Fwd: Translations

[Maura Santangelo]

> From: Maura Santangelo <maurasantangeloastny.rr.com>
> Date: Wed Jul 28, 2004  6:43:41  PM US/Eastern
> To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Translations
>
> I recently rejoined this group and have been enjoying the messages
> about translations. I totally agree with Rosina about how distracting
> it is to try to keep track 3 conversations at the same time: your own,
> the one you are translating and the reflections in your own head.  You
> are literally invaded by other people's experience when you have to
> translate in social situations.   My husband is a non-Italian speaker,
> after several years of translating for him during family visits in
> Italy and feeling that I was missing on my own visits and as well as
> forced to see Italy from the foreigners point of view, i insisted that
> he would have to learn to communicate on his own.   It was and still
> is painful for him.   But he is getting quite good at it and I feel
> finally free to be myself.
>
> However one of my most memorable dinners on the camino was with a
> group of French pilgrims, in which I acted as the bridge between the
> French speakers and the Spanish waitress.  Not that my French is that
> great, but I could communicate.  And it is not true that only the
> Spanish or the English are monolingual or even more resistant to learn
> a foreign language.
>
> Like Rosina I try to learn at least a minimum of words before visiting
> a country.   If the alphabet is different it helps to be able to read
> it at least you can decipher the street signs.  Wish that I could
> follow my own advice about Chinese!!  and it is not a gift, just a lot
> of very repetitive work.
>
> Maura
>