Simultaneous interpretation of Iranian President UN Speech faced problems

The UN General Assembly speech of Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in New York made once again the headlines of media around the world. This time, however, it was not just Ahmadinejad’s message triggering attention, but problems forcing simultaneous interpreters to stop work.As soon as he took the stand, the Iranian President declared there was no translation, and for the first two minutes, those not fluent in Farsi, were not able to understand the introduction about the “future which belongs to Iran,” according to the Al Jazeera news agency.

The speech had been near its end when the audience was finally able to hear in their headphones an announcement from the interpreters saying they wanted to note they were reading from a text prepared and printed in advance and written in English.