A cabbage goes to Brussels so that Joseph can become leader of the Opposition – nice trade
Joseph Cuschieri jiskopri l-Amerka go Brussel
Listen to this short video (link below) of Joseph Cuschieri reading out, in rushed fashion without intonation, like a schoolboy in class told to read aloud a page of some novel beyond his comprehension, even just the shortest observation in the European Parliament (in Maltese, obviously).
Meanwhile, the simultaneous translator rushes breathlessly to catch up, the poor thing.
When Cuschieri’s done, he gets told, as though it’s an idiot or a child being spoken to: “There’s no need to rush. You’re reading a text. There’s no need to rush.”
PATHETIC. What rubbish. Issa tajjeb ukoll. L-imbarrazz qed jaqbez il-barra mil-iskip ta’ Muscat u jahrab lejn Brussel. “Here’s some Maltese junk.” “I met a Maltese in the European Parliament the other day. Boy, was he ever thick.”
Marelli.
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http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getVod.do?mode=unit&language=EN&vodId=1337769932298#
And this is what Cuschieri himself uploaded on YouTube, after having wiped out the Chair’s words of reprimand (and the simultaneous translation):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzPeU6IFv3E&sns=em
The story runs deeper.
To read fast (and faster still) were probably the instructions given to the guy by that other guy who works at the European Council, the former Alfred Sant stooge who abandoned the Labour Party on the eve of the elections. Bunch of losers that they are.
The gesture of the girl behind Cuschieri, on the left, is “OMG, WTF”.
Even the MEP who speaks after Ċuschieri comments about him.
“Erm. OK”.
Says it all!
Does that dish come with the job?
What they have to go through to serve their country is something not evreybody can take.
We can assure Cuschieri that next time we will give him a break by not voting for him.
He has done enough and deserves a rest,the mind can take so much and no more.
Offer all these sacrifice for your country, “Your country needs you”.
You forgot to add that the seat was traded once Joseph ended his term to secure his pension as an MEP.
Do you know what the sad thing is? That like Joseph Muscat, ONLY because he was in the right place at the right time, this other Joseph NOW has a platform to achieve bigger things.
Without merit and to the detriment of the whole country.
To become a doctor or an architect one understandably has to go through tough tests starting in secondary school right up to a long number of years at university. On the other hand, in order to lead the country, one need only be a party hack, or his brother.
With the backing of a powerful political media machine, if well manipulated, the simple inertia of ignorance can catapult one to the top strata of politics. And the country suffers.
[Daphne – Let’s count ourselves lucky. In Italy, all you need to be is a comedian. Or a buffoon.]
Anyone who ever said there’s no such thing as bad publicity didn’t get a look at this idiot.
I felt sorry for the translator. Even the Italian one had major problems.
They are interpreters not translators.
[Daphne – Oh really? I didn’t know you could interpret written text. That’s more usually translated.]
Translators write. Interpreters talk. Don’t be an idiot, Daphne. Learn the difference and admit for once you made a mistake.
[Daphne – I trust you are not one yourself, because you are wrong. But I suspect that you are, which is why you are so touchy. This means that we are now also sending half-assed cabbages to do translation jobs in Brussels, too.
The difference between translation and interpretation has nothing to do with writing or speaking. The words have different intrinsic meanings. Translation is an actual translation of what is said or written, usually word for word. An interpreter interprets what is said, not necessarily by translating. The gist and meaning are sufficient. This is why you can interpret a situation or a painting, but not translate them.]
http://www.languagescientific.com/interpreting-vs-translation-services.html
[Daphne – Thank you, Kenneth.]
Daphne, this time you’re wrong.
If you’re correct, even the movie ‘The Interpreter’ used the word incorrectly.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373926/
[Daphne – Things have reached a desperate pass with the state of English in Malta if this is how people check what words mean. No, Top class, I am not wrong and I rarely am wrong in matters to do with this particular language, though I am often wrong about other things. Interpreting and translating are completely different. Interpretation takes the meaning or gist; translation does not. Interpretors listen to a chunk and boil it down to its essence. Translators translate word for word as they go along, which is why they are often out of breath and can’t keep up. Interpreting is a skilled profession that requires years of training, because it much more difficult. What the Maltese do is translate, because there are no professional Maltese interpretors and the bottom of the barrel has had to be scraped with people who know both Globish (not English, really) and Maltese. On that basis, I could be an interpreter, but I am not so presumptious as to even try. I have not been through years of training. Malta: il-pajjiz tal-pruzuntuz.]
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interpreter?r=75&src=ref&ch=dic
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interpreter
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/interpreter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_interpretation
They’re obviously all wrong, and you’re right.
