2019 was the Unesco International Year
of Indigenous Languages, with more than
800 events supporting and promoting
indigenous languages worldwide.
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Jodie Comer returned to her role as the
psychopathic killer – and skilled linguist –
Villanelle in the second series of Killing Eve
on BBC One. Although she impressed
viewers with her "flawless" pronunciation
of multiple languages and regional accents,
she admitted in interview that she had lied
about her language abilities to get the job.
A level language entries in England and
Wales showed a slight increase (less than 1%)
after more than a decade's decline. Spanish
became the qualification's most popular
language as French entries dropped again.
The British Sign Language (BSL) version of
grime artist Stormzy's set at Glastonbury
went viral in June. The interpreter, Tara
Asher, explained that BSL interpreters at the
festival
do not have access to set lists and
therefore have to prepare all the songs a
musician is likely to play. Each song takes a
day to get right but they are not paid for this
work, volunteering through DeafZone.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
added several words from the Star
Wars
universe in October ahead of
the release of The Rise of Skywalker
(the final episode in the Skywalker
saga). They include 'lightsabre', 'Jedi',
'Padawan', 'the Force' and 'Jedi mind
trick', a term that was first used in
The Return of the Jedi (1983).
Words are added to the dictionary
if there is evidence of their use
over a prolonged period.
The UK government was slammed for
"abandoning" the 50 Afghan military
interpreters it had promised to resettle. The
campaign for equal immigration rights for
Afghan and Iraqi linguists who have worked
with the British military continued.
FRANK
SCHWICHTENBERG
(CC
BY-SA
4.0)
COURTESY
LUCASFILMLTD
BBC/S ID GENTLE/S TEVE SCHOFIELD
