Watch out for 1 This can be rendered as "Madam Chairwoman," though some of the more "politically correct" delegates may say "Madam Chairperson" or even "Madam Chair " The latter, however, sounds a bit like a call to a piece of female furniture.
,
I should like to take advantage of/to use/this opportunity to express/voice/state my (our) satisfaction on (the occasion of) your election to this high/responsible/important/post/office/position and to wish you all/(all possible) every success/all the best (in your work)
:
1) For the entire sentence If the speaker is going fast, a simple translation
is "I should like to congratulate you on your election " The idea, after
all, is basically that the speaker is pleased that the chairman has been
elected It is rarely worth wasting time on choosing the precise adjective
or term in these "flowers "
2) "state" is the simplest choice "voice" and "express" are
stylistically more elegant "On the occasion" adds nothing
3) tends to send interpreters scurrying for lofty-sounding
synonyms "Important" is the basic idea here
4) "Wish you every/all success" is
perfectly adequate, if time permits, "in your work" can be added
,
My delegation associates itself with/joins (the) previous speakers in expressing sincere/heartfelt condolences and (deep) sympathy to the people of your country who have suffered/endured/borne/experienced
huge/colossal/enormous/
casualties/loss of life/ and
damages/devastation/destruction
as a result of the recent volcanic eruption/eruption of the
volcano
:
1) condolences and sympathy are sincere or
heartfelt (more colloquial) in English While sympathy can be deep, condolences cannot, and therefore a different adjective is needed here
2) should not be translated as "human losses," which sounds awkward and is confusing, does this mean that human lives were lost 01 that humans endured losses? "Casualties" is an extremely useful word covering all kinds of disasters, wars, and accidents, it can indicate that people were both killed and injured (wounded, in a war situation)
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It is my duty/I am bound/I am obliged with great sadness to inform/tell/our commission of the untimely and tragic passing/death/demise of our colleague John Smith On behalf of our commission I would like to ask his colleagues to convey our most sincere/heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family/Mr Smith's family/his family
:
1) can safely be omitted If the speaker didn't think this was
his duty, why on earth would he be doing it?
2) in speeches such as this a death is always "untimely."
3) "passing" is euphemistic and a softer term than "death"
unless, of course, Smith was assassinated or committed hara-kiri
"Demise" has a slightly literary nuance, and is sometimes used
sarcastically, so one should be careful with this word
4) "the bereaved family" is the shortest and
most polite way of dealing with this phrase Otherwise the interpreter may
find himself mumbling strange-sounding phrases about "the relatives of
the late person "
,
I now invite representatives to stand and observe one (a) minute of silent prayer or meditation
:
1) "invite" is the only possible verb here, one does not "suggest" in such a situation
, ,
Before closing the meeting (before adjourning), I would like to thank all the members of the Subcommittee for their hard/ conscientious/work/professional attitude/seriousness with which they took the work/serious approach to the work of/the committee and for the help/assistance given/rendered/shown me in carrying out my duties
:
1) "before adjourning" is the
shortest and clearest translation
2) of course can be translated as "conscientious," but
"hard" is a good deal shorter
3) "rendered" is formal/literary, while "shown" saves a
syllable and is perfectly clear
, ,
In conclusion allow me to reaffirm/reiterate/once again emphasize/stress/state again/the wish/desire/hope of the states of the commonwealth to continue wideranging/multifaceted/varied/ comprehensive and fruitful/positive cooperation with you to ensure/achieve/bring about/lead to/ (the victory of/the reign of)/ (the cause of) peace, security, justice (fairness) and progress (on this earth/on our planet
:
1) does not have to be rendered literally "State again" or
"stress" is quite sufficient
2) in English is often hope or wish as well as desire
3) does not require translation "For the sake of adds nothing
except extra syllables
4) , ,
A great deal can be omitted here "The victory of (do
not use triumph unless the context is very formal, as this sounds pompous)
and "the cause of can ordinarily be dropped "To bring about/ensure
peace, security and justice throughout the world" is perfectly clear The
Russian can be confusing to Anglophones If this is not a
gathering about outer space involving a discussion of life on other planets,
it is perfectly obvious which planet is meant
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In conclusion allow me to/I should like to express my/ our gratitude to you, Mr Chairman, for your successful/skilled leadership/outstanding/wise guidance of the work of this session, as well as to the leaders of the working groups, and also to the staff of your department/to your colleagues/associates for the successful/ positive conclusion/excellent conduct of/this session
The meeting is adjourned
:
1) this is a standard cliche, and the interpreter immediately knows that what is meant is a compliment. Successful/skilled leadership/outstanding/wise guidance are all perfectly acceptable, and these are expressions the interpreter should have memorized and ready There is no excuse for spending time here searching for the perfect adjective unless the speaker suddenly engages in criticism of the chair man's leadership style, which would be most unusual1
2 (, 1999 .)
