When you book in-person interpreting services, Sorenson will send an interpreter in person to your location to provide face-to-face interpreting support. In-person interpreting is the most interactive and effective way to work with interpreters, but it may require consideration of interpreter travel if required. Pre-booked video interpreting is a solution that allows you to use an interpreter over high-speed internet with a camera and video screen so the participants and interpreter can see and hear each other. Sorenson offers both pre-booked and on-demand interpreting service, which combine convenience and cost effectiveness.

When you request in-person interpreting service, our team will consult with you about your needs to determine interpreter staffing. During the booking, the interpreter will position themselves for visibility with Deaf participants and where they can hear and be heard by hearing participants to effectively relay all communication between languages.

Sight translation is a type of interpreting in which the interpreter converts the language of text to a user’s primary language. For example, in the case of sight translation for Deaf individuals, that could be relaying the content of written English in BSL. While many Deaf individuals read and write in the same languages hearing people speak, that is often not their primary language, and they may not have the same level of fluency that they have in sign language.

Court interpreters do not have any mandated special qualifications, however anyone working in a court setting has post-qualification and/or additional training in that area.

Interpreters working with patients and providers strictly adhere to the professional codes of conduct and GDPR and never disclose health information outside of the setting.

A person who is Deafblind has limited or no hearing and vision. In many cases, individuals have some use of one or both senses, but at levels that impact their use of signed and spoken language.

Qualified Deaf interpreters have a native understanding and expression of language that allows them to draw meaning from Deaf individuals who were not allowed to learn sign language, so they created their own. They can ensure native accuracy for news conferences or advisories when public safety is paramount.

Sorenson has the largest private interpreting workforce in the world, with roughly 6,000 interpreter employees—not freelancers or subcontractors. All of our interpreters pass stringent skills assessment as well as background checks. Sorenson also offers an extensive interpreting training program to upskill our own interpreters as well as those who do not yet meet our exceptionally high standards. Sorenson’s expert interpreters provide Video Relay Service, Video Remote Interpreting, and in-person interpreting. We can fulfill requests for a variety of specialised interpreting needs, including qualified legal interpreting, qualified mental health interpreting, DeafBlind interpreting, and qualified Deaf Interpreters.

Sorenson began offering Video Relay Service—BSL interpreted phone calls between Deaf and hearing individuals—20 years ago in Spring 2003. We quickly expanded our services to Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) thereafter and then added in-person community interpreting in the UK in Spring 2023.

Depending on which of our interpreting solutions you use, the timeframe will vary, and choosing the right solution for your timing and circumstances will provide the best customer service. We recommend requesting two weeks in advance for in-person interpreting—even further out for specialised interpreting. For pre-booked sessions, we may be able to accommodate requests with as little notice as a few hours.

You may opt for in-person or pre-booked video interpreting for conferences and events. If you request this option, Sorenson can accommodate nearly any video conferencing platform.