Reagan and Gorbachev's translator: on fatal interpretation errors, linguistic subtleties and presidential jokes

Translator Viktor Prokofiev I had the opportunity to literally become a participant in major historical events. As an employee of the Russian Foreign Ministry, he carried out translations at the highest level - for such figures as Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon and others. Victor translated during the historic negotiations on the limitation of strategic offensive arms (START) and at the conclusion of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF Treaty).

Photo: Shutterstock

After retiring and moving to the UK, Viktor Prokofiev (by the way, a lawyer by training), began to specialize in legal translation, including in the London courts. Today, many famous people, including Russian oligarchs, resort to his services. For example, Viktor was one of the translators involved in the famous Berezovsky v Abramovich trial in 2011-12.

In an interview with Forum Daily, Prokofiev spoke about whether a translation error can lead to war, what difficulties people in his profession face most often, and what pitfalls exist in a foreign language.

One step away from the third world

Having behind him the international law faculty of MGIMO and the courses of UN translators, Viktor Prokofiev began his career in this organization, and then went to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first summit meeting, at which he happened to translate the words of world leaders, took place in November 1985. It was then that the Presidents of the United States and the USSR, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, first met in person in Geneva.

Victor Prokofiev. Photo from personal archive

Viktor Prokofiev admits that mistakes in translation at such a high level, especially in such fateful issues as nuclear weapons, can indeed seem fatal. However, in practice, they are still not capable of leading to war.

“The book of the famous translator Igor Korchilov contains the following episode. He once worked as an interpreter at an open-sky conference. In one legally difficult moment, connected with the peculiarities of the emergence of liability in the event of an aircraft flying over the territory of the receiving state, he made a mistake and translated the Soviet position exactly the opposite. As a result, the impression was created that the Soviet Union suddenly changed its position to the opposite. Realizing the mistake, after the conference, Korchilov specially approached to apologize both to the representatives of the Soviet side and personally to the American President George W. Bush. In response, he said to him: “Don't worry, the main thing is that you did not start the third world war,” Viktor recalls.

Prokofiev himself witnessed a similar situation during the negotiations between the American delegation and the Russian-speaking representatives of one of the post-Soviet countries in the 90s.

“Then the representative of the American side said the phrase:“ You're dumping uranium on us ”. The subtlety here lies in the fact that the phrase "dumping on us" can be used not in the literal sense, as dumping something, but as a reference to the economic concept of dumping, which is contrary to someone's interests, that is, something negative. However, the American translator did not understand this subtlety and translated literally: "You are dropping uranium on us." The representative of the other side turned to his assistants and asked menacingly: "Who is dumping uranium on America ?!" This situation was resolved in a minute and a half, but it had a very unpleasant effect, ”the translator said.

The secret of success

The main tool that helps to avoid such incidents, according to Viktor Prokofiev, is preparation. The translator should work through the topic of the upcoming meeting and the accompanying vocabulary in advance. True, sometimes awkwardness can arise even with a formally correct translation, solely because of the semantic shades of individual words.

A good example of this is the dialogue between Russian President Vladimir Putin and an American journalist several years ago.

“In response to the innocent question“ How can the West help Russia? ”, Which was translated“ How can the West help Russia? ”, Putin responded quite sharply:“ We do not need help, we are not disabled, we do not beg. ” In fact, the problem was in the shades of the word "help". I must admit that in the place of this translator, I, and another 90% of the translators, would translate this word as “help”. However, very often in English, it means something more neutral, like the phrase "how can we help you?" As a result, Putin's response sounded unjustifiably harsh, given this completely neutral wording, ”explained Prokofiev.

Photo: Shutterstock

At the same time, Viktor is sure that even a good knowledge of the language and deep study of the topic cannot replace professional translation training.

“In translation schools we are trained not to go into our pockets for words. We remember all special terms and their synonyms, we know how certain thoughts and concepts are translated into a foreign language, and foreign concepts - into Russian. This is of particular importance in the process of giving evidence in foreign courts. A layman often begins to translate terms and constructions verbatim, and just such a translation may turn out to be incorrect. Every word in English can have a slightly different meaning, and when tied together, these words are often perceived as strange. The translator knows which words are best not to use, what color certain terms have and what connotation they can evoke, ”he explains.

