Simultaneous Interpreting Tips. What Should You Focus On? by Kaya Johnson

Simultaneous interpretation is a very difficult skill for people who are in the industry have to master. Those who have to interpret conversations need to be very focused, remember everything a person said, and not make mistakes. To develop the right skills for simultaneous interpreting, you need to practice a lot and follow some rules. In this article, I have some tips for simultaneous interpreting that will surely help you develop the right skills faster.

Try To Anticipate What A Person Will Say

If you’re a simultaneous interpreter, you have to always listen and interpret at the same time, so it can be hard to remember what a person said. In addition to using your memory, you should try to anticipate what interlocutors might, making it easier for you to focus on interpreting what they say. It might seem impossible to guess what somebody will say next, but if you practice for long enough, and do your research, it will get a lot easier.

Always Remain Calm

Interpreters have to remain emotionally neutral. It’s in our nature to react to certain words or phrases but your job is to just interpret what is said, not to get involved in the discussion. Sometimes you'll just have to focus on the words being said rather than the meaning of them.

Research the Culture

While knowing the language you’re interpreting from is essential in this industry, if you learn about the country’s culture, you can become a better interpreter. Each language has phrases and words that only make sense to those who are familiar with its culture. If you're familiar with a country’s culture, you’ll be able to understand these phrases and not lose time trying to figure out what the interlocutor wanted to say.

Control Your Voice

To make sure the speaker is not negatively affected by the tone of your voice, you should always maintain a balance in volume. If you speak too quietly, the speaker will not be able to hear you and speaking too loudly make them feel uncomfortable.

Mastering interpreting skills is not an easy task but if you work hard and follow these tips, they can help you get better. These tips can help you improve your skills faster but they won't replace the  hours of practicing and learning you'll have to do. Make sure you master the language you’re translating from and always remember these guidelines:

• Anticipate what might be said
• Stay calm and neutral
• Learn about the countries’ culture
• Control your voice

Kaya is a sales accountant from Yorkshire who enjoys writing. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Choosing The Right Path: Online or Classroom Learning? by Tess Wilkinson

Which is the best way to study: online (also known as distance learning) or classroom? It’s not easy selecting the ideal option as there are many factors to consider; flexibility, travel arrangements, cost etc.

The first factor to consider is Time. Do you have the time to fit a classroom qualification into your schedule? Working full time myself, I know and understand the struggles of having the time to fit everyday life into the short few hours you get to yourself after the working day is done.

Some of you may have families to tend to which makes timing even trickier. Some of you may be full time interpreters, meaning your schedule is busy and unpredictable. Keep in mind that if you choose a classroom qualification, you will need to commit to attending on a regular basis, at a certain time each week and it’s not just the time spent at class that you have to plan for, you also need to consider your travel time and time to complete homework assignments.

If the answer to my first question is ‘No’, then I would strongly advise looking into an online qualification. Our online Interpreter qualifications are very flexible and accessible.

You have the freedom to log in and out of your studies whenever and wherever you like; from your smartphone or your laptop.it everyday life into the short few hours you get to yourself after the working day is done.

Another factor to consider is your learning preference. How do you like to learn? Are you a visual learner? Do you learn better by being surrounded with peers? Or do you like to get stuck in and learn as you go? Every individual learns and processes information in a different way, so we always try to cater for this.

If you find that your motivation to study is low, a classroom learning option might be best here. In a classroom, a teacher or tutor will be present as well as a classroom full of other students, and there is a set schedule for attending these classroom sessions and for completing work. This is a great motivator as you have to attend these sessions, and if you don’t, you will not gain the full qualification. For distance learning, one way around this is to agree deadlines with your assessor and make sure you stick to them.

Do you have the facilities to travel to a physical location? This is an important question to ask, as this alone can be a deciding factor for if a classroom or online qualification is the best option for you.

If the classroom location of the qualification is a fair distance from your home, this is off putting and demotivating for many reasons. It could be costly, it could be time consuming, and you may not drive and have to take public transport (which is unreliable at the best of times!). With a distance learning option, all of the time you put aside for your qualification can be spent studying so if travel is an issue, the online option is best for you.

The next factor I would consider is support. How do you like to be supported whilst studying? Do you like to be supported on a 1-2-1 basis, within a group of students or not at all? Many people assume an online qualification comes with no support from a tutor or assessor and, in a lot of cases, this is true.

