전문 통역 40년의 현주소

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작성자 곽중철 쪽지보내기 메일보내기 자기소개 아이디로 검색 전체게시물 작성일19-06-26 16:45 조회26,594회 댓글6건

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전문 통역 40년의 현주소

한국외대 통번역대학원 명예교수 곽중철

우리나라에 전문 통번역대학원이 생긴 지 올해 꼭 40년이 된다. 아시아에서는 중국보다 먼저 1979년 9월 한국외대에 ‘동시’통역대학원이 생긴 것은 학교 당국의 ‘선견지명’이었다고 봐야 한다. 한국에서 사상 최초의 올림픽 유치 준비를 하면서 우리 말을 올림픽 공식언어인 영어와 불어로 옮길 수 있는 인재들을 양성해야 한다는 자각이 있었기 때문이다.

학교 관계자들은 유럽으로 미국으로 선진 통번역학교를 찾아 다니며 ‘세계평화와 인류공영을 위해’ 일단 ‘무료’로 한국의 유학생들을 받아달라고 호소했고, 1980년 국내에서 1년 수학한 학생들을 유럽으로, 미국으로 보내 전문 교육을 받게 할 수 있었다. 필자도 그 중 한 명으로 파리 3대학 통번역학교에서 3년이나 무료로 훈련을 받고 돌아올 수 있었으니 지금 생각하면 참 고마운 일이다.

통번역이란 의사나 변호사와 달리 ‘보호받지 못하는’ 직종이다. 의사는 의대를 나와 자격증을 따야 의사 노릇을 할 수 있고 변호사도 과거에는 고시, 지금은 변호사 시험을 쳐야 자격이 생기지만 통역사는 통번역대학원을 졸업해야만 통번역을 할 수 있는 게 아니다. 외국어만 할 줄 알면 누구나 통번역을 할 수 있다고 생각하기 때문에 무자격 통번역사가 넘쳐나는 것이다.

한국외대 이후 이화여대 등에서 후발 통번역대학원이 생겨났고, 여러 대학의 학부에서도 유행처럼 통번역 전공과정이 설립되어 ‘도토리 키 재기’를 하고 있다. 어느 대륙이나 국가를 막론하고 외국어와 통번역에 대한 일반인들의 안목이나 인식은 높지 않고 단기간에 높아지지도 않는다. 누가 통역을 정말 잘하고, 어떤 번역이 훌륭한 번역인가 판단하는 능력이 부족한 채로 세상은 돌아가고 있다.

그러다가 통번역사를 포함한 모든 이의 눈을 번쩍 띄운 사건이 일어났으니 바로 2016년 3월 이세돌 9단과 인공지능 바둑기계 알파고의 대결에서 알파고가 4: 1로 압승한 것이었다. 이 세기의 대결이 하필이면 한국에서 벌어져 소위 ‘냄비 근성’이 있는 우리 언론과 AI 업계는 호떡 집에 불난 것처럼 호들갑을 떨었다. “바벨탑의 언어장벽”이 곧 허물어지고 그 어렵고 성가신 외국어 공부를 할 필요가 없어질 것”이라는 말까지 돌았다.

이 광풍은 작년(2018)까지 이어지다가 금년 들어 좀 조용해진 느낌을 일반인도 느낄 수 있다. 되돌아보면 놀랍게도 통번역계나 시장에서 크게 변한 것이 없다. 상품 소개나 사용매뉴얼 등을 번역하는 회사들을 제외하고는 다 옛날처럼 인간이 번역을 하고 있고, 호텔의 국제회의장에서도 전문 인간 통역사들이 같은 통역료를 받고 통역을 하고 있다. 통번역대학원도 지원자가 좀 줄기는 했지만 아직 외국어 좀 한다는 인재들이 몰려들어 ‘전문 통번역사’의 꿈을 불태우고 있다. 중국에서는 수백 개의 학교에서 통번역 석사과정을 설치하고 있다. 크게 달라진 게 없어 오히려 이상하다.

