Center offers interpreting in 21 languages for Games

University volunteers are offering real-time interpretation services in 21 languages via a call center during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the first time such services have been provided on such a large scale during the events.

The services, which are provided on a mobile app, My2022, are targeting athletes and other members of delegations during the Games. Through the app, users can make free phone calls and obtain language support from interpreters.

The services are being provided by a team of interpreters at a multilingual call center based at Beijing Foreign Studies University. A total of 96 students and teachers comprise the team at the center, which was established during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.

Interpretations for 21 foreign languages are being offered. Seven languages－English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, German and Spanish－can be interpreted 24 hours a day.

For the other 14, the call center provides services from 6 am to midnight.

Both the service hours and the number of languages covered are historical highs for interpretation services offered during Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to the organizing committees of the two Games.

Since operations began on Jan 23, the center has provided interpretation services more than 500 times, according to Song Ge, deputy secretary of the university's Communist Youth League Committee.

"Inquiries covered a wide range of issues, from media interviews, COVID-19 prevention and control methods, and transportation and hotel services," she said, adding that the university has offered courses on 101 foreign languages and has plenty of interpretation experience.

Before the Games, Song said the center conducted special training for the volunteers on Winter Olympic sports terms and created a list of terms used in the events to serve as a reference. The list will continue to be updated as needed, she said.

Li Jingjing, the university's Norwegian language teacher, is a volunteer at the center. On Feb 4, the day of the Olympic Games opening ceremony, Li received an inquiry about the pronunciation of a Norwegian athlete's name.

"I was called by a journalist who wanted to interview the athlete," she said. "I learned the next day that the first gold medal of the 2022 Winter Olympics was secured in the women's 15-kilometer skiathlon by Norwegian athlete Therese Johaug, the person the journalist had inquired about the day before."

Xiao Jingdou, a third-year student from the university who is also volunteering at the center, said she is proud to use her knowledge to help others during the two Games.

"Although not participating on site during the two Games, to serve the athletes and staff members involved through phone calls has made my winter vacation unique and very meaningful," she said.

Apart from real-time interpretation, high-tech translation supported by artificial intelligence is also available during the events.

For example, iFlytek, an artificial intelligence company based in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, has provided a variety of high-tech translation gadgets to athletes and staff members aimed at facilitating international communication.

As the exclusive supplier of automated translation software for the two Games, the company has developed many devices that feature technologies including automatic translation, multilingual speech conversion and speech recognition.

To ensure accurate translations, iFlytek's products are packed with vocabulary and terminology related to the two Games. Its dual-screen translator can support online voice translations in 60 languages.