What joy is there in interpreting?
For me, far more than written translation, it is the art of live interpretation that captures my heart. In this age of science, technology, Google, translation software, and AI, anyone can summon the meaning of foreign words in the blink of an eye. Yet, no machine can ever replace the human touch. A good translation is not just about words strung together – it breathes with the author’s rhythm, carries their voice, their soul, their essence.
I love interpreting because of the interaction and connection. Looking directly into the client’s eyes, I realize interpretation is not simply “speaking on someone’s behalf,” but also conveying their emotions, thoughts, desires, and intentions. Sometimes, a gesture, a look, the rise and fall of a hand or a smile can be even more powerful than words.
My work has led me through legal hearings, corporate negotiations, business collaborations, and sometimes even into lighter realms – conversations about food, history, culture, and the subtleties of everyday life. I once tried to take on Thai and Japanese, but soon learned not to be greedy. Better to master one language – to live and breathe it deeply – than to skim across many at a mediocre level. Although the more I study English, the more I realize how much knowledge I still lack, and how much more I need to improve.
From Western culture I have taken much to heart: its spirit of freedom, its boldness, equality, respect for women, humor, creativity, and deep reverence for art. These values, I believe, enrich not only my work but also my way of seeing the world.
Over time, I have gathered small but precious lessons. I’d like to share:
- Always keep a notebook and pen. Listen to the whole sentence, the whole thought. Don’t write word for word – capture the spirit, the essence, and let it flow naturally.
- Learn about the people you interpret for – their culture, their goals, their reasons for being there.
- Interpret faithfully – never add, never subtract. Where humor or idioms do not carry over, find the closest meaning that breathes the same life.
- In tense negotiations, remember you are the third presence in the room – sometimes your role is not only to interpret but to ease, to balance, to mend.
- Prepare well for every field – law, business, culture – specialized terms matter, and research is a skill no interpreter can live without. Today, AI has become a helpful companion, but never a substitute.
- Tone, rhythm, pauses – these are not ornaments but part of meaning.
- Learn to breathe well, train your voice, rehearse – even simple things like taking a bathroom break beforehand matter more than you think.
- Never underestimate the quiet power of “please” and “thank you.”
- Knowledge goes beyond language. After work, you might find yourself at a dinner table with clients. Here, your ability to converse about history, traditions, sports, films, even art and literature – both of Vietnam and of their country – becomes just as important.
- Above all, master your language. Precision and flexibility are your craft’s foundation. Dictionaries are indispensable – once heavy to carry, now compact in a single phone. As a lawyer, I also turn to statutes, where the definitions at the beginning of each law offer a treasure of clarity and authority. And often, I read legal texts in English, written by native professionals, or visit the websites of renowned firms like Frasers, Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie…
- Professionalism is built as much in the details as in the grand gestures.
- And finally – interpreting, though exciting, carries its weight of pressure. One must never stop learning, or risk being left behind in the ever-growing world of knowledge. At the same time, carrying within us the spirit of our own culture is what allows us to stand firmly and authentically in the international arena.
And I must confess – there is something deeply beautiful when a woman interprets while wearing the traditional áo dài – it carries both elegance and pride in our heritage.