[Daphne – Madonna santa, you can’t even interpret the definitions in online dictionaries. Must I repeatedly point out that it is a very bad idea indeed for somebody who learned English as a foreign language to pick this kind of battle with somebody who did not, and who is a native speaker?]
Interpreter, used to mean translator, is a typical mistake an italian would make.
Another one is to sit on a morbid cushion.
[Daphne – A morbid cushion. I LOVE IT.]
What a load of desperate crap! Of course, the difference between translation and interpretation has A LOT to do with writing or speaking when it comes to term definition (and not Hermeneutics for example)
And Kenneth baby, why don’t you move just a few more brain cells and go to the bottom of this terminology issue (which you seem eager to resolve). The obvious place to go is the CSN EN 15038 Translation Services standard when one (but not Kenneth, nor his guru) can dig out the actual term definitions since here Daphne has clearly experienced a terminology glitch (yes, it’s OK and it can happen to anyone). While this European standard does not apply to interpreting services per se, it does provide (in point 2) a healthy Terms and Definitions section to go by.
2.4 interpreting – rendering of spoken information in the source language into the target language in ORAL form.
2.17 translation – rendering information in the source language into the target language in WRITTEN form.
Daphne, you really shouldn’t leave your day job. A whole billion-dollar industry is out there to prove your terminology in this case sucks, ergo don’t waste more time on this… unless, of course, you have nothing else to do.
[Daphne – Here’s another Maltese translator with the linguistic skills of a Ukrainian MTV presenter.]
@ Top class: An interpreter’s job is to facilitate (by paraphrasing from one language to the other) conversation between people who can’t speak the other’s language. A translator translates what one speaker or writer says or has written, word for word.
So, holding one’s breath and diving in, here’s a question: if one agrees that the difference between a translator and an interpreter is as explained in the link given by Kenneth above, i.e. “the interpreter translates orally, while a translator interprets written text” does the translator in the EU Parliament become automatically an interpreter the moment an MP extemporises?
In which case, and presupposing that most MPs do not hand in their scripts to the translator beforehand, and bearing in mind that according to the same description translators “understand the source language and the culture of the country where the text originated, and, using a good library of dictionaries and reference materials, render that material clearly and accurately into the target language” – with the emphasis being on the use of a extensive library -, could it be that what we have here is an interpreter acting as a translator (because Cuschieri cannot be relied on to extemporise or work off notes) and that you are both right.
(Phew! Perhaps I should consider a career in the diplomatic corps!)
@ Daphne: It’s a cliché, I know, but so true for you: when one has no sensible arguments to use in one’s defence, one throws irrelevant comments instead. That’s OK. We do understand the frustration of being irrelevant and not able to fend off logic…
[Daphne – This sentence shows that you learned English as a foreign language. You sound like somebody who works for Maltastar, not somebody who translates documents and speeches in Brussels. Your way of communicating is also infantile, and I don’t think this is just the result of inadequate knowledge of the language and a very poor vocabulary. I think it is the result of genetically restricted intelligence, an inadequte upbringing and poor schooling. However, with commitment, drive and motivation, you can overcome your considerable disadvantages and achieve much without having to depend on the desperation of your employers.]
Mind you, if this is the Ukrainian presenter you have in mind, I’m all for it!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UaLWp72nij4/TBqwaptWCbI/AAAAAAAAPaM/KIyqFbfGMdw/s1600/dasha-astafieva.jpg)
@ Kenneth the mindless groupie: I hope to God you never get to the interpreters’ booth or else a string of major diplomatic scandals awaits us! What desperation can do to human dignity is absolutely amazing!
[Daphne – Kenneth, can you believe this person is actually a translator? My God.]
@ Standards do exsts:
Standards, baby, why don’t you provide me with a link, so that I may check whether you are quote mining or simply writing hogwash.
But if that’s beyond the capacity of your limited store of brain cells, don’t bother at all.
And by the way, do standards really “exsts”?
@ Standards do exsts:
Just as I thought. You were quote mining just to win an argument and compensate for your lack of brain cells.
The all important sentence in point 2, that precedes your quote, is “For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply”.
Now, which part of that sentence don’t you understand?
An anonymous semi-literate coward calls me a groupie lacking brain cells. Should I care? I bet he/she/it voted against EU membership too.
I’m referring to “the simultaneous translator rushes breathlessly to catch up, the poor thing.” The people that interpret Cuschieri’s speech into other EU languages on the fly are called interpreters not translators.
[Daphne – That’s because an interpreter is what they are meant to be. However, it is not what they are. They are translators, because Malta has no interpreters. So Malta uses translators to do the job of interpreters, hence the rushed, breathless, word for word translation. And even the translators are not trained.]
Well, DNA, Daphne, et al, whether the lady heard on the EN channel is called a translator or an interpreter, I put it to you that she was neither translating nor interpreting. She was simply READING.
