–Talking with diplomats about interpretation
A few weeks ago, I went to the Embassy of Japan to talk about interpretation. This was a really meaningful occasion for me. The way I first got into interpretation was through my first job out of college, when I worked at the Japan Information & Culture Center: the cultural arm of the Embassy that holds exhibits, lectures, events, etc. for the public. I had some very kind bosses that encouraged me to interpret for artists who spoke at our center. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve been continuing to interpret ever since!
On this day, I was at the Embassy to talk to young diplomats who were undergoing interpretation training. While the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) does hire external interpreters for some events, for formal occasions that include summits or ministerial meetings, they often employ their own diplomats. This is because diplomats have a greater understanding of the Government of Japan’s official position, as well as knowledge of exact vocabulary that must be used for negotiations and other discussions.
My understanding is that the Embassy conducts training sessions every winter. Diplomats attend sessions for four weekends, including those who work at Consulate-Generals outside of DC or attend graduate school in other regions. The diplomats already work around the clock on a wide range of subjects, from economics to politics, so I admire them for participating in weekend training sessions, too! Professional interpreters serve as instructors for the training–and since those instructors happened to know me, they kindly gave me the opportunity to serve as one of two guest speakers.
During most of the training, the diplomats practiced with videos. Us guest speakers were helping with a culminating project during the last weekend of the training, serving as live speakers that they interpreted. We were asked to talk about our own background and our career (first as individuals, and then in a dialogue). I spoke in Japanese, and the other person in English. With the dialogue portion, we were asked to go along with what’s interpreted, pretending not to understand the other language.
This was the second year I’ve had the chance to participate. The other speaker last year was an interpreter who I really admire. He’s very committed to the craft and language. I once went on a business trip with him and was surprised to see him carrying huge stacks of newspapers (he reads them cover to cover everyday). When I had the fortune of attending a get-together he hosted at his home, I saw that his bookshelves were filled with what seemed like hundreds of books in both languages!
Live Television & Simultaneous Interpretation: A Comparison
This year, the other speaker was someone who works at a major media outlet. He works on graphics on the television screen, including banners, lower-thirds that show the identity of the speaker, and over-the-shoulder graphics placed above the shoulder of news presenters. Until I heard his story, I hadn’t thought about how stressful it must be to call up and then take away graphics on live television. Working in communications and having gone to journalism school, I was fascinated by his talk.
We looked at the commonality of interpretation (especially simultaneous) and live television. He was kind enough to say that he thought interpretation sounds more stressful. But luckily, that hasn’t been the case with what I’ve done so far! When we’re stuck with words that we’re not used to interpreting, our partner(s) often help us by writing down the translation or looking it up for us. Because we take turns, we also learn from each other’s interpretations. I’ve also only worked with a small number of people, at most a lecture hall with less than 100 people–but millions watch everything he does on TV.
I asked him how he practices, when they probably don’t have any time to rehearse. At the nonprofit organization where I work, whenever we hold large-scale events, we do tech checks and rehearsals (albeit just hours prior to the real thing, because speakers who travel from afar are only available that day). It was hard to imagine such a stressful situation where no one is able to practice ahead of time. But he said he receives a rundown of the show, and that he’s gotten so used to the rhythm that he’s able to enjoy the movements like DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). He also said that he practices during breaks. He demonstrated on the table between us, his fingers flying as if he’s playing the piano.
He asked how we practice interpreting, and I said that we sometimes receive scripts of speeches, or have the opportunity to discuss with the speaker ahead of time. We also study their biographies, and read articles about them or materials written by them. It’s very much like studying for an exam. But I think it’s also important to look for videos of interviews and/or speeches, which show that person’s speaking habits, including speed, accents, and other patterns. It’s very tricky to interpret for someone who speaks in long-winded run-on phrases without completing sentences!
I asked about how corrections are made when there’s a mistake. He said that his organization is very strict about errors. They tend to be more forgiving of experienced personnel, because they must have a very good reason for it, but there have been new, temporary workers who made mistakes and were never called back again. Errors are corrected on air immediately by the news presenter.
This led me to ask about the recent Covington incident. The sad and scary thing was that, even after the longer video came out, people extracted different information from it. He said that with the 24-hour news cycle, media are under so much pressure to be the one to break the news that they have difficulty analyzing all aspects of the story. He also expressed his hope that after this incident, the media would be more careful about reporting.
Coming Full Circle
For me, speaking at this training meant that things had come full circle. I had heard about this interpretation training when I was working at the Embassy more than ten years ago. Since I often interpreted for events, I asked one of my bosses if I could join, even though I was local staff. He hesitated, but I pressed on, and he kindly agreed to bring it up at a meeting among diplomats. The answer was no. I was disappointed, but what made me even sadder was that one of the diplomats who was taking the lessons later chastised me for making my boss look bad.
My bosses really helped foster my passion for interpreting. After I got a certification in interpreting, they encouraged me to take time off as local staff, so that they could re-hire me during working hours as a local interpreter. When the Embassy held a reception welcoming the Heisei Nakamura-za kabuki troupe, and everyone in the troupe was assigned a diplomat to personally interpret for them, I was given the chance to interpret for the main actor, Kanzaburo Nakamura.
And yet, that young diplomat’s words had always remained in my mind–especially because I never meant to hurt the reputation of my boss, who had been so kind to me. So it meant a lot that I was able to witness the training years later, and share stories of interpreting adventures that I’ve had the chance to experience since then.
I really appreciated having this opportunity, and hope I’ll have the chance to participate again next year!