The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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FEATURES Making a day of it Join Anju Okhandiar at Members' Day 2013 I am pleased that I travelled from the Scottish Borders to attend the CIOL Members' Day on 5 October. As when I have been previously, I was impressed with the programme for the event, which was held at the Royal College of General Practitioners, with rooftop gardens offering views over London. The day consisted of a choice of four seminars in the morning, followed by an 'Institute Matters' presentation and the Threlford Memorial Lecture in the afternoon. I attended two seminars, the first on 'The Translator as Gatekeeper: Translating Grimms' Tales'. Dr Karen Seago discussed the many challenges that the work of the Brothers Grimm present for translators, referring to the tale of Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty). It was an extensively researched and well presented seminar, with a PowerPoint presentation and handouts on 'Dornröschen – narrative elements' for those who did not speak German. She said that the early translations of Kinder und Hausmärchen were much more interventionist in their treatment of the original text than modern ones. She covered various comparative points between the English and German Vol/52 No/6 2013 translations since the 19th century, which were particularly noteworthy for the way they highlighted cultural differences and shifts. My second seminar was entitled 'Fighting for the Future: Encouraging language learning among the young'. In an informative session, Paul Hughes FCIL shared the different ways in which he has been motivating school leavers to learn a foreign language. The afternoon session started with a presentation by the Chair of the Council, Keith Moffitt. He informed us of the ongoing changes at the CIOL, including the move to a new office and the appointments of Alan Peacock (CIOL) and Ann Carlisle (IoLET) as Executive Directors. There was then a Q&A session to enable members to engage with Council and the audience. The last segment of the day entailed the Threlford Memorial Lecture, given by Dr Martyn Bond. With a distinguished career that began with the BBC in 1966 and has continued to his present role as Deputy Chairman of the London Press Club, Dr Bond spoke with authority and humour on 'Languages and the European Union'. His excellent overview of the EU's approach to SNAP SHOTS: The stunning venue at the Royal College of General Practitioners (main picture); and (inset right) members listen to the Threlford Lecture, delivered by Martyn Bond, pictured (inset left) with CIOL President Nick Bowen (l) languages stretched back as far back as 1745, and emphasised the position of present-day English worldwide. This was an outstanding presentation, which prompted questions from members and much discussion. In recognition of Dr Bond's contribution to languages, he was made a Fellow of the Chartered Institute. (For an edited version of his speech, see pages 8-11.) I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with esteemed fellow members and colleagues in London, with whom live communication is rare and usually restricted to online exchanges. The changing languages landscape means that linguists need to get to grips with new ideas and technology to be able to immerse ourselves in the valuable work we do. This year's Members' Day has created that successful precedent, which I hope future events will follow. DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014 The Linguist 7