Interpreter-mediated events have become more frequent and more complex in the past few decades. This article attempts to account for the variables that shape such events, treating them both as communicative acts, and as instances of intercultural communication which can only be adequately described with reference to culture-specific norms of behaviour. The proposed typology of interpreter-mediated events adopts a prototype rather than a taxonomic approach to the data and attempts to categorize such events in terms of two broad parameters: mode of delivery, including the use or non-use of ancillary equipment, and elements of the communicative situation, namely primary and secondary participants, topic, type of text, spatial and temporal specificities and the nature of the goals pursued by participants. These parameters are particularly important in determining the degree of culture specificity of an event, which has a direct bearing on the role and status of interpreters in different types of encounters.