The Accidental Translator
This book tells the story of how I accidentally became a translator — and soon thereafter an interpreter — 30 years ago. It also testifies to how winding anybody’s professional route is and it drives home an idea best summarized in this quote by John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” The book was […]
Tenha Seu Próprio Equipamento (in Portuguese)
Em alguns círculos profissionais, a reputação dos sistemas portáteis de interpretação não é das melhores, sobretudo na Europa. E os termos usados para designar um equipamento móvel não deixam dúvida quanto a isso: bidule (treco); valisette (malinha); tour-guide, etc. Contudo, há situações em que o equipamento portátil é a única solução prática, o que explica sua crescente popularidade junto a várias organizações […]
Are You The Best of the Best?
“Welcome to the largest multilingual summit this office has ever organized. Congratulations on making it here. You are the best of the best.” With these words, the chief interpreter of a top international organization greeted a team of 70 interpreters in Washington, D.C. Gathered around the u-shaped table, they were briefed on the Summit they would […]
TED-Ed: How Simultaneous Interpretation Works
My viral TED-Ed Lesson: How Interpreters Juggle Two Languages at Once In 1956, during a diplomatic reception in Moscow, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev told western bloc ambassadors – “Мы вас похороним!” His interpreter rendered that into English as “we will bury you!” This statement sent shockwaves through the western world, heightening the tension between the Soviet […]