本文转自：译·世界
担任国家领导人的翻译，进入各大高级别场合无疑是光鲜亮丽的，是众多翻译学子所梦寐以求的目标。张璐、孙宁、周宇等外交部高级翻译用他们的专业和专注为我们树立了很好的榜样。但是，欲戴王冠，必承其重，领导人御用翻译承受的责任和压力也是常人难以想象的。今天，Yee君就来带你了解那些国家级高端会议口译员不为人知的一面↓
1990年，前苏联国家领导人米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫和美国总统乔治·布什会面，讨论军备控制问题，口译员伊戈尔·科尔奇洛夫（中）为其翻译。
Former President George H.W. Bush was deep in nuclear negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The 1990 talks, focused on an arms control treaty, were suddenly interrupted when a seasoned Soviet interpreter made a critical mistake.
美国前总统乔治·布什与前苏联国家领导人米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫就核问题进行深入交谈。这场对话发生于1990年，两位领导人正围绕军备控制条约进行讨论，突然，为他们提供翻译的一位资深苏联口译员犯了一个严重的错误，谈话戛然而止。
The interpreter, Igor Korchilov, said the word "verifying" in English, instead of "verified." Everyone in the White House Cabinet Room froze and turned toward him — including his boss.
这位名叫伊戈尔•科尔奇洛夫的口译员在翻译成英语时用了“verifying”，而正确措辞应该是“verified”。当时坐在白宫内阁会议室的所有人都惊呆了，扭头看向他，包括他的老板。
Gorbachev quickly said: "No, no — I never said that."
戈尔巴乔夫迅速说：“不，不，我没这样说。”
"To this day, I still feel extremely embarrassed," Korchilov tells NPR. He worked with Gorbachev from
1987 to 1990.“直到今天，我还是觉得非常尴尬。”科尔奇洛夫在接受美国国家公共电台采访时说。在1987年至1990年，他担任戈尔巴乔夫的翻译。
It was a seemingly minute detail. But in the context of these talks, the word "verifying" meant that the Russians had unexpectedly sided with the U.S. on one point in the long-sought agreement.
这两个词看起来差别不大。但是，在这种会谈的背景下，“verifying”意味着在这项长期促成的协议中，俄罗斯在某一点上出其不意地和美国站在了一边。
The discussion was on an Open Skies proposal, in which both sides could fly over each other's territory to verify compliance in arms control agreements. The Soviets and the Americans didn't agree on whose aircraft should be used for the inspections — the verifying party (the U.S.) or the verified party (the Soviet Union).
这场会谈围绕《开放天空条约》而展开，条约指出，双方可在彼此领土进行空中侦查，以核查其执行军备控制条约的情况。而前苏联和美国并没有就应该使用核查方（美国）还是被核查方（前苏联）的飞机进行勘察而达成一致。
Korchilov interpreted Gorbachev as saying: "The aircraft to overfly territory for inspection purposes should be made available by the verifying party at the disposal of its crew."
科尔奇洛夫将戈尔巴乔夫的话翻译成了：“在领土上空进行空军侦查的飞机需由核查方提供，由该方机组人员操作。”
"At that moment I wished the earth could swallow me up," Korchilov wrote in his 1997 memoir, Translating History: 30 Years on the Front Lines of Diplomacy with a Top Russian Interpreter.
“我当时真想找个地缝钻进去。” 科尔奇洛夫在他1997年的回忆录《翻译历史：一位俄罗斯顶级口译员的30年外交前线生涯》中写道。
He wondered if he had accidentally changed the direction of superpower diplomacy. He approached the U.S. president later to offer his apology.
他想知道自己是否意外改写了大国外交的方向。后来，他向布什总统道歉。
"He made a stern look, put his arms in his pockets and said, 'Relax, the good news is that you didn't start World War III.'"
“他坚定地看了我一眼，将手插进兜里说，‘没事，好在你没有引起第三次世界大战。’”
Korchilov also apologized to Gorbachev, who said, "Oh, don't worry, Igor. Only those who do nothing make no mistakes."
