Sometime between 50,000 and 2 Million years ago, human beings began talking to each other. If our distant ancestors are anything at all like we are today, sometime between 40,999.99 years ago and 1.999 Million years ago, two different people came up with two different words for the exact same thing. And so, the first interpreter came to be.
7000+ Languages in the World!
While I’m sure the above is not entirely, historically accurate, human language has certainly evolved over tens of thousands, if not millions of years. Researchers spend countless hours piecing together the history of language. From climate, to geography, to geo-political struggle, many factors influenced the evolution of language, leaving us where we are today: more than 7000 distinct languages spoken around the world.
From Cave Drawings to Satellites
Much in the same way languages themselves have evolved over time, the methods by which we communicate with each other have grown and changed. This Technology of Communication Timeline on Northwest University’s website shows the entire history and is worth a look. We’ve gone from speech and cave paintings to smart phones, emails, instant messaging, and video chat. Where once the power of our lungs determined how far we could communicate, today we use satellites in outer space to instantly communicate across the globe and beyond
The Evolution of Interpreting and Translation
I’d like to think that interpreting and translation pre-dates recorded history. I doubt we’ll ever know for sure (still waiting on that time machine!). But when the ability to communicate with other people outside one’s own family or village first arose, the need for interpreting and translation services probably arose right with it. With the invention of the telegraph? The need to translate that written message. When the telephone entered our world, so did the need for the telephone interpreter.
Today, friends and family, co-workers, businesses, and governments add the next dimension to their communications: real-time, streaming video. From Skype to Facetime and beyond, we are no longer limited to text or voice. We can see and hear anyone just about anywhere in the world. But, of course, with this new technology comes a new demand: the video remote interpreter.
Video Remote Interpreting
Video Remote Interpreting brings speakers from different language and cultural backgrounds together with an interpreter to empower communication. In many ways, video remote interpreting combines the best parts of phone interpreting and on-site interpreting:
- Virtually unlimited access to linguistic resources around the world
- On-demand access 24/7/365
- Incorporation of visual, non-verbal communication cues, like gestures and facial expressions
- No complications from travel time or adverse travel conditions
- Uses widely-available technology (smart phones/tablets/computers + high-speed Internet + webcam/speakers/microphone)
What’s Next?
The video conferencing technology that enables video remote interpreting was once science fiction. Who remembers Jane Jetson putting on her face to take a video call?
If you looked at the Technology of Communication Timeline, you may have noticed 2005: “Holographic 3D Projection.” This sparks fascinating possibilities for the future of video remote interpreting. Are fully-interactive, holographic interpreting services on the horizon? This may seem like science fiction now, but if history teaches us anything about the evolution of technology: where there’s a will, there’s a way!
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