Skills Development – Yellow Owl

Interpreter Building Blocks with Eugene Mathey

Introduction

Eugene ‘Gene’ Mathey is a lecturer at North West University and has an MA in interpreting. He is a professional interpreter with almost 20 years experience in the industry.

Here are some key takeaways from our conversation.

1) Why is language fluency so important for interpreters?

Having the required language proficiency is the main building block to becoming an interpreter. You need to have a very solid foundation in your first two languages; one of which should ideally be English and one of the South African languages or Sign Language. If you are looking to penetrate the international market, then learning an international language would be beneficial.

2) What does fluency mean?

Fluency means that you are able to sleep, eat, dream, and get angry in that language. It’s a language that you should be comfortable with in any scenario, whether it’s informal, on the streets, highly formal – you have to be able to accommodate any conversation in that language. You need at least two languages as a foundation; if you don’t have them fully developed you’re going to run into trouble

3) What skill do interpreters need?

The ability to speak properly is an important skill and having the confidence to go into an event not fully knowing what people are going to say. Immediately after you are expected to say the exact same thing in another language; making sure that the same feeling, intent, and meaning is conveyed.

Secondly, the ability to think on your feet very quickly is crucial. Interpreting is considered to be ‘serious under pressure voice acting’ because you have to follow what someone else said and act it out.

Another important skill an interpreter needs is a very good short term memory and remember what is being said; coupled with the ability to write things down and note taking.

4) What role does cultural awareness play when interpreting?

Some languages are mono-cultural while others are bi-cultural; and interpreters need to be well-versed in all of that. You need to know the behaviours, struggles, identity issues faced within the community. Interpreters are cultural brokers; it’s you responsibility to make sure that people of different cultures cross the barrier and communicate as if they are from the same culture.

By not being connected to the culture, you run the risk of not being fully culturally aware. The Deaf community needs to feel safe and comfortable with their SASL interpreter; that is less important when it comes to spoken languages because the people don’t really need to know you. This actually works in your favour because can have that sense of objectivity and neutrality: “I’m not here to help you, I’m not on your side. My job is to make sure you can with the other person as if you spoke the same language.

5) Do interpreters need mentors?

Developing your professional career comes with a lot of time and experience; whenever a new interpreters starts regardless of how well you may have trained or simulated – being in a real situation where what you say influences real people’s real lives, puts a completely different pressure on you. It’s okay to make mistakes.

My advice to interpreters in training is: Be honest with yourself and your clients. Tell them that you are still inexperienced and you are willing to do a job without getting paid or working with an experienced interpreter, who can catch up if something goes wrong and pick up the slack. You need to have someone who has been in the game for a while to help and mentor you because each situation is unique and that’s where you need the expertise of someone with experience to catch you when you fall.

Conclusion

One thing that I can say is that if you want to be an interpreter or any kind of language practitioner – go for it! Work is available and there are many opportunities. However, do it with commitment and responsibility because all language practice is centred around people. If not, then don’t do it. You will be doing a disservice to the people you work with and the profession.

THANK YOU Eugene for your time and valuable contribution.

Watch the full conversation here. Enjoy!

How to build your Vocabulary Word Bank

Interpreting is a highly skilled profession that requires linguistic fluency, a good memory, listening skills, intellect, emotional and social awareness. No two days are the same – and this makes each encounter that more exciting!

It’s near impossible to know and understand every single industry-specific jargon; even the most knowledgeable and experienced interpreter will encounter new words and expressions or will need to prepare for a new kind of assignment.

So, as interpreters, we need a way to work with our personal glossaries: organizing terminology, learning it, revising it, and sharing it with others. This is because people, language, communities and culture are constantly evolving.

A vocabulary or word bank is defined as a collection of new words or phrases that a person builds as they learn about different topics. Inspired by Russian Medical interpreter Yuliya Speroff; here are three practical techniques I still use today to build my vocabulary word bank.

1.Make Notes

I still have study notebooks, posters and files that I’ve collected several years dating back to 2016, filled with techniques, industry-specific jargon, and drawings. If digital notes work for you, go for it!

I remember when I started interpreting at a Lenasia jewellery centre in 2012; I had no knowledge of the industry, tools, and the SASL vocab needed to bridge communication for everyone. I created a poster with two columns (English words on the left with the equivalent SASL signs on the right); on a daily basis I added words, phrases and images of terms I struggled with; and asked the relevant people to help me, both the jewellery facilitator and the Deaf learners. With much practice and research, my confidence, skill and industry knowledge grew overtime.

Another example that comes to mind is watching and studying the news interpreters in the small box – pen and notebook ready! Every evening I listened carefully to the headlines, and watched how they signed certain words and phrases – it was very fast paced with lots of concentration. Fast forward a few years later, the same interpreters I looked up to became my mentors and also gave me opportunities to co-interpret several TV broadcasts with them!

2.Stay connected to your community

Language practitioners should be fluent in both their language choices and equally active in cultural communities – stay connected! People are central to who we serve and they are best way to get feedback. Do you need technical jargon? Do you want know what’s happening on the ground? Do you want to be a trusted service provider? Ask your community, they will know.

Commit to continuous skills development, training and mentoring. Become a member of a reputable language body, sign up to a monthly newsletter, or follow upcoming events on social media. This will keep you accountable and up-to-date with the latest trends.

3.Watch, Listen, Read.

Content is king. I often enjoy watching a variety of documentaries such as nature, crime and entertainment; and listening to podcasts about successful entrepreneurs provides insight to scaling a startup business. Reading motivational or self-help books builds character, confidence and resilience for difficult moments.

All this content uses different words, phrases and languages needed to build your vocabulary. Decide which themes are interesting and suitable for your client base then start practicing. Turning captions on while watching videos also creates a visual memory for spelling words correctly.

Conclusion

Interpreters are considered to be ‘walking dictionaries’ because we seem so knowledgeable about any given topic – well, now we know why! Building your word bank will take time, be patient and consistent. Figure out a creative system that works for you – use colour, images, music.

Lastly, share this information with fellow interpreters who may need support. Remember the ultimate goal is to empower more communities to access and enjoy information wherever they are.