Why an interpreter is not a hostess?

Sometimes we receive an e-mail with a request like the following one:

“[…] I need a hostess for the XXX trade show. She should welcome customers, give them useful information, take care of the booth (keep it clean and tidy, replace catalogues, etc.), offer and prepare coffee, water, food and beverage in general, and help me with German, Italian and Spanish speaking visitors. I only speak English and she has to be my ears and tongue during the event. In order to make this easier, I’ll send her catalogues and further information about the company and the products, that we are going to introduce to the market. […]”

Warning bells start ringing…

There is something wrong in this message and a great confusion around the world.

A hostess is not an interpreter: she doesn’t need to be able to translate from one or more languages to the other and many times she’s not able to do that. Many hostesses are students, who choose this job to get some money, taking advantage of the fact that they live in an “exhibition town”.

An interpreter is not a hostess, but of course she’s also able to help you with non-linguistic tasks.

I know some interpreters, who complain or refuse e.g. to keep the booth clean, replace catalogues and prepare coffees.

An interpreter has a university degree and knows that translating is more than understanding: it’s not only a matter of languages, but also of culture, traditions and so on. An interpreter is able to mediate between source and target language+culture. The skill to go this step further is the chance to avoid misunderstandings.

We are personally used to be interpreter and hostess at the same time. During an exhibition we feel part of the company we are working for and we do our best in order to take care of all the details which can make the difference. Our job starts with the customer’s confirmation: we search accommodation and flights*, and we study the different products, in order to be prepared and -if required- the most independent possible. During the exhibition we do exactly what the customer of the e-mail needs.”

In case you need help with foreign languages, if you think/know that a lot of customers and/or potential customers are going to visit your booth, maybe you should consider the option to ask for a hostess and an interpreter: they will do their own job, helping each other as far as they can.

So be careful. If you ask for a hostess, then you can’t complain if she’s not an interpreter. You pay for what you ask for and what you ask for is what you get.

*The trade shows are all over the world. You can find us in Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg, Munich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza, London, Milan, Bologna, Verona, Paris… We cross borders.