For anyone who has never done it before, working with an interpreter can be an unsettling experience. But, whatever the challenges, it’s a fact that your ability to convey information to your course participants is going to be only as good as the communication skills of your interpreter. So here, based on my own sometimes painful experience, are some tips which will help smooth the path not only for you – but also for your interpreter…
(With thanks to interpreters Hasna Bargui and Omar El-Sharif for their valued input.)
* If this is the first time you’ve worked together, your interpreter is likely to be as anxious as you. Rather like an arranged marriage, it’s an ‘instant relationship’. It’s therefore vital to have an informal social meeting beforehand – just the two of you, perhaps over coffee. If possible, the day before. Apart from establishing human contact, this will give you a chance to assess the level of your interpreter’s English and, just as important, it will give him/her a chance to tune in to your accent. Remember that most English-speaking foreigners learn ‘received pronunciation’, whether English RP or American RP. Strong regional accents and national accents other than the received versions may require the interpreter to recalibrate his/her ear.
* It’s useful to make a list of any technical terms, any jargon, that you are likely to use during the training – e.g. ‘natural sound’, ‘cut-away’, ‘blogovision’ (thanks to Nick Pollard for that one) – and give this glossary to the interpreter, again beforehand. You can then go through the list and explain each term. Of course it would be better to avoid jargon altogether. But, given the technical nature of the broadcast media and the specialist vocabulary of the Internet and Management, this is unrealistic.
* Make clear to your interpreter that, if he/she doesn’t understand something, you would rather he/she stopped you for an explanation – even at the expense of interrupting your flow of thought - than go ahead with possibly an incorrect or incomplete translation. (If you are stopped, try not to show impatience or frustration.)
* The same goes for the speed of your delivery. Again, make clear that, if you’re going too fast, you don’t mind being asked to slow down.
* Don’t forget to introduce your interpreter formally to the participants at the very start of the course. Either before or immediately after introducing yourself. This is easily overlooked because, right from the first moment, you are of course speaking ‘through’ your interpreter.
* The interpreter, one assumes, will have a copy of your training schedule. But schedules frequently change as courses progress. At the start of every day therefore brief your interpreter on the material – the modules and exercises - which you intend to cover. Try not to leave the most complex material to the last session of the afternoon. In the interests of both the interpreter and the participants, complex issues are best covered during morning sessions when minds are alert and receptive.
* Again, for the sake of both your interpreter and your participants, try to mix theory with practical work. An entire day of theory is exhausting for all concerned. You included.
* Establish a style of presentation that suits you both. Some trainers like to have the interpreter standing alongside them, almost whispering in their ear. Others prefer to maintain a distance, with the interpreter midway between them and the participants. Some trainers are happy for the interpreter to sit while they stand. These are all matters of personal preference. But beware the interpreter who tries to stand in front of you. Don’t let yourself be upstaged (even if interpreters invariably dress better than trainers).
* Speak clearly, slowly and with rather more articulation than you would if addressing a group of native English-speakers. In a normal conversation, individuals face each other and the listener picks up a lot of semantic clues from the speaker’s facial expression, body language and even the movement of his/her lips. In the typical training configuration, the interpreter is more often alongside the trainer and facing the participants - and so lacks the benefit of these clues. Also remember that many of your participants are likely to have some knowledge of English – so the more clearly you speak, the more they will understand in advance of the translation – giving you two chances to get across your message.
* In a training situation the interpreter is translating both for you, the trainer, and for the participants. It’s doubly demanding. Try to ensure therefore that the participants talk one at a time. Few things are more stressful for an interpreter than participants talking over each other.
* Do bear in mind that everything will take at least twice as long. Depending on the language, perhaps even longer (Arabic and Farsi being cases in point). Q&A sessions with participants can be particularly demanding. Allow for this in your schedule.
* The greatest difficulty for a trainer/consultant is in judging the length of each ‘sound bite’. It’s a matter of experimentation. Most of us like to complete a sentence before having to pause for the translation but be prepared, if necessary, to break down the sentence into smaller bites if your interpreter is clearly struggling to retain all the information. It can take time to establish a rhythm that suits you both.
