"Mystery" Mandarin Interpreter Discusses Career with NBC News
by Lauren Nemec
A few days ago, the MSN News World Blog posted about a "mystery" top-level interpreter who expertly rendered U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's speech into fluent Mandarin at U.S.-China trade talks in Beijing.
I was amused by the post, thinking that the author (NBC News Producer Adrienne Mong) made the interpreter seem like a rock-star of the interpreting world, marveling at his proficiency and pointing out that it is rare for an interpreter working at such a high-level Chinese diplomatic function to be anything other than ethnic Chinese. Indeed, Mandarin is a difficult language for Westerners to master, especially because of its multiple tones, and it is surely more common to see ethnic Chinese interpreters at these kinds of functions. But let's not go throwing our knickers on stage just yet, ladies...
Ms. Mong was able to track down the elusive Mr. Brown for a phone interview. And it turns out he's a very modest guy with an interesting education and career path that accidentally led him to this specialty. You can read all about it on the MSN News World Blog here: Mystery Interpreter Reveals Disappearing Act
Interpreter Jim Brown sits behind Henry Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary, during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Brown has been called "mysterious" and "shy", but Brown insists that keeping a low profile is part of the job, saying, "When they forget I was there interpreting, then that is the highest compliment." Photo: AFP - Getty Images.
I was amused by the post, thinking that the author (NBC News Producer Adrienne Mong) made the interpreter seem like a rock-star of the interpreting world, marveling at his proficiency and pointing out that it is rare for an interpreter working at such a high-level Chinese diplomatic function to be anything other than ethnic Chinese. Indeed, Mandarin is a difficult language for Westerners to master, especially because of its multiple tones, and it is surely more common to see ethnic Chinese interpreters at these kinds of functions. But let's not go throwing our knickers on stage just yet, ladies...
Ms. Mong was able to track down the elusive Mr. Brown for a phone interview. And it turns out he's a very modest guy with an interesting education and career path that accidentally led him to this specialty. You can read all about it on the MSN News World Blog here: Mystery Interpreter Reveals Disappearing Act
Interpreter Jim Brown sits behind Henry Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary, during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Brown has been called "mysterious" and "shy", but Brown insists that keeping a low profile is part of the job, saying, "When they forget I was there interpreting, then that is the highest compliment." Photo: AFP - Getty Images.Labels: Interpreting
posted by Lauren Nemec at
3:21 PM
0 Comments
Links to this post
