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NationalLibraryofAustraliaCataloguing-in-PublicationentryTaylor-Bouladon,Valerie,1927-Conferenceinterpreting:principlesandpractice.Bibliography.ISBN1-4196-6069-1eBookISBN:978-1-4392-7719-51.Communicativecompetence.2.Translatingandinterpreting.3.Congressesandconventions.I.Title

418.02

TextCopyright2001ValerieTaylor-BouladonFrontcoverimagecopyrightMuseumBoijmansVanBeuningen,RotterdamAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystemortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopyingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.

CONTENTSTitlePageCopyrightPageForewordAcknowledgementsUsefultermsanddefinitionsAuthorsNotesPoloniusadvicetointerpreters

1:Introduction

2.AlittleworldhistoryHermes-Romantimes-AncientEgyptLutherSpinoza-TheNewWorld-Columbus1919GenevaPeaceConference- theHushaphone-NurembergTrials- theLeagueofNations the first school of conference interpretation - first attempts at forming aprofessionalassociation-SimultaneousinterpretationinJapan-interpretationandtranslationmachinesspeech-recognitionprogrammes.

3:Meanwhile,backinAustralia

4:SinequanonsorPrerequisitesforaconferenceinterpreterDifferencebetweentranslatorsandinterpreters-communityinterpreters-theimportanceofonesmothertonguemodesty.

5:WhatconferenceinterpretersdoMothertongueandthebrain

6:ModusoperandiorHowitisdoneTypesof conference interpretation (simultaneous, whispering,consecutive) - note-taking -activeandpassivelanguages -Asianlanguages -working intoyourB language - pivots -relay - dangers of eliminating theEnglish booth - interpreting amendments and drafting -roundandsquarebrackets-whattodoifyoumisssomethingimportant-speechdefects

7:ModusvivendiorworkingarrangementsRolesofchiefinterpreterandteamleader-whendelegatesreadouttexts-normalworkingdayandweeklyworkload-manningstrengths-whattodowhentheChairmandoesntstopthemeetingontime-agreementbetweentheUnitedNationsandAIIC

8:BoothBehaviourPunctuality -teamspiritandsolidaritysoundlevelsposture documents boothmannerscoughbutton -microphonemanners -numbers partnershipwith listeners -microphonefeedbackaccent-lesmicrophagesboothandteammates

9: Thou shalt, thou shalt not Deontology, Ethics and Honour, Duties andResponsibilitiesofinterpretersNeutrality -improving your performance and self-monitoring -more about working intoyourBlanguage-theadvantagesofforeigntravel-theinterpreterasscapegoatorhowto

begivenabunchofflowers

10:TipsforBeginnersNervesstressandstagefright-adjustingthevolume -deliveryanddegreeofanimation-accuracy -fast speakers - economising your voicedifficult speakers keep up yourlanguages -yourconferencediaryopenyourdocumentsearly - date-cardspreparingforameeting -textsofspeechesgiventoyoubeforehand -takingnotes insimultaneous -briefing sessions -some useful vocabulary -preparation of personal glossaries -millions,billions, trillions andmilliards -Australianisms -use of laptop and notebook computers -accreditationandlanguageclaims -giveasgoodasyouget -proverbsandjokes -cocktailpartiesandreceptions-overtime-copyrightlunchtime-dress-compliments

11:AwordintheearoftheconferenceorganizerIs interpretation really necessary? -Using theother partys interpreter -loyalty, allegianceandtrust-hiringinterpretersingoodtime-baduseofinterpreters -soyouhavedecidedtohire interpreters? choice of mode of interpretation -qualifications and experience ofinterpretersscientific,technicalandmedicalmeetings-documentation-tipsforspeakers-whatnottodo-boothsandequipment-sound-ISOandIECStandards-visibilityfromthebooths -the technician -conference venue -photocopier Interpreters room -usinginterpretersonTVvideoconferencing-lunch-importanceofcoffeebar

12:Health,stressandhearingproblemsTheneedformanualandphysicalactivities-theAlexanderTechnique -long-distanceairtravel-boothtemperatureandCO2levels-hearingproblemsandacousticshock

13:HowtoBecomeaConferenceInterpreterTraining courses in the Asia-Pacific Region United Nations interpretation tests screening-schoolschoiceoflanguagesAsianlanguages-examinations

14:OtherareaswhereSimultaneousInterpretationisusedWorkingfortelevisionorradio-subtitlinganddubbing-Courtinterpretation -interpretationvstranslation -justice -choiceofmode -the role of the court interpreter -requirements -constraints-seekingclarificationidentificationofspeakers-keepingarecordofboththeoriginal and the interpretation -explanations quality of interpretation -monitoring -standards-contracts-lackofstatusandrecognition

15:TheUnitedNations,itsSpecializedAgenciesandtheEuropeanUnionSpecializedAgencies of theUN International Economic Cooperation InternationalOrganizations-AustraliaandtheU.N.-SoyouwantajobatUnitedNations? -LanguagesusedatU.N.,E.U.etc.

16:NAATI,AIIC,TAALSandAUSITTheNationalAccreditationAuthorityforTranslatorsandInterpreters(NAATI):Howtoobtainaccreditation,designationofpractitioners

International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) :Structure, Council,Sectors,Regions,Howtojoin

The American Association of Language Specialists (TAALS): How to join,

classifications

TheAustralianInstituteofInterpretersandTranslators(AUSIT)

17:ProtocolandEtiquetteProtocol -The tte--tte two-delegation discussion after dinner speeches -pressconferencesinterpretingatthedinner-table,cocktailparties,visitsandexcursionsdress- patience familiarity introductions dignity -etiquette in different countries greetings -tablemanners -dressduring travelandconferencesoverseas, etiquette inAsia,gifts

18:ChampagneThedisastrousunexpected

19:ThelastwordThe assertiveness of minority languages -television and dialect -the paradox: WillAmerican-Asian-English prevail? -European Language Portfolio -European LanguageCouncil -French National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisation -IntergovernmentalAgencyforFrench-speakingCommunities -TheLinguasphereRegisterandObservatoryTerralingua-Theverylastword.

AppendixA:TheUnitedNationsSystemAppendixB:Howtoirritateyourdelegateswithoutreallytrying

ReferencesandBibliography

Furtherreading1.Interpretation2.Parliamentary,meetingandconferenceprocedures3.Terminology4.Publicspeaking5.Oralcommunication6.Courtinterpreting7.Thefutureoflanguages

FOREWORD

DuringitsbriefhistoryAustraliahasundergonemanypoliticalandsocialchanges.Fromafar-flungoutpostoftheBritishEmpire,ithasbecomeasovereignnation.

From a country looking, despite geographical distance, towardsBritain for economicsustenanceandaculturalphilosophy,itnowassertsitsindependenceasanationintheAsia-Pacificregion,andiscomingtotermswithitsown,asopposedtoaborrowed,culture.FromacountrystronglyconsciousofitsAnglo-Celticbackground,anditsbriefflirtationwiththeWhiteAustralia policy, it has, in the years since the end ofWorldWar Two, become amulticulturalsocietyinwhichmigrantsfromallaroundtheworldcanproudlymaintaintheirownculturaltraditionsandlanguageswhileconsciousofthefactthattheyareAustralian.

Not all migrants have been able to speak English,Australias official language, andthere grew from this, in the early 70s, a recognition on the part of the CommonwealthGovernmentthatprovisionsshouldbemadefortheprovisionofinterpretersandtranslatorsto assist them in their dealings with English-speaking government officials, medicalpractitioners,bankclerksandthe like.This led to theestablishmentofagovernmentbodychargedwiththeaccreditationandorganisationoftrainingofinterpretersandtranslatorstowork in the local community - community interpreters. For the first time in Australianhistory,formalandofficialrecognitionoftheneedfor,andthevalueof,theinterpreterbeganto take root. And at the popular level, there was for the first time a faint glimmer ofawarenessoftheroleandfunctionoftheinterpreter.

It is against this background that we need to consider the role of the AustralianconferenceinterpreterincontemporaryAustralia.Weneedtounderstandthattheconferenceinterpreter,while obviously able to undertake community interpreting, isnot a communityinterpreter.Thelevelofskillsandexpertiserequiredbytheconferenceinterpretertobeableto interpret at an internationalconference,orat aMinisterialMeeting isverymuchhigherthan that required of the community interpreter. We need to understand that while thecommunity interpreter works at thelocal level, the conference interpreter works at theinternational level, where there is still no guarantee that diplomats, politicians andconferencedelegateswillhavelanguageskillsinanyotherthantheirnativelanguage.

The author of this book is thedoyenne of the conference interpreting profession ofAustralia. Much of her long and highly successful career has been spent working forinternationalbodiesinmultilingualEuropewithitsproudhistoryandtraditionofconferenceinterpreting.Shehas,however,beenable toachieveagreatdeal forherprofession inheradoptedcountryatall levels.Herdedication,herenthusiasm,hergenerositywithhertime,herwillingnesstohelp,andher(dare1sayit?)implacableinsistenceuponthemaintenanceofthehighestprofessionalstandardshavetouchedmanyinthiscountry.Indeed,shemaynotrealise it, but it was these precise qualities of hers that led to the decision to set up apostgraduate conference interpreting training program inmyuniversity back in 1980. Shehas had to fight, and is still fighting,many battles for the profession inAustralia, and allAustralianinterpretersoweheranimmensedebtofgratitude.

Conference interpreting has come of age. The skills and techniques of conferenceinterpreters have gained international recognition. These skills are now the subject ofresearch by linguists and cognitive psychologists, aswell as interpreters, as they teach usmuch about the workings of the human brain and the interpreting process. Indeed, thenumberofbooksandjournalarticlesbeingpublishedeachyearisincreasing.

Thecontinuationof research intocognitiveand linguisticaspectsof simultaneousandotherformsofconferenceinterpretingisobviouslyimportant.Butso,too,isitimportanttowriteaboutconferenceinterpretingfromtheconferenceinterpreterspointofview.Itisthusgratifying to have, at long last, a book about the practical and vocational aspects ofconference interpreting written by a practising conference interpreter, for interpreters andwould-beinterpreters.

Withinthisbook,whichhasobviouslybeenalabouroflove,theauthorshareswithherreadersherthoughtsonavarietyoftopicsandprovidesthereaderwithadistillationofhermany years of professional experience - from the how tos and the dos and donts tomatters ethical,organisational andmechanical, andeverything inbetween.Herein is tobefoundawealthofpracticalinformation,coupledwithadynamicandhonestinsightintotheworldoftheconferenceinterpreter.Notonlyisthisabookthatnointerpreterorinterpretingstudentwillwanttobewithout,butitisalso,forthegeneralreader,anexcellentintroductiontothefascinatingandlargerthanlifeworldoftheconferenceinterpreter.PeterDavidson Director,JapaneseLanguageProficiencyUnit TheUniversityofQueensland.July2000

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iwouldliketotakethisopportunityofexpressingmygratitudetothreebrilliantinterpretersand excellent colleagues: Eric Simha, Gedda Preisman and Pierre Lambert, prominentconference interpreters in Geneva in the 1950s and 1960s, whose solidarity andencouragementweresopreciousatthebeginningofmycareer.Theyevenmanagedtobreakthetensionandmakemelaughduringdifficultmomentsatmedicalconferenceswithsilentimpressions of animals to help me find the names in English of animal vectors of long-named, difficult-to-pronounce diseases. Thanks to them I shall never forget the differencebetweenawarthogandagroundhoginallthelanguages.

