Telephone Interpreting Service in English

Working together with our experienced and qualified translators, voiceover artists, interpreters, audiovisual translators, transcribers and subtitlers, we offer a wide range of language services.

Available in over 200 languages within the UK and beyond, our linguists can get you heard in any language of your choice. While we do not offer a walk-in service, we are only one phone call away from discussing your language requirements.

English telephone interpreter versus on-site interpreter

There are many reasons why you might prefer access to a telephone interpreter over an interpreter attending on-site.  It is all down to the situation.

You have a client based abroad and neither of you speak the other’s language. You need to speak to them quickly as a situation has occurred requiring urgent attention.  You don’t have time or the budget to meet in person.  What could be easier than to pick up the phone and have an experienced interpreter join the call and to smooth the way?

You are a social worker and need to talk to relatives of one of your clients based 80 miles away.  Arranging a face-to-face meeting between all the parties could take weeks to put together and many miles of travel.  Instead, our operator can connect all the relevant people by phone in an instant.

You have a medical emergency on your hands and the injured person speaks English but not much English.  You need to ask him some questions about his condition.  There simply isn’t time to arrange for an interpreter to attend on-site.  If you have a telephone interpreting account with us, you can simply dial in to be connected with an appropriate interpreter straightaway.

How does our telephone interpreting service work?

It really couldn’t be simpler.  Opening an account with us takes less than 2 minutes, is free and gives you 24/7 access to experienced interpreters in over 200 languages.

You will only be charged for actual usage of the service.

Setting up a telephone interpreting call is simple:

1. Telephone the interpreting hotline number, state your name, the name of your organization and your password or PIN.
2. Let the operator know that you require English.
3. In the case of conference calls, give the phone numbers of any additional lines you need to be connected to. For example, if you are calling your client at their home or office, you will need to provide this number.
4. You will be placed on hold for approximately 60 seconds while you are being connected to your interpreter. You will also be connected by conference call with any additional lines you have requested.
5. When you have finished your call, simply hang up the phone.

That’s all there is to it!  We think you’ll find the rates competitive too.

How is the cost for telephone interpreting calculated?

• Setting up a telephone interpreting account is free and there are no subscription charges.
• The cost is then calculated by the number of minutes, whether it is a 2-way or 3-way call, international or “local”, “rarity” or otherwise of language, time of day of call.

Get in touch with one of our lovely project managers and they would be very happy to discuss all the available options with you. Do also take a look at the security procedures and infrastructure we already have in place to protect your data.

While you’re here… some quite interesting facts about the English language.

English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca. Named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to England, it ultimately derives its name from the Anglia (Angeln) peninsula in the Baltic Sea. It is closely related to the Frisian languages, but its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Norse (a North Germanic language), as well as by Latin and Romance languages, particularly French. English is the third most widespread native language in the world, after Standard Chinese and Spanish. It is the most widely learned second language and is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states. There are more people who have learned it as a second language than there are native speakers. English is the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, and it is widely spoken in some areas of the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia.

Where is English most widely spoken?

Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sounth Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.