In praise of interpreters Thread poster: Caryl Swift
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Caryl Swift 
Poland
Local time: 19:08
Polish to English
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I just came across this article and readers' comments and thought I'd post here (hope it hasn't already been posted by someone else. If it has, my apologies).
http://tinyurl.com/d556bp
Happy reading!
Caryl
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:08
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Caryl Swift wrote: I just came across this article and readers' comments and thought I'd post here (hope it hasn't already been posted by someone else. If it has, my apologies). http://tinyurl.com/d556bp Happy reading! Caryl
He he, a nice tribute.
I can actually relate to this article, as I interpreted in precisely the same fields, namely politics, military and diplomacy.
Exactly: conferences, meetings, long dinners ( sometimes just chit-chatting about everything and anything ). And you must be focused 100 % in each moment picking everyone's thoughts, implications, tone and vibes in order to provide an accurate translation. And often they shift subjects pretty quickly so the interpreter has to be a mobile google search engine. One time I ended up with my boss ( officer) discussing theology with a local priest for 4 hours, and they went through many complex topics, the speech tempo was very fast, and I had to interpret the entire intense conversation, with my mouth drying out lol. But that's just one example, since I encountered many similar situations in my practice.
[Edited at 2009-04-07 01:29 GMT]
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| Thanks, Caryl! | Apr 7, 2009 |
There was something in that article that caught my eye:
"...only last week attempts to relieve the chill between Russia and the US almost foundered after Hillary Clinton's interpreter mistranslated her intention to "reset" relations into "overload""
Anybody knows what this is all about? I'm very curious...
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| Thank you Caryl | Apr 7, 2009 |
For me it is new and I liked it.
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K. Ganly (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:08
French to English
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Thank you! A nice little article.
In some fields, especially those that dont pay as well , like the NGO sector, good interpreters can be really hard to come by.
It makes such a difference working with properly trained and attentive interpreters- it turns something that can sometimes quite stumbling and awkward into a pleasant and fluid experience!
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Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 19:08
Polish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Re. Hillary Clinton | Apr 7, 2009 |
Hi Alexandra,
It wasn't, I don't think, in fact an interpreter's mistake, but a translation error.
http://tinyurl.com/crz54w
I think, in fact, there was a thread on it here at the time.
Perhaps an interpreter should point that out in the readers' comments under the article?
All the best,
Caryl
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| Thank you, Caryl! | Apr 8, 2009 |
Caryl Swift wrote: Hi Alexandra, It wasn't, I don't think, in fact an interpreter's mistake, but a translation error. http://tinyurl.com/crz54w I think, in fact, there was a thread on it here at the time. Perhaps an interpreter should point that out in the readers' comments under the article? All the best, Caryl
As to pointing that out in comments, I have long ago given up enlightening the general public on the difference between INTERPRETER and TRANSLATOR, as I have better things to do with my time than attempting the impossible.
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Ilary (X)
Local time: 19:08
| Thank you Caryl... | Apr 10, 2009 |
...for sharing that article!
Some time ago I found a quotation here, and I think it goes well with the theme of this topic.
“What I very much admire in interpreters - speaking at a very general level now - is their unending curiosity, their boundless thirst for knowledge and the almost pai... See more ...for sharing that article!
Some time ago I found a quotation here, and I think it goes well with the theme of this topic.
“What I very much admire in interpreters - speaking at a very general level now - is their unending curiosity, their boundless thirst for knowledge and the almost painful precision of their work, as it appears to the observer. But without a doubt all interpreters love talking. That certainly seems to me to be linked with the profession. Some of our interviewees have described this spontaneity of communication as a “déformation professionnelle”. That may be so. But quite frankly I find it very endearing.”
(David Bernet) ▲ Collapse
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~Ania~
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:08
Polish to English
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Hi Caryl,
Thanks for sharing that article with us, I particularly enjoyed reading the readers' comments)
Regards
Anna
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