그렇다. 결국 통번역은 인간이 마지막 손질을 해야 한다. 아무리 첨단의 X레이 촬영기가 나와도 최종 판독은 영상의학 전공의가 내리고, 아무리 정교한 수술기계가 나와도 그 기계로 직접 수술하는 것은 외과 전공의 이듯이 통번역도 결국은 전문 인력의 손을 거쳐야 끝난다. 그래서 오는 7월5일 한국외대가 주최하는 아태통번역 포럼의 주제발표 중 하나의 제목이 “인간 번역사가 최종 퇴근자가 되어야 할 이유”이다. 필자가 보기에 우리에게 더 시급한 것은 AI 통번역이 아니라 청와대부터 지방 자치단체까지의 통번역을 국가차원에서 설계하고 운영할 ‘국가 통번역원’의 설립이다. (끝)

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작성일 19-07-15 11:58

Looking Back on 4 Decades of Professional Interpreting in Korea
(unauthorized translation)
Kwak Joong-Chol, Professor Emeritus, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Published on Daily Hangyeore Newspaper, Seoul, Korea, on July 11, 2019

The year of 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the first professional graduate school in interpreting and translation in the Republic of Korea. Thanks to the wise foresight of the authorities of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), Korea could establish the first graduate school for simultaneous interpretation in September 1979 in Asia, earlier than in China. The idea was to cultivate professionals who could do translation from Korean into English and French, the official languages of the Olympic Games, as Korea was preparing to host its first Olympics. which was realized in 1988.
HUFS officials went out and pleaded with the leading interpreting and translation schools around the world to take in Korean students “for the sake of world peace and humanity”. In 1980, some students who had just finished their first school year at HUFS were sent to Europe and the U.S. to be trained professionally, including myself - I was fortunate to be trained on a scholarship of the Korean government for as long as 3 years in ESIT, University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3.
Unlike doctors or lawyers, interpreters and translators have no “safeguards” in their profession. One is licensed as a doctor only after graduating from a medical school and passing the national exam. Lawyers, likewise, must pass state-issued bar exams to be licensed and practice law. But an M.A. in interpreting and translation is not a mandatory prerequisite for interpreters and translators. The public’s misguided belief that language ability equals interpreting and translation skills has fostered a growing number of unqualified interpreters and translators.
After the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation (GSIT) of HUFS was established, newcomers such as Ewha graduate school started to enter the market and even undergraduate courses began springing up like a fad, all engaging in a seemingly meaningless competition. Back then, regardless of regions, the public often did not have a good eye for, nor awareness of, foreign languages and interpreting and translation, and the situation does not get better within a short period of time.
Then one day, an incident occurred that suddenly shifted the paradigm of everyone including interpreters and translators. In March 2016, Alpha Go, an AI-based Go-playing machine, beat Korean professional Go player Lee Se-dol 4:1 on a Go match. Of all places, the match of the century was hosted here. Korean media outlets and the AI industry blew this hugely out of proportion, with some even saying that the “Tower of Babel” would soon be torn down, rendering the troublesome and agonizing process of foreign language learning obsolete.
The craze continued until last year but seemed to have quieted down in 2019. Looking back, to my surprise, the interpreting and translation industry and market haven’t changed much. Except for a few agencies that provide machine translation services for product descriptions or manuals, it is humans that are still the actual translators. Professional human interpreters are still providing interpreting services in hotels’ international conference halls and are paid the same fees as before. Though the number of applicants decreased, talented language enthusiasts are still studying night and day at graduate schools, aspiring to become professional interpreters and translators. Even to this day, the demand for interpreters still outweighs the supply in Korea. China offers graduate programs in interpreting and translation in hundreds of schools. It almost feels strange that nothing much has changed.
Obviously, interpreting and translation require a final “human touch”. Even with the most state-of-the-art X-ray machines, radiologists make the final diagnosis. Even with the most advanced and sophisticated operation technology, surgeons actually perform the surgery. The same goes with interpreting and translation – we eventually need professional human interpreters in the end. That’s why one of the presentations of the APTIF 9 hosted by GSIT earlier this month was titled “Why translators are going to be the ones to turn off the lights in the offices after everyone else has long gone home.” What’s more pressing for Korea now is not to foster AI interpreting and translation but to establish a “state-run interpreting and translation organization” that will comprehensively plan and manage interpreting and translation tasks for the country, ranging from those for the Blue House to those for the local governments. (End)