,
-
, , , ,
, , , .
, , , ,
,
, .
, , , , ,
, - , , ,
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* * *
Mr President,
First of all I would like once again/once more to thank the organizers of the seminar, that is/I mean/namely/the permanent representative of St Lucia for the hospitality and superb organization shown us at/which characterized this important meeting/gathering
As regards our view of/an assessment of/to sum up the seminar, it clearly/obviously/unquestionably has served a useful goal/is very useful/that is/namely/of providing/to provide for/conduct a substantive/full/exchange of views with representatives of the non-selfgoverning territories Here/in this connection/therefore/I would like to mention/take note of/flag/refer to/indicate the highly informative statement/speeches by the representatives of Guam and East Timor
At the same time I/we would/should also/like to/must/point out that some of the leading/most important/outstanding/experts were obviously/clearly/evidently not prepared/ready for substantive talks/ discussion, and the statements of others were reminiscent of/resembled/smacked of lectures, filled with evident/obvious/well-known/simplistic/concepts/ideas/platitudes/self-evident truths/truisms.
Instead of that/in fact/indeed/as we see it/thought should have been given to/it would have been worth making/the seminars more substantive/worthwhile As an example, I would like to/may I/suggest that it would have been much more interesting for the seminar participants to learn about the details of the settlement process in the Western Sahara and in East Timor I have no doubt/it is clear to me/that if we had asked for/had we asked for/requested/the draft on autonomy for East Timor or the documents on the referendum in the Western Sahara prepared by the Secretariat, the seminar discussion would have been much more/realistic/in tune with today's realities/relevant to contemporary events.
We are convinced that in preparing the regional seminars we need to engage in more creative thinking/take a more creative approach.
In conclusion I would like to state our position regarding the proposal for approval of the seminar report We find/deem/believe it advisable/expedient/to follow/maintain/keep to/stick to/the practice of/the tradition of/to do/what we have done in/previous years and to take note of the materials used at the seminar Such an approach is simple/there is a simple reason for this/the reason for this is clear we would not like the conclusions and recommendations of this kind of activity/project, including the ideas expressed/voiced by experts and representatives of NGOs to be given the status of full-fledged recommendations following/after the adoption of our report/of the report of our special committee/by the General Assembly We should act with great care/restraint/be extremely cautious/in regard to/regarding the issue of changing the qualitative status of any documents
At the same time, we are ready to go along with/satisfy the wishes of/accommodate/those members of the committee, who wish to/wishing to ensure/provide/arrange for the broadest possible distribution of the materials from the St Lucia seminar Therefore/For this reason we would be ready to take note of the seminar report and to issue/publish it as an addendum/annex to the report of the committee This will resolve both issues/questions retaining/maintaining/keeping the official status of the seminar report and providing an opportunity to learn of/see/become familial with/spread the ideas expressed/discussed/heard at this meeting/gathering
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:
1) can be rendered as "first of all," "above all," or, more
formally, "first and foremost " In this case it in fact means "at the outset"
or "here and now."
