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It’s definitely a good thing that he did his research “The vast majority
before attending the event as it made his job as an inter-
preter easier. He also noted that the most common of information that
challenges an interpreter will encounter will be related
to terminology (academic context) and slang or jargon we can access from
(informal settings).
“I believe I encountered a little bit of both (during the baristas, producers,
event), though it was easier to deal with the former since
part of my job is to become acquainted with the language roasters is in
of specialty associated with any interpreting assignment.
Now, with the latter it is more difficult because sometimes English.”
speakers start using language from a particular region,
using idiomatic expressions and vocabulary that tend to be
more metaphorical and sometimes unfamiliar, even to
other native speakers. Something we should consider is that
interpreting is about mediating between two cultures, now
imagine having speakers from 24 different countries.”
This made me realize how difficult it is to be an in-
terpreter, especially in such a multilingual context like the
one we were experiencing. When I reached out to Julián
after the event to learn more about interpreting I wanted
to know his thoughts on how people from different coun-
tries can reach an understanding when it comes to special-
ty coffee, even if they don’t share a common language.
“I believe we should make strong efforts in order
to strengthen the nations educational systems aiming to
help students develop their communicative abilities in
English so that it could be used as a Lingua Franca (ELF)
or bridge language. This will impact in a positive way
the specialty coffee field as well as the fields of research,
politics, trading, etc.”
The term English as a lingua franca (ELF) is defined
as an international language used to communicate between
people from different countries and cultures. Julián’s sug-
gestion of using English as a bridge language when it comes
to specialty coffee reflects Ivette’s experience with an
English-speaking group.
“I recently had the pleasure of traveling home with
wonderful people from many different parts of the world.
The common language that enabled us to communicate
fluently was English. Thanks to English, we were able to
have meaningful conversations and connect with each
other.” Ivette explains.
Julián’s suggestion of using English as a bridge lan-
guage in the specialty coffee industry is certainly something
to think about. Especially since it requires an effort to
improve national educational systems in order to help
students develop their communicative abilities in English.
It would definitely open up communication between coffee
producers, buyers and consumers from all around the world.

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