Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: This is localization today, a podcast from multilingual media covering the most relevant daily news in the language industry.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Like a bridge over troubled waters by Evan Drummagalan the Hiroshima bridge while the cold war churned in one hemisphere, World.
[00:00:26] Speaker C: War Two had left its indelible mark on the other.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: In the summer of 1945, the world.
[00:00:33] Speaker C: Held its breath as the allied leaders awaited japans response to the Potsdam declaration.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: A stern ultimatum demanding unconditional surrender. The Allies made it abundantly clear that.
[00:00:43] Speaker C: A negative answer would invite prompt and utter destruction.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: Yet amidst the tension and anticipation, a.
[00:00:49] Speaker C: Fateful misuse of language would forever alter.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: The course of history. In Tokyo, reporters clamor for a glimpse.
[00:00:57] Speaker C: Into the secretive corridors of power as japanese premier Kantaro Suzuki faces the media frenzy. With the fate of nations hanging in.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: The balance, Suzuki, employing the politicians age old tactic, offers a cryptic response. Moka Satsu in Tokyo, reporters clamor for.
[00:01:15] Speaker C: A glimpse into the secretive corridors of power as japanese premier Kantaro Suzuki faces the media frenzy. With the fate of nations hanging in.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: The balance, Suzuki, employing the politicians age old tactic, offers a cryptic response derived.
[00:01:31] Speaker C: From the word for silence. Mokusatsu encompasses a spectrum of connotations ranging.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: From contemplative inaction to outright rejection.
[00:01:40] Speaker C: Premier Suzuki used the word to convey his intention of withholding comment or deferring.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Judgment, a diplomatic maneuver aimed at buying time for deliberation.
[00:01:50] Speaker C: A different and far more damning interpretation of moka satsu was formed in the western journalists minds.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: Though the premier's word choice for the.
[00:02:00] Speaker C: Press implied a categorical rejection or dismissal.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: Of the post damn declaration as unworthy of a response.
[00:02:07] Speaker C: As the wires crackled with news of.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: Japan's supposed disdain, alarm bells rang in Washington, DC.
[00:02:13] Speaker C: Incensed by what they perceived as japanese.
[00:02:16] Speaker B: Obstinance, us officials saw Suzuki's statement as.
[00:02:19] Speaker C: Reaffirming the fanatical resolve that had characterized.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: Japan's wartime stance, Mokusatsu became a symbol of defiance, a brazen invitation to escalate the conflict. In hindsight, the tragedy of Hiroshima looms.
[00:02:34] Speaker C: Large over the misinterpretation of moka satsu.
[00:02:38] Speaker B: Granted, the decision to drop the atomic.
[00:02:40] Speaker C: Bomb was not solely based on suzukis statement.
[00:02:44] Speaker B: Still, the premiers ambiguous word choice undoubtedly.
[00:02:47] Speaker C: Helped shape the narrative of japanese intransigence.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: Like a tragi comedy of errors, the.
[00:02:53] Speaker C: Ambivalence of moka satsu underscored the perils of linguistic miscommunication in the high stakes arena of international diplomacy and the ultimate responsibility of translators.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: The shaky Moscow bridge fast forward a decade to Moscow, 1956 the Cold War is at its iciest, and every word.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Uttered by soviet leaders is scrutinized like.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Tea leaves by a fortune teller.
[00:03:19] Speaker C: At a diplomatic reception at the polish.
[00:03:21] Speaker B: Embassy, soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev leans in.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: With a sly grin and his gravelly voice.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: The superpower leader drops another bomb. My vas pocaronum. The room falls silent, and the western.
[00:03:35] Speaker C: Bloc ambassadors exchange nervous glances.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: What did he just say? All eyes turned to Viktor Sukha Drev, the man caught in the crossfire of linguistic mayim. Standing 2ft behind Khrushchev, the interpreter faces.
[00:03:49] Speaker C: The inenviable task of deciphering the soviet.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: Leaders words for the english speaking world. And decipher he did in so doing.
[00:03:57] Speaker C: Igniting a fire storm of panic and paranoia in the west.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: As he rendered Khrushchev's word, we will bury you.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: Ambassadors and guests look at one another in disbelief.
[00:04:08] Speaker B: Did Khrushchev just threaten global annihilation, or.
[00:04:12] Speaker C: Was something lost in translation?
[00:04:14] Speaker B: In hindsight, and with the east west tension at an all time high, its.
[00:04:18] Speaker C: Easy to see how a simple phrase.
[00:04:20] Speaker B: Could snowball into a diplomatic avalanche.
[00:04:23] Speaker C: Perhaps Khrushchevs words were meant to be.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: A playful jab, a bit of cold war banter to spice up the evening. Or maybe they were a veiled threat.
[00:04:32] Speaker C: A not so subtle reminder of the Soviet Union's ideological superiority.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Whatever the case, Sukha Drev found himself at the epicenter of a linguistic tempest.
[00:04:42] Speaker C: His interpretation reverberating like a sonic boom.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: Across the geopolitical landscape.
[00:04:48] Speaker C: Many years and several soviet leaders later, the aging figure still adamantly stood by his word choice that day as the only parsible rendering of the original russian utterance.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: A bridge to Mexico.
