The
United Nations Interpretation Service is a part of the
Meetings and Publishing Division (
MPD) of the
UNThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
's
Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (
DGACM). Its core function is to provide
interpretation-Language:* Language interpretation, the facilitation of dialogue between parties using different languages* Interpretation of tongues, a supernatural ability to understand unknown languages-Philosophy:...
from and into
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
,
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
,
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
,
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
,
RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
and
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
for
meetingIn a meeting, two or more people come together for the purpose of discussing a predetermined topic such as business or community event planning, often in a formal setting....
s held at UN Headquarters, and those at other locations which the department is responsible for servicing. Interpretation is essential to the inter-governmental bodies for the proper conduct and smooth functioning of their deliberations.
History and evolution
The creation of the
conference interpretingLanguage interpretation is the practice of facilitating oral and sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between two or more users of different languages...
service – and the interpreting profession itself – at the United Nations has a direct connection with the evolution of
internationalInternational or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries...
diplomatic relations, the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members...
, the
Nuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg trials were a series of trials, or tribunals, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after its defeat in World War II....
, the founding of the United Nations, and the birth of
multilingualismMultilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population.-Multilingual individuals:...
within the United Nations itself.
Early days of the interpreting profession
Most of the early interpreters of the United Nations were
naturalNatural can refer to various topics within science and mathematics, music, and other areas.In science and mathematics, natural may refer to:* Natural transformation, category theory in mathematics...
polyglots who were uprooted by wars and revolutions. For years, the only criterion used to select potential interpreters was the knowledge of two international languages the interpreters had to communicate in. Polyglots were found mainly in privileged social groups,
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
employees and professionals in
colonialColonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole...
empireThe term empire derives from the Latin imperium. Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy...
s, in militarily and diplomatically powerful nations, in political or ideological exiles, in those who leave their countries temporarily for academic purposes, and in children of couples who speak different languages.
After the 1960s, there was change in the sociological make-up of UN interpreters. The United Nations began recruiting and training potential interpreters who were monolingual from birth but had learned and specialized in languages. This generation of interpreters did not come from privileged groups or
complexThis article is about the meaning of complex as it pertains to science and mathematics. For information on Complex magazine, see Complex magazine....
migratory backgrounds.
In contrast with the early beginnings of the profession, there was also a progressive addition of women in the field of conference interpreting.
Modern-day conference interpreting
At the League of Nations and during the San Francisco Conference before the formal founding of the United Nations, the interpreters played a vital and visible role in meetings. In consecutive interpretation, conference interpreters spoke from the same
daisDais is any raised platform located either within or without a room or enclosure, often for dignified occupancy, as at the front of a lecture hall or sanctuary....
as the original
speakersAn orator, or oratist, is a speaker.An orator may also be called an oratarian - literally, "one who orates".-Etymology:...
, and the speaker stops periodically so that the interpreter can orally translate what has just been said while the participants in the meeting viewed and listened to the consecutive interpreter. The conference interpreters were often exposed to selected or large audiences and the
mediaMass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. However, some forms of mass media such...
.
In the late 1940s and the early 1950s, United Nations officials introduced simultaneous interpretation as a preferred
methodMethod may refer to:* How to do or make something* Scientific method, a series of steps taken to acquire knowledge* Method , a piece of code associated with a class or object to perform a task...
for the
majorityA majority, also known as a simple majority in the U.S., is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset may be...
of UN meetings because it saved time and improved the quality of the output. Simultaneous interpreting – a mode that confined the interpreters in glass-encased booths aided with earpieces and microphones – had its origins from the post-WW2 Nazi war crime trials held in
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
UN Duty Stations with interpretation or language service offices
- United Nations Headquarters
The United Nations Headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1950...
(UNHQ)The United Nations Headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1950...
, New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA
- United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Switzerland
Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
- United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
- United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), Kenya
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
- United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states following a recommendation of the United Nations General Assembly...
(UNECA), Addis AbabaAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , located in Bangkok, Thailand, is the regional arm of the United Nations Secretariat for the Asian and Pacific region. It was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states...
(UNESCAP), BangkokBangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Mahanakhon , or กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep for short, it was a small trading post at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It came to the forefront of Siam when it was given the...
, ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia , headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, is one of the five regional commissions under the administrative direction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. UN-ESCWA promotes economic and social development of Western Asia...
(UNESCWA), BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
, LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
- United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean was established in 1948 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. In 1984, a resolution was passed to include the countries of the Caribbean in the name...
(ECLAC), Santiago, ChileSantiago , is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the centre of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m AMSL...