科尔奇洛夫也向戈尔巴乔夫道了歉，戈尔巴乔夫说：“哦，别怕，伊戈尔。只有什么事都不做的人才不会犯错。”
The politics behind the words
话语背后的政治
In closed-door meetings at the highest level, interpreters face the pressures of global diplomacy. Every word matters, and a slip-up can have monumental consequences. That's especially true for the June 12 summit meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
在最高级别的闭门会议上，口译员面临着全球外交的压力。每个词都至关重要，任何一个错误都可能会导致严重的后果。特别是在6月12日，美国总统特朗普与朝鲜最高领导人金正恩的首脑会议上。
President Trump presents his own challenges for interpreters. He's known to go off-script. His former campaign adviser Anthony Scaramucci once said, "Don't take him literally, take him symbolically."
特朗普总统给口译员带来了挑战。他以脱稿讲话而闻名。他的前团队顾问安东尼·斯卡拉穆奇曾说：“不要从字面上去理解他，要意会。”
And earlier this year, The Washington Post reported on the difficulties of translating Trump's profanity, such as his comment in January about "shithole countries."
今年年初，《华盛顿邮报》报道了翻译特朗普的脏话的难处所在，比如他在1月份时所说的“shithole countries（屎坑国家）”。
2000年10月23日，当时的朝鲜最高领导人金正日和美国国务卿马德琳·奥尔布赖特在平壤会面。美国国务院口译员Tong Kim（奥尔布赖特与金正日中间）为其翻译。
Uncertainty, however, is part of any language. That's why the best interpreters serve as both linguists and diplomats — they understand the politics behind the words. For those who've interpreted top-level meetings, they've lived the pressure.
任何语言都有其不确定性。这就是为什么最好的口译员也是语言学家和外交家——他们能读懂话语背后的政治。那些做过高级别会议的口译员承受着这种压力。
On Oct. 23, 2000, Madeleine Albright, then secretary of state, became the highest ranking U.S. official ever to set foot in North Korea. She met former leader Kim Jong Il, clad in his trademark khaki pants and jacket, at the Pae Kha Hawon state guesthouse in Pyongyang. Albright's trusted interpreter, Tong Kim, followed close behind.
2000年10月23日，时任美国国务卿马德琳•奥尔布赖特成为当时访问过朝鲜的美国最高级别官员。她与当时的朝鲜最高领导人金正日在平壤百花园迎宾馆举行了会谈，金正日穿着他的标志性卡其布裤子和夹克。奥尔布赖特非常信任的口译员Tong Kim紧随其后。
"That was the most important meeting I have ever interpreted for," says Tong Kim, who served as the senior Korean language interpreter at the U.S. State Department.
“这是我翻译过的最重要的会议。” Tong Kim说，当时他在美国国务院担任高级韩语口译员。
Albright was trying to persuade the regime to abandon its long-range missile program. To prepare, Tong Kim needed to learn the jargon of arms control. He reviewed top-secret briefs and read a dozen books on nuclear bombs.
奥尔布赖特当时试图说服朝鲜政府放弃其远程导弹计划。为了给这次口译做好准备，Tong Kim需要学习军备控制术语。他查阅了一些绝密简报，阅读了一打关于核弹的书。
"I kept reading and reading," he says. "Reading every article in newspapers and academic journals — it was total immersion, in the task of preparing myself."
“我一直保持阅读，”他说，“在准备的过程中，我阅读报纸上的每篇文章和学术期刊——整个人都浸在里面。”
When he first began interpreting, he says, "I spoke like a South Korean. And they did not seem to appreciate it, although they could understand my renditions, perhaps not as readily, though."
当他一开始翻译的时候，他说：“我的发音听起来好像韩国人。尽管他们能听懂，但他们似乎不太满意，不过，也许没那么容易。”
So he perfected a North Korean accent.
所以，他又练就了一口纯正的朝鲜口音。
"I picked up their language, their intonation, their dialect," Kim says. "And that gives them some trust."
“我学习了他们的语言、语调、方言，” Kim说，“这使得他们对我多了一些信任。”
Albright's meeting was meant to pave the way for President Bill Clinton to visit Pyongyang, but missile talks between North Korea and the U.S. stalled just as Clinton left office.
奥尔布赖特的会面意在为时任美国总统比尔·克林顿访问平壤铺平道路，但朝鲜和美国的导弹谈判在克林顿离任时陷入僵局。
"I almost got us both killed, didn't I?"
