Lungiswa Ngaphi, the woman who has captured the nation's imagination through her linguistic prowess in the sexual harassment inquiry involving a judge, is now looking at furthering her career beyond describing emojis.
The poker-faced Ngaphi has become the latest internet sensation as the isiXhosa-English interpreter at a tribunal where Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge stands accused of sexually harassing his junior staff member Andiswa Mengo.
While the lewd and sometime pornographic details of the interactions between Mbenenge and his accuser have shocked the country, it is Ngaphi's translation and interpretations expertise which, at times, came across as cringeworthy to Xhosa speakers, that also got the public's attention.
When Sowetan met her at her house in Randburg, northern Joburg, on Thursday, she was getting ready to go to her sixth media interview since the Mbenenge case was postponed last week.
Ngaphi's creativity in inventing words and phrases to describe things like emojis, which previously did not have a direct interpretation in vernacular, has now made Ngaphi become known as usisi wonodolazana, which loosely means "the lady of the dolls".
"In my profession we deal with people's lives. My job is to make sure that my interpretation is as close as possible to what the source was trying to convey to the receiver. The oath I took says I can't discuss the cases I'm sitting on, I can't add or omit information when I translate because I can be accused of taking sides when I try to sugarcoat crude language," she explained.
In Mbenenge's case, Ngaphi was compelled to use a crude word to refer to the judge's private parts, which some people on social media found to be distasteful.
She related to Sowetan how she received a call from her aunt in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, after she used the p-word and sh*t during her translation at Mbenenge's case.
"My aunt said she had been watching the proceedings on TV with my grandmother and once I said those two words my grandmother apparently got up and left the room pretending to be going to take a shower," she explained while laughing.
"In that situation the language that the accuser and the respondent were using between themselves was at times very raw. If I were to sugarcoat it, I would have been scrutinised for being sympathetic towards one of the characters in the matter. I had to protect my integrity and my profession and not misrepresent the truth," she added.
Ngaphi, who is turning 45 years old next month, got into court interpretation out of desperation for a stable job as her qualification in broadcasting was not taking shape. She was hired as a switchboard operator at a magistrate's court in Gqeberha in 2004, and within nine months she was hired to be a court interpreter at the same court.
"I love it. It allowed me to learn more about languages through reading more and develop my own terminology," she said.
While the Mbenenge case is currently casting a spotlight on her, Ngaphi said a case of six-year-old rape victim who was raped for 16-hours in Gqeberha was a big turning point in her life.
"I was interpreting for this little girl and the magistrate asked her what she would like to say to her rapists, and she said: 'I want to forgive you but it's hard.' I felt sick to my stomach and I could not carry on. For the first time in my career I asked the judge to excuse me," she said.
"That case triggered me to a point where I thought about my own rape ordeal when I was a child. That anger propelled me to complete my autobiography, which I had been ignoring," explained Ngaphi.
She said through her work, she has learnt emotional intelligence, patience and the ability to listen to understand.
Despite the attention she is currently getting from social media and the media in general, Ngaphi said she had decided to embark on a career in law and has now enrolled for a law degree which she starts next month.
"I have what it takes. I've sat through many cases and I understand many case laws. I'm aiming high, I want to be an advocate in civil law and build a practice and a legacy for my family," she said.
Passionate about language, Ngaphi said one of her dreams is to see interpreters being deployed at police stations to take statements.
"Nothing annoys me like when a police officer has to be called in court to testify about a statement they had taken down in English and when they are asked about it they say parts of it is not what they meant when they were writing it."
This article was updated to correct Ngaphi's age.
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