* Make sure you complete each idea or thought. Interpreters get rightly irked when a trainer starts one sentence but then breaks off to pursue another line of thought. The interpreter gets the blame because listeners assume he/she wasn’t able to keep up.
* Be careful about irony, innuendo and jokes. Nine times out of ten, they do not translate. The same goes for imagery and metaphor – ‘over the moon’, ‘sick as a parrot’, etc... Generally avoid idiomatic language unless you are sure your interpreter is capable of translating the sense as well as the words; even then it’s risky. As a rule, it’s better to keep to literal statements at the expense of literary style.
* So-called ‘phrasal verbs’ – verbs which change their meaning according to a following preposition – are the bane of interpreters’ lives. ‘To make up’, for example, has nine different meanings. Unfortunately English is littered with such verbs, so there’s no avoiding them altogether. That said, by thinking ahead, it’s possible to get round most of them. For instance: instead of ‘He set up a company but it went under’, how about, ‘He established a company but it collapsed’? Your interpreter will love you.
* Be culturally aware. You may want to come across as worldly, even risqué – but it’s your interpreter who has to act as your mouthpiece. It’s easy to cause embarrassment, particularly if your interpreter is female. Remember that many cultures do not share the Anglo-Saxon infatuation with bodily functions. An alert interpreter will usually filter out any potentially offensive remarks but it’s always useful to ask him/her in advance about religious, sexual or cultural taboos.
* There are occasions – notably during radio and television courses – when interpreters are required to translate simultaneously, as when viewing or listening to a participant’s recorded report or studio interview exercise. In an ideal world you would allow your interpreter a preview during which he/she could stop and start the recording. In the real world, when you may have to critique up to a dozen reports or interviews in a single session, this is rarely possible. Bear in mind that even the finest and fastest interpreters cannot be expected to catch every word and every phrase. This is important if, for example, you are going to criticise a participant for some factual omission from his/her report or failure to ask a particular question. Double check that it has not been ‘lost in translation’. It’s embarrassing for you and your interpreter if the participant is able to replay the recording and point to the fact that there was no such omission.
* Interpreters need regular breaks. Simultaneous interpreters working for the UN and NATO typically take breaks every twenty minutes. It’s very easy when you are concentrating on your job to forget the interpreter’s. Be sure to give your interpreter a break – if only five or ten minutes – at least once an hour. More frequently if the session is detailed or dense. And make sure it is a break. Often enthusiastic participants will collar you during an interval – or, worse, at meal times - and require the interpreter to ask their questions and translate your answers for them.
* The best interpreters try to convey your emotion as well as the sense of your words. But beware: some interpreters have a tendency to ‘over-convey’ – so that what you may intend as firmness comes across as blazing anger. Of course there are occasions when you may care to exploit this to your advantage, following the ‘hard cop, soft cop’ model.
* Beware ‘the embroiderer’. This is the interpreter who sees him/herself as your creative partner and so builds upon what you say, adding ‘helpful’ thoughts and examples of his/her own. Hard to detect but if the translation seems to be considerably longer than your original words, it’s worth checking with one of the English-speaking participants. On the other hand, if you work regularly with the same interpreter and come to trust him/her, then it can be helpful to give him/her a freer rein to help convey more complex notions.
* If you’re in the habit of writing on a board or flip-chart, it’s sometimes helpful to have the interpreter write a translation beneath or alongside – to emphasise the points. Even just the key words. If possible, use a break beforehand to go through what it is you will be writing.
* Occasionally, you may find yourself with one interpreter for the morning, another for the afternoon – but with the same participants. If at all possible avoid this. Not only will there be a break in continuity but some participants are quick to exploit the situation and claim that you didn’t tell them something in the morning or that it was mistranslated, knowing the morning interpreter is no longer around to refute the claim.
* Indeed, ‘Blame the messenger’ can become a favourite blood sport. Some participants use this technique to cover their own inattentiveness or plain laziness. It’s hard to make a judgement on individual cases when it’s the interpreter’s word against a participant’s – but, if you have confidence in your interpreter, make that clear and don’t let the sniping develop into a campaign.
