Question 1

Is simultaneous interpreting the same as live translation?

Accepted Answer

In everyday use, yes — but the industry reserves 'translation' for written text and 'interpreting' for speech. If you are asking for live translation of a spoken event, simultaneous interpreting is the service you want.

Question 2

Can one interpreter cover a full day alone?

Accepted Answer

No. Simultaneous interpreting is sustainable for roughly 20 to 30 minutes at a time, which is why teams of two are standard for any session beyond an hour. A solo interpreter across a full day produces measurable errors by the afternoon.

Question 3

Does simultaneous interpreting work for hybrid events?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The usual setup places interpreters either in the venue booth or remotely on an RSI platform, with the interpreted audio fed both to in-room receivers and to the online audience's language channel.

Question 4

Which languages does Leader Translations cover simultaneously?

Accepted Answer

The core pairs are English, Portuguese and Spanish in every direction, with Chinese, French, German, Italian and other pairs arranged per event. Tell us the pair and the date and we will confirm availability.

Question 5

What is the difference between RSI and video remote interpreting?

Accepted Answer

RSI is simultaneous — the interpreter speaks while the speaker speaks, on a separate channel. Video remote interpreting usually means consecutive interpreting over video, where speaker and interpreter take turns, and it suits appointments and one-to-one conversations rather than conferences.

Question 6

Do remote interpreters still need preparation material?

Accepted Answer

More than on-site interpreters, not less. Remote audio is thinner and the interpreter cannot read the room, so agendas, slides, scripts and glossaries carry more of the weight. Send them at least 72 hours out.

Question 7

How many languages can one remote event run?

Accepted Answer

Dedicated RSI platforms handle a dozen or more language channels simultaneously; the practical limit is coordination and budget rather than software. Each added language means another pair of interpreters and, in relay setups, tighter dependency on the pivot booth.

Question 8

Can you supply interpreters across different time zones?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Remote delivery means the interpreting team can be assembled wherever the right language and subject match sits, which is often the deciding advantage for events spanning the Americas, Europe and Asia in one day.

Question 9

Can one interpreter handle both Portuguese varieties?

Accepted Answer

Professional interpreters understand both without difficulty. Production is the question: an interpreter raised in São Paulo will sound Brazilian. If the audience is Portuguese or Angolan, ask specifically for a European Portuguese interpreter.

Question 10

How far ahead should I book a Portuguese interpreter?

Accepted Answer

Four to six weeks for conference work, less for short remote meetings. Peak season in Brazil — March to June and August to November — closes calendars earlier, so book sooner for events in those windows.

Question 11

Do you supply Portuguese interpreters outside Brazil?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Assignments regularly run in the United States, Portugal and elsewhere in Europe, either with interpreters travelling or working remotely, depending on which is proportionate to the event.

Question 12

Is a Mandarin interpreter enough for a Hong Kong meeting?

Accepted Answer

Not reliably. Many Hong Kong professionals work in English and Mandarin, but if participants will speak Cantonese you need a Cantonese interpreter. Confirm the spoken language of the actual participants before booking.

Question 13

Can you cover factory audits in China?

Accepted Answer

Yes — audits and plant visits are usually consecutive or escort interpreting, moving through the facility with the team. It needs an interpreter comfortable with technical and quality-control vocabulary rather than conference register.

Question 14

Do you handle Chinese document translation as well?

Accepted Answer

Yes, including simplified and traditional character sets, with the same terminology carried across spoken and written work when a project involves both.

Question 15

Can you cover a deposition in the United States?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Depositions are normally consecutive interpreting, in person or over video, and the requirement is an interpreter comfortable with legal procedure and with being on the record. Confirm with counsel whether the venue requires a specific certification.

Question 16

Do you provide interpreting equipment for US venues?

Accepted Answer

Equipment is arranged per event with the venue's AV team — booths, consoles and receiver systems on site, or a platform licence and technician for remote and hybrid rooms.

