Issue #11                                                                www.interprenaut.com                                                         April 2012  

Welcome to the 11th issue of The Interpreter's Launch Pad. This newsletter is designed to bring resources, tips, and a bit of fun to the lives of professional interpreters.

Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for countdown!

Q: Interprenaut, who are your favorite authors?

A: Too many to list! However, one of the authors whose work I have long recommended to others is David Crystal. He is one of the world's foremost writers on topics of language, and his style makes the information fun and accessible for pretty much anyone. He has written so many great volumes on the role of language in society, the ever-evolving English language, and technology, too. I particularly enjoyed his memoir, "Just a Phrase I'm Going Through." I'm especially honored to announce that David Crystal has written the foreword for a forthcoming book I've co-authored, titled "Found in Translation."

Do you have questions or issues of importance to the field of interpreting that you'd like to see Interprenaut address?  

Send them along. 

Sarah Winnemucca navigated between two worlds, those of the Nevada Paiute tribe (her father was a chief) and white settlers. Like most interpreters who enable two cultures to communicate, Sarah ended up being viewed negatively and as a controversial figure by both of the groups she worked for at different times in her life. 

Sarah Winnemucca, indigenous activist, language preservationist, and of course, an interpreter

Sarah learned to speak English at the wishes of her grandfather. The language soon became an advantage for her, as she was one of the only Paiutes in the area at the time who could not only speak English, but could read and write it as well. She later learned Spanish and several Native American languages. She taught in an Indian school and worked as an interpreter.

Sarah was the first Native American woman to secure a copyright and publish a book in the English language. With the encouragement of Ralph Waldo Emerson and others, she wrote Life Among the Piutes, an autobiographical account of her people's turmoil. The book recounts many years of starvation, forced relocations from ancestral lands, and violent attacks. 

Sarah Winnemucca eventually returned to Nevada, where she built a school for Indian children with the goal of promoting her native culture and language. Sarah's school was open for a short period, until the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 required Indian children to attend English-speaking boarding schools instead. Today, there are fewer than 1,000 people left who speak this language natively.   

Who inspires you?

Which ear do you favor when interpreting? That was the question Interprenaut asked last month, and it turned out to be a popular one. According to the 78 people who responded, most interpreters (52.5%) favor the left ear, while a quarter (25.6%) favor their right. About a fifth (21.7%) said that they do not favor either ear. The vast majority (84.6%) of interpreters are right-handed. Interpreters overwhelmingly choose binaural headsets, one with two earphones (74.3%) instead of monaural ones (23.0%).

Here are some of the comments interpreters had to share about their ear preferences:

• "After long periods of interpreting, I alternate, but it also depends on acoustics in the room."
• "I do conference interpreting and I always leave the ear next to my colleague out of the headset. It depends on where my colleague is sitting."
• "I use in-ear earphones (of the now old Sony Walkman type) which are transparent to sound, so I don't need to uncover one ear to hear my own voice. When forced to use big ear-covering earphones, such as in TV studios, I'm very unhappy, and fear I cannot hear my making mistakes. I try to turn the volume down on one side, usually the right, to hear what I say."
• "On the phone, I alternate sides, but when the sound is weak, I hear better with my left ear."
• "I recently noticed that I seemed to be asking for repetitions more frequently so I went to get a hearing test and, in fact, I have lost some hearing in my right ear. Since I wear my phone earpiece in my left ear, I have since switched it to my right ear, but now notice that I also have to change which side of the patient I stand/sit on."
• "I seem to hear clearer with my right ear, although many times I need to be on the left side because of how the courtroom is configured."
• "When interpreting, I work with my right ear. When my colleague is interpreting, I change to my left ear."
• "I listen to the speaker in my right ear and listen to my own voice / interpretation with my left."
• "After a couple of days, I do switch to the left one, but I always start with the right ear. Who wants to begin a conference with a left ear? Or enter the booth with the left foot?"
• "If I don't change ears regularly, I get a headache..."

One of the things that was clear from the comments is that several interpreters have experienced hearing loss as a result of their work. Interprenaut believes this is an aspect of the profession that is not discussed very often. Interpreters, make sure to tell your physicians about your work and see if you can get your hearing checked periodically. And educators, consider discussing aural health with your interpreting students. 

Click here to take a two-minute anonymous poll to share your feedback.   

This month's question is of special significance. Your answers will benefit THE VOICE OF LOVE project, which supports quality interpreting for survivors of torture, trauma and sexual violence.  

The results will be shared in next month's newsletter.  

Do you have a question you'd like to get input on from colleagues around the world?
Send me your suggested topics for next month's feedback section.  

Do you have interpreting news to report from your part of the word?  

Send it along, so that your fellow interpreters can hear all about it.