A strange event today.....

Question

Today was a 'different' day in my church because the pastor and many others were away on a special 'retreat' weekend. The guy that usually translates the service into English brought the message today, so that left my wife without a translator (We only have three Americanos in our church, all the rest are Latino). I had forgotten about this 'situation' until, at the beginning of the message I hear "Jack, puedes traducir para tu esposa"? The other Americano (besides me) was not there, so it was only my wife that needed a translator.

Well, this should be fun, I thought, how hard can it be? I have translated a few prayers into English but never have I tried to translate during an entire sermon. I am glad that I was doing this for my wife, at least I wouldn't be nervous! As the sermon progressed I diligently tried to keep up, and the faster the preacher talked the more overwhelmed I became. This is a skill I had not practiced for. I could understand the sermon well enough, but I never knew how difficult it was to hear something in Spanish, then, while the speak is still talking translate what you just heard and try to spit it out of your mouth, then somehow try to rewind back to what you thought you heard while you were talking, translate some more, spit out some more, Oh my Lord, I'm getting further and further behind!!.

I guess Dennis saw my frustration, he stopped and ask me if I was doing 'ok'. Of course I told him that it was, and we continued.

I knew I didn't do that good a job. I apologized to my wife, she was very gracious and told me I did alright, but I knew better.

I am absolutely stunned at the mental gymnastics that are required for translating, and for those that do it, I am in awe of them.

We left church, had lunch and went on home, I was feeling a bit 'down' after this mornings episode, I tend to do that sometimes when I can't do as well as I think I should. Later this evening my wife and I went out for supper, I didn't really care where we ate. "You choose", I told her, so she picked a Mexican restaurant. Ok, why not?

I always order in Spanish when it's appropriate, so I did as I usually do. My waiter kept coming back to our table, and we would make small talk. As we finished eating he came back, asked me ¿Estás listo para la cuenta? I told him that I was, he gave me the check and began to talk with me, not the 'small talk' but a real conversation. We talked about where we worked and lived, went to church and such. It was very comfortable, not strained or anything like that. We finally left, my wife told me "that was so cool. Honey, you were awesome". I knew I wasn't really awesome, but it made the heart of this 55 year old teenager feel good.

All I could think of at that moment was, "thank you Lord for another victory". I really needed that moment.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Jack, Let me tell you that my hat is off to all simultaneous interpreters!! I don't know how those people do it...

I understand 100% the frustration that you felt over trying to keep your wife in the loop, keep up with the service, and absorb the content yourself.

Good job!!!!

Sometimes when aren't so sure we've made any progress...there is victory!!! Thanks for sharing about your entire day, not just the first part!

Answer 2

Great story Jack!

We had visitors from both the Ukraine and South America today at our church. It was just a strange scheduling conflict, but of course, since they were both missionaries, they wanted to share with the congregation.

What a translation nightmare! I have not seen so much confusion as when I was shuffling English, Spanish and Creole last summer. I wasn't as brave as you and since I know only three words in Russian, (yes, no and thank you) I stayed out of this mess.

I do have to say how refreshing it was to hear Spanish. I know I sometimes feel the frustration that you feel. However, I found that I could follow along in Spanish. There was understanding and real comprehension.

I can also tell you that I will not be learning Russian any time soon.

Thanks for your comments Nicole. Being able to 'follow along' with understanding and comprehension is a huge accomplishment. Estoy de acuerdo contigo, ¡no ruso para mí! - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 3

Funny Jack, I was just thinking of your post a few months ago about another church experience. I have gone to a few Catholic Masses and came to the conclusion I am deaf.This ceremony does not have a lot of variability but I do not always understand.

I have translated for deaf people before in settings it was acceptable to ask for clarification or to just slow down. That was hard!

I think you are too hard on yourself and you should accept your wife's compliments.If you accept other's encouragement and positive feedback you will do even better than what you can do now.

Thanks for the updates.!

Thank you. My wife is very encouraging, I will try to be more accepting of her compliments :~) - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 4

Awesome story, Jack. I can't wait until the time I can only attend a latino church and understand it. To think that I might translate into English for someone next to me is a level I haven't even yet dreamed of. And yet, however imperfectly, you did that.

That's so awesome!

Thank you :~) Attending a latino church is certainly a different experience, not to mention rewarding. ¡Algún día! - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 5

What a nice story, Jack. It really nails down the idea that knowing a language and translating it for someone else are 2 different things. Translating is a special skill, a talent, or even an art. When I think of those people working as interpreters in the UN, I cannot imagine the possible damages in the relationships among countries that may just happen if the interpreters make inappropriate translations. Like what Mountaingirl said, I too am hats off to them.

