When I was a graduate student, I attended a lecture meeting.
The lecturers were two professors who were both English speakers. The venue was
in Japan. Simultaneous interpreters assisted us.
There were big differences between the two professors.
Professor A gave us the lecture very eloquently. It was as if he was talking to
us directly. Professor B gave us the lecture with the interpreters. They got
along very well with each other. Professor B spoke slowly and clearly. He
talked in very short sentences. Sometimes he waited for the interpreter finish
the translation.
If you asked me which professor’s lecture was easy to
understand, I’d definitely say Professor B’s was. Professor A’s lecture was too
eloquent. I felt the interpreters were confused. I could not understand
Professor A’s lecture.
I guess Professor A had little experience giving a
lecture abroad or didn’t know the difficulties involved in studying a foreign
language. He didn’t seem to understand how interpreters worked.
A person who works as a simultaneous interpreter can
think in two languages at the same time. This is a special ability. But the
person is not psychic. He or she needs some breaks in order to translate a long
lecture.
About fifteen years ago, I heard that first-rate
simultaneous interpreters could get paid US$ 1,500 per hour. I can’t be a
simultaneous interpreter. I am not even good at simple interpretation. I just want
to get paid US$ 1,500 per hour. I wish I could work for just two hours a month.
And I wish I could enjoy the time left, which would be plenty of free time.
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