Question 17

Is remote interpreting accepted for US corporate events?

Accepted Answer

Widely, yes. Remote and hybrid delivery is now standard for internal meetings, training and webinars; large public conferences still often prefer on-site booths for reliability.

Question 18

Do you cover industrial plant audits outside the big cities?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Plant audits and technical training are normally consecutive or escort interpreting, with the interpreter travelling to the site. They need technical and quality-control vocabulary rather than conference register.

Question 19

Can you interpret between Portuguese and Chinese in Brazil?

Accepted Answer

Yes — it is a recurring pair for trade, manufacturing and investment meetings. Confirm whether the Chinese side will speak Mandarin or Cantonese before booking.

Question 20

How far ahead should an event in Brazil be booked?

Accepted Answer

Four to six weeks is comfortable outside peak season; during the March–June and August–November congress seasons, book earlier, because interpreter calendars in São Paulo fill well in advance.

Question 21

Is Brazilian Portuguese understood in Portugal?

Accepted Answer

It is understood without difficulty, and vice versa. The issue is not comprehension but fit: terminology, register and spelling conventions mark a text as belonging to one market, which matters for legal and commercial documents.

Question 22

Can a sworn translation be delivered digitally?

Accepted Answer

In Brazil, sworn translations are increasingly issued with a qualified digital signature that authorities accept electronically. Some receiving bodies still ask for a printed and signed copy, so we confirm the format the filing requires.

Question 23

Do you translate from Portuguese into English as well?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is a separate job with a separate reviewer. We translate into the target language with native speakers of that language, so Portuguese to English work is handled by English-native translators.

Question 24

Is neutral Spanish a real thing or a compromise?

Accepted Answer

It is an established professional register used across broadcasting, software and technical documentation. It avoids regionalisms rather than inventing a dialect. For marketing copy, where local voice carries the message, country-specific Spanish is the better choice.

Question 25

Can one Spanish translation serve Spain and Latin America?

Accepted Answer

For technical and internal content, often yes with careful vocabulary choices. For legal, tax or consumer-facing material, no — the terminology and the regulatory references genuinely differ, so the second market needs a localisation pass.

Question 26

Do you handle Spanish for the US market specifically?

Accepted Answer

Yes. US Spanish is its own target, shaped by a largely Mexican and Caribbean-origin readership and by federal plain-language and accessibility requirements in public-facing material.

Question 27

Is Mandarin the same as Simplified Chinese?

Accepted Answer

No. Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken varieties; Simplified and Traditional are writing systems. Mainland China speaks Mandarin and writes Simplified. Taiwan speaks Mandarin and writes Traditional. Hong Kong speaks Cantonese and writes Traditional.

Question 28

Can you convert our existing Simplified files to Traditional?

Accepted Answer

We can, but we recommend a localisation pass rather than a pure script conversion. Conversion handles characters; it does not handle the terminology differences that make the text read as locally written.

Question 29

Do you handle Chinese into English as well?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with English-native translators and, for technical or legal material, a subject-matter reviewer. Chinese to English work often needs more query handling, because source documents can be terser than an English reader expects.

Question 30

Do you sign NDAs before receiving documents?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and we sign your form rather than asking you to accept ours. Every translator, interpreter and reviewer assigned to a matter is bound by the same confidentiality terms, and files are shared only with the people working on them.

Question 31

Can you translate a contract so both versions are binding?

Accepted Answer

We can produce a target-language version accurate enough to be executed, but whether both versions are binding is a drafting decision for your counsel. Where both govern, we recommend a bilingual review with the drafting lawyers before signature.

Question 32

How fast can a certified translation be delivered?

Accepted Answer

For a short civil document, often within a few working days. Sworn translation is constrained by the sworn translator's own capacity, not just ours, so give us the filing deadline up front and we tell you honestly whether it is reachable.

