Section 8. 2-Way Interpreting

Ex1. A short interview with a politician.

I entered his cabin. Too huge, but looked simple. The desk boasted of a boring telephone, a notepad, two pairs of spectacles, a cordless bell, a pen stand and nothing else. The man in question was an old, strong man. Here are the excerpts of the questions I asked him...

1.Q. What scenarios do you consider most likely for the evolvement of the world order during the 21st century?

A. The change in the hierarchy of powers is a fact. Despite the unipolar position of the USA, the world inclines more and more to Asia.

Q.How would you describe today’s world order?

Today's world order is difficult to interpret. The market order of the globalisation is in crisis and a crash seems likely in the next years (following financial volatility and a deep economic depression).

Q. Why is politics treated as a dirty subject by the general public?
A. That's because ministers and politicians have made it dirty. There are a few honest people in this system, but they are often suppressed.
Q. We always find political parties engaging in catfights and blame-games. Why so? Why would a party give a chance to criticism if it does its job properly?

2. A. Look, this blame-game will go on, no matter how much we try to solve it. Even if we do something good for the people, there's always this opposition to find faults and condemn our actions. There's no remedy to this now.
Q. Do you realize that this blame-game is actually generating hatred and prejudice among the masses?
A. (Nods his head.)
Q. Politics is turning into a nastier and dirtier game every other day. In fact, it has also seeped into religion, sports, communities and every other thing now. What's your take on this?
A. Hahaha! Yes, true. Politics has entered almost every aspect of our society. Politics has even entered households now! Greed has spoiled the minds of people.
Q. You are at a pretty high post and have the power to do things. Why don't you raise your voice against corruption and dishonesty?
A. Nah! In fact, even I can do nothing about it. Power is support. If I raise my voice, all my power will be snatched away, you see. This corruption, this red-tapism, this bribery is happening all over the country. If you want to end corruption, you need to be the Prime Minister or something of that sort. This corruption and manipulation can only end if the highest level people take some action...

Later, I left his office thinking about the enormity of this situation. Our country should not go in the dregs because of weeds like corruption, bribery and red-tapism. I did feel disappointed, still I believe, everything is not lost yet and we need to have hope.

Ex. 2. The Oprah Magazine

This interview appeared in the November 2004 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine .(experts)

Oprah: How do you define yourself as a leader?
Barack: Though I'm clearly a political leader now, I didn't start as one. I was skeptical of electoral politics. I thought it was corrupting, and that real change would happen in the grass roots. I came to Chicago to work with churches organizing job-training programs. I thought the way to have an impact was through changing people's hearts and minds, not through some government program.

Oprah: When I was working at a news station in Baltimore, the manager wanted me to change my name to Suzie. He said, "Nobody will ever remember Oprah."
Barack: I was told, "People will remember your name and won't like it." You can have one African name, but not two. You can be Barack Smith or Joe Obama—but not Barack Obama.

Oprah: I'm surprised you were so candid about having used drugs.
Barack: I think the biggest mistake politicians make is being inauthentic. By writing about my mistakes, I was trying to show how I was vulnerable to the same pitfalls as American youth everywhere.

Oprah: What do you want to do with your politics?
Barack: Two things. I want to make real the American ideal that every child in this country has a shot at life. Right now that's not true in the aggregate. Of course, lightning can strike, and someone like you or me can do well. But so many kids have the odds stacked so high against them. The odds don't have to be that high. For my second and companion goal, I'm well situated to help the country understand how we can both celebrate our diversity in all its complexity and still affirm our common bonds. That will be the biggest challenge, not just for this country but for the entire planet. How do we say we're different yet the same?

Oprah: What's a day like for you? How often are you away from home?
Barack: I've had 10 days off in the last three years, and that includes weekends. My workdays are often 16 hours.

Oprah: What do you know for sure?
Barack: I know that I love my family. I know that people are fundamentally good. I know that, in the words of Dr. King, "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." I know that there is great suffering and tragedy in the world, but ultimately, it's worth it to live.

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