The Linguist

Jawohl! Germans Want to Make English an Official Public Sector Language to Attract More Foreign Workers, 7/7/22 The pro-business Free Democrats say bureaucrats should be forced to become Anglophone. Education minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger said a lack of German language skills was "a very big hurdle" in encouraging skilled workers to move there. "The signal must be that we are an immigration country," she said. @CIOL_Linguists Posters with Messages Written in Secret LGBT Language Pop Up in Tube Stations, 28/6/22 Homosexuality was illegal in England and Wales until 1967, forcing the community underground. Up until about the 1970s, Polari – a language "made up of Italianate phrases, rhyming slang and cant terms" – was in usage in the capital's secret gay scene. Polari was first developed in the 1700s and 1800s by vagrants, circus performers, sailors and travellers. TfL has put posters up with messages written in the slang as part of its campaign to celebrate 50 years of Pride. What the papers say… Russia's Sami Fight to Save Their Language and Traditions: Photo essay, 7/7/22 The Sami of Russia lost their nomadic autonomy with the rise of Soviet power… They were prohibited from speaking their language or wearing traditional clothes, and their numbers depleted as a result. Today, there are 1,500 Samis in Russia, and only 200 are able to speak the language… Activist Roman learned the Sami language in two years to write a dictionary of the Kildin dialect to fill in the gaps in phonetics. But the transcription of certain sounds has still not been officially recognised. The latest from the languages world International engagement declines for language pupils in England, a new report finds Schools lose connection There has been a decrease in international engagement in schools across England, according to a new report. The 2022 Language Trends survey revealed a further fall in overseas connections this year following a downward trend since 2018. Nearly half (45%) of state secondary schools said they have no international engagement, compared with 11% in 2018. Only 19% of primary schools have a partner school abroad, down from 35% in 2018, with 66% reporting no international connections at all. Although the picture is better at private schools, almost 20% of independent secondaries have no contact with schools abroad, compared with 3% pre-pandemic. "Our survey highlights the impact that Covid-19 still has on the teaching and learning of languages and shows that the past couple of years have been extremely challenging for schools. It is vital that schools prioritise language learning and re-establish connections with national and international schools and universities," said Vicky Gough, Schools Adviser for the British Council, which commissioned the report. However, there were indications that school languages are NEWS & EDITORIAL beginning to recover following the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Last year, participating schools stated that the greatest challenges to meeting national curriculum requirements for languages were Covid restrictions and the need to use curriculum time to 'catch-up' in other subjects following the pandemic. These issues are now considered less significant than problems with staff language proficiency and insufficient curriculum time in general. The survey, which has been conducted annually for 20 years, received more than 1,500 responses. Other findings include a sustained decline in collaboration between primary and secondary schools since 2014 and a continued increase in the take-up of Spanish, which is set to overtake French as the most popular GCSE language by 2026. Although language GCSE entries are no longer in decline, the government target of 75% of pupils studying Ebacc subjects by 2022 is set to be missed due to the relatively low take-up of languages. Pass rates for the other Ebacc subjects (English, maths, science and geography or history) are all on track. tinyurl.com/LangTrends22 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 5 © SHUTTERSTOCK

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