IwouldalsoliketothankGeorgedeModzelewski,whowasanoutstandinginterpreter,agentlemanandakind,consideratecolleague,solidasarockevenintheolddayswhenweworkedfrom9inthemorningthroughuntil5oclockthefollowingmorning.

AndDavidWaltersforsimilarcomicrestoringofmymoraleduringadifficulttechnicalradio conference in Norway, with his fictitious pronouncements as I climbed the ricketywoodenstepstoreachtheboothsperchedonhighinatemporaryconferenceconstruction.Ididntdiscoveruntil later,withrelief,asI tookmyseat, that themicrophonehadnotbeenturnedonandtheincrediblewordsIhadheardasImountedthestairswerenotpartofthediscussionIwasabouttostartinterpreting.

Iwouldalsoliketoexpress,afteralltheseyears,mydistastefortheactionsofanothercolleaguewhosenameIshallnotdivulge,whofelt therewereenough interpretersandnoneedformorebeginners;whowentout forcoffeeat thebeginningofmyhalf-hour in theFinanceandBudgetCommitteeoftheWorldHealthAssembly,takingallthepencils,pensandwritingpadswithherasshewent

May I also thank Pat Longley for her endless patience and support fromAIIC inGenevawhenIfirstcametoAustraliainthelate1970sandwasstrugglingthroughoutthe1980stoputsomeorderinthedifficultsituationprevailinginthiscountryatthattime.Therewerebitterconflictandendlesspersonalityclashesbetweenthetwonon-AIICQueenBees,makingtheinterpretingscenemostunpleasant.

I am extremely grateful to JudgeMargaret OToole for her help with the section ofChapter 14 dealingwith court interpretation. She has spent an enormous amount of timecheckingmydrafts,andhasdonesowithgreatpatience.Butforherassistance,thislimitedsummaryofthecomplexitiesoflegalandcourtinterpretationwouldnothavebeenpossible.

FinallyIwouldliketoexpressmyappreciationtoAIICforalltheinvaluabletextstheyhave published, which I have used freely, and for which I owe an enormous debt ofgratitude toAIIC and to allmy colleagueswho, over the years, haveworked so hard onthem.

USEFULTERMSANDDEFINITIONS

A,BandClanguagesThesearetermsusedbyprofessionalinterpreterstodefinetheirdifferentlanguageskills.

AnAlanguageis themother tongueora languageofequalproficiency.InterpretersworkintotheirAlanguage.

B languages are acquired languages in which an interpreter is absolutely fluent andideallyshouldbeusedforworkingfrom,intotheirAlanguage.However,interpretersalsowork into their B languages in consecutive mode (and in exceptional circumstances insimultaneousinterpretation.)

ClanguagesarepassivelanguagesofwhichtheinterpreterhasathoroughknowledgeandcanworkoutofintotheirAlanguageinsimultaneous,orintotheirAorBlanguagesinconsecutive.

ConsecutiveinterpretationThisissuitableformeetingswhereonlytwo,oratthemostthreelanguagesarebeing

used.Theinterpretersitsat theconferencetabletakingnotesofwhatthespeakerssayandtheninterpretsintoanotherlanguage.Thismethodismostsuitablefornegotiations,draftinggroups, arbitrations and other small meetings. Whispered interpretation, a form ofsimultaneouswithouttheuseofamicrophone,mayalsobeusedinsuchmeetingswhentwooratthemostthreedelegatesrequireinterpretationinaparticularlanguage.

SimultaneousinterpretationThis is themostcommon formofconference interpreting todaybecause it isvirtually

instantaneous and thus savesmuch conference time. Interpreters sit in soundproof boothswith a clear view of the meeting room and receive the speakers statements throughheadphoneswhilegivingarunninginterpretationinanotherlanguagetodelegateslisteningbymeansofheadsets.

TranslatorsandInterpretersSometimes people confuse interpreters with translators. The difference is that the

interpreters deal with spoken language and translators with written texts. These arecomplementaryskillsbuttheprocessesinvolveddiffer.

Interpreting isameansofprovidingan immediateunderstandingof the spokenword.Translators have time to read texts and use dictionaries and reference books to provide adefinitive version of the original, often required for future reference and for internationalagreements(whereFrenchisgenerallythereferencelanguagebecauseofitsprecision).

Conferenceinterpreterstrytoconveythespeakersmeaningalmostinstantaneouslyandthisoftenincludessubtleties likeculturalnuances,sarcasm,gestures,bodylanguage,facialexpressions,theeffectofwhichtheinterpretermayconveythroughtoneofvoice,intonation,emphasis,speedofdelivery,andsoon.

A.I.I.C.InternationalAssociationofConferenceInterpreters,10avenuedeScheron,CH1202,

Geneva,Switzerland.

N.A.A.T.I.NationalAccreditationAuthorityforTranslatorsandInterpreters,POBox223,DeakinWestACT 2600 Ph: (02) 6260 3035 Hotline: 1300 557 470 Fax: (02) 6260 3036 E-mail:irena@naati.com.au

AUTHORSNOTES1. Each time the word interpreter is used please read conference interpreter, unlessanothertypeofinterpretationisspecified.

2.Forthesakeofsimplicityandbecauseitisshorter,heisusedthroughoutthisbookasaconvenient abbreviation for he/she and is not intended to be sexist. The vastmajority ofinterpretersareinfactshe(languageabilitylikemediumshipseemstobeapredominantlyfemalecharacteristic,);heisthemostcommoncasefordelegates.

3.Theviewsexpressedin thisbookare thoseof theauthorandtheauthorsresponsibilityalone. They do not implicate any professional association or other body; no professionalassociationorotherbodybearsanyresponsibilitywhatsoeverforthecontentsofthisbook.

POLONIUSADVICETOINTERPRETERS

IfthoudostdeemthyselfpreparedtodoTheworkofaninterpreter-forgoodorill-Thesepreceptsletmeprintuponthymind.Theyarenottaughtinschoolsorinstitutes,Norwrittendowninbooksnortruecompiled.TheyarethegleaningsofthemanyyearsThatIhavespentbehindthedarklingglassThatdothdivideusfromtheworldbeyond:Knowthyplaceandgivethineownideasnotongue-Noranyunproportiondthoughthissound.Bethourespectfulbutbynomeansservile.BethoueerpresentbutbeunobtrusiveDonottakesideswhenworkingonmootquestions.Giveeveryspeakerear-speaknotthyviews.Takegroundlingscensure:Thyprofessionsrisk.Decentthyhabitasthypursecanbuy,Butnotexpressedinnoisychains-theyclang.Neitherapack-ratnorashedderbe-KeepallthepaperstilthesubjectsdoneThenneatlydispossessthyselfofthem.Dothouthypart,norpoachnorshirk.SticktothylanguagenotyourcolleaguesworkLeavenotthyboothtostrutandroamWhereclientsseeyou,seemingunemployed.Smokenotifthatyourbooth-matedothdisturbButbepreparedtoaidwithsorelyneededword.Thisaboveallandalwaysbearinmind:Soundthouconvincedthatwhatyouspeakistrue:Letnotanuncompletedsentencelive.YourhearersrestonYOU.

Nowwithmyblessings,Go! TedFagan

(withapologiestoourfriendfromStratfordonAvon)

Thedictionarymeaningofawordisnomorethanastoneintheedificeofsense,nomorethanapotentialitythatfindsdiversifiedrealizationinspeech. L.S.Vygotsky

Interpreters arenot linguists, they arenot experts in languages, they are rather experts incomprehension,thatis,inhermeneuticalpenetratingofintentionsofsayingasitevolvesin

languagecommunication.MarianoGarcia-Landa,DoctorinTranslation(SorbonneParisIII)

If language is not in accordancewith the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on tosuccess. Confucius

1

INTRODUCTION

This book, apart from Chapter 11, is intended for Australian interpreters, would-beinterpreters wondering whether to embark on interpreter training and formally trainedbeginners.Itcannotofcoursetaketheplaceofatrainingcourse;howeverIhopeitwillbeausefuladjunct to trainingcoursesandprovidesomeof the information thatstudents find itdifficulttoobtaininthiscountry.

Ialsohopethatitwillsucceedindispellingsomeofthemythsaboutinterpreting:thatwe dont understand what we are saying, that the act of listening while speaking is theessenceofsimultaneousinterpretation(whereasinfacttheessenceisunderstanding),thatweallknowtenorevenseventeenlanguages(doesagoodmusicianplayteninstruments?),thatspokenlanguageismoredifficultforusthantextsthatarereadout(thecontraryistrue).

Conference interpreting is at least as old as the Book of Genesis in which Josephoutwittedhisbrothersby,asthebooksays,speakinguntothembyaninterpreter.Butitisanewprofessioninthiscountry.Thisbookisintendedasaguideforthoseinterestedinthisnew profession, to give you some idea of how it is practised in the rest of the world.Colleagues will often feel that some of it is obvious whilst newcomers may not fullyunderstandthereasonsbehindsomeofthestatements.

However, it is based on contributions frommany professional interpreters and somedelegates,aswellasthirtyyearsexperienceworkingatinternationalconferencesallovertheworldbothforUnitedNationsandtheprivatebusinessmarket.

Thereisanurgentneedinthiscountrytomaintainqualityandstandards.Ourreputationforqualityisonlythesumofourindividualeffortstocreateit.

Breaches of simple rules of behaviour affect the delegates image of the professionalinterpreterandifwewanttobetreatedlikeprofessionalsandpaidasprofessionals,wemustbehaveandworklikeprofessionals.

Conferenceinterpretingisahighlyqualifiedanddemandingprofession.Insomewaysitisliketightropewalkingwithoutasafetynet.Itrequiresnotonlyanexactingknowledgeoflanguagesbutalsothoroughtrainingininterpretingskillsandtheabilitytounderstandpeoplewithallsortsofdifferentaccents,ofdifferentculturalbackgrounds,andinawidevarietyofsubjects-eventhemosttechnical.

Therearebetweenfiveandsixthousandlanguagesintheworldtodaytochoosefrom.Thereisnodoubtthatlearningaforeignlanguageishardwork.Onlydietingseemstotakeup so much human endeavour with so few results and the prosperity of the languageindustry,likethatofthedietbusiness,isfoundedonfailure.Banishthefantasythatoneday,byconcentratingon language tapes,youwill converse fluentlyandwittilywith foreignersandperhapseveneventuallybecomeaconferenceinterpreter.DonottackleFinnishunlessyouareconfidentaboutcopingwiththesixteencasesincludingthetripledative.Banishtoothethoughtthatagoodcommunityinterpreterwhoworkshardwillonedayworkhisway

up through the NAATI levels to become a top level (Level 5) conference interpreter.Conference interpreting is a different kettle of fish.Until your other languages are almostequivalenttoamothertongue,thereisnopointinstudyingconferenceinterpretationskills.

Tostartwith,ifyoumustlearnalanguage,chooseyourownneglectedmother-tongue.Dazzle your friends with your clarity of expression, your perfect diction. Your mothertongue is one of your most precious possessions, whichever type of interpreting youeventually takeup. It iscertainly themost important languageforaconference interpreter.Take good care of it, polish it, cosset it and protect it from contamination from otherlanguagesandaccents (andAustralianvowels).Keep itup-to-dateby readingnewspapersand modern literature, as well as the classics. Keep it clear and authentic and easy tounderstand.Forexample, theEnglishboothhastobeunderstoodbyIndians,Norwegians,Nigerians,Philippinos,FinnsYoucannotexpect themtounderstandaWelshaccentorgallicisms.So,keepyourlanguagepureandaboveall,clear.

