Illusions of serenity

Most business interpretation settings are bathed in an atmosphere of goodwill. It does not mean that conflicting situations do not happen. They do and put additional stress and challenge to the interpreter who must manage detachment. But most of the time, there is that glow of goodwill, courtesy and at the beginning at least, a little gentle confusion with the "steps of business card exchange" where many clients fear ahead of time to make a "faux pas". A little awkwardness - on both sides - is expected and approved.

In the social theater of encountering the other, the interpreter has a strange position. She is actor and witness. She is supposed to be as invisible as the props' carriers in Kabuki theater, clad in black, and supposedly invisible to the spectators. Only, props's carriers do not much interfere, and especially do not participate with the setting on stage. They are not part of the narrative now being delivered. Interpreters are, because of constant presence, and major impact on the communication flow. Without an interpreter, things would be totally different, maybe faster, maybe snappy. But it would suppose that the cultural divide between both sides is small enough that (usually) globish or better English would suffice. On average, the Japanese side is much more at ease basking in the gentle glow of courteous communication because they have that strong "gaman" habit, the bearing with current things habit, that the other side usually cannot cope with on a longer term.

In long sessions, when the talk shifts to business at stake, the divide and tensions set in, whatever the situation. That's where the tension is actually stronger on the shoulders of the interpreter. The first part of the play usually follows well known, mostly invariable patterns. You want to have command of the stiffed expressions of politeness, be ready to deliver clear and fast, with courteous authority. It may be more challenging as a beginner than what comes next.

What comes next is mostly unpredictable. No amount of preparation will alleviate the unpredictable. It is seldom related to matters of vocabulary you may not know, but more to issues of lacking perfect understanding of context.

Next week, in the advanced business consecutive course, we will try a new and challenging exercise to raise awareness of anticipation, inferring and  business "culture générale". I have found a set of short video in French where real CEOs simply present in less than 2 minutes what their corporations do. It is very challenging at times, even for a native. The purpose is to make the students feel that serenity is an illusion, even in the most glowing setting. Something, a flutter of a wing in the course of discourse, may suddenly unsettle the interpreter in major ways. In the classroom, we do not much train than raise awareness about so many issues. Courses are course in awareness.