I met a couple of the most interesting people today. They are full-time interpreters for the UN.

Interpreters sit up the back of the room in elevated glass boxes. They look a bit like AFL coaches sitting there. There are six boxes, one for each of the official UN languages (Arabic, English, Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish), with each interpreter beaming down translation into the delegates earpieces.

The two interpreters I spoke to both spoke 5 languages. That, of course, is not to include the languages they speak “just under fluently”. I paused to take that in.

Many of the interpreters, it seems are from various parts of Western and Eastern Europe. One explained to me that growing up in Switzerland, she spoke 3 languages as a matter of course. Growing up in Australia, a second language is not really a necessity.

I wondered how many languages I could speak if my brain wasn’t clogged up with useless stuff like the price of frozen peas (from when I used to be a checkout chap). $2.84 for your benefit.

It is quite incredible to watch the interpreters do their work. Most of the time they do what is called simultaneous translation, which means they interpret whilst the speaker is delivering their address. The speaker does not pause for the interpreter. This means that the interpreter must continually translate (speak) whilst continuing to listen to what the speaker is saying. It is so incredibly clever (particularly when translating some languages where the verb is right at the end of the sentence).

It is such a stressful job that they can only interpret in 20 minute blocks before being rotated. The permanent cigarette and coffee in their hands may also be an indication.

One explained how Nicole Kidman had come to do research for her movie, The Interpreter. He was lamenting the fact that no one informed him that she was coming and so he hadn’t dressed up for the occasion.

I asked whether they actually took in the information and processed it before they translated it. They said that, if you are good, there is no time to take in the information. It is much easier to just totally detach from the meaning of a sentence and just view what’s being said as words. No meaning, just words.

That’d be a real pity, because translators are involved in EVERY function of UN life. From the very bottom ranks, to that of the Secretary-General, they are there. One of the interpreters I spoke to spends a lot of time translating on the Security Council (SC), which means that she goes on a lot of trips to Africa (particularly Darfur in Sudan) with member states to speak to the main players. She also does a lot of interpreting for Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General. Just imagine the information that they are privy to.

It has to be the most important job in the UN. They must also be among the most trusted people in the organisation.