If you prefer not to have any support and be left to your own devices, this is also an option. You can go through the content of the course by yourself and then discuss your progress with your assessor at the end of each module.

If you prefer to work in groups or with a class of students and a teacher, then the classroom learning option should be considered here but remember, you will still be required to work on your own to complete the majority of your assignments.

Finally, a key consideration for the majority of people is cost. Have you considered the full cost of the qualification such as price of attending, travel costs, childcare costs etc.? For a classroom qualification, you have to consider every single cost you may incur. You may have to take time off work to attend the class, which may mean that you do not get paid. If you have children, you may need to arrange childcare, which is costly.

You need to consider the price of transport getting to and from the classroom e.g.: petrol costs or bus/train fare and finally, you need to look at the overall enrolment cost. The total cost for a classroom qualification is more than likely higher than that of a distance learning qualification because you do not have to consider add on costs for a distance learning qualification.

At ISL, the cost of our qualifications cover all learning material, assessment fees and the support from your assessor and language specialist. There is no travel or childcare costs as you can study from the comfort of your own home.

Online or distance learning is becoming increasingly popular and will eventually be the leading and preferred learning method. According to research conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, students undertaking online qualifications or training courses actually perform better than those attending a classroom course.

We hope this information will help you to choose your ideal learning method. If you have a question, get in touch with us at ISL and we will be more than happy to help!

This blog is brought to you by Tess Wilkinson from the International School of Linguists.

5 Top Tips for those Wanting to Become Freelance Interpreters by Tess Wilkinson

Registering as an interpreter can be a daunting task, especially if you have little or no experience in the sector. As with most jobs, a requirement is to have “At least 1 year experience in the field” but how are you supposed to gain experience when nobody will take you on, due to lack of experience? It’s a catch 22 situation.

As an Interpreter, I am sure you will have come across this situation when applying for jobs, especially now the industry standard is to have a Level 3 Qualification under your belt. Here are our 5 top tips for Interpreters before joining the workforce.

1. Research

Is this career path really for you? Are you fluent enough in 2 languages to interpret accurately? Do you mind working varied and flexible hours? Are you willing to travel? Can you take on last minute assignments? These are all areas for consideration before choosing Interpreting as your career path. You may be asked to interpret in a hospital one day where a member of someone’s family is being diagnosed with a serious or life threatening illness. This is a very emotional and distressing position to be in and you must remain impartial. A thorough research into the field is needed before jumping straight into it and deciding whether this is for you.

2. Agency or Freelance?

You need to decide whether you wish to work for an agency or work for yourself in your own freelance business.  Freelancers work independently and directly with clients. Agencies employ freelancers to work individually and together on projects for clients. An agency acts like a middle man; they will find the work for you to do rather then you finding it yourself.  Finding work through an agency is easier but can pay less. Another option is to start up your own agency and employ freelancers yourself but this will take more planning and you need to find the clients to keep your freelancers happy. Have a look at our Introductory Business Skills courses here. They are designed to help you to get your freelance business up and running.

3. Entry Requirements

What are the entry requirements to work professionally as an interpreter? Do you need any qualifications? Do you need a certain amount of experience? Do you have to be a specialist in the different sectors such as Health, Police or Education etc.? It is your responsibility to find out what you need to do and prepare before you apply with an agency or set your own business up. Have a look at our Interpreting Qualifications and Courses here.

4. Career Plan

Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? Having a realistic career plan is essential for personal growth and development. Once you have figured out if this industry is for you, whether you want to register with an agency or work freelance and whether you need to be qualified, map out a career plan and track your progress against it. How long does it take to be qualified? Which agencies do you want to register with? How many assignments do you wish to have undertaken in one years’ time? Will you increase your rates the more experienced you become? What do you need to in order to successfully run your own freelance business?

5. CV

A crucial part of applying for jobs is having a current, relevant and professional CV. If you don’t have a CV, write one! Here is a great site on how to write a CV. If your CV is out of date, update it! Be sure to add all of your skills, experience and job history. It is also ideal to have a portfolio or folder of all your qualifications and certificates. When I was searching for a job, I found it very useful to have all of my qualifications, certificates and CPD records to hand, in one place. It saved me from scrambling around my bag pulling out crumpled paper. It also makes you seem more organised.