The year of 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the first professional graduate school in interpreting and translation in the Republic of Korea. Thanks to the wise foresight of the authorities of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), Korea could establish the first graduate school for simultaneous interpretation in September 1979 in Asia, earlier than in China. The idea was to cultivate professionals who could do translation from Korean into English and French, the official languages of the Olympic Games, as Korea was preparing to host its first Olympics. which was realized in 1988.
HUFS officials went out and pleaded with the leading interpreting and translation schools around the world to take in Korean students “for the sake of world peace and humanity”. In 1980, some students who had just finished their first school year at HUFS were sent to Europe and the U.S. to be trained professionally, including myself - I was fortunate to be trained on a scholarship of the Korean government for as long as 3 years in ESIT, University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3. 
Unlike doctors or lawyers, interpreters and translators have no “safeguards” in their profession. One is licensed as a doctor only after graduating from a medical school and passing the national exam. Lawyers, likewise, must pass state-issued bar exams to be licensed and practice law. But an M.A. in interpreting and translation is not a mandatory prerequisite for interpreters and translators. The public’s misguided belief that language ability equals interpreting and translation skills has fostered a growing number of unqualified interpreters and translators.
After the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation (GSIT) of HUFS was established, newcomers such as Ewha graduate school started to enter the market and even undergraduate courses began springing up like a fad, all engaging in a seemingly meaningless competition. Back then, regardless of regions, the public often did not have a good eye for, nor awareness of, foreign languages and interpreting and translation, and the situation does not get better within a short period of time. 
Then one day, an incident occurred that suddenly shifted the paradigm of everyone including interpreters and translators. In March 2016, Alpha Go, an AI-based Go-playing machine, beat Korean professional Go player Lee Se-dol 4:1 on a Go match. Of all places, the match of the century was hosted here. Korean media outlets and the AI industry blew this hugely out of proportion, with some even saying that the “Tower of Babel” would soon be torn down, rendering the troublesome and agonizing process of foreign language learning obsolete. 
The craze continued until last year but seemed to have quieted down in 2019. Looking back, to my surprise, the interpreting and translation industry and market haven’t changed much. Except for a few agencies that provide machine translation services for product descriptions or manuals, it is humans that are still the actual translators. Professional human interpreters are still providing interpreting services in hotels’ international conference halls and are paid the same fees as before. Though the number of applicants decreased, talented language enthusiasts are still studying night and day at graduate schools, aspiring to become professional interpreters and translators. Even to this day, the demand for interpreters still outweighs the supply in Korea. China offers graduate programs in interpreting and translation in hundreds of schools. It almost feels strange that nothing much has changed. 
Obviously, interpreting and translation require a final “human touch”. Even with the most state-of-the-art X-ray machines, radiologists make the final diagnosis. Even with the most advanced and sophisticated operation technology, surgeons actually perform the surgery. The same goes with interpreting and translation – we eventually need professional human interpreters in the end. That’s why one of the presentations of the APTIF 9 hosted by GSIT earlier this month was titled “Why translators are going to be the ones to turn off the lights in the offices after everyone else has long gone home.” What’s more pressing for Korea now is not to foster AI interpreting and translation but to establish a “state-run interpreting and translation organization” that will comprehensively plan and manage interpreting and translation tasks for the country, ranging from those for the Blue House to those for the local governments. (End)

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