Japan - US Business News

The Interpreter's Corner: When Interpreters make Mistakes

We’re all human.  We all make mistakes.  How we deal with them and what we do with them defines our professionalism and how we are perceived.  Here are two examples of interpreters making mistakes.  One is about me.  It’s one of my more painful stories.  I’m still embarrassed thinking about it.  I claim it, though. 

It was my mistake.  Mine alone and while I couldn’t undo my words, I fixed it on the spot the best I could.  The other story is about how I watched an interpreter implode over several days after she refused to acknowledge a mistake.  Tell me what you think.  Do these stories resonate?  Do you have stories of your own?  Let’s talk.

 

Picture this.  I’m at dinner with three company executives.  Two are from the US firm hiring me.  One is their Japanese counterpart.  They are discussing what to do about their European business. 

The dinner was going smoothly.  Wine was ordered, appetizers arrived and the three men are chatting away with me repeating their words back and forth.  At one point, one of the two American executives says, “Shall we fire Dieter?”

Dieter is German.  He is one of the few executives remaining with the firm after the American company bought out the Germans.  He is not well liked.  I sense a difficult conversation coming up.

Here was my mistake.  To this day I don’t know why I said this.  I took “shall we fire Dieter?” and repeated, “Do you think we should keep Dieter?”

Stab.  Stupid.  Shame.  Dumb.  Sloppy.  Embarrassing.  Ouch.  Pain.  Repeat.

The Japanese consultant answers, “Yes, ” in English.

Wait!  Crap.  No! 

I realized right away this needed fixing.  The question was “should we fire” and the executives assumed I asked that question the way it was asked.  I didn’t, of course.  I turned it around and asked whether or not he should be kept.  The answer to “keep” was “yes” but the executives thought the answer to “fire” was “yes.”  Crap, crap, crap.

I stopped the conversation right away.  I explained to the Americans what I had done, and then to the Japanese.  I apologized profusely.  They all looked at me with a funny expression, partly of doubt and partly of confusion.  I was mortified.  My trustworthiness was at stake.  I needed to replace any doubt they had and quickly reestablish myself as an interpreter that could be trusted to repeat the words accurately.  I asked the Japanese to explain why Dieter should be kept.  He went on for several minutes listing his reasons.  This, I repeated verbatim.  The Americans seemed satisfied with this answer and I lived to tell the story.  I have never, to this day, made that kind of a mistake again.

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Amya Miller lives near Boston, Massachusetts and is the President and CEO of Lupine and Co., which offers Japanese interpretation, liaison services, business etiquette training, consultation on successful negotiation techniques and problem solving. 

Amya also founded the Gaijin Group; a group for gaijins all over the world.  She was born and raised in Japan and spent time in Tokyo and Hokkaido.  She has worked as an Interpreter and behind-the-scenes liaison in Japan-US business for 20 years.  You can reach Amya at [email protected] and find out more about at http://www.lupineandco.com/ and http://www.gaijingroup.com/.

The Interpreter's Corner: Interpreting - It’s more than just words

Not everyone is likeable.  Sadly, this is a fact.  Certainly life is more fun and flows smoother when we are able to work with those whose company we enjoy.  It helps if they’re nice.  Add competence to that and you’ve hit gold.  How does this concept affect interpreters?  Let me give you an example.

On a particular day several years ago, I find myself working with a sociopath.  The guy is cruel.  I hate him.  I really do.  This is a job I’m doing purely for money and I tell my husband I’m blowing this cash when all is said and done.  I need to reward myself for surviving this man.  I try to make seeing him again bearable (I had worked with him before) by betting one of my American clients $20 the first words out of the sociopath’s mouth would be “you got fat.”  I won.  Did I mention how much I hate him?

The thing is, he likes me.  I know how to walk the line between taking his crap and pushing back.  He pushes my buttons deliberately to see how I will react.  Over time, I have learned how to play his game.  If he uses foul language in Japanese I repeat it in English.  He knows these words in English, of course.  I know he’s testing me.  He wants to hear me use these words.  I know he’s watching.  I now don’t miss a beat.  You want to curse?  Fine.  Go ahead.  I can dish it out with the best of them. 

