China.org.cn: Is this the first time for the UN to hold such an exhibition?
Yohannes Mengesha: Yes it is the first time, and we are very much looking forward to it. And there will be panels with commentaries on the different activities of translators, interpreters, editors, proofreaders, text processors -- all part of the bigger complement of language staff.
China.org.cn: This is the first event to promote this view. And as you mentioned: The other two?
Yohannes Mengesha: A couple of other activities are: We are inviting guest speakers who speak different languages -- maybe a famous writer from the Arabic language and also the other languages -- to come and speak at the UN. And the third activity, with the help of the different translation services, is what they call "language tables" in the cafeteria at the UN. And that is: there might be a Chinese table and anyone in the UN who wants to sit there and have a conversation in Chinese, they bring their lunch and they sit there. And there will be a facilitator obviously, one of the teachers.
China.org.cn: Providing people with such a good environment.
Yohannes Mengesha: Exactly. It has been a very popular program. And that's an ongoing activity that we have this year.
China.org.cn: So people want to know for the UN how to organize so many different countries using different languages to discuss important international issues, which it's really a great task. Can you introduce the role of UN language specialists in promoting the political dialogue and diplomatic negotiations among the member states?
Yohannes Mengesha: Well as you know the UN has 192 member states. So of course we don't have 192 languages. There are six official languages at the UN.
China.org.cn: The main official languages?
Yohannes Mengesha: They are the only official languages. And that is Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian. So all official documents have to be produced in all these six official languages. All official meetings are also conducted in these six official languages so you need interpreters, translators and editors to work in the six official languages. So in this way -- even though it's not necessarily their native tongue -- member states can communicate in a language they prefer -- choosing from the six. So for people to work together to make decisions on any issues -- be security, humanitarian issues, development issues; or to negotiate agreements, declarations, or for the Security Council to pass important resolutions -- they have to be able to understand each other. And this is where the facilitation is done by our translators and interpreters.
China.org.cn: So you mean one doc has to be translated into six versions?
Yohannes Mengesha: Yes, so if the original is in English it has to be translated into the five other languages. So you have six documents. And the UN is very strict. Member states are very strict about issuance of docs in all languages at the same time. So even on the Internet if you look for an official document you will find it is available always in the six official languages. So they have to work to very strict deadline to make sure the documents come out on time.
