The Linguist

@CIOL_Linguists What the papers say… In Defence of Minority Languages, 3/1/24 Publishing needs to do more to honour, respect, and preserve minority languages. The astonishing 2019 poetry anthology Poems from the Edge of Extinction is a stunning example… Poems in languages as diverse as Gorwaa, Mvskoke, Kristang, Jèrriais, Soqotri and Rotuman were given the sort of literary preservation not typically reserved for them. This allows speakers of these languages to finally see themselves represented… This safeguarding of languages does not work when authors and publishers guess at meaning and pronunciation, instead of giving the words the due diligence they deserve. Indian Teenager Sets Record Singing in 140 Languages, 15/1/24 The 18-year-old performed for nine hours with songs lasting at least three minutes each as part of the Concert for Climate in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in November… Suchetha says she can sing in around 150 languages, but chose only 140 languages for her record attempt. She explained that 140 languages was a "symbolic representation of the 140 nation heads who had been invited". The latest from the languages world NEWS & EDITORIAL SPRING 2024 The Linguist 5 Linguistics Study Claims that Languages are Louder in the Tropics, 5/12/23 The basic idea behind the study is that we are surrounded by air when we speak and listen. Spoken words are transmitted through the air as sound waves. The physical properties of air therefore influence how easy it is to produce and hear speech… "Warm air tends to limit unvoiced sounds by absorbing their high-frequency energy," explains [Kiel linguist] Dr Wichmann. Govt fails Afghans Interpreting is a vital part of defence and military action, yet serious shortcomings in the UK's treatment of Afghan interpreters are ongoing. The Guardian reported on an interpreter, referred to as Ahmad, who was approved for relocation in the UK and then subsequently refused. He and his family were stuck in Iran, where they initially fled to, for nearly a year because they were unable to fulfil a requirement to secure permanent accommodation in the UK prior to arrival. Although changes to the rules finally enabled the family to come to the UK, some of Ahmad's former colleagues are still waiting in limbo in Iran and Pakistan. Meanwhile, The Times reported on Sajid Naeemi, who had relocated to the UK but not been allowed to bring his young son. The decision was only overturned once the newspaper contacted the government and the case was highlighted in The Gardener of Lashkar Gah, a book about the Afghans who risked everything to help British troops. In a case with some similarities, an Afghan interpreter was twice wrongly refused entry to the UK, a decision which was finally reversed after 18 months of legal action, but too late for him to avoid being returned to Afghanistan by the Pakistani authorities. Having been able to get back to Pakistan, he is now trying to reach the UK. The Independent called this an example of "the UK's beleaguered resettlement scheme", which has been much criticised for its failings. Schooled on language policy Less than 1% of schools have whole-school policies that address foreign languages – far less than those with policies on allowing dogs on site. Researchers at Cambridge University studied the policy documents of 998 secondary schools and found that language strategies tended to be isolated, unclear and inconsistent, where they existed at all. https://cutt.ly/CambUni Teens don't see the use in MFL A survey has found that nearly 90% of young people in the UK do not think they will need languages in their careers. The British Council consulted 2,083 pupils from 36 schools across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Despite 46% saying they enjoyed languages, only 20% were planning to take one as a GCSE. https://cutt.ly/BCcareers © SHUTTERSTOCK

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