VERBAL SKILLS

Communications in another country can be awkward or erroneous, adding to the success or failure of an important peacekeeping mission. UN interpreters provide a communications bridge between the warring parties that allow progress towards peace arrangements. They form a unique team with the unarmed military officers with whom they work.

Maintaining high standards in the identification and selection of translators and interpreters is the key to guaranteeing the professional expertise of the staff and their respect for professional ethics with a view to increasing the efficiency and security of the process. The primary prerequisites for a successful locally engaged language assistant are language proficiency, competency, and unbiased attitude. Clearly, the candidate must be bilingual in source and target languages. An oral selection process is essential for proper assessment of the general knowledge and aptitude for interpretation of prospective candidates. Secondly, it is necessary that the candidate be competent in that they can work quickly and accurately. The third factor, finding locally engaged candidates who do not hold major biases that will affect the quality of interpretation is crucial, but may be the most difficult.

Many locally engaged staff are undergoing traumatic experiences, either directly or indirectly. Persecution, torture, violence, the terrors and hardships of flight and exile are fairly common and may leave psychological scars and problems in their wake, which may be reflected in family difficulties or in increased stress levels. It is vital that all agents of the peace and relief missions, including the locally engaged translators, appear to be unbiased. In one case, the UN narrowly averted using an interpreter on an important land claim negotiation where his family was one of the litigants.

When you are conducting negotiations, an interpreter can be one of your key assets. The intelligence, personality, and street smarts of an interpreter can be crucial in helping you convey your point across linguistic and cultural barriers. The interpreter is your local specialist in public relations. An interpreter can give you suggestions on the best way to proceed with a person from a different cultural background, and may notice nuances that would otherwise be overlooked.

During the discussions the bilingual, bicultural experts help navigate linguistic and cultural nuances. After all, interpreting is not a matter of substituting the words of one language with those of another - it is a skill of conveying messages, with their unspoken assumptions, presuppositions, and subtle emphasis. Meetings are often of a highly complex nature, whether they deal with political, military or technical subjects, and things are often made worse by the faltering pronunciation or syntax of non-native speakers of English or French. Keeping abreast of political and military developments in both languages is essential.

When working with non-professional interpreters during such missions, there is a personal risk of reprisals and the added stress of working in danger zones. In addition, the risk of the following issues damaging your credibility is heightened: political and ideological beliefs, religious convictions, motivation or involvement and confidentiality. In the field, for example, the translator's notes often contain sensitive information. After peacekeepers are gone, the authorities will likely debrief locally engaged staff. As a result, it is vital to ensure the locally-engaged staff's safety and to refrain from

discussing confidential information within their range. At minimum, the interpreter should be guaranteed security while on duty.

 

2. Answer the questions based on the text:

- What are peace and relief mission? Who takes part in those missions?

- In what conditions negotiations of the above mentioned missions are held?

- What is “chuchotage”?

- What is the role of interpreter in those missions?

- Can you name two types of non-verbal communication?

- Why do peacemakers learn the traditions of people they negotiate with?

- How do you understand the phrase: “UN interpreters provide a communications bridge between the warring parties”?

- Why is it important to work with professional interpreter during peace missions?

 

3. Expand on the following statements from the article:

- Communication consists of several layers, with verbal/written, non-verbal and cultural components.

- A mission's operational security is affected by the use of the local language.

- Errors in translation of peacekeeping negotiations can have a dramatic and costly impact on international missions.

- Peacekeepers should be prepared to employ interpreters when necessary.

- An interpreter has to be able to translate in both directions, without the use of any dictionaries, on the spot.