Producers of pay-per-view boxing matches are now using interpreters for non-English-speaking boxers, such as Spanish-speaking Dr. Ferdie Pacheco and Ray Torres. Working at news conferences and meetings with broadcasters, interpreting during the breaks between rounds, and at post match interviews, interpreters are called upon to convey the words and energy of the boxers. “The key is to be 100 percent accurate. You don’t summarize things," says Jerry Olaya, a Spanish interpreter for HBO. "You don’t change things. You don’t editorialize. You are there to be seamless. If you are not noticed, that’s all the better.” Despite the interpreter’s best efforts, 100% accuracy is not possible, and sometimes a boxer’s rambling answers to reporters’ questions need to be condensed. “If there is something I left out,” Olaya said, “it’s because I went blank, forgot about it, or didn’t hear it.” Felix De Jesus, a color commentator for the Yankees’ Spanish radio broadcast and an interpreter for Showtime boxing, agreed. “I definitely summarize if I know we have 10 minutes left on the air,” he says. Because of the abundance of Spanish-speaking fighters, Olaya and De Jesus are the most recognizable in the field, but they are not employed full-time by the cable networks. Interpreters for other languages are tougher to find. “First, we look at the fighter’s team or his promoter,” says Chris DeBlasio, a vice-president for sports communications with Showtime. “If not, we will go to the local market.” Raymond Stallone, an HBO spokesman, said the network did not rely on promoters to find interpreters. “You can’t just go out and hire somebody that is bilingual,” said Nobu Ikushima, the U.S. coordinator for Teiken, a Japanese promotional and managerial company. “The vocabulary is different. We hire people that know boxing language.”
After announcing the closure of the popular free Google Translate API by end of this year, Google has now announced the launch of its paid version for businesses interested in integrating it with their web pages. There would be a free version as well for academic users and a Google Website Translator gadget for the rest according to Jeff Chin, the product manager of Google Translate.
Translation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same message in another language. The text to be translated is called the source text, and the language that it is to be translated into is called the target language; the final product is sometimes called the target text.
Translation, when practiced by relatively bilingual individuals but especially when by persons with limited proficiency in one or both languages, involves a risk of spilling-over of idioms and usages from the source language into the target language. On the other hand, inter-linguistic spillages have also served the useful purpose of importing calques and loanwords from a source language into a target language that had previously lacked a concept or a convenient expression for the concept. Translators and interpreters, professional as well as amateur, have thus played an important role in the evolution of languages and cultures.
Iranian translators listed on this site are qualified professionals who will bridge the (usually) two wonderful worlds of Persian, and English languages.
Please introduce yourself.
Mehrnaz Samimi, and I am a Persian interpreter/translator.
Where are you located Mehrnaz?
I am in Washington, D.C.
Where do you work?
I work at VOA Persian TV, but I am also available for freelance work.
How did you end up being a Persian translator?
I became an unofficial , unpaid translator when I was five. I went to a pre-school named British Nursery School in Shemiran, Tehran; where I grew up, and the staff was all British. A lot of the parents could not communicate with the teachers since they knew no English. So, I was asked to translate back and forth.
I started written translation at thirteen, thinking it would be cool to create the Persian versions of parts of what I read. I read almost everything in English, ( and I read a lot) though I lived in Iran and never left there till I turned 32. Later, I continued translating for Adineh magazine, which I wrote for as well. But that wasn’t till I was 23. Alongside writing for different magazines and newspapers in Iran ( I have around 320 published articles) , I translated articles as well. I wrote a book, and translated another along with a few other translators. I was mainly interested in social issues.
We hear you are one of the best people in business, in doing simultaneous interpretation, meaning you translate as the speaker utter words out. Isn’t it tough?
I started doing simultaneous interpretation- from English to Farsi and vice versa- when I was 24. I began with translating for different foreign journalist groups , including CNN, the Swiss TV and numerous newspapers. Afterward, I added conferences to the workload, and I was asked for translation all the time. People in the business knew me , and, through word of mouth, I kept getting introduced and referred to.
We understand you also speak French, and some German?
I learned French as an adult, studying French Literature at the University of Tehran as my second university degree. I took the University Entrance Exam again at age 26, and was accepted at Tehran University as student number one. I graduated as the top student as well. I have not, however, worked on translating French simultaneously . I simply adore French and love languages and etymology. In Iran, I started learning German and learned some, but stopped once I moved to the States in mid-June of 2005. I still remember the bit of German I learned, though.
How often do you have to interpret for politicians?
I regularly do interpretation live on –air for important authorities and officials and their press conferences, speeches, and so forth. I enjoy the challenge and the excitement of the work.
You have any complaints about this line of work?
What is really frustrating and annoying to me is that , in this country, you could not work as a linguist at the numerous different places- government or private sector- if you are not a citizen, and I won’t be one till almost two years from now. I can apply to almost none of these positions unless I would be willing to leave for Afghanistan, for instance, which, being a single mother with no family here, is entirely out of the question.
What gives you joy?
My nine-year-old daughter, Neeka, is a wonderful blogger, story-writer, and a brilliant joy to have; the single thing I am proud of in life.
"To me, a lawyer is basically the person that knows the rules of the country. We're all throwing the dice, playing the game, moving our pieces around the board, but if there is a problem the lawyer is the only person who has read the inside of the top of the box.
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