Connecting the world through language

By group 5

International relations are connecting our world in many different ways, and by doing this its most reliable ally are languages, especially with the use of translation and interpretation.  Can you imagine how it would be not being able to understand what other people say like in ancient Babylon? The world would be separated without being able to communicate with each other and the relations between countries would be very poor. Fortunately today that is no longer the reality, since the world has come to a stage in which many people can learn and understand languages that are not their own. Even though, there are still many others that aren’t able to comprehend other languages apart from their mother tongue, whether because they don’t consider it important or because they are too busy to take the time to learn them. Here is where translation and interpretation come to the rescue, creating the links to make this world a more communicated and united one. 

Communication is essential to keep international security, as it enables the nations to establish cooperation and aids relationships in times of disaster and necessity.  As well as playing a conciliator role between unfriendly nations, as it makes it possible to set up a dialog for international understanding, especially in times of political conflicts. In this way, the translator and interpreter’s work is fundamental to create connections between languages and cultures. They make it possible to establish an intercultural network among the countries of the world, and also a strategic advantage in times of war, as it was during the First and Second World War, in which it was indispensable to intercept communications of the enemy forces. So what could be better than an interpreter ready to translate the secret messages of the enemies? For this reason, during the Second World War, The United States and Australia created an intelligence agency, called Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), which was in charge of intercepting the communication of Japan in the Pacific War, which, as you know, was crucial for development and the end of World War. Back then the translator and interpreter played an important role, because if they had never been there, the destiny of the War would have been uncertain.

The importance of languages as connectors of the world also is present in the disaster situations as an earthquake, in which news of catastrophe spread throughout the world and the nations immediately send foodstuffs, money, water, humanitarian aid, etc. Who knows what would happen in a situation like this without international assistance? Maybe it would be another disaster...

Another important aspect of international relations is the way in which cultural components of different countries are shared among them, therefore creating a world with a more clear idea of the way other people live, as well as their beliefs, morals, etc.

All you need to do is to look around you and you’ll find a great amount of elements that have arrived there thanks to international relations. It’s not only about products or goods; it also has to do with traits, costumes and even with literary influence. All these things were unknown for many people a long time ago, but now those components are established in our society, and it’s truly interesting to observe how this connection between different cultures is also shaping them in return.

Many years ago people used to reject everything that was different, but now most of us embrace the influence that other cultures have had on our own. Some people even feel deep curiosity and try to find out more about other cultures. That is another point in which translation has an important role, given that it helps introduce these cultural elements by making them available in another language, this way people can understand more about them, without going all the way to learn the language.

There have been opportunities in which authorities from certain countries visit other nations as a way to keep a good relationship with them, and also as a way of sharing their own culture. In this type of visits the role of interpreters is of course a very important one. An example of this is the recent visit of the prime minister and the first lady of Japan in Chile. The first lady visited the University of Santiago as part of her schedule, and in this visit the communication between her and the authorities of the university was through the use of an interpreter provided for each language, Japanese and Spanish. Though the students present in this visit could speak and understand Japanese, the rest of the people attending couldn’t do so. Nevertheless, they were able to comprehend what was being said thanks to the interpreters. Thanks to this visit the first lady was able to know how the students of Japanese were dealing with their studies of the language, and expressed her amazement by the fact that people from a country so different and distant showed so much interest in the Japanese language and culture. By this simple example we can see how international relations can help us not only trade products or those kinds of things, but also share our culture and expand our view of the world by getting in contact with cultures that are different from our own. The latter is particularly important for those who practice translation and interpretation, since the study of other languages is not only related to the languages themselves but also to all the cultural aspects as well as the history of the countries in which said languages are spoken.

Now talking about Chile's economy we are to allude to Michael Cronin, who in his inspiring book "Translation and Globalization" states: “The translation creates connections between a language and a culture and establishing the conditions for an open exchange of goods, technologies and ideas... and translators are important because they connect more people and places in an intercultural network.” If we take Cronin ideas, we can say without a doubt that translation is the pillar of international relations, for example: Economy.

Economy and trade, are fundamental for countries, Chile is not the exception. Chile's economy is the sixth biggest economy in Latin America; the largest Chilean exports are China with 23.9%, USA with 12.2%, Japan with 10.6% and Brazil with 5.5%.

Japan has been important to Chile, is its second biggest associate in trade in goods. That means a larger amount of dollars for Chilean economy, and Japan is not the only country for Chilean trades... If we look our economy we can see it revolves around aboard, a good example is how the national economy fell after the failure to sell saltpeter. Foreign economy is a cage in which Chile cannot get out, so it is already part of everyday life.

Now imagine for a moment that Chile was not able to do international trades because we do not know the culture and the languages of the people in the other countries... What would happen? There would be chaos and total isolation.

So, recapitulating, for that reason international relations are so important to us, and is not just Chile, it is for every country of the world that relations are the support of its economy. That is why translation is essential, without translators nobody would understand the language, nobody would make trades and the transference between cultures would not be possible. The translator is a bridge between two different cultures, nations, religions, and a lot of things that involve another country’s style of life. So, to summarize this, we can say: "The translator becomes an expert in intercultural communication in an internationalized world".

As we can see from all the ideas stated above, the role of languages and those ones who use it to improve the communication between the countries around the world is a very important one. Without translator and interpreters the connection between nations would be much more difficult, so by using language we can help to make the bonds in our world stronger.

What do you think about the role of translators and interpreters in international relations? Do you think that language is important for this relations? We will be waiting for your opinions!