There is no point in giving an excellent interpretation if your audience cannotunderstandwhatyouaresaying.

Conference interpreting is a professionwhich, to the uninitiated, seems either strangeandexoticortotallyfaceless,accordingtoyourperception.Thisbookisanattempttodrawbacktheveilofmysteryandexplainourprofession.

Conference interpreters are to be heard working at large and small internationalconferencesormeetings,wherethedelegatesorparticipantsareusingtwoormoredifferentlanguages.Theyarethereforelanguageandcommunicationexpertswhotransmitamessagespokeninonelanguageinadifferentlanguageandhencemaketrans-lingualcommunicationpossible. They do this either simultaneously or consecutively. With simultaneousinterpretation, they sit in abooth in themeeting roomand, listening throughearphones todelegates speech in one language, transmit the verbal message via the microphone intoanotherlanguagefordelegateswishingtolistentothatsecondlanguage.Withconsecutiveinterpretation, they sit in the meeting room, listen to and take notes on a speech orintervention and,when it is completed, re-create that speechor intervention in the secondlanguage.

Consecutive interpretation is more time-consuming, and is more suitable for smallmeetings,usingtwooratmostthreelanguages,whereassimultaneousinterpretationcanbeused for an almost unlimited number of languages and participants - all you need is oneboothperlanguage,asufficientnumberofinterpreterstounderstandallthelanguagesbeingusedandasufficientnumberofreceiversforthedelegates.Someinterpretersmaypreferonemethodoveranotherbutaprofessionalconference/court interpreter isexpected towork ineithermode.

Conference interpreting today - as opposed to interpreting as it has existed from timeimmemorialandwhichhasoftenbeencalledthesecondoldestprofession-startedwiththefoundation of the League of Nations, where everything was interpreted consecutively.SimultaneousinterpretationwasintroducedfortheNurembergtrialsafterthesecondWorldWar,bywhichtimethenecessarytechnologywasavailable.TheoldhandsoftheLeagueofNationssaiddisparaginglyatthetimethatitwasacrazyidea,wouldprobablynotworkandwouldcertainlybe impossible tokeepup.Today,however, theoverwhelmingmajorityofourworkisdonesimultaneously.

Who are the people who spend their lives engaged in these high-speed mentalgymnastics?Intheolddaystheytendedtobepeoplewhocouldspeakseverallanguagesnaturally because they had naturally grownup in amulti-lingual family environment orbecause, for various reasons, they had moved around from country to country. Todaysyounginterpreterstendtohaveacquiredtheirlanguagesartificiallyviaschool,universityand interpreters school -with,of course,visits to thecountrieswhere their languagesarespoken.

Ineithercase,thebasicsinequanonisadeepandthoroughknowledgeofonesownand one or more foreign languages and, obviously, some are more useful than others -English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, for instance, are heard morefrequently at international meetings than, say, Korean, Turkish or Finnish. Then, theinterpreter needs training and experience in conference interpreting techniques - how tocreateEnglishthatsoundslikeEnglishoutofamessagesay,inRussianorGermanwherethe verb often comes late in the sentence. How to cope with differences of culturalbackgroundbetween,say,ArabicandEnglish,howtouseamicrophonewithoutcoughingandrustlingintoit,howtopitchthevoicesothatitispleasanttolistento.

But over and above linguistic skills, a conference interpreter needs a wide generalknowledge,anadequateunderstandingofanenormousrangeofsubjects;obviouslywehavetoknowaboutthestructureandactivitiesoftheinternationalorganisationswherewework;wehavetohaveadeepunderstandingofallaspectsofcurrentaffairs;wehavetounderstandthepolitical,legalandfinancialsystemsnotonlyinourowncountriesbutinmanyothersaswell. In addition, to copewith themany variedworking environments inwhichwe findourselves,wehavetobeabletospeakthelanguageofheadsofstate,ofnurses,surgeons,fishermen, lawyers, nuclear physicists, of computer experts, aircraft designers, foresters,animal protectionists the list is literally endless, but these are allworldswithwhichwehave to familiarize ourselves,whose subjectmatterwe have to understand beforewe caninterpret at their international meetings. So, in view of the increasing complexity andtechnical sophistication of todays world, in addition to languages a university level ofeducation or its equivalent is becoming increasingly important, and a law, engineering,medicaloreconomicdegreeispreferabletoadegreeinlanguages.

Havingacquiredourskills,welikeanyotherprofessiontrytopractisethemtothebestof our ability and according to a strict code of ethics which lays down absoluteconfidentialityandprofessionalstandards.

So all the prerequisites are there but, like so many other people today, we are alsoheavilydependentontechnology-inourcase,thesoundsystemthroughwhichthemessageentersourearphones.Thesedaysitcanbeawire,radioorinfra-redbasedsystem,butonlyifwe receive themessage not too loudly or quietly and very clearly canwe process it andcommunicate it toour listeners.They in turnneed tohearusclearly.So thesoundsystemwithwhichweworkisoneofourkeyconcerns.

Thedemandsaregreat,butsoaretherewardsfor,comingaswedofromanenormousvarietyofculturalbackgrounds,weconferenceinterpretershaveoneveryimportantthingincommon-anenormousenthusiasmforour job.Weareall fascinatedby language,howit

works,howitcanbeusedtopromoteunderstanding.Wewanttouseallourlinguisticandgeneral knowledge to enable our listeners to overcome the barriers of language and tocommunicatefullyandwithoutrestriction,andthisourprofessiongivesustheopportunitytodo.Italsogivesusthesatisfactionofhavingcontributedtotheadvancementofscience,theconquestofdiseaseandeffortstoachieveworldpeace.Interpretationisafascinatingsubjectthathascloselinkswithpolitics,diplomacy,science,humanrights,declarationsofwarandpeaceandthedevelopmentanddisseminationofknowledgethroughouttheages.

Now,ifyoustillwanttobeaconferenceinterpreter,readon.

2

ALITTLEWORLDHISTORY

According to Greek mythology, Hermes was the first interpreter for he interpretedmessages from the Gods formankind. In Greek interpreters were calledhermeneuties.Hermes transmitted themessages of the gods to themortals, that is to say, he not onlyannouncedthemverbatimbutactedasaninterpretertorendertheirwordsintelligible-andmeaningful - which may require some point of clarification or other, additional,commentary.(Bleicher1980)

Hermes,interpreteroftheGods,alsoaccompaniedtravellersandsoulspassingoverintotheotherworld,Hades,wherehewas theirguide. InGreece,when there is amomentofsilenceinaconversation,theGreekssaythatHermes,thepopularGodoftheeveryday,isenteringtheroom.

Olympian godswere rational (Garcia-Landa 1985) butHermeswas not one of thembecausehewasaGodwithmagicpowers-hismagichatmadehiminvisible.InLePetitPrince,Saint-Exuprysays:Whatisimportantisinvisible.Thesignofagoodinterpreteristhatparticipantsinthediscussionforgetheisthere.Speakerscarryontheirnegotiations,their discussions, or even their arguments, each in his own language, naturally anduninhibitedly, forgetting the presence of the interpreter. SoHermeswith hismagic hat iscertainlystillapplicabletoday.

Butletusgetdowntothemoretangibleaspectsofourprofession.Itiscertainlyoneoftheoldest(Andronikof1968)andatthesametime,oneofthemostmodern.Herodotus,anearlyGreekwriter,wasthefirst tomentioninterpreters;hewroteof theinterpretersbesidethepharaohsandtheKingsofPersia,receivingambassadors.

Theremustalwayshavebeeninterpretersforpeople,inspiteoftheirdifferences,theirrivalriesandperhapsbecauseof these,havealwaysexperienced theneed tocommunicateand there have always beenmany languages.Greek and Latin textsmention interpreters.Theymarchwith conquerors into foreign lands.Before the rise ofRome, the traders andarmiesofCarthageusedinterpreterswithparrotstattooedontheirbreastsorarms.

The wordinterpreter goes back to ancient Roman times, to the Latininterpres andinterpretari, which were used with reference to both written and spoken translationprocessesalike.FromtheLatinthewordspassedviaOldFrenchintoAnglo-FrenchandsointothemodernEnglishlanguage.

Needlesstosay,theactivityofinterpretingisasoldasthewordforitandonehastogobackalongwayinhistorytofindthefirstreportsofinterpretingasarecognizedprofession.There are, for example, records of the official status of interpreters in Carthage (that is,

betweenthefifthandthefirstcenturiesB.C.),wheretheethniccompositionoftheempire,comprisingmore thanadozendistinct races,eachspeaking itsownlanguage,necessitatedtheuseofinterpreters,whocouldbeidentifiedbymeansofaparrotmotiftattooedontheirforearms. Theirs was a highly respected occupation; the interpreters of Carthage wereexcusedmilitaryserviceandexemptedfromtaxation.MoseswastheinterpreterforJehovaandusedthevoiceofAarontospeakinHebrewwhichwasalanguagehedidnotspeak.

CaiusJuliusCaeserinhisDeBelloGallicomentionedtheRomanmilitaryinterpreters,andsomeprincesofancientEgyptconferreduponthemselvesthetitleofChiefInterpreterin3,000B.C.ThenthereistheLevitesoraltranslationoftheHolyScriptures(Nehemia8:8)anda thousandmoreexamples, ineveryeraandeveryplacefollowingthecollapseof thelegendary Tower of Babel: someone helping people to understand one another, peopledividedfromoneanotherbythemostinsuperablebarrieronecouldimagine:thebarrieroflanguage.

AncientEgyptianstonecarvingsintheNileValleyshowasmallfigurewithtwofacesintercedingbetweenanEgyptianoverlordandaNubiangroup.In538BCEzratheScribereadtheTorahinHebrewandthentranslateditintothevernacular.St.MarkinterpretedforSaintPaulfromAramaicintoGreek.

LuthertranslatedtheBibleintoGermanfromHebrewandGreektexts.Histranslationwas criticized and he defended it bywriting his famousSendbrief desDolmetchens (TheTranslatorsMission)whereheexplains thatoneshould translate themeaningandnot thewords.

Spinozaintroduced,forthefirsttimeinthehistoryoftranslationandinterpretation,theconceptofsituation(context)intheseventhchapterofhisTractatustheologicus-politicus,sayingthatthehistoricalsituationofthetextandauthorhadtobetakenintoaccount.

An interpreterwas alsodescribedbySaladin in1192 in a letter toRichard theLion-Heart.

When the Americas were discovered, interpreters made possible the first contactsbetweenEuropeans andAmerican tribes. They accompanied conquerors and colons fromGenoa,Portugal,Spain,France,HollandandEngland.ChristopherColumbushadayellowparrottattooedontheforearmofhisinterpretersinordertoidentifythem.

The first interpreter of theNewWorldwas theSpaniard,CristobalRodriguez, calledTheTongue(LaLengua).(IntheSpanishspokenatthattime,interpreterswerereferredtoastongues-lenguaraz,farateorlengua.)

CristobalRodriguez probably travelledwithColombus and remained in his favouriteisland called Hispaniola at that time (today Saint Domingo, Dominican Republic). HemusthavelivedthereforsometimebecausewhenheappearsinhistoryhehadbeenlivingwiththeTainopeopleandisfamiliarwiththeircultureandlanguage,whichenabledhimtointerpret for Spaniards and the Tainos and defend the latter against the cruelty of the

Spaniardsof that time -wellbefore theDominicanBartolomede lasCasas,whowas thebestknownoftheirdefenders.

