International conflicts are sometimes surrounded by translation problems. The Winter Olympics in Sochi start in February 2014. At the moment, however, pressure on the IOC and Russia is increasing. The Russian government is being criticized for controversial anti-gay laws.
It is not clear whether the anti-gay laws will be in effect during the Winter Olympics. IOC President Jacques Rogge first requested more clarity after reading an English translation of the Russian laws.
In an attempt to reassure the IOC, The Russian goverment sent Rogge documents. Some parts of that text were too unclear for officials to form an opinion.
“This is about a couple of paragraphs – we don’t understand all the details because of probably a difficulty in translation,” said Rogge. “We don’t think it is a fundamental issue, more of a translation issue.”
The IOC is currently waiting for more information from the Russian government. “Too many things remain unclear in the text,” said Rogge.
Sounds like a challenging job – an Olympic translation – for any translator English-Russian!