Your current location:HOME >sport >VOX POPULI: Ippei Mizuhara’s interpretation skills make the news even sadder 正文
TIME:2024-05-08 19:51:36 Source: Internet compilationEdit:sport
When I was a university student working part time as an interpreter, my instructor often cautioned m
When I was a university student working part time as an interpreter, my instructor often cautioned me, “Neither add to, nor subtract from, what you are supposed to be translating. Remember to remain completely ‘invisible.’”
I deserved the warning because whenever I was surprised or flummoxed on the job, it would show on my face. Every time I was told that other people found my reactions irritating, I acutely felt the difficulty of this job.
Masao Kunihiro (1930-2014), dubbed the “god of simultaneous interpretation,” was my hero. I once wrote him a letter. To my surprise and utter delight, he wrote me back, encouraging me to “study and master the basics.”
But I had neither the quickness of mind nor the moxie he considered essential to the profession, and I eventually gave up.
Ippei Mizuhara, the long-time interpreter of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been fired over suspected illegal gambling.
In a statement he issued during a news conference on March 26, Ohtani said his feelings “could not be easily described in words.” They must have been quite complex, given his closeness to Mizuhara.
Watching a different interpreter sitting next to Ohtani, it suddenly occurred to me that I had never seen Mizuhara take notes even during formal news conferences.
I remember being taught to “write down numbers and proper nouns,” but Mizuhara may have been blessed with an outstanding memory.
He translated even lengthy questions by U.S. reporters with apparent ease, sometimes “embellishing” or “editing out” to ensure clarity.
When Ohtani was injured and his mobility was hampered, Mizuhara brought him food and took him to physical therapy appointments. During the Home Run Derby preceding an All-Star Game, he even served as Ohtani’s catcher.
Mizuhara’s role far exceeded that of an interpreter. He was perhaps able to translate without taking notes because he was fully confident of his unshakable relationship of mutual trust with Ohtani.
Interpretation may well have been his calling. But it ended all too abruptly.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 27
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Migrant camps spring up in gentrifying neighborhood with a Soho House and caviar2024-05-08 19:43
Builder finds creepy children's handprints on the back of Victorian roof tiles2024-05-08 19:14
Toronto clinches top spot in PWHL with 42024-05-08 18:59
Alaska Senate passes budget differing from House version with roughly $1,580 payments to residents2024-05-08 18:44
US repatriates 11 citizens from notorious camps for relatives of Islamic State militants in Syria2024-05-08 18:43
This Texas veterinarian helped crack the mystery of bird flu in cows2024-05-08 18:38
Sting and Stephen Fry threaten to resign from the Garrick Club unless women are allowed to join2024-05-08 18:24
Champions League semifinal: Füllkrug fires Dortmund to 12024-05-08 18:19
After special teams play keyed Rangers' series2024-05-08 17:45
Chinese designs gaining popularity in Milan2024-05-08 17:28
Why going to the gym could help to stop your voice from ageing2024-05-08 19:18
Abortion consumes US politics, courts two years after SCOTUS draft leak2024-05-08 19:05
Uber releases Taylor Swift2024-05-08 18:48
Imanaga stellar again, Cubs hang on to edge Mets 12024-05-08 18:44
Fallacies and facts about China's 'overcapacity'2024-05-08 18:28
Georgia parliament cancels session after building damaged during huge protests2024-05-08 18:08
Drew Barrymore, 49, shares 1982 video from E.T. the Extra2024-05-08 17:57
Toronto clinches top spot in PWHL with 42024-05-08 17:21
Wilson wins first2024-05-08 17:18
Alaska Senate passes budget differing from House version with roughly $1,580 payments to residents2024-05-08 17:17