For this assignment, he’s traveling with several of his subordinates.  They have interpreters, too.  At one point, we’re all in a van going from Point A to Point B when he happens to mention a Japanese marathon runner.  This is the year of the Sydney Olympics.  I had been keeping up with the news.  Sort of.  I read the coverage of the Olympics the night before online, and read the news coverage from Japanese sites.  I knew to keep up with the Japanese athletes, just in case the subject came up.  When it did on this particular drive, I had the answer to the question the sociopath asked in an attempt to stump everyone around him.  This one marathon runner’s shoes were made out of some sort of rice husk material.  I had read an article about this.  He asks the question about the shoes and without missing a beat, I answer.  They all look at me.  The sociopath is impressed.  I can tell.  I am so incredibly proud of myself.  All I want to do, really, is yell “HA!” but of course, I don’t. 

The Interpreter's Corner: Interpreter’s Dilemma

I prefer the word augmentation to retraction.  What am I referring to?  Two weeks ago I discussed the importance of using a dictionary to look up a word, even if the consequences of doing so are embarrassing.  I stand by that.  I do.  There is, however, a “but” that follows this professional expectation.  Sometimes the word you’re looking for is simply not in the dictionary.

“Not so!” you say.
“Definitely so,” I reply.

Let’s review.  There is no way any dictionary can contain every word out there.  Even the most advanced electronic dictionaries have limitations.  Case in point.  Let me introduce you to an example.

This is a story that happened to a friend.  I’ll call her Juliette.  Juliette is interpreting for an American teenage celebrity.  Let’s call this celebrity Marie.   Marie is pretty, perky, loud, and popular.  She’s the latest “it” girl.  Juliette is called in to interpret for Marie in an interview.   Marie is starring next to the latest “it” guy in a show.  Let’s call this man Claude.  He’s cute, cool, dashing and smashing.  Marie is asked in the interview what she thinks of Claude, to which she replies,  “OMG!  He is soooooo cool!”

Let’s pause here a minute.  I looked up OMG in my electronic dictionary.  Nothing.  Let me be clear.  I know what it means.  (For those of you who might not be familiar with this phrase, it stands for “oh my God.”)  It’s used as short hand in text messages but also now in speech.  Young people these days honestly say “OMG” instead of “oh my God.”  I kid you not.  (No pun intended.)  So, Marie said “OMG” and it’s not in the dictionary.  It’s important we establish these two points because this is where my not-quite-a-retraction comes in.

The Interpreter's Corner: Public Humiliation

All clients are important.  All meetings are important.  This is not to say all meetings are equal in their importance.  Discussing the best way to put together an air condition does not hold the same social/political implications as a bilateral meeting.  This story is about the latter.

It’s Monday morning at 8:35.  Both parties are sitting in a large room in downtown Tokyo.  The Japanese have greeted and welcomed their American counterparts.  After a few words are spoken about the importance of this meeting, the host says the Director of the department, his superior, will come in for a few minutes and extend his welcome as well.  On cue, a man enters the room, sits at the head table and facing everyone says the following:

“Good morning.  My name is (insert name here).  I’m the Director of the (insert department name here) and I have been in this position for two years.  Welcome.”

I repeat his words.  Verbatim.  I did not omit, change, or embellish anything.  I used his words in the exact order they were spoken.  That’s my job.

Suddenly, he looks over at me, and next thing I know I’m the target of serious public humiliation.

The Interpreter's Corner: “Who’s ‘Grand Julie’?”

Picture this.  You’re working as a team.  The person you’re working with is younger and less experienced than you, but as far as your client is concerned, your senior.  It has to do with titles.  His trumps yours.  Remember this.  It’s important.

Now, picture this.  You and your teammate (let’s call him George) have been asked to interpret at court.  There’s a witness.  She’s coming into testify.  She’s scared.  She doesn’t want to do this.  Unfamiliar with how the U.S. judicial system works, she feels alone.  The two interpreters, yourself included, have been told you are to be neutral, third party personnel.  You aren’t to engage her in conversation.  There is to be no chitchat.  You are to repeat what she says and is said to her and then leave.  Simple.  Right?  Not when George, the one senior to you makes a mistake.

Before I go into what the mistake was, I will go straight to the moral of the story.  There are two, actually.  One is, if you don’t know a word, don’t fake it.  As far as I’m concerned, Romanizing it is pretty close to faking it, unless the word is known and used in Japanese as a Romanized word.

