Can Congress Subpoena The Interpreter From Trump's Putin Meeting? Experts Aren't Sure.

[Igel]

10. The usual rules for interpreters at such meetings are simple.

The interpreters facilitate. They aren't present except as conduit and sometimes as reviewer.

They come in pairs. Each side brings one. It's irregular for one side to leave his interpreter out of the meeting. It leaves that side at a disadvantage. Even in business. Unless the interpreter is hired by both parties at once, which happens, but then you make sure the interpreter has no bias.

So there's Russian and English. The Russian interpreter listens to the English that's spoken, takes notes, and repeats it in Russian. What's said can take a couple of seconds, it can take 20 minutes. No matter, the interpreter has to repeat it accurately--and that's the only reason for notes. The English interpreter listens. With a nod it's confirmed that it's accurate; or the agreement is that unless there's something said it's accurate. Then the Russian speaker talks. The English translator takes notes and repeats what he said in English. The Russian interpreter listens and makes sure what's said is accurate.

That's the only thing the interpreters do. They don't chat. They don't comment. They don't roll their eyes or make faces. They have no opinion. Their role is to be a conduit--and secondarily to point out mistakes that matter. If the interpreter profoundly disagrees with what's said, nobody should be able to tell. If the interpreter profoundly agrees ... the same, nobody should be able to tell. The interpreter does not make eye contact unless there's a point. When the interpreter is speaking for his/her side, the person listening properly faces the "real" speaker, not the person whose lips are moving and who's making sounds. The interpreter has nothing to say and is in place of the client.

The notes are there to make sure the interpreter gets it right, they're a tool for the interpreter and nothing else. They're often in interpreter shorthand--there are various, but nobody needs to use a standard system and it's best not to take notes verbatim. If the conversation consists of turns of one or two sentences there are no notes, but the interpreter sits there with his/her pad in case it goes for more than a couple of sentences. If it's light banter and inconsequential, the interpreter might be making a grocery list.