Hi!

You probably know me by my previous trade name: frogologue.

A lot has been going on, and I'm scrambling to catch up with the 21st century.

Frogologue is stepping back from interpreting — that's now Yakya's job — and moving on to fresher ponds with books, talks, and other projects, but hopefully not croaking yet! (see what frogologue's up to)

Say hello to Yakya

AI is upon us and the world of interpreting has changed for ever.

Yakya has decided to tackle this head on and use the same tools to promote the business — and the interpreters we work with.

So may I ask you a few questions to start?

This takes most interpreters around 10 minutes. Your answers are saved in your browser as you go, so you can pause and come back.

First of all, are you still interpreting?

Yes
No

Got it!

Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I'll delete your details from my database.

If you'd still like me to keep them, just in case, drop me a line at sh@yakya.com and I'll see to it.

All done.

If ever you change your mind, or would like to recommend a colleague, drop me a line at sh@yakya.com — thanks!

Best of luck for whatever you're doing now.

— Simon

Great! And are you happy enough working from your home office and interpreting online?

More and more work has moved online. We want to know where you sit on this.

Yes
Mostly — depends on the job
Not really, I prefer onsite

Before we go any further and keep you in our books — we need your consent

To be considered for interpreting work, Yakya needs to keep a record of the details you're about to give. You can ask for that record to be deleted at any time.

I consent to Yakya storing these details so I can be considered for interpreting work. I may request deletion at any time.

Damn spam!

To ensure reliable delivery every time, Yakya now uses AWeber to send work-related emails — and work-related only — to our interpreter network (job calls, capability queries, availability checks…).

Please tick this box to consent to receiving them. You'll then receive a confirmation email and clicking the link in it completes your sign-up.

This is called ‘double opt-in’ and protects you from spam-folder loss.

I consent to receiving work-related emails from Yakya via AWeber.

What's your name?

Fields marked with an * are necessary.

Forename*

Middle name

Surname*

Preferred name (optional) How would you like us to address you in emails?

Gender (optional)

Some clients request a specific gender for topic-sensitivity reasons (e.g. focus groups on intimate health). This field is optional and used only for matching such requests.

Female
Male
Non-binary or other
Prefer not to say

What's your primary email address?

This is the address Yakya will use to reach you, and the address you'll confirm with AWeber.

Email*

Mobile phone number

Please include your country code (e.g. +33 for France, +44 for the UK). This for 2 reasons:

So I don't call you in the middle of the night (time zones!).
Urgent jobs or issues that wait upon no man.

Mobile*

When an urgent job comes in, what's the quickest way to reach you?

Tick all the ones you use, then mark the one you prefer below.

WhatsApp
Signal
Telegram
SMS

Preferred channel (which one for urgent first contact?)

WhatsApp
Signal
Telegram
SMS

Where are you based?

Home location

Please make sure your post code and town / city are accurate — this matters a great deal for onsite offers.

Country* Start typing the country name to jump to it.

Post code*

Town / city*

Time zone*

Where might we also find you?

Filling in this page is optional. If you split your time between two places — a second home, a flat in another city — tell us where. If not, just skip ahead:

If you do work in another country, knowing exactly where you are there matters just as much — please give an accurate post code and town / city for onsite offers.

Country Start typing the country name to jump to it.

Post code

Town / city

One quick commitment

Let's get to the point:

Time is money — yours, ours and the client's — jobs often come in with short notice.

We prefer to work like this:

Job comes in (it could be just an RFQ, a request for quote), we check the details.
Details go out: dates, times, rate, other info.
You reply yay or nay.
Job confirmed?
- No: we let you know.
- Yes: we send a PO with all details.
- We chase the client up for guide and other docs, and share it all with you.

Simpler and faster for everyone.

Are you OK with this?

It's true that some jobs can be complicated and need a chat. If so, we do. If not, we don't. Most interpreters we work with accept a job based on a clear written PO. If you need a phone discussion before every job, this may not be the best fit for you.

I'm willing to commit to a job on the basis of a written PO. I don't require a long discussion on the phone before accepting.