What do I mean by “Romanized”?  Think Roma-ji.  Cake is ケーキ.  Chocolate is チョコレート.  Now think of words that cannot and should not be Romanized.  I doubt any interpreter would use the word ハット for 帽子.  Nor would an interpreter say クロック for 時計.  You get my point.

If an interpreter does not know the word for clock and used クロック in its place, I would say the interpreter is “faking” it.  Don’t do this.  You don’t know a word?  Look it up. 

The Interpreter's Corner: Your Worst Nightmare, a drunk Mr. S: Part 3

The last story about Mr. S. is the most serious and problematic.  Complaining about too much lobster and using rude gestures in a passive-aggressive way is annoying, yes.  Sexual harassment is an entirely different story.  Add alcohol to the mix and this was an explosive situation.  Here’s what happened.

I knew Mr. S. really liked his liquor and got drunk every time he was taken out.  What I did not realize until too late was the fact he probably had a serious alcohol problem.  I have heard of those who cannot process and break down alcohol in their bodies and thus show symptoms of drunkenness or mild alcohol poisoning even after one or two sips.  This was certainly the case for Mr. S.

We are out to dinner with a large group of executives at Mr. S’s new favorite steak restaurant.  Drinks are ordered and poured, appetizers have come and been consumed and the steaks arrive.  The lone female executive in the group ordered a “petit fillet”, an 8-ounce steak.  Mr. S. looks at her plate and says,

“It’s good you ordered the small steak.  Otherwise you’d get fat and then you won’t get promoted.  No one will want to sleep with you if you’re fat, you know.” 

I just about fell off my chair.  I didn’t repeat this, of course, except for the “…you ordered a small steak” part.  I wiped my mouth with my napkin, placed it on the table, stood up and excused myself and walked over to the bar to cool off.  After a few minutes Mr. S. came over.  I glared at him, pointed my finger at his chest and said,

“Don’t ever say that again.”
“Say what?”
“Say what you just said.”
“What did I say?”

I thought he was kidding.  I thought he was deliberately trying to make me angry.  Then it dawned on me.  Did he really not remember?  I asked.

The Interpreter's Corner: Your Worst Nightmare, Mr. S (What do you say when….): Part 2

In an attempt to teach and instill good manners in me, my parents read me two books (repeatedly) as a child.  One was What Do You Say Dear, by Maurice Sendak and the other was Manners Make People Nice To Know.  The latter, a much older book contained drawings of well-behaved children showed the perks that came with being good.  Evidently the manners I was taught through these books stuck.  I always knew to thank my host who paid for expensive lunches and dinners.  I was polite.  I smiled a lot.  My parents would be proud.

Mr. S., our temperamental Japanese consultant from last week was evidently not read such books.  I realize etiquette differs from country to country.  I respect this.  Differences aside, I firmly believe manners and etiquette are crucial in business success whether the issue at hand is knowing local customs when dining out or being mindful of certain gestures.  It was the latter; a certain gesture Mr. S. used frequently that got him in hot water.

It started innocently enough.  When pointing to a line on a balance sheet, Mr. S. extended his long middle finger to point out a number.  Eyebrows shot up among the Americans and they looked at me quizzically.  I knew what they were thinking.  The collective question on everyone’s mind was, “is this guy flipping us off?” 

The Interpreter's Corner: Your Worst Nightmare, Mr. S: Part 1

  
We’ve all had one, I’m sure.  A client who pays well, offers steady work, pays on time but is truly a horrific person—nasty, mean, offends all who cross his path and yet is so brilliant his presence continues to be requested.  You cringe when the phone rings and it’s his number.  You dread the assignments when you interpret for him.  You still go though.  It pays and you need the work.  Is it possible you consider the assignments with him a challenge?  Is it a slightly twisted personal quest where you promise yourself “this time I won’t let him get under my skin”?  My nightmare was Mr. S.  Here’s part 1 of my story:

Twice a week he asks to be taken out to dinner.  We go.  The restaurants are always expensive;  the best sushi in the area, high-end steak, gourmet Italian, lobster.  He loved lobster.  So much so he would insist someone do research into the best lobster/seafood restaurants within a 50-mile radius (“I want the best of the best”).  He ate lobster once a week until he returned home and his children laughed at his weight gain.  On his next trip back to the U.S., he promptly announced to the client, “I’m sick of lobster.  No more lobster.”
 
