The past years have been spent writing this blog mostly to build up a clearer self-vision and analysis tools to investigate the innards of the profession's dynamic, mostly Japanese-French, Japanese-English liaison interpreting in business settings here in Tokyo. This blog was essentially motivated at the beginning by frustration and anguish and the lack of professional perspective, what with the lack of opportunities to communicate among peers who do not communicate. Things have changed a little bit now. Not that I am fully booked although this year started much better than the past years. Visibility in terms of assignment perspectives is still one to two weeks ahead although slots have been reserved for recurrent customers in the coming months down to october at this time. This new mood that has allowed to fine tune perspectives on recurrent situations where a firmer opinion must be stated. The triggers are twofold, a constant analyses of situations and some feedback from clients. A recent one was keen enough to ask me before selection whether it was a good or a bad idea to hire a non-japanese interpreter. I was so surprised that someone would ask - it never happened before - that I still have to catch up and ask him at the end of the current mission the reasons why he asked. The second less terrific situation came yesterday when we were moving between meetings and I was asked how to say hello, nice to meet you in Japanese. I told back the usual blurb that "hello" doesn't fit in the same framework here as in his language, but I quickly snap back and suggested he quit trying and do it. And I do believe these awkward tentative at spelling Japanese at a first meeting during that very formal, or theatrical exchange of business cards does not benefit the non-Japanese side. You have an interpreter? Let's the interpreter do the job of setting up and allowing communication to flow. Speak your language. When you come back for the tenth time at dinner time when beer is flowing, you can start sounding a little bit cute and ridiculous at the same time. Your interpreter is in charge to allow whatever ice there is at first sight to progressively mellow. Me think that they don't tell things that way in Japanese Business Etiquette books.
Technorati Tags: interpretation, interpreter, interpreting, Japan, japanese interpreter, Japanese language, japanese translator, liaison interpreter, liaison interpreting, Tokyo, translation, translator
0 comments:
Post a Comment