Spanish simultaneous interpreter in Tbilisi

Spanish interpreting becomes more in demand in Georgia every year: the projects of Spanish companies in water supply and energy, the growing flow of Spanish and Latin American tourists, preparation for the Madrid and Barcelona fairs, Latin American delegations, sports cooperation with Spanish clubs, Spanish citizens' visits to the notary and to clinics. In interpreting, Spanish stands out for its pace, regional diversity (Spain and twenty Latin American countries) and emotional intonation, which demands particular flexibility from the interpreter. This page looks at every format and helps the organiser make the right choice.

The pace of Spanish and simultaneous interpreting

A Spanish speaker utters more syllables per minute on average than a speaker of almost any other European language, and the Latin American variants are either faster (the Caribbean region) or slower (the Andean countries) depending on the region. A simultaneous interpreter working from Spanish into Georgian "condenses" the text so that the Georgian version keeps up with the speaker, and when interpreting from Georgian into Spanish takes care to preserve the natural Spanish rhythm. Spanish syntax is flexible compared with Georgian and the meaning often emerges at the very beginning of the sentence, which technically simplifies simultaneous interpreting compared with German, but the pace neutralises this advantage. So two interpreters work on Spanish simultaneous interpreting, alternating every 20-30 minutes, and study the speakers' presentations before the conference.

Consecutive interpreting: negotiation, visit, signing

The consecutive format is used in the Spanish context at business negotiations, factory visits, contract signing ceremonies and when accompanying delegations. Spanish and Latin American business culture values the personal relationship: a negotiation often starts with informal conversation, lunch is part of the deal, and the switch between the "usted" and "tú" forms marks a stage in the relationship, which the interpreter must convey exactly. In Spain business communication is direct and loud, in Latin America more formal and indirect, especially in Mexico and Colombia, where a direct "no" is rarely heard, and an interpreter who explains this difference transparently to both sides preserves the atmosphere of the negotiation. In consecutive interpreting the interpreter takes notes and renders a 3-5 minute segment in full, figures and names included.

Projects of Spanish companies: water, energy, infrastructure

Spanish engineering and utility companies work in Georgia in water supply, renewable energy and infrastructure, and the management of the Tbilisi water supply system belongs to a Spanish company. Such projects are accompanied by regular visits of Spanish engineers, managers and auditors: site inspections, technical meetings with Georgian colleagues, staff training, supervisory board meetings. In these situations the interpreter commands technical terminology ("red de abastecimiento", "depuradora", "caudal", "presión", "mantenimiento preventivo", "parque eólico", "subestación") and corporate vocabulary at the same time, and on multi-week projects the same interpreter follows the team. Before the visit we ask for the project's technical documentation so that the interpreter learns the terminology of the specific site in advance.

Tourism, fairs and Spanish-speaking groups

The flow of Spanish and Latin American tourists to Georgia grows every year, and a guide-interpreter or an interpreter accompanying a Georgian guide is increasingly in demand for Spanish-speaking groups. A Spanish tourist expects lively narration and parallels on a historical tour (Georgian wine culture against Rioja, Georgian churches against Romanesque architecture, the Georgian supra against the Spanish sobremesa), and an interpreter who draws these parallels naturally makes the tour "their own" for the Spanish guest. The Madrid international tourism fair and the Barcelona food fair are regular venues for Georgian stands, and at the stand the interpreter talks to a tour operator, a journalist and a buyer at the same time. In the tourist format interpreting is consecutive or with a portable transmitter system for a large group.

Latin America: delegations, time zones, variants

Latin American delegations come to Georgia on the subjects of wine, tourism, education and sport, while remote meetings require special planning because of the time zone: Mexico City is 9-10 hours behind Tbilisi, Buenos Aires 7 hours, Bogotá 9 hours, which means that Tbilisi's evening hours are Latin America's morning and meetings are usually scheduled at 18:00-22:00. Latin American Spanish differs from that of Spain lexically and phonetically: "vosotros" is not used, "ustedes" in all cases, the Argentine "vos" form and its verb forms, Mexican vocabulary ("platicar", "chamba"), the Caribbean pronunciation in which final consonants "disappear". Our interpreters know these variants, and depending on where the delegation comes from we choose an interpreter with experience of working with the specific region.

Sport: football, academies, transfers

Spanish football is one of the main reference points for Georgian players, coaches and clubs, and Georgian-Spanish sports cooperation is a separate field of interpreting: Spanish coaches working at Georgian clubs, Spanish academies' training programmes in Georgia, transfer negotiations, medical examinations, press conferences and interviews. Sports interpreting requires its own terminology (tactical schemes, positions, training methods, medical terms for injuries), quick reaction at a press conference and a personal relationship with the player, where the interpreter often becomes the bridge for everyday communication too. We have separate interpreters for the sports field, with experience of Spanish football terminology and of working within club structures.

