China.org.cn: Six versions may be really heavy work. Is there any special institution taking charge of this section -- translation of these documents?
Yohannes Mengesha: Who is in charge of that? Well we have our department. The Department for General Assembly and Conference Management is responsible for all conference services and therefore all language services, so in New York we have some 1,200 people in the department -- which is in fact the biggest department at the UN. And 80 percent of those are language staff: translators, interpreters, verbatim reporters -- those are the people who make records of the meetings of member states of the committees, so it's a huge part. And so we also have offices in Geneva, Vienna, and in Nairobi. So all together there are over 2,000 conference service staff at the UN's three main headquarters in addition to those in New York.
China.org.cn: In a universal political institute like the UN, where cultural and linguistic diversity color the diplomatic process, the conditions of translation are so special and distinctive. What do you think?
Yohannes Mengesha: Well I think, as compared to working outside in the private sector or in a less political environment, working at the United Nations the translator and interpreter have to be very sensitive to the political nature of the organization. This is, as I said, an organization made up of so many member states. So you have to be very sensitive to addressing our political considerations as well as being good at the languages you speak as well as the languages you have to translate into. So that is, I think, the key importance. Also the translator and interpreter cannot be in the forefront. They are usually in the background and they serve as channels of communication. They are facilitators for member states to exchange ideas and produce documents in the six official languages.
China.org.cn: So this unique political environment poses great challenges for these language staff. Could you give us some specific examples of how they deal with these challenges?
Yohannes Mengesha: Well, one of the things as I said earlier: You have to produce documents in six languages. You have to achieve consistency. So UN translators have to work on their vocabulary or "terminology" -- as we call it -- to make sure that whatever language is used there is consistency. So you cannot have one version contradicting another language version. So they have to develop vocabulary. They have to develop terminology. So in fact, we now have a database for political terminology, which will now be accessible to the public, where you can go and find words and constructions that have been accepted by member states and are used at the UN. Then the UN, as you know, has to set standards. This is called the normative work of the UN: Coming up with new conventions, new policies. Sometimes new concepts come into an evolving work, so they have the challenge of creating new words, new formulas. And the other challenge they face is you know today, we have the Internet and there is certain language that is used on the Internet. And I'm sure you have -- I don't know in China -- but I know in America and many places, even for text processing, there is even a different language that is being used. So you have to keep up with the changes that are happening globally while at the same time being sensitive to the environment in the UN so that you use terminology that is acceptable to the membership.
