Meet the interpreters at the Inuit Circumpolar Council's general assembly

Meet the interpreters at the Inuit Circumpolar Council's general assembly

'It's not just helping people understand, but it's all learning for myself what they're talking about'

For Teymur Suleymanov, interpreting at the Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly in Iqaluit is like being reunited with friends.

“It's super exciting because meeting these people face-to-face, it's like family,” he said. “They are friends for a long time. I've been working with them for 14 years and I can say that there is some of the best people I've ever met.”

The conference uses simultaneous interpretation where the person and the translator speak at the same time. The conference is translated into seven languages: English, Inuktitut, Russian, North Slope Inupiaq, Northwest Inupiaq, Yup’ik and Kalaallisut.

With the general assembly back in person for the first time in eight years, Suleymanov said it’s been nice seeing everyone.

“I'm a huge fan of face-to-face,” he said. “When I work, I read their body language. Eighty-five per cent of information we receive is not verbal. It's non-verbal actually. So that's what gets omitted when you interpret from screen because all you see is just a headshot mostly.”

Understanding different dialects

Dorothy Edwardsen has been interpreting at gatherings since 1986.

She said it can be difficult interpreting simultaneously when people speak very fast, but it's important to keep translating and not linger on one word.

"I really enjoy translating. It's not just helping people understand, but it's all learning for myself what they're talking about,” she said. “It's a two-edged sword that you could learn and help people understand what they're talking about."

Hilda Woods-Haas, an interpreter from Northwest Inupiaq, said by working at conferences you can pick up other Inuit language dialects.

“When Greenlanders speak, I like to hear their language and try to convert it in my own language. It could be hit and miss, but it's a good practice. I did that with a couple of speakers that speak slow,” she said.

Woods-Haas’ niece JayLynn Rogers has been learning the language and said this conference has shown her just how close Inuit cultures are.

“I was talking with my auntie just a couple minutes ago and she said that she was able to understand the members from Greenland and from Canada, and that's really awesome,” Rogers said. “She's one of our fluent speakers and for her to be able to understand people from other parts of the world, that's definitely super awesome to hear.”

As someone learning the language and the interpreting of it, Rogers said the most challenging part is all the different sounds.

“The different gutturals in different dialects it's hard as an English speaker to get the different sounds that are not in English,” she said.

'It goes from the deepest part of their heart'

Russian interpreter Natalia Pavlova is interpreting at her first ICC general assembly. She said it’s a joy listening to these discussions take place.

“It's very easy to interpret because in preliminary sessions, when they're actually voicing their thoughts and ideas, it's really beautiful,” she said. “It goes from the deepest part of their heart and it's easy to interpret and it's a big, big pleasure. Sometimes when they start crying. I also have a lump in my throat.”

At these gatherings, Woods-Haas said it’s nice to hear from Inuit across the globe and bring what they share back home.

“I want to teach what I learned here to our younger people when I return home,” Woods-Haas said.

At home, Edwardsen said people will call her when she’s at work, or will leave her messages asking how to say a certain word, or how it’s used. She said this isn’t really a job, but more of a service for people and reminds people to have fun with it.

“We have fun with our language. Our languages are fun, and there's so many ways that you could make it fun, learning or even just talking about it,” she said.

Bianca McKeown is a reporter with CBC North in Iqaluit. Previously, she worked at CBC Ottawa. Have a story idea? Email her at: bianca.mckeown@cbc.ca