It’s a world of laughter
A world of tears
It’s a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There’s so much that we share
That it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all.
These lyrics were written in 1963, and the Sherman Brothers, Richard and Robert, were so right. I wonder if they knew just how much.
The world is shrinking. It has been shrinking for a long time. It started with long excursions that took clans over each other’s territory. Then the race to cross the ocean, the telephone, the airplane, radio, television, space… The internet made its debut, and the other side of the world just seemed to be even closer.
Did you notice that the word village in the old saying “it takes a village” has gained new meaning? It has expanded to encompass mankind as a whole. Especially with families spread out across continents, telemedicine, remote work, distance learning…
I, for one, take classes in other countries—Brazil, or it could be Mexico—straight from my office. I have worked for and with colleagues in other countries using remote interpreting platforms, and most of my clients are not from the US.
In my profession, our skills are usually requested by individuals who cannot speak the language of their audience adequately, or not at all. And our work is found in Ikea manuals, World Health Organization publications, multinational companies’ websites, schoolbooks, and your favorite novels by American or foreign authors.
Last December, I was reading Sapiens, by Yuval Harari, in Portuguese. I have also read some of Isabel Allende’s work. Harari writes in Hebrew, and Isabel Allende, in Spanish. Some of you may have the Bible at home. That book was written in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin before being translated into English.
Translators and interpreters also help heads of state negotiate treaties, international organizations reach further with their aid packages or programs, as well as kids, parents, and teachers communicate. It may not look like it, but translators and interpreters are instrumental in bringing the world even closer by giving us insights into worlds beyond our borders and our linguistic barriers. There are myriad situations where our skills are essential.
Can you imagine yourself on vacation in a non-English speaking country, like Japan, and you sustain a serious fall and break your arm? You are rushed to the hospital, but no one understands it when you try to tell them about your allergies, or that you are diabetic. That’s when an interpreter becomes an instrumental part of the medical team.
Or if your accident happened in Brazil and resulted in a lawsuit? Will you be able to make yourself understood by speaking English? Or even Spanish, which is very close to Portuguese? Even if that were possible, Brazilian law demands an interpreter be brought in to help the non-Portuguese-speaking party.
As the world shrinks even further, think about your part in the process, how you have benefitted from it, and how you have contributed to it. After all…
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to ev’ryone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It’s a small world after all.
(It’s a Small World (After All); Richard and Robert Sherman, 1963)
