So Yesterday...
I had the wonderful opportunity to sit in on an interpreted presentation. As part of an art/film festival, John Bell was invited to come and share his work in designing movies. Over the years he's worked on many popular films, sometimes simply drawing storyboards, other times designing the hover board that Marty Mcfly uses in Back to the Future II. It was really cool to listen to him speak and see his artwork.
The thing that was hard for me was listening to the interpreting. It was consecutive, which means Mr. Bell spoke for a couple minutes and then it was the interpreter's turn. Obviously this is going to result in language loss since there's no way you could perfectly remember what was said over a minute ago. So to help, the interpreter takes notes and then summarizes. One reason why I don't like this method is because of the disconnection between the speaker and his thoughts. The interpreter referred to Mr. Bell in the 3rd person, distancing him even further from the audience.
I also noticed that certain words were changed in the summary. These changes didn't have any major negative ratifications, but it left me unsatisfied all the same. For example "house" was changed to edificio (building), "African culture" was changed to African esthetic, and the sentence just didn't have the same feeling.
All at once I was aware that when we consciously think of language, we finally discover it's richness. It amazed me how a couple of words that you've probably never paid attention to before, suddenly seem more important when they're replaced with the wrong word. Something close to indigence was stirring inside me, or perhaps it was just disappointment.
I left the theater feeling sorry for the others who hadn't heard John Bell speak the same way us English speakers had, but in the end at least there was an interpreter to try to help out. He no doubt did a much better job than I could have, even if a few sentences were left untranslated.
I also noticed that certain words were changed in the summary. These changes didn't have any major negative ratifications, but it left me unsatisfied all the same. For example "house" was changed to edificio (building), "African culture" was changed to African esthetic, and the sentence just didn't have the same feeling.
All at once I was aware that when we consciously think of language, we finally discover it's richness. It amazed me how a couple of words that you've probably never paid attention to before, suddenly seem more important when they're replaced with the wrong word. Something close to indigence was stirring inside me, or perhaps it was just disappointment.
I left the theater feeling sorry for the others who hadn't heard John Bell speak the same way us English speakers had, but in the end at least there was an interpreter to try to help out. He no doubt did a much better job than I could have, even if a few sentences were left untranslated.
Then Today...
I went here:
Not a bad place to go to work. I was dropped off at the steps of this palace like a princess, and then got to listen to a different type of interpreting: simultaneous. That's what people normally think of when they think of interpreting. One person talking and the other speaks a couple of seconds behind. It's extremely challenging because you have to be super super concentrated. I've done it before, and it's the closest thing I've had to an out-of-body experience. Your mind is caught between two languages and you have to listen, process, and speak as if you were a computer. Suddenly your mouth doesn't seem connected to your brain and there's a fuzzy quality to everything, like you can't move fast enough. It's stressful but in a way super fun too. Like the way puzzles and riddles are fun.
The only tough part for me was that the first speaker was extremely technical (it was a medical conference) so I didn't understand much even though he was supposedly speaking English.
But the second presentation was a little more intriguing, focusing on empathy and chimpanzees and how that relates to doctors. This time, it was from Spanish>English which, as a native speaker, I think is easier to do. But again, I heard that nagging voice in the back of my head saying, "something's missing."
Of course, interpreting is never going to be as good as hearing the conversation in it's original language. But the dreamer in me wants the two to be as close as possible. Like interpreting even the side comments that the speaker makes such as, "I don't think this mic is working." What I observed this evening was that the interpreter couldn't transmit the speaker's personality. For sure the goal is to get the main idea across but I also think that the delivery, the how, is important.
But the second presentation was a little more intriguing, focusing on empathy and chimpanzees and how that relates to doctors. This time, it was from Spanish>English which, as a native speaker, I think is easier to do. But again, I heard that nagging voice in the back of my head saying, "something's missing."
Of course, interpreting is never going to be as good as hearing the conversation in it's original language. But the dreamer in me wants the two to be as close as possible. Like interpreting even the side comments that the speaker makes such as, "I don't think this mic is working." What I observed this evening was that the interpreter couldn't transmit the speaker's personality. For sure the goal is to get the main idea across but I also think that the delivery, the how, is important.
Everyone should just learn a language and then we wouldn't have these problems!
~My frustrated self
Anyways, it was really cool to spend an evening at the Palace. Afterwards, I got to speak with the 2 women that interpreted the event. We had a beautiful view of the sea and I gained some insight on what it's like to be an interpreter.
Plus, I got a free notebook and pen!
Plus, I got a free notebook and pen!