The Linguist

34 The Linguist Vol/62 No/3 thelinguist.uberflip.com OPINION & COMMENT Adnan Abdulla Adnan K Abdulla has a PhD from Indiana University and has published widely in the fields of literary translation and comparative literature. His books include Translation in the Arabic World: The Abbasid Golden Age and A Comparative Study of Longinus and Al-Jurjani: Interrelationship between Medieval Arabic literary criticism and Graeco-Roman poetics. See p.26 Anita van Adelsbergen Anita van Adelsbergen MCIL MA is a Chartered Linguist and sworn translator in the Netherlands. Alongside her career as a translator and interpreter working from Dutch, English, German and Italian, she has been working as a journalist and sports commentator for international broadcasters, including Dutch broadcaster NOS. She is Vice- Chair of CIOL Council. See p.12 Eyhab Bader Eddin Dr Eyhab A Bader Eddin MCIL CL is an Assistant Professor of Translation at Nizwa University, Oman, where he teaches on the MA programme. Having taught in such countries as Syria, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, he has a passionate interest in Classical Arabic and how it can be functionally translated into English, and has published extensively in the fields of linguistics and translation. See p.24 James Hughes James Hughes has been a co-opted student member of The Linguist's Editorial Board since 2021, and has recently graduated with a First-class degree in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. He is looking forward to further study next year as he prepares for the CertTrans and begins a Master's. See p.18 Karl McLaughlin Karl McLaughlin FCIL CL is a professional interpreter/ translator and Senior Lecturer in both disciplines at Manchester Metropolitan University. Previously he was course coordinator of the MA in Conference Interpreting at La Laguna University and Director of the MAIT Programme at the University of Bradford. His translation work has included producing the English version of a Spanish newspaper. See p.10 Olivia Morton Olivia Morton MCIL CL is a professional freelance translator working primarily from German into English. She loves advising translators on turning their skill and passion for translation into a thriving business. Having faced many challenges starting out, she is well-placed to offer practical and effective advice to freelance translators wanting to take their business to the next level. See p.14 Jessica Oppedisano The Founder of Style Translations, Jessica Oppedisano MCIL is a translator and interpreter specialising in law and higher education. A member of The Linguist's Editorial Board, she is currently working towards a PhD in Audiovisual Translation with a particular interest in the translation of songs and stereotypes. See p.8 Clare Suttie Clare Suttie has been running a successful translation agency, Atlas Translations, since 1991. Atlas provides 340 language combinations and Clare has a wealth of practical experience. She's really nosy and loves helping translators uncover their business potential, ideally over a cup of tea. See p.14 CONTRIBUTORS and our paths didn't cross again until the following week. She was still at court. At the start of the trial, I was ushered into a small courtroom with 14 other potential jurors. Before the jury was sworn, the judge asked if anyone felt unable to serve, focusing on whether we knew any of the people involved in the case. Even though the court is in a diverse part of London, and at least four of us did not speak English as a first language, she did not highlight potential language issues. As the trial began and we got to know each other a little, I felt relieved that we all seemed to speak English fluently. Juror 11 was friendly but kept himself to himself, so it was only when we came to deliberate, after six days of evidence, that we realised he had not followed the proceedings fully. His contributions indicated that he had not understood the basic chronology of the case, and his abilities in English appeared to be a factor in this. It was concerning that we were, effectively, a person down. Was it our place as jurors to raise this? How could we when everything said in the deliberation room is confidential? There was nothing in our weighty folder of guidance to indicate the right course of action. In the end, we did nothing beyond trying to fill the juror in on any details he had missed. If my experience is in any way indicative of the wider situation in UK courts, there may be implications for the right to a fair trial and the soundness of convictions. Simple measures could be put in place to ensure that people with limited proficiency in English can easily be excused from serving. In my case, I do not believe that replacing Juror 11 would have made a difference to the outcome. We took time to consider all of the evidence in detail and the verdict was unanimous. Do you have experiences in your line of work or area of expertise or study that you would like to publish anonymously? To share your story confidentially, email linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk with the subject heading 'The Secret…'. © SHUTTERSTOCK

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