Wine and gastronomy: a Spanish sommelier in a Georgian cellar

Spain is one of the largest wine producers, and Spanish sommeliers, importers and journalists expect professional vocabulary in Georgian wine cellars, at qvevri tastings and on Kakheti tours: "maceración", "crianza", "variedad autóctona", "vino naranja" (the established name for amber wine on the Spanish market), "ánfora". An interpreter who conveys Georgian winemaking with these terms and at the same time knows the context of Spanish wine culture (Rioja, Ribera del Duero, the oxidative ageing of sherry, which forms a parallel with qvevri wine) makes the story of Georgian wine "their own" for a Spanish professional. For Latin American (Argentine, Chilean) wine specialists the terminology is the same, while the context is the tradition of Malbec and Carmenere. Our wine sector interpreters also work at fairs, including when accompanying a Georgian stand in Spain.

"Me duele aquí": medical interpreting with a Spanish-speaking patient

A Spanish-speaking patient's consultation at a Tbilisi clinic involves three linguistic layers, and the interpreter must command all three: the patient's everyday language, in which they describe symptoms ("me duele aquí", "tengo mareos", "se me duerme la mano") and which varies regionally in Latin America (the Mexican "consultorio" and "doctor", the Argentine "obra social" and "médico de cabecera", the Spanish "centro de salud" and "médico de familia"); the doctor's clinical language with Spanish abbreviations (TAC, RMN, UCI, analítica), which a Spanish patient uses themselves; and the Georgian doctor's language, which rests on Latin-English terminology. The interpreter interprets in the first person, adds and omits nothing, and involves the Spanish-speaking patient's typical companion (a spouse, a mother, who in Latin America is almost always at the consultation) in the communication so that the patient's voice is not lost. At an online consultation with a Spanish clinic the interpreter studies the translated history in advance, and for a Latin American clinic the consultation is scheduled in Tbilisi's evening hours because of the time zone. Confidentiality is protected by a signed agreement.

Escritura at a Georgian notary: two surnames, one signature

A Spaniard or Latin American comes to a Georgian notary with the logic of the "escritura": in the Spanish-speaking world the notary reads the deed aloud to the parties, identifies the "comparecientes" by both surnames and DNI/passport number, explains the "advertencias legales" and only then has them sign. A Georgian deed is short and fast, and the interpreter, who is recorded in the deed by name and signs it, helps the Spanish-speaking party in two ways: conveys the content of the deed so that they understand every clause (the notary's legal obligation), and explains to the notary that the Spanish two-surname system must be entered correctly in the Georgian form, otherwise the same person will appear in the Public Registry under a different name. At the agency for a residence application, at the Public Registry (a Spaniard expects a "nota simple" and has to "decode" the Georgian electronic extract) and at a bank (the Georgian equivalent of the Spanish "certificado de titularidad") the interpreter builds a procedural bridge between the Spanish-speaking applicant and the Georgian official. In court, where a Spanish-speaking party or witness takes part, testimony is interpreted consecutively, in the first person and without softening, with knowledge of the variations of Latin American legal terminology.

Interpretación susurrada: one Spaniard among Georgians

In the Spanish direction the "one foreigner among many Georgians" situation arises most often in three places: a Spanish company's representative at the weekly operational meeting of a Georgian water supply or energy project, where Georgian engineers report in Georgian; a Spanish coach or sporting director at a club's management meeting; a Spanish or Latin American investor at an internal discussion of Georgian partners. In all three cases a booth makes no sense and consecutive interpreting doubles the length of the meeting, and the format known in Spanish professional terminology as "interpretación susurrada" works: the interpreter sits next to the Spanish-speaking participant and interprets the Georgian discussion in a low voice, simultaneously, while conveying their remarks to the Georgians aloud. Spanish participants often call this format "el traductor al oído" and know it from their own offices. Because of the strain on the voice, two interpreters alternate at a meeting longer than two hours, and for a Spanish-speaking tourist group or a Spanish team working in a plant we use a portable transmitter system, which delivers the interpretation by earpiece while moving.

Remote interpreting: Madrid, Mexico City, Buenos Aires

Spain is two hours (in summer) or three hours (in winter) behind Tbilisi, which is a convenient window for planning remote meetings; Latin America is 7-10 hours behind, which shifts meetings to Tbilisi's evening hours. On Zoom, Teams and similar platforms we deliver simultaneous interpreting through the built-in channels and consecutive in the shared call. The quality of the remote format depends on the technology: the interpreter works with a wired internet connection, an external microphone and headphones, and a technical test is run before the meeting. Spanish-speaking partners talk lively and often in parallel on a video call too, and the interpreter agrees in advance on the rule that one speaker talks at a time, which determines the quality of remote interpreting.