There’s no way that anyone can catch up on several long seconds of speedy speech and translate or interpret it off the cuff without missing a beat right through to the end.
If you listen carefully, the EN channel lady’s rendition is impeccably faithful to the original from start to finish, and given that with regular on-the-fly translation/interpretation you almost always get the odd missed phrase or even complete sentence, you can easily conclude that this is actually the reading of a prepared translation, and NOT either a live translation or a live interpretation.
Notice also how she never falters, not even for a split second, except for the odd give-away of actually starting to misread words and then correcting herself – the perfect true-to-life recipe of a hasty disinterested read.
What convinces me even more that this is the case is the fact that our EN channel interpreter/translator is heard flipping pages at one point.
Judging from her accent, I’d say she’s Maltese. I’ll bet my bottom dollar that if one were to transcribe both Cuschieri’s address as well as the interpreter’s/translator’s speech on the EN channel and do a side-by-side comparison, we’ll end with irrefutable proof that she was reading a typed translation.
I don’t have the patience to do this, so unless someone is prepared to waste some time and prove me wrong, I don’t think I’m much off the mark.
You’re probably right, FP.
Does Joseph know of this bloke’s performance in Brussels? What a shame.
Of course he knows.
The more obvious question would be: does he care?
Of course not.
Why should he? He got what he wanted.
Although I might agree with you that Joseph Cuschieri is not the most intellectually gifted persons within the PL, or within the EP, I think you should hear (unless you already did) what the next speaker had to say about Cuschieri’s speech … here’s the link:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/plenary/video?idmep=96710&page=0&format=wmv&askedDiscussionNumber=0
What an idiot, and how embarrassing for Malta this is.
An interpreter is someone who interprets the gist of one’s speech and then renders it in his own words or sign language or any other means of communication. Whereas a translator’s job leaves no room for interpretation.
Mela, mela! Kabocca sar MEP u intom bqajtu tahilbu l-moghoz ta’ Gemgem hawn fil-bottegin taqtaqi ta’ Daphne, deluzi, deluzjonali u delizjozament disilluzi.
Ha nikteb apposta bil-Malti ghax fl-artiklu li ktibt hawn fuq indikajt bil pulit kif thares lejn il-lingwa Maltija, ghalik il-lingwa Maltija hija inferjuri ghal dik Ingliza. Mela tajjeb li tkun taf li l-Malti huwa wiehed mit-23 lingwa ufficjali tal-Unjoni Ewropea. Ghandna nhossuna kburin li nistghu nitkellmu bil-Malti f’kull istituzzjoni tal-Unjoni Ewropea. U biex inkompli inzid ma dan li ghidt l-MEP’s kollha Maltin kwazi dejjem jitkellmu bil-Malti ( u mhux Joseph Cuschieri biss).
punt iehor li nixtieq naghmel huwa li meta l-MEP’s jitkellmu f’dawn l-interventi, jkollhom minuta biss ghad-dispozzizjoni taghhom, allura hija haga naturali li dak li jkun jghaggel biex ilahhaq kollox. Il-parlament Ewropew mhux bhal programm Xarabank, fejn Peppi jghidlek fil-qasir u tibqa ghaddej, imma wara minuta jitfulek il-mikrofonu u jkollok tieqaf!! u jekk nitkellmu fuq l-interpreti u t-translaturi Maltin li hemm barra, kulhad jaf li dawn mhux fost l-aqwa l’hemm zgur. Insejna jaqaw il-fjask li kienu ghamlu meta ttraducew constitution bodies bhala igsma kostituzzjonali!!!
Haga ohra li nixtieq nivverifika hija li min isegwi fuq l-internet is-sezzjonijiet plenarji kemm meta jkunu fi Brussel, kif ukoll fi Strasburgu, tinnutaw li l-parlament dejjem ikun vojt meta l-mep’s jaghmlu l-interventi u l-mistoqsijiet taghhom. L-unika darba li l-kamra tkun mimlija kwazi bl-MEP’s kollha hija meta jittiehdu il-voti!!!
Naghlaq billi nikkumenta fuq dan ir-ritratt li gibt hawn fuq. Nahseb kull bniedem, hux politiku jew le, ghandu dritt ghal hajja privata tieghu!! kieku dan ir-ritratt ittiehed waqt gurnata xoghol fi Brussel kien ikollok ragun, imma ma nahsibx li dan hu l-kaz!! kif jghidu bil-lingwa favorita tieghek – All work and no play makes jack a dull boy!!
P.S – Taghmila li tifhem f’kollox, biss l-etika tesigi lin-nies ma tghajjarhomx kabocci. Min jaghmel hekk ikun qieghed juri x’livell baxx jinsab fih!!