Wujun (Verbatim Reporter)

How did you learn the languages you use at work?

English is mandatory in the Chinese education system and it was my university minor. I acquired Spanish and Arabic through the United Nations language and communications programme.  As for French, I taught myself while in college.

What attracted you to become a language professional at the United Nations?

Two things have made me choose my current career in the United Nations. First, the opportunity to serve the world by becoming an international civil servant. Second, my passion for languages, as my job, from which I have derived great intellectual satisfaction, involves daily use of languages and requires constant learning.

What do you consider to be the key traits of a good verbatim reporter?

The key traits of a good United Nations verbatim reporter are basically the same as those required for other jobs: dedication, being receptive to new ideas, continuous learning, etc. But I would underline continuous learning here. It involves learning new languages, digging deeper in the language(s) one already knows, and keeping abreast of the latest international developments, as well as updating one’s repertoire of knowledge, including new lexicons in the mother tongue, as languages are living mechanisms that evolve with time.

What challenges do you face in your daily work and how do you handle them?

The biggest challenge is to reconcile the time limits within which we have to finish our assignments and the quality of our output. The problem has only become more salient over time with the increase in the number of meetings and in our workload.  The strategies I have been using to cope are to familiarize myself with the subject matters discussed, further improve my language and translation skills by reading intensively, and prioritize my daily work in order to improve efficiency.

What are some of the most difficult documents you have worked on?

I find documents related to legal issues most challenging, as I have little legal expertise and some of the concepts are so new that there is scarce Chinese-language literature available. Indeed, in some cases, there are no standard translations for them. In addition to that type of document, statements delivered in Spanish and Arabic can be difficult for a variety of reasons, e.g. speakers’ liberty with the language, and ambiguities or inaccuracies in the English copies.

What do you think about the evolution of technology in your field of work? How has it affected you?

I am a believer in the benefits that technology brings to our work. 

How does your work fit into the broader framework of the United Nations?

I consider my job important from the perspective of multilingualism, and that in turn is an essential component of cultural diversity, a concept that should be respected and promoted instead of being weakened in the context of globalization. Better understanding among peoples can only be achieved when there is a genuine respect for their differences.

How does being multilingual affect your daily life in New York City?

It has enriched my life in many ways, allowing me access to information sources that otherwise would have been inaccessible, making me more appreciative of our cultural differences and enabling me to make new friends from other cultures.

Do you have any advice for budding language professionals? Any tips on how to prepare for the competitive examinations for language positions?

A combination of learning activities that cover the whole range of skills is highly recommendable. The most important thing is to ensure an adequate dose of daily exposure to the language you are translating from, no matter how you achieve that.