Have you ever been locked in a conversation with your parents and thought, “ Hey, wait a minute! I don’t need to translate that”? That’s what you have to remind yourself sometimes, despite your first response being to help.
Earlier this week, I watched a Buzzfeed video that really got me thinking about a responsibility that I had grown so accustomed to, I did it without a second thought. The video named, “When Your Parents Speak Broken English,” really hit home for me, and I'm sure it did for a lot of other people. The video reminded me that its actually something that’s somewhat common. I'm not the only person in the United States that has to translate for their parents. I'm not the only person that has immigrant parents that do not speak English. Its just something that we never openly speak about. Why? Is it because we’re ashamed about it? No. Its simply something that we grew up doing that we just don’t think about it in a manner that’s out of the ordinary.
The video had people talking about their experiences and thoughts when translating for their parents. I felt myself tear up at some point as one of the girls talked about her mother being yelled at, and she stood there, having to translate everything while afraid of what may happen. I teared up because it made me think of all the times I had to translate for my parents and understood too well what it meant. I remember dreading sometimes having to translate for my parents when it came to important papers. I remember the numerous times I had anxiety as a child because I knew that if I translated something incorrectly, it could possibly create more trouble and problems for my parents. It was an immense pressure needing to translate for my parents. I was especially afraid to answer the phone, and dreaded when they would call me to talk to someone over the phone. I had an accent too, sometimes they couldn’t understand me either and it was a helpless feeling of, “ What do I do?”
At the same time however, it made me think that, that was the exact reason why its important they hear it from me. That’s why I needed to get better and learn English. Not for me, but for them so I can better help them. I wanted to be the one to translate for them because I would be able to talk to them and explain properly. Yet, I also remember the relief we would all feel if we ever walked into an office or called in somewhere and the question “ Hablan Espanol?” ( Do you speak Spanish?) would be answered with a “ Yes!”
Growing up in Southern California, it was easier to get along with people and translating wasn’t as stressful because one way or another we would find someone that spoke Spanish. At some point I quit helping my parents because I thought I wasn’t good enough to translate. I thought that after learning English and having excelled in it, I no longer was able to speak proper Spanish. I thought that my Spanish was too horrible properly be able to translate. I would panic when I came to a word that I had forgotten in Spanish. I would feel ashamed and embarrassed of myself for not being able to translate. My parents saw this, and somehow found ways around it. It all changed however, when my family picked up everything and moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Hardly anyone spoke Spanish there. Again, it became my responsibility to translate for them.
Within my first couple of weeks in Maryland I found out just how much they needed me to help. I thought that here, no one else would be able to help if I didn’t. Here, I learned that translation was an intricate skill. It wasn’t an easy task of simply repeating what someone said in another language, it was more than that. Because while translating, you had to have a sort of way to reassure the person. They didn’t understand the language and often not, didn’t know what was going on. Explaining and reassuring is not a simple task. For example, standing in a hospital and having to translate for someone especially if they are close to you is not something everyone can do. Yet, it is still something many have had to do.
In this state, people didn’t see the importance of having the need to translate because they didn’t need to worry about ‘those’ people. It wasn’t that they didn’t need people to translate because there weren’t any immigrants in the area. It was the sad fact that they didn’t need it because the immigrants actively avoided going unless absolutely necessary. Unless they found someone to translate for them. For this reason, I grew proud of being able to help my parents. But at the same time, being 15 it broke my heart when my parents realized the responsibility it put upon me.
When someone you care deeply about looks at you sand says, “I am sorry you have to do this. I am sorry you have to deal with this. I am sorry I cannot do it for myself. I am sorry I am your parent,” you feel the pain and embarrassment they feel. You understand how difficult it is for them and have to reassure them that they’re wrong. You think, “That’s not right at all! I am HAPPY that you are MY parent. I am proud of who you are.” It’s something that I’m sure most children of immigrant parents have gone through one way or another.
It’s experiences like these that we constantly go through and it becomes an important part of our lives. It helps in building who we are and teaches us to look at things differently. I am no longer afraid to attempt to help someone when they need help translating something. I try my best to make sure they understand. If I see that a stranger needs help, I will translate for them without a second thought. Seeing the relief on their face sends me back to the relief my parents would have when they understood what something meant, and I wished there was someone for them to help when I wasn’t able to.
For myself and for many others, it’s just a normal part of our lives now. I’m sure it’s also something not limited only here in the United States, but everywhere in the world. We each have our own experiences thanks to it. We are proud to say we’re bilingual, trilingual, multilingual, and I’ll gladly translate for my family. Its hard sometimes, but at the end of the day we wouldn’t change anything. We wouldn’t wish things were different.
Today, I am proud to say, “ My name is Nemesis. He is my father. Today I will be translating for him. Papa, tienes algunas preguntas le quieres preguntar?”
