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
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/425024
Vol/53 No/4 2014 The Linguist 19 Language researchers from Switzerland confirm what common wisdom has dictated for years: listening to a language in your sleep can help you learn it (http://bit.ly/1vrvagG); while further evidence shows that being bilingual can delay dementia and aged-related cognitive decline (http://bit.ly/105o6gG). July The University Council of Modern Languages calls on universities to make a language GCSE a compulsory entry requirement. In an open letter, they ask universities 'to signal that the current educational profile of their students is not a good enough base from which to equip them to be global graduates … unless language skills are included.' August There is good news for secondary languages, as the subject is declared to be 'stable' at both GCSE and A-level. Although both see a slight fall, this is in line with an overall decline in entries across all subjects. The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, announces an end to subsidised translations for passport and driving licence applications. The justification – that this will encourage migrants to learn English – is undermined by the 'On Speaking Terms' report, which reveals that 80% of English classes for migrants are full, following Government cuts of £84m (40%) over five years. September September is a key month for language news in the UK (see our Top 5 stories). A strong economy is found to be the biggest factor in language death (http://bit.ly/1wNyjfY); while neuroscientists discover a gene mutation, Foxp2, dating back more than half a million years, which may be essential to our ability to speak (http://bit.ly/1BK3iJF). In further moves to promote Mandarin and cultural links with China, the UK Government gives the Royal Shakespeare Company a £1.5m grant to translate the entire works of Shakespeare into Chinese. Mid Wales Opera stages Carmen, in a translation by Rory Bremner, to mark its 25th anniversary. While Helen Mirren explains that the chance to film in French drew her to her new movie The Hundred-Foot Journey. Although she insisted on shooting her scenes in French and English, only a smattering of French made the final cut. October The second annual Languages Festival is launched at Language Show Live in London. The joint British Academy/Guardian initiative aims to build on a growing momentum for language learning, and includes the Chartered Institute of Linguists' Annual Awards ceremony in November. At Members' Day, the CIOL relaunches the Chartered Linguist scheme in order to make it more accessible to professional linguists. It's a good month for conlangs, as Living Language releases a course for Dothraki, the invented language spoken by the 'blood riders' of Game of Thrones; while Apple announces that a Klingon keyboard is among the third-party add-ons for its new iOS 8 iPad. November The Public Language Champion 2014 is announced at the British Academy's School Language Awards. December We went to press in November, so please let us know your top stories for December – or any others you think we've missed (email linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk). 5 The British Army announces in September that, from 2018, only officers with skills in a foreign language will be eligible for promotion above the rank of Captain. Training will begin in January 2015, with French and Arabic a priority. The requirement is part of a new programme to make the Army more culturally aware and better able to form links with countries of interest. 4 As fans hoping to get hold of Haruki Murakami's new novel form huge queues outside bookshops in August, it is reported that British readers are buying record numbers of translated titles. The popularity of Scandinavian authors, such as Jo Nesbø, is credited with a 'boom' in literary translation, which has grown by 18% in 20 years. 3 The Manifesto on Modern Languages is launched by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages. Stressing the need for a consensus, the APPG calls on all political parties to adopt the five-point plan in their general election manifestos. 2 Exam boards are forced to make significant changes to their marking schemes and guidance for A-level French, Spanish and German in time for the August 2015 exams, after Ofqual finds that serious and persistent failures have penalised the most able candidates and contributed to the unpopularity of the subjects. 1 At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, compulsory language provision is introduced in state primary schools in England for children aged 7-11. TOP 5 UK STORIES ©ISTOCK /C PL SI LONGWORTH RLC (P HOT) