WebProNews

Tag: fake interpreter

  • SNL Interpreter Skit Makes Light Of Controversy

    SNL Interpreter Skit Makes Light Of Controversy

    After Nelson Mandela’s recent passing, people all over the world mourned the loss of such a visionary, and memorials were held in his memory last week. The memorial held in South Africa with several world leaders, however, is the one that got all the attention, and not necessarily in a good way. Over the weekend, “Saturday Night Live” capitalized on the headlines and poked fun at the “fake interpreter” who captured the nation’s attention.

    Thamsanqa Jantjie says he went to a school for the deaf and is well-versed in sign language, but his gestures during the memorial have been denounced by several experts who say it was just gibberish. Jantjie also says he suffers from schizophrenia and was having wild visions during the service of angels streaming into the stadium, which impeded his ability to sign.

    “There was nothing I could do. I was alone in a very dangerous situation,” Jantjie said. “I tried to control myself and not show the world what was going on. I am very sorry, it’s the situation I found myself in…life is unfair. This illness is unfair. Anyone who doesn’t understand this illness will think that I’m just making this up,” he said.

    An investigation into Jantjie’s background pulled up arrest records for theft, rape, and murder–among other charges–but the files were incomplete so it’s not known whether he ever served time. Jantjie has not commented on his past.

    “Saturday Night Live” didn’t delve into anything so sinister, simply sticking to the memorial service and Jantjie’s less-than-impressive signing. They also mocked President Obama’s selfie with the Danish Prime Minister.

    Image: YouTube

  • Marlee Matlin Knew Mandela Interpreter Was Fake

    Marlee Matlin Knew Mandela Interpreter Was Fake

    Marlee Matlin knew the interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in South Africa earlier this week was fake. The Oscar-winning actress, who is also deaf, feels the impostor didn’t even do a very good job of faking it.

    “I’d been to South Africa before and I could understand some South African sign language, and I thought to myself, wait a minute,” she said. “It was almost like he was doing baseball signs or whatever. I was appalled.”

    Thamsanqa Jantjie is the name of the man who tried pulling himself off as a sign language interpreter. He is now claiming a schizophrenic episode caused his poor translation. Marlee Matlin, however, believes she could see him in his attempt to keep up the charade at which he was failing quite miserably.

    “You can tell,” she said. “I could tell, and I could tell that he’s thinking to himself, oh no, how should I do this… let’s see what I just did, I’ll do it again.”

    Mouthing words and showing emotion on one’s face are critical aspects of being a sign language interpreter. Jantjie did neither of these two things during his time at the Mandela memorial.

    “Sign language is not international, so each country has its own sign language,” Matlin said. “But in this case, each language shares something, which is facial expressions, as a part of the grammar. And to see someone standing there without any sort of movement in his body, without any sort of facial expressions that one incorporates into sign, indicates that he had no understanding of the culture, no understanding of the language.”

    The entire deaf community, as well as professional in the world of sign language translation are up in arms over this man’s deceit. Marlee Matlin is insulted by his actions.

    “I knew right then and there that he had no understanding of the culture at all,” she said. “And it was offensive. It was offensive to me.”

    Matlin commented via Twitter about the worldwide publicity this shamed fake interpreter got.

    Did you watch the memorial service for Nelson Mandela on TV this week? Did you recognize that the interpreter wasn’t translating in the same manner most interpreters use? It will certainly be interesting to see if those hiring interpreters will be more careful checking credentials in the future. And while this wasn’t a positive means of getting it, attention is definitely focused on the sign language translating profession now. Perhaps that will lend itself to ensuring only bona fide interpreters get hired for these events.

    Image via Wikimedia