Volunteers to translate babel of equestrian events

How do you say 'going for gold' in Russian? Or Creole? Or Portuguese?

When the Olympic equestrian roadshow rides into town in August, teams from more than 40 countries, and spectators at the main venue in Sha Tin, are bound to use a cacophony of languages - from German, spoken by the competitors expected to dominate the medal tally, to Russian, spoken by those with a less established equestrian profile.

To prevent any lost-in-translation moments, more than 400 volunteer translators will be on hand to help with everything from the finer points of equestrianism to navigating Hong Kong.

The city may be well known for its bilingualism, but Olympic organisers have compiled a lineup of interpreters impressive even by Hong Kong standards.

English, French and Putonghua are the only official languages of the 2008 Games, but 14 languages are spoken by the volunteers, including German, Spanish, Norwegian and Creole. Some translators speak as many as four languages.

Their backgrounds are as diverse as the tongues they speak, from secondary school students to housewives and dentists.

Judy Chan Heung-yue - head of international services for the local Olympics organisers, the Equestrian Company - said about 330 volunteers would work as Olympic or Paralympic assistants. At least two will be assigned to each of the 42 Olympic equestrian teams and 29 Paralympic teams to act as translators. They will work in shifts from 7am to 11pm.