How simultaneous interpretation works for multiple languages at the same event. Relay system, equipment and how to hire in São Paulo.
Up to 10 languages at the same event. Relay system for rare languages, equipment for each language and specialized interpreters.
For languages with no direct interpreter into Portuguese — such as Mandarin↔Hebrew, Arabic↔Japanese — the relay system uses a pivot language (usually English or French). The interpreter of language A interprets into the pivot, and the pivot interpreter interprets into language B.
Direct interpretation to/from Brazilian Portuguese without a relay system.
Interpretation via relay system with a pivot language (English or French).
Multilingual events are common at international congresses, shareholder meetings of companies with investors in several countries, sector association conferences, global board meetings and multinational training sessions. In all of them, the challenge is the same: each participant needs to understand the content in real time, in the language they think best in, without the event becoming longer or slower because of translation.
Simultaneous interpretation is the format that solves this, because it lets all languages happen at once, each on its own channel. The comparison with consecutive, which would multiply the meeting time with each language, is at simultaneous vs consecutive. The more languages, the more simultaneous is justified, and the more important the planning of the operation.
lingo works with two groups of languages. In the first, interpretation is direct to and from Brazilian Portuguese, without relay: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Russian. In the second, the rare languages, interpretation happens via relay, at an additional cost: Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
In relay, a pivot language, usually English or French, serves as a bridge. The interpreter of language A interprets into the pivot, and the pivot interpreter interprets into language B. This is how an event with Mandarin speakers can serve Hebrew-speaking participants, even without a direct interpreter between the two languages.
Relay has two practical consequences. The first is a small additional delay in the final translation, because it depends on the intermediate interpretation. For that reason, speakers should speak at a moderate pace and avoid very long sentences. The second is the importance of the pivot interpreter: their quality determines the quality of every language that depends on them. lingo assigns the most experienced professionals on the team to that position.
Each language has a dedicated page with vocabulary and particulars. A few examples: Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew and Russian. The overview is at languages we serve.
The table above shows the sizing rule. Each target language requires a pair of interpreters, a transmission channel and booth space. With 2 languages, that is 2 pairs, or 4 interpreters. With 3 languages, 3 pairs and 6 interpreters. Between 4 and 6 languages, the space calls for multiple booths or an interpreters' room, and above 7 languages, up to 10, the recommendation is a dedicated interpretation room, with 14 to 20 interpreters.
The digital RF transmitter supports up to 32 simultaneous channels, which comfortably covers the 10 languages that are this page's limit, and each channel is independent, with no interference between them. The participant picks the channel on the receiver and hears their preferred language. AES-128 encryption protects the audio at sensitive events. The technical detail is at equipment rental in São Paulo.
In all cases, each participant who needs to listen should have a receiver, and the kit includes at least 10% extra devices and a spare transmitter. The choice between ISO and portable booths follows the guide ISO booth vs portable equipment: with several languages, booths sit side by side, and the ISO is the safest recommendation because of the insulation between them.
The more languages, the more coordination matters. In multilingual operations, lingo appoints an interpreter coordinator, who talks to the event production team, receives program changes and relays them to all booths. The technician, in turn, handles transmission and audience support. The interpreters of each language work in pairs, rotating every 20 to 30 minutes, following the ISO 2603 rotation.
Another critical point is terminological consistency between teams. If the same concept is translated differently in English and in Spanish, participants may understand different things. For that reason, lingo prepares a common glossary, with the event's main terms, proper names and acronyms, and distributes it to all booths before the start. At events in technical sectors, the glossary starts from the map of 24 sectors and 222 subsectors. See sectors we serve.
Speakers are part of the operation too. Asking them to send slides in advance, speak at a moderate pace, avoid jokes that depend on the language and let the interpreter finish before moving to the next topic improves the result in all languages at once.
The same principle applies to any format. In person, booths and receivers deliver the channels to the audience. In hybrid, the audio of each language also feeds the online broadcast, with one channel per language. See simultaneous interpretation at hybrid events. In remote, interpretation happens on a platform, with the participant selecting their language, as in simultaneous interpretation platforms.
The quote for a multilingual event grows with the number of languages, but not linearly: the transmitter, technician and coordination are shared among the channels. Rare languages carry a surcharge because of relay. To get the amount, fill in the automatic quote form: the PDF arrives by email and WhatsApp in 60 seconds, and the quote amount is the final amount on the invoice.
The minimum lead time is 48 hours, but events with several languages should be booked at least 1 week in advance, to secure the team and allow time to prepare the glossary. The more rare languages, the earlier booking is recommended. The price factors are in how much simultaneous interpretation costs in São Paulo.
In each of these scenarios, lingo adjusts the number of pairs, the booth layout and the relay flow to the event's reality. The starting point is always the same list of information: each speaker's languages, the languages the audience wants, duration, number of participants and venue.
The most frequent mistake is underestimating the number of languages needed. Often the organizer starts with Portuguese and English and discovers, close to the event, that a group of participants needs another language. The earlier the list is closed, the easier it is to build the team, especially for rare languages. The second mistake is treating relay as a detail: it changes the workflow, the interpreters' schedule and the speakers' pace.
The third mistake is skimping on booth space. With several languages, each team needs a view of the stage, insulation between booths and access to the technician. Improvised booths harm all languages at the same time. lingo carries out a technical site survey at medium and large events and, at events above 500 people, follows the protocol described in equipment rental for large events.
For the quote to come out right, the organizer should provide each speaker's language, the languages the audience wants to hear, the number of participants per language, the duration, the date, the venue and the format, in person, hybrid or remote. If a program already exists, it is worth sending, because it shows when each language will be spoken and makes it possible to size the interpreters' schedule.
It also helps to say the type of event and the sector, because lingo selects interpreters by vocabulary. A healthcare congress, a financial assembly and a technology training session require different profiles, even with the same languages. With that information, the team replies with the recommended configuration of booths, channels and technicians, and the automatic quote comes out in 60 seconds. Our guidance is free of charge.
Not recommended. Simultaneous interpretation requires total concentration — an interpreter fluent in two languages still needs two separate professionals to ensure quality in both directions.
Up to 6 simultaneous languages at corporate events. For multilateral events with 9 to 11 languages, we structure the project on request.
lingo structures relay, teams and equipment for you.