Video remote interpreting in university settings

Abstract

The motivation for the project was the necessity of finding solutions to situations characterized by difficulty in communication, such as trading between different countries, immigrants unable to speak the language, or between hearing and deaf people who use sign language. These and other cases can be solved thanks to interpreting services. Yet because of educational commitments of professionals, organizational time, budget, and locations, it is not always possible to avail of an on-site interpreter. In this context, technology offers a solution through remote interpretation.

The present draws inspiration from the research project “VEASYT Live! for conference: linguistic and technological solutions for the supply of video remote interpreting services in conference settings”. The work was financed by the European Social Fund and took place between 2016 and 2017 in the Linguistic and Cultural Compared Studies Department of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in partnership with VEASYT srl, a company that developed a video remote interpreting (VRI) service in both vocal languages and Italian Sign Language. The aim of the research is to develop VRI for conference situations such as seminars, conferences and academic lectures.