The increasingly rapid technological evolution poses new challenges to the practice of interpretation,
but also new resources. Among these we find tablets, which are now used by
several professionals for simultaneous and consecutive interpreting assignments. Since
studies on the use of these devices in interpreting practice are still scarce, this short contribution
will scrutinise on the possible impact of the use of a tablet on the quality of consecutive
interpreting. It will also try to answer questions that interpreters will increasingly
ask themselves in the future, such as: can tablets improve the quality of interpretation? Is
it necessary to train and practice in order to interpret with a tablet? This paper shows the
results of the study of a master’s thesis in Specialized Translation and Conference Interpreting
at the University of Trieste.
