Numbers that stick

Melissa mentioned that we attended a Yale Network Dinner on Saturday, December 8, only hours after arriving in Katowice. One of the speakers at that event was an inspiring woman who said that she always numbers her points because people tend to remember numbered items better. So here’s my list from the day and a half that we’ve been here:

1. Saadiq and I moved on from the Yale dinner to a party hosted by the Climate Action Network in a club with an eclectic playlist. We were impressed by the venue. Every time we tried to leave, we would stumble upon another room with even better music. It beat any Swarthmore party I’ve attended till date (which isn’t a high bar). I noticed there were only a handful of attendees from the G77 countries at the party, and most guests were either from Europe or the United States. It was strange to be in a crowded club with deafening music and people of all ages from all over the world, and even stranger to think that we were dancing with negotiators at one of the most important climate change conferences. As Martin, our Uber driver from the airport, said, “it’s all one big party”. So far it seems like that to me too. Hopefully, that will change tomorrow when I actually attend sessions.

2. On our way to Krakow today (December 7), I sat next to an interpretor for the UN who translates from English to French, and English to Spanish. Surprisingly, she knew about Swarthmore (but she kept referring to it as “Swarth”). She was a Columbian-French freelance interpreter from New York who most often translates for the African Union, European Union, and UN bodies such as UNICEF and UN-Women.

I learnt some interesting facts about the work of interpreters. For example, they are officially only “allowed” to work for five-and-a-half hours a day because they tend to hit fatigue beyond that time frame and start making mistakes in the translations. Interpreters work in pairs and switch every half-hour. I asked how translating simultaneously works, whether doing everything in real-time meant that she occasionally missed words and whether she’s able to translate everything from one language to another when some languages do not have the same vocabulary. She gave me a bewildered look and said, “that’s the job”. You have to know when to stop yourself from working because it’s a high stakes job. Misinterpreting something could have wide-reaching implications at the UN, where translations are often published and incorporated in texts.

She translates from English to French 75% of the time, and one of her favorite words to translate is “accountability” because apparently, that word does not exist in French. There’s the word “responsibility”, but of course it’s not the same. She liked the precision of the word accountability, for which she needs three words to communicate the same meaning in French (Google translate does not have the French translation for accountability as I now know). French is about 16% wordier than English, so when speakers speak fast, interpreters can often sound like robots trying to squeeze in meaningful translations.

It’s another problem when speakers have thick accents that she cannot understand. “But then I look around in the room and realize that nobody else understood it either, so it’s okay. It just gets lost. So it’s the responsibility of countries and organizations to send speakers who are articulate when they speak.” That was an interesting take. Having the text in front while she’s translating always helps, she said. Even if she’s looking at it for the first time. “Then I can add intonations and make the speech more interesting.” Otherwise what gets noted down is a dry speech. “The UN Secretary General’s office is always very organized.” They share speeches with interpreters at least a day in advance. On the other hand, most other countries and small organizations that make speeches almost never share their speeches in advance, which makes it more difficult for interpreters and for the speakers to get their message across.

3. At the end of our day, we got a text saying the Polish delegation just published a document for how they want to second week of COP to proceed. Here’s the link: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Information%20Note%20by%20the%20President%20on%20the%20mode%20of%20work.pdf