War interpreters : voices from within

Abstract

The initial motivation for this paper was to acknowledge the figure of the war interpreter and give voice to those who have something to say regarding their actual situation in the context of Spanish deployments in overseas territory. Two objectives set the path to follow. On the one hand, proving war interpreters are fundamental in conflict zones, not just a mere extra tool. On the other hand, proving trust in the interpreter is more important for the military than linguistic skills. For a brief context, a look back on the past reflects upon the origins of war interpreting and peeks into who these individuals were and what they did during the most notorious wars in History. Then, the voice of the military rises. A survey was addressed at 192 members of the Spanish Armed Forces and Security Corps to comment on their personal experiences working with interpreters. Finally, four war interpreters made sure their voices would also be heard. They were interviewed to reflect upon their relationship with the contingent, their training and their personal struggles. This paper concludes with the success of both objetives, as well as finding appropriate training should be provided to professional interpreters, to make sure they can be as reliable and thorough as the military needs them to be in a conflict zone.

The initial motivation for this paper was to acknowledge the figure of the war interpreter and give voice to those who have something to say regarding their actual situation in the context of Spanish deployments in overseas territory. Two objectives set the path to follow. On the one hand, proving war interpreters are fundamental in conflict zones, not just a mere extra tool. On the other hand, proving trust in the interpreter is more important for the military than linguistic skills. For a brief context, a look back on the past reflects upon the origins of war interpreting and peeks into who these individuals were and what they did during the most notorious wars in History. Then, the voice of the military rises. A survey was addressed at 192 members of the Spanish Armed Forces and Security Corps to comment on their personal experiences working with interpreters. Finally, four war interpreters made sure their voices would also be heard. They were interviewed to reflect upon their relationship with the contingent, their training and their personal struggles. This paper concludes with the success of both objetives, as well as finding appropriate training should be provided to professional interpreters, to make sure they can be as reliable and thorough as the military needs them to be in a conflict zone.