Organigramme
The U.N. Interpretation Service is composed of the following staff:.
- Chief of Service (Chief Interpreter) (1)
- Administrative Staff (Secretaries or Meeting Services Assistants)
- Chiefs of Sections (Heads of Booths or Heads of Sections) (6)
- Interpreters (permanent
In Japan, the practice of has been the rule in big Japanese companies beginning with the first economic successes in the 1920s. Lifetime employment starts with a special Japanese event called Simultaneous Recruiting of New Graduates. It gives Japanese workers the important feeling of job security...
s and freelancerA freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a self-employed person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any particular employer. The term was first used by Sir Walter Scott in Ivanhoe to describe a "medieval mercenary warrior" or "free-lance"...
s)
Interpretation Service Sections
The U.N. Interpretation Service is divided into the following sections:.
- Arabic Section
- Chinese Section
- English Section
- French Section
- Russian Section
- Spanish Section
The interpretation system sequence
- 1. The speaker talks to a "microphone discussion system" connected to a central system.
- 2. The central control system distributes the signal to the audience that do not need interpretation and to the simultaneous interpreter.
- 3. Audio consoles are placed in the interpretation booths. Interpreters receive the signal, and are still able to capture the environment of the meeting.
- 4. The interpreter talks to his or her transmitter and the signal goes back to the central console.
Cinema
- The Interpreter
The Interpreter is a 2005 thriller film starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener. It was the final film to be directed by Sydney Pollack.-Plot:...
, a film by Sydney PollackSydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Born in Lafayette, Indiana to Russian Jewish immigrants, Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
, 2005
- The Art of War
The Art of War is a Canadian-American action film directed by Christian Duguay, and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland...
, Amen Ra Films, 2000
- Charade
Charade is a film directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. It also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, and Jacques Marin...
, Universal PicturesThis is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc...
, 1963
Career-related
Fiction
- Interpreter: A Novel, by Suki Kim, Picador; Reprint edition, January 1, 2004, 464 pages - ISBN 0312422245; ISBN 978-0312422240
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OVLNGU/The Interpreter by Alice Kaplan
Alice Kaplan is the Gilbert, Louis and Edward Lehrman Professor of Romance Studies and Professor of Literature and History at Duke University. She is the author of Reproductions of Banality: Fascism, Literature, and French Intellectual Life ; French Lessons: A Memoir ; The Collaborator: The Trial...
, Fiction, Free Press, August 30, 2005, 256 pages] – ISBN 0743254244
- Interpreter by Suzanne Glass, Fiction, Ballantine Reader's Circle, Ballantine, Reprint edition, June 17, 2003, 336 pages, ISBN 0345450248; ISBN 978-0345450241
Related links and further readings
- United Nations Interpretation Service Website (New York), retrieved on May 28 2007
- United Nations Office at Geneva Interpretation Service, Conference Services Division, retrieved on: 8 June 2007
- Interpreters: Inside the Glass Booth by Elsa B. Endrst, The UN Chronicle, United Nations Publications (1991), Gale Group (2004), date retrieved: 28 May 2007
- United Nations Headquarters in New York (UNHQ) Official Website
- United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Switzerland
Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
- United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
- United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), Kenya
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
- International Association of Conference Interpreters AIIC
- The American Association of Language Specialists TAALS
- Monterey Institute of International Studies Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at Monterey, California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, retrieved on 0101 may refer to:* The year 2001, or any year ending with 01* The month of January* The number 1* Zero One also known as Machine City, a city-state from the Matrix series* Kolmogorov's zero-one law, a law of probability theory...
-0606 may refer to:* The year 2006, or any year ending with 06* The month of June* The number 6* 06 , a 1994 film by Theo van Gogh* The number of the French department Alpes-Maritimes...
-2007
- Directorate General for Interpretation of the European Commission at Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
, retrieved on0101 may refer to:* The year 2001, or any year ending with 01* The month of January* The number 1* Zero One also known as Machine City, a city-state from the Matrix series* Kolmogorov's zero-one law, a law of probability theory...
-0606 may refer to:* The year 2006, or any year ending with 06* The month of June* The number 6* 06 , a 1994 film by Theo van Gogh* The number of the French department Alpes-Maritimes...
-2007
- Conference Interpreters Asia Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, retrieved on: June 16, 2007
See also
- United Nations System
While the United Nations is an international organization, the United Nations System is the whole network of international organizations, treaties and conventions that were created by the United Nations....
- UN General Assembly
- UN Security Council
- UN Trusteeship Council
- UN Secretariat
- International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...