Nilda
Ferrari, head of translators for the United Methodist Church's 2000
General Conference, monitors translation during a plenary session.
Nilda
Ferrari, head of translators for the United Methodist Church's 2000
General Conference, monitors translation during a plenary session. At
the 2004 assembly in Pittsburgh this spring, translation will be offered
in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Swahili, as well as in
Korean and Russian on a more informal basis. A UMNS photo by John C.
Goodwin, Photo number 04089, Accompanies UMNS #076, 2/26/04
NEW
YORK (UMNS) - For Don Reasoner, the task of providing translation
services for non-English speaking delegates to the United Methodist
General Conference is more than just a matter of logistics.
Proper
communication with church members outside the United States, in his
opinion, is essential to the spiritual growth of the denomination.
"There's much that they can share and we can learn from," he explained.
"It helps enrich our experience together as a church."
When
General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, meets
April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh, a cadre of translators will be on hand to
help delegates with everything from hotel check-in to registering a vote
on the conference floor. Of the 998 delegates who will be attending,
about 178 will be from "central conferences" - regional units of the
church in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Reasoner,
a staff member of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, said
he is able to hire four professional translators for each of the
meeting's five official languages, besides English, and is looking for
volunteers to fill in the gaps, particularly during the first week's
legislative committee sessions.
The
five other languages are Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and
Swahili. Portuguese covers Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, and Swahili
primarily applies to delegates from the Congo, he explained. Korean and
Russian translation will be offered on a more informal basis.
Printed
translation is more limited. The conference's Advance Daily Christian
Advocate - a compilation of the legislation going to the assembly - will
be offered in English, French and Portuguese only. During the two-week
meeting, the Daily Christian Advocate publication will be in English
only.
UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
Delegates
from South Congo, listen to French translation during a session of the
United Methodist Church's 2000 General Conference in Cleveland.
Mujinga
Kainda (left) and Muland Aying, delegates from South Congo, listen to
French translation during a session of the United Methodist Church's
2000 General Conference in Cleveland. At the 2004 assembly in
Pittsburgh this spring, translation will be offered in Spanish,
Portuguese, French, German and Swahili, as well as in Korean and Russian
on a more informal basis. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose, Photo number
04-088, Accompanies UMNS #076, 2/26/04
"It's
not just a matter of linguistic abilities, it's the church language,"
Reasoner said about the search for translators who have knowledge of
United Methodist lingo and church structure.
Translation
will be used in different ways. While consecutive translation will do
for luggage mishaps at the airport, simultaneous translation is
essential for conference plenary sessions, where translation equipment
will be in use. "That requires a different level of skills," Reasoner
added.
The
professional translators will staff those plenary sessions and monitor
the 11 legislative committees to provide quality control. In addition,
volunteers will be needed to sit in on the committees and committee
subgroups, sometimes conducting one-on-one translation. "We're trying to
find out from the various delegations which committees the (non-English
speaking) delegates will be in," Reasoner said.
An
appeal for translators has been issued through missionary networks and
other organizations. Because of costs, "we're looking for volunteers who
are in the United States or very close by," he noted. Travel and hotel
expenses will be covered for the selected volunteer translators, who
will receive the same per diem for meals as other church staff.
Reasoner
hopes to have 20 volunteers per legislative committee, in addition to
spreading the professionals around. The host committee in Pittsburgh
also is coordinating some services for international delegates and "will
try to deal with all reasonable requests."
But
translators probably won't be available often for guests and observers.
"The priority has been given to the delegates to ensure the delegates
have full participation and their votes will be counted," he explained.
The
translation equipment for General Conference, based on an infrared
system, is provided for and owned by the Board of Global Ministries.
Reasoner does not expect to use all the 220 units, but "we can get
additional (equipment) if we see there's a need for it."
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