Translators and interpreters needed for more than Conference
By Christine Rappleye
Mormon Times
Wednesday, Apr. 07, 2010
Tucked under the balcony in the Conference Center, a small army of people are watching him on dozens of screens in little rooms.
But they aren't taking notes or sitting back to simply listen to conference.
As he begins to speak, they interpret what he is saying into another language, passing along the church leader's message so many others -- from those in the Conference Center to those listening in other countries -- can understand his message in their native tongue.
Yuta Uemura assists in the interpretation of Elaine S. Dalton's speech into Japanese during the General Young Women Meeting at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City on March 27, 2010. Photo by Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Support and technical teams quickly check each language to make sure the broadcast systems and interpreters' microphones are working properly and checking with teams outside the building, said Brad Lindsay, the interpretation operations manager.
Other teams of interpreters wait outside the booths for their turn to interpret. Vases with bright yellow daffodils are amid the scriptures, dictionaries and schedules. Some interpreters study, while others watch conference in English in a common area.
It's calm, quiet and people whisper. As a speaker is about to conclude his or her remarks, the "next speaker" sign flashes, signalling the quick but quiet transition before the next speaker begins.
"It's where you see the prophesy being fulfilled of the gospel being preached in every tongue," said Jeff Johnson, the interpretation services manager. "And it's literally happening."
The languages
In 1961, conference was first translated into four languages -- Spanish, French, German and Tongan.
Then, the original booths in the Tabernacle were much smaller than ones in the Conference Center and resembled voting booths, said Jeff Bateson, the translation division director.
Diana Tucker has been a Spanish interpreter for general conferences for more than 40 years. Photo by Christine Rappleye, Mormon Times
When there were plans for the Conference Center, they had a chance to give input on the space they would like to plan for and the technology.
And the Tieline technology allows more languages to be added without having to expand the space in the Conference Center, Lindsay said.
"It doesn't matter if it's capacity of languages or capacity of interpreters, the Lord provides," Lindsay said. "That which the Lord needs done, he makes happen.
Sometimes we may need to roll up our sleeves and figure things out. ... Ultimately, we see the way has been opened and prepared."
Now, conference is interpreted live in up to 92 languages -- 52 in the conference center, 28 via the remote Tieline system and another dozen on-site in countries across the world.
In the Conference Center, 43 of the languages, from Spanish to Turkish, are broadcast live, and another nine, including Malagasay, Swahili and Twi, are recorded to be distributed via DVD later.
Teams outside the Conference Center, usually in their native country, interpret the conference proceedings in 28 more languages, including Mandarin, Russian and Dutch, which could be in the middle of the night depending on the time zone. The interpretation is sent via the digital Tieline technology to Salt Lake City and then seamlessly broadcast via satellite, with the other languages, Johnson said.
Rodney M. Fakatou has been a Tongan intepreter for general conference for more than 80 straight conferences. Photo by Christine Rappleye, Mormon Times
"The Tieline languages are some of the more established languages of the church," Bateson said. "Whenever possible, we like to use native speakers in-country."
In some languages, like Tzutujil (a dialect spoken in Guatemala), conference is transmitted in another language, like Spanish, and then a person at the chapel translates the talks, Johnson said.
Usually there are only a few congregations of members who speak those languages, Bateson added.
And as the church's diversity grows, so does the leadership of the church. Some speakers will record their talks in another language before conference and their recording is what is broadcast in those languages, Bateson said. Elder Neil L. Andersen, of the Quorum of the Twelve, has recorded his talks in French, Spanish and Portuguese.
For each language, a language team coordinator handles finding and recruiting interpreters for those languages, Johnson said. Through pre-screening their language ability and their standing in the church, they are then brought in for a three-hour orientation, Johnson said.
"Translation is a gift of the Spirit, and people who come here need to have access to that gift," Bateson said. "We try to do everything we can to help them prepare for that."
