During a sight viewing afternoon tour, the wife of the I.S.M.S. Congress organizer in Braunschweig, Germany told me that the Professional Interpreter could not be present... She said, but you can help us out! Sure I am fluent in German but...
What was I thinking when saying yes to translate the speech from Madam Burgomaster into English, Jacques Delmas would translate my English into French... both of us standing behind Madam Burgomaster at the ancient City Hall.
Here I am, to the right and Pieter center AFTER the disaster... YES!
Without any script and an obvious inexperienced Madam Burgomaster, that went on for about half a page. My train of thoughts, trying to memorize + translate could not keep up with that.
Back then, I did not have the courage for stepping forward and tapping that lady on her shoulder and saying: 'Please no more than a couple of sentences at a time, otherwise I loose track!'
And all that, in front af some 500 International participants of the ISMS Congress... wanting to just vanish!
International Society of Mushroom Science
That was on Monday, September 21, 1987.
International Society of Mushroom Science
That was on Monday, September 21, 1987.
Husband Pieter with Walter Huhnke whom I mentioned in my previous post: 1967 Pieter at Max Planck Society Germany's Most Successful Research Organization
Friday evening, September 24, felt more relaxed... nothing to interpret here!
Just enjoying a formal Banquet with the other participants without any lectures or speeches.
But I survived!
Just enjoying a formal Banquet with the other participants without any lectures or speeches.
But I survived!
{My Own Design of Brass Mushrooms} | previous post about my sales at the ISMS Congress
{XIIth ISMS Braunschweig, Germany Plate of 1987} | previous post by me
{XIIth ISMS Braunschweig, Germany Plate of 1987} | previous post by me
Hello Mariette, Translation is a specialized skill, and interpretation is even more specialized. I have done some translation/interpretation here, but only informally, and even then I often transmitted the gist of the speech instead of the exact words.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteIt is a very hard job, even if you are fluent in both languages. Madam Burgomaster just went on way too long for keeping track of her. But it ended...
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeletedas sind schöne Erinnerungen.
Sonnige Grüße
Elisabeth
Liebe Elisabeth,
DeleteHaha, weniger schön da die Frau Oberbürgemeisterin viel zu lange redete und ich nicht mitkommen könnte mit die Übersetzung auf English. Und das alles bevor 500 Menschen aus aller Welt...
Liebe Grüße,
Mariette
Oh, goodness, I can't imagine the stress! My father and his wife have a friend who is an interpreter (French/English) in the House of Commons (here in Canada). It must be so challenging. Still, obviously you survived the experience! :-)
ReplyDeleteDearest Kim,
DeleteIt was one of those experiences that I never want to live through again, not the translation itself but without any printed text... When we both went to Budapest for one of those international mushroom congresses, there were professional translators and you had to put on a headphone and dial a certain number for a specific language. That's how all such international congresses got done back in time! We've talked once with such a certified person and they told us that you cannot do it for longer than 2 hours. It must really exhaust you. I recall always being so dead tired from an entire day doing training in Spanish or even Bahasa Indonesia... it wears you out!
Yes, I survived and I learned from it for never ever accepting such a challenge without having it in print!
Hugs,
Mariette
It has been really exciting!
ReplyDeleteDearest Anne,
DeleteThat it was and so glad it was over with after all those people staring at me for some information... Haha!
Hugs,
Mariette
I was wondering if I was having problems because usually I get more comments. I checked all the settings and they seem to be Ok! Not sure what is going on!
ReplyDeleteDearest Kelleyn,
DeleteGuess I managed to go back and leave you a comment.
Hugs,
Mariette
Wow, what a stressful situation to be in at a moment's notice.
ReplyDeleteI imagine not something you would want to repeat again at another conference.
Such a coincidence that we both mentioned Braunschweig in our posts today.
Dearest Sami,
DeleteYes it sure was and maybe I was too generous for saying yes to the organizer's wife, when she asked me.
One always learns and next time I would demand being provided with the script, that is a complete different story and doable.
This is not the first time that we are mentioning the same thing... but this is really special, on the very same day.
Hugs,
Mariette
Young lady! Adorable then and now. And NO you would never catch me in a fur.
ReplyDeleteDearest Helen,
DeleteThank you and about a fur, I've only received a mink coat from my best friend who could no longer wear it, size-wise, neither could her daughter...
Hugs,
Mariette
Indossavi un bel vestito.
ReplyDeleteBuona domenica Mariette.
Caro Giancarlo,
DeleteGrazie per il tuo complimento e anche vi auguro una bella domenica.
Abbracci,
Mariette
May have been awkward but you survived
ReplyDeleteDearest Jo-Anne,
DeleteYes, very awkward for the moment but I quickly got over that and enjoyed the congress.
Hugs,
Mariette
Well. Admire you for stepping up and trying! Pretty pink dress.
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
DeleteWell, getting off the bus where I gave a too quick and spontaneous YES, changing and standing in front of the crowd was a challenge! Thank you, loved that pink silk skirt with top and used it many times, a great travel companion too.
