Found in Translation

De af Culture
In some places, Deaf culture is very strong due to hereditary deafness among large portions of the
population. In the village of Benkala in North Bali, a unique sign language called Kata Kolok has
been developed in complete isolation from other sign languages. Local stories even include deaf
ghosts and a deaf god.
Linguistic Acrobats
Unlike actors, circus performers such as trapeze artists, stilt-walkers, clowns,
and contortionists do not rely much on spoken language for their
performances. They don’t necessarily need anyone to help them communicate

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with their audience. So why does Cirque du Soleil have more than twenty
interpreters on staff? So that the performers can communicate with their
trainers, and with each other. The interpreting team at Cirque covers fifteen
languages, ranging from Bulgarian and Portuguese to Chinese and Russian.
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Irina Kravtsova is one of them, but in addition to interpreting, she prepares
the schedules of all Cirque’s interpreters to make sure they get to where they’re
needed at the right time. Most of the interpreters’ work involves helping the
performers with their training and preparing for the shows, but they frequently
do written translation as well. They translate documents related to work
conditions, nutrition, and immigration information, but they also translate
daily communications, such as emails.
Cirque is well-known for fostering creativity. Kravtsova recalls how, during
one artistic class, the coach had invented her own language, with terms like
cave breath, fish flob, and body grow. The interpreters had to consult with each
other to figure out how to convey these brand-new concepts, which were being
invented right in front of them. In another artistic expression class, the coach
was doing an exercise with the performers. Kravtsova found herself
interpreting such unusual phrases as, “You are a chicken!” “Now you are a
drunken chicken!” “Now you are a drunken chicken in love!”
Another interpreter, Marie-Odile Pinet, has been working as a Chinese
interpreter with Cirque for more than thirteen years. Most of the artists with
whom Pinet works are young—between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six.
She serves not only to mediate between two cultures but helps the new arrivals
navigate the culture of Cirque itself. She takes them to meetings that can
involve everything from contract negotiations to costume measurements to
explaining the tax system. She even takes them to the grocery store to ensure
that they understand what they’re buying. Her work encompasses that of a
medical interpreter, legal interpreter, and escort interpreter all in the span of a
single day.
As time goes on, the artists usually learn enough English that they no longer
need to rely on an interpreter. Cirque provides them with English classes, but
the interpreters also help them practice English, especially words that are
important for acrobatic training or words that could have an impact on safety.
This ensures that everyone can communicate properly in the event of an
emergency, even when it’s their job to be clowning around.