...through us you understand the world
 

Translator and Interpreter, Interpreters
Translator is a participant in communication that facilitates the original text to a linguistically unprepared recipient. A translator is also a communicator, a recipient of a message (text) in a foreign language, a decoder and encoder at the same time, an emittor of a message (text) in the other language. A translator of an artistic text decodes the text created in another language, in another expressive configuration and another character situation. A translator encodes a message in a new linguistic, stylistic and character context. A translator has a set of experience that represents the aggregate of social, phylosophic, psychologic and other opinions and experience individually adopted by the translator. This experience serves as backround for communication, semiotic and stylistic realisation of translation.

An interpreter listens to a participant of verbal communication - emitter - in one language and communicates this message to participants of verbal communication - recipients - in another language. The interpreter has to describe the content of the emittor in the language of the recipient. An interpreter's duty is to attain effective communication. An interpreter should be particular about the listeners to look at the same object, but not to try to force them to perceive it in the same way. An interpreter should stick to these 10 principles:
  1. We interpret in the same person as the speaker, so either in first person singular or first person plural. If the speaker addresses his partner indirectly in third person, we still interpret in the first person and adress him directly. (For example. incorrect: Tell Mr. Blair that I liked his speech. correct: Mr. Blair I liked your speech.)
  2. We use the same gender (masculine or feminine) as our client.
  3. If we need to insert something extra that the speaker has not said, we do it in third person.
  4. If more than one person has spoken, (with consecutive interpreting) the interpreter should indicate who has said what by a hand gesture or by wagging his head.
  5. The interpreter should speak in a clear and resonant voice – it must be obvious when he/she starts interpreting and when he/she is finished. He/she can never swallow anything or speak out without addressing anybody.
  6. If the interpreter wants to correct himself, he/she does it concisely, for example using expressions as: so, actually, pardon, I correct myself, rather, and others.
  7. An interpreter concentrates himself/herself on detail, pronounciation and tone.
  8. All proper names form an essential part of the text and therefore should be pronounced phonologically within the frame of the target language, that means with interpreting into English putting the stress on the next to the last syllable and pronouncing without hiccup.
  9. It is suitable to avoid foreignisms and to keep them in reserve for cases when we do not know an appropriate expression in Slovak.
  10. An intepreter should not correct himself when it is only because of stylistic mistakes. This a difference between intepreting and translation.