Question 33

Can a Spanish speaker just read the Portuguese?

Accepted Answer

For rough comprehension, often. For a contract, a regulatory filing or anything a counterparty will rely on, no. Half-understanding a clause is worse than not reading it, because nobody flags the gap.

Question 34

Do you translate between the two without going through English?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and you should insist on it. Routing Portuguese to Spanish through an English pivot adds a second round of loss and drift, and it is unnecessary when the pair is covered directly.

Question 35

Which Spanish variety do you use as the default?

Accepted Answer

Neutral Latin American Spanish unless you name a country. For contracts and filings we always localise to the specific jurisdiction, because the terminology follows the national code.

Question 36

Can machine translation be used in a regulated submission?

Accepted Answer

Not for anything a patient reads or a regulator relies on. It can support internal triage of literature or adverse event intake, with human review, but consent forms, labelling and instructions for use are human-translated and reviewed.

Question 37

How do you handle document updates across many languages?

Accepted Answer

Through translation memory, so only changed segments are retranslated while the rest stays identical to the approved version. That keeps the update cost proportional to the change and avoids re-approving text that did not move.

Question 38

Do you provide certificates of translation accuracy?

Accepted Answer

Yes, issued per document and naming the translator and reviewer. Where a submission requires notarisation or a sworn translator, tell us the receiving authority and we route it accordingly.

Question 39

Will translation break our placeholders or markup?

Accepted Answer

Not if they are locked. We protect placeholders, markup and code identifiers in the translation tool so they cannot be altered or deleted, and the exported files are validated against the source structure before delivery.

Question 40

Can we use machine translation for some string types?

Accepted Answer

A reasonable pattern is machine translation with human post-editing for long-tail documentation, and human translation for interface strings, onboarding and anything commercial. Interface strings are short, high-visibility and context-poor — exactly where engines err.

Question 41

How do you handle right-to-left languages?

Accepted Answer

Translation is the smaller half; the interface has to mirror. Layout direction, icon direction, progress indicators and number formatting all change, so we flag components that will not mirror correctly rather than deliver text into a layout that cannot hold it.

Question 42

Is consecutive interpreting cheaper than simultaneous?

Accepted Answer

Often, because it usually needs one interpreter instead of two and no booth or equipment. The saving is partly offset by the doubled session length, so a full negotiating day still costs a full day of interpreting.

Question 43

Can consecutive interpreting be done remotely?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Over video it is the most robust remote mode, because speaker and interpreter take turns and never compete for the same audio channel. It is the standard choice for remote depositions and one-to-one appointments.

Question 44

Is whispered interpreting the same thing?

Accepted Answer

No. Whispered interpreting, or chuchotage, is simultaneous delivery whispered directly to one or two listeners without equipment. It works for a single delegate in a meeting but does not scale beyond about two people.

Question 45

Can one interpreter cover Spanish and Portuguese?

Accepted Answer

Some interpreters work both, but each pair should be staffed on its own merits. In a trilingual event, running separate teams per language is the safer structure and avoids overloading one person.

Question 46

Do you supply Spanish interpreters in the United States?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on site in major US cities and remotely nationwide, for conferences, corporate meetings and training sessions.

Question 47

Can a sworn translation be used in the United States?

Accepted Answer

Usually it is accepted, since it exceeds what US bodies require, but the receiving institution decides. US requirements are normally satisfied by a certified translation with a statement of accuracy.

Question 48

Does a certified translation expire?

Accepted Answer

The translation itself does not, but some institutions require a document issued or translated within a recent window — commonly three to six months. Check the receiving body's rule before reusing an old translation.

Question 49

Do you need the original document to certify a translation?

Accepted Answer

A clear, complete scan is normally sufficient for the translation itself. Some authorities require the translation to be bound to a certified copy of the original, which is a requirement of the receiving body rather than of the translator.

Question 50

Is simultaneous interpreting less accurate than consecutive?

