Work on your B (language)!

It seems like only yesterday when we were counting down to zero celebrating the end of 2017 and welcoming 2018 in our life. But time does fly when one is having fun, and suddenly six months have gone by: June is here and if when are not careful the next time we blink we’ll find ourselves in 2019. Have January, February, March, April and May even happened? I guess we will never know.

Together with the first half of the year, we have ticked off another important part of the calendar, at least for interpreters: if you have survived the interpreting high season, give yourself a pat on the back and pour a glass of your favourite alcoholic bevvy, you know you deserve it. Before the next peak kicks in, we can enjoy a few months of relative calm, also known to the non-interpreting people as “summer”. What to do whilst people show off their bikini body they have worked so hard in the gym all these past months, while we were shackled to our desks compiling glossaries at night and slaving away in the booths during the day? Here’s an idea: work on your B! No, I don’t mean your B side: there are no squat jumps, bear crawls (I mean, have you ever even seen a bear crawling anyways?), and dumbbells involved in this training. I am of course referring to our retour language, and how we can use the summer months to focus on it.

Let's leave squats to those who can.

I will not be the first to tell you that having a strong B language goes a bit further than just being fluent and proficient in said language, although of course this represents a necessary basis. When we talk about a “B” language we are referring to a series of automatic mechanisms that we activate when we are interpreting, which vary differently depending on which ones our B and A languages are: I think the differences in going from English into French and viceversa are pretty straightforward.

Here are some suggestions, both theoretical and practical, for those who want to dedicate some time to improving their B, whichever might that be.

Practice with feedback of a native
I know, duh. However, this is easier said than done: taking time in your schedule to practice in the first place, find a colleague available, match both schedules, find a suitable way to practice if you can’t meet up in person – the complications seems to never end. Unfortunately, this is in my opinion the best way to receive precious feedback on basically all aspects: idiomatic expressions, intonation, grammar, and the likes.
Suggestions on how to go about it: find a practice buddy online via specialised platforms, FB groups (like the ones from your course), ask your old tutors if they can put you in touch with someone who’s interested in practicing in the relevant language combination, or attend interpreting practice groups or summer schools (see here a list of what’s going on this summer).
Practice with feedback of a colleague who has your same language combination and your B
This might be counterintuitive, but I have found that many colleagues who had my same B have given me the best pieces of advice. This is because they spotted a problem they were having too and they had solved, or simply because they knew more than me and had a set of strong solutions ready to use.
Read and listen to reputable publications and sources in your B language
In doing so you will be able to identify and note down idiomatic expressions, grammar structures, but also shadow the intonation and accent of the B language. Remember, the most important bit is to activate all this, so actually use it once you practice interpreting in order to create an automatic solution.
Suggestions on how to go about it: podcasts, informative channels, weekly magazines similar to the International or The Economist.
Spend your holidays in the country of your B, pair it with a language course if you feel like you should refresh it
This will come in handy when you want to activate all that you have learned listening to podcasts and reading the economist. We have already said that your interpreting B is not your spoken B, but it is always good to improve fluency in order to increase confidence in using the foreign language.