So there we are at this week’s summit of leaders from the continents of North and South America and one of the statesmen present is on the podium, in full flow, on the subject of whether his oratory is sometimes misunderstood.

“Was I great when I spoke to [Vladimir] Putin today?” he declares. “Was I great when I spoke to [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]… but if the interpreter isn’t speaking right, or is weak, or is ineffective, or is not good, or is not interpreting your words correctly…erm…in one case we had an interpreter who, when she disagreed with what we were saying, she actually changed it… no, the interpreter is… I talk about it all the time… interpreters are really important.

When you don’t speak the language, and they don’t speak the language, people have no idea how valuable… and I’m on them all the time… people have no idea how valuable an interpreter is.”

No prizes for guessing the author of this blinding shaft of perception, this verbatim exposition of the fact that, in order to communicate effectively with someone who doesn’t speak your language, it’s necessary to employ someone who is able to translate your words. It is, as I am sure you........

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