The Linguist

26 The Linguist Vol/62 No/2 thelinguist.uberflip.com OPINION & COMMENT with vulnerable unaccompanied minors in the care of local authorities. There is no doubt about it, the work of public service interpreters is just as important as that of any other interpreter. In the world we live in, 'value' is usually calculated in terms of money (we occasionally read of celebrities and 'how much they are worth', for example) rather than in terms of human qualities. If we use monetary value as a criterion, PSI appears to be the least valued. This is not the interpreters' fault, of course. Rates of pay are decided through a tendering process. The price is driven down as public services come under pressure to manage with less and less money and agencies are guided by profits. So why do we keep doing this job? Ask any PSI and they will tell you that it's very rewarding. They can't be talking about money, so what makes it rewarding? The reward is in the handshake from the man you interpreted for who has just been granted leave to remain in the UK and is safe at last; it is in the grateful thanks from a long- term cancer patient with whom you sat in the chemotherapy room; it is in the smile of a mother when you convey the judge's words that her child will not be removed from her care. One of our colleagues recently stated: "I had a very good but hard interpreting appointment; it was a therapy session – one that I know changed someone's world for the better and, consequently, a lot of other people too. I feel so grateful for my job!" Yes, there is more than a monetary reward in PSI, but gratitude – heart-warming though it may be – is not enough, and certainly doesn't put bread on the table. All interpreters should be equally highly valued, and as a non-executive practitioner director of NRPSI, I will do my best to push for better remuneration for public service interpreters as well as for recognition of our profession and protection of title. Notes 1 Translation and Interpreting blog, 1/9/22; https://translationandinterpreting.com Philippe Muriel MCIL CL is an experienced public service interpreter and tutor for the DipTrans. TL Justine Raymond makes some interesting points (TL62,1); it would certainly be beneficial for translators and interpreters to be clear about the rates they charge, though they may be coy about sharing their actual earnings. There is a strong case here for regular surveys to provide a yardstick for newcomers, and possibly even to clarify for employers what the going rate is likely (or ought) to be. It is salutary to note that a recent survey by global job search engine Adzuna is pessimistic about salary growth post-graduation (google 'Adzuna Languages Survey'). Its list of income by degree studied includes translation, but linguists and people who can add linguistic skills to their main area of expertise can work in a far wider range of occupations, going well beyond the typically viewed roles of teacher, translator and interpreter. New areas of activity for linguists are appearing; indeed.com lists 20 options, along with a guide to salaries. We should note that such surveys appear in several places and do not necessarily concur. It is also true that many linguists have a portfolio career covering a range of activities, where pay rates tend to increase with greater levels of specialisation, particularly in fields related to medicine, finance and law. The ranges and registers covered at BA level are less likely to be sufficient in themselves. Tim Connell FCIL On salary surveys Email linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk It was most illuminating to read how Wales is following a different track from the rest of the UK in MFL (TL62,1), but nothing is really new in this world – it is almost as though Mr Pitt attended my classes in the 1970s and 1980s, or in fact, until I retired in 2014! To me, the teaching of languages has always been based on the culture, history and society of the countries involved. Exams have never been the focus of my teaching, and yet, in one school, all my iGCSE candidates achieved A* or A. This was not a school for gifted students, but reflected the passion, enthusiasm and interest in languages that my methods instilled in the students. I used film and extracts from literary, political and poetic works, and organised exchanges and trips to Caen. In short, I immersed the students, as far as I was able, in the culture and society of the relevant country. MFL became the most popular subject in the school. We practically ditched the text books, but the exposure was so wide and varied – from Asterix and presidential messages to TV programmes and song – that we found we did not need them! I'm not writing this to blow any trumpets, but merely to say, to those teachers who are sceptical of trying new methods, that they really work. Indeed, I would suggest that they are much more effective and enjoyable than ploughing through a text book. I really applaud the Welsh initiative, and only bemoan the fact that England, with its reluctance to encourage the learning of languages, is most unlikely to follow suit. Long may Wales continue down its solitary path – it will surely reap the rewards it deserves! Iain McGregor MCIL Teaching culture

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