EN ISO 20109:2016

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2017
6LPXOWDQRWROPDþHQMH2SUHPD=DKWHYH,62
Simultaneous interpreting - Equipment - Requirements (ISO 20109:2016)
Simultanübertragung - Ausstattung - Anforderungen (ISO 20109:2016)
Interprétation simultanée - Équipement - Exigences (ISO 20109:2016)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 20109:2016
ICS:
91.040.10 Javne stavbe Public buildings
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN ISO 20109
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
December 2016
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 91.040.10
English Version
Simultaneous interpreting - Equipment - Requirements
(ISO 20109:2016)
Interprétation simultanée - Équipement - Exigences Simultandolmetschen - Ausstattung - Anforderungen
(ISO 20109:2016) (ISO 20109:2016)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 12 November 2016.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2016 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 20109:2016 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 20109:2016) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 37
"Terminology and other language and content resources".
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2017, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by June 2017.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 20109:2016 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 20109:2016 without any modification.

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 20109
First edition
2016-12-01
Simultaneous interpreting —
Equipment — Requirements
Interprétation simultanée — Équipement — Exigences
Reference number
ISO 20109:2016(E)
©
ISO 2016
ISO 20109:2016(E)
© ISO 2016, Published in Switzerland
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Ch. de Blandonnet 8 • CP 401
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 749 01 11
Fax +41 22 749 09 47
copyright@iso.org
www.iso.org
ii © ISO 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO 20109:2016(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Overall interpreting system . 2
4.1 General . 2
4.2 Frequency response . 2
4.3 Amplitude nonlinearity . 3
4.4 Noise and hum . 3
4.5 Hearing protection . 3
4.6 Level consistency across channels . 3
5 Interpreter console . 3
5.1 General . 3
5.2 Headphones/headset connector . 3
5.3 Console dimensions . 4
5.4 Indicator lights . 5
5.5 Buttons . 5
5.6 Visual display . 5
5.7 Listening section . 5
5.7.1 Incoming channel pre-selection . 5
5.7.2 Incoming channel selection . 6
5.7.3 Volume control . 6
5.7.4 Tone controls . . 6
5.8 Monitoring section . 6
5.8.1 Monitor loudspeaker . 6
5.8.2 Channel pre-selection . 6
5.8.3 Volume control . 6
5.9 Microphone section . 6
5.9.1 Microphone ON/OFF button . 6
5.9.2 Push-to-mute button . 7
5.10 Outgoing channel section . 7
5.10.1 Outgoing channel pre-selection . 7
5.10.2 Outgoing channel selection . 7
5.10.3 Audience indicator . 7
5.11 Communications section . 7
5.11.1 Slow-down button . 7
5.11.2 Incoming message indicator . 8
5.11.3 Incoming call indicator . 8
5.11.4 System clock. 8
6 Microphones . 8
6.1 Interpreter console microphone . 8
6.2 Interpreter microphone behaviour . 8
6.3 Conference microphone . 9
6.4 Ambient microphone . 9
7 Interpreters’ headphones/headset . 9
7.1 Headphones . 9
7.2 Headset . 9
8 Portable interpreting system .10
8.1 General .10
8.2 Microphones/Transmitters.10
ISO 20109:2016(E)
8.3 Receivers/Transceivers .10
8.4 Transport system .10
Annex A (normative) Accessibility and usability of interpreter consoles .11
Annex B (normative) Furniture and equipment .13
Annex C (normative) System operation .15
Bibliography .16
iv © ISO 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO 20109:2016(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment,
as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 37, Terminology and other language and content
resources, Subcommittee SC 5, Translation, interpreting and related technology.
ISO 20109:2016(E)
Introduction
This document specifies the components of typical interpreting equipment, which together with either
permanent (ISO 2603) or mobile (ISO 4043) booths, form the interpreter’s working environment.
Interpreting equipment, included until the 1998 version in ISO 2603, and referred to in ISO 4043, has
now found its place in this document, together with other elements indispensable for the interpreter’s
working environment, like video displays and chairs.
vi © ISO 2016 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 20109:2016(E)
Simultaneous interpreting — Equipment — Requirements
1 Scope
This document specifies requirements for equipment used for simultaneous interpreting.
Accessibility requirements are defined in Annex A.
Requirements for booths furniture are defined in Annex B.
Requirements on the system operation are defined in Annex C.
In conjunction with either ISO 2603 or ISO 4043, ISO 20108 and this document provide the relevant
requirements both for the quality and transmission of sound and image provided to interpreters and
for the equipment needed in the booths.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 639-3, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive
coverage of languages
ISO 9241-303, Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Part 303: Requirements for electronic visual
displays
ISO 9241-410, Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Part 410: Design criteria for physical input devices
ISO 24503, Ergonomics — Accessible design —Tactile dots and bars on consumer products
IEC 60268-4, Sound system equipment — Part 4: Microphones
IEC 60268-7, Sound system equipment — Part 7: Headphones and earphones
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
simultaneous interpreting
mode of interpreting performed while a speaker is still speaking or signing
Note 1 to entry: The activity requires specialized equipment.
3.2
interpreter console
individual workstation containing controls for listening and speaking that enables simultaneous
interpreting (3.1)
ISO 20109:2016(E)
3.3
microphone
device that converts sound into an electrical signal
3.4
headphones
device that converts an electrical signal into sound, designed to be held in place close to the user’s ears
3.5
headset
headphones (3.4) combined with a microphone (3.3)
3.6
portable interpreting system
simultaneous interpreting (3.1) system that is lightweight, battery operated and enables the interpreter
and the participants to move around
3.7
relay interpreting
interpreting that occurs when an interpreter’s input comes from another interpreter’s rendition and
not directly from the speaker
3.8
relay status
indicator of the source of an interpreter console’s (3.2) incoming channel
Note 1 to entry: The source can be the floor, direct interpreting, relay interpreting, or double relay interpreting.
3.9
video display
electronic device that represents information in a visual form
3.10
distance interpreting
remote interpreting
simultaneous interpreting (3.1) of a speaker in a different location from that of the interpreter, enabled
by information and communications technology
4 Overall interpreting system
4.1 General
The entire system’s audio processing shall be digital. Overall latency between the analogue input
(microphone) to the analogue output (headphone) shall not exceed 10 ms.
All sound pressure levels (SPL) referred to in this document are based both on a nominal input level
between 85 dB and 115 dB at 30 cm speaking distance, and on the use of passive headphones
SPL SPL
with an impedance of 32 ohms and a throughput between 95 dB and 115 dB per milliwatt.
SPL SPL
4.2 Frequency response
The overall interpreting system excluding the microphones and headphones shall correctly reproduce
audio-frequencies between at least 125 Hz and 15 000 Hz ± 3 dB, high-pass with attenuation of at least
12 dB per octave for frequencies below 125 Hz in order to improve speech intelligibility.
The microphone and the headphones shall correctly reproduce audio-frequencies between 125 Hz and
15 000 Hz ± 10 dB.
2 © ISO 2016 – All rights reserved

