Gettingthe Messageacross

Behind the scenes, interpreters and translators are a centerpiece of Chinese projects in Africa

EVRARD Ndayikeje is a Burundian agricultural technician. Since November 2015, he works shoulder to shoulder with Chinese experts based in his country on various projects aimed at improving Burundi’s agricultural sector, including rice cultivation.

In theory, everything should have worked smoothly. But in practice, Chinese experts only speak very little English and Burundi is a French-speaking country. Fortunately, Shi Li and Du Lanlan, two Chinese interpreters in their 20s, are there to save the day.

“They do their utmost to facilitate communication. They are an indispensable part of the process,” said Ndayikeje, who now considers them friends. “We work together in the field every day. This helps build friendship!”

Upon their arrival in Burundi in 2015, the two young interpreters faced a daunting challenge: translating highly-specialized vocabulary related to agriculture. “I thought I knew agriculture, because I grew up in the countryside,” said Du. “But when it is treated as a scientific discipline, it is a completely different thing.”