Most people assume an interpreter’s job is to translate what is said.

It is. But only partly.

The more interesting part of the job is managing what goes unsaid. The moment when someone understands perfectly well but cannot find the words, or finds them and hesitates, or has the words and the confidence but doesn't quite get the accent on the other end.

That gap, between what someone knows and what they can comfortably express in a foreign language, is where a lot of British-LatAm relationships quietly break down.

The situation

A Latin American Secretary for International Trade visited the UK for a series of high-level meetings. His English was good — he told me so himself during our briefing, and he was right. But he also told me he sometimes struggled with certain accents and with the particular pressure of speaking a foreign language in public, in front of people who were evaluating him as well as his message.

Traditional interpreting, where everything is translated back and forth, bidirectionally and continuously, would have been cumbersome. It would have slowed the conversation, added formality he didn’t need, and drawn attention to a limitation he was perfectly capable of managing himself.

So we used what I call face-saving interpreting instead.

The friction

Face-saving interpreting is not a standard mode you will find in a textbook. It is a setup designed around a specific and common situation: the person who understands more than they feel confident expressing.

In this case, I stayed present throughout, following every word. I stepped in only when the Secretary spoke in Spanish, interpreting his words into English for his British counterparts. Everything said to him in English, he handled himself. I was his safety net, not his voice.

Then came the networking session. He was doing well — handling a heavy Scottish accent better than most — when the conversation turned to Beefeaters’ Gin. I could see from his expression that the name wasn’t landing. Not the accent this time. Just the reference.

I moved close, as if to interpret something, and whispered in his ear. He nodded. Carried on. Gave me a thumbs up behind his back.

Slot v. Flow™ in action

🔗 Continue reading here: https://www.multilateral.studio/newsletters/the-friction-dispatch/posts/thumbs-up