Early Stages of Interpreting Use in Estonia

Authors

• Karin Sibul University of Tartu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61200/mikael.129589

Keywords:

Pierre Bourdieu, symbolic capital, independence, Estonia, conference interpreting

Abstract

This article aims to provide some insight into the history of interpreting in Estonia. The topic has not been studied before, and my research helps to preserve the fast-disappearing oral heritage of the unwritten history of interpreting in Estonia. The present article covers two periods: 1918–1940 and 1944–1991. The first period is studied through an analysis of 14 editions of memoirs by Estonian diplomats and the minutes from the peace negotiations with Russia in 1919. The research question is whether Estonia as a young state used interpreting to increase its symbolic capital as defined by Pierre Bourdieu. The second period is studied through a corpus of 33 interviews. The question addressed is to what extent interpreting was used. This research led to the discovery that Estonian–Russian–Estonian interpreting was used in various state bodies. In addition, for about 60 years theatre performances were simultaneously interpreted from Estonian into Russian, while the 1980 Olympic Regatta marked the use of Estonian–English as a conference language combination. Research findings for both periods lead to the conclusion that people who operated as interpreters were multi-professionals. No interpreter training was available until the Olympic Regatta.