War interpreters : voices from within
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The initial motivation for this paper was to acknowledge the figure of the war interpreter and give
voice to those who have something to say regarding their actual situation in the context of Spanish
deployments in overseas territory. Two objectives set the path to follow. On the one hand, proving
war interpreters are fundamental in conflict zones, not just a mere extra tool. On the other hand,
proving trust in the interpreter is more important for the military than linguistic skills. For a brief
context, a look back on the past reflects upon the origins of war interpreting and peeks into who
these individuals were and what they did during the most notorious wars in History. Then, the voice
of the military rises. A survey was addressed at 192 members of the Spanish Armed Forces and
Security Corps to comment on their personal experiences working with interpreters. Finally, four
war interpreters made sure their voices would also be heard. They were interviewed to reflect upon
their relationship with the contingent, their training and their personal struggles. This paper
concludes with the success of both objetives, as well as finding appropriate training should be
provided to professional interpreters, to make sure they can be as reliable and thorough as the
military needs them to be in a conflict zone.
The initial motivation for this paper was to acknowledge the figure of the war interpreter and give
voice to those who have something to say regarding their actual situation in the context of Spanish
deployments in overseas territory. Two objectives set the path to follow. On the one hand, proving
war interpreters are fundamental in conflict zones, not just a mere extra tool. On the other hand,
proving trust in the interpreter is more important for the military than linguistic skills. For a brief
context, a look back on the past reflects upon the origins of war interpreting and peeks into who
these individuals were and what they did during the most notorious wars in History. Then, the voice
of the military rises. A survey was addressed at 192 members of the Spanish Armed Forces and
Security Corps to comment on their personal experiences working with interpreters. Finally, four
war interpreters made sure their voices would also be heard. They were interviewed to reflect upon
their relationship with the contingent, their training and their personal struggles. This paper
concludes with the success of both objetives, as well as finding appropriate training should be
provided to professional interpreters, to make sure they can be as reliable and thorough as the
military needs them to be in a conflict zone.
