The Power of the (Kid) Translator

A translator makes all the difference when you travel to a new culture and land.

Two family members in Slovenia made our trip doable.

I’m not sure how we would have managed that language with more consonents and accents than I see in a year!

Our translator included thirty-something  Tjasa  in the evening, and student Andraz (And-draws) the rest of the time.

We were impressed.

At 16 years-old, Andraz had studied English for seven years and spoke beautifully, for all he brushed off  our compliments.

Tjasa learned to speak English from watching cartoons in English as a child. She speaks several other languages as well–like many Europeans do.

(We three Americans  speak English, and a smattering of Spanish, Italian, and French).

Managing stories with the relatives

Andraz traveled with us to visit distant relatives on a family farm.

We were collecting stories and he did a fine job, with a little help from his grandfather, explaining.

Andraz’ language skills were put through their paces, translating between his grandparents, great-aunt, and us.

I marveled at how fluid he seemed.

Several times, though, I wondered if he was telling us the whole story . . .

We quickly forgot he wasn’t a native speaker and chatted without a second thought.

Only occasionally did a puzzled look cross his face, “I’m sorry I don’t understand.”

For the three Americans who come from a household that delights in word games, puns and irony, we had to  slow down.

We were very impressed.

We told his parents so, and they beamed with pride, as they should.

He kept it up until met Tjasa at her house–where she took over so he could do his homework.

Missing a translator as we toured

Since the English speakers had to go to work and school the following day, our non-fluent relatives took us touring.

We visited the world famous Postojna Caves where we took a tour in English!

A brilliant solution to a tricky problem.

(Most of the other tourists with us on the tour were Japanese!)

We’re grateful for all the translators who helped us on our trip.

Challenges for a Kid Translator

Immigrant children to the United States can be presented with challenges when they serve as interpreters.

Some children, however, are forced into roles they may not be mature enough to handle–at the doctor’s office, say, to interpret adult ailments and then answer physician’s questions.

As their language skills grow, child interpreters sometimes take on more adult roles.

Too often they are their parents’ sole conduit to society.

Officials begin to address their questions to the children, rather than the parent needing translation.

A recent article in the New York Times, gave a humorous example of the challenges a perfectly intelligent American mother rann into with her children. They had grown up in France and thus recognized her errors.

Pamela Druckerman decided just to embrace the embarrassment as her children corrected her, often.

She noted a concern for one French preschool teacher with working-class Chinese parents:

“In such families, the parents can quickly become infantilized, as their 5-year-old serves as an interpreter and eventually fills out forms for them.”

Meanwhile, back in Slovenia

In Slovenia, where the language was incomprehensible to us, we swung our heads back and forth as Andraz interpreted–between him and his parents and grandparents.

I wasn’t sure if I should look at them while he spoke, or look at him.

It got onfusing, but we all smoothed over the awkwardness with smiles, nods, and another round of potica–a Slovenian cross between strudel and nut bread.

The morning we left, alas, we had no translator, just sorrowful looks and suitcase packing.

Fortunately, that morning the Internet was working, and I was able to access Google translate.

Maria and I had a typing “conversation,” while breakfast cooked.

My admiration for her and her family, her pleasure in having us, didn’t need many words.

But the Ipad translator . . . well, it helped . .  and didn’t require a kid at all.

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A little potica never hurts while translating in Slovenia Click to Tweet