* It is sometimes the case that one or more of the participants has a better knowledge of the English language than your interpreter. If the interpreter defers to these individuals for occasional help with a word or expression, fine – but some participants are keen to show off and will interrupt to offer unsolicited help or even to correct a mistranslation. This can be fatal to the morale of your interpreter and undermine his/her self-assurance. If it happens, take the participant to one side during the next break and politely ask him/her to desist but, in the event of a serious mistranslation, to inform you in private.
* Similarly, the participant who wants to show off may try to put a question to you in English to impress his fellow participants. Stop him (and it’s usually a ‘him’) and insist that he revert to his own language. Otherwise, the interpreter will become confused – unsure whether to translate the English for the benefit of the other participants – and the result will be chaos. It is of course OK for participants to talk to you in English during breaks or any other down-time.
* A professional interpreter is more, far more, than ‘someone who speaks English’, but you may find that this is what you get – an unqualified amateur. You then have to decide whether to struggle on, accepting a much slower pace, or to demand a replacement. It’s a tough call but remember that your first loyalty is to your participants. Try to establish whether the problem is just nerves or whether the individual is really not up to the job. If the latter, be firm but kind – and be sure to take the decision, at the latest, by the end of the first day. It may sound sneaky but, if you have doubts, ask a couple of your participants – the ones who speak some English – how they feel about the quality of the interpreting. If you find yourself unable to work with the individual allocated to you, it helps your case if you can point out that the participants too are having problems.
* If you are in the habit of handing out a lot of course material during the training, you will need to have this translated in advance. Translation takes a surprisingly long time and may require several email or telephone exchanges to ensure clarity and accuracy. Be aware of this. It’s very unfair to toss a pile of hand-outs at an interpreter on the first day and expect him/her to have them translated by the next morning. Generally, at least a week’s advance notice is required. (Also remember to stipulate that any translated hand-outs must bear a copyright mark to indicate that intellectual ownership remains with you and/or the organisation you work through).
* If you work at the relationship, your interpreter can become a valued ally – whether helping participants find local stories or checking their scripts for style and grammar. He/she can be particularly useful in giving you information on – and feedback from – the participants. No matter how well developed your antennae, there will be things you miss, usually on account of the language difference. While you may think you’re giving the participants what they need, they may think otherwise but be too polite to tell you. Your interpreter, though, is generally in a good position to pick up on group conversations and may even be treated by the participants as their confidante. Also, in the event of a participant having a complaint or just feeling slighted, your interpreter can act as an emollient intermediary and prevent a petty grievance or character clash developing into a major diplomatic incident.
Finally… yes, working through an interpreter requires a very different style of training… and yes, there are occasional frustrations. But there is one great benefit: it forces you to think clearly and crisply, while the pauses for translation give you time to construct and shape your next sentence. Many of us have found that, far from being an impediment, a good interpreter can make you a better trainer. Some of us are even prepared to admit that, by the end of a gruelling day, our interpreter has become not just our ‘voice’ but also our ‘brain’.
DEFINITIONS:
Simultaneous translation: The interpreter gives a ‘running’ translation as the individual is speaking. This is the sort of translation typically provided in the European Parliament, the United Nations and at international conferences – generally with the interpreter sitting in a box high up on the side of the hall and delegates or deputies listening on headphones. It has been tried in training sessions – usually with disastrous results. That said, you are likely to encounter a version of it when you have to critique participants’ recorded reports or interviews.
Consecutive translation: This is what you will be engaged in for 90% of your training time. You speak… you pause… the interpreter translates… you speak again… and so on. Inevitably it’s a disjointed procedure but, when you have a really skilled interpreter, there comes a point where you cease to be aware of him/her and feel you are communicating directly with your participants. The interpreter in effect becomes transparent. Obviously the more you work with the same interpreter and the more familiar he/she becomes with your material, the more likely you are to reach this state of linguistic nirvana.
Summary translation: There are occasions – when viewing or listening to a news bulletin, for example – when you don’t need a word-for-word translation; just the gist of what’s being said. But you must tell your interpreter that this is all you require.
Written translation: Bear in mind that interpreting and translating (i.e. written translating) are different disciplines. Don’t assume that your interpreter is also a translator and therefore able to re-write and print off your course material as required. Check. The reverse also applies. When there are problems with interpreters, it’s most often because they are actually translators by profession – cloistered quasi-academics who are used to poring over texts and referring to dictionaries and often quite unable to think, let alone interpret, on their feet.
