Much like Secret Agent, Great White Shark wrestler, and Grizzly Bear inseminator, an oral translator is a specialist occupation.
There are not many people around the globe that can do it to an exceptional degree, but here at 121 Captions, we’ve collected some of the very best oral translators in the world to help our clients.
Ok, so what is an oral translator?
Quite simply, an oral translator is someone who can tell what a person is saying just by watching their lips move while they are talking. You probably know it as lipreading, but it’s much more involved than that.
It’s not just watching someone’s lips that makes a good oral translator; facial expressions, speech patterns, and hand gestures all play an important role.
Facial expressions are incredibly important when it comes to lip reading, after all, the majority of our communication is non-verbal. Think about all those poker players wearing sunglasses at the table so as to not give away their hand – that’s how important facial expressions are in our communication.
Who would use an oral translator?
Reading people’s lips isn’t just for deaf people.
Media outlets and tabloids are now widely using oral translators, especially for sporting events.
Reporters and news channels are hiring professionals to see what’s being said by players during games, hoping to find something controversial.
Here at 121 Captions, security companies, lawyers, and law enforcement officers are all regular clients.
Many CCTV systems are video only and don’t have the audio to go along with the picture, so reading people’s lips on video is handy for lawyers and law enforcement officers.
In order to either stop a crime from being committed or to convict/acquit after the fact, lawyers and police officers will use a forensic lip reader to examine the footage and fill in the audio.
We’ve talked before about a famous example of this, where an oral translator helped convict a husband of murdering his wife.
Talk to us if you’re in need of an oral translator
Oral translation is more of an American term, while in the UK we use lip-reader or speechreader. Either way, if you need the services of a professional expert, then we’re the people to call.
Our founder and MD, Tina Lannin, is one of the world’s foremost experts in professional lip reading.
Born deaf, Tina has years of professional experience working for solicitors, courts, private investigators, and the media.
She has been the official oral translator for several public events, including the Royal Weddings of Prince William and Kate Middleton for Sky and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the BBC.
On top of that, Tina is not only an expert lip reader, but she can also lip-read Arabic, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
Tina is listed on the Expert Witness Register and has won a prestigious award at the Expert Witness Awards.
When the professionals need help, they come to us.
