Interpreters (7/25)
25 years of EWC directive, 25 years of EWC Service
Okay, it is not always easy. When you try to make a joke and get a laugh in another language, it will sometimes fall flat, since some jokes are difficult to translate.
If you are lucky, and your joke does come across, you experience a delay in reaction; It could be that the English speakers laugh right away, then you see the Fins grin, then the Germans smile and at last the Poles chuckle. A matter of different speed of translation and languages.
But, what would a European Works Council do without interpreters? They enable us to talk and to understand each other in all 24 European Union languages! With their simultaneous translation skills, they are able to transfer our messages to an understandable language within seconds.
As a side effect, interpreters force us to have better-organised meetings. It is just not an option to talk simultaneously, interrupt constantly or talk unclear and with a high speed. And, most of the time, they even manage to adequately interpret my lame jokes.
Where would I be without the interpreters? Thanks folks, I hope to work with you for many more years!
Mariëlle van der Coelen, EWC trainer and advisor
Have you worked with interpreters or are you an interpreter? Please share your best story.
