Lost and Found in Translation

翻訳 (translation) is a mysterious art form not easily explained to the uninitiated.  While it is often said that much is lost in translation, the process also has the capacity to reveal hidden positives. We learn that human to human, heart to heart communication is beyond words – that we can make an emotional connection despite the 言葉の壁 (language barrier).

I was once employed for a short stint as a 電話通訳 (telephone interpreter).  I found this assignment quite challenging.  I was instructed to only translate what’s been said and to remain neutral under any circumstances.  This was 言うは易く行なうは難し(easier said than done).

My first call was from an 人事部 (HR department) at a corporation.  They had just laid off a bunch of employees, and one happened to be Japanese.  She was particularly perplexed (当惑していました) when she was escorted out by security without being able to say good-bye to her co-workers.  She needed coaching and consoling, not an interpreter.  She had a good command of English (ちゃんと英語を話せました).  She wasn’t familiar, however, with the US corporate culture of how people are hired and fired.

My next call was from a hospital.  A Japanese woman had to make a decision on whether or not to unplug the 生命維持装置 (life support) her husband was on.  Of course, I deeply sympathized with her plight.  To not show her 思いやり (compassion) – to remain neutral as I was instructed to do – felt very wrong.  Again, in this case, she didn’t need an interpreter.  She needed someone to talk to, someone who would listen to her. 

I understand why they insist I be “中立の態度を取る (neutral)” and “only translate what’s being said.”  But I am not a machine.  It was 人間としての尊厳 (human dignity) that was at risk of being lost in translation.  I would always like to treat people with compassion.  I couldn’t promise this company that I will be a machine, so I decided to quit.

Increasingly, 人工知能 (artificial intelligence) threatens to replace the translators and interpreters of the future.  But I believe AI will never be able to replace the 細やかさ (subtlety) of human-to-human communication.  I’d like to believe there are more things to find than lose when people long to communicate beyond their language and cultural barriers.