(With thanks to interpreters Hasna Bargui and Omar El-Sharif for their valued input.)
* If this is the first time you’ve worked together, your interpreter is likely to be as anxious as you. Rather like an arranged marriage, it’s an ‘instant relationship’. It’s therefore vital to have an informal social meeting beforehand – just the two of you, perhaps over coffee. If possible, the day before. Apart from establishing human contact, this will give you a chance to assess the level of your interpreter’s English and, just as important, it will give him/her a chance to tune in to your accent. Remember that most English-speaking foreigners learn ‘received pronunciation’, whether English RP or American RP. Strong regional accents and national accents other than the received versions may require the interpreter to recalibrate his/her ear.
* It’s useful to make a list of any technical terms, any jargon, that you are likely to use during the training – e.g. ‘natural sound’, ‘cut-away’, ‘blogovision’ (thanks to Nick Pollard for that one) – and give this glossary to the interpreter, again beforehand. You can then go through the list and explain each term. Of course it would be better to avoid jargon altogether. But, given the technical nature of the broadcast media and the specialist vocabulary of the Internet and Management, this is unrealistic.
* Make clear to your interpreter that, if he/she doesn’t understand something, you would rather he/she stopped you for an explanation – even at the expense of interrupting your flow of thought - than go ahead with possibly an incorrect or incomplete translation. (If you are stopped, try not to show impatience or frustration.)
* The same goes for the speed of your delivery. Again, make clear that, if you’re going too fast, you don’t mind being asked to slow down.
* Don’t forget to introduce your interpreter formally to the participants at the very start of the course. Either before or immediately after introducing yourself. This is easily overlooked because, right from the first moment, you are of course speaking ‘through’ your interpreter.
* The interpreter, one assumes, will have a copy of your training schedule. But schedules frequently change as courses progress. At the start of every day therefore brief your interpreter on the material – the modules and exercises - which you intend to cover. Try not to leave the most complex material to the last session of the afternoon. In the interests of both the interpreter and the participants, complex issues are best covered during morning sessions when minds are alert and receptive.
* Again, for the sake of both your interpreter and your participants, try to mix theory with practical work. An entire day of theory is exhausting for all concerned. You included.
* Establish a style of presentation that suits you both. Some trainers like to have the interpreter standing alongside them, almost whispering in their ear. Others prefer to maintain a distance, with the interpreter midway between them and the participants. Some trainers are happy for the interpreter to sit while they stand. These are all matters of personal preference. But beware the interpreter who tries to stand in front of you. Don’t let yourself be upstaged (even if interpreters invariably dress better than trainers).
* Speak clearly, slowly and with rather more articulation than you would if addressing a group of native English-speakers. In a normal conversation, individuals face each other and the listener picks up a lot of semantic clues from the speaker’s facial expression, body language and even the movement of his/her lips. In the typical training configuration, the interpreter is more often alongside the trainer and facing the participants - and so lacks the benefit of these clues. Also remember that many of your participants are likely to have some knowledge of English – so the more clearly you speak, the more they will understand in advance of the translation – giving you two chances to get across your message.
* In a training situation the interpreter is translating both for you, the trainer, and for the participants. It’s doubly demanding. Try to ensure therefore that the participants talk one at a time. Few things are more stressful for an interpreter than participants talking over each other.
* Do bear in mind that everything will take at least twice as long. Depending on the language, perhaps even longer (Arabic and Farsi being cases in point). Q&A sessions with participants can be particularly demanding. Allow for this in your schedule.
* The greatest difficulty for a trainer/consultant is in judging the length of each ‘sound bite’. It’s a matter of experimentation. Most of us like to complete a sentence before having to pause for the translation but be prepared, if necessary, to break down the sentence into smaller bites if your interpreter is clearly struggling to retain all the information. It can take time to establish a rhythm that suits you both.
* Make sure you complete each idea or thought. Interpreters get rightly irked when a trainer starts one sentence but then breaks off to pursue another line of thought. The interpreter gets the blame because listeners assume he/she wasn’t able to keep up.
