More Than Words: Laura Burian, Miguel Garcia and Barry Olsen at TEDxMonterey

Can you distinguish language translation from language interpretation? In what may be the first ever tri-lingual TEDx talk, Luara Burian, Barry Olsen, and Miguel Garcia demonstrate the power of human cognition as they explain the subtle but important differences between professional translators and interpreters with assistance from Weihao Zhang (Chinese) and Beatriz Rodriguez (Spanish).

Laura Burian is Associate Professor of simultaneous and consecutive interpretation of Chinese and English at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She has worked as an in-house translator, interpreter, and legal assistant in the Beijing office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and freelanced as both a translator and interpreter in the US, mainland China, and Taiwan.
Barry Olsen is Assistant Professor of simultaneous and consecutive interpretation of Spanish and Russian at the Monterey Institute and has been working as a conference interpreter and translator since 1993. Over the years he has interpreted for the U.S. State Department, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States, National Geographic Society, C-SPAN Television, and many other public and private sector clients.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)