Found in Translation

Ke Nako Ne e ds No Translation
The South African character of the World Cup was definitely reflected in the language. For
example, the Sotho expression ke nako, which means “it’s time,” appeared in the official slogan: “Ke
Nako. Celebrate Africa’s Humanity.” When the slogan was translated into other languages, the
phrase was left in-language:
Ke Nako. Célébrons l’esprit de l’Afrique. (French)
Ke Nako. Erlebe Afrikas Herzlichkeit. (German)
Ke Nako. Celebremos el espíritu africano. (Spanish)
Sometimes, a term or phrase is so special or unique that it doesn’t require translation. That was the
case with ke nako, as well as another term from South Africa that remained untranslated, and that
the world is unlikely to ever forget—vuvuzela.
Interpreter Wins in Knockout

---

Interpreters don’t often show up in sports headlines. But after the disputed title
fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Márquez in November 2011, the
Washington Times ran this caption over its story: “Undisputed Winner in
Pacquiao vs. Márquez III: HBO’s Interpreter Jerry Olaya.”
12
On that particular
day at work, Olaya was doing more than just his job as an interpreter, though
that work alone earns him accolades from fans. In fact, his existing
relationship with Márquez’s camp may well have helped revive the canceled
postfight interview with a disappointed and upset fighter. While this behind-the-
scenes mediation would typically go unnoticed, in this case it allowed the more
than 1.3 million Pay-Per-View customers on HBO to freely choose their own
allegiances rather than draw conclusions based on an interview in broken
English or no comments at all.
Does a boxing interpreter ever get dealt a blow that bewilders him? Not the
physical kind. However, when Olaya’s own boxing hero Miguel Cotto
unexpectedly lost an epic fight against Antonio Margarito in July 2008, he was
momentarily too stunned to continue. “It took me a little while to regain
focus,” he admits, but he was able to recover his composure and
professionalism quickly enough to continue interpreting.
13
Transferring some of the boxing terminology between Spanish and English
is rather straightforward. For example, the term knockout sounds nearly the
same in Spanish but is spelled nocaut. Though the term for referee exists in
Spanish (árbitro), in boxing it’s more common to use the cognate réferi.
Spanish also uses the English terms for uppercut, ringside, and jab. The term
cut man, which refers to the person whose job it is to stop the bleeding from
boxers’ cuts, also remains in English. And though one word for boxing in
Spanish is pugilismo (similar to the English term pugilism), most people use
boxeo instead.
The hardest part about interpreting in boxing is not necessarily the boxing-
related terminology, although a tremendous amount of knowledge is certainly
required for medical and technical terms. Instead, the most difficult part may
be seamlessly switching between different types of interpreting in the
interviews with boxers after the fight is over. Sometimes, the interpreter will
render questions from a journalist by listening in one language and speaking
the message in another (simultaneous interpreting). Other times, the interpreter
has to listen to long segments first, commit them to memory, wait for a pause,
and then interpret (consecutive interpreting). Many interpreters are adept at
both types of interpreting, but interpreters in most other settings do not usually
switch between them so quickly. Much like a boxer, who must remain light on
his (or her) feet and quick to react with just the right move, so Olaya must react

---

with his skills as an interpreter.