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/1379045
6 The Linguist Vol/60 No/3 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com NEWS & EDITORIAL In the media PHILIP HARDING-ESCH Language policy continued to generate controversy this spring. The Financial Times reported that "new post-Brexit regulations tighten recruitment of assistants and raise costs", with examples of long-standing arrangements being severely disrupted. The implementation of the new Turing scheme in the place of Erasmus+ made headlines. Schoolsweek reported that "funding set aside for overseas trips [has been] slashed by two thirds" under Turing, and that "schools will be the biggest losers" as universities take the lion's share of funding due to unclear guidelines. FE Week's comparison of the schemes identified opportunities gained (such as new destinations) and lost (no funding for staff or collaborative projects). The SNP's campaign to rejoin Erasmus+ in Scotland was covered by the BBC, while The Independent looked at Wales's £65 million commitment to plug the gaps left by Erasmus over several years. In England, the government announced a major reform of the language GCSE. "Pupils will be 'expected to know' up to 1,700 different words" based on frequency, according to Schoolsweek, though consultation on the reforms is ongoing. The TES picked up on the government's confirmation that it will not reverse "dramatic cuts" to bursaries for trainee languages teachers, as well as the ongoing issue of community language exams being withdrawn for the second year running for many thousands of "devastated" students. More positively, the TES shared results of a Cambridge University study showing that secondary language pupil "interventions" about the value of languages improve attitudes towards the subject. Researchers called for this approach to be integrated into the curriculum to boost uptake. iNews followed the under-reported news that "deaf people will no longer be excluded from jury service," as new rules will allow "sign language interpreters inside jury rooms for the first time". Philip Harding-Esch is a freelance languages project manager and consultant. Francophones fail French test Translation hub for N Ireland A translation hub for Irish and Ulster-Scots has been launched by the devolved government of Northern Ireland. A commitment of the 2020 New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) agreement, it will provide translation services for the Executive's departments and public bodies. The NDNA also includes provision for new Irish language laws, stipulating that a strategy should be produced within six months. Conradh na Gaeilge (CnaG), an Irish language campaign group, is now taking the government to court over its failure to deliver on this promise after 14 months, claiming it has "little other choice". Concerns have been raised about Quebec's French proficiency test for migrants after a native French speaker failed the exam. Truck driver Yohan Flaman from Limoges, France, was not the first Francophone to be denied permanent residency status on this basis. In 2019, French PhD student Emilie Dubois was told her language skills were inadequate. This comes as the Quebecois government U-turned on a language policy that would have forced hundreds of temporary workers and overseas students to leave Canada. The UK government is being challenged over its continued failure to provide British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting at its Covid-19 briefings, despite spending £2.6 million on a new press room. Shadow Minister for Disabled People Vicky Foxcroft became the first MP to use BSL during Prime Minister's Questions as she signed: "Why no interpreter in-room briefings, why is this not sorted?" Around 300 Deaf citizens have brought three legal cases against the government. PM under fire over briefings A study has found that multilingual people acquire new languages more easily than bilingual people. This provides neuroscientific evidence for the hypothesis that through learning three or more languages, the brain learns how to acquire languages in general. Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), researchers studied the brain activity of 21 bilingual and 28 multilingual native Japanese speakers as they tried to decipher grammar rules in an unknown language (Kazakh). The multilingual participants did better in the tasks and there were notable differences in their brain activity. This supports the cumulative-enhancement model, which states that language acquisition is additive. cutt.ly/Umejima_et_al Multilinguals 'learn quicker' TRANSLATING WHALE SONG Researchers at Texas A&M University have created a corpus of sperm whale vocalisations and believe they will soon be able to decipher their complex communication system using artificial intelligence and machine translation. © SHUTTERSTOCK 'NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY', AARON MCCRACKEN/HARRISONS VIA FLICKR (CC BY-ND 2.0)