The Unsung Heroes of the G-20 summit

This past November, France welcomed members of the G20 to Cannes for the 2011 summit. There were many important topics on the table, particularly the debt crisis in the EU and the cooling world economy. This group represents 85% of the global economy, and therefore finding ways to work together on these important issues is essential. However this group represents 19 countries and the EU, representing a total of 27 member states itself. The 19 member countries represent over a dozen different languages. Clearly not much can get done given this language barrier without the help of the unsung heroes of diplomacy, the interpreters.

A strong team of highly-qualified interpreters is essential for this task. Considering that every listener needs to hear the proceedings in his or her own language, and that the proceedings take place in various languages, you can see how many language combinations are necessary. To help streamline the process, interpreters sometimes use what is called relay interpreting. This can be used when there are many required language pairs, and there are not always interpreters available that can work into each language from every other language. Relay interpreting is where one interpreter interprets the speaker into a common language, such as English, and the other interpreters interpret what the relay says into each of the required languages that are not directly covered by the interpreter language pairs available. The delegates and other attendees are able to use headsets to tune in to the language booth they need, which is essentially what enables the speaker to communicate with his or her listeners.

With interpreters as with translators of the written word, their job is done best when their work is not noticed. Poor interpreting is easily noticed by the listener because of its clumsy language or confusing content. However, when the interpreting is good, the listener is focusing on the speaker’s message rather than the way it is being conveyed, meaning that the interpreter is hardly given a second thought. Nevertheless, it is important to remember how complex this task is and how little diplomacy could manage to accomplish without it.