We tend to believe that intapretas are not born but made. Journey back long enough and you will.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: Find that many such linguists were forged into the craft rather reluctantly due to.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Captivity, forced marriage, or pure survival instinct.
[00:05:15] Speaker C: Intrapretas, so introduced to the Mechur, will always harbour some degree of inner conflict and invite over them the inescapable judgment of history as to where their loyalty lies.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: Such was the fate of Molinali Tenepatl.
[00:05:28] Speaker C: Born into the mexic empire in the.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: 16Th century, the young lady found herself.
[00:05:33] Speaker C: At the heart of historys tumultuous tides as spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes dropped anchor.
[00:05:39] Speaker B: And trudged into Mexico.
[00:05:41] Speaker C: As the Spaniards advanced into mayan territory.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: A local chief gave Cortes 19 women as a gift for winning the battle of Podican. The girl, locally known as Malintzin, was among them as the expedition marched farther into aztec land, the spanish captive you.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: Had served as their interpreter thus far.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Could no longer help, as he only spoke mayan. Malencin, whose father had become conversant in.
[00:06:06] Speaker C: Nahuatl from years in commerce and trade.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: With the Aztecs, was naturally skilled in that language and proved a suitable replacement.
[00:06:14] Speaker C: Recognizing her invaluable linguistic abilities, Cortes took.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Her under his wings.
[00:06:19] Speaker C: While historians debate the exact nature of.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: Their relationship, it is widely acknowledged that.
[00:06:25] Speaker C: She played a significant role as Cortes.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Interpreter, adviser, and concubine during the conquest of Mexico. Lamelinch, as she came to be known in history, played a role that was far from straightforward.
[00:06:39] Speaker C: While she facilitated communication between Cortes and.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: The local leaders, her motives and loyalties have sparked intense debate both then and now.
Some portray her as a traitor, complicit in the downfall of her own people. In contrast, others view her as a.
[00:06:55] Speaker C: Survivor, navigating the treacherous currents of colonialism and opening the door to what would.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: Later become the sovereign land of Mexico. The story of Dona Marina, as she is also referred to, is far more nuanced, though as an indigenous woman thrust into the tumult of conquest, she occupied a liminal space between cultures, serving as.
[00:07:17] Speaker C: A mediator to her captors while in captivity.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: Her ability to navigate the linguistic and.
[00:07:23] Speaker C: Cultural divide between Cortes and indigenous peoples.
[00:07:26] Speaker B: Undoubtedly shaped the course of history. Yet her agency and autonomy remain obscured by the shadows of colonialism. Bridge specialists the poor translation job is.
[00:07:38] Speaker C: Mentioned almost without exception in these stories.
[00:07:41] Speaker B: Recounting one short magazine article calls the.
[00:07:44] Speaker C: Moku satsu incident the worlds most tragic.
[00:07:47] Speaker B: Translation, an ill chosen translation of a.
[00:07:50] Speaker C: Common japanese word, disastrous oversight. In this most important of all messages.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: And that inauspicious translation, no one seems.
[00:07:59] Speaker C: To question the translators personal culpability.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: But is it fair to lay the.
[00:08:03] Speaker C: Blame solely at the feet of interpreters like Sukha Drev and the anonymous translator in Tokyo? In the high stakes arena of international diplomacy, where tensions simmer and mistrust runs.
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Deep, intrapretas often find themselves caught in the crossfire of linguistic warfare. They are tasked with distilling the nuances.
[00:08:23] Speaker C: Of language and culture into digestible sound bites while navigating the treacherous waters of.
[00:08:28] Speaker B: Political intrigue and diplomatic posturing.
[00:08:31] Speaker C: Amidst the rubble of mistranslations and misinterpretations.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: There is a glimmer of hope. Far from mere conduits of words, intrepretas.
[00:08:40] Speaker C: And translators can also serve as catalysts for understanding and reconciliation.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: In the aftermath of Hiroshima, the Khrushchev debacle, and the saga of Lomelinch their.
[00:08:51] Speaker C: Voices and talent were also used to.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Champion the cause of diplomacy and dialogue.
[00:08:57] Speaker C: Recognizing the folly of war and the imperative of cooperation.
[00:09:01] Speaker B: So rather than point fingers at linguists for the woes of the world, it.
[00:09:05] Speaker C: Would behoove us to remember that communication.
[00:09:08] Speaker B: Is by definition a very imprecise exercise.
[00:09:12] Speaker C: In a world fraught with peril and possibility.
[00:09:14] Speaker B: History and international diplomacy, for that matter, is often the result of building, burning, and then rebuilding bridges. None of that can be done without.
[00:09:24] Speaker C: Translators and interpreters on a planet as diverse as ours.
This article was written by Evan Drum.
[00:09:32] Speaker B: Magalan, a conference interpreter, former chief interpreter.
[00:09:36] Speaker C: In the United nations system, interpreter, trainer.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: And language technology advocate. He is a TEDx speaker and the author of three books, including the language game.
[00:09:48] Speaker C: Originally published in multilingual magazine.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: Issue 226, March 20, 2024.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to localization today. To subscribe to multilingual magazine, go to multilingual.com. Subscribe.
