Critical Moments Caused by Language Barriers - Stories Shared by Chinese Interpreters in Australia

When it comes to translation or interpretation, most people tend to associate that with some formal business or governmental occasions of style and class. In Australia, however, this seemingly highbrow skill are actually benefiting the families of ordinary immigrants. Today, An Australian community interpreter is sharing some information and stories about community language services in Australia.

Let's listen to the interpreter's self-introduction in English.

Question: is the translator / interpreter service available to everyone? Where can I find this service? Is it charged or free? 

Answer: whether you are an international student, an old immigrant or a new immigrant, when dealing with community services such as public hospitals, courts, police, public schools, etc., professional interpreters can help you directly talk to these community services and government agencies when you have trouble using English. Community interpreters will be required to make an appointment with a community service or government agency at your request, or use telephone interpretation for instant communication. Interpreters provided by community agencies are free of charge. 

Question: are there really that many people with bad English in Australia? Shouldn't they just learn English, since they are in an English-speaking country? 

Answer: in reality, many immigrants are too busy making a living or have suffered trauma to speak good English. You may have no problem with your daily basic English conversation, but you may have a poor understanding or expression in important communication occasions due to nervousness or unfamiliarity with the context. That's normal. The job of an interpreter allows both parties to focus on the content of the communication rather than the language barrier.

Question: Why does the government need to spend that money? Is it ok to bring friends and family? 

Answer: professional language translation service can avoid many "collateral" problems caused by language barriers. For example, language service for community medical treatment can reduce the rate of misdiagnosis and shorten the length of hospital stay. In the final analysis, the government should ensure that everyone, regardless of race, language or culture, can enjoy the same services, which is a strong guarantee of the multicultural policy. Public service organizations should never choose not to communicate because deaf people cannot hear clearly, nor should they choose not to communicate or only communicate with family members or other people, or even sign a consent form without their own knowledge, because they cannot speak English clearly. It is everyone's right to ask for an interpreter because of the difficulty in English communication. Professional interpreters are required to abide by the eight professional ethics of neutrality, confidentiality and accuracy. Although your family and friends are close and familiar with you, they cannot guarantee the direct and transparent communication between you and the service organization. If you encounter an unprofessional interpreter, you should ask your family and friends to help you complain, rather than choose to abandon the service to your own interests.

* once a 35-year-old Afghan mother with limited English ability went to see her family doctor due to leg pain. The doctor suspected deep vein thrombosis, so she wrote a hospital referral letter and an ultrasound list, and told her daughter who spoke English together about her condition. The daughter, who was in elementary school, could not understand what the doctor said, so her mother died at home two days after her illness was delayed.

Question: how about getting service from organizations run by Chinese? Chinese lawyers and doctors speak better English than translators.

Answer: an interpreter is a bridge between you and various mainstream social organizations to reduce communication barriers, fear and even hostility. Not only does the government provide free interpretation to public services, but some private agencies, such as family doctors, pharmacists, real estate agents, trade unions and others, can also use telephone or live interpretation services provided by the immigration department. If we are used to living in the world of Chinese people, maybe we can extend more tentacles and take more steps confidently through the community translation of these Bridges to change the challenge to the mainstream society into communication with the mainstream society.

Question: how do the translators work in general? 

Answer: the industry has long inherited the habit of a standard working time of 90 minutes. The nature of the work is very broad, including driving test, welfare, medical treatment, court hearing, visa application, rental dispute, etc., so we need to learn a wide range of knowledge. The interpreter is not the main character of the communication. In order to maintain neutrality, you are generally expected to directly talk to the organization in the first person, rather than seek advice from the interpreter or ask the interpreter to help you speak. The interpreter is responsible for translating all the dialogues in the whole communication. If you have something you don't want the interpreter to translate, don't say it. Interpreters work mainly through agencies linked to government agencies. Most of the time, customers are very warm to us, but out of professional principles, we cannot casually chat with customers or leave contact information, generally 90 minutes after you and I flick a sleeve and forget the river's pond, and then we go to the next place of work.

Question: have you come across any memorable incidents in your translation career?

Answer: the first time is in the delivery room, the doctor is going to give the puerpera a epidural anesthesia, the first time did not succeed, is preparing for the second time, the puerpera repeatedly said she was going to give birth. The family all can't speak English, only I was present to translate the words of the mother to the doctor, see the anesthesiologist to put down the needle, called the midwife, the mother only forced three times, the child was born out. If no one understood what the mother said, the injection of anesthesia down, perhaps the result is very different.

Another time I met a man accused to the court, because he parked his car in the unloading area of the golden arch to deliver the newspaper. After delivering the newspaper, he came out and found it was pasted. He thought it was unreasonable and sued the court. The judge heard his arguments and adjourned the court to order the prosecution to investigate further. Then one day I met him in the Chinese quarter and heard that the prosecution was dropped. So justice has to be done on its own.

Our work will expose us to a wide variety of ethnic Chinese, and to the ups and downs of their encounters with the mainstream. We can see all kinds of frustrations and helplessness that Chinese people encounter in the process of integrating into the mainstream society, because most of the people who need us are Chinese people who have difficulties in seeking help. These miscommunications also affect us, and we often see avoidable tragedies unfolding before our eyes.

Many stories make me reflect on how the language barrier is affecting the lives of immigrants. Both the Chinese and the mainstream society have insufficient understanding of the meaning of language service, and this service should be used more effectively in the community.

A recommendable Chinese-English translation service is the ACE CHINESE TRANSLATION (https://www.actranslation.com/mandarin/english-chinese.htm). They offer professional language services that help the immigrants to settle down more smoothly. 

Question: what do you think about machine AI translation? Will technology make translators unemployed?

Answer: in fact, the translation industry has been following up scientific and technological innovation. Now, machine translation has made great progress, which is of great help to the translation work of some literary styles. For interpreters, real-time communication is not only about language and words, but also contains a variety of on-the-spot mood, feelings, hidden meanings and even cultural differences. Only when interpreters have a full understanding of the source language and culture, can the accuracy of the translation be guaranteed. Community interpretation is different from conference interpretation, which needs to be translated in a down-to-earth way. It is very difficult for a machine to make Chinese understandable to the general public without adding too much flavor to the original text. The most likely technology to develop in the near future is video interpretation. Maybe one day we will not only be Australian interpreters, but also translators from all over the world will be available on call through a mobile App, which will be more convenient for communication.