Magazine / Society / Multilingualism / Article | 11/08/2008

Mediators of the Spoken Word

Waste of money or essential requirement for EU politics? The EU has the largest translation capability in the world. Around 1000 interpreters are employed on a daily basis in order to ensure communication between the EU representatives.

EU-Interpreters at work. Photo: EP – Audiovisual Unit

The interpreters' booths surround the representatives like a protective cordon. While the members take their seats in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the interpreters position themselves behind their one and only tool: the microphone. As the Czech chairman Miroslav Ouzky growls "Guut Morrnink” into the microphone, a murmur goes around the French soundproofed booth: "Ah, mais non, il a un accent grave...!” (Oh no! He's got such a strong accent...!”)

Many EU representatives prefer to speak in English rather than their native language. That doesn't make Michel Lesseignes' and his colleagues´ work in the french booth any easier. The Belgian with the short gelled hair has worked as an interpreter with the EU for almost 30 years. He regards the tendency of many EU representatives to speak English as "snobbish”. "They all have the opportunity to speak their native language! Why don't they use it? They'd come across a thousand times better!" Lesseigne catches his breath, crosses his legs and repeats the Czech's words in French, his native tongue. "I don't translate what is said word for word, that would prove most embarrassing for one or two of the representatives. I only translate the message”, he explains later.

Every interpreter in the EU parliament has full command of three foreign languages in addition to their mother tongue, sometimes more. On this particular day Michel Lesseigne is translating simultaneously from English, German, Dutch and Spanish into French. He studied each individual language for five or six years and has travelled extensively. He lived in Germany for a while as well as in England. For about 30 years now, he has worked in Brussels. "Living here is sometimes very stressful” he says. In order to find some peace Lesseigne retreats to his house in the Canaries. The everyday routine of an interpreter is based on pure adrenaline. The themes and languages can change rapidly within each sitting: from batteries and accumulators in German through import regulations of pet birds to the EU in Spanish to the most complicated questions of proprietary rights on the internet in English. They can all descend upon the interpreter.

Michel Lesseigne. Photo: EP – Audiovisual Unit

Michel Lesseigne treats his languages as a father would his children. He associates each one by means of its individual personality traits; German is quite rational and the most difficult to translate. Dutch on the other hand pulsates with rhythm and music. With English the most appealing aspect is the literature. Spanish is the latecomer "I first learned Spanish, when I was already earning a regular income”. The language has more wide reaching implications than the others because it relates so closely to the South American continent. Learning languages for Lesseigne is like being immersed in a new religion, "I put myself completely at their disposal”. He does not so much command the languages as they command him.

When the number of official languages in the EU rose to 20 in 2004 (eight languages became official EU-languages in 2004) and from 20 to 23 in 2007 , Lesseigne thought that it could have resulted in catastrophe, "I could never have imagined that everything would function so well. As if by magic, every interpreter always appears on time!"

Rita Silva ensures that the EU parliament's translation machinery does not breakdown. The resolute 50 year old Portuguese lady sits in an office decorated with pictures of cats and smokes. She concentrates on the endless numbers of Excel spreadsheets. 506 combinations of languages are possible in the European parliament and that requires planning with military precision. After a few minutes Rita Silva reveals, "This morning we are using precisely 562 interpreters”.

Every week she co-ordinates the services of approximately 1000 interpreters in Strasbourg or Brussels, according to where the parliament is sitting. It's only natural that there can sometimes be a lack of interpreters, especially for the languages that are rarely spoken such as Gaelic and Maltese explains Rita Silva, who has mastered five languages herself. If a direct translation is no longer possible then the relay system comes into effect; the Hungarian or Romanian interpreters translate their own language into English or French, the German interpreters then convert this lingua franca into there own language. "Languages are principally a political issue" says Rita Silva as she explains the complicated procedure, "every EU representative has the right to speak his or her mother tongue; politicians do not have to be multilingual!"

The finely dressed waiters, who have just served tea and coffee in the assembly hall, finally come into the interpreter's booths. Michel Lesseigne interprets the fast flowing speech of a female German MEP, while his colleagues both sit forward in their chairs, following the proceedings: "durch kalte Küche” says the German "par la petite porte” says Lesseigne which translates back as "via the back door”. "Das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten” (Throw the baby out with the bathwater) says the German. The French speaking representatives in the hall hear "lâcher la proie", meaning "relinquish your catch" in the broadest sense. Lesseigne speaks with an assertive tone almost at the same time as the German. "In the best case scenario I know what the speaker is going to say next". This works only rarely in practice. Sometimes the EU representatives trip up over their own sentences, mixing their words. The chairman reminds the speakers to be short and precise but despite this they want to say as much as possible in the few minutes available. As soon as the speaker starts reading out numbers, Michel Lesseigne starts making notes. Is the MEP saying "einhundertneunzig” (one hundred and ninety) or "einundneunzig” (ninety one)? As little as one mispronounced syllable could be decisive. The time for the speech is up and the German MEP rests back in her chair. Michel Lesseigne presses the red button on his interpreters' console. The microphone is now switched off and he also leans back in his chair wiping his sweating hands on his grey suit.

His colleague takes over at the microphone. She places one hand in the other as the committee changes the topic; now it's suddenly no longer about CO2 emissions from smaller vehicles but chlorinated poultry from the USA. A large part of the everyday work is simply determined through chaos, predictions cannot actually be made says Michel Lesseigne. Today is the first time he has heard about the chlorinated poultry. Even though he could soon retire, Michel Lesseigne has not even considered giving it up yet. At first he would like to reduce his workload to work part time in order to spend more time in the Canaries. "After three weeks I miss all the stress."

Links:

Costs of interpretation

Further facts

Interpreting

Languages in the EP

Multilingualism

Further articles on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Cultural Policy, » Integration, » Minorities, » Belgium, » Europe
More from the press review on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Cultural Policy, » Integration, » Minorities, » Belgium, » Europe