CPLP paying for Portuguese interpretation at the United Nations

Friday, September 27, 2013

In the middle of this article the other day I noticed something interesting: the CPLP is paying the costs for interpretation in order to make it possible for a number of ministers of Portuguese-language countries to use their own language at the assembly, and is using it to try to (eventually) make Portuguese an official or working language there.

In the General Assembly of the United Nations, which starts next Tuesday in New York, the presidents of Mozambique, East Timor and Brazil, the interim president of Guinea-Bissau, the vice president of Angola, the prime minister of Cabo Verde and the foreign ministers of Portugal and São Tomé e Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau will speak in Portuguese.

Such a thing is not unheard of, but it corresponds with a concerted attempt within the CPLP to "encourage the use of the Portuguese language", explained the secretary general of the CPLP, Murade Murargy from Mozambique. "We have to lead by example", he said.

To make this possible in the General Assembly this year, the CPLP must pay 700 dollars per day. The eight countries are participating in the General Assembly but also in parallel meetings. The aim in the UN and other international organizations is to have Portuguese as a working language (which would result in requiring simultaneous interpretation) or to go even farther and win the status of official language (which would result in requiring interpretation but also having all written material in Portuguese).

0 comments:

  © Blogger templates Newspaper by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP