The borderline of liaison interpreting

This is a recurrent subject in this blog as many other articles are. There is a borderline in liaison interpreting. Many have stories or self-experience of adhoc liaison interpreters teaming with their clients and move away from interpretation to something called business. Interpretation was an activity to pay the bill at least while waiting for the opportunity to get out of it into a position usually perceived in the business world as large as of better status. The interpreter, always in-between, is a carriage wheel. An assistant-manager likes to consider herself as an actor, not a transmission gear. Self-respect in liaison interpreting. A subject for the future. But when the interpreter positions herself, in sense of claim, attitude an pro-active demeanor, as someone ready to deliver more than communication conduction, suggestions, offers may pop up in the off-duty conversation. "You should go into ..." is an explicit enough message that you competences are wasted in doing "only interpretation". Not only this perpetuates with some the potential uneasiness of presenting the self as "only an interpreter", but also entertains a possible secret wish to escape out of it all into "the real life". I witnessed such situation during a negotiation session where that other side there came with their own interpreter, a Japanese woman (no surprise), very much competent and actually graduated in a speciality (not interpretation at all) that was a perfect match to the scientific subject at stake. I don't remember the exact circumstances but during a chatty scene where the interpreters where part of the discussion and not only communication conducts, she was rightly praised by the other side on how she understood the complex subject and that she could be a valuable staff at their company. To which she expressed a longing indeed to consider an offer. It was not total standard niceties required by politeness and local formalities. It was genuine, and she was in substance saying that she would appreciate to get out of it all. The borderline is never far when you are not satisfied enough with status, social recognition and the likes. The call of the wild larger business world, that implicit condescendence down at the profession are major inhibitors seldom talked about. Professionalization also refers to restricted matters of self and societal esteem at large