Three-way conversations

UNITED STATES: Interpreters' services are routinely used in the US to sell products over the phone to non-native speakers of English. Increasingly, however, the interpreters have to deliver bad news, such as when the bank plans to foreclose on a house.

Approximately one in five US residents speaks a language other than English at home. So many businesses use interpreters for sales calls. When the seller explains a product or service, the interpreter translates this into the customer’s language. Then the interpreter translates questions and comments from the customer back to the seller.

"People are getting into more trouble," says Louis Provenzano, owner of a translation service.

This type of three-way conversation is often used by credit-card firms and energy companies, as well as by financial institutions. Unfortunately, many of the conversations are about missed payments and unpaid loans.

Louis Provenzano, president of Language Line Services in Monterrey, California, says that his business is up 15 per cent from last year. “We’re getting more payment-collection and foreclosure calls,” Provenzano told The Wall Street Journal. “People are getting into more trouble.”

The company also has trained "stress debriefers". These are interpreters who help others to deal with their emotions after particularly difficult calls, for example when customers cry, become aggressive or even threaten suicide.