Interpreting done well. Or not.
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What is the episode’s introduction and why does interpreting matter for Buddhist teachings?
Hello and welcome all of my faithful listeners and any new ones to episode two of series three of the Double Dorget Podcast. does promise by the way to be a contender for the most boring one I've ever done. I'm Alex Wilding and today I want to talk about the styles with which people do live interpreting in Buddhist teachings. Some are good, some are bad and there are a few points that I really want to make. And of course, I have to say it, please like and subscribe if you find these podcasts valuable. Thank you. Quickly, that's done. Now, I myself have never done any live interpreting, but I did spend many years translating out of German into English.
How does the host differentiate between translation and live interpreting?
So I did get at least a bit familiar with the language translation scene. In the language trade, there is a sharp distinction made between two terms: translating and interpreting. Translation refers here to the written word, producing a written text from a written input. Very important part of language work.
What are the differences between simultaneous and sequential interpreting in practice?
Interpreting, on the other hand, involves speech and it's done basically in real time. Once again, there is here a distinction between two very different things. One is simultaneously. Simultaneous interpreting and the other is interpreting sequentially. The first one, simultaneous, is the kind of thing that goes on, for example, in the United Nations. where some pompous politician makes a speech, probably one whose outline has not even been seen by the interpreter beforehand. While the interpreter reproduces the speech in their target language at the same time. It involves listening, thinking, formulating speech in the target language and speaking it all out at the same time. It's furiously difficult, it's exhausting, and people who do it well can sometimes learn quite a lot.
Of money. But it does take so much concentration and effort that it can only be done for relatively short spells, so in those high-powered circumstances, teams of interpreters are used. Fortunately, that is not what regularly happens in the Buddhist teaching context. Now, the typical scenario is that a teacher gives teachings in one language, the interpreter sits next to the teacher, putting the teacher's speech chunk by chunk, that is to say sequentially, into the target language. The teacher may be perhaps speaking in Tibetan and the interpreter converts that into a Western language such as English or of course any other language that might be required. What I myself have mostly had the opportunity to observe has been Tibetan teachers with average to fair English, let's say, sometimes a bit doubtful, teaching in English and having that interpreted into German.
In years gone by, I sat through many, many hours of that when I was living in Hamburg. Let me say Here and now that I have seen this done extremely well.
Why should event organizers value and plan for interpreters early on?
And having some experience of translation myself, I know how difficult it can be, and I totally admire those good interpreters. No way could I do it as well as I have in fact seen it done. But there can be problems. I'm aware of cases where interpreters who knew quite well that their familiarity with the subject matter wasn't particularly great, but they were nevertheless persuaded to attempt the job on the grounds that there was nobody else to be found. Maybe that was a good thing if the interpreter is honest at the time about not understanding certain passages. Perhaps they might ask the teacher for further explanation. Perhaps they might simply have to say something like, I'm sorry, I don't understand this.
We'll have to try and look it up later. It hardly needs me to say that if an interpreter hedges, guesses, and dodges the problem. Then the result is not so good. Sometimes the only right thing to have done would have been to tell the organizers that they should have included the question of who was going to be the interpreter in the planning of the event at a far earlier stage. It must be admitted that sometimes the interpreter is sadly undervalued and treated as a kind of optional extra that can be swapped in or swapped out whenever the occasion demands it.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the episode’s introduction and why does interpreting matter for Buddhist teachings?
0:07–0:52
2
How does the host differentiate between translation and live interpreting?
0:52–1:18
3
What are the differences between simultaneous and sequential interpreting in practice?
1:18–3:41
4
Why should event organizers value and plan for interpreters early on?
3:41–8:42
5
How does the size of language “chunks” affect interpreter accuracy?
8:42–11:31
6
When do interpreters need to take notes and why is note‑taking crucial?
11:31–14:19
7
What ethical boundaries must interpreters respect when conveying a speaker’s words?
14:19–14:37
8
How does the host conclude and honor interpreters who get it right?
14:37–14:57