Herethenisoneoftheessentialingredientsforaninterpreter:tohavelivedinanothercountryandassimilateditsculture,itsvaluesandbeenculturallytransformedinsuchawaythathefeltoneofthemandreadytodefendthemandexplainthemtoothers.

InherarticleentitledLuisdeTorres,IreneKurz(1992)explains:

When they set out on their voyages and expeditions they generally enlistedinterpreters, i.e.peoplewhohadpickedupArabicorother foreignlanguagesbylivingintherespectiveforeigncountries.Referencescanbefoundinagreatvarietyofarchivesof the lateMiddleAgesand theRenaissance.From thewritingsofMarcoPolo and the reports of other traders who had been to the Far East, ChristopherColombusknew thatArab tradershad reachedhis expectedgoal -Cathay (China)andCipango(Japan)-beforehimbysailingeastward.Thus,wheninAugust1492hesetoutontheexpeditionthatledtothediscoveryofAmerica,he,too,wascarefultoinclude a fewmen in his crewwhowould be able to converse in ArabicAs itturnedout,however, theywereofnouse in theNewWorldColombuss logbookcontains severalentries referring to theuseof interpretationand theovercomingoflanguage problems,with specificmention of an interpreter by the name of Luis deTorres.

Whenasmallmutinyhadtobequelledon10October,Colombusreports:Iwasnotalone. Chachu, de Harana, the two Royal officers and the interpreter stood next to me,willingtosacrificetheirlives.

It became the custom to capture a few natives and take them back to Spain to beconvertedtoChristianityandtaughtSpanishsotheycouldbeusedasinterpretersforfutureexpeditions.Theirwiveswerealsotakentoensuretheywouldnottrytoescape.OneofthecapturednativestakenbacktoSpainwaslaterchristenedDiegoColnandlearnttospeakCastilian:hereturnedwithColombusonsubsequentvoyagesasaninterpreter.

TheworksofV.Arnaud,L.V.Mansilla(1890,1966)andHernnCortsgiveussomeideaofwhathappened in thenineteenthcentury.Thelenguarazwasalwaysplacedat theright hand of the most important person present. Military chiefs frequently asked thelenguarazforhisopinionandeventookhismoodsintoaccount(Bertone1985).AsLauraBertone explains, three centuries earlier, in Mexico, Fernando Corts was saved by hisIndianinterpreter,thefamousDoaMarina1.

InhissecondlettertoEmperorCharlesVin1519,Cortstellsoftheambushhealmostfell into in Churultecal. The last stage of their journey before arriving in Temixtitn, theAzteccapital,andmeetingwiththeGreatMontezuma,couldhavebeenamassacrefortheSpaniards,wereitnotforthewarningMarinapassedontoanotherinterpreter(Spanish)whointurnwarnedCorts.

DoaMarina was called Malintzin by the Indians, or Malinche and her mothertonguewasnahuatl, the languageof theAztecs.Shewassoldasaslave to theMayas,soalso spoke their language.DoaMarinamust havehad thegift of languagesbecause shesoonlearntSpanishtoo,whichincreasedherusefulnessevenmore.Cortsconsideredhertobeanindispensableally.Lookedatwiththeeyesoftoday,herroleasinterpretergaveheraccess to power, yet she did not give away any professional secrets nor use informationobtainedinthecourseofherwork.

Even after the fall ofMexico, shewas still a very important person andBernalDiazsays:Withouther,CortscouldnothandleanydealingswiththeIndians.Shewaspresentinall thepicturesandwrittenaccounts.ThefirstmeetingbetweenCortsandMontezumadepicted in theCodexFlorentin shows the twomilitary chiefs on one side of the picturewhilethefigureinthecentreisthatofMalinche.

Inthe16thcenturytheroleoftheinterpreterwasparticularlyimportantasisshownbyIndianlegislation.No.XXIXoftheRecopilacinoftheLawsoftheIndies,promulgatedinl680, refers to the status of interpreters and the first of the 14 laws stipulates that theauthoritiesmustpaygreatcaretothemoralqualitiesoftheinterpreterbecauseseriousharmmayresultifheisnotfaithful,Christianandgenerous,sinceitisthroughhimthatjusticeisdone,thenativepeoplesaregovernedandwrongscanberighted.

Itisspecifiedthatinterpretersmusttakeoathbeforehearings,mustinterpretclearlyandopenly,hidingnothingandaddingnothing,andbeimpartial.Forthisreason,theymusthavenointerest intheaffairapartfromreceivingtheirsalary.TheywerenotallowedtoreceivegiftsorpromisesfromtheSpaniardsortheIndiansnorfromanyoneelseconcernedbythedispute even in the caseof foodor drink that theyhavenot asked for. If they failed torespecttheseconditions,theywouldbedeemedguiltyofperjury,losetheirjobsandhavetopaycostsandinterest.Programmesandhoursofworkaresetforthinthegreatestdetailaswellastheirremunerationandfinesincaseofabsence.

The number of interpreters and theirworking conditionswere also specified - at firsttherewas only one interpreter but because of errors, the presence of two interpreterswasrequired later when Indians were making statements. Today, too, the presence of twointerpretersalsoguaranteessomedegreeofcontrol.

In their annual reports orCartas Anuas the Jesuits tell of their problems whenadministering the sacraments (including confessions and the last sacrament or extremeunction)throughinterpreters.FatherBurgesaccusesinterpretersofdisguisingthefactthattherewerewordstheydidnotknowbysayingthemocobieshadnosuchwordsintheirvocabulary.AccordingtotheRoyalDecreeof9October1556,theaccused,inaccordancewith Spanish tradition, had the right to the assistance of at least one lawyer and oneinterpreter(Arnaud1950).

TheedictsofLouisXIVofFrance(1643-1715)refertothetrainingofdragomansattheLyceLouisLeGrandinParis;thetranslatorsatmediaevalcourtswereinvestedwiththetitleofMaistrelatinierandthereweremonk-interpretersattheLateranCouncils.

The Jesuit missionaries of the 17th Century were notable linguists and interpreters(Arnaud1950:59).OneofthemostsuccessfulofthesewasFerdinandVerbiest(l623-l688)who was born in Flanders and educated at the University of Leuven where he studiedGreek,Latin,philosophyandmathematicswhichatthattimeembracedvirtuallyallscientificknowledgefromastronomytoengineering.Attheageofforty,VerbiestwassenttoChinatotakeoverfromanelderlyJesuitwhohadrisentobecomeImperialAstronomerandadvisorto Emperor Kang-Xi. Apart from designing instruments for the Imperial Observatory,constructing over 300 canons and a self-propelled vehicle, Verbiest found time to learnManchuandpublishthefirstManchugrammarwritteninLatin.

In1678,VerbiestplayedavitalroleasinterpreterinhistoricnegotiationswithRussia-thefirsttimeChinaconcludedatreatywithanothercountry.RussianseemstohavebeenoneofthefewlanguagesVerbiestdidnotspeak,buthewasabletocommunicateinLatinwithamemberoftheRussiandelegation,possiblyanAlanguageasfarasVerbiestwasconcerned.Unscrupulous interpreters who misinterpreted for their own gain were imprisoned orexecutedinChinaatthistimeandapunishmentdecreedagainstwilfulmisinterpretationwasaformofbambootorture.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, international business and particularly diplomacywasmostoftenconductedinFrench,thelanguageoftheculturedatthetime.Movingontothe20th century, between the twoWorldWars, the League of Nations held its meetings inFrench andEnglishwith consecutive interpretation.The interpreterwould take notes of aspeech, often very lengthy, then re-deliver it from the rostrum in the other language, thusdoublingitsduration.

AttheGenevaPeaceConferencein1919,conferenceroomseatingwasarrangedinasemi-circle with aisles going from the back to a central point in the front, dividing theaudienceup likepiecesofa semi-circularcake.The interpreters stoodat thecentralpoint,sidebyside,eachresponsibleforadifferentlanguage:thelanguageofhissliceofthecake.Youcanimaginehowdifficultitwastobeheard-eachinterpreterhadtoshoutlouderthanhiscolleaguessothathissliceofaudiencecouldhearhim.

TheInternationalLabourConferencetakesplaceinGenevaeachyearandiscomposedofrepresentativesofgovernments,employersandworkers.Oneoftheemployerdelegatesatthe1926session,Mr.E.E.Filene,arichbusinessmanowningdepartmentstoresinBoston,askedan ILOstaffmember,A.G.Finlay, to see ifhecouldworkout a systemso that thedelegates could listen to a translation of the speeches bymeans of something similar to atelephone. This was done: the interpreters had microphones but no booths and noheadphones,whilethedelegatesworeheadphones.ThusonSaturday4June1927at10.30a.m. the very first meeting with simultaneous interpretation opened at the InternationalLabourConferenceinGeneva.Theinventionwaspatentedin1926byMr.FinlayandMr.FilenehaditmanufacturedbyIBM.ItwascalledtheFilene-FinlayHushaphone(Bourgain1991).

In 1928 a type of simultaneous interpretationwas used in theU.S.S.R. for theVIthCongressofKomintern(Chernov1978).Simultaneousinterpretationwasusedatanumber

ofmeetingssuchas theScientificOrganisationCommitteein1929(Geneva),InternationalChamber of Commerce (Amsterdam, 1929) and the XVth International PhysiologyCongress (Leningrad, 1935), which was called the Pavlov Congress and wasquadrilingual,i.e.Russian,German,EnglishandFrench.Thefirstboothswereusedin1933atameetingoftheKomintern.

Andr Kaminker, a great interpreter of that time and a founding member of AIIC(International Association of Conference Interpreters), invented his own simultaneoustranslationsystemforFrenchradioandinterpretedthefirstmajorspeechbyAdolfHitleratNurembergin1934(Paneth1956,1958;vanEmdeBoas1957,1958).Theinterpretersmusthave used large, heavy headphones made of black bakelite and those old-fashionedmicrophoneshunginacradlethatweseeinoldHollywoodfilms.

After World War II, there was an immediate and urgent need for interpretation inEnglish,French,Russian andGermanat theNurembergTrialsofNaziwar criminals.Torely on consecutive interpretationwould have been lengthy and cumbersome. The job oforganizingthiswasgiventoGeneralEisenhowersformerinterpreter,ColonelLonDostert,whowascompletelybilingual.

Simultaneousinterpretationwastheanswer;Dostertwasconvincedthatitwaspossibletolistentoaspeakerandconveyhismessageinanotherlanguageatthesametime,andthata satisfactory technical solution could be found. He also understood the importance forinterpreters to be able to see the speakers and follow the whole proceedings so as tounderstandwhatwasgoingon,whileworkinginassoundproofanenvironmentaspossible.

AttheTrials,presidedoverbyLordJusticeGeoffreyLawrence,resplendentinwigandclumsyearphones,theinterpreterswereplacednexttothedefendantsintheiraquariumtogivethemaviewoftheproceedings.

Needless to say, exact, faithful interpretation was of capital importance for thedefendants,inthetruesenseofthewordcapital.Thenecessarydisciplinesimposedontheinterpretation services at Nuremberg demonstrated the advantages of simultaneousinterpretation,whichhassincegreatlyincreasedbothinuseandnumberoflanguages.

