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
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/1189092
'Britons Don't Have to be Stubbornly Monolingual', 26/9/19 The UK's language deficiencies cost us 3.5 per cent of GDP, from lost contracts and unfilled positions. 'Global Britain' will be a cheap fallacy if we can't speak the languages of business and diplomacy in South America, China or sub-Saharan Africa… To be proficient in another language is to have a window into new worlds of culture and life. Of course it has various practical and economic benefits, not least for a country that has such profound links with the rest of the world. But the simple pleasure of addressing someone in their mother tongue remains priceless. @Linguist_CIOL 'GCHQ Marks 100 Years by Unveiling Details of Wartime Spy Work', 1/11/19 The spy agency GCHQ is celebrating its centenary on Friday by highlighting little- known wartime eavesdropping and decoding work that took place in five secret locations around the country, from the Kent cliffs to the Derbyshire countryside. That includes the dangerous work undertaken daily by about 50 linguists, many of whom were women, who listened in to shortwave German naval and airforce radio at Abbots Cliff House near Dover, a site exposed to enemy attack. 'Drivers Spend £500 to Cheat Minicab Test', 5/11/19 Most drivers take the assessments at one of eight official TfL testing centres. However, evidence of the map-reading and English assessments can also be accepted through other qualifications including BTECs, which are usually taken at private colleges… A college manager told undercover reporters that he had helped "over 300 students" to fraudulently gain the qualification. The latest from the languages world Agency rates come up short GCSE grading for modern foreign languages (MFL) will be adjusted to make it easier for pupils to get top marks, according to the exam regulator. Ofqual admitted that grading in French and German had been "too severe" for more than a decade, with only 23.7% of students in England receiving a 7-9 (equivalent to A-A*) in French this year compared to more than 40% in biology. Although Spanish pupils did only slightly better, with 26% getting a top NEWS & EDITORIAL grade, Ofqual said there was not "a sufficiently strong case" to adjust standards for Spanish. MFL teachers also raised concerns about the content of the new GCSEs. Announcing a government review to consider whether the content should be made more accessible, Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "Our reformed GCSEs are the gold standard, but we have listened to what teachers, parents and Ofqual have told us." DECEMBER/JANUARY The Linguist 5 Average rates of pay are considerably lower for linguists working with agencies, according to a new report on working practices and pay. The survey, published by CIOL in October, found that linguists earn just under £40 an hour on average, but this drops to £30 an hour for agency work. For those working with agencies in the UK, the average rate is even lower at £28 an hour. This is particularly important as the majority of survey respondents were self-employed. CIOL Insights provides "a snapshot of the languages professions in mid-2019, at a time of political and economic uncertainty in the UK". Of the 431 language professionals who took part, 56% were translators, 14% interpreters, 8.6% teachers/lecturers and 4.6% students. Concerns were raised about stagnating rates and increasing costs, with 75% reporting that their rates were roughly the same as they were a year ago. Language work was the primary source of income for only 67% of respondents, implying that up to a third rely on income from other work, whether "through choice or necessity". The report concluded that "the amalgamation of small agencies into 'mega-agencies' was seen as a negative in several responses and concomitant with 'downward pressure on prices, pressure to use machine translation, post-edit machine translation, unrealistic deadlines and a race to the bottom'." About a quarter reported undue pressure at work. ciol.org.uk/ciol-insights-languages-professions End of 'severe' GCSE grading? What the papers say… © SHUTTERSTOCK