The Linguist

CIOL's Lincolnshire Society marked its silver anniversary with a celebration in April (pictured). As longstanding members and newcomers came together, Chair Candia Hillier thanked CIOL for the interest, support and grants it has given the network over its 25-year history, as well as for day-to-day support from staff. Thanks were also given to committee members, especially those who have volunteered over many years. The society has welcomed a huge variety of speakers, and the spring celebration included a discussion on ChatGPT, drawing on the recent news story 'ChatGPT Poses Risk' (TL62,1). In closing the event, the Chair thanked participants, saying "without you, there would be no Lincolnshire Society." www.ciol.org.uk/lincolnshire-society 6 The Linguist Vol/62 No/3 thelinguist.uberflip.com NEWS & EDITORIAL In the media PHILIP HARDING-ESCH More details were published of reforms in different jurisdictions to address languages education in schools. In England, the Pearson exam board gained Ofqual's approval for its new 'real world' French GCSE, which FE News said was "designed to better equip all students for life and careers in a global setting". Schoolsweek reported that Oak National Academy had launched a bidding process for the creation of new curriculum materials in French, German and Spanish. The online platform announced it would no longer geo-restrict these materials, meaning they will be available to any organisation. Improvements certainly cannot come fast enough in education, as The Guardian reported that languages and creative arts are "falling out of favour" with GCSE and A-level students, who are increasingly choosing vocational subjects. The British Council's Language Trends schools survey made headlines. The BBC revealed that Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of compulsory language lessons in the whole of Europe, while the Daily Express and The Times focused on the increasing popularity of Latin – now the fourth most popular language in English schools. Several outlets highlighted the importance of language services in healthcare. Leading doctors called for "all hospitals to start providing appointment letters in other languages" to avoid delays, cancellations and miscommunications, according to Eastern Eye. While Telegraph and Argus shared a Marie Curie-funded study showing a link between language barriers for non-English speakers and poorer outcomes in end-of-life care. The Pharmaceutical Journal published a piece calling for the language barrier to be addressed in pharmaceutical services. Pharmacies play an increasingly important role in healthcare delivery and the latest census indicates that one in six British residents was born outside the UK. Philip Harding-Esch is a freelance languages project manager and consultant. Susie Dent joins CIOL leaders In May, linguist and lexicographer Susie Dent became a Vice President of CIOL. The co-presenter for Channel 4's Countdown won the institute's David Crystal Trophy in 2017 and presented at its 2022 Conference. Her work in bringing etymology, the joy of words and language, and forgotten 'words of the day' to a wide audience fits CIOL's aims of supporting linguists and increasing awareness of global language needs and developments. A milestone for Lincolnshire Cristina Calderón, the last speaker of Yaghan, a language spoken mainly in Chile and Argentina, has died. In a heartfelt obituary, The Telegraph referred to her as a "living human treasure", charting her life from nomadic beginnings in Chile's wetlands to her success making and selling traditional baskets, and her ultimate renown after writing an English-Yaghan dictionary and book of Yaghan legends. Yaghan has a history of at least 6,000 years and the obituary encapsulates some of the sadness of what we lose when a language dies: the history, the knowledge, the wonder. New Scientist marked Calderón's death with an article exploring the importance of language 'isolates' – languages "utterly distanced from those used anywhere else in the world", of which an estimated 200 survive today. Scientists are urgently researching these languages as they believe they provide us with irreplaceable insights into human cognition and "how languages evolve and influence our perception of the world". As the world becomes more interconnected online, BBC Science Focus predicted that the advent of AI tools for writing electronic communications "could be an equaliser, improving accessibility for people who have trouble" – but could also be the "death knell" for endangered languages. At the same time, some threatened languages are fighting back and experiencing a revival, as documented in a short film produced by the BBC with the Open University. Last speaker of Yaghan dies

• Cover