The Linguist

34 The Linguist Vol/63 No/2 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist OPINION & COMMENT survival of both the written and the spoken language. Chinese is now the only language of instruction in all subjects; increasingly, textbooks in Mongol bichig are being taken out of circulation, and even destroyed. "This is the final blow to our culture," according to Enghebatu Togochog, 2 an overseas spokesman on Mongolian civil rights in China. Since 2015, the Mongolian government has actively promoted the revival of Mongol bichig, naming 2024 the Year of Mongol bichig. From 2025, it will be adopted as an official script alongside Cyrillic. Calligraphy in Mongol bichig has already been included in Unesco's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Only when a new generation has grown up using it confidently will its survival be assured. For the sake of Mongolian culture as a whole, the government's efforts must succeed. Notes 1 Quoted in Bulgamaa, B (2010) Туурга тусгаар Монгол Улсын төрд үндэсний бичиг нь үгүйлэгдэж байна. National Association of the Teachers of the Mongolian Language and Script official website; https://cutt.ly/bichig 2 Quoted in Sonam, O and Bougdaeva, S (2020) 'Why the World Should Care About Language in Inner Mongolia'. In The Diplomat, 16/10/20 Aakanksha Chahar CIOL Student member Aakanksha Chahar is a freelance Japanese-English translator, specialising in technical and legal translation. With three years' professional translation experience, she is currently pursuing a Master's in Applied Translation at the University of Leeds, UK. See p.22 Dagmar Divjak Dagmar Divjak is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Birmingham where her interdisciplinary research group uses computational algorithms that mimic how humans learn to develop new ways of describing language and transform how we teach foreign languages. See p.24 Romina Espinosa Romina Espinosa is a Spanish- English interpreter, translator and creative writer based in San Diego. She has been offering her language services to direct clients and boutique language agencies since 2017, and also works as an in-house interpreter at UC San Diego Health. See p.14 Celine Garbutt Celine Garbutt MCIL CL is a conference interpreter and translator. She is researching language education and translation at the University of Exeter, funded by the ESRC South-West Doctoral Training Programme; linkedin.com/ in/celine-garbutt-5344421a. See p.16 Gene Hsu Gene Hsu (legal name Jingqiao Xu) focuses on music and translation/languages in her interdisciplinary and intercultural research, drawing attention to song analysis, covers and songwriting when studying song translation. She has presented her papers at global academic conferences. See p.11 Agata McCrindle Agata McCrindle MCIL is a Polish translator and interpreter. Her professional and academic background is in international business and law. For 15 years, Agata combined public service interpreting with work for commercial enterprises, businesses and chambers of commerce. In recent years, due to outsourcing in the justice sector, she has shifted her focus to direct clients in the private sector. See p.8 Petar Milin Petar Milin is a Professor of Psychology of Language and Language Learning at the University of Birmingham, where he also leads the Out of Our Minds research team. His research primarily focuses on the pivotal role of learning for human language, its behaviour and use. His methodological approach integrates experimental research with computational modelling and advanced statistical data analysis. See p.24 Kate Trotman Kate Trotman MCIL is a Senior Project Manager for legal translations at Questel Language Solutions (www.morningtrans.com/ industries/legal-services) and Chair of The Linguist Editorial Board. Previously she spent 20 years as a freelancer, combining teaching French to adults, FR/EN translation and English copywriting for the EU institutions, specialising in agriculture and food. See p.18 Richard Vranch Originally from Devon, England, Richard Vranch MCIL is currently based in Congo, Kinshasa. He has freelanced as a French- and Spanish-to-English translator for 15 years, specialising in legal translation, and also speaks Arabic. During that time he has travelled extensively, living and working in Africa and Europe as well as Central and North America. He enjoys hiking in the Pacific Northwest. See p.20 CONTRIBUTORS Enkhee Namsrai MCIL CL is a Mongolian language and culture consultant providing training to clients including the UK government. TL J 1 U D 2 O I 3 M 4 I T 5 A T 6 O R 7 A U Q 8 I O O A P 9 O T L U C K R 10 A M E N A C I A I T I N 11 I H O N D 12 A I K O N E C O M S 13 S 14 I L 15 V E R G 16 E 17 I S H A E A R 18 N Y A 19 C T I 20 V E B 21 A S 22 H O L 23 Q M D L H N E 24 Q U I P I 25 W O J I M A S E L N C V R T 26 E R I Y A K I K 27 A N A Crossword solution Puzzle page 32

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