Ann and John Tusa (1983) describe the proceedings in their bookThe NurembergTrial:

Whatoutsidersnoticedandmarvelledatwasthevitalcoginthemachinery-thesimultaneous translation system. It was truly simultaneous. As long as speakersmaintained a steady hundredwords aminute, the translators in their glass boothscould provide an almost current version of the trial in any language. Givendocuments in advance so that there was time to prepare, the translators could besynchronized even more exactly with the speakers. It was an extraordinaryachievement and it staggered all visitors to Nuremberg. The art of simultaneoustranslation was virtually unknown at the time. Of the teams of interpreters atNurembergpossiblyonlytwomembers-HaakonChevalierandEduardRoditi-had

everpractiseditbeforeonthenewIBMequipment.Theothershadhadscarcelyanytimetolearn:theequipmentwentastrayandonlyturnedupfivedaysbeforethestartof the trial.Thisallowedmerely five daysof rehearsal: readingdocuments to eachother to see if it was going to be possible to talk in one language while listeningthroughheadphonestothecourtproceedingsinanother.Excitingtimes!

Colonel Dostert, the head of the translation section, had grouped hissimultaneoustranslatorsintothreeteamsoftwelve:oneteamhadtositincourtandwork a shift of one and a half hours; another to sit in a separate room, relativelyrelaxed,butstillwearingheadphonesandfollowingtheproceedingscloselysoastoensurecontinuityand standardvocabularywhen they tookover; the thirdhavingawell-earnedhalf-dayoff.Theworkwasexacting. Itneededgreat linguisticskillandtotalconcentration.Formanyofthoseinvolvedthesubjectmatterimposedafurtheremotional strain. Working conditions were uncomfortable: the translators werecramped in their booths, which were even hotter than the courtroom. They spokethroughalipmicrophonetotrytodampentheirsound(theboothwasnotenclosedatthetop)butnoteventheuseofthemicrophonenorthehugeheadphonestheyworecoulddeadenthenoisemadebytheircolleagues.Astheyworkedtheyhadtofightthedistractionsofotherversionsandotherlanguages

ColonelDostertwasahardtaskmaster-woebetideanyonehefoundintherestroom without headphones. He imposed high linguistic standards; everyone had toacquire the jargon and technical terms required by the evidence. But Dostert wasuniversally respected. Though he demanded more than most people would havebelieved they could give, he always estimated exactly howmuch strain they couldbear.Theefficiencyandaccuracyofthetranslationsowedeverythingtohisplanningand expectations. Accuracy was essential both to avoid confusion in court and toprovideanimpeccablerecordofthetrial.Eachteamhadthreemonitorsandachiefinterpreter attached to supervise its version. The monitor sat outside the booth,maintaining the flow of documents to the translators and controlling the speed ofspeakerswiththeredandyellowbuttons

AnotherreferencetotheIBMsystemformultilingualinterpretationistobefoundinthearticlebyDavidandMargaretaBowen(1985)whoexplain thatJusticeJacksonhad itbroughtfromGenevatoNuremberg.

Colonel Dostert, Eisenhowers interpreter, assembled a group of linguists toprovide simultaneous interpretation. Although the system had been used before inGenevaandintheUnitedStates,itwasstillinitsexperimentalstages.Theequipmentwaswhatwecalltodayawiredone,butthecableswereexposedinthecourtroomand got periodically disconnected whenever someone stumbled over them Theequipment had a floor channel and four language channels, headphones for allparticipantsinthetrialforlisteningtoanyoneofthechannels,andsixmicrophonesinthecourtroom(oneforeachjudge,oneforthewitnessboxandoneatthespeakerspodium).One extra feature,which is hardly ever provided today,was thewarninglightbywhich the interpreterscould request the speaker to slowdownor to repeat

what he said. The booths for the interpreters were placed in such a way that theaccusedweresittingdirectlyinfrontofthem(inprofile);thespeakerslecternandtheprosecutorstableswerealsointheirdirectfieldofvision;thejudgeswereatthefarend,atrightanglesfromtherowofbooths,andthescreenandthewitnessboxcouldnotbeseenatall.Theworkingschedulefortheinterpretersprovidedforfewerhoursin the booth than does the Charter for Permanent Interpreters today, and eachinterpreterwasexpectedtointerpretfromonelanguageintohisownonly.Themoststriking feature is the concern for speed: an all-out effort was made to hold thespeakers toalmostdictationspeed,approximately60wordsperminute.Therecordshowsthatinterpretersweregivencopiesofdocumentsevenifthedistributiontoallparticipantswaslimited

ModerndayconferenceinterpreterscannotfailtoexperienceasurgeofdeepadmirationandrespectforthecolleagueswhowereabletowithstandthepressuresandhorrorofwhattheyheardatNuremberginordertohelpthecourseofnaturaljustice.Mostinterpreterstherehadnoformaltrainingofanykind-theyweretherebecausetheyhappenedtobefluentinmore thanone language,oftenbecause theywere refugeeswhohadbeen forced to leavetheir native country. Mechanical arrangements were cumbersome and awkward in theextreme,thefloorofthecourt-roomwasstrewnwithloosewiringandifanyonetrippedoveritthiscouldsendthewholesoundsystemcrashingdown.Thecontenttheywereinterpretingwasladenwithunimaginablehorrorsandinmanycasesdeeppersonaltrauma.Somecopedbyhavinga frenetic social lifewhenoffduty,others say theyhadnever,beforeor since,beentosomanybars!Otherscouldonlydealwiththeexperiencebysuppressingitandmostfound thatwhile theymanaged not to think about it at the time, it came back to them innightmares.

Technically, thebasic thingshaventchanged.Theseparationofyour techniqueandyourreactiontothematerial,thedivisionofyourmindintoparts,isjustastruenowasitwasthen,was a commentmade by a colleague at a ceremonymarking the beginning of theAIICExtraordinaryAssemblyinBrusselson28August1992.

Although the League of Nations made an attempt in 1931 to use the simultaneoussystem, their parliamentary interpreters continued in themain to operate in consecutivemode.Theinterpreterwaiteduntilthespeakerhadfinishedandthenstrodeuptothepodiumanddeliveredhis interpretationfromhisnotes(Coleman-Holmes1971).Thespeechmighthavelasted45minutesorevenanhourTheaudiencewaitedtoheartheinterpreterwhowasmuch likeanactor takingcentre stage.Hehadhad time toassimilate the speechandcouldpolishitupinhisownwordsandfindfloweryexpressionstoequalthemosteloquentrhetoric.TheinterpreterswereallknownbynameandwereevenconsultedbyspeakersandbyEditorialCommitteesastothebestwordingforanAgreement,i.e.wordsthatcouldbetranslated into the other conference languages most unambiguously. There were fewinterpretersontheworldstageatthattimeandtheywereallfamous:JeanHerbert,AntoineBelleman, Robert Confino,Andr and Georges Kaminker, GeorgesMathieu, Evans andLloyd. I must also mention Ted Pilley, the well-known English interpreter who workedbeforeWorldWarII,interaliafortheNon-InterventionCommitteeintheSpanishCivilWar(1936-1939),whowasoneof the foundersofAIICand the fatherof interpretation in the

BritishIsles.

After the Nuremberg Trial, Col. Dostert gave several public demonstrations ofsimultaneousinterpretationintheUnitedStatesofAmericabuttheUnitedNationscontinuedtouseconsecutiveinterpretationinthemain,especiallyfortheSecurityCouncil.Itisonlyinthe1950sthatsimultaneousinterpretationwasputintogeneraluseattheUnitedNationsinNewYork. The interpreters working in the English booth at the Security Council thenbecamenationalcelebritiesbecausetheirinterpretationwasbroadcastovertheradio.

Simultaneous interpretationchanged the structureof internationalconferencesbecauseinstead of a series of statements and speeches, discussions could now take place, withquestions and answers, and debates. But it also meant that interpreters became invisible,anonymousvoices, heard inheadsetsbut rarely seen, relegated to thewings in their glassboxes,insteadofbeingcentrestage.

Aftersometenyearsduringwhichwiredinstallationsweretheonlymeansavailable,itbecame technically possible also to usewireless (radio) systems and then,more recently,infra-red.

Thewiredsystemrequires the listener toremaininhisseatbutdoeshaveadegreeofsecurityfromthepointofviewofunauthorizedlistening-in.Ingeneral,thewireless(radio)systemlacksthissecurity.Asfortheinfra-redsystem,itssecurityiscertainlybetterthanthatofaradiosystemandinawindow-lessenvironmentmaybeverysecure.

After the Second World War, there was an enormous demand for information. H.KolmersaysinhisarticleInterpretationatScientificMeetings: is itefficient?(1987) thatearlier practised methods of literature study and correspondence between scientists andpersonal contactwere no longer sufficient to allow a researcher to remain up-to-date in agivenfield:

Thiswasthebackgroundfortherisingdemandformeetingsbetweenresearcherson a national and international level to allow them to keep abreast and assessdevelopments,exchangeexperiencesandplan futureprojects incooperation.WorldWarIIbroughtageneraldevelopmentintheuseofcommunicationengineering,andcomponents which enabled a larger number of listeners to hear simultaneouslythrough headphones side by side, without disturbing one another, in a number oflanguages.Thiswireboundorwirelessradioequipmentmade technicallysupportedsimultaneousinterpretationpossibleforthefirsttime.Thiswasagreatimprovementin listening comfort and time-sharing, resulting in more efficient and widespreaddisseminationofinformationthroughinternationalconferencesduringpostwaryearsanduptothepresentday.

Theworldwideavailabilityofthisnewtechnicalequipmentanddevelopmentsinthefieldofelectronicsandcomputerizationhaveresultedintheinternationalisationofscience, thus creating an enormous demand for expert linguists with a number oflanguagesandat the same timeahigh levelof scientificand technical vocabulary,

with theability to gain sufficient understandingof a scientificmatterwithina shortperiod of time, so that they could interpretmeaningfully.Without such aminimumunderstanding,interpretationwouldremainmechanicalandmeaningless.DuringthefiftiesthereforeanumberofWestandCentralEuropeanuniversitiescreatedtraininginstitutes for the new profession of simultaneous interpretation to enable futureinterpreters to transmit scientific content from language to language. During pastdecadesseveralthousandsofhighlyqualifiedexpertsininterpretationhavegraduatedfromtheseuniversityinstitutes.

ThefirstmodernSchoolofConferenceInterpretation,ETI(Keiser1992)wassetupatGenevaUniversityin1942.TheHECSchoolofInterpretingwascreatedinParisin1948,attached to the ParisChamber ofCommerce, and setmany of the standards still in forcetoday. It was replaced in 1954 by the Sorbonne School of Interpreting and Translating(ESIT),attachedtotheSorbonneUniversityinParis.Inbothcasestheteachersarepractisingconference interpreters themselves,as isalso thecase inSpainwhere theuniversitieshavegroupedtogethertoformEUTI(UniversitySchoolofTranslationandInterpretation),oneofwhichhasalreadystartedinBarcelona,andhereagainalltheteachersofinterpretationarepractising conference interpreters. In thisway, students are kept up to datewith the latesteventsintheconferenceworld,andaregiventextsfreshfromrealliveconferencestoworkonsothattheyfeelclosertorealityratherthanlearningtheoryfromteacherswhohaveneverthemselvesfeltwhatit isliketobeworkinginthebooth.Unfortunatelythisisnottrueformanyofthe100orsoschoolsofinterpretation/translationinexistence.

