Oath Taken by an Interpreter in Yakutsk in the 17th Century

Abstract

This article raises the question about job functions and the range of duties performed by a special category of serving people in Siberia called interpreters. The analysis is based on a sample text of the oath intended to a servant, who is appointed to work as an interpreter in the Yakutsk region. The oath procedure looks as follows: the service person verbally swore honestly faithfully discharge the duties and then had to kiss the cross. This document significantly supplements the traditional range of sources used by historians to study cross-cultural and interlanguage communication as part of the process of colonization of Siberia. The text of oath is dated 1665/1666 and contains a mention of the voivode of the Yakut town. It clearly demonstrates the full breadth of duties of the Siberian interpreter. Description of his work includes military, fiscal (collecting fur tribute) and intermediary functions in various communicative situations. The role and importance of the translation service appear to be especially vital because of their responsibility for the adequacy of the translation of Russian messages to foreigners and vice versa.