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The Vancouver Games will be the first Olympics to offer play-by-play in several of Canada’s native languages. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Abel Charles, the Cree commentator for the Canada’s Aboriginal People’s Television Network.

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MARCO WERMAN: The Olympics will be watched by billions of TV viewers around the globe.  The broadcast will obviously be in dozens of languages as well.  But the Vancouver games will be the first Olympics to offer play-by-play in several of Canada’s native languages.  We’re talking Cree, Mohawk, Inuktitut, Ojibwa, Mi’kmaq, Dene, Michif, and Oji-Cree.  Able Charles is the Cree commentator for Canada’s aboriginal people’s television network and Able Charles, let’s be clear here.  This isn’t a translation dub.  You aren’t translating what English commentators are saying, you are doing the color and play-by-play of these events in Cree, right?

ABLE CHARLES: Yes it’s not a translation job, I’m not going in there translating any language, I’m going in there observing the action, and describing what’s happening.  You know this is my perception, you know how I see it and that’s the way I’m going to call it in my language.

MARCO: What events will you be commentating on?

ABLE: Well, beginning this evening I will be doing the opening ceremonies.  Later on, as a matter of fact tomorrow and I hear it’s a go; I will be covering the ladies moguls.  And of course after that I have the ladies aerials and women’s downhill, and the closing ceremonies.

MARCO: So if you’re doing the color commentary for the ladies aerials, there’s this thing called slapback which is when a jumper overcompensates on landing and they go to their back before standing up and skiing to a stop. How do you deal with a phrase like slapback?  How would you translate that into the Cree language if you’ve got to like say it on the spot?

ABLE: It’s [CREE] .

MARCO: What if you’re stumped, Able?  Is there like an academy for Cree languages that you can turn to for vocabulary help?

ABLE: We have sat down with the Cree linguists, the elderly people, other broadcasters that speak Cree and we have come up with a glossary of sport Olympic terms.

MARCO: What is going to be the toughest part of this gig for you?

ABLE: I think the toughest part for me is the time frame, because it takes considerably longer to describe something in the Cree language.  Like back home if there’s a commercial, English is given 30 seconds I am given 60 seconds because you know we have found that it, I mean it will take me longer to describe something to a voice that ad.  And same with the Olympics.  It’s going to take a little longer.

MARCO: How many people in Canada speak Cree?

ABLE: Probably a hundred thousand.

MARCO: Mm.

ABLE: I mean they’re mainly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba.   Mainly we have Ol G Cree in Ontario there is some James P Cree and goback but they’re mainly concentrated in the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba.

MARCO: There are no aboriginal Canadian athletes in these winter games.  Are you convinced that there’s going to be a large viewship for the aboriginal people’s television network and what you’re going to be doing in Cree?

ABLE: I believe there’s going to be a lot of viewers.  The older generation are the ones that are going to be viewing the Olympics you know when it’s broadcast in the languages, in the aboriginal languages.  The younger generation is also going to be beside those older people then hopefully they will get a stronger sense of identity and that they, you know they get a sense that their language is important.

MARCO: That would be pretty cool.  Who is your favorite?  Do you have any favorites?  I mean everybody is looking at the women’s downhill and thinking the American Linsey Vaughn but do you have any stars you’re looking out for?

ABLE: I looking at Jennifer Heil was my favorite.  He’s also a skier, or she’s also a skier yeah.  We are hoping he will…

MARCO: She will, she will.

ABLE: Yeah.  I also have that problem with gender differentiation because…

MARCO: Oh really?

ABLE: … we don’t have that in Cree like he or she.

MARCO: Oh interesting.

ABLE: And I think always like I mean I’ve always had that he or she like, but she’s expected to may be on the podium, Jennifer Heil so that she’s my favorite.

MARCO: And she’s Canadian.

ABLE: She’s Canadian, yeah.

MARCO: All right.  Well Jennifer Heil along with all of the athletes have obviously been training hard for the games but you’ve also been training as well Able.  You’ve actually been doing mock play-by-plays for months now.  So imagine you’re watching Jennifer Heil, give us the mock rush of adrenaline please.

ABLE: [CREE]

MARCO: Thank you very much.

ABLE: Okay.  [CREE]  Thank you.

MARCO: Able Charles is a play-by-play commentator for Canada’s aboriginal people’s television network.  He’ll be covering tonight’s Olympic opening ceremonies in his native language, Cree.

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