Job searching can seem intimidating if you don’t prepare yourself for challenges along the way. If you follow our 5 simple top tips, the hunt for a job will seem less daunting and more rewarding.

To summarise:

• Do your research
• Do you want to be self-employed or work for an agency?
• What do you need before you can become a professional interpreter?
• Map out your career goals and objectives
• Have an up to date CV

This blog is brought to you by Tess Wilkinson from the International School of Linguists.

How to be an Interpreter: Advice for Newcomers by Tess Wilkinson

Interpreting as a career is competitive but rewarding and the demand for interpreters to bridge the language barrier between people and professionals is in high demand, all over the world.

If you are completely new to this and want to know what it takes to get into this field, our 5 steps on how to become an interpreter will send you on your way.

1) Self Evaluate

Is this career path really for you? You need to consider all factors within this job role. What does it entail exactly and how are you going to find work? Can you remain impartial throughout the assignments? Doing extensive research into the field is advised before you jump straight into it. Interpreting can be harder than it looks. 

2) Qualifications

You will need an interpreting qualification to become a professional interpreter. The qualifications include the Level 3 Certificate in Community Interpreting and the Level 6 Diploma in Community Interpreting. You may also need a certain level of experience and qualifications to work in certain sectors. Research the different interpreting qualifications on offer and how you can obtain these. Researching different education centres will be handy as well as not every centre will fit your wants and needs – for example, we provide mainly distance learning. Writing a development plan may help as you will create some realistic goals when you will be able to start working as an interpreter. 

3) Volunteering

Have you got a sufficient amount of experience in Interpreting? Volunteering for your local public services or charities such as the refugee council can be helpful for your community and it can also provide you with great experience. This experience can be applied and used when signing up to different agencies and it will increase your earning potential. If you are looking for organisations that are currently taking on volunteer interpreters, depending on your location, Nottingham University Hospital are accepting.

4) Freelance Business

 Do you want to work for yourself or through an agency? What do you need to do to be able to set up your own freelance company or to establish yourself as a sole trader? If you would rather work for yourself, as a freelancer, you need to know how to set this up and what makes a good freelance business. Our Introductory Business courses are packed with advice on how to run a successful freelance interpreting or translation business. Click here.

5) Finding Work

Which areas do you want to specialise in? How far are you prepared to travel to an assignment? What rates are you prepared to work for? You need to decide on the type of work you want to undertake as an interpreter for example: NHS work or Police work. You need to have realistic goals and expectations based on your experience and qualifications and what income you want to get from the job. You also need to consider the area you live in and the languages you speak. There may not be much demand for interpreting services for your language in the area you are currently based. It will be worth considering how far you are willing to travel for an assignment.

So if you want to start your career as an interpreter, what are you waiting for? Use this guide to help you make your first steps into this challenging and rewarding line of work. 

If you have any further questions about what qualification to take why not email the team at info@islinguists.com.

This blog is brought to you by Tess Wilkinson from the International School of Linguists.

Why You Need Specialized Court Interpreters by Lucy Justina

Interpreters mediate conversations between two people speaking in different languages. They have to have a thorough command of both languages and understand what is being said. They also have to quickly communicate the same idea to the other person and carefully choose the right set of words.

Interpreters are quite different from translators as they work in real time and don't get the chance to review their output! 

Interpreters are needed for many different situations. However, you may need a specialized interpreter for specific jobs. Here are some essentials for any court interpreter: 

Language Skills

This is the minimum requirement for any interpreter. A knowledge of both languages and some general vocabulary. In addition to the general vocabulary, court interpreters also require an understanding of the vocabulary used in court. Any deviation from the true legal meaning could pose a huge problem in the court proceedings.

Court interpreters also have to conduct sight interpretation. This is in when legal documents written in one language are read out by the interpreter in another language. 

Confidentiality

A lot of confidential information is disclosed during legal proceedings. This means that court interpreters are required to observe a strict code of confidentiality. Interpreters shouldn't ever disclose any of the confidential information they hear in the court outside of it.

Accuracy

The documents and words spoken in the courtroom are very important. Interpreters should interpret accurately, clearly, and never expand or reduce content as they see fit. Wrongly or partially-interpreted content can hugely affect the outcome of the proceedings.