* Be careful about irony, innuendo and jokes. Nine times out of ten, they do not translate. The same goes for imagery and metaphor – ‘over the moon’, ‘sick as a parrot’, etc... Generally avoid idiomatic language unless you are sure your interpreter is capable of translating the sense as well as the words; even then it’s risky. As a rule, it’s better to keep to literal statements at the expense of literary style.
* So-called ‘phrasal verbs’ – verbs which change their meaning according to a following preposition – are the bane of interpreters’ lives. ‘To make up’, for example, has nine different meanings. Unfortunately English is littered with such verbs, so there’s no avoiding them altogether. That said, by thinking ahead, it’s possible to get round most of them. For instance: instead of ‘He set up a company but it went under’, how about, ‘He established a company but it collapsed’? Your interpreter will love you.
* Be culturally aware. You may want to come across as worldly, even risqué – but it’s your interpreter who has to act as your mouthpiece. It’s easy to cause embarrassment, particularly if your interpreter is female. Remember that many cultures do not share the Anglo-Saxon infatuation with bodily functions. An alert interpreter will usually filter out any potentially offensive remarks but it’s always useful to ask him/her in advance about religious, sexual or cultural taboos.
* There are occasions – notably during radio and television courses – when interpreters are required to translate simultaneously, as when viewing or listening to a participant’s recorded report or studio interview exercise. In an ideal world you would allow your interpreter a preview during which he/she could stop and start the recording. In the real world, when you may have to critique up to a dozen reports or interviews in a single session, this is rarely possible. Bear in mind that even the finest and fastest interpreters cannot be expected to catch every word and every phrase. This is important if, for example, you are going to criticise a participant for some factual omission from his/her report or failure to ask a particular question. Double check that it has not been ‘lost in translation’. It’s embarrassing for you and your interpreter if the participant is able to replay the recording and point to the fact that there was no such omission.
* Interpreters need regular breaks. Simultaneous interpreters working for the UN and NATO typically take breaks every twenty minutes. It’s very easy when you are concentrating on your job to forget the interpreter’s. Be sure to give your interpreter a break – if only five or ten minutes – at least once an hour. More frequently if the session is detailed or dense. And make sure it is a break. Often enthusiastic participants will collar you during an interval – or, worse, at meal times - and require the interpreter to ask their questions and translate your answers for them.
* The best interpreters try to convey your emotion as well as the sense of your words. But beware: some interpreters have a tendency to ‘over-convey’ – so that what you may intend as firmness comes across as blazing anger. Of course there are occasions when you may care to exploit this to your advantage, following the ‘hard cop, soft cop’ model.
* Beware ‘the embroiderer’. This is the interpreter who sees him/herself as your creative partner and so builds upon what you say, adding ‘helpful’ thoughts and examples of his/her own. Hard to detect but if the translation seems to be considerably longer than your original words, it’s worth checking with one of the English-speaking participants. On the other hand, if you work regularly with the same interpreter and come to trust him/her, then it can be helpful to give him/her a freer rein to help convey more complex notions.
* If you’re in the habit of writing on a board or flip-chart, it’s sometimes helpful to have the interpreter write a translation beneath or alongside – to emphasise the points. Even just the key words. If possible, use a break beforehand to go through what it is you will be writing.
* Occasionally, you may find yourself with one interpreter for the morning, another for the afternoon – but with the same participants. If at all possible avoid this. Not only will there be a break in continuity but some participants are quick to exploit the situation and claim that you didn’t tell them something in the morning or that it was mistranslated, knowing the morning interpreter is no longer around to refute the claim.
* Indeed, ‘Blame the messenger’ can become a favourite blood sport. Some participants use this technique to cover their own inattentiveness or plain laziness. It’s hard to make a judgement on individual cases when it’s the interpreter’s word against a participant’s – but, if you have confidence in your interpreter, make that clear and don’t let the sniping develop into a campaign.
* It is sometimes the case that one or more of the participants has a better knowledge of the English language than your interpreter. If the interpreter defers to these individuals for occasional help with a word or expression, fine – but some participants are keen to show off and will interrupt to offer unsolicited help or even to correct a mistranslation. This can be fatal to the morale of your interpreter and undermine his/her self-assurance. If it happens, take the participant to one side during the next break and politely ask him/her to desist but, in the event of a serious mistranslation, to inform you in private.
