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A day in the life of an interpreter
by an interpreter

The interpreting profession has suffered from a lack of understanding and recognition from the general public and even from users of interpretation for many years. Recently, however, Hollywood came to our rescue with the film The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman, which gives viewers some idea of the interpreting profession.

What does an interpreter really do? Who is an Interpreter? What skills are required? How does she or he work before, during and after each assignment?

The common belief is that an interpreter is the linguistic intermediary between two or more parties who do not speak the same language. However, an interpreter is much more than that. An interpreter is a facilitator of communication who can bridge language and cultural differences; an excellent public speaker skilled in simultaneous and consecutive interpreting; the peacemaker, the confidant of delegates, the poet, the comparative terminologist, the linguistic expert who must have the appropriate university training and experience. An interpreter must have a sea of knowledge one fathom deep and be well informed about current affairs. Here is how I handle a 'normal' working day.

6.00 am: It's 6 am and I have to be in the conference centre at 8.30. I still feel a little jet-lagged. I flew into Singapore yesterday and really should not complain: my colleagues from Europe had an extra rest day to recover but they have a six to eight hour time difference. Thank goodness for the travel and rest days, otherwise we would really make a poor showing on the first day of the conference.

7.30 am: I am rather nervous. The conference is highly technical which is why three interpreters have been assigned per booth. I have been preparing the conference for the past month and have worked at three meetings on the same subject, so I shouldn't be nervous. However, nerves seem to help me concentrate more and perform better. The more years you work in this profession the less cocky you get about how well you perform. My goal is to ensure communication between delegates who speak different languages and come from different cultures while ensuring that my interpretation is accurate, pleasant to listen to and impartial.

Before breakfast I listen to the news and read the daily newspaper to make sure I'm up to date with what is happening in the world. You really feel like a fool when a delegate expresses condolences to a fellow participant for the devastation wrought by a natural disaster that occurred overnight and you know nothing about it.

8.00 am: After breakfast I head off to the conference centre. There are three teams working at this conference, all coordinated by a senior colleague who really knows the ropes. Our coordinator is a versatile interpreter who can also replace a colleague who is sick, late (heaven forbid!) or otherwise unavailable. It's great to have a contingency plan to cover Murphy's Law: 'if something can go wrong, it will'.

8.30 am: I am working with two colleagues I do not know yet. They are great professionals and we immediately put each other at ease by working out the ground rules in the booth and deciding who will be doing what; documentation, suggested terminology, operating the relays, changeovers, etc.

9.30 am: The plenary starts. It's a meeting considering, amending and approving a new draft treaty for submission to the relevant Ministers for adoption. We really must be spot-on with terminology, and even create new expressions in other languages such as 'American exceptionalism'. I admire my colleagues in the Arabic and Russian booths who seem to have come up with expressions that please their respective chief negotiators as they are thanking the interpreters for their suggestions.

12.30 pm: It's lunch time. We have been working half-hour turns in the booth. During the breaks we quickly prepare relevant documents and search the internet for information. We interpret meaning, not words, but to do this we must have a full understanding of every aspect of the conference.

2.30 pm- 5.30 pm: Both delegates and interpreters find it hard to focus during the post-lunch session, also known as the 'graveyard slot', but we must listen, understand, decipher and transfer the meaning of sometimes incomprehensible accents into our working languages, take note of the terminology being used by the delegates and concentrate. The most professional setup, which is favoured by the UN, is to have each booth working into a single language, where the quality of interventions into that language is always guaranteed. However, I also work in bilingual booths, particularly on the private market, which are challenging, but can work very well.

The day is over. The chairperson thanks the delegates for their contribution and does not forget to thank the interpreters.