It is the interpreter’s duty to convey exactly what is being said and not read between the lines. This is  only only if they remain detached from both the parties involved in the case. In order to offer unbiased interpretation, the interpreter should avoid meeting with the parties before or during the proceedings. They shouldn't even consider the ruling of the case.

Qualifications

Since a court interpreter's job can be very different from that of a regular interpreter, it's essential that they complete the appropriate training and are certified. There are court certifications, training accredited by judicial bodies, and many institutes that offer both training and certification for court interpreters. Court interpreters must be both qualified and certified.

A court interpreter needs to know much more than just the two languages they interpret. Finding the right one will make your life so much easier.

Lucy is a freelance blogger. She likes learning by doing new things and sharing her knowledge through blogs.

Why Medical Interpreters Are So Awesome

After spending last week in a Spanish hospital, I was reminded of the importance (and awesomeness) of some of my favourite language professionals, interpreters, and above all, those who specialise in medical interpreting.

First, I should say that I am in awe of all interpreters in general. If you've ever tried any kind of interpreting, it won't take long before you realise that it's exhausting and very mentally demanding. These professionals work incredibly hard and have an enviable set of language skills.

However, rather than talk about all interpreters today (who I respect greatly), I'd like to focus on medical interpreters.

Seeing doctors and being in hospital can often be a distressing, worrying, or generally negative experience because you don't often spend time with medical professionals when you're feeling great.

Of course, your whole experience of being in hospital and seeing doctors will be greatly worsened if you don't speak the language. This is where medical interpreters become heroes. Good news or bad, having it delivered in your language is so much more reassuring.

On top of the reassurance provided by medical interpreters, there's also the incredible level of professionalism required of them. Imagine having to interpret the dialogue between a doctor and a patient when it's not good news. Could you remain and react professionally knowing you have to break potentially life-changing news to a patient? I admit that I'd find it nearly impossible.

In terms of language professionals, medical interpreters are basically superheroes. They have the language skills that many language lovers yearn for, they're the tireless saviours of those in need of a helping hand, and they do all this while putting everybody before themselves.

You're awesome, medical interpreters! I salute you!

Medical Interpreting Advocacy for the Deaf by Nina Lizunova

Healthcare affects us at every stage of life; not only are we consumers of the healthcare system from before birth until the end of our lives, but healthcare has become a large part of our national discourse and consumes more of our financial resources every day.  Interpreting also forms an important part within the healthcare system. It seems like the right time for sign language interpreters to increase focus on healthcare and ensure the effectiveness in this important area of practice.

A growing need

The demand for skilled healthcare interpreters is growing. Research found stated that in 2012, NHS Direct in the UK spent more than £16 million on interpreters to help patients from foreign countries communicate with healthcare specialists.

Research in the US also found that at Hennepin County Medical Center, one in every three encounters involves a spoken or sign language interpreter.  Another indicator of this growth is the recent hiring of multiple staff sign language interpreters at the six largest health systems in Minnesota.  There are reports of similar increases in requests for interpreters and expansion of interpreting groups in other large US metropolitan communities.

(Courtesy SignVideo)

NHS 24, which is the Scottish equivalent of NHS Direct, has started using the online Video Relay Service (VRS), InterpreterNow! It is a simple way of connecting a Deaf person to a hearing person via an online interpreter. The service is accessed using a live webcam link that connects the Deaf person to qualified British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters. The Deaf user communicates their health query to the interpreter and the interpreter telephones NHS 24 and relays the conversation. The interpreter will then relay the result of the conversation with NHS 24 to the Deaf person.

When is a medical interpreter necessary?

If you are a medical institute or relevant professional, you may at some time need an interpreter to communicate with your Deaf, hard of hearing, Deaf Blind, or late-deafened patient, or with their Deaf, hard of hearing, Deaf Blind, or late-deafened spouse, parent, guardian, or family member. This might be for triage in the emergency room, a weekly therapy session, or for 24-hour coverage in intensive care. It is vitally important in these situations to work with a qualified interpreter, one who has training and experience in medical or mental health interpreting. In many cases, your specific need for interpreters does not justify hiring someone full-time. Working with an experienced interpreting agency to obtain services on an as-needed basis can help to make your communication accessibility a reasonable task.

