Languages
We provide interpreters for all common languages – all EU languages and many more. Our interpreters regularly work between German and:
Interpreters' working languages
An interpreter's working languages are the languages between which they mediate professionally. Their mother tongue is always one of them; which others are added depends on qualifications and experience.
Active and passive languages
Active languages are languages the interpreter understands and speaks: they interpret both from and into them. Passive languages are languages they understand fully but do not interpret into. Someone who interprets from English into French but not back has English as a passive language.
Interpreting from one's mother tongue into a foreign language is called "retour".
A, B and C languages
- A language: the mother tongue. Interpreters who grew up bilingual can have two A languages.
- B language: an active language that is almost as familiar to the interpreter as their mother tongue.
- C language: a passive language from which they interpret into their A or B language.
The native speaker principle
Everyone is most confident in their mother tongue. We therefore deploy interpreters whose A language is the target language wherever possible. At a conference in German and Chinese, one person will often interpret into German and another into Chinese.
Contact us – we will put together the right team for your language combination.