Résumés
Abstract
The trustworthiness of translators and interpreters has long been an issue in the profession. In some cases, a set of procedures are established to ensure the trust of clients and end-users. In the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946-1948), such procedures took on remarkable form. During the trial, three ethnically and socially different groups of language personnel engaged in three different functions within the overall interpreting process: Japanese nationals as interpreters, Japanese Americans as monitors, and U.S. military officers as language arbiters who ruled on the disputed interpretations. Sociopolitical aspects such as trust, power and control are evident in this hierarchical structure. In such political settings, and in others seen today, the trustworthiness of the interpreter may override the quality of interpreting.
Keywords:
- International Military Tribunal for the Far East,
- monitor,
- language arbiter,
- trust,
- power,
- control
Résumé
La question de la confiance à accorder aux traducteurs et aux interprètes est débattue depuis longtemps dans la profession. Dans certains cas, un ensemble de procédures sont établies afin de susciter la confiance des clients et des utilisateurs. Au sein du Tribunal militaire pour l’Extrême-Orient (1946-1948), ces procédures ont pris une forme particulière. Pendant le procès, trois groupes différents sur les plans social et ethnique assumaient trois fonctions différentes dans le cadre du processus global d’interprétation : les Japonais interprétaient, les Américains d’origine japonaise contrôlaient, et les officiers militaires américains jouaient le rôle d’« arbitres » linguistiques qui tranchaient en cas de controverse. Les aspects sociopolitiques tels que la confiance, le pouvoir et le contrôle sont évidents dans cette structure hiérarchique. Dans de tels environnements politiques ainsi que dans d’autres que nous connaissons aujourd’hui, le besoin de faire confiance à l’interprète peut prendre le pas sur la qualité de l’interprétation.
Mots-clés:
- Tribunal militaire international pour l’Extrême-Orient,
- moniteur,
- médiateur linguistique,
- confiance,
- pouvoir,
- contrainte
Parties annexes
References
- Abate, Tom (2006): INNOVATIONS; Military getting high-tech help from SRI lab. San Francisco Chronicle. May 29, 2006.
- Album and Roster of the Military Intelligence Service Language School. Provided by Grant Ichikawa of the Japanese American Veterans Association in December 2005.
- Anderson, R. Bruce (1976): Perspectives on the role of interpreter. In: Richard W. Brislin, ed. Translation: Applications and Research. New York: Gardner Press, 208-228.
- Bowen, Margareta et al. (1995): Interpreters and the making of history. In: Jean Delisle and Judith Woodsworth, eds. Translators through History. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, 245-280.
- CINCAFPAC Manila (1945): A correspondence to CINCAFPAC ADV. October 27, 1945. Records of the Allied Operational and Occupation Headquarters, World War II (Record Group 331). National Archives and Records Administration. College Park, MD.
- CINCAFPAC ADV. (1945). A correspondence to CINCAFPAC Manila. October 28, 1945. Records of the Allied Operational and Occupation Headquarters, World War II (Record Group 331). National Archives and Records Administration. College Park, MD.
- Cronin, Michael (2002): The empire talks back: orality, heteronomy, and the cultural turn in interpretation studies. In: Maria Tymoczko and Edwin Gentzler, eds. Translation and Power. Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 45-62.
- Gaiba, Francesca (1998): The Origins of Simultaneous Interpretation: The Nuremburg Trial. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
- Hermans, Theo (2000): Shall I Apologize Translation. Visited January 27th, 2009, <http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/archive/00000516/01/Ep_Apologizetrans.pdf>.
- Kono, Rikako (2003): The identity of a kibei-nisei: the life of Akira Itami. Ferris Wheel. 6:82-102.
- L-3 Communications Titan Group. Working at L-3 Communications Titan. Visited on January 27th, 2009, <http://www.titan.com/carrers/linguists.html>.
- Laster, Kathy and Taylor, Veronica (1994): Interpreters and the Legal System. Leichhardt: The Federation Press.
- Lefevere, André (1992): Introduction. In: Andre Lefevere, ed. Translation/History/Culture, London: Routledge.
- Lewis, Bernard (2004): From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- McNaughton, James, C. (1994): Nisei Linguists and New Perspectives on the Pacific War: Intelligence, Race, and Continuity. Visited in October 22nd, 2005, <http://www.army.mil/CMH-PG/topics/apam/Nisei.htm>.
- Morris, Ruth (1999): The gum syndrome: predicaments in court interpreting. Forensic Linguistics. 1(1):6-29.
- Pym, Anthony (1999): Method in Translation History. Manchester: St. Jerome.
- Reed, Cheryl L. (2005): Government wages uphill battle in search for Arabic translators. Chicago Sun Times, December 18, 2005.
- Reel, A. Frank (1949/1971): The Case of General Yamashita. New York: Octagon Books.
- Slesnick, Irwin L. and Slesnick, Carole E. (2006): Kanji & Codes: Learning Japanese for World War II. Bellingham. Published by the authors.
- Takeda, Kayoko (2007): Sociopolitical Aspects of Interpreting at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946-1948). Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
- Watanabe, Tomie (1998): Tokyo Saiban no Tsuyaku Kenkyu: Tojo Hideki Shogen o Tsujite. Unpublished master’s thesis. Daito Bunka University.
- Zarakhovich, Yuri (2005): Signs of the times. Time Europe. October 10, 2005.
- Interview with Yukio Kawamoto by the author, Springfield, Virginia, March 20th, 2005.
- Interview with Lardner W. Moore by George E. Moore, Oregon, 1980. Transcribed by Kaede Johnson in 2005.
- Interview with Takashi Oka by the author, Washington D.C., December 11th, 2005.
- Interview with Masakazu Shimada by Masaomi Kondo and Tomie Watanabe. “Booth no naka no Itami Akira.” Daito Forum. 13:16-35, 2000.
- E-mail communication with Takashi Oka by the author, April-May, 2006.