Interpreters accept assignments based on their varied skill sets, depending on the type of interpreting needed: sign language is appropriate with many who are Deaf or hard of hearing, tactile or close vision communication with many whom are Deaf Blind and oral transliteration with many who are late-deafened. In addition, a qualified Deaf Interpreter may be needed in situations involving children, or with someone who has limited formal language, limited cognitive function, or is from another country.

There may be someone in your hospital or office who knows sign language, but unless that person is a certified interpreter, serious errors can occur. Alternately, the patient, or their family member or friend may offer to interpret. Again, errors can occur, and a true and accurate interpretation may not be rendered.

Having an interpreter for full communication access is essential. However, there have been numerous cases of failure (or outright refusal) of medical establishments to provide sign language interpreters.

Specialized practice

As interpreters continue to develop and to take their place as greater and active members of the healthcare team, they will need to consider what their model of practice might look like.  What behaviours must be demonstrated in order to indicate to the nurses, technicians and doctors that we are their colleagues, not friends or the patient’s family members? As professional colleagues, what are their obligations to these medical team members? How are they focusing on supporting the best health outcomes for the patient?

Systematically discussing questions like those above are only part of the bigger picture of developing standards of practice and quality care.  The time has come to build a specialized practice of interpreters in healthcare.  Interpreters need to advocate that healthcare interpreters, Deaf or hearing, should have the education and supervised work experience to support full access to effective communication in healthcare settings for Deaf and Deaf Blind people.  Communication is an important part of the doctor – patient relationship, and when needed sign language interpreters should be considered an important part too.

Please note Deaf with a capital “D” refers to the Deaf community and deaf with a small “d” refers to a person who is deaf.

Nina Lizunova is a Language Project Coordinator at Romo Translations, which provides translation and interpreting services in London, for private clients and large corporations that operate in a multinational, multi-cultural business environment.

For more information, please visit http://www.romo-translations.com/

Languages In The News: December 2013

In many western countries, spirits were probably very high in December as the festive season rapidly approached. Sadly, on 5 December, the world lost Nelson Mandela. Since we're not a politics or history blog we won't say much about this, though we felt it deserved a special mention.

On 7 December, Techcrunch.com had a fascinating article on localisation, (or localization to quote it directly), which looked at the issues surrounding the localisation process for China.

This is more likely to be sign language than anything the
Mandela interpreter signed.

Returning to the sad news of Madiba's death, there was controversy surrounding his memorial when a 'bogus' sign language interpreter marred the proceedings with fake signing. The news was covered pretty much globally, but we preferred the approach of UK newspaper The Independent,
 on 11 December.

The same day, The Independent covered news that a French café was charging rude customers extra, something that we certainly agree with.

The following day, there were developments in the sign language interpreter debacle. We saw in The Guardian that apparently the interpreter suffered from schizophrenia. Elsewhere, it emerged that he also had somewhat of a sordid past. 

Also on 12 December, the Prospero Column of The Economist covered language and thought and whether speaking German changes the way one sees social relationships.

On the 15th, we found the fascinating story of a translator who found love by translating poetry. This was covered in Russia Beyond the Headlines and is one of the most incredible and heart-warming stories we've seen about language in a long time.

The next day, the Telegraph's expat blog told a tale of the long, hard road to learning the Thai language. It may not be for everyone, but if you're a language learner interested in Thai, this may be the story for you.

On 19 December, Wired.com had an interesting article on the linguistic diversity of Wikipedia. By Christmas Eve, any semblance of productivity had left us, and thankfully, The New York Times provided us with a delightful dialect quiz showing us what our language usage indicates about our city of origin, as long as it's in the US. Hopefully there will be more quizzes for other parts of the world and other languages soon.

We can't wait to see what January and 2014 will bring us. Here's hoping it's a good one!

Are Military Translators Capitalising On Conflict?

Recently we read an article stating that the translation industry has grown significantly since the Second World War due to conflict and inflated military budgets, we forget where so if you find it, tell us below in the comments. Like most people, we find war quite abhorrent and as linguists, find linking the success of the translation industry to global conflict quite disturbing.

We like to think of ourselves as logical, rational people so we decided we'd look into how true this statement is. So let's delve deeper into this topic.