Interpreting
In the 58 translation booths in the Conference Center, pairs of interpreters work together.
A small screen shows the satellite feed and on the console, there is a button that is red when their headset microphone is turned, Diane Tucker recently demonstrated. In one side of their headphones, they hear the English, and the other, their translation, Lindsay said.
Scriptures are close and in the Spanish booth, a copy of "The Family, A Proclamation to the World," is on the wall.
A small window in the booths gives a glimpse to the interpreters. Some sit to interpret.
Others stand using music stands to replicate being at a podium. Some are still and others are animated as they interpret.
Either way, they all have "to really be listening," Tucker added. "Anything can happen."
If the first interpreter has a coughing attack, overcome with emotion, there is a technical glitch with a microphone set, or otherwise can't continue to translate, the backup needs to be able to jump in, she added. The backup can also help find scripture references if needed, Johnson said.
"One has to be quick in recognizing the terminology and the translation has to come to mind immediately. There isn't time to think of what that interpretation should be," said Rodney M. Fakatou, who has helped interpret talks into Tongan for more than 40 years and more than 80 consecutive general conferences.
"Our intent it is to try to within the culture, mirror the speaker and his style," Bateson said.
Based on the interpreter's skill set, any one person will have anywhere from one or two talks to several per session. And they usually try not to have anyone do back-to-back talks.
"The average stamina of an interpreter is 20 minutes," said Lindsay, who also is an interpreter for Hmong, a language mostly spoken in the mountainous regions of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma. "That varies as they build up interpretation muscle."'
Preparing to interpret
"One has to practice their trade all the time," Fakatou said.
Interpreters' preparation starts well before conference starts and is a very individual process.
"Everyone has their own way of preparing for conference," Fakatou said. "It isn't that we just show up Saturday morning and sit down and things flow."
Fakatou takes to heart the counsel in Doctrine and Covenants sections 8 and 9, where Oliver Cowdery wants to translate the Book of Mormon and he is told "you have not understood ... you took no thought save it was to ask me."
In the weeks before conference, he attends the temple more, goes back a couple of conferences and studies the scriptures cited, reads aloud previous conference talks and practices interpreting aloud for talks rebroadcast on BYU-TV and fasts and prays.
"I feel strongly that when we do everything that we can, then when we are in need, the Lord will step in," Fakatou said, who has been interpreting since 1968, when the first stake was organized in his native Tonga.
This time, he helped interpret for President Thomas S. Monson's four talks and during some of the sessions, for the counselor who was conducting.
Fakatou said he had finished his preparations Friday night and felt relaxed going into conference, but there is always some nervous energy -- especially for those who are interpreting for the first time.
He was just as nervous this weekend as he was interpreting for the first conference, he said, adding that no one can be so confident that it leads to pride.
"The moment that the element of pride comes in ... you can't do anything," Tucker said. "It's a very humbling opportunity."
"I pray that I will be equal to the task to provide the right amount of expertise in the delivery of the talk," Tucker said.
In the days before conference, it's the "storm before the calm," Lindsay says, as people are setting up and preparing for the meetings.
"When we get here, everyone has been trained and people have been fasting and praying," Lindsay said.
More than twice a year
"Our workload doesn't stop at conference," Bateson said.
For two weeks after conference, they work with the LDS Church magazine staffs to put out the conference editions. The recordings of the talks also go up on lds.org and are distributed via DVD.
Conference isn't the only time when interpreters are needed, as there are more than 200 events per year they help with, Johnson said.
Interpreters are needed for the General Young Women and Relief Society meetings, Church Educational System firesides, temple dedications, stake conferences and one-on-one interviews. Recently, when President Uchtdorf was in the Pacific area, there were interpreters there and in the Conference Center. Many times, interpreters will be in the Conference Center in the middle the night.
"It's bigger than you think," Johnson said. "It's such a pleasant experience to be involved with this."
Kaynak: http://mormontimes.com/around_church/worldwide_church/?id=14262