This comment drew stares.  Those who heard his words later looked at me with a combination of sheer anger and a “is this guy serious?”, the latter in total disbelief.  Those who would accompany him to dinner would have to put up with his grandiose stories about his amazing profit-making ventures (“no shortage of ego there!” one executive said to me) and his guzzling of the most expensive wine on the menu.  The perk, however, was they got to eat this food, too.  “There’s nothing quite like eating well on the company tab!” I heard this over and over.
 
When the announcement came Mr. S was no longer eating lobster, those who were suddenly denied good wine and “free” lobster were angry.  I tried to play peacemaker, suggesting maybe we have lobster every other week as opposed to never.  “No worries.  We’ll find better seafood,” was Mr. S’s reply.  Better seafood than lobster?  Okay.  Indeed.
 
The frustration over the lack of lobster meals (eaten on an expense account) was exacerbated when Mr. S tried to file a complaint against a young server at one of the new, four-plus star restaurants chosen to replace the seafood restaurants.  Our server, a woman in her early twenties, a college student perhaps was certainly nice, polite, accommodating and professional.  Her mistake, according to Mr. S came, when she replied “sure!” in response to another helping of their fresh-baked bread. 
 
“Sure?” Mr. S looked at the young woman.  “Yes, I’ll bring it right over,” she said.  “Sure?!” Mr. S said again.  He then looked at me and told me to tell her to get the manager.  “For what?” I asked.  “No waitress in Japan would ever say ‘sure’ in response to a customer’s request.”  That’s true.  “Seriously?  You want to speak to the manager because you didn’t like her choice of words?”  I push back.  I’m not happy about this and the executives at the same table are looking bewildered as to the rather heated exchange Mr. S and I are having.  “It’s bad customer service,” he says.  “Sure means ‘yes’.”  I snap.  “No,” he says.  “Yes,” I repeat.  This is getting ridiculous.  I look away.  I did not call the manager over.  Mr. S took another gulp of his very expensive red wine.  I feel just the slightest bit victorious.
 
There’s a lot more to this story.  There’s a lot of background.  In the next two weeks I will introduce you to Mr. S in more detail and show you why I felt compelled, nay, entitled to push back.  Had I not worked with him over the years and gotten to know him well I would not have taken the liberty of picking a fight. 
 
I wouldn’t normally, and I wouldn’t recommend any interpreter take it upon him/herself to correct a newly acquired client’s manners or words.  Mr. S, however, as you will soon see, is one of those people who finds peoples’ buttons and then pushes them.  Sadly, I am full of horror stories that even my active imagination could not make up.  On a happy note, fast-forward several years later, I have managed to lose Mr. S’s number.  Some clients are worth letting go of.

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Amya Miller lives near Boston, Massachusetts and is the President and CEO of Lupine and Co., which offers Japanese interpretation, liaison services, business etiquette training, consultation on successful negotiation techniques and problem solving. 

Amya also founded the Gaijin Group; a group for gaijins all over the world.  She was born and raised in Japan and spent time in Tokyo and Hokkaido.  She has worked as an Interpreter and behind-the-scenes liaison in Japan-US business for 20 years.  You can reach Amya at [email protected] and find out more about at http://www.lupineandco.com/ and http://www.gaijingroup.com/.

 

自己紹介 Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself: Amya L. Miller - " The Interpreter's Corner "

Let me borrow a line from Mick Jagger and the boys - Please allow me to introduce myself. 

Simply put, I am one of those interpreters who should never have been hired. A small Japanese company in the Midwest hired me right out of college. I was no interpreter.  I was only bilingual. With no training as an interpreter, they thrust me into meetings and conferences.  I could sink or swim.  I swam.

Fast-forward 18 months.  I married and had a child during this time.  After much teeth gnashing, I left the full-time position and became a freelance interpreter.  I stayed with the freelance lifestyle for the next 18 years.  Picking and choosing assignments, locations, people—this suited me well.  I liked the freedom. 

Over twenty years I have made grave mistakes, experienced events I will never forget, met people I love as well as strongly dislike, traveled on other people’s dimes (the best way to see the world!), grew personally and professionally, and was fortunate enough to participate in many opportunities I am proud of and grateful for. 