2) does not require translation In fact, an attempt to interpret
it could lead to a very clumsy sentence "In the person of is unnecessary
The idea is that the speaker wishes to thank the main person responsible,
i e the permanent representative
3) here does not translate as ' accuracy" or "precision " The
speaker is referring to the good/superb organization of the seminar
4) does not require a literal translation such as
"unconditionally " What is meant is "clearly, obviously."
5) is not always best translated as "in this connection "
To save time, "here" is often quite sufficient, it can also mean
"therefore."
6) these are
platitudes, truisms, or self-evident ideas or facts.
7) the interpreter is well advised to forget
about the literal meaning of "content" in this word, as "contentfull" is not
an English expression "Substantive" or "informative" are what is meant
8) the literal meaning of "get to know," "get acquain
ted with" often does not work, particularly when the subject is a
document "Read," "get" or if necessary "familiarize themselves with" are
better choices
9) "" here means progress, though it can also
be course, development, path or flow, depending on context "
" is nearly always "settlement" rather than "regulation "
10) this means
"more to the point," "more realistic" rather than literally "closer to
realities."
11) translating the verb
literally is asking for trouble, as in English one takes an approach and
an approach in the singular
12) presents constant problems for interpreters
"Advisable," "expedient" or "to the point" usually work "Purposeful" has
a narrower range of applications but may occasionally fit the sentence,
anything involving "goals" should be avoided
13) ... you can, of
course, interpret this as "We find it advisable to keep to/maintain," 01 any
other of the verbs suggested here If the speaker is going fast, however, the
simplest solution is to say "we find it advisable to do what we have done
in previous years," saving a good number of words in the process The
interpreter should always keep in mind the short and strong verbs "make,
do, go," which often provide far better and simpler translations than do
lengthy verbal constructions
14) no need to translate the
verb literally The point is not that the explanation process is simple, but
that the reason for it is simple
15) "activities" or 'projects" are much more
idiomatic than "undertakings "
16) can often be simply rendered as "to
accommodate " "To meet halfway" sometimes works, "to compromise"
may be too strong and have a nuance of giving in or giving up one's
position
17) see 6
18) can be "addendum" or "appendix," depending on the
specific organization involved and how it chooses to label such
supplements
19) is often not best rendered as
"task," which can sound like doing the dishes "Issue," "question,"
"problem," or even "goal" can work ("two goals will have been
achieved")
20) see 14 What is meant here is the specific
meeting/seminar, not an "undertaking" of some sort
On Non-selfgoverning Territories (UN, 1999)
( )
Mr President,
First of all I would like once again to thank the organizers of the seminar, namely the permanent representative of St Lucia, for the hospitality and superb organization shown us at this important meeting
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As regards our view of the seminar, it obviously has served a useful goal, of providing for a substantive exchange of views with representatives of the non-selfgoverning territories Here I would like to take note of the highly informative statements by the representatives of Guam and East Timor
At the same time we should point out that some of the most important experts were clearly not prepared for substantive discussion, and the statements of others resembled lectures, filled with obvious truisms
As we see it, it would have been worth making the seminars more substantive As an example, may I suggest that it would have been much more interesting for the seminar participants to learn about the details of the settlement process in the Western Sahara and in East Timor 1 have no doubt that had we requested the draft on autonomy for East Timor or the documents on the referendum in the Western
Sahara prepared by the Secretariat, the seminar discussion would have been much more relevant to contemporary events
We are convinced that in preparing the regional seminars we need to take a more creative approach
In conclusion I would like to state our position regarding the proposal for approval of the seminar report We believe it advisable to keep to the practice of previous years and to take note of the materials used at the seminar The reason for this is clear we would not like the conclusions and recommendations of this kind of project, including the ideas voiced by experts and representatives of NGOs, to be given the status of full-fledged recommendations following the adoption of the report of our special committee by the General Assembly We should act with great restraint regarding the issue of changing the qualitative status of any documents
At the same time, we are ready to accommodate those members of the committee who wish to provide for the broadest possible distribution of the materials from the St Lucia seminar For this reason we would be ready to take note of the seminar report and to publish it as an annex to the report of the committee This will resolve both issues maintaining the official status of the seminar report and providing an opportunity to spread the ideas discussed at this meeting
3
(, 1985 .)
