Found in Translation

Re lationship Ove rload
In 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented a goodwill gift to Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov of Russia. The gift was a button that was meant to symbolize a “resetting” of the relationship
between the two nations. However, instead of bearing the term “reset” (perezagruzka), the gift was
labeled with the word peregruzka, which means “overloaded” or “overcharged.” To make matters
worse, the mistaken term was engraved in Latin characters rather than Cyrillic. Thankfully, the two
diplomats ended up laughing at the mistranslation.
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Extreme Interpreting at the United Nations
The 132 interpreters at the United Nations transmit words that also have a
major impact on international relations. They might not look like daredevils,
but the work they do is certainly risky. “Our work is never short of exciting
moments,” explains Hossam Fahr, head of the interpreting service at the UN
headquarters in New York.
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The pressure isn’t just due to the type of content they interpret. Nor is it due
to the fact that many of the people listening are influential diplomats and heads
of state. It isn’t even the rate of speech or the varied accents the interpreters
have to be able to understand while simultaneously listening in one language
and speaking in another. The real source of the stress for many UN interpreters
is the fact that they are running a relay race because some interpreters have to
wait until another finishes speaking before they can start interpreting into the
other languages. “You’re playing to virtuosos, so as you interpret, you’re
thinking of your colleagues who will be interpreting what you say into yet
another language,” Fahr points out. “If you stop, everybody stops.”
What makes the work even more difficult is that, often, UN interpreters do
not even get advance copies of the speeches they will be interpreting. Even
when they do have them in advance, the speakers frequently deviate from what
the prepared text says. “Often, we receive a copy of the speech after it’s already
been delivered,” Fahr notes. “When you’re already listening, comprehending,
and speaking in another language at the same time, reading can actually be
more of a hindrance than a help.”
So how do the UN interpreters cope with such responsibility? “If you’re
addicted to adrenaline, you’ll have no problem,” Fahr says. “There is definitely
such a thing as the interpreter ’s high, when you get an incredibly difficult
statement and you render it well.” And challenging speech abounds. Allegories,
famous quotes, jokes, and proverbs fly at the interpreters, seemingly out of
nowhere, and must be interpreted in real time. Sports metaphors, popular with
American speakers, are especially tough for interpreters. “If a delegate says
someone ‘kicked off while we’re at the fifty-yard line,’ I think, ‘Great, let me
explain American football first, and then I can interpret that.’”
Not all interpreting work at the United Nations requires the same level of
skill. For example, a meeting of the UN Security Council is more complex than
a technical council meeting on migratory fish. For the latter, an interpreter can
study terminology and come up to speed relatively quickly. Dealing with the
drafting of a Security Council resolution takes a high degree of sensitivity and
knowledge.

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Fahr describes interpreting at the United Nations as a humbling experience.
“The day I switch on the microphone and don’t have those butterflies in my
stomach and that feeling of edginess is the day I retire,” he explains. “One
good thing about our profession is that you cannot hide anything. Once you put
an interpreter on the microphone, you know exactly who is who and what is
what.” And Fahr knows from personal experience what it’s like to be unable to
hide.
In 1992, Fahr was interpreting at the General Assembly as Boutros Boutros-
Ghali was being sworn in as the secretary general of the United Nations. While
interpreting, he made a mental note of the phrase eminent statesman in a speech
designed to congratulate Boutros-Ghali on his new role as secretary general.
Unfortunately, with the word statesman swirling around in his head, Fahr
ended up saying that Boutros-Ghali was being sworn in as the secretary
general of the United States. The General Assembly erupted in laughter.
As the president of the General Assembly explained that the interpreter had
made a mistake, Fahr had to eat humble pie and interpret those words too. The
irony of the situation was not lost on the crowd, who roared with laughter yet
again and then broke out into applause. “As a result,” Fahr says with a self-
deprecating smirk, “I have the dubious distinction of being the only interpreter
I know of to have received a round of applause in the General Assembly for
messing up.”