The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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Vol/53 No/3 2014 JUNE/JULY The Linguist 15 FEATURES Learning on the job The second half of my tour saw a move to Kandahar Province, the spiritual home of the Taliban. I was to work as an interpreter between the Afghan Forces and their British mentors – a Royal Marines unit. The overall mission was to develop the Afghan force into one capable of countering the narcotics trade in Afghanistan. My particular task was to act as a liaison officer between the British contingent and the Afghan troops in all aspects of intelligence gathering and training. When the operational tempo is high, there is often a need to diffuse tensions, especially during Ramadan, when the Afghan troops become tired and edgy due to a lack of food and drink. Working with the Afghans could be incredibly challenging. One Afghan intelligence officer I worked with made every effort to speak too quickly for me to understand and then lost his temper when I asked him to repeat himself. My translations could mean the difference between operations against selected targets being mounted or not, so it was imperative that I was able to get as much information from the Afghan soldiers as possible. After an 18-month language course, military linguists have a good knowledge of the language, but require time to hone their skills. As my own language ability improved, the intelligence officer gradually warmed to me and a friendship developed. I began to receive invitations to attend meals in the Afghan Officers' Mess, enjoying freshly prepared lamb and chicken kebabs. Building trust During the years I have served in Afghanistan, there have been dangers. In the past, Afghan soldiers and policemen have turned their weapons on their ISAF mentors and an element of distrust developed, which made building relationships challenging. In one of my more recent deployments, I was employed in a Patrol Base in Nad-e-Ali. The base was co-habited by a company of British infantry soldiers and a similar sized company of Afghan National Army soldiers. Both groups were initially unwilling to mix, which made my role difficult. I spent time developing the relationship between the Afghan commander and British commander, which eventually filtered down to the more junior soldiers. After a period, we began to enjoy meals together, prepared by the Afghans, and finally we invited all the Afghan soldiers to a Sunday roast, cooked on field-deployed cookers by our own chef. Hilarity ensued when we realised that, as the Afghan soldiers were plating up their food from the hot containers, they were covering it in custard. I desperately searched for the words 'custard' and 'not really meant to go on Yorkshire puddings', but decided to remain silent as they all appeared to be enjoying the meal. Future service Military linguists have enabled British Forces to work more effectively with our Afghan counterparts, increasing the quality of training and going some way to increasing the level of trust between the nations. Very soon, Afghanistan will look after its own security. Hopefully we have gone some way to help them achieve this task. As the operation in Afghanistan draws to a close, the military requirement for my language skills in Dari will reduce. I hope that, having displayed a flair for languages, I can be employed in any future long-term conflict that involves the British military – not only as a technician in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, but as a soldier who is capable of utilising a skill that not everybody has. * James's full name has been withheld for security reasons. Afghan soldiers have turned their weapons on their mentors, and an element of distrust developed ON TOUR James in the mosque in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand Province (right); and on route to Gereshk, courtesy of the Danish battle group ( far right)