Translator, Traitor? And what about the Interpreter?
There are interpreters who believe that moderating the tones is the best strategy, because politicians may have a tendency to blame the interpreter when a message they stated sounded too strong.
There are interpreters who believe that moderating the tones is the best strategy, because politicians may have a tendency to blame the interpreter when a message they stated sounded too strong.
Any translation is always approximate in nature, because the translated text or speech can never say exactly the same as the original message.
Chapter One of the Interpretation Techniques and Exercises book, “Speaking”, explains the public speaking competence requirements for a professional interpreter.
An interpreter must be able to keep concentrated during long sessions of work. Moreover, humbleness is important for an interpreter, as well as curiosity.
Once in a while, an Open Day on the Interpreting profession has taken place at the European Commission premises. One of the meeting rooms of the European Commission was open to the public.
Memory is a skill that can be trained and developed, and it is essential for the work of a professional interpreter.
The interpreter’s job gets harder when speakers speak very quickly and with long and complex sentences. Too much lag can lead to omissions that can hinder comprehension. But there are some strategies to prevent these issues.
The interpreter’s task gets really challenging when a speaker uses humor and jokes, which are usually very difficult to interpret in a way that gets the audience to laugh.
I had the pleasure to work in team with the interpreter Filomena Furlan in December 2019, for a very challenging conference. She told me something that deserves to be shared with all of you.
I am proud to work with partners promoting Made in Italy and Italian culture, ingenuity and diplomacy. But I am also very proud to take part in multiple collaborations with companies based abroad.