Internal translator

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Let’s start with the classics.

— Defendant, tell me, why did you break the beer stall?​​​​​​​

— Your Honor, imagine, I’m coming home from work, very tired. He stood at the machine for 8 hours. So I wanted to drink beer, and on the stall it was so mockingly written: “There is no beer!”. It would not be easy to write: “There is no beer”, otherwise with such malice: “No beer!”.

And here is another story:

Author: Eli Bar-Yaalom. «translate me»

The high negotiating parties sat down at both ends of the table, and between them an inconspicuous shadow perched an interpreter. Everyone was silent.

He spoke first: «I love you.» She shuddered, but the interpreter made a sign to Her and said:

— He says: «I have patience, I am ready to listen and try to understand you.»

She grunted and bitterly replied: “You always knew how to say beautiful words, but I probably will never wait for things from you.” The interpreter turned to Him and said:

She says, “I love you too. Only love helped me to endure all this.

He spoke, and there was anguish in His voice: “I can’t do this anymore. Everything I do, you don’t like it. You criticize me all the time.» The interpreter turned to Her again and said:

— He says: “I can be very suspicious and vulnerable, and when I am dissatisfied with myself, I begin to perceive all your words as attacks and see you as an enemy.”

She looked at Him — no longer hatred. Already with that pity, from which to love — one and a half steps. “I’ll try to remember that, but you have to stop being a child too. It’s time to grow up in your forties!» — The interpreter turned to Him…

… They left together, shoulder to shoulder, almost hand in hand. On the threshold He stopped, ran up to the interpreter, slapped him on the back and exclaimed: “Yes, you, brother, are a pro! Where do they teach this, huh? The interpreter did not answer; he caught her gaze with his eyes and translated with his lips:

— He tells me: «I want to learn to understand it myself.»

Did you like this ability to understand?

The ability to understand, that is, to make an internal translation, is an exceptionally creative process, and we will present here only the most popular, most successful versions of translations. There are five main ones:

• Contextual (the most plausible meaning for a specific context),
• Positive (hearing a better intention, seeing a good attitude, noticing interest and gratitude).
• Negative (attacks, accusations, discontent).
• Psychotherapeutic (hearing heartache, personal emotions, very personal attitude)
  
• Business (constructive approach: what to do now).

Illustrations from the field of business relations