Translation For World Leaders - How Language Interpreters Cope Under Pressure

We all know that world leaders need toMany of us wonder how interpreters work under
communicate. Without communication, a considerablesuch pressure and exactly how much paraphrasing, if
amount more attacks and wars would happen andany, is done. The truth is that people are not perfect
the world would be in a mess. Presidents andand sometimes, mistakes can be made even by
politicians from various countries hold internationallanguage interpreters. World famous interpreters,
talks regularly and these talks can only happen withindividuals who have worked with world leaders, say
the help of a language interpreter. Being a languagethat sometimes they would have to censor the
interpreter is a high pressure job that can come withtranslation in order to calm the already tense
a large amount of stress, and this amount ofenvironment. Even though this is done without
pressure is exemplified when working with worldchanging the meaning of the sentence, changing the
leaders. As we have all seen by watching parliamenttone can change the desired effect. One of the most
and conferences, these talks can get heated and anfamous changes of language interpretation tone was
interpreter has to keep their cool in order to translatein the 1980's when Margaret Thatcher met with the
the language to the best of their ability.then president of former Congo. The first thing that
Verbal interpretation can be just as important as legalThatcher said when she met the president was "I
translations, one wrong word could get you into ahate Communists." The French language interpreter
large amount of trouble and have you left withtranslated this comment to a gentler "Prime Minister
nothing in a legal settlement or accidently have youThatcher says that she has never been wholly
give away your home in a divorce agreement.supportive of the ideas of Karl Marx".
Language interpretation for world leaders is highlyBeing a language interpreter is a tricky profession and
word specific, as one wrong word could change a lotone has to be able to not only translate terms
more than a divorce settlement. Translation from onedirectly, but interpret the tone and point that that
foreign language to another at an internationalperson is trying to make and translate it as
meeting has to be done quickly, accurately and ofaccurately as possible.
course, correctly, so interpreters have to work fast.