The problem with that S.School

I was taken aback the other when at a client's meeting to chat about various things, my usual interlocutor fumed at the difficulties to find "flexible" interpreters, those to accept to be paid only a few real hours fee for short meetings simultaneous and deliver alone up to one hour. Put aside the feasibility to deliver simul for one hour in a row - but more on this later because it tells a big story - my exasperated partners lashed out at that S.School, blurting, "It's all the fault of Simul!" I did not repress laughing. The S.School is indeed key to the definition and the dynamics of interpretation in Japan, but such a clear statement from a customer was unexpected.

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The White Queen

How about raising arms like Anne Hathaway playing the delicious White Queen in Tim Burton Alice when doing interpretation? Or at least when doing shadowing, voice overing, reading aloud exercises? I haven't read about gestures and the interpreter, not that one in the booth but very close to the customers, that defines first liaison interpreting. Coincidences are made. The over day, I had an urgent request for a narration short job. Hadn't done this for ages. Some people are way much more competent. Still under the spell of the White Queen, I rehearsed at home, and found, no secret, but that moving arms, forearmes, and maybe more, had a tremendous control effect on delivery. I would make almost no mistakes when moving, that is, prosody mistakes, as compared with standing almost still. Gesturing during interpretation. A new path of research, for sure.

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Pretending we are blond, again

The headline reads like this "Rakuten to hold all formal internal meetings in English", and it smells like deja-vu. The years circa 2010 smell like the 1985s, lest the "international communication" seminars delivered by ever superactive smiling blue eyed blonds. Being superactive and blond were the required competence.

"Internet shopping mall operator Rakuten Inc. is in the process of making all formal internal meetings spoken in English to boost overseas sales". Amen.

"Corporate officer meetings and board meetings have been conducted in English since January, and all-company meetings every Monday have been in English since March". Hurray!

"In order to globalize the company, everybody from top management to regular employees should be able to speak English". You bet!

"Even if meeting participants are all Japanese, they will still have to speak English. " Powerful. Lame.

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