I agree. You shouldn't feel bad at all, Jack. Simultaneous translation is very difficult, and it takes long, hard training for someone to get really good at it. - Gekkosan, Apr 18, 2010

Thank you Rikko. I guess I was slam-dunked with just how hard 'live' translating is! - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Thank you Gekkosan. I'm probably going to have to do 'on the job' training :~) - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 6

Jack said:

I am absolutely stunned at the mental gymnastics that are required for translating, and for those that do it, I am in awe of them.

It's amazing and way beyond even what I dream of doing!!

You did a great job under "normal" circumstances with the waiter -- that's what we really aim for when studying Spanish.

Thanks for sharing your story

Thanks so much Marianne. - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 7

Gracias por compartir tu experiencia Jack-OBrien. Yo llegué hace 12 años a Estados Unidos y tenía terror de hablar inglés. Entendía la mayoría, pero tenía miedo de que la gente se iba a burlar de mi pronunciación. Mi esposo es americano y yo soy mexicana. Yo le enseñé a él español y yo sabía lo básico de inglés por la universidad y por ver televisión con "closed captions". Mi esposo me hizo sentir que no importaba si pronunciaba mal o si me equivocaba al hablar. Empezé a soltarme y ahora hablo muy bien el inglés y sin acento. Hace 3 años me hice ciudadana americana y desde ese día, de verdad que me cambió la vida. Me siento "fearless" sin miedo a nada y nada me puede detener. Si cometo errores, trato de aprender cuál fué mi error y trato de aprender nuevas palabras todos los días. Sigue adelante con tu estudio de español y si tienes alguna duda, yo con mucho gusto te ayudo. Esta comunidad de Spanish-Dict está super! Sigue adelante y que Dios te bendiga. P.D. Yo ayudo en mi iglesia a traducir de inglés a español los sermones del pastor. Es una experiencia muy bonita. Saludos Susy

Answer 8

Thanks for sharing the story Jack. Don´t be so hard on yourself, I dream of a time when I can be where you are at. Victoria en Jesús.

Thank you Scott. The waiter at the Mexican restaurante said "esta es una aventura". It helped me change my perspective :~) - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 9

Hola todas, estoy animado por sus comentarios. Muchas gracias por permitirme compartir una pequeña parte de mi vida contigo. ¡Valoro sus comentarios!

Answer 10

Gracias por compartir tu experiencia Jack-OBrien. Yo llegué hace 12 años a Estados Unidos y tenía terror de hablar inglés. Entendía la mayoría, pero tenía miedo de que la gente se iba a burlar de mi pronunciación. Mi esposo es americano y yo soy mexicana. Yo le enseñé a él español y yo sabía lo básico de inglés por la universidad y por ver televisión con "closed captions". Mi esposo me hizo sentir que no importaba si pronunciaba mal o si me equivocaba al hablar. Empezé a soltarme y ahora hablo muy bien el inglés y sin acento. Hace 3 años me hice ciudadana americana y desde ese día, de verdad que me cambió la vida. Me siento "fearless" sin miedo a nada y nada me puede detener. Si cometo errores, trato de aprender cuál fué mi error y trato de aprender nuevas palabras todos los días. Sigue adelante con tu estudio de español y si tienes alguna duda, yo con mucho gusto te ayudo. Esta comunidad de Spanish-Dict está super! Sigue adelante y que Dios te bendiga. P.D. Yo ayudo en mi iglesia a traducir de inglés a español los sermones del pastor. Es una experiencia muy bonita. Saludos Susy

Gracias Susy, al poder leer tu experiencia está una bendición para me. Y también tenía terror de hablar español, hasta algún día hablé en español a la congregación de la iglesia. Después eso, no lo tenía miedo de hablar español en frente de la gente. Creo que su esposo estaba correcto en cuenta al hecho eso no es importante si se hace un error cuando aprendiendo una nueva lengua. ¡Felicitaciones por convertirse en un ciudadano de los Estados Unidos!
Estoy de acuerdo contigo, trato de aprender algo nuevo en español todos los días. Quizás, algún día llegaré. Igualmente, Dios te bendiga.
Jack

Hoy aprendí algo nuevo:"loose" y "lose" no se pronuncian igual. Fué un tremendo shock para mí. Todavía estoy en shock... :-) - 00e46f15, Apr 20, 2010

Answer 11

wow that is an amazing story! thanks for sharing. I think it would be so cool to have conversations in 2 languages, at a restaurant or something. thanks again!

It's certainly an adventure, to say the least. Hearing youself translated into English is a mind blowing experience for me :~) - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010

Answer 12

Great story Jack, that took alot of courage, i only hope one day to be able to speak spanish to someone....and to translate like that...Congrats !!

Thanks Bill. My wife said I could translate movies and/or tv for her. Hmm, more practice :~) - Jack-OBrien, Apr 19, 2010