The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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24 The Linguist Vol/57 No/6 2018 ciol.org.uk/tl REVIEWS Editorial Board Chair Lourdes Melcion One of my all-time favourites, this beautifully written story is set in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. First published in 1962, it is narrated by protagonist Natalia, who takes us on a personal journey evoking memories of the time she met her husband, the birth of her two children, the outbreak of the war, a second marriage, and the struggle to survive and recover a lost identity. What makes it special for me is the language used – simple and poetic, full of imagery and colour – which draws you into her world. A story of survival and transformation, it reflects the reality of the hundreds of women who had to endure the tragedy of war. Although I have read the book only in the original Catalan, it has been translated into English three times as The Pigeon Girl (1967), The Time of the Doves (1986) and, most recently, as In Diamond Square (2013). Edicions Bromera, 1996. ISBN 978-8476602348. £15.66 Editorial Board member Mary Frank When I first read The Diary of Anne Frank, I was the same age as its writer. It shook my comfortable teenage world. Anne's words frightened me, yet they were compelling. If circumstances had been different, it could have been me writing in that attic room. As I became fascinated with languages, the diary gained a further appeal. At first it had not even occurred to me that Anne was writing in Dutch, not English. Yet Anne spent her early childhood in Germany. How had she so easily acquired a second language? And how did the translation compare with her original words? I devoured translations into German, French and Italian. With every reading, I immersed myself more fully in Anne's world. Anne Frank has stayed with me ever since. I married into a Frank family and people ask if we are related. Although we are not, her experiences always put mine into perspective. Longman, 1993. ISBN 978-0582017368. £10.25 The Linguist team recommends the books related to language and crosscultural expression that have inspired, moved or touched them The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; translator Katherine Woods Stories of our lives Editorial Board member Jaquelina Guardamagna "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye" is one of the many phrases I remember from the book I loved reading in Spanish when I was a child, and that still amazes me as I share it with my kids in Woods' English version. The phrase resonates in 300 languages and conveys a significant philosophical message about life and human nature. The humble though meaningful tone used by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to describe the inability of adults to perceive what really matters in terms of relationships, the wit with which he criticises society's pitfalls from the eyes of a child, and a writing style that triggers curiosity, excitement, wonder, sadness and love within just a few pages, makes The Little Prince one of the books that has touched me most – a must-read for people of all ages. Egmont, 2017 ISBN 978-1405288194. £8.99 The Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank; translator Barbara Mooyaart-Doubleday La Plaça del Diamant Mercè Rodoreda