Korean Reporter Reveals Why Donald Trump is Hard to Translate, ‘Sounds Like an Elementary Kid’

Taki

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https://nextshark.com/korean-reporter-interpreter-donald-trump/

A former SBS reporter who is now working as an interpreter recently revealed that the hardest person she has ever translated was President Donald Trump.

Ahn Hyun-mo, 34, made a guest appearance on KBS’ “Happy Together 3” on July 5 and was joined by Park Kyung Lim, Jessi, and Kim Ji Hye, according to AllKpop.
“I didn’t have many difficulties during ‘BBMA’. I actually had a hard time during the US-North Korea summit,” she said when asked if she had any difficulties translating American pop stars’ slangs during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in May 2018.
“I translated Trump multiple times. He uses the same vocabulary over and over again,”she explained on the show, giving examples such as “great” and “a lot of.”

“If the interpreter translates that directly then he will sound like an elementary kid. So I try to vary the words, like ‘fabulous’, ‘good’, ‘fantastic’ (for each time he says ‘great’).”

Ahn Hyun-mo lent her interpreting skills during the historic summit between the United States and North Korea on June 12, 2018, Korea Daily reported.
Video is time-stamped:


Edit: I'd like to see a translator attempt to translate this anecdote by the President of the United States:

 
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Nepenthe

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Oct 25, 2017
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Isn't the point of translation to also convey context and meaning? Ergo, she shouldn't expand his vocabulary if he's illiterate. The world needs to understand he's a fucking moron and his supporters are proud of it.
 

Orin_linwe

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Nov 26, 2017
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Malmoe, Sweden.
He's extremely difficult to parse even if you're very proficient in English, and don't have to translate his words and intent into another language.

I don't think the stories of these translators are really illuminating anything, in this regard.
 

SuperBanana

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Oct 28, 2017
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We just repeats key words over and over with no context. It's designed to appeal to idiots too dumb ro understand what he's saying but words like "a lot of" and "great" must mean everything is going well.
 

Derrick01

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Oct 25, 2017
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I feel like actually reading his speeches is far more effective at showing how brain damaged he is to most people than listening or watching. That tweet in the OP reads like I'm watching someone going through a stroke in real time.
 

RustyNails

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Oct 26, 2017
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That quote is nothing. See this from the recent Montana rally



Yes this is true. It happened.

Edit: beaten like a minority at Trump rally
 

Kinthey

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Oct 27, 2017
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Isn't the point of translation to also convey context and meaning? Ergo, she shouldn't expand his vocabulary if he's illiterate. The world needs to understand he's a fucking moron and his supporters are proud of it.
Yeah, when it comes to news reporting she really shouldn't help his vocabulary. Make him sound like an elementary kid, because that's what he sounds like.
 

MilkBeard

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Oct 25, 2017
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Isn't the point of translation to also convey context and meaning? Ergo, she shouldn't expand his vocabulary if he's illiterate. The world needs to understand he's a fucking moron and his supporters are proud of it.
Yeah I was going to say, she's being too kind. She should let him sound like an elementary kid, because that's what he sounds like. Don't try to make his rambling sound pretty.
 

GoreMagala

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Nov 9, 2017
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Yeah, I can understand and I agree that that is pretty ridiculous and embarrassing. Especially seeing the tweet and everything. At the same time though, I do have two points I want to bring up.

Outside of Trump, I dislike the vibe I’m getting that people without much vocabulary/people that aren’t articulate are innately unintelligent or unable to provide anything meaningful or of value.

In the context of Trump/a world leader, I can definitely see and agree. Although it does seem that such a vocabulary is helping him reach/be understood (understood to some, anyway) by more people.
 

TheHolyTurnip

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Oct 31, 2017
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It's sadly part of why he was able to get so many votes in the first place. He talks like many of his constituents do.

Edit: Sadly, this isn't just a Trump thing either. Many politicians use dumbed down language so more people will understand their speeches and proposals. The difference being Trump legitimately talks this way while most are just simplifying.
 

sphagnum

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Oct 25, 2017
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I can't understand any of this. What the fuck is he even saying? Elton John? Organs? The brain connected to the mouth????

?!?!
If you stare at it long enough it makes sense. He's saying he broke the record that Elton John set for how many people fit in that room, and he did it without needing to entertain people with music or sports. The only instrument he uses is his mouth, which attracts people to his rallies because he says smart things because he has a good brain.
 

dabig2

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Oct 29, 2017
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It's why he's so "relatable" to the average GOP voter.

See also: Dubya. Except even he sounds at least college educated, compared to the dotard.
 

RustyNails

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Oct 26, 2017
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If you stare at it long enough it makes sense. He's saying he broke the record that Elton John set for how many people fit in that room, and he did it without needing to entertain people with music or sports. The only instrument he uses is his mouth, which attracts people to his rallies because he says smart things because he has a good brain.
And the brain is connected to mouth, dont forget.
 

TheHolyTurnip

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Oct 31, 2017
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They're a bunch of dumbfucks, but I don't think they talk the way he does. Their vocabulary might be thin, however, I don't think most people word salad their way through life.
Yeah, he has a particular brand of crazy going on with his speech, that's for sure. I have however met PLENTY of people in Oklahoma that can go off on strange tangents like he does.
 

Saad

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Oct 27, 2017
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The quote in the OT felt like it’s something GOB from AD would say lmao
 

Bleepey

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Nov 11, 2017
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That quote is nothing. See this from the recent Montana rally



Yes this is true. It happened.

Edit: beaten like a minority at Trump rally
I thought Donald Rumsfeld's Known Unknowns speech was a headscratcher. Trump's poor use of the the English language has translators the world over confused because if they were accurate in how they translated his words they'd probably be accused of being drunk or actively going out of their way to make him look like an idiot.

 
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iksenpets

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Oct 26, 2017
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Yeah I was going to say, she's being too kind. She should let him sound like an elementary kid, because that's what he sounds like. Don't try to make his rambling sound pretty.
Yeah, this isn’t some thing where like Anglo-American culture requires lots of repitiom of basic vocabulary, where direct translation would fail to convey meaning. He sounds like a moron in any language. I wonder if their translators just assume there must be some cultural thing they’re missing, because he’s the president and so that must be proper English.
 

Polk

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Oct 26, 2017
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Similiar thing happened when Lech Wałęsa was Polish president. But i'm Walesa's defense he was plain worker who ened historia education after primary school (+ school to become electrician)
 

Common Knowledge

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Oct 25, 2017
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They should just translate his sentences to "I'm a dumbass dipshit who has no idea what I'm talking about and right now I'm rambling on a topic I have no grasp of the concept of but I'm a petty little bitch who has to sound intelligent and get the last word in no matter what." And then repeat that line for his whole speech.

Cause that's essentially the main takeaway any moderately intelligent person gets whenever he opens his mouth.
 

CassCade

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Nov 2, 2017
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I don't think so, most elementary students speak with a modicum of coherence and sense.
 

bawjaws

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Oct 28, 2017
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Isn't the point of translation to also convey context and meaning? Ergo, she shouldn't expand his vocabulary if he's illiterate. The world needs to understand he's a fucking moron and his supporters are proud of it.
I read a similar article shortly after Trump was inaugurated and the interpreters says that if they translated literally, people would assume that the interpreter was incompetent because no world leader could actually speak like that, could they?
 

Deleted member 16365

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Honestly that's why his base likes him so much. He just repeats himself over and over again and if they didn't get it the first time they might on the 11th. To the ignorant he comes off as well spoken and easy to understand .