How COVID-19 affected interpreting.

Dear Colleagues:

This is an article I wrote for the ITI. It was published several months ago, and I now reproduce it on my blog:

The pandemic has been an eye-opener on the future of the profession, and an opportunity to assess everything I was doing right before this crisis. During the last couple of months, I have strengthened my professional bond with my direct clients. Because of the uncertain future, and complicated present, I saw the need to contact my best clients with three objectives: To reassured them I am here to assist them at this time; to show them empathy and remind them I am going through the same difficulties they are facing to remain viable; and to advise them on their best options to deal with urgent matters using RSI until they meet in person again. COVID-19 showed me I did the right thing years ago when I looked for direct clients instead of waiting for the agencies to contact me. I validate this decision every time I hear how agencies are trying to lower interpreting fees; or how they are taking advantage by recruiting desperate or inexperienced interpreters willing to be paid by the minute. I see there is an RSI hype that, from the platform’s perspective is a total success. You can hardly spend a minute on social media without running into an interpreter bragging about their newly acquired skill. Unfortunately, I see how many of these colleagues believe that learning the platform translates into assignments and income. I feel sorry for them because nobody reminded them interpreters get hired based on the quality of their work and their professional experience. It breaks my heart to see how many are spending the limited money they have on expensive microphones, headsets, and even soundproof rooms. Isolation made me appreciate things I never considered before: genuine solidarity among professional colleagues, human contact, my time in the booth, talking to the client face to face, touring a venue before the event, crowded airports, hotel bars after the event, shaking the hand of a good technician in appreciation for making me sound good. Interpreters are social beings and there are many cultures in the world that will demand in-person conferences and meetings when it is safe to do it. Before the virus, RSI was a small business; now tech giants are pouring in their resources. It may be a matter of time before the RSI platforms interpreters are talking about are Microsoft, Google, and Apple. Finally, I learned two lessons: Some professional associations are helping us through these ugly days while others prioritized money over humans and are forging ahead with expensive conferences no one will attend. I learned RSI will get better every day and it will remain the choice for small and preliminary meetings. It will also be used by companies that could not afford in-person events before. We must decide the professional fees and work conditions we need and want. It must be the interpreter who gets the client, not the platform. If we do our job, there will be a bigger pie for all interpreters.

The Super Bowl: Interpreters, American football, and a big day in the United States.

Dear colleagues:

Because Americans love to bring up sports in a conference, and due to the acquired taste needed to enjoy a sport popular in the United States and few other places in the world, every year I write a post on the biggest sporting event: The Super Bowl.

On February 7 the United States will hold the most watched TV event in our country, a game played on an unofficial holiday, more popular than most holidays on the official calendar.   The Super Bowl is the national professional football championship game in the United States of America; and it is not football… at least not THAT football played in the rest of the world.  This popular sport in the United States is known abroad as “American football,” and even this designation seems troublesome to many who have watched a little American football and do not understand it well.  Although it is mainly played holding a ball, the sport is known in the United States as football for two reasons:  (1) Because this American-born sport comes from “rugby football” (now rugby) that came from soccer (football outside the United States) and (2) Because it is football, but it is not British organized football, which when American football invented was called “association football” and was later known by the second syllable of the word “association”:  “socc” which mutated into “soccer.”  You now understand where the name came from, but is it really football? For Americans it is. Remember that all other popular team sports in the United States are played with your hands or a stick (baseball, basketball and ice hockey). The only sport in the United States where points can be scored by kicking the ball is (American) football. So, even though most of the time the ball is carried by hand or caught with your hands, sometimes, a team scores or defends field position by kicking or punting the football.   Now, why is all this relevant to us as interpreters?   Because if you interpret from American English you are likely to run into speakers who will talk about the Super Bowl, football, or will use examples taken from this very popular sport in the U.S.  

On Sunday, most Americans will gather in front of the TV set to watch the National Football Conference champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers battle the American Football Conference champion Kansas City Chiefs for the Vince Lombardi Trophy (official name of the trophy given to the team that wins the Super Bowl) which incidentally is a trophy in the shape of a football, not a bowl.  It is because the game was not named after a trophy, it was named after a tradition.  There are two football levels in the United States: college football played by amateur students, and professional football.  College football is older than pro-football and for many decades the different college champions were determined by playing invitational football games at the end of the college football season on New Year’s Day.  These games were called (and still are) “Bowls.”  You may have heard of the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and many others.  When a professional football game was created to determine the over-all champion between the champions of the American and National Conferences, it was just natural (and profitable) to call it the “Super Bowl.”