Variousattemptsweremadetoformconferenceinterpretersassociations.In1945therewasAIT(AnciensdelaSocitdesNations)(interpreterswhohadworkedattheLeagueofNations),AAEEI(AssociationdesAnciensElvesdelEcoledInterprtesdelUniversitdeGenve)(formerstudentsofETI,Geneva).AMICI(AssociationMondialedesInterprtesdeConfrencesInternationales)(WorldAssociationofInternationalConferenceInterpreters)wasshortlived.

Afterthefailureofinternationalassociationstosurvive,localgroupsweresetupsuchasFLIG(FreeLanceInterpretersofGeneva),IACIT(InternationalAssociationofConferenceInterpreters and Translators) based in Paris and London with three or four Germancolleagues and LACI (pronounced lacey) which was the London Association ofConferenceInterpreters,foundedandpresidedoverbyThad(naturallyknownasTeddy)PilleywhohadalsoestablishedtheLinguistsClubinLondon(ofwhichIwasanassociatemember and later a fellow), principally as an interpreters training school, in a charminghousewithlacycurtains(veryappropriate)inGrosvenorPlace,Mayfair.

Teddybelongedoriginallytothetheatricalschoolofgreatconsecutiveinterpretersandin spite of the Thadwas thoroughlyEnglish in education and style, portly,warm andgenerous.He did a great deal for the interpreting profession.LACI co-existedwithAIIC(InternationalAssociationofConferenceInterpreters)until1970.

VeryactiveinGenevawasJeanHerbert(seeHerbert1952),anaffablemanwho,likePilley,wasabrilliantexponentofthetheatricalconsecutivestyle.(JeanHerbertsaidheused

interpretingeffectivelyasatravelticketinthepursuitofhisstudiesinorientalreligionsandphilosophies.HewrotewidelyonHinduismand studiedShinto in Japan for anumberofyears(Kerr1988).)

Variousnationalassociationsoftranslatorsandinterpreterswerealsosetupatthattime,most of which subsequently joined FIT (Fdration internationale des traducteurs)(InternationalFederationofTranslators).

By1951,thenumberofconferenceshadgrownenormouslyandwithitthenumberofconferenceinterpretershadgrownfromahandfulofprestigiousamateursintoaprofession.ThenumberoflanguagesusedhadalsoincreasedandatUnitedNationsNewYorktheBigFiveweredebating in four languages.With the increaseduseofsimultaneous, interpretersfoundthemselvesrelegatedtoanonymityintheirbooths.

ThreecolleaguesgottogethertoorganizetheprofessionoverlunchattheChteaudelaMuette.ThethreefoundersofAIICwereConstantinAndronikoff,ChiefInterpreterof theOECD, Russian,Andr Kaminker, also Russian and Chief Interpreter of the Council ofEurope,andtheGermanHansJacob,ChiefInterpreterofUNESCO,whobecamethefirstPresidentofAIIC.AndrKaminker(fatherof theactressSimoneSignoret)had joined theFreeFrenchForcesduring thewarandbeenan interpreteratUnitedNationsheadquartersbeforetakinguphispostattheCouncilofEurope.HansJacobwasamagnificentinterpreterof the spoken word and also a remarkable translator (the written word), two talents notgenerallyfoundinoneperson.HisGermantranslationsofProustandColettearefamousandmuchadmired.

After two years of contacts and planning, a ConstitutiveAssembly was held at theMaisondelUNESCOinParison11November1953andtheInternationalAssociationofConferenceInterpreters(AIIC)wasborn.Therewere35FoundingMembers.

Twoimportantprinciplesthatweredecideduponthenandarestillvalidtodayare:1:Unityoftheprofession(permanentandfree-lanceinterpreterscarryingoutthesametask,withthesameresponsibilityastoquality,integrityandprofessionalismshouldbelongtothesameassociationandrespectthesamerules)and2:Universalityoftheprofession:sincequalityandprofessionalresponsibilitycriteriaapplyto allmembers,whatever country theymay be domiciled orworking in, it is essential toavoidgeographicalseparations.(Keiser1992)

Membershipisthereforeonanindividualbasissothattheassociationcannotbecomeafederationofnationalassociations.

Soontherewere150membersofAIICwhomonopolisedthemarketandinsistedupon-atleasttwointerpretersperbooth;

-acceptablebooths;- direct contract with the organizer so that the interpreter does not have to pay amiddle-man;-firstclasstravel;-auniversalfeewhichremaineduniversaluntilthedevaluationofthedollarbyNixonin1971;

-afeefortraveldaystocompensateforlossofearningsonthatday;-aperdiemwhichinthosedaysamplycoveredallaccommodation,mealsandoutofpocketexpenses;- most important of all, a Code of Ethics and the promise to respect professionalsecrecy.

Theserulesdefinedprofessionalpracticewhichistodaythereferencestandardallovertheworld (Keiser1992).AIICcanbesaid tohavecreatedourprofessionandmade it theliberal profession it is today rather than the uncoordinated, disparate and perhapsunprincipledprofessionitmighthavebeen.

AIIC also set up administrative structures which still exist today. It is a highlycentralized professional organisation run by a secretariat now in Geneva (previously inParis),withaCouncilwhichmeetsonceortwiceayear,composedofrepresentativesofallRegions.Theorganizationdefendstheinterestsofinterpretersinallcountriesoftheworld.

Eversinceitscreation,AIIChascontinuedtoevolve.Perhapsthisisproofofitsvitality.It also reflects the vicissitudes of international affairs.At the 1992BrusselsExtraordinaryAssembly, decisions were taken regarding deregulation and increased regionalisation(Skunke1993).Theaimbehindalloftheseactivitieshasalwaysbeenthesame:toimproveandmaintainquality.

Between 1945 and 1970 the number of international conferences using simultaneousinterpretationincreasedinspectacularfashion.In1969theSecretariatofAIICmovedfromParistoGeneva.

SimultaneousinterpretationinJapanSenNishiyama,explainingthehistoryofinterpretationinJapan,tellshowin1861the

BritishForeignOffice(whichhadstaffdiplomaticinterpretersstationedinChinaatthattime)announced a competition for student interpreterships in Japanese. One of the successfulcandidateswas ayoung student atUniversityCollege,London,namedErnestSatow (seeSatow1968).Helateradvancedinthediplomaticservicetotherankofambassadorandaknighthoodandwroteahandbookofprotocolwhich isstillastandard referencework fordiplomats.

He explains the low status given in Japan to interpreters,whereas translators enjoyedhighesteem,bythefactthattranslatinghasalwaysbeenassimilatedtoscholarship,whereasinterpretingwasassociatedwithtrade.Thelanguagereflectsthediscrepancy:totranslate=honyaku-tsuru, to interpret =tsuyaku-tsuru (wheretsuru is the verbal suffix); buttranslator =honyaku-kawhereas interpreter=tsuyaku, whereka isanagentive suffix,anditsabsenceaftertsuyakumarkslackofrespect.

TheturningpointintheinterpretingprofessioninJapancameaboutin1957whentheUSEmbassy sent a party of Japanese interpreters toWashington for training at the StateDepartment,wheresimultaneouswasbythentherule.Sincethen,simultaneousinterpretershave been in constant demand in Japan.The profession is organized differently in Japan,

however,ascomparedwiththerestoftheworldbecauseJapaneseinterpretersworkthroughagenciesandbecause therearedifferentgradesof interpreter, the feevaryingaccording tothegrade.

InterpretationandTranslationMachinesSatisfactory and widespread use of voice- and speech-recognition

translation/interpretation machines is still some years away. Users of speech recognitionsoftware find their main problem is not the words so much as the way they say them;accents, hesitations, ungrammatical constructions, intonation and rhythm all add to theproblems.Weallknowthatdelegatesatconferencesfrequentlyspeakunclearly,oftentheirpronunciationisunusualespeciallyiftheyarenotspeakingtheirownlanguage.Sometimestheyhaveaccentswhicharedifficulttounderstand,andaccentuatethewrongsyllableofaword.Howeverprogressisbeingmadeandwhilein1984aonethousandwordvocabularywasavailableandittooktwominutesforeachwordtoberecognized,thereisnowa30,000wordvocabularyand it takesaquarterofasecondfor the recognitionofeachword.Onefirmof lawyers installeda speech recognitionapplicationaspartof their computer systemtwoyearsago,thinkingthelawyerswouldbeabletodictatedirectlyintoit,thusleavingthesecretaries free to doother jobs.The systemwas a failure because it required a periodoftraining for thecomputer toget accustomed to theusersvoiceand the lawyers felt thiswasawasteoftimethatcouldnotbechargedtotheclient.

SpokenEnglish is often vague and imprecise and does not lend itself to this type ofapplicationasmuchasamorepreciselanguagesuchasFrench.

Speech recognition is about what is being said, whereas voice recognition isconcerned with the voice saying it, analysing key aspects of the voice pattern. Speechrecognitionreliesonthetrainingoftheuserwhohastorepeatdifferentwordsandphraseswhicharethenrecorded,analysedandusedtobuildavoiceprofile.

Speakerindependentprogrammesaremorecomplicated;theyrequireanalysisofawidevarietyofdifferentspeakerswhosespeakingpatternshavetoberecordedandbuiltintotheprogramme.Inthecaseofdiscretespeechinput,usershavetopauseaftereachspokenwordsothatthespeechrecognisercantellwhereonewordendsandthenextbegins.Continuousspeechinputisstillmanyyearsaway,thatistosaywhereusersspeakatnormalspeedwithwordsrunningintooneanother.Programmesgenerallyhavealimitedvocabulary-unlimitedvocabularyisstillsomewhereinthefuture.EventhelatestVoiceTypeprogramme,whichlooks at the contextualmeaning of awordwithin threewords either side of it, is said tomaintain only 97% accuracy at a dictation speed of 150 words per minute, requiring atraining time of between 40 and 60 minutes. This is just recognizing the spoken word,withoutanyattemptattranslation.

ItseemsthatwhatJacquesEllul,theFrenchsociologistandphilosopher,wrotein1964in hisThe Technological Society is still true today, that is instead of technology beingsubservienttohumanity,therealityisthathumanbeingshavetoadapttoitandaccepttotalchange.

MartinHeidegger,theGermanphilosopherandfatherofexistentialismwasalsodeeplyconcernedwithtechnologyspotentialfordehumanisingsocietyandwrote:

Thelanguagemachine(sprachmaschine)regulatesandadjustsinadvancethemodeofourpossibleusageoflanguagethroughmechanicalenergiesandfunctions.Thelanguagemachineis-andaboveall,isstillbecoming-onewayinwhichmoderntechnology controls the mode and the world of language as such.Meanwhile, theimpressionisstillmaintainedthatmanisthemasterofthelanguagemachine.Butthetruthof themattermightwellbe that the languagemachine takes language into itsmanagementandthusmasterstheessenceofthehumanbeing.

Computers have not yet been able to understand and render the subtleties andnuancesofspokenlanguageintootherlanguages.Alanguageisthelivingexpressionofaculture,asocialcontext,thetraditionsandhistoryofpeople,themoodandwhimsof speakers, their social class and profession, their personal character and above alltheir intent. Only the human brain of the professional interpreter can grasp andtransform themanymanifestations of the combination of such features into anotherlanguage and its appropriate cultural context. Experiments have been made withmachine translation and some say that this helps by translating the key words, toenablethereadertoknowwhetherornotthearticleorspeechisofinterest.Forthispurpose I believe machine translation may be of use. However it can also beconsidered dangerous because it may give the reader an entirely erroneousinterpretationofatextorspeech.Inmanycases,ifyoulookawordupinadictionaryyouwillbegivenfourorfivepossibletranslationsintheotherlanguageandonlythehuman brain can select the most likely one, based on context, intuition, generalknowledge,knowledgeofthesubjectmatter,andsoon.Beforeacomputercandothisitneedstobefedthelivingknowledgeinthebrainofthehumaninterpreter.

