How interpreters juggle two languages at once - Ewandro Magalhaes

翻译人员: Yancy Ye 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

In 1956, during a diplomatic reception in Moscow,

1956年，在墨西哥的外交招待会上

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev told Western Bloc ambassadors,

苏联领导人尼基塔·谢尔盖耶维奇·赫鲁晓夫告诉西方集团大使

"My vas pokhoronim!"

“不管你们喜不喜欢，历史都在我们这一边，我们会为你们掘土”

His interpreter rendered that into English as,

他的翻译把他的话翻译成

"We will bury you!"

“我们要埋葬你们”

This statement sent shockwaves through the Western world,

这句话震惊了西方国家

heightening the tension between the Soviet Union and the US

使在冷战期间的苏联与美国关系

who were in the thick of the Cold War.

进一步降到了冰点

Some believe this incident alone set East/West relations back a decade.

有一些人认为就这一事故会使东西关系倒退十年

As it turns out, Khrushchev's remark was translated a bit too literally.

最终证明发现，对于赫鲁晓夫的言辞翻译的有些太夸张了

Given the context, his words should have been rendered as,

鉴于上下文， 他的话应该渲染为：

"We will live to see you buried,"

“我们会活着看你自掘坟墓”

meaning that Communism would outlast Capitalism,

意味着共产主义会超过资本主义

a less threatening comment.

变成了一个威胁性更小的评论

Though the intended meaning was eventually clarified,

虽然赫鲁晓夫预期的意思

the initial impact of Khrushchev's apparent words

最终被澄清了

put the world on a path that could have led to nuclear armageddon.

但如果这句话走上了世界的道路，可能就会引发核战争

So now, given the complexities of language and cultural exchange,

所以现在，当我们考虑到语言与文化交流的复杂性

how does this sort of thing not happen all the time?

怎样才能避免这样的事情反复发生？

Much of the answer lies with the skill and training of interpreters

大部分答案说是取决于翻译官的技能与培训

to overcome language barriers.

去克服语言障碍

For most of history, interpretation was mainly done consecutively,

在翻译历史上，口译主要是按顺序做的

with speakers and interpreters making pauses to allow each other to speak.

说话者和翻译员会停顿允许对方说话

But after the advent of radio technology,

但是在无线电技术问世后

a new simultaneous interpretations system was developed in the wake of World War II.

一种新的同声传声系统在二战后发展起来

In the simultaneous mode

在同步模式下

interpreters instantaneously translate a speaker's words

翻译者可以在瞬间为说话者翻译

into a microphone while he speaks.

并将翻译内容在说话者说话时传入麦克风

Without pauses, those in the audience can choose the language

没有停顿，观众可以选择

in which they want to follow.

自己可听懂的语言

On the surface, it all looks seamless,

表面上看起来是无缝的

but behind the scenes,

但是在幕后

human interpreters work incessantly

人工翻译人员在不间断的工作着

to ensure every idea gets across as intended.

保证每一个观点都被正确翻译

And that is no easy task.

这可不是一个简单的任务

It takes about two years of training for already fluent bilingual professionals

即使是双语流利的人员也要经过两年的训练

to expand their vocabulary and master the skills necessary

去扩大他们的词汇量并且掌握主要的技能

to become a conference interpreter.

最终成为一名会议翻译人员

To get used to the unnatural task of speaking while they listen,

听和说在同一时刻，去顺应不自然的工作任务

students shadow speakers

这些翻译学员是说话者的影子，

and repeat their every word exactly as heard in the same language.

并重复他们的每一个字，就像是在同一语言中听到的一样

In time, they begin to paraphrase what is said,

随着时间的推移，他们开始释义

making stylistic adjustments as they go.

根据实际情况进行风格调整

At some point, a second language is introduced.

再某些特殊点上，运用第二种语言进行介绍

Practicing in this way creates new neural pathways in the interpreter's brain,

翻译人员运用这种方法练习来建立新的大脑思维方式

and the constant effort of reformulation gradually becomes second nature.

再加上不断的努力，逐渐形成为第二天性

Over time and through much hard work,

随着时间的推移和努力的工作

the interpreter masters a vast array of tricks to keep up with speed,

翻译官在掌握大量的技巧后，逐渐提高速度

deal with challenging terminology,

处理具有挑战性的术语

and handle a multitude of foreign accents.

并处理大量外语口音

They may resort to acronyms to shorten long names,

他们会运用缩写来缩短较长的名字

choose generic terms over specific,

选择特定术语

or refer to slides and other visual aides.

或参考幻灯片和其他视觉助手

They can even leave a term in the original language,

当他们在寻找最准确的同义词时

while they search for the most accurate equivalent.

他们甚至可以在原先的语言中留下一个术语

Interpreters are also skilled at keeping aplomb in the face of chaos.

翻译官们在面对混乱的场面时善于保持沉着冷静

Remember, they have no control over who is going to say what,

要记住的是，他们没法控制谁会说什么

or how articulate the speaker will sound.

或者发言人的发音是否清晰

A curveball can be thrown at any time.

意外随时都会发生

Also, they often perform to thousands of people

此外，他们经常在有成千上万人的会议上执行任务

and in very intimidating settings,

和一些非常威严的地点

like the UN General Assembly.

比如说联合国大会

To keep their emotions in check,

去控制自己的情绪

they carefully prepare for an assignment,

他们会仔细认真的准备一项任务

building glossaries in advance,

提前建立词汇表

reading voraciously about the subject matter,

大量阅读会议有关题材

and reviewing previous talks on the topic.

并回顾以前谈论的话题

Finally, interpreters work in pairs.

最终，在会议上翻译官配对进行翻译

While one colleague is busy translating incoming speeches in real time,

当其中一个同事正在进项忙碌的实时翻译

the other gives support by locating documents,

另一名通过定位文件进行支持

looking up words,

查词汇

and tracking down pertinent information.

并寻找相关信息

Because simultaneous interpretation requires intense concentration,

因为同声传译需要精神极度集中

every 30 minutes, the pair switches roles.

每三十分钟，同伴交换角色

Success is heavily dependent on skillful collaboration.

成功很大程度上是依赖于熟练的合作

Language is complex,

语言十分复杂

and when abstract or nuanced concepts get lost in translation,

当翻译一些抽象或微妙的概念时容易失去方向

the consequences may be catastrophic.

后果或许是充满灾难性的

As Margaret Atwood famously noted, "War is what happens when language fails."

正如玛格丽特·阿特伍德所说 “战争是当语言失败时发生的事情”

Conference interpreters of all people are aware of that

所有会议的口译人员都意识到这一点

and work diligently behind the scenes to make sure it never does.

在幕后努力工作以确保这样的事情不会发生