The Linguist

Chartered Institute of Linguists SUMMER 2025 The Linguist 11 FEATURES Can you be more specific? One example that stands out are the terms 'circle' (círculo) and 'circumference' (circunferencia). Circumference is more technical in English, so whereas Spanish will happily 'draw a circumference' we can't do that in English. The debate between the translation and editorial teams on that project resulted in a quite detailed entry on the matter in the project style guide and an explanatory note added to the textbook. When care is not taken to find the correct terminology, grave errors creep in, such as the use of 'ceiling' and 'wall' for the upper and lower bedding planes (or surfaces) of a sedimentary stratum (techo and muro in Spanish), or the use of the literal translations 'raw' and 'elaborated' sap instead of 'xylem' and 'phloem' sap (savia bruta and savia elaborada). There are also a number of cases where concepts taught in Spain do not correspond to those taught in British schools. One of these is the vertiente (hidrográfica), which refers to an area of land where all the rivers flow into a specific sea. It stretches from the mountain peaks to the coast and can cover a very large area. Spain is divided into three vertientes. The concept has no standard translation in English and is commonly mistranslated in British English. Another example is that of the three funciones vitales taught in biology: nutrition, reproduction and interaction/sensitivity. In translation should one refer to 'life processes', even though that term encompasses seven processes, not three, or would a literal translation of the Spanish term be the right way forward? Such complex decisions must be discussed and taken in collaboration with the editor. How should translators deal with these kinds of complex problems? The strategy for dealing with terminology issues is always the same: stop, question all terminology, do the research and make a case to the editorial team for the correct usage of the term in whichever variation of English you are working with. Could you tell us what else is involved in adapting a text for CLIL? Successful CLIL teaching depends on significant adaptation of the original content. First and foremost we simplify the content without dumbing down key concepts. Knowing when not to adapt is just as important. Sometimes a publisher will prefer to stick to Latin-based scientific terms owing to their similarity to the Spanish. For example 'spermatozoon' and 'ovum' instead of 'sperm' and 'egg', which is what you'd typically see in a UK science textbook. There is also the question of what to do with the names of Spanish monarchs or geographical locations. Editors often prefer to maintain the Spanish names, but then what do you do with Catalina de Aragón, who is well established in English as Catherine of Aragon? And what about Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also Carlos I of Spain? There is no single right way of approaching these problems. CLIL translation is a continuous process of decision- making and consultation with editors. We need to consider how to approach certain concepts, as well as what we need to add or remove from the text, what needs restructuring, then how to restructure it. Pupils learning through the medium of English as a second (L2) or even third (L3) language need enough ENGAGING CONTENT Materials should inspire young learners as poorly translated content may set their learning back, or put them off language learning altogether IMAGES © PEXELS

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