The game, which involves two teams representing two regions of the country, will be played in Tampa, Florida. It will be the first time in history that one team playing for the famous trophy will play in its home stadium.  Every year the Super Bowl is played in a venue where the weather at this time of the year is more welcoming. Because of the pandemic, there will be very few people at the stadium, but there will be millions watching the match from home, and there will be hundreds of millions spent on TV commercials during the game.  

As I do every year on these dates, I have included a basic glossary of English<>Spanish football terms that may be useful to you, particularly those of you who do escort, diplomatic, and conference interpreting from American English to Mexican Spanish.  “American” football is very popular in Mexico (where they have college football) Eventually, many of you will face situations where two people will discuss the Super Bowl; as you are interpreting somebody will tell a football story during a presentation; or you may end up at a TV or radio studio simultaneously interpreting a football game for your own or another foreign market. This year, I suggest you learn the name Tom Brady, the superstar quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, considered by many the best football player in history. He will be playing in his tenth Super Bowl.

The following glossary does not cover every term in football; it includes terms very common, and where there were several translations of a football term, I selected the term used in Mexico by the Mexican media that covers the sport.

 

ENGLISH	SPANISH
Football	Fútbol Americano
National Football League	Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano
NFL	N-F-L (ene-efe-ele)
American Football Conference	Conferencia Americana
National Football Conference	Conferencia Nacional
Preseason	Pretemporada
Regular season	Temporada regular
Playoffs	Postemporada
Wildcard	Equipo comodín
Standings	Tabla de posiciones
Field	Terreno de juego
End zone	Zona de anotación/ diagonales
Locker room	Vestidor
Super Bowl	Súper Tazón
Pro Bowl	Tazón Profesional/ Juego de estrellas
Uniform & Equipment	Uniforme y Equipo
Football	Balón/ Ovoide
Jersey	Jersey
Helmet	Casco
Facemask	Máscara
Chinstrap	Barbiquejo
Shoulder pads	Hombreras
Thigh pads	Musleras
Knee pads	Rodilleras
Jockstrap	Suspensorio
Cleats	Tacos
Tee	Base
Fundamentals	Términos básicos
Starting player	Titular
Backup player	Reserva
Offense	Ofensiva
Defense	Defensiva
Special teams	Equipos especiales
Kickoff	Patada/ saque
Punt	Despeje
Return	Devolución
Fair catch	Recepción libre
Possession	Posesión del balón
Drive	Marcha/ avance
First and ten	Primero y diez
First and goal	Primero y gol
Line of scrimmage	Línea de golpeo
Neutral zone	Zona neutral
Snap	Centro
Long snap	Centro largo/ centro al pateador
Huddle	Pelotón
Pocket	Bolsillo protector
Fumble	Balón libre
Turnover	Pérdida de balón
Takeaway	Robo
Giveaway	Entrega
Interception	Intercepción
Completion	Pase completo
Tackle	Tacleada/ derribada
Blitz	Carga
Pass rush	Presión al mariscal de campo
Sack	Captura
Run/ carry	Acarreo
Pass	Pase
“I” Formation	Formación “I”
Shotgun Formation	Formación escopeta
“T” Formation	Formación “T”
Wishbone Formation	Formación wishbone
Goal posts	Postes
Crossbar	Travesaño
Sidelines	Líneas laterales/ banca
Chain	Cadena
Out-of-bounds	Fuera del terreno
Head Coach	Entrenador en jefe
Game Officials	Jueces
Flag	Pañuelo
POSITIONS	POSICIONES
Center	Centro
Guard	Guardia
Offensive Tackle	Tacleador ofensivo
Offensive line	Línea ofensiva
End	Ala
Wide Receiver	Receptor abierto
Tight end	Ala cerrada
Running Back	Corredor
Halfback	Corredor
Fullback	Corredor de poder
Quarterback	Mariscal de campo
Backfield	Cuadro defensivo
Defensive end	Ala defensiva
Defensive tackle	Tacleador defensivo
Nose guard	Guardia nariz
Linebacker	Apoyador
Cornerback	Esquinero
Free safety	Profundo libre
Strong safety	Profundo fuerte
Place kicker	Pateador
Punter	Pateador de despeje
Penalty	Castigo

Even if you are not a football fan, and even if you are not watching the big game on Sunday, I hope you find this glossary useful.  Now I invite you to comment on football, sports interpreting, or maybe you would like to share a “sports interpreting anecdote” with all of us.