美国国家公共电台 NPR The Pressures Of Being An Interpreter At A High-Stakes Summit

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, so when President Trump¹ meets with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, tonight in Singapore, there is going to be a language barrier. A lot is going to be riding on the skills of interpreters. Now, typically, they are invisible - unless, that is, they slip up. There was that time in 1990. Former President George H.W. Bush was deep in nuclear negotiations² with Soviet³ leader Mikhail Gorbachev. All of a sudden, the White House Cabinet Room froze. The Soviet interpreter, Igor Korchilov, remembers the sinking feeling he had.

IGOR KORCHILOV: They were astounded⁴ that Gorbachev had changed his position a hundred and eighty degrees overnight.

GREENE: Except, he hadn't. Korchilov, the interpreter, had simply said the wrong word. They corrected the mistake pretty quickly. But Korchilov did wonder for a moment - had he just accidentally changed the course of history? He approached President Bush afterwards to offer his apology.

KORCHILOV: He made a stern look, you know, put his arms in his pockets and said, relax; the good news is that you didn't start World War III.

GREENE: NPR's Danny Hajek talked with some of the interpreters whose words carry the weight of the world.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAMERA SHUTTERS⁵ CLICKING)

DANNY HAJEK, BYLINE⁶: October 2000 - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright lands in Pyongyang to meet former North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. And right there between them is U.S. interpreter Tong Kim.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: What did they say?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Unintelligible).

HAJEK: Then the doors close, and the talks begin.

TONG KIM: That was the most important meeting I have ever interpreted for.

HAJEK: The delegations⁷ sat either side of a glossy⁸ mahogany table that spanned the length of the room - Kim Jong Il and Madeleine Albright face to face, interpreters by their sides. Each leader brings their own. To prepare, U.S. interpreter Tong Kim reviewed top-secret documents. He read a dozen books on nuclear bombs.

KIM: I kept reading and reading and reading.

HAJEK: He learned a North Korean accent.

KIM: I picked up their language, their intonation⁹, their dialect. And that gives them some trust.

HAJEK: See; the best interpreters are part linguists¹⁰, part diplomats¹¹. They have to know the politics behind each word.

STEPHANIE VAN REIGERSBERG: It can be scary, but you get yourself into a kind of a zone.

HAJEK: Stephanie Van Reigersberg spent 18 years as head of the interpreting division at the U.S. State Department, and she has stories.

VAN REIGERSBERG: I had one experience with President Bush Sr. when he was vice¹² president during the...

HAJEK: All right, so this is December, 1983 - a secret mission into El Salvador. They flew in on Black Hawk¹³ helicopters through the Salvadoran mountains to a presidential villa¹⁴. And Bush was there to deliver a warning to armed military commanders about their government's brutal¹⁵ death squads¹⁶.

VAN REIGERSBERG: I don't want to use the word vulgar about Bush because that was far from the way he is, but basically, he cussed them out. Having a woman interpreter using that kind of language really got their attention. And after the meeting, Bush said, well, I almost got us both killed, didn't I? (Laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: The president of the United States and Mrs. Reagan.

HAJEK: Years of negotiations led to this other moment more than 30 years ago when President Ronald Reagan welcomed his Cold War rival Mikhail Gorbachev to Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RONALD REAGAN: Today marks a visit that is perhaps more momentous¹⁷ than many which have preceded it because it represents a coming together not of allies but of adversaries¹⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

DIMITRY ZARECHNAK: We were just agonizing¹⁹ over this word adversaries.

HAJEK: Dimitry Zarechnak was interpreting the speech that day. Here he is on NPR in 2001.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ZARECHNAK: ...Because in Russian, the actual word for adversary²⁰ is protivnik, which sounds very much like protivniy, which means disgusting, and it has that kind of a flavor.

HAJEK: It could've thrown off the whole summit. So to save the moment, Zarechnak made a change. Instead of adversaries, he went with the Russian word for competitors.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ZARECHNAK: (Speaking in Russian).

HAJEK: And it seemed to work - a nod from Gorbachev, and the summit was underway.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Applause).

HAJEK: So when it comes to interpreting, it doesn't get much more high-stakes than this - President Trump and Kim Jong Un. And just weeks ago, it was fiery²¹ rhetoric²², and the talks were canceled. But for interpreters who hold onto every word, the challenge in this meeting room will be keeping up with a president who's known to go off script. Again, Stephanie Van Reigersberg.

VAN REIGERSBERG: You hear the message that comes to you, and you deliver it as best you can, and that's all you can do.

HAJEK: Danny Hajek, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF YPPAH'S "LITTLE DREAMER")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

5 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

8 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

9 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

10 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

11 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

14 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

15 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

16 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

17 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

18 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

19 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

20 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

21 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

22 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。