I know that.

It seems the whole nation has something to say about Venus Raj, and that includes me.

I see the girl as elegant, beautiful and confident. In my book, she should have gotten the title of Ms. Universe had she answered the question in a slightly different manner.

This is the first time I've watched the Ms. Universe contest in about twenty five years.  Beauty contests are no big deal in Canada and the U.S.A.  

But I'm here in Manila and instead of watching more news of the Quirino Grandstand carnage, I opted to see beautiful women. 

Yes, Venus should have used an interpreter.  Why?

English is not her first language.  It is her third language. Her first dialect/language is Bicolano, second, Tagalog, and third, English.

So when the question was read to her and before she answered, she did some translation in her mind - English to Bicolano, then Bicolano to English.  That will take several seconds.

Her enunciation or pronunciation was great; she was easily understood.

If she used an interpreter/translator, she would have gained more time (first, she already understood the question read in English, second, she could already have formulated the answer by the time the translator read the question in her native dialect).

If she used an interpreter/translator, she would have blurted out the answer in 

Bicolano, not worrying about grammar or use of adjectives or nouns,  Then the interpreter/translator would have used the right adjectives, adverbs, whatever else is needed.

I had several experiences interpreting for Filipinos while working in Toronto.  In my first job in Canada, I was called one time to interpret/translate for a young Pinoy who was a client of Goodwill Industries.  The teen suffered from mental disorder and was being rehabilitated and placed for employment.  His counsellor sought an interpreter to understand him much better, so he could be given better intervention.

In a second place of work, we had a unit called Interpretation Services.  This unit did interpretation for immigrants and new Canadians.  I did several interpretation assignments for this organization.  I remember interpreting for an old Pinay who was being interviewed/assessed in a hospital.  Again, the interpretation service was very vital because the interview/assessment was the basis for medical care she would receive later. 

Although Filipinos are more fluent in English than most immigrants or citizens of other non-native English speaking countries, some Pinoys still need interpreters/translators to be better understood.

In the Ontario province, immigrant tradespeople (skilled labour) who are going to take the certificate of qualification exam to be accepted into their trade are allowed to bring an interpreter during the exam, provided the interpreter is not a tradesperson (e.g not an electrician, nor a millwright, etc).

Having an interpreter in crucial moments is a must.

Remember Mr. Gorbachev, a former Prime Minister of Russia and husband of Raisa Gorbachev?  

He visited the U.S. just when Russia was opening up to the West and the Americans were amazed and ultimately loved him because he gave such beautiful speeches and answers to interviews using an interpreter. President Ronald Reagan who wore a hearing aid heard every bit of word he said.