Rony Gao Shares His Experience in Online Simultaneous Interpreting Tournament
The following interview was originally published on Yifeng, the official blog of the Chinese Language Division of ATA (American Translators Association), and was edited by Fang Sheng.
From Yifeng Editor
On May 23, 2021, the 10th International Translation and Interpreting Competition “Perfect World” Cup – Simultaneous Interpreting Invitational Tournament was held at the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). What was unusual of this competition compared to previous events was that there was an online component, in which remote and on-site competitors competed together, and were judged by the same jury.
ATA member Rony Gao, also a recent graduate of Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, competing remotely with his teammate Yu Ye, won 1st Prize in the group category. Rony also won the 2nd Prize in the individual category. Yifeng had a conversation with Rony about his experience in this competition.
Yifeng: Rony, congratulations on winning the First Prize at this recent simultaneous interpreting tournament. Would you tell us more about the tournament and your experience participating in it?
Rony Gao: Thank you! About a dozen interpreting schools from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, the U.K. and the U.S. sent students to participate in the Chinese-English category, some competing on-site at the Beijing Language and Culture University, while others taking part remotely. But we were evaluated by the same group of judges sitting in the same room. Working in teams of two, each interpreter had to do 7.5 minutes of simultaneous interpretation from Chinese into English and another 7.5 minutes from English into Chinese, adding up to 30 minutes per team. I was selected to represent the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) at Monterey together with a classmate of mine. As a team, we ended up ranking first among all 23 teams. I also won second place in the individual category.
Yifeng: Impressive! Having contestants both on-line and on-site for the same competition sounds creative. Did you encounter any particular challenge while competing remotely?
Rony Gao: Indeed. It was an eye-opening set-up, but it actually went better than I had expected. The 23 teams of finalists were divided into five groups, scheduled between 9 a.m. and 4p.m. Beijing time. One obvious challenge was the time difference — we did our round on Zoom for 9 a.m. Beijing time, which was evening here in North America. Some students from the U.K. had to wake up very early to compete on Zoom at 2 p.m. Beijing time. I have to say the organizers did a good job putting together a relatively fair, well-coordinated tournament. They even offered live-streaming of some segments so we could follow what’s going on in the BLCU interpretation lab. Personally, I think online participants actually enjoyed a small advantage because we were less nervous than our on-site counterparts who had to perform right in front of the judges.
If I have to name one downside, I felt sorry for not being able to socialize with such a group of brilliant, like-minded fellow contestants. Yes, we know Zoom is this wonderful tool that enables real-time communication, including simultaneous interpretation, but it falls short of delivering the same vibe of an in-person event.
Yifeng: What do you think such a hybrid tournament could tell us about the future of interpretation as a profession?
Rony Gao: There is no doubt that remote interpreting is here to stay, and hybrid events may become the new normal in many cases — reaching a bigger audience for event organizers, providing convenience for conference attendees and bringing more opportunities for interpreters. Let me share a fun fact about my experience in the tournament: my teammate and I have never met in person to this day, despite having been classmates for a year at MIIS. We collaborated seamlessly in preparing for, and eventually winning, the competition as “boothmates”—a term which refers to two people working together in the same physical space. So, this is where we are in 2021. If this is a trend we cannot stop, we’d better embrace it.
Rony Gao is an experienced conference interpreter, ATA-certified translator, communications consultant and educator based in Toronto and serving clients worldwide. He is a frequent speaker at regional and international conferences and recently graduated from the MA in Conference Interpretation program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
