Sarah Hemming’s review of Howard Brenton’s new play Churchill in Moscow was insightful (Theatre, Life & Arts, February 15). However it’s a pity that she uses “interpreter” and “translator” interchangeably. Both transfer meaning between languages, but this play is very much about the role of the interpreters, who deal with the spoken language.
It’s a bit like using “auditor” and “accountant” interchangeably because they both work with figures, or alternating “geographer” and “geologist” because they both study the Earth.
Janet Fraser
Freelance translator, reviser and editor; Fellow of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, London TW1, UK