ISSUE 107 : Jul/Aug - 1994 - Australian Defence Force Journal

26 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL NO. 107 JULY/AUGUST 1994InterpretingThis is not the place to delve too deeply into theblack arts employed by interpreters to convert aforeign language sentence into idiomatic, militarycorrect English — and vice versa — in the twinklingof an eye. Suffice to say that the interpreter relies ona good general knowledge of the foreign language,the learning of technical terminology in advanceand the taking of a specialised form of notes whichact as "memory joggers". In all these area, exceptpossibly the first, you can be of great assistance toyour interpreter.Remember that what is everyday language to you.may not be so to your interpreter. Generally an effortis made to allocate, say, an infantryman to an interpretingtask involving infantry matters, a naval aviator tomatters of maritime aviation and so on. But this cannotalways be done, and your interpreter may not be fullyfamiliar with your technical jargon. You must thereforebrief your interpreter on any specialist termsinvolved, so that familiarity can be developed beforeany discussions take place. Give the interpreter asmuch time as possible for preparation.Include the interpreter in any briefings, discussions,and meetings you conduct. Brief him or her thoroughlyabout your aims and objectives, and the impressionyou wish to make on your counterpart. Remember,that the interpreter's credibility rests on not appearingto take sides: avoid compromising this impartiality infront of your foreign guests.Remember to pace your conversation so that theinterpreter has time to keep up. Do this by speaking atnormal speed for at most a couple of sentences, andthen pausing for approximately the same length oftime. Do not slow down your delivery to "help theinterpreter": a very slow delivery actually makes interpretationharder. Instead, speak in a measured way. nottoo fast, not overly slow.Interpreter's notes are designed to facilitate the sortof mental gymnastics required for instantaneous translation.They are not suited to the taking of minutesduring meetings. Splitting the interpreter's attentionin this way can only result in both tasks being donerxx)rly. hence if minutes must be taken, someone elseshould be tasked to provide them. Of course, this doesnot preclude the interpreter being asked his or heropinion on the proceedings afterwards, and indeedmuch useful information can be gained by the interpreter,who is able to understand such things asmuttered asides or off-the-record remarks made by theforeign speaker."While the interpreter passes your message, use theavailable pause to observe the foreign visitor's reaction— valuable understanding can be gained in thisway, especially in negotiations. Remember also thatmany senior overseas officers speak English well andmav understand more than you think.TranslationYour interpreter can be used to translate many ofthe important documents involved in a visit or exercise— everything from a Mess Dinner menu to anExercise Safety Instruction. As a general rule, forevery 200-250 words of text the interpreter willrequire about one hour to produce a perfect, publishablesolution." Of course, a rougher rendition can bedone in a much shorter time, and an oral translation ofthe important points of a foreign language documentcan be given almost immediately. The golden rule isto specify exactly what your requirements are: theinterpreter will then work to those requirements.The linguist's aim will be to produce a translationthat is accurate, on time and in a form acceptable tothe user. You as the user must specify what form isacceptable. This means knowing whether you want toread the document yourself or are happy with an oralbriefing: whether you need an in-depth knowledge ofeverything in the document; and whether you havetime to read the whole document or would prefer asummary or precis of it. A sound practice is to ask fora quick oral briefing on the document and then armedwith a rough knowledge of what it contains, specifythose parts of it for which you require a detailed writtentranslation.Another crucial point is that you must always give adeadline. This should follow the guideline mentionedearlier — one hour for every 200-250 words. If youfail to set a realistic deadline, the interpreter may continueto work on accuracy, when what you reallywanted was a less perfect English version delivered ina timely manner.LiaisonLiaison, although one of the less tangible servicesprovided by the interpreter, can be one of the mostvaluable. The many small cultural frictions which canquickly cause offence — religious matters, personalspace, fixxi taboos, and alcohol, for example, can be