Student interpreter was, historically, an entry-level position in the British and American diplomatic and consular service, principally in China, Japan, Siam and, in the case of the United States, Turkey. It is no longer used as a title. A number of former student interpreters rose to senior diplomatic positions.

Britain

The British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

appointed student interpreters after the opening of China and Japan in the mid-19th Century to learn the language of either country with the goal of developing a consular corps fluent in the local languages. Consular officers were expected to remain in their chosen country for the rest of their career. Notable former British student interpreters include: * Sir Sidney Barton (1876-1946), British Minister to Ethiopia * Sir Frederick Samuel Augustus Bourne CMG (1854-1940), Assistant Judge of the

British Supreme Court for China and Japan The British Supreme Court for China (originally the British Supreme Court for China and Japan) was a court established in the Shanghai International Settlement to try cases against British subjects in China, Japan and Korea under the principles o ...

* Penrhyn Grant Jones CBE (1878-1945), Assistant Judge of the

Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, (20 February 1835 – 20 September 1911) was a British diplomat and official in the Qing Chinese government, serving as the second inspector-general of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service from 1863 to 1911. ...

(1835–1911), Inspector General of the Imperial Maritime Customs * Sir John Jordan (1852-1925), British Minister to China * Sir

Ernest Mason Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British diplomat, scholar and Japanologist. He is better known in Japan, where he was known as , than in Britain or the other countries in which he served as a diplomat. He was ...

(1843-1929), British Minister to China and Japan * Sir Hiram Shaw Wilkinson (1840-1926), Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Corea

United States

The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

made provision for 10 student interpreters in

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

, 6 in Tokyo and 10 in Turkey. They were required to study the language of the country with view to becoming interpreters to American diplomats and consular officials. Only unmarried male United States citizens between the ages of 19 and 26 were eligible to apply. Those who passed the exam were required to serve at least 5 years and were eligible for appointment to diplomatic and consular roles.Register of the Department of State, 1922, p214-5 Notable former America student interpreters include: * Nelson T. Johnson (1887-1954), United States Ambassador to China. * Norwood Allman (1893-1987), lawyer, mixed court assessor, newspaper editor, OSS and CIA operative

References

{{reflist Diplomats by role

Britain

United States

Further reading

References