Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
By听Bernadette Clinton
As the speaking element is removed from the 2021 GCSE, will Year 10s be taught any speaking skills at all?
The closure of UK schools to all but the children of key workers and vulnerable children has had a major impact on the lives and learning of our young people. While many schools worked hard to provide online learning and a phased return for some year...
听
When Patch Magtanong failed to win Miss International 2019, fans in her native country were quick to blame the interpreter, who was accused of omitting parts of the Filipino contestant鈥檚 final speech. Trained to be 鈥榠nvisible鈥� conduits for communication, interpreters suddenly find themselves in the spotlight when working at the 鈥楤ig Four鈥� pageants (Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss...
By Jonathan Downie
Should interpreters adopt the marketing approaches of automated interpreting devices, asks Jonathan Downie.
鈥淚magine being able to snap your fingers and become fluent in twenty languages.鈥� That may well be the dream. It is also the first line of an advert for a device that claims to be able to deliver 鈥減rofessional grade translation鈥� by going 鈥渁 step further鈥�...
By听Michael O鈥橪aughlin
I work as an expert witness in the courts of Massachusetts, USA. I am in demand because I have found a niche in which language issues come quickly to the fore. I was a court interpreter for most of my life, and I am also the Director of Interpreter Training at Boston University. I realised that I could combine my interpreter experience, academic position and...
By听Jessica Oppedisano
With the success of on-demand platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, audiovisual translation (AVT) is gaining more and more visibility. Big companies that plan to release their shows on a global scale have to pay attention to the quality of the translations and to the working conditions of their translators. However, translating for these big platforms covers...
听
In a small computer room with Mexican-style artwork adorning the walls and Frida Kahlo-inspired cushions softening the benches, Lucy is talking about volunteering at a hispanic nursery while studying for her Spanish A-level. 鈥淚 went every Saturday morning last term,鈥� says the 17-year-old student at Channing School in North London. 鈥淚t was really cool to be able to practise speaking...
By听Magdalena Bart艂omiejczyk
In Jonas Jonasson鈥檚 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, the Swedish protagonist, Allan Karlsson, ends up in Moscow having dinner with Stalin. As well as the dictator, his two cronies and Allan, at the table sits 鈥渁 little, almost invisible young man without a name and without anything either to eat or to drink鈥�: the...
听
In the under-representative world of publishing, can a mentorship for a minority ethnic translator make a difference, asks Miranda Moore
It has been five years since journalist Danuta Kean published a report on the severe underrepresentation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the British literary industry. In addition to a legacy of 鈥渨hite male elitism鈥� that...
By听Erwin La Cruz
Do measures that pit machine translation against human interpreters give an accurate picture, asks Erwin La Cruz
The fight for translation supremacy between machines and humans rages on. The reports from the front line are delivered in code: LEPOR 0.68, NIST 0.56, BLEU 0.46, METEOR 0.56, WER 0.39. These acronyms are translation quality evaluation metrics. These...
听
Fuschia Hutton and mentor Oliver Lawrence outline the benefits of 好色tv鈥檚 mentoring scheme from both sides
好色tv launched its mentoring programme, through which seasoned translators and interpreters share their knowledge to help less experienced linguists reach their full potential, at Members鈥� Day 2018. Mentees can choose mentors according to the skills and expertise they most...