ISO 20109:2016(E)
4.3 Amplitude nonlinearity
The system shall be free of perceptible distortion; total harmonic distortion (THD) should be less
than 1 %.
4.4 Noise and hum
The system shall be free of perceptible noise and hum, with an end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio of at
least 95 dBA at maximum input level.
4.5 Hearing protection
An audible hearing-damage warning shall be activated when the average sound pressure level is higher
than 80 dBA for more than 1 min.
SPL
The system shall limit loud sounds, with a maximum output level of 94 dBA for any duration longer
SPL
than 100 ms.
4.6 Level consistency across channels
The volume of each channel should be automatically adjusted to minimize the volume difference
between channels, as well as between channels and the floor assuming that the input level varies
between nominal and ±12 dB.
5 Interpreter console
5.1 General
There shall be one console for each interpreter, containing individual controls for listening and
speaking, including the relevant indicators.
The console may be either freestanding on or integrated into the working surface. The surface of the
console shall be matte and non-reflecting.
It shall be possible to quickly and easily service or replace a malfunctioning console or its microphone
without impairing the functioning of the rest of the system.
The console shall be fully and equitably usable by non-sighted persons, as well as persons with low
vision, anomalous colour vision, or age-related degeneration of vision. It shall be easy to operate and
not require manual dexterity from users.
For further requirements regarding the accessibility and usability of the interpreter console, see
Annex A.
5.2 Headphones/headset connector
Each interpreter console shall have one non-locking, 3,5 mm headphones/headset connector socket on
each side. It may have an additional, non-locking, 6,35 mm headphones connector socket.
Each 3,5 mm connector shall follow the Tip, Ring 1, Ring 2, Sleeve (TRRS) CTIA/AHJ Standard, wher
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