It would seem that although computers can be used for providing a roughtranslationofawrittentext,theycannotprovidereal-timetranslationsuchasprovidedbyahumansimultaneousinterpreter;machinetranslationsalsorequireagreatdealofpre- andpost-editing.Also, interpretation requires sensitivity to the speakersmood,gesturesandbodylanguageinordertoprovideafairunderstandingofwhatisbeingconveyed,andthisisnotwithinthecapabilityofthemachine.

IamsureyouhaveheardofthetimewhenOutofsight,outofmindandThespiritswillingbutthefleshisweakweretranslatedintoRussianatUnitedNationsinthecourseofan experimentwith a translationmachine. The translationswere then re-translated by thesamemeansfromRussianbackintoEnglish,withthefollowingresults:InvisibleidiotandThevodkaisgoodbutthemeatisoff.

Through the ages, interpreters of all languages have made contact possible betweenpeoples and assisted in the transfer of knowledge, the propagation of religions, thedisseminationofscience,theexchangeofgoodsandproperty,thedrawingupofagreementsanddeclarationsofwarandpeace.

In the old days, before the times of interpreter/translator training courses (theAIICSchools Committee was set up in 1957), especially in the days of consecutive wheninterpretersweretheliteglobe-trottingjet-set,thedistinguished,elegant,wittyactorsontheworld stage, interpreters and translators were self-taught. Their table manners wereimpeccable, their command of five or six languages perfect and their dazzling wit in alllanguagesassophisticatedastheirknowledgeofwines.Theywereextremelywell-educatedand much-travelled aristocrats, Russian princes and princesses, barons and baronesses,countsandcountesses,diplomatswhohadlivedindifferentcountriesandlearntnotonlythelanguagesbutalsotheculturesbehindthem.Theirendlessrepertoireofhumorousanecdotesmadethemhighlydesirabledinnerguests.HowcouldIeverforgetthedazzlinghumouroftheheel-clicking,hand-kissingPrinceSviatopolkMirsky,thegentlePrinceGalitzin,andtheregalbaronesswhohadescapedfromPolandwithadiamondthesizeofawalnuttapedintoher navel and the rest of her family jewels hidden in her chignon?Although they spokePolishorRussiantotheirservantsandintheirfamiliesbeforebecomingrefugees,onformaloccasions they spoke French which was the elegant language and also the language ofdiplomacyforsome200yearsuntiltheSecondWorldWarwheneconomicpowerandthetechnologicalprowessoftheAnglo-saxonworldimposedtheEnglishlanguage.

IhaveindeliblememoriesofMarceladeJuan(1977),whowasstillinterpretinginhereighties, as tall and straight as ever, a Chinese princess whose father, a real pig-tailedMandarinandChinesepoet,laterbecameadiplomat.Marcelawasawriterinherownright;shewrote inSpanish andworkedmainly in theSpanish booth (sometimes in theFrench,eveninthemostdifficulttelegraphyandtelephonyconferences),yetshewasamemberofthe fifth branch of the line of EmperorWang-Li, thirteenth emperor of theMing dynasty(l620).ThisistheEmperorwhowasfamousforinvitingtheItalianjesuitMateoRiccitotheImperialCourtofChinaandgivinghimapensioninexchangeforteachingallheknewtothe Emperors son. In addition to working as a conference interpreter, Marcela de Juan(Spanish version of her Chinese name: Huan) was an eminent translator of classical andmodernChinesepoetryintoSpanishandadiplomat.WhenIvisitedherinHongKong,shewasthereasCulturalAttachtotheSpanishEmbassyandIwellrememberherregalpostureaswe sat on the ferry boat, herwhite rice-powdered face protected from the sun by herparasol for fear of suntan. I couldnever forget the tales of her childhoodwhenher amahbound her feet every day and her Belgian mother crept into her nursery every night tounbindtheminsecret.

Sadly, perhaps, the impressive figures I have mentioned are all dead now andconferenceinterpretationhaschanged.Itisnolongermerelyamatterofdiplomacyandhasfallenintothehands-orrathermouths-ofordinarymortalswhoneedtostudytobeabletoprovide quality simultaneous or consecutive interpretation in the present-day scientificcontext. It has become the domain of the earnest, hardworking studentwith a hunger forlearningandtheabilitytograspmedicalandscientificexplanationsrapidly.

But there is a secret, the key to success, that links like a silver thread all the famoussimultaneous interpretersof thepastwith thesuccessfulonesof thepresent.RememberingHermesmagichatofinvisibilityandthewordsofSt.ExuprysLittlePrince,weneedtobediscreet, humble and modest. Our greatest triumph is when our audience forgets we are

there.

3

MEANWHILE,BACKINAUSTRALIA

At the time of the First Fleet, boats were sent to capture some of the natives to act asinterpreters.Manyofthem,likeArabanoo,laterjumpedoverboard,swamashoreandhadtoberecapturedseveraltimes.Arabanoowasthefirsttobeausefulinterpreterbutlaterdiedofmeasles.

Australiasfirstseriousinterpreterwastheaborigine,BennelongorBaneelon(c.1764-c.1815),whoeasedthewaybetweentheearlywhitesettlersandtheaboriginalpopulationofSydney.In1789,GovernorArthurPhillipmetBennelong,thenaged25,anddecidedtoincludehimintheGovernorshouseholdtobetrainedasaninterpreter.

Bennelongappliedhimselftothetaskandhisconstantinvolvementwiththewhites,aswellasahighlydevelopedsenseofmimicry,improvedhiscommandofEnglishinashorttime. Governor Phillip had a house built for Bennelong on what is now the site of theSydneyOperaHouse-BennelongPoint.ApparentlyBennelongtoweredabovetheothers(at5ft.8 inches),wasmuscular and fit: the first thing thegovernmentofficialsdidwas tomeasurehisgirthofchest,belly,thigh,legatcalfandsoon.

AccordingtoWatkinTench(1966),hewasamercurialcharacter, fearlessandneverslowtograspanopportunity;heacquiredknowledge,bothofourmannersandlanguage,fasterthanhispredecessorhaddone.Hewillinglycommunicatedinformation,sang,dancedandcapered,toldusallthecustomsofhiscountryandallthedetailsofhisfamilyeconomy.He too, however, jumped overboard many times and had to be recaptured until it wasrealizedthattheonlywaytokeephimwastoclamphiminleg-irons.Eventhenheescapedanddisappearedforseveralmonths,proudlyshowinghiscaptorshowhisleg-ironhadbeenremovedwhenlatervoluntarilyresuminghisinterpretingduties.

The first conference with interpretation in Australia (consecutive) on record wasprobably the South Seas Conference, Canberra, January 1947.Anne Robson, who laterbecame Lady Kerr when she married Sir John in 1975 (Kerr 1988), was the onlyprofessionalconferenceinterpreterinAustraliaatthattime,andshewastheFrench/Englishinterpreteronthatoccasion.ThefirstUnitedNationsmeetingtobeheldinAustraliawasthefourth session of ECAFE (Economic Commission forAsia and the Far East), operatingunder ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council), which took place inLapstone(inthefoothillsoftheBlueMountains)inNovember1948.ECAFElaterbecameESCAPasweknowit today(EconomicandSocialCommissionforAsiaandthePacific,nowlocatedinBangkok,Thailand).

In 1956, Genevive Barrau came to the Region, and frequently worked withAnneRobson, for example atmeetingsof theHumanRightsDivisionof theUnitedNations inCanberra,theInternationalOfficeofEpizooties,alsoinCanberra,theBoardofGovernorsoftheAsian Development Bank in Sydney, the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Board in Brisbane.Whenteamsofinterpreterswereneeded,theybroughtcolleaguesoutfromEuropewiththe

required language combinations; Philips (Melbourne) provided the simultaneousinterpretationequipmentincludingmobileboothsandatechnician.

AnneRobsonwasRegionalSecretaryofAIICformanyyearsand it is thanks toherthat international standardswere implanted inAustralia and theAsia-PacificRegion,withthe help ofGeneviveBarrau, alsoworking free-lance at that time. By 1970,AIIC rateswerechargedandAIICrulesandworkingconditionsappliedthroughoutAustraliaandtheRegion.

When Anne Robson left the profession in 1975 and Genevive Barrau moved toNouma,NewCaledonia, tobecomeChiefof theLinguisticDivisionof theSouthPacificCommission,thesituationinAustraliareturnedtoitsformerdisorder.Tworivalbusinessesin Sydney tried to commercialize interpreting services in this country and an interpretertraininggroup-perhapsthebestthatcouldbedoneinthecircumstancesandatthattimebutnot of international standard - was set up in 1974. Companies offering interpreters andtranslators appeared in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra, as well as others inSydney, some professing to provide in-house training programmes for interpreters,unfortunatelybasedonlocalratherthaninternationalstandardsandofinsufficientdurationtobeacceptable. It isnotpossible to train a conference interpreter in fourweekseven if thecourse were full time, every day. Sorbonne University in Paris, Geneva University(Switzerland)andmost trainingcoursesallover theworld, including theJapanese/EnglishcourseattheUniversityofQueensland,taketwoyearstotrainaconferenceinterpreter.TheTraining/SchoolsCommittee ofAIIC sets international standards for training courses, vetsthosethatexistallovertheworldandclassifiesthem.Atthetimeofwritingthereisonlyonecourse in Australia meeting international standards and this is at the University ofQueensland,St.Lucia,Brisbane.

From the point of view of the Australian government, the first recognition of ourprofession came in March 1976 when the Commonwealth Government established anInterdepartmentalWorkingPartyonInterpreters/Translators,whose task itwas toreport tothePrimeMinisterandmakerecommendationsfortheimprovementoftheinterpretingandtranslating services available to theAustralian community.TheWorkingParty reported inFebruary 1977, recommending the establishment of an accreditation body. Thus on 14September 1977 the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters(NAATI)wasestablished,headquarteredinCanberrawithbranchesinallStates.On1July1983, NAATI was re-established as an independent body jointly subsidised by theCommonwealth, State and Territory Governments, and is now incorporated as a publiccompany, limited by guarantee, under theCompaniesAct, 1981. Themajor objectives ofNAATIwereandare toestablishprofessional standards for interpretersand translators, todevelopthemeansbywhichpractitionerscanbeaccreditedatvariouslevels,andtodevelopandimplementanationalsystemofregistrationandlicensing.ForfurtherinformationaboutNAATI,seeChapter16.

In1977NAATIbegantestingcandidatesforaccreditationatlevels1,2,3and4.Levels4and5comewithintheframeworkofthisbook.Thenomenclatureoftheselevelshasnowbeenchangedasfollows:Level4isnowdesignatedAdvancedTranslatororConferenceInterpreter and Level 5: Advanced Translator (Senior) or Conference Interpreter

(Senior). NAATI also assesses standards and advises on the content of courses inAustralian institutionsandaccreditsnotonly interpretersand translatorswithAustralianoroverseasqualificationsbutalsothoseworkinginAustraliawithoutacademicqualifications,andthetranslation/interpretationcoursesthemselves.