Hugs,
Mariette
Oh my, what a challenging experience! Even if you speak languages fluently, interpreting simultaneously is a really difficult task. It would have been helpful if Madam Burgomaster paused for you to interpret, but that wasn’t the case...! Glad you had much more relaxed time at the banquet :-) Ypu look beautiful in your pink dress!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend, Mariette xo
Dearest Tamago,
DeleteYes, you are right, simultaneously this was impossible to do but we got past that and enjoyed the banquet later.
Thank you for the compliment!
Hugs,
Mariette
Buongiorno e buon inizio settimana!
ReplyDeleteGrazie Giancarlo e egualmente a voi!
DeleteMariette
Dearest Mariette,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got through this ordeal and must have been challenging keeping up with Madam Burgomaster. You look beautiful in your lovely pink dress and must have been enjoyable at the banquet, after all that. Thanks for your kind visit to my blog and so lovely to touch base with you again.
Stay safe and well
hugs
Carolyn
Dearest Carolyn,
DeleteThank you for your compliment and yes, that was quite a relief for having that behind me!
Wishing you and yours also the very best.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hola Mariette, qué gusto visitar un blog bonito y didáctico. No sé el idioma, pero espero aprender pronto para poder comprender tus post.
ReplyDeleteSaludos desde Perú.
Querida Nury,
DeletePero hay un botón de traducción en la parte superior derecha en mi blog...
También puedes disfrutarlo en tu propio idioma.
Abrazos,
Mariette
Yeeee Mariette lo hice. Me gustó mucho. Creo que no me atrevería a ser traductora. En el colegio se me hacía muy díficil aprender inglés y hoy en el cole de mi última hija le enseñan aparte de inglés, el idioma chino mandarín, te imaginas? Admiro tu vocación de traducir y qué lindo lograste salir victoriosa en el banquete. Te confieso que imaginé que haría yo si estuviera en esos momentos. Te felicito.
DeleteUn fuerte abrazo. 🌷😘
Querida Nury,
DeleteGracias y sí, superé esto y el banquete fue un ser divertido y relajado juntos; ya no hay presión. El mandarín es todo un desafío para el uso de esos caracteres alfabéticos. ¡Admiro a cualquiera que domine eso!
Abrazos,
Mariette
❤️❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteDearest Regine,
DeleteThank you!
Hugs,
Mariette
Debió ser muy complicado, desempeñar ese trabajo.
ReplyDeleteBesos
Querida Ventana de foto,
DeleteSeguro que sí y especialmente sin ninguno de los textos impresos delante de mí...
Abrazos,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeletedas sind ja wieder tolle Bilder! Oh und in Braunschweig ... Du schriebst ja schon mal, dass Du unsere Stadt besucht hast. Da muß ich gleich noch zu Deinem vorherigen Beitrag, um die Zusammenhänge besser zu verstehen.
Im Moment geht es mir mit Deinem Blog wie vor einiger Zeit mit meinem - er läßt sich nur sehr schwer scrollen, es dauert lange, bis ich ans Kommentarfeld komme.
Liebe Grüße
Sara
Liebe Sara,
DeleteJa, wir waren in Braunschweig und ich hatte schon mal etwas darüber geschrieben.
Danke für deinem Besuch hier.
Liebe Grüße,
Mariette
I'll start by saying what a handsome couple you two are and were !
ReplyDeleteVery difficult job you had ahead of you, but it was probably given to the ones that could too ! This is how it usually is.
I translated a few times and it is no easy job. My Sister in Law is a great translator by profession and she says it's difficult.
Dear friend keep safe and well indoors.
Thank you for your kind words for my BIL's passing. I so appreciated.
Fabby
Dearest Fabby,
DeleteThank you for your kind words! Yes, my neighbor translating from English into French was usually very good at it but he depended on me. It sure is hard for being a professional translator, for catching all the technical and scientific words and meanings.
You are more than welcome and our thoughts have been with you and your family, may times soon return to normal after us staying indoors as much as possible.
Hugs,
Mariette
Oh, dear! I would not like to find myself in such a difficult situation! Although I was used to translate from both French and English into Greek during business meetings it was always for less than 20 people and between colleagues and business partners.
ReplyDeleteYou were very brave, my dear friend!
Dearest Marie-Anne,
DeleteWell, as awkward as it was, I learned from it as to never ever being too gracious for doing this without any written document in hand...
Yes, colleagues and the ones you do business with are your own crowd and there is no pressure.
We all learn from such instances and I was able to shake it off rather soon.
Hugs,
Mariette
Debió de ser todo un reto y a la misma vez interesante hacer de traductora seguro que lo hiciste bien no todos valen para traducir y tu sabes hacerlo.
ReplyDeleteUn fuerte abrazo
Querida Alicia,
DeleteFue toda una experiencia de hecho y la señora Burgomaster sólo siguió leyendo... ¡No podría seguirle el tiempo sin ningún texto impreso! Normalmente me encanta traducir.
Abrazos,
Mariette