Lost in translation
Published on Apr 18, 2008

The job of an interpreter can be nerve racking - a slip of the tongue could lose your company millions
By Watchara Saengsrisin

Daily Xpress

Being a good professional interpreter requires more than just a fluent grasp of the languages you work in.

"You must try to learn as much as possible about the work in other departments of your company," says Ummarin Charoensangsuriya, who has been a professional Thai-Japanese interpreter for five years.

The reason, he explains, is that Thai people tend to "beat around the bush" when communicating.

"The more you know about what's going on in your company, the faster and more accurately you can interpret what people with a different language want to convey," he says. "Also, it means you can quickly figure out what people from one side want to talk about, so you can get straight to the point for people on the other side."

Ummarin, 32, has been working for the Japanese firm Takahashi Plastic since returning five years ago from studies at Sunno College, Japan.

He finds that while interpreting, especially in meetings with long speeches, it is often impossible to keep pace with what the speaker is saying.

To cope, he has a system he calls "5W and 1H" - who, what, where, when, why and how.

"You don't have to jot it all down and try to make complete sentences," he says. "Just write down what is important so you will be able to summarise it from beginning to end."

Because his duties involve interpreting meetings between high-ranking Thai and Japanese executives, Ummarin says the job is quite a challenge. "If you interpret something incorrectly, the company will have problems."

That's why he believes that ethical standards are very important in his work.

"Never have bias, and never put your own ideas into what you are interpreting. That's the moral of the work," Ummarin says. "If you are unclear about what you are hearing, always ask, and never make a decision for someone without first confirming it with them."