Your working languages

Add each language you work in, one by one.

Levels:
A1 and A2: your primary working languages (you interpret both ways, easily).
B: a strong secondary language (source and/or target — tick which).
C: a language you have but at a lower level, for unusual combinations or rare requests.

How do you interpret?

Tick all modes you actively work in. Mode capability is paired with your language levels to match you to jobs.

On-site simtrans (simultaneous interpreting)Booth or in-room. Primary mode for market-research work; could be behind the one-way mirror or via video; foundational for most conference and large-group interpreting.
RSI (remote simultaneous interpreting)Zoom / MS Teams / etc.
Consecutive interpretingSpeaker pauses, you render. Standard for meetings, depositions, formal speeches.
Whispered / chuchotageSim-style delivered quietly to one or two listeners. Common in market-research ethnos, store visits or shopalongs where discretion is required; or in small-scale business meetings, lunches, etc.
Liaison interpretingInformal back-and-forth, typically 1-on-1 or small group. Site visits, negotiations, business meetings.
Phone / OPI (over-the-phone interpreting)Telephone-only, no video.
Voice-call / conference-call interpretingWhatsApp, Signal, phone bridge, etc., where managing speaker turn-taking is part of the job.

Other (free text, if you do something not listed)

Yakya does not currently offer sign language interpreting.

Do you do market research interpreting?

This is the last question for now. Whatever you answer, I'll be in touch in a few weeks with a few more specifics — tailored to the kind of work you do.

Yes
No

What sort of market-research interpreting are you happy to do?

Tick all that apply.

Specific MR experience you'd like to flag (optional) E.g. ‘10 years on automotive clinics’, ‘specialised in IDIs with C-suite executives’, ‘reference clients’…

Industries and topic areas

For each industry, tell us if you've Done this kind of work, are Willing to (but haven't yet), or Won't do it. Leave a row blank if you've no view either way.

Industry	Done	Willing	Won't

Specific specialisms / niches (optional) Anything granular that doesn't fit the rows above — e.g. ‘EV battery chemistry’, ‘fragrance composition’, ‘biosafety regulation’.

RSI platforms

Apart from Zoom and Teams (which we'll assume you're set up for if you do RSI at all), which other online interpreting platforms are you familiar with?

Platforms you've worked on (free text)

Your home office setup

Are you set up to deliver professional RSI work from home?

Yes, fully
Yes, with workarounds (tell us below)
Not currently

Anything specific to flag? (optional) E.g. wired internet vs Wi-Fi, headset model, backup connection, sound treatment — whatever's worth us knowing.

Onsite mobile equipment

Do you have, or do you have easy access to:

A bidule system (Sennheiser TourGuide, Retekess, or similar)
A tour-guide mic with headsets
A tour-guide mic with headsets and/or smartphone connectivity for listeners

Other equipment worth flagging (optional)

One last look

Here's what you've told us. If anything needs changing, use the Back button to fix it. Otherwise, hit Submit.

You're in!

Thanks for taking the time — your details are now on Yakya's interpreter list.

Three things will happen next.

First, an AWeber confirmation email should land in your inbox within minutes. Click the link inside to complete the double opt-in we mentioned earlier — without that, AWeber won't actually send you anything, which would defeat the purpose.

Second, in about a month I'll send a short follow-up form. A few more details to sharpen the matching — your topic preferences, other likes and dislikes, a CV if you'd like to share one. Framed as ‘hi it's me again with a few more updates’.

Third, the work itself. When a job lands that fits your profile, you'll hear from me — by AWeber for the bulk capability queries, and by your preferred messaging channel for the urgent stuff.

That's it. Any questions, just email me at sh@yakya.com.

Thank you! I think we've all felt the sea change here. I'm now going all in, prospecting customers old and new for what remaining work there may be, whether online or offline.

Best wishes!
Simon — Yakya

Prototype note: in the production form, this is where the data goes to Airtable and an AWeber subscription request is triggered. In this prototype, the data has been logged to the browser console (F12 → Console tab) for you to inspect.

Hmm, one moment…

Hi!