This blog is about interpreters.  Specifically, Japanese interpreters.  I have more stories than I know what to do with.  I will share many of these with you and open it up for discussion.  In a world of globalization, Skype, teleconferencing and video-conferencing, travel and wonder, the juxtaposition of language and culture continues to play a key role in the success of many. 

Between my stories, questions and thoughts on interpreting and your comments, feedback and suggestions, I have high hopes for the evolution of Japanese interpreters. 

I argue among those of us who interpret for a profession, the active and ongoing discussion over when to repeat everything versus when to become a cultural conduit is the most heated debate that has been taking place for the past several decades. 

Both sides hold true to their arguments.  Rightfully so.  How are we to know what the speaker really means to say?  Then again, is it our job to repeat words we know will cause a law-suit?  These topics and more will be discussed in great detail on Thursdays over the next several months.  I welcome your input, feedback and opinions.

Join Japan-US Business News and Amya Miller every Thursday for 'The Interpreter's Corner'.

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 Amya Miller lives near Boston, Massachusetts and is the President and CEO of Lupine and Co., which offers Japanese interpretation, liaison services, business etiquette training, consultation on successful negotiation techniques and problem solving. 

Amya also founded the Gaijin Group; a group for gaijins all over the world.  She was born and raised in Japan and spent time in Tokyo and Hokkaido.  She has worked as an Interpreter and behind-the-scenes liaison in Japan-US business for 20 years.  You can reach Amya at [email protected] and find out more about at http://www.lupineandco.com/ and http://www.gaijingroup.com/.

'Women in Japan-US Business' series: Interview with Kimberly Wiefling - Part 2

Part 2 of our interview with Kimberly Wiefling, President of Wiefling Consulting, and Executive Editor of the Scrappy GuidesTM and Author of “Scrappy Project Management: The 12 Predictable and Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces”, continues below.  
 

Japan-US Business News: What are the most demanding conflicts you face?

Kimberly Wiefling: Conservatism mainly. Some companies are too conservative to overcome their resistance to change. On the individual level—fear of failure, shame, and aversion to making mistakes hampers the professional growth of global business leaders. My teaching definitely involves a ‘reframing’ of the Japanese way of thinking to encourage people to embrace mistakes and failure as stepping stones to success. We teach that when you feel uncomfortable, it is a good thing because it means that you are changing. That means you are getting your money’s worth from our programs!

In group situations involving people from different countries, we need to overcome assumptions, beliefs and stereotypes about others - Americans think this way, or the Japanese think that way. In stereotypical fashion, for example, Japanese think Americans are all cowboys; European thinks Japanese are too conformist.  We cannot use stereotypical generalizations to judge the individual. In the groups I teach, I ask them to look at each person individually and they will often be very surprised to see that an American can be conformist and a Japanese can be the lone cowboy in the room.

Changing mindsets is always difficult.  At the organizational level—it is sometimes hard to find a sponsor to support these types of efforts - one who knows the value in truly creating global leaders and is willing to make that investment. It is a huge investment yes, and it is an ongoing process that requires support from managers and long term accountability. But it is invaluable. When our workshop participants return to their regular jobs they need the support of a sponsor and their managers to sustain the changes we help them achieve.

Japan-US Business News: What things do you find personally rewarding and satisfying?

Kimberly Wiefling: I get a feeling of elation when I see people’s face change when they realize that they are capable of achieving more than they ever thought possible, that they can do the impossible. They realize that they have the power to achieve, make their dreams come through. To see the businessmen and women in my programs blossom and throw off self-imposed limits, and create, dream, fly, thrive is a real thrill for me. When I see that change, I sometimes cannot even believe it is the same person. I am a part of unleashing people to their greatest potential. Now THAT is EXCITING!

Japan-US Business News: What have been the rewards and trade-offs?

Kimberly Wiefling: Of course there are trade-offs as there are in any business really. I travel a lot—I am in Japan about 1 – 3 weeks a month. I sometimes do not have enough time to spend with family and friends etc. I’m in hotel most of the time, and sometimes it does get a bit lonely even with all of the Facebook, Skype and Twitter action. 

But there are great rewards and that gives me balance. Being a part of Japanese society and learning about this amazing culture and its people has been quite an education. Traveling, learning a bit of the Japanese language, getting to know people by visiting their homes—being a part of this society that is so wonderful has been a real treat for me!