* Similarly, the participant who wants to show off may try to put a question to you in English to impress his fellow participants. Stop him (and it’s usually a ‘him’) and insist that he revert to his own language. Otherwise, the interpreter will become confused – unsure whether to translate the English for the benefit of the other participants – and the result will be chaos. It is of course OK for participants to talk to you in English during breaks or any other down-time.
* A professional interpreter is more, far more, than ‘someone who speaks English’, but you may find that this is what you get – an unqualified amateur. You then have to decide whether to struggle on, accepting a much slower pace, or to demand a replacement. It’s a tough call but remember that your first loyalty is to your participants. Try to establish whether the problem is just nerves or whether the individual is really not up to the job. If the latter, be firm but kind – and be sure to take the decision, at the latest, by the end of the first day. It may sound sneaky but, if you have doubts, ask a couple of your participants – the ones who speak some English – how they feel about the quality of the interpreting. If you find yourself unable to work with the individual allocated to you, it helps your case if you can point out that the participants too are having problems.
* If you are in the habit of handing out a lot of course material during the training, you will need to have this translated in advance. Translation takes a surprisingly long time and may require several email or telephone exchanges to ensure clarity and accuracy. Be aware of this. It’s very unfair to toss a pile of hand-outs at an interpreter on the first day and expect him/her to have them translated by the next morning. Generally, at least a week’s advance notice is required. (Also remember to stipulate that any translated hand-outs must bear a copyright mark to indicate that intellectual ownership remains with you and/or the organisation you work through).
* If you work at the relationship, your interpreter can become a valued ally – whether helping participants find local stories or checking their scripts for style and grammar. He/she can be particularly useful in giving you information on – and feedback from – the participants. No matter how well developed your antennae, there will be things you miss, usually on account of the language difference. While you may think you’re giving the participants what they need, they may think otherwise but be too polite to tell you. Your interpreter, though, is generally in a good position to pick up on group conversations and may even be treated by the participants as their confidante. Also, in the event of a participant having a complaint or just feeling slighted, your interpreter can act as an emollient intermediary and prevent a petty grievance or character clash developing into a major diplomatic incident.
Finally… yes, working through an interpreter requires a very different style of training… and yes, there are occasional frustrations. But there is one great benefit: it forces you to think clearly and crisply, while the pauses for translation give you time to construct and shape your next sentence. Many of us have found that, far from being an impediment, a good interpreter can make you a better trainer. Some of us are even prepared to admit that, by the end of a gruelling day, our interpreter has become not just our ‘voice’ but also our ‘brain’.
DEFINITIONS:
Simultaneous translation: The interpreter gives a ‘running’ translation as the individual is speaking. This is the sort of translation typically provided in the European Parliament, the United Nations and at international conferences – generally with the interpreter sitting in a box high up on the side of the hall and delegates or deputies listening on headphones. It has been tried in training sessions – usually with disastrous results. That said, you are likely to encounter a version of it when you have to critique participants’ recorded reports or interviews.
Consecutive translation: This is what you will be engaged in for 90% of your training time. You speak… you pause… the interpreter translates… you speak again… and so on. Inevitably it’s a disjointed procedure but, when you have a really skilled interpreter, there comes a point where you cease to be aware of him/her and feel you are communicating directly with your participants. The interpreter in effect becomes transparent. Obviously the more you work with the same interpreter and the more familiar he/she becomes with your material, the more likely you are to reach this state of linguistic nirvana.
Summary translation: There are occasions – when viewing or listening to a news bulletin, for example – when you don’t need a word-for-word translation; just the gist of what’s being said. But you must tell your interpreter that this is all you require.
Written translation: Bear in mind that interpreting and translating (i.e. written translating) are different disciplines. Don’t assume that your interpreter is also a translator and therefore able to re-write and print off your course material as required. Check. The reverse also applies. When there are problems with interpreters, it’s most often because they are actually translators by profession – cloistered quasi-academics who are used to poring over texts and referring to dictionaries and often quite unable to think, let alone interpret, on their feet.