The Linguist

I love a good detective noir, so it was a joy to research our article on dual- language Welsh drama (p.8). The language choices the creators make are fascinating. Hidden producer Hannah Thomas told me that she sometimes makes changes to the subtitles prior to broadcast because the translators "lose some of the subtlety that I know exists in the dialogue". Lucy Harford outlines some of the challenges subtitlers face, and why it can be hard to pick up on such nuances, while making the case for more collaborative working practices in the industry (p.12). Marking Women in Translation month can be challenging for a 36-page bimonthly publication, especially as most of our readers are not literary translators. It raises a question the Editorial Board considers regularly: how many of our articles should be of direct practical relevance to our readers and how many should be of broader interest within the language industries? (Answers on a postcard please: linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk.) Few translators will ever get an assignment like Annie Rutherford's (p.18) in which she introduced accents to her translation of a novel set in Scotland. And yet her article about it will be engaging even for those with only a passing interest in cross-cultural communication. It certainly seems a good way to celebrate Women in Translation and the authorship of women translators. I am always pleased to hear from readers, so it has been wonderful to receive emails from many of you recently. Get in touch also if you'd like to share your 'caught reading' selfies or be featured in 'A life with languages' (p.29). Miranda Moore 4 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com NEWS & EDITORIAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S NOTES Over the last six months we've been doing quite a lot of work, workshops and thinking about our future with Council, Educational Trust Board members and others. Ten clear things which have come out of this are: 1 We are ambitious for the future. 2 We value the Royal Chart er – for many the charter is one of the defining reasons we choose to be part of CIOL. 3 The Royal Charter encapsulates our collective purpose: • To contribute towards international goodwill by encouraging the effective study and practice of languages. • To promote the exchange and dissemination of information on matters of interest to linguists and those interested in the study of languages. • To provide means of recognising those who are qualified as linguists in the professions, the arts, the sciences, industry, trade and commerce. 4 We are open to a broader membership – the translator/interpreter community is still our central concern but there is openness towards membership, associateship and affiliates in more sectors and more job roles than we currently actively promote. 5 We want to maintain high standards for membership – high standards must be part of our core identity and 'brand'. It was felt that the award of Chartered status needs to be at least as searching in its requirements as it is today (and perhaps more so). 6 There may be scope to streamline and simplify membership processes to enable more linguists to join, and to make it clearer how to progress through to the professional grades and ultimately Chartered status. 7 We also stand for very high quality qualifications – the 'gold standard' and predominant focus for our qualifications are those for professional linguists who use languages in their careers and working lives. 8 We want to do more to support early career linguists – there is a collective desire to offer more at the recent graduate/early career transition stage. People leaving university or starting work in public services, the armed forces and business need qualification options to convert useful linguistic competence into professionally valuable credentials which unlock jobs and work. 9 We seek to be a reliable partner and a confident and generous 'brand' – people and organisations come to and look to CIOL for insight, advice and expertise because we know how to respect a confidence and we work for the common good. Building our reputation and good standing will further enable us to convene, shape and influence policy for the good of all. 10 The world is our oyster for CIOL's future! Overall, there's a real sense of optimism and positive energy despite the pandemic. Online delivery of our qualifications, a successful online CIOL Conference, more online CPD, plus Technology for Translators week all mean we are well placed to turn the page on a uniquely difficult chapter in our 110 year history. It feels like there are better days ahead. I hope you enjoy another great issue of The Linguist. John Worne EDITOR'S LETTER Share your views: linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk

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