The Linguist

The Linguist-Spring 2023

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

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10 The Linguist Vol/62 No/1 thelinguist.uberflip.com FEATURES How can translation awards for language learners inspire a new generation of linguists? Charlotte Ryland takes a look at the work of the Stephen Spender Prize W hat does it mean to be a linguist? The UK education system has been grappling with this question for a long time, and its failure to reach a constructive consensus is at the core of the massive decline in language learning in schools. At the Stephen Spender Trust we are confident in our answer, and in how our response can transform language learning for young people. To be a linguist is to develop a meaningful relationship with other cultures; to develop the skills necessary to access, enjoy and share those cultures. We believe that one particular activity is uniquely able to generate relationships of this kind: translation. Translation enables young learners to take an active role in other cultures – without leaving their classrooms. Our national competition for poetry translation, the Stephen Spender Prize, provides a dynamic structure for bringing this form of translation into classrooms across the UK. The prize was founded in 2004 in honour of the English poet Stephen Spender (1909- 95), who did much to promote translation and to create space for marginalised voices. Nearly 20 years later, we receive entries from primary school pupils, octogenarians and all generations in between, who translate poems from over 90 languages. The competition task is appealingly simple: to translate any poem from any language into English, and write a short commentary about the translation choices. The prize is judged by a panel of poets and translators – most recently the outstanding trio Khairani Barokka, Daljit Nagra and Samantha Schnee. Winners and commendees receive cash prizes and publication in our print and online booklets. Poetry translation shows young people what it is like to be a linguist in the here and now, rather than trying to sell them imagined futures. Telling pupils that learning this vocab list or that declension will enable them to travel/make friends abroad/have an exciting international career can only go so far in terms of motivation. But giving them the tools to be creative and collaborative with their languages right now – from primary school onwards – motivates both pupils and teachers. Our creative translation workshops, resources for teachers and the prize itself provide a focus for that motivating activity. They give young people access to high-quality contemporary and classic culture; bring language learning to life and give it immediate relevance and application; and inject much- needed creativity into an overly utilitarian school curriculum. Since I joined the Trust as Director in 2018, we have been working hard to ensure that these benefits are accessible to as many young people as possible. Unexpectedly, this access campaign was helped by the pandemic. When we had to cancel all in-school workshops during the first lockdown, we received a grant from Arts Council England to support our 'Virtual Creative Translation' programme. That summer we worked with poets and translators across the world to develop a huge range of virtual resources, including a series of live- illustrated poems ('Picturing Poetry'); an initiative that encouraged diaspora families to translate poetry together at home ('Poetry from Home'); worksheets and PowerPoints for teachers to use; and recorded masterclasses by award-winning translators. All our workshops and resources use our Decode-Translate-Create model, which makes the process of translation accessible to all. Participants decode the text together through visual and verbal clues, translate it literally using glossaries and other resources, and then Eyes on the prize

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