“我差点让我们俩丧命，不是吗？”
美国前副总统乔治·布什和萨尔瓦多总统阿尔瓦罗·马加尼亚于1983年会面。敬酒时，布什转达了里根总统对右翼刺杀小队杀戮行为的担忧，斯蒂芬妮·冯·热戈斯伯格（中）为布什做口译。
In December 1983, George H.W. Bush, then Ronald Reagan's vice president, went on a secret mission to El Salvador. The country was in the midst of a civil war. Stephanie Van Reigersberg, who led the interpreting division at the State Department and specialized in Spanish, was assigned to accompany him.
1983年12月，时任里根政府副总统的乔治·布什赴内战时期的萨尔瓦多执行一项秘密任务，美国国务院口译部负责人、专长西班牙语的斯蒂芬妮·冯·热戈斯伯格受命陪同。
They flew in on Black Hawk helicopters, through the Salvadoran mountains to a presidential villa. Only a handful of U.S. officials knew about the vice president's planned meeting. Bush was there to deliver a warning to a group of military commanders about the government's brutal death squads.
他们乘黑鹰直升机飞越萨尔瓦多山区，前往总统府邸。只有少数美国官员知晓副总统所计划的会面。布什在那里就政府残酷的刺杀小队向一群部队指挥官提出警告。
"The whole military senior staff was there and they all had weapons on their laps," Van Reigersberg recalls.
冯·热戈斯伯格回忆道：“部队所有高级将士都在场，他们腿上都放着武器。”
Secret Service agents recommended the vice president call off the meeting over security concerns. But Bush refused — he was determined to confront the commanders.
出于安全考虑，特勤处建议布什取消会面，但被他拒绝。布什坚持要见部队指挥官。
"Basically, he cussed them out," Van Reigersberg says.
冯·热戈斯伯格说：“布什基本上对他们都是恶语相加。”
"Having a woman interpreter using that kind of language really got their attention. You are so concentrated on delivering the message that it's only afterwards that you say, 'Oh my heavens.' And after the meeting, Bush said, 'Well, I almost got us both killed, didn't I?'"
“让一位女口译员使用那种语言确实引起了他们的注意，你过于专注传递信息，只有在过后说‘哦，我的天啊’。会面之后，布什说‘我差点让我们俩丧命，不是吗？’”
Reagan's "adversary"
里根的“对手”
1987年，前苏联领导人戈尔巴乔夫与美国总统里根在华盛顿会面。会谈期间，Dimitry Zarechnak（左一）担任美方口译，翻译英语单词“adversary”时遇到难题。Pavel Palazhchenko（右二）担任苏方口译。
Years of negotiations led to a U.S.-Soviet summit in Washington, D.C., in December 1987. President Ronald Reagan welcomed his Cold War rival Gorbachev to the White House, in hopes for a new era of peace.
经过多年谈判，1987年12月，美苏峰会得以在华盛顿举行。美国总统里根在白宫欢迎冷战对手戈尔巴乔夫的到来，希望开启新的和平时代。
During the official welcoming ceremony on the White House South Lawn, Reagan famously said: "Today marks a visit that is perhaps more momentous than many which have preceded it, because it represents a coming together not of allies — but of adversaries."
在白宫南坪举行的官方欢迎仪式上，里根抛出一句名言：“今天的访问或许比以往更为重要，因为它标志着对手而不是盟友走到了一起。”
"We were just agonizing over this word 'adversaries,'" said Dimitry Zarechnak in an interview with NPR in 2001. He was interpreting the president's speech that day.
2001年，Dimitry Zarechnak在接受美国国家公共电台采访时表示：“我们对‘adversary’一词感到苦恼。”当天，Zarechnak为里根做口译。
The Russian word for "adversaries," protivniki, sounds similar to a word that means "disgusting," protivniy.
俄语中表示“adversary（对手）”的词是“protivniki”，发音与“protivniy（令人厌恶的）”相似。
"In English," Zarechnak said, "you can have a noble adversary. In Russian, it sounds terrible."
Zarechnak说：“英语中你的对手可以是高尚的，但在俄语里听起来就很糟糕。”
So instead of repeating the word "adversaries," Zarechnak used a Russian word for "competitors."
所以Zarechnak并没有重复“对手”一词，而是使用了俄语里表示“竞争者”的词汇。
Gorbachev gave a slight nod — and the summit was underway.
戈尔巴乔夫稍微点了点头，峰会得以继续。
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