Interpreting categories in the former GDR
In the German Democratic Republic, there was a classification of interpreting services by type of assignment as follows:
Category 1 (accompanying interpreting)
For individuals and groups on sightseeing tours, guided tours and excursions, for tourists and holidaymakers, for visitors to cultural and sporting events, for greetings and farewells, as well as for conversational interpreting in casual or informal conversation, whereby the quality requirement is that the source text to be interpreted is adequately rendered in terms of content, with permissible free choice of words or in annotated form.
Category 2 (Information Interpreting)
Reproduction of the essential information content of political talks, technical, scientific or commercial discussions; accompanying interpretation at ministerial, peer or higher level; interpretation at solidarity meetings, friendship meetings, state receptions within the audience.
Category 3 (Lecture and Liaison Interpreting)
Flawless reproduction of the information content without distortions when interpreting at teaching events, solidarity meetings, friendship meetings, state receptions in front of the entire audience; when interpreting lectures, speeches; information interpreting at ministerial level, equivalent or higher; interpreting at courts, state notary offices or investigative bodies, interpreting at political, technical, scientific and commercial negotiations for the purpose of drafting documents; interpreting on tape for interviews or for film recordings for editorial post-production. (In lecture interpreting, interpreters usually work in pairs).
Category 4 (Congress interpreting)
Flawless simultaneous reproduction of information content without interference, distortion, delays and interruptions at congresses, conferences, symposia and colloquia.
(Interpreters should work in threes or, in the case of short-term meetings of the above type, in twos, relieving each other. Congress interpreters usually work in a booth or by means of a language group system).
Category 5 (special interpreting)
This requires proven practice as a convention interpreter. Interpreting in front of audiences at major events or on television or radio during live broadcasts; interpreting at in-house screenings for film professionals for the purpose of selecting, reviewing, and purchasing films; and at theatrical screenings and film screenings with audiences.
