Arduous job of real-time translator

By Kizito Makoye

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AA) – Translator walks on razor’s edge and it requires them to keep the senses on alert while delivering the message, said John Kilonzo, a resident of Tanzania‘s port city of Dar es Salaam, who has been working as an interpreter past many years.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on eve of the International Translation Day, which is being observed on Thursday, Kilonzo, 42, who had just finished interpreting the speech of a pastor in the Swahili language at a packed Tanganyika ground said that real-time interpretation needs a mixture of sensory and cognitive skills.

“This is a very difficult job, which constantly needs brain faculties to deliver the message,” he said.

Like other language professionals, real-time interpreters who verbally translate speeches from one language to the other without distorting the natural flow of the speaker, play an important role in connecting nations, thus fostering peace, understanding, and development.

Kilonzo, who works on a freelance basis for several local and international organizations, said as a skilled interpreter he always tries to handle the surging linguistic demands.

“Many people assume we simply exchange one word after another verbally, they don’t consider the mental juggling taking place in our brains,” he said.

According to Kilonzo, the hardest aspect of his job as a real-time interpreter is to juggle with words to provide accurate meaning and interpret it in the same way as the speaker.

Describing his job as challenging, he also acknowledges that this job has taken him to places, where he had never been before.

With a degree in linguistics from the University of Dar es Salaam, Kilonzo said it took him years of training before he fully embraced the job which entails the use of cognitive functions of a human brain.

- Tone and intent

Kilonzo, who is married with six children speaks English, Kiswahili, French, Haya, fluently.

“As part of my job I have to ensure that all semantic elements in the speech including tone and the intent of the message are delivered to the audience,” he said.

Kilonzo said that often he does not get the written text in advance or at times he receives it just 30 seconds before the speaker starts addressing and sometimes the native English speakers speak very fast.

Admitting that at times, when he fails to understand the word or a sentence of a speaker with a heavy accent, he just skips it.

“Some speakers use flowery language and difficult vocabulary which you may not quickly grasp,” he said.

As a seasoned interpreter, Kilonzo says that he uses various skills and strategies to cope with the natural pace of the fast-speaking person.

According to him, his job becomes stressful and exhausting whenever he works remotely and without sound equipment.

“I hate working in such an environment because it is hard to decipher meaning without studying the body language and facial expression,” he said.

- Hard job

Michael Kadeghe, professor of linguistics at the University of Dar es Salaam, said language interpretation is a hard job that requires the interpreter to have an excellent grasp and more than average fluency in the two languages.

“The interpreter must be mentally prepared to accurately explain what is being said to the audience in the target language often under a stressful situation,” he said.

In simultaneous interpretation the interpreter, who’s often located within the confines of a soundproof booth has to adeptly grasp the thoughts and words of the speaker and translate them with a delay of 30 seconds, said Kadeghe.

According to Kilonzo, people wrongly use the terms interpreter and translator interchangeably although both of them seek to convey the original meaning, one works with spoken language the other deals with written materials.

“Both interpreters and translators should have a solid grasp and in-depth understanding of the two languages,” he said.