• Professional conference simultaneous and consecutive interpretation;
• Document translation services;
• Cultural consulting;
• Escort and event interpretation for business talks, training events, etc;
• Interpreter Assessment;
• Seminars for professional conference interpreters.

Our company is owned by a professional conference interpreter who is a member of AIIC  – International Association of Conference Interpreters. AIIC has been promoting high standards of language interpretation and quality for over 60 years. It is a globally recognized interpreter association.

We collect inputs from our potential client, prepare an estimate, have the estimate approved by the client, sign contract(s) with the client, prepare for the event, perform our services, and invoice our client. A contract is needed to provide any service.

InterStar will require the following information to be able to prepare an estimate

(all information is treated as confidential):

For translation:

We will need to see the actual text to be able to make an estimate. If no text is available, we will need:

• Topic of the text
• Level of difficulty (general, technical, etc.)
• Audience for the document
• Languages
• Deadline
• Amount of words (we can calculate it for you as well if we have the document)
• Formatting (DTP) requirements
• Any other special requirements

For interpretation:

• Dates
• Mode of interpretation: simultaneous, consecutive, escort, etc.
• Nature of assignment (conference, business talks, etc.)
• Topic(s)
• Languages
• Traveling requirements
• Will there be any overtime?
• Do you need simultaneous interpretation equipment?  (can be provided at extra cost, a separate quote will be created. Additional information will be requested.)
• Will you need audio services (PA system, microphones, etc)
• Any other special requirements

You can also fill out our Simultaneous Interpretation Services Request Form form.

PS: All estimates assume that the variable expenses (airfare, hotels etc)  may be within +/- 20% of the estimate with given project parameters. We always charge our clients for such expenses at cost and provide receipts where available.

Yes, isolation booths or whispering interpretation equipment can be provided. Simultaneous interpretation in the booth also requires interpreters to be able to hear everything that is being said in the room via microphones (audio services, a “full house feed”.)

We can provide either simultaneous interpretation equipment or both audio services and equipment as needed. We work with professional simultaneous interpretation companies providing quality equipment, and we own equipment too. We avoid AV companies that have little or no experience with simultaneous interpretation equipment, because it is a very specialized area.

All equipment is provided with a technician as needed.

In case of client provided equipment we have developed a list of specific simultaneous interpretation equipment requirements to the equipment.

It depends on the project and the number of languages, but in the simplest case you will need

• at least 2 interpreters both for consecutive and simultaneous interpretation, unless the duration of an assignment is less than 30 minutes for simultaneous and 2 hours for consecutive interpretation.

Generally we do not allow our interpreters to work alone longer than that, because it has adverse impact on quality.

As early as you possibly can. There is a very limited number of experienced interpreters on the high end market and they are usually busy for up to several months in advance.

Most professionals we work with are freelancers, so they will accept the first firmly confirmed assignment. An assignment is confirmed when we sign a contract with our client.

In our past experience, it is virtually impossible to find an experienced interpreter at a short notice.    

No. We use local interpreters first, however, we prefer to use experienced interpreters who we trust regardless where their professional domicile is. Travel costs are negligible compared to the additional quality and peace of mind.

Sometimes quality local interpreters may not be available. Frequent domestic and international travel by interpreters is standard practice in the industry.

We can always discuss your project and customize our prices for you, however, for conference interpretation we charge by the day.

Our interpreters are highly qualified and experienced freelancers. Even if they work for 5 minutes, they will not be able to sell the rest of the time on that day to anyone else. Therefore, we have to charge by the day. It is standard practice on the high end interpretation market.

We charge a fair market rate, however, because of low overhead costs our translation and interpretation services  are actually medium-range priced.

We do not compromise on quality, we will only hire professional established interpreters and translators with a good reputation in the industry.

Therefore, we have to charge professional rates to our clients and do not work on the “gray market” or outsource projects to contractors who agree to work for next to nothing with poor quality.