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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER The Linguist 13
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Hinds-Mingo still counts some of the women
she met among her closest friends, and has
even been to a few weddings. "Essentially
you're spending 24/7 with each other
because it's early starts and late endings, and
you're together all the time," she explains.
"We were always on-call. On the plus side,
we got to go to the same glamorous events
as the girls, but it was tiring having to switch
constantly from one language to another."
Although the interpreters could sometimes
take breaks when the competitors did, there
were often meetings to attend, after which
they would relay the information to the
contestants in their languages. There were
also subtitles to write for the YouTube content,
created throughout the competition as part
of the organisation's marketing strategy.
"It was a very intense schedule, and your
brain and your voice were frazzled by the end
of it," says Hinds-Mingo. One day they might
travel by bus to a waterfall for a photoshoot
before flying to another part of the country;
the next day might involve interviews for
YouTube and a cultural excursion. The amount
of travel was particularly draining because
they not only had to pack everything they
would need, but they had to ensure the
women in their group did too.
Mismatched languages
Under such conditions, the interpreters leaned
on one another for moral support. Some had
several contestants with limited English-
language skills and were overly stretched,
while others had contestants who could
communicate well in English and only needed
occasional support. Sometimes there was a
mismatch between the language of the
chaperone and a member of their group, so
they would help each other out. "We were
SHOWCASING CULTURE
Miss Vietnam, H'Hen Niê, came to her
interpreter's defence following her
participation in Miss Universe 2018
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