The Linguist

30 The Linguist Vol/61 No/3 2022 INSTITUTE MATTERS armed forces, police and security services is testimony to the importance of real people making a crucial difference with their language skills. Against this background, you may be wondering why this talk is called 'Positive about Languages'. Well, I'm about to hit you with an impressive list of facts, figures and recent research findings, which I'm sure will make you proud and positively evangelical about languages and linguists. Here it comes, in no particular order: 1 I met with the new Schools Minister recently and he made it very clear that he regards modern languages in schools as a "most urgent priority". 2 If you take a year abroad as part of your degree, whether you're a linguist or not, it is 19% more likely that you'll get a First. 3 That crucial year abroad again: people who take it are 23% less likely to be unemployed after graduation. 4 This is all because employers consistently say how much they value graduates who have had some international and cross- cultural experience. One study in the US found that employers rated language skills and an international, cross-cultural mindset as even more important than expertise in STEM subjects. 5 The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that five years after graduation, the median earnings of modern language graduates is well into the top half of the earnings table – higher than graduates in law, biological and physical sciences, business and psychology. 6 Thanks to lobbying by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages and others, the government has now included all MFL teachers on the Shortage Occupations List for immigration purposes. Previously, only teachers of Mandarin were on the list. I think it should also include Language positivity CIOL Vice-President Baroness Jean Coussins offers a short version of her keynote speech to Conference, 'Positive about Languages – Why there has never been a better time to be a linguist' public service interpreters, but that's a battle I've yet to win. 7 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has recently announced a full and independent review of the standards and qualifications that should be required of interpreters in our courts and tribunals. This came about as a result of discussions I had with the government in the context of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. It will, I hope, result in clarity, higher standards – which will squeeze out unqualified so-called interpreters – and greater recognition of the highly specialised and professional work that public service interpreters do. 8 Groundbreaking research was published by Cambridge University in January on the economic value to the UK of learning and using other languages, with the headline finding that if more people learnt Arabic, French, Mandarin and Spanish, we could increase UK exports by £19 billion a year. 9 The language centre at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office now provides training in 86 languages and the Defence Academy for Language and Culture in 40. Our ambassadors abroad are frequently complimented on the language skills of our embassy staff at all levels, and the UK has acquired a good reputation for our language competence when in post. The armed forces and Metropolitan Police now require language skills for promotion. 10 Smart businesses which promote and make use of language skills have achieved a 43% higher export to turnover ratio. 11 And finally, I can't resist including the fact that we now know for sure that languages are good for your health. Robust research from Edinburgh University has shown that learning and using another language can delay the onset of Alzheimer's and The strategic importance of linguists goes largely unnoticed and unsung, despite being so vital. Other disciplines, such as classics, science and history, have thrown up high- profile media figures and glossy, popular TV programmes. But there are no TV linguists to help fire up the interest of the next generation in learning a language. I think that's because language, and the cultural knowledge that goes with it, is not only an academic and intellectual discipline in its own right, but is also a vital enabling ingredient running through all other disciplines. So people don't quite know where to place languages and they become, or remain, invisible and taken for granted. Some people think that now that we can turn to Google Translate we needn't bother to learn any languages ourselves, because a machine will do the job. And some think that everyone speaks English anyway, so what's the point of making an effort? You, of all people, don't need telling that these are dangerous myths. In the 21st century, English – important though it is – is not enough. Speaking only English is as much of a disadvantage as speaking no English. In fact, only 6% of the world's population are native English speakers and 75% speak no English at all. The amount of internet content in English is declining, with Mandarin increasing rapidly. Arabic is the most used language across all social media platforms. There are more blogs in Japanese than in English. And French and German still regularly come top of UK employers' skill-set wish lists. As for machine translation, while it undoubtedly has its place, it can never replace humans when it comes to nuance, cultural sensitivity and complex understanding or meaning. The excellent language training by the diplomatic service,

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