For example, the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky, in his protracted trial with Roman Abramovich, preferred to speak English himself, and, according to Viktor Prokofiev, this made a tangible contribution to the loss of his case.

“People, even those who know the language perfectly, in a situation of high emotional stress, for example, giving evidence in court, must forget something. As a result, they are forced to replace the correct term with the next most appropriate one on the fly, which can lead to serious legal errors, ”notes Victor.

In turn, the main virtue of the translator is the ability to convey the words of the speaker as accurately as possible without the slightest distortion, even at the level of emotions.

“The translator is a transparent lens, a quiet mouthpiece. He should understand his place in a good sense of the word - not to push himself out, not to draw attention to himself, ”Viktor Prokofiev is sure.

Translator's fears

According to Victor, a “nightmare” of a professional translator is going to work without being prepared, that is, without first studying the topic of the meeting. Another fear is that it is corny not to hear the speaker, many of whom often turn away from the microphone, addressing the audience.

“Of course, now microphones have become better in comparison with Soviet times. But it is important to understand that when performing simultaneous translation, the translator interrupts himself. That is why the quality of the incoming signal for the interpreter should be better than for those who simply listen in the hall. More than once I have come across the fact that even high-quality directional microphones stopped picking up the sound if the person turned away, ”says Victor.

The most difficult type of translation is the so-called "whispering" - a Russian distortion of the consonant French term meaning whispering in the ear. In this case, there is no technique that isolates extraneous noise, and you have to translate on the go, literally whispering words in the client's ear.

“In general, this is an abnormal situation for an interpreter: he stops hearing the speaker, begins to hear only himself, and as a result interrupts himself. There are at least headphones in the translation booth, as a result of which the interpreter at least cannot hear himself, ”explains Viktor.

Translation of telephone conversations, including the conversations of “first persons”, is also associated with certain difficulties.

“You don’t see the speaker’s face and his attitude to what is being spoken, while for the translator it is very important to correctly convey the so-called“ register ”, that is, the emotions of the speaker and his attitude to what is spoken. This is of particular importance in court, where it is extremely important to see the faces of witnesses and lawyers, ”the translator notes.

Reagan's jokes

Another curse for any translator Viktor Prokofiev calls translation idioms. However, contrary to popular belief, the "master of aphorisms" former head of the Russian government Viktor Chernomyrdin, according to Prokofiev, spoke surprisingly clearly, and the translators did not experience any problems with him.

“There were no difficulties with Boris Yeltsin either. Plus, he had a special chemistry with Bill Clinton. Perhaps you remember a video from one of the meetings of the two presidents, in which Clinton laughs uncontrollably after another remark from Yeltsin. This remark was translated by the famous American translator Peter Afanasenko. Yeltsin said then, referring to the American press: "You said that our negotiations would end in failure, and I tell you, you ended in failure." Afanasenko was able to translate this phrase very well, and Clinton, who himself could not afford such treatment of the press, was delighted, ”recalls Viktor Prokofiev.

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Another fan of the audience was Ronald Reagan, known for his ability to tell jokes.

“I remember we gathered in an informal atmosphere at a dinner organized on the first day of the meeting in Geneva in 85. It was then that Reagan told an anecdote about a flood in the southern United States, in which a certain devout man prayed on the roof of a drowning house, at the same time rejecting help from all passing boats and a flying helicopter. Then it turned out that it was these boats and the helicopter that were God's answer to his prayers. A few years later, this anecdote became widely known in Russia. By the way, Reagan illustrated a very serious topic with this anecdote. A minute before that, he had told Gorbachev that the task of a politician is to recognize the signs of the future and the changes taking place in the world, and to learn to react to them in advance, ”says Viktor.

Viktor Prokofiev emphasizes that his profession is based not only on the professionalism of a translator, but also on the client's basic trust regarding both the quality of the translation and the preservation of confidentiality. He assures: none of the professionals known to him allowed himself to discuss anything except the linguistic intricacies of translation, and never disclosed the client's secret or any personal information.

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