Troublesome Terps

Two Troublesome Terps embark on a trip around the world in (more or less) 60 minutes for our 60th episode! From Australia to Germany, Egypt to Japan, from the USA to Vietnam and many more, we are taking you on a whirlwind tour across different interpreting markets with the help of some friends. A very special clip show style episode you won't want to miss!

The age old question, that has eluded our partners for centuries. Jonathan and Alex G. sit down with Kilian Seeber to find answers. Maybe.

In this episode, the Troublesome Terps welcome Kirsty Heimerl-Moggan and Paul Appleyard to discuss the challenges faced in the UK language market - current, previous and upcoming. From Brexit and linguist supply and demand, to Covid and RSI, to how the PSI sector and professional bodies such as the ITI have responded to the changing environment, this episode is full of information, surprises and a bit of cheek!

Jonathan and the Alexes kick off 2021 by talking about a topic we have covered before: English as a lingua franca. In light of the global political shifts, Brexit and changing global travel (or lack thereof), is English still the undisputed "Global Language"? And what even IS English?

After a most definitely troublesome 2020 for the entire world, we thought we put a different spin on our annual Year In Review show and turn it into a celebration of the most favorite episodes and guests, all as voted by you, the fans! And the award goes to...???

This episode's topic seems to be of a particular relevance right now at a time, when interpreters around the world are diversifying more than ever. Elena Davitti joins the Troublesome Terps and details her research on interlingual respeaking, how there is now the option to shape a whole new language serivice and why and how interpreters and language professionals at large can get started in this new field.

You think you've had a nerve-wracking assignment? Think again and listen in as our guest Antonio Posada talks us through some select experience from his time working in proper conflict zones in and around Colombia. From meetings with guerilla fighters, to going on relief missions in warn torn villages and literally being under fire on the job, you won't believe your ears.

The Troublesome Terps are going live again, 2020-style: on YouTube! Together with a dedicated live audience and a lot of previously collected input from our listeners, we discuss the trials and tribulations of starting out as an interpreter, what's different in 2020 compared to when we kicked things off and what some challenges, but also some opportunities for new #terps are.

Inspired by Jonathan's very own survey on bullying, both Alexes and Jonathan discuss the issue of bullying within in the interpreting space, with the help of our very own short survey on bullying filled out byaudience members, sharing very personal experiences. From sexism, to classism in interpreting, spreading lies and outright hostile behavior we talk about how to spot bullying, what to do about it and what we hope for the interpreting industry as a whole.

In our 51st episode, which harkens back to our very first episode ever, "Dictionaries on Legs", the Troublesome Terps are meeting Lakshman Rathnam, CEO of wordly to talk to him about all things "machine interpreting". From speech-to-text and back again, to robots taking over the interpreting space (or not?), come and join us on this interesting discussion - and witness the man who wrote the book on Machine Interpreting go "toe to toe" with Silicon Valley.