Found in Translation

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Opinions on the aesthetic value of tattoos can go either way, but experience teaches us there’s a
really good chance that foreign-language tattoos will end only in embarrassment. Just ask Rihanna,
the pop star with rebelle fleur inked into her neck. If she had really wanted a “rebel flower” tattoo,
it might have been wise to first consult a professional French translator, who would have suggested
its correct form: fleur rebelle. Still, the two languages that Americans most often botch with their
tattoos must be Hebrew and Chinese. In fact, there’s a blog for each language
(http://hanzismatter.blogspot.com and www.badhebrew.com) devoted exclusively to the linguistic
follies of tattoo artists and their clients.
Behind the Scenes with Beauty Queens

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Far from the New York fashion scene, the air is thick with the scents of
hairspray and fake tanning mist. A mixture of sequins, hair extensions, and
false eyelashes speckle the floor. A bevy of young women stand in line, clad in
the tiniest of bikinis to accentuate their bodies, about a third of which have been
surgically enhanced, to the delight of the nearly six hundred million viewers
around the world. You guessed it—it’s time for the Miss Universe pageant.
Not surprising for a beauty contest, the Miss Universe competition scores
the contestants almost entirely on their looks. A woman’s chances of getting
into the final round are based primarily on two things: how little she leaves to
the imagination in a swimsuit and how well she fills out an evening gown. But
there’s a third part of the pageant—the interview portion. For this part of the
competition, an interpreter can make or break a contestant’s dreams.
Latin America is famous for repeated successes on the global pageant stage.
Six out of the last ten winners hailed from Spanish-speaking countries such as
Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. When a
contestant does not speak English fluently, she relies on an interpreter to
communicate critical details about her personality that can sway the outcome
of the contest. In an interview, the judges sit on the edges of their seats, waiting
to learn the contestants’ answers. For situations like these, interpreters are
essential. In fact, in the 2011 pageant, some commentators felt that Miss
Philippines, who answered in English, did not have the same advantage as the
non-English-speaking finalists, because she did not benefit from the additional
time to process and think through the question (this presumes that the
contestants have some basic level of English comprehension, but require the
interpreter to ensure they fully understand what is said).
But interpreters help the beauty contestants far beyond just the interactions
that take place on camera. They accompany the non-English-speaking Misses
for weeks on end as they engage in other pageant activities and rehearse for the
live telecast. From stage directions to walking them through the different
sections of the program, interpreters help the women communicate with
everyone from the camera crew to the choreographers. Sometimes they even
do voice-over work for the segments that introduce each contestant to viewers.
Interpreters are most visible when a contestant reaches the final round and
has to answer an interview question on camera. These circumstances present
special challenges for interpreters. First of all, the interpreter has no idea what
the questions will be, let alone how the contestant will respond. Add to that the
fact that the interpreter may not even be able to hear what she needs to interpret.
“It’s difficult to hear properly when you’re on a big stage and everybody’s
nervous,” explains María Cristina de la Vega, who has interpreted for ten Miss

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Universe pageants throughout her career.
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But even when the interpreter can hear properly, there are other challenges.
For example, interpreters typically don’t take notes while on camera for
pageants because it can be distracting to the audience. But when contestants get
nervous, they often ramble on and on without pausing to allow the interpreter
to provide their answer in English. De la Vega recalls interpreting for a young
lady who was asked on-camera who her favorite poet was. “She launched into a
fast, incoherent, and long-winded rendering of a folk poem from her
childhood as I stared at her in dismay,” she recalls. Meanwhile, the audience
looked on with interest wondering what she was saying. “Knowing that it was
next to impossible to give a verbatim interpretation, I turned to the camera and
in a calm and measured tone, interpreted the stanzas I had retained and then
gave a gist of the whole.”
As the saying goes, “the show must go on.” In the case of international
beauty pageants, interpreters enable that to happen.