is spoken in the room: then they interpret into Dutch;
  • a German-Dutch booth: to interpret all languages into German, except when German is spoken in the room: then they interpret into Dutch.

Did you notice that we mentioned the pivot language for each booth? Right. That's the language that doesn’t require a separate interpreting team. Hence the rule of thumb: you take the number of languages of the meeting, minus one.

This means you don’t need a separate booth for German-French. Because when German is spoken, the last booth in our example interprets into Dutch and the second booth then interprets it back into French. As a result, all possible language combinations are covered.

Alright, so we’ve covered interpreter teams. But how many interpreters do we need?

Right, that’s a question we have yet to answer. It's safe to assume that, in most cases, an interpreter team consists of two interpreters. Just multiply the number of interpreter teams by two to get the number of interpreters. In the above example, it looks like this:

  • Number of languages: 4
  • Number of interpreter teams: 4 – 1 = 3
  • Number of interpreters: 3 x 2 = 6

So, you need six interpreters. Let's sculpt them and put them in the oven!

Exceptions

Whenever languages are involved, exceptions are never far behind. Once again, the rule of thumb is that reality can be a tad more - or less - complex than the picture painted above.

Want to be certain about your needs? Don't hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to discuss this with you.

Translating your industry speak – Precision and consistency guaranteed

02.05.2024

You're an expert in your field, fluent in its unique language. The good news is: so are we! Be it an annual financial report in English, a technical manual in Japanese or a medical pamphlet in Italian - we are committed to unparalleled precision in translating your professional lexicon.

Read more →

Score online with your multilingual content (with complimentary SEO keyword research)

02.05.2024

Every translation project is unique, ranging from straightforward to highly intricate. Consider the examples of translating your website into several languages or regularly updating online content like webshops, customer platforms, user interfaces, apps, etc.

Read more →

Top five reasons why ELAN Languages should be your dedicated language partner

02.05.2024

Does your company conduct international business? Do you disseminate your marketing communications globally, in a variety of languages? If so, you’ll need translation services sooner rather than later. Needless to say, these translations must be professional and flawless.

Read more →

Your translation quote – Transparency prevails

02.05.2024

We believe that good agreements make good friends and transparency prevails. That’s why you’ll find just one rate on your translation quote, which we’ll respect. That makes it refreshingly clear and fair for you. Additional surcharges or other unpleasant surprises on your invoice? Not at ELAN Languages. When it comes to our quotes, we lay all our cards on the table.

Read more →

Aim for top translations with these three golden tips

02.05.2024

Whether it’s a translation, copywriting, subtitles, or a voice-over project: our translation experts invariably ensure a flawless end result. But such a top-notch translation doesn’t just appear out of thin air – you too can do your part. That’s why we’re sharing these three tips to make the translation process that much smoother and more economical.

Read more →