Mr. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former Foreign Minister of Germany, assiduously promoted the use of languages in international discourse. In the opening ceremony of the 2009 AIIC Assembly in Nice (France), he became the first recipient of the AIIC Malintzin Prize in recognition of his advocacy of the right to speak the tongue we all speak best – our own.

By Luigi LUCCARELLI, Phil SMITH

AIIC created the Malintzin Prize in 2005 as an award to be given every three years to honor prominent individuals who have actively promoted the profession of conference interpreting. It is named after Malintzin – also known as Doña Marina – a Nahau woman who became the interpreter of Hernán Cortés after the Conquistadors arrived in Mexico. Malintzin was the first interpreter recorded in history and consequently AIIC has chosen her as a symbol of the transformation of this age-old activity into an internationally recognized profession.

Read the full article on AIIC’s website.

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