Accepted Answer

Not inherently, but it is less forgiving. Consecutive lets the interpreter hear a complete argument before rendering it, which helps with dense or contested material. Simultaneous trades a little of that for keeping the event on schedule.

Question 51

What is whispered interpreting?

Accepted Answer

Whispered interpreting, or chuchotage, is simultaneous delivery whispered to one or two listeners without equipment. It is useful for a single foreign delegate in an otherwise monolingual meeting and does not scale beyond a couple of people.

Question 52

Do you handle market-sensitive material before release?

Accepted Answer

Yes, under NDA, with access limited to the assigned linguists and files shared through controlled transfer rather than email. Tell us the release time and we treat everything before it as embargoed.

Question 53

Can the same translator cover every quarter?

Accepted Answer

That is what we aim for, and it is worth asking for. Continuity plus a maintained glossary is how successive reports stay consistent. Where the same person is not available, the glossary and memory carry the consistency instead.

Question 54

Do you translate into Brazilian and European Portuguese?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and in finance the distinction is not cosmetic: the scale words, the accounting lexicon and the regulatory vocabulary differ. Tell us the market and we set the variety accordingly.

Question 55

Can you work directly in our documentation source files?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Working in the source format avoids the copy-out-and-paste-back step where formatting and cross-references break, and it means the delivered file is ready to publish rather than ready to rebuild.

Question 56

How do you price a manual that is mostly repeated text?

Accepted Answer

With translation memory analysis, so repeated and previously translated segments are charged at a reduced rate. On a product family with shared modules this is the single largest cost lever available, and it grows as your memory does.

Question 57

Do interpreters need site inductions?

Accepted Answer

Usually yes, and it is better to plan for it. Send the induction requirements, PPE specification and any certification the site demands when you book, so the interpreter arrives cleared rather than waiting at the gate.

Question 58

Can you turn a tender package around inside a bid deadline?

Accepted Answer

Often, by splitting the package across a team against one termbase and one style sheet. Tell us the submission date first — it determines how the work is divided, and a deadline discovered late is what forces the compromises.

Question 59

Do you translate safety data sheets for markets outside the EU?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and the requirement changes by country. Tell us every market of placement and we map the language obligations for each, rather than assuming one English sheet covers the region.

Question 60

Who keeps the terminology consistent across a multi-year project?

Accepted Answer

We do, in a maintained termbase and translation memory tied to the project rather than to a single order. That is what stops year three from renaming the equipment that year one already named.

Question 61

Can one French version serve both France and Canada?

Accepted Answer

For internal or purely technical material, usually yes. For anything a customer, employee or regulator reads, no — the terminology and the legal vocabulary differ enough to be noticed, and in Quebec the French version can carry legal weight.

Question 62

Do you handle French for African markets?

Accepted Answer

Yes. French in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire or Morocco follows France French conventions closely in written form, so we use fr-FR as the base and localise terminology where the local administrative system differs.

Question 63

Is a translated contract binding in Quebec?

Accepted Answer

That is a legal question for your counsel, and it depends on the document type. Our part is to produce a French version accurate enough to be relied on, and to flag where a certified translation rather than a standard one is being asked for.

Question 64

Do you write copy from scratch in the target language?

Accepted Answer

For campaign lines and concepts, yes — that is the far end of transcreation. Give us the brief, the audience and the constraint rather than a source text to follow, and expect options rather than one answer.

Translation & interpreting FAQ

Interpreting modes

Simultaneous Interpreting Services

Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI)

Consecutive Interpreting Services

Interpreters by language

Portuguese Interpreters

Chinese Interpreters

Spanish Interpreters

Interpreters by country

Interpreters in the USA

Portuguese Interpreters in Brazil

Translation & interpreting guides

Certified vs Sworn Translation

Simultaneous vs Consecutive Interpreting

What Drives the Cost of Interpreting

Tell us what needs translating