I recently wrote about the headache President Trump’s English is giving translators.
Well the President of the United States has now trumped translators and interpreters around the world by somehow managing to either learn Italian overnight or having a specific conference interpreting earpiece created for him.
During a roundtable meeting during the recent G7 Summit Italy’s Prime Minister and the host, Paolo Gentiloni, spoke briefly in Italian, as he might do considering he is Italian and in Italy.
As all the other NATO leaders realise they need the help of an English to Italian interpreter, they put on their headsets which links them up to a live feed from the interpreter’s booth.
This is known as ‘simultaneous interpreting’ – where the translation of what is being said happens at the same time. If you remember the film, The Interpreter, with Nicole Kidman, you will remember how it all works!
Trump however put no headset on – prompting alarm from commentators because a) he can’t understand what is being said and b) of how rude it is, especially in the circles of international diplomacy.
Here is a clip if you want to watch.
A short clip that sums up this G7 summit: look who has chosen not to hear a translation of his Italian host’s speech #G6 pic.twitter.com/6pXbBlfvof
— James Landale (@BBCJLandale) May 27, 2017
White House Press Sec., Sean Spicer, instantly called any comment on the slight, ‘fake news’, stating, “As usual @POTUS wears a single ear piece for translation in his right ear.”
As any simultaneous interpreter, conference interpreting company, events company or sound engineer will tell you – this is not possible.
Conference interpreting systems work on a signal between the booth and headsets. It is not possible for the President to have turned up with ‘a single ear piece’ and for it to have worked.
It seems this was not an isolated incident.
European bureau chief of The Globe and Mail, Eric Reguly, tweeted, “Donald Trump disengaging from G7. No press meet today and didn’t bother putting on headphones in Africa session to listen to translation.”
What do you think? Ear piece or not bothered? Or fluent in Italian?
