Laugh Loud and Often

An interpreter is not the same as a translator. I saw "The Interpreter" with a friend over the weekend and I want to recommend it to all drama/suspense or conspiracy theory buffs. The actual reason for this post is that I can relate to the character and setting of the movie in a couple of ways.

Synopsis (paraphrase from the official movie website): Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is an African-born U.N. interpreter who overhears a plot to assassinate an African head of state in a language only a handful of people can understand. It is due to take place when he delivers a speech to the U.N. General Assembly. However, U.S. Federal Agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) doesn't believe her story. Silvia's suspicious behaviour and dark past make it hard to tell if she's a victim or a suspect.

Though I've lost the skills to interpret and translate multiple languages now, I performed this service for my family in countless situations while growing up; it's true, children are like sponges when it comes to learning languages. I was in auto-interpret mode most of the time: I couldn't help but eavesdrop on people speaking nearby; they often didn't think twice that someone within earshot might actually know their "secret" chattering. With all the current cloak & dagger activities coming from our government, I should have kept up with my languages; I hope to reawaken these skills in the near future.

The other connection I have to the film is my brush with the United Nations. In college, I had a couple of friends who worked for the UN as interpreters. I met Sophie and Marcus when they enrolled at the University's Summer Language Program; I was a Conversation "Ambassador" and they were in my group. The program is popular for overseas students (mostly from Japan and Northern Europe) looking to enhance their language skills; placed with conversationalists allow language students to pick up on cultural references, idioms, vernaculars, and proverbs not likely encountered in classroom settings. I kept up with them after the end of the program.

During my year as an Education Abroad Program student to Norwich, England (go UEA!), I went to visit them in Geneva, Switzerland at Winter Break. Both Sophie and Marcus were interpreters at the U.N., and they gave me a tour of the facilities. I admit it was a bit juvinile: I sat in the "Big Chair" when we came to the General Assembly hall.

During lunch, our converstaion was about the demands of being an interpreter and working at the U.N. I had made the mistake of calling them translators, and was politely, yet firmly, corrected. They made it very clear that an interpreter and a translator require different trainings and skills. The media is the most obvious difference between the two: interpreters deal with the oral language, while translators deal with written text. Beyond this, the differences in the training, skills, and talents needed for each job are vast.

Interpreters are expected to translate orally on-the-fly with context and tone to guide the choice of words they use. They are expected to translate in two or more languages on the spot. Interpreters can work in "simultaneous" or "consecutive" mode. Simultaneous interpreting is the more popular form, where the interpreter speaks as soon as s/he comprehends the speaker. Think of it as paraphrasing for a monolinguist. Consecutive interpreting is when the speaker takes long pauses to allow the interpreter to translate what has been said.

Translators, on the other hand, are much more context-base and often subject-experts. Professional translators translate only in one direction (usually to their native language); bi- and multi-lingual individuals are proficient to a degree but often need the aid of dictionaries and reference materials to translate text in multiple languages. Translators often need to have a solid knowledge of the source and target cultures to be effective in their work.

I dedicate this post to my friends Sophie and Marcus, they are still interpreters at the U.N.