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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Vol/53 No/5 2014 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER The Linguist 5 The latest from the languages world New scheme launched to support language teaching in schools Schools support NEWS & EDITORIAL Economic success is a major factor leading to the extinction of at-risk languages, a new study has found. Scientists at the University of Cambridge linked the rate at which languages die to prosperity, warning that the more successful a country is, the more quickly its minority languages are wiped out. The paper, published in the Royal Society's Proceedings B journal in September, suggests that efforts to protect endangered languages should now be focused on the most developed parts of the world. Dr Tatsuya Amano, who led the research team, explained: "People are forced to adopt the dominant language or risk being left out in the cold – economically and politically." This can lead to the "death or doom of minority languages". Responding to the study, Daniel Kaufman, Executive Director of the Endangered Language Alliance, said that although language decline had previously been associated with threats to biodiversity, this had been superseded by economic concerns. "We are now seeing a pattern of linguistic diversity that was originally shaped by the environment give way to a pattern that is being shaped by policy and economic realities," he said. In a separate study, scientists in Japan found that geographical barriers enable languages to flourish, partly by preventing dominant languages from taking over. The team at the University of Tokyo looked at how languages have developed on the islands of Japan and were able to show that isolation leads to great linguistic diversity. The results were published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology in June. A new £1.8m scheme has been introduced to support language teaching in schools in England over the next two years. The Government announced in September that it would establish a network of teaching hubs to help teachers with speaking, writing, grammar, and other aspects of the new curriculum. Since the start of the 2014/15 academic year, it has been compulsory for primary schools to offer a foreign language throughout Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11), yet there are concerns that staff have insufficient language skills to implement this requirement. A survey by the British Council and CfBT Education Trust found that only 77% of primary schools have staff who are proficient in a language above GCSE level. Rushey Mead School in Leicester became one of eight schools that, together with a project run by ALL (the Association for Language Learning), will deliver the scheme in 2,000 state primary and secondary schools. They will work in Cornwall, Birmingham, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Leicester, Reading, Warwick, Warrington, and areas of the North East, North Midlands and East of England. Private schools and academies are exempt from the new requirement. ThirdYearAbroad.com, the web portal offering information for undergraduates on their year of work or study overseas, has launched a new website. Funded by Hefce and Routes into Languages, tyaanswers.com uses a simple Q&A format to enable students to pose questions and receive immediate answers from a range of organisations, including universities' international offices. Website launch Prosperity drives language death Language industry on the rise The language-service industry is continuing to grow , according to the most recent global survey by Common Sense Advisory (CSA). The US-based market research company predicted that the value of outsourced language services worldwide would rise by 6.2% in 2014 to US$37.2bn. The number of jobs for translators and interpreters has doubled since 2004, when CSA began compiling the annual 'Language Services Market' report, based on a comprehensive survey of language service providers around the world. However, despite a slight increase from 2013, the rate of growth is now slowing – down from 12.17% in 2012. See www.commonsenseadvisory.com. © ISTOCKPHOTO