Mostaccreditationssofarhavebeenforcommunityinterpreters,thatis,formerLevels3and2nowknownasTranslator/InterpreterandParaprofessionalTranslator/Interpreter.However,testsarealsobeingheldforLevel4translationandsoon,itishoped,willbeheldforLevel4interpretationincertainEuropeanlanguages.TheUniversityofQueenslandhasbeenrunningaNAATI-accreditedLevel4translation/interpretationJapanese/Englishcourseforanumberofyears.

Over recent years, there has been an increase in the demand in this country forJapanese-EnglishandEnglish-Japanese.AccordingtoForum(June1991):

OnecharacteristicoftheAustralianmarketseemstobethatthereismoredemandforinterpreting than for translating, at least J-E translating. At the moment the maindemand for interpretation seems to be for consecutive at business meetings,technological exchanges, study visits etc. rather than for simultaneous conferenceinterpreting.

Over the years, various interpreters and translators associationswere set up such asATIACT (Canberra, 1982), AACI (Sydney, 1984), AICIA (Sydney, 1984) and, morerecently, on 5 September 1987 in Canberra, TheAustralian Institute of Translators andInterpreters (AUSIT)wascreatedby theProfessionalDevelopmentCommitteeofNAATI(seeChapter16).

The firstAIICmember (since 1966) in this countrywas, as I have explained,AnneRobson.LucaBibolini(whoretiredfromtheprofessionshortlyafterwards)wasthesecond,and Iwas the third. I came here in 1978 and for the first five years Iwas professionallydomiciledsixmonthsoftheyearinCanberraandsixmonthsinGeneva,Switzerland,havingbeen amember ofAIIC since 1971.When I arrived inAustralia, teamswere still beingbroughtinfromEuropeforalltop-levelinternationalconferences.

MyfirsttaskthereforewastotravelalloverAustralia,toNewCaledonia(SouthPacificCommission)andtoNewZealandtoascertainwhatlocalskillswereavailable,listeningtoasmanyinterpretersatworkasIcould.Iwasencouragedtofindthereweremanypotentialconference interpreters, but discouraged that no training of international standard wasavailableintheRegion.Itwasdifficulttorecommendwould-beinterpreterstogototraininEurope orAmericawhen they had families inAustralia and the costwould no doubt bebeyondtheirmeans,althoughthree,tothebestofmyknowledge,didso.

My first meeting with local conference interpreters took place in a private home inSydneyin1983.Thesevenlocalinterpreterspresent,whoworkedmainlyascommunityorcourtinterpreters,gavemeapictureoftheinterpretingscenethatshowedtheenormousgulfexisting between status, standards and pay in Australia as compared with Europe andAmerica.Ihavebeenworkingeversincetoraisethese,andtoimproveprofessionalisminAustralia, whenever possible recruiting mixed teams of local and overseas professional

interpreters to enable the former to learn from their colleagues and give the latter a betterunderstandingoftheproblemsfacinginterpretersinthiscountry.

The earlier practice of bringing entire teams over from Europewas extremely costlybecause,apart fromairfaresandsubsistenceallowances, interpretersrequiredanumberofpaidrestdaystocompensateforthefatigueoflong-distancetravel.Itwasthereforenotonlyin the interests ofAustralian would-be interpreters, but also in the interest of conferenceorganizers who could save large sums of money by using local interpreters when theybecameavailablewiththerightlanguagecombinationsandtheappropriatelevelofexpertise.

ThroughthegoodofficesofPatLongley,Secretary-GeneralofAIICinGenevaatthattime,andtheSchoolsCommittee,IwasputintouchwiththeJapanese/EnglishinterpretationcourseattheUniversityofQueensland,whichprovedtobethefirstcourseinthiscountryapplying international standards and, at the time ofwriting, is still the only post-graduateschool of translation and interpretation inAustralia (NAATI formerLevel 4 - conferenceinterpreter).

In 1983 Iwas appointed byAIICCouncil to negotiatewithNAATI concerning thestatus of conference interpreters inAustralia; this appointmentwas confirmed by the newAIICCouncil in 1986. Iwas then elected toAIICCouncil, representing theAsia-PacificRegion,in1985(forthreeyears).

One person who played a prominent part in the development of theinterpreting/translating profession in Australia was Jill Blewett, Coordinator of theInterpretation/TranslationDepartment of the School ofLanguages at the SouthAustralianCollegeofAdvancedEducation inAdelaide.She laterbecameamemberof theBoardofDirectorsofNAATIandwentso faras toattendaconference interpretationcourseat theEEC(EuropeanEconomicCommunity)inBrusselsasanobserverinordertogainasmuchknowledgeaspossibleonthesubjectofinterpretingandtranslating.ShewasoneofthefewprominentpeopleinAustraliaatthattimewhounderstoodtheproblemstheprofessionwasencounteringandwasalwayswilling tohelp inanywayshecould.Herdeath inOctober1988wasagreatlosstotheprofession.

In March 1988, the International Congress of Free Trade Unions, headquartered inBrussels, met in Melbourne with a team of sixteen interpreters fromAustralia coveringEnglish,French,SpanishandGerman.AllAustralianAIICmemberswereon the teamaswellasalargenumberofpre-candidates-ahigherproportionofpre-candidatesthanthereshouldhavebeenaccording tonormallyacceptablestandards. Interpreterswerebrought infrom overseas for the language combinations that were not available here at that time:Japanese (in sufficient number) and Scandinavian languages. Itwas extremely difficult tofindsixteeninterpretersoftherequiredstandardandthreewereactuallyfromEuropebuthadchangedtheirprofessionaladdresstoAustraliainordertohelpus,i.e.forthesakeoftheirAustraliancolleagues-otherwisethewholeteamwouldhavebeenimportedfromBrussels.

In November and December 1988 the International Telecommunication Union,headquartered inGeneva,Switzerland(aspecializedagencyof theUnitedNations)helda

meetingof itsInternationalConsultativeCommitteeonTelephonyandTelegraphyandtheWorldAdministrativeTelegraphandTelephoneConferenceinMelbourne,lastingatotaloffiveweeks.More than 1000delegates from114 countries attended the conference.Therewere41 interpreters coveringEnglish,French,Spanish,Russian,Chinese andArabic, i.e.the six languages of United Nations. Thirteen interpreters were recruited fromAustraliawhichwasthemaximumthatcouldbefoundoftherequiredstandardatthattime-allAIICmembers,pre-candidatesand/orNAATILevels4or5.TheothershadtobebroughtoveratgreatexpensefromtheRegion(eight)andfromEurope(twenty).

Another interesting detail concerning these conferences, both ofwhich took place inMelbourne, is that in both cases formal complaints were received from local interpretersprofessionalassociationsthatitwasunfairtobringinterpretersfromSydneyandCanberratoMelbourne, i.e. that itwasunfairnot tohave recruited local interpreters !This shows thateventhelocalinterpretersassociationitselfseemedtobeunawareofthedifferencebetweencommunityandconferenceinterpretationandthefactthatconferenceinterpretationrequiresNAATILevel4or5accreditation.InfacttherewasonlyoneLevel4interpreterdomiciledinMelbourneatthattime,alsoanAIICmember,whowasrecruitedfortheChinesebooth.Obviouslycommunity/courtinterpretersatNAATILevel3couldnotbeexpectedtoprovideconferenceinterpretation(atLevel4)ofUnitedNationsstandard.

FourmorelargeinternationalconferenceshavetakenplaceinAustralia:1) The Government-Industry Conference Against Chemical Weapons, Canberra,

September1989,wheretheentireteamof16interpreterscamefromAustraliaandincludedsix AIIC members and seven pre-candidates. Languages: English, French, Spanish andRussian.

2)Metropolis90,Melbourne,October1990,wheretherewere21interpreters(13local,6fromtheRegion,and2fromUSA).Languages:English,FrenchandSpanish.

3)TheSeventhGeneralAssemblyoftheWorldCouncilofChurchesheldinCanberrain February 1991, where therewere 46 translators, 32 interpreters (7 local, the rest fromEurope) and the languageswere: English, French, Spanish,German,Russian,Greek andIndonesian.Thereweremorethan4,000participants.

4) The World Congress and associated meetings of the International Federation ofEmployeesandTechnicians,heldinSydneyTownHallinMarch1999,with1500delegatesand some forty interpreters, working in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian,German,Dutch,Japanese,Swedish,NorwegianandDanish.Ofthese,fourteencamefromSydneyitself,eightfromelsewhereinAustralia,onefromNewZealand,eightfromEuropeand the remainder fromtheAsia-PacificRegion. InAustralia theonly languagesavailablewereEnglish,French,Spanish,Italian,GermanandJapanesewhichmeantthatinterpretersfortheremainingfivelanguageshadtobebroughtinfromoverseas.

Wecanconcludefromallthisthatwhenlargeinternationalconferencesareheldinthiscountry,thereisashortageofinterpreterswiththerequiredlanguagecombinations.

It is ratherachicken-and-eggsituationbecauseclearly there isnotenoughconferenceworkheretoprovidealivelihoodforfree-lanceinterpreters.EvenforthosenowinAustraliathisistrueandforthosewhomightwishtocomeheretheprospectisbleak.Theyallhavetoearnalivingdoingsomethingelseinbetweenconferences.

IfyouhavereadTheAgeofUnreasonbyProfessorCharlesHandy(1989),youwillseethat this lifestylefits inverywellwithhisportfoliopeople, that is,professionalswho, inthefuture,willnotworkeveryday,suchaswriters,actors,composersandmusicians,andwhowill run two ormore careers in parallel. In ProfessorHandys view, this is thewayemploymentwilldevelopintheyearstocome:availableworkwillbesharedbymorepeopleandallwillhavemoreleisure.

Mostconference interpretershavea second jobasa translator, sub-titleror somethingquite different such as running a business of their own. Often they have to obtain leavewithoutpayinordertoworkonaconference.Ontheotherhand,perhapsifthereweremoreprofessional qualified conference interpreters of the right standard and with the missinglanguagecombinationsavailableinthiscountry,theremightbemoreconferences.

Now we have international standard convention centres in Canberra, Adelaide,Melbourne,Sydney,Hobart,Brisbane,andCairns,nottomentionthebuilt-ininterpretationbooths in ParliamentHouse, Canberra, there is no reasonwhy there should not bemoreinternationalconferencesheldhere.Ifthishappenswewillbeshortofqualifiedinterpreterstoman thebooths.Afterdoingallwecan to train thebestof thecandidatesby recruitingthem and working with them, it is disappointing (though understandable) when theypromptlyleaveforEuropewheretheycangetmorework.

There seems to be aworld-wide shortage ofEnglish-booth - that is, Englishmother-tongue-interpreters,amazingthoughitmayseem,especiallyinWashingtonandNewYork,and the demand in Brussels and Strasbourg is enormous at themoment for all Europeanlanguages.Alreadytherearehundredsoffree-lanceconferenceinterpretersearningagoodlivelihood there from full-time conference interpretation. In Europe, an interpreter whoworkslessthan60daysayearisnotconsideredatrueprofessional,whereasinAustralia,50daysisconsideredagoodyear.Butwemustmaintainhighstandardsinthiscountrysothatourinterpretersandtranslatorsareonaparwiththoseoftherestoftheworld.ThatiswhyNAATIcannotaccreditpeopleonlybecausetheyhavebeendoingtheworkfor20years,ortheyspeakthelanguageconcerned.Thatisnotgoodenough.Ourstandardsmustbethesame as those of other countries so that free circulation of interpreters and translators ispossible. It is no good p