What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

We covered the morality and neutrality of interpreters a long time ago and know that translators follow the same code of ethics. The transferral between languages is the task that translators undertake and they cannot be blamed for translating documents that are eventually used for war.

Translators, like most people, earn their living by their trade and their duty is to ensure that their source material is accurately translated into the target language. The content of the source material is fairly arbitrary as, after all, the translator did not write it. They certainly are responsible for the content in the translation, but only as a faithful reproduction of the original in the target language.

Of course, we support translators who follow their moral code by refusing to translate racist, bigoted or downright horrible propaganda, but in the military this is rarely the case as speculation cannot win a battle. Only cold, hard facts can do that and if they want to earn some money translating them, we wish them all the best.

Misinterpretation: Why The World Isn't Ending

As anyone who has ever translated anything will know, misreading and misinterpreting information can lead to the loss of the entire meaning of a sentence. Even if you're not an interpreter or translator you should know that sometimes your words can be misunderstood. "That's not what I meant" is heard far too often.

Language has a wonderful ability to mean several things at once. However, if you have misunderstood the message or misinterpreted its meaning it can have dire consequences. Take the Mayan Calendar for example. Suddenly a lot of people believe it's the end of the world. We find it hard to believe that anyone is actually taking this seriously, but they are.

The Aztec Sun Stone. Often wrongly used to represent the Maya.

The Maya did little more than make a calendar... ironically, a calendar that far surpassed their time on this earth. Check the calendar on your phone or computer. It probably goes past a date that you expect to reach as a living being. Just because your phone only goes up to 2999 doesn't mean that the world ends then. It simply means that its designers didn't believe you'd have much use for a calendar beyond that date.

The Maya happened to do the same. They made a calendar and it ended today, thanks to a conversion from their system of dates to the Gregorian calendar. If we'd made the calendar in stone we'd probably have given up well before today's date.

Of course, this information has been misread. There is little information to suggest the Maya believed the world would end today. The only information given is what date it is and what date the calendar ends. Nothing more, nothing less.

Let's hope that nobody finds this calendar and thinks
the Italians believe the world ends at the end of 2012.

The records left by the Maya have been distorted and open to interpretation and, more importantly, misinterpretation. Even if the Maya believed that at the end of the cycle on their calendar the world would end, it doesn't necessarily in any way, shape or form, mean that they were right. People used to believe the world was flat. Even before Columbus people knew the world was round. All they told Columbus is that the distance to India heading west was significantly greater than what he believed it was, and they were right.

There are actually Mayan records in existence that refer to dates after today. Clearly not all Mayans were obsessed with the 21st December 2012. There's even a reference to 21 October 4772 AD (coincidentally my birthday, not that I'll be around to see it... unless I live to 2785 years old...) which is well after today's date.

Few know what the 13th b'ak'tun (the end of a Mayan long cycle) indicated. The Maya definitely preferred history to prophecy and had little to no mention of being able to predict the future. Even if they said they could, would you believe them?
 

Can An Interpreter Be Honest?

What is the purpose of an interpreter? Quite simply to convert what is being said from one language into another. If the source lies, so must the interpreter. The duty of an interpreter is to make the finished product exactly the same.

There are several fields in which lying is tantamount to success. The exception with interpreters is that they're technically not lying. They are interpreting lies and neutrality is key to an interpreter's work.

Can an interpreter go rogue or become a linguistic vigilante and start interpreting things from bullshit to truth...? They could, although there are two moral scales running parallel to each other here.

Scales, geddit?

The linguistic morality:

Their duty as an interpreter means that they must provide the most accurate interpretation of what is being said. Not what is true. If they do not convey what is being said in the way that it is being said then they are not interpreting.

They are not there to pass judgement or put the world to rights. They are there to make sure Person A knows exactly what has been said by Person B.

The "real" morality:

Is it possible to interpret with true neutrality? It's a prickly situation. Could you stand up in court and repeat the lies of a known murderer into the target language without affecting you at all? Could you sit in a board room knowing you're facilitating a hostile business takeover that will put thousands out of work? It's not easy.

Perhaps not this prickly.

Is there a solution? Probably not. There will always be people who require the services of interpreters and it's the nature of the job. If you are an interpreter, at least you can take solace in the fact that you're not a banker who has thrown the world into ruin!

An interpreter can refuse work. Given the current economic situation could you afford to do that?