1
, 1982
, , ,
, , ,
, , , , ,
Mr President,
Our delegation shares the concern/is also concerned regarding the continuing tragedy in the south of/southern Lebanon which is occupied by the Israeli military (clique) The facts cited in the statements of the representative of Lebanon and the alarming/ worrisome information regarding events/the reports deceived daily from the region/concerning the alarming events there also confirm/ reaffirm/back the grounds/reasons for the government's appeal for help
For nearly three years now/For almost three years/the Israeli military have been behaving outrageously/doing as they please/violating accepted norms of behavior in (that part of) the territory of Lebanon/Lebanese territory which was occupied as a result of the acts of aggression of 1982 Since then not for a single day has there been a/practically/virtually every day there has been no lessening of/decline in/weakening of/abatement of/letting up of the wave of/outbursts of/raging terror and violence directed at the Lebanese and Palestinians By mobilizing infantry units for punitive operations the Israeli aggressors are blocking populated areas and are conducting mass searches, roundups/raids and arrests, subjecting the (peaceful) civilian population to various kinds of humiliation, tortures, abuse and beatings Particular/special cruelty was shown/demonstrated in carrying out these mass punitive operations during the last few months, and this was again indicated/pointed to/raised/flagged by the representative of Lebanon in his statement today
Numerous facts cited during our meeting have clearly (with utter clarity) attested to/demonstrated/revealed/borne witness to the crude/flagrant/gross violation by Israel as the occupying power of the relevant norms of international humanitarian law There is a need to provide for/ensure respect for the territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon, and to put an end to the arbitrariness and violence of the Israeli occupiers directed at/arbitrary and violent treatment by the Israeli occupiers of the civilian population
This is a highly charged, emotional statement, which requires an appropriate choice of words It also presents some difficult syntactic problems.
:
1) is stronger than just "the military," it has the implication
of a clique or group within the military
2)
if the interpreter does not have a text and cannot wait before stating the
sentence, he can restructure as follows "that which is being received daily
from the legion namely, the alarming reports," or "what is coming in
daily from the legion, that is, the alarming information about events "
3) English needs "acts of aggression,' which
sounds a good deal better than just "aggression "
4) can be turned around to "virtually
every day" rather than playing with tricky double negatives
5) "Abuse" is a very useful word for "" and ","
as "mockery" or "humiliation" often do not sound idiomatic in such
contexts in English
6) can often be tendered as "there is a need to" 01 simply
as "we must."
7) Care should be taken with . It is more idiomatic to drop
it and to speak of the "violent treatment of the civilian population" rather
than of the "violence directed at the civilian population " Often
can be translated as 'towards," "regarding," or "concerning "
Statement on the Conflict in the Middle East (UN, 1985)
( )
Mr President,
Our delegation is also concerned regarding the continuing tragedy in southern Lebanon, which is occupied by the Israeli military clique The facts cited in the statements of the representative of Lebanon and the alarming reports received daily from the region also confirm the reasons for the government's appeal for help
For nearly three years now, the Israeli military have been violating accepted norms of behavior in Lebanese territory which was occupied as a result of the acts of aggression of 1982 Since then virtually every day there has been no letting up of the raging terror and violence directed at the Lebanese and Palestinians By mobilizing infantry units for punitive operations the Israeli aggressors are blocking populated areas and are conducting mass searches, raids and arrests,
subjecting the civilian population to various kinds of humiliation, tortures, abuse and beatings Particular cruelty was demonstrated in carrying out these mass punitive operations during the last few months, and this was again raised by the representative of Lebanon in his statement today
Numerous facts cited during our meeting have clearly revealed the flagrant violation by Israel as the occupying power of the relevant norms of international humanitarian law There is a need to ensure respect for the territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon, and to put an end to the arbitrary and violent treatment by the Israeli occupiers of the civilian population
4