Cita previa by phone: Spanish bureaucracy on the line

For a Georgian living in Spain many procedures start with a phone call and sometimes stop right there: obtaining a "cita previa" (prior appointment) at Extranjería, which in Spain is an art in itself, a "vida laboral" or "alta" matter with the Seguridad Social, "empadronamiento" registration at the Ayuntamiento, unemployment benefit with SEPE, a tax question with Hacienda. The Spanish operator speaks fast, the automated menu has several levels, and the answer contains terms ("resolución", "requerimiento", "subsanación", "silencio administrativo") whose legal weight is unknown to a Georgian. The interpreter joins by conference call, goes through the menu and the wait on the client's behalf, asks the question in the language of Spanish bureaucracy and renders the answer with its real meaning, and after the call, where needed, prepares the text of an "escrito" (written submission). From the Georgian side, an urgent call from a Spanish supplier or a Spanish-speaking tourist's visit to a clinic is handled by the same service, within minutes during working hours; a call to Latin American offices is scheduled in Tbilisi's evening hours because of the time zone.

Academic and cultural events

The Spanish philology programmes of Tbilisi State University and other higher education institutions, and the cultural programmes of the embassies and consulates of Spain and Latin America invite Spanish and Latin American lecturers, writers and artists, while Spanish-language film screenings, literary evenings and musical events need two-way interpreting. Academic interpreting requires the exact rendering of complex, multi-level sentences, quotations and authors' names, and at a literary evening, where the author reads the text and talks to the audience, the interpreter combines pre-translated passages with live discussion. Latin American literature (García Márquez, Borges, Cortázar) is popular with the Georgian audience, and at such an event the interpreter commands the literary context too.

The interpreter's ethics and impartiality

The professional ethics of interpreting rest on three principles: accuracy, confidentiality and impartiality. The interpreter conveys everything that was said, adds nothing on their own initiative and asks for repetition in case of misunderstanding. At a negotiation the interpreter is neither side's adviser, even if one side hired them. Explaining cultural context ("in Latin American business culture this indirect answer means no") is permissible, but openly, in the presence of both sides. A Spanish negotiation is often emotional, a Latin American one polite and indirect, and the Georgian side sometimes misreads both; an interpreter who conveys the tone exactly but also explains the context helps both sides find a common language.

The map of Spanish interpreters: from Madrid to Buenos Aires

For Spanish interpreting we choose the interpreter by two coordinates: field and region. By field we have infrastructure and engineering specialists who came up through Spanish engineering companies or Spain's technical universities and know water, energy and construction terminology from projects; wine and gastronomy interpreters who worked in the wine sector in Rioja or Catalonia; sports interpreters with experience of working within the structure of Spanish football; law and medicine specialists. By region, interpreters from Spain serve Spanish delegations, while interpreters who have lived in Latin America or are of Latin American origin serve the variants of Mexico, the Southern Cone, the Andes and the Caribbean: "vos", "ustedes", regional vocabulary and intonation that are foreign to an interpreter from Spain. For the conference booth there is a separate simultaneous team. Every interpreter works under a confidentiality agreement, and on a multi-day project and in long-term sports cooperation the same interpreter serves the client, because in the Spanish-speaking world the personal relationship with the interpreter too is part of the deal.

Three questions before booking: format, continent, place

In the Spanish direction an order starts with answers to three questions. First: which format? A simultaneous conference requires two interpreters and a booth; a negotiation or visit a consecutive interpreter; "interpretación susurrada" one or two interpreters depending on the duration. Second: Spain or Latin America? Work with Spain happens within the usual working day window, while remote meetings with Latin America are at 18:00-23:00 Tbilisi time. Third: where? A visit to Kakheti, Batumi or a hydroelectric plant adds travel and, where needed, an overnight stay, and accompanying a Georgian stand at a fair in Madrid or Barcelona is a separate service. The minimum booking is two hours.

Which format for which case

• International conference or business forum: simultaneous from a booth, two interpreters
• Seminar or training with 10-30 participants: simultaneous with a portable system or consecutive
• Business negotiation, contract signing, business lunch: consecutive, sector interpreter
• Factory or site visit, technical meeting, training: consecutive or with a portable system, technical interpreter
• Wine tasting, Kakheti tour, fair stand: consecutive or whispered, wine interpreter
• Sports negotiation, press conference, academy training: consecutive, sports interpreter
• Visit to the notary, court, an office: consecutive, interpreter registered with a notary
• Medical consultation: consecutive, medical interpreter, on site or by video call
• Tourist group: consecutive or with a portable system, guide-interpreter
• Remote meeting with Latin America: simultaneous or consecutive, in the evening hours

Frequently asked questions