この何日か寝起きがすごく悪い。7時間睡眠も取ってるし、深い眠りにつけた感覚もあるのに、起きてみたら疲れが完璧に取れてない感じ。よく寝るのが趣味とか、寝るのが大好きだって言う人いるじゃん?俺は元から寝ることに対してそんなに重要視してないし、寝起きも結構いいってか、起きたら速攻部屋をきれいにしたり荒い物したりする人だから大多数に比べると上のランクなのにな~・・・今日も必死こいて起きたよ。腰のせいかな~・・・(ーー#)?はぁ~ 体だるっ!!でも今日も頑張って筋トレ&バスケやろうっと!
Current Event:
The most dangerous civilian job in Iraq
By DOMENICO MACERI
Special to The Japan Times
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- In the translation world, the Italian phrase "traduttore, traditore" (translator, traitor) is used to suggest the inability to capture all the meaning in the original text and transfer it into another language because something inevitably gets lost in translation. Insurgents in Iraq view translators and interpreters as traitors and often kill them.
The jobs of translators and interpreters are vital in Iraq since the war on terrorism is not only about force but also about information.
Since the vast majority of American personnel do not speak Arabic, interpreters are used. An army commander in Iraq has said his men could not do two-thirds of their job without interpreters. These individuals are embedded with soldiers in their missions and provide an indispensable link to information that may save lives.
Insurgents know that, without that information, American soldiers will be operating in the dark. That's why interpreters are especially targeted.
Interpreting is the most dangerous civilian job among employees of private contractors with the U.S. Labor Department. Interpreters' deaths accounted for more than 40 percent of the more than 300 death claims filed by all private contractors operating in Iraq.
One interpreter said if he were caught by insurgents his head would be cut off because imams say interpreters are spies. This interpreter has been threatened 15 times, including by a neighbor. One female interpreter was shot execution-style at her home in front of her family.
Interpreters in Iraq work for Titan Corp., the largest provider of language personnel to American government agencies. The situation has become so dangerous that Titan employees are now housed on military bases for protection.
Recently, interpreters started wearing the same body armor and helmets as the soldiers they go out with. In the past they worked with no protection whatsoever. Some interpreters even carry guns and have had to use them on occasion.
One has to wonder why people would accept such jobs. Mostly it's the comparatively high salaries. Interpreters can earn up to $1,000 a month -- very attractive by Iraqi standards.
To avoid relying completely on civilian interpreters, the army has been recruiting soldiers who speak Arabic or other critical languages. Many of these bilingual soldiers are trained in the United States and then sent to Iraq. Most are immigrants from the Mideast who joined the army to be in the linguists corps. These soldiers are also in special danger when they are in Iraq. They, too, are viewed by insurgents as collaborators. In fact, they may be considered worse because they wear U.S. uniforms and look like Iraqis.
The importance of interpreting (oral) and translation (written) is felt in every aspect of international affairs. Relationships are based on communication, and when language barriers exist, heavy prices are often paid.
Soon after 9/11, it was discovered that huge amounts of collected data had not been translated. It's difficult to translate all data that's gathered, yet it's absolutely necessary to do so since one never knows which scrap of data could thwart the next terrorist attack.
The U.S. spends billions in equipment, but when it comes to languages we are still tongue-tied. Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut is sponsoring legislation that would increase federal spending on languages and create a "national director" to coordinate language programs for the nation.
This is the right step as it de-emphasizes the idea that English is the glue that holds the country together. To feel safe in the world, we need to understand that acquiring knowledge in multiple languages is necessary, not just in English.
Domenico Maceri teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif. His newspaper articles have won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications. ( languageblogger.blogspot.com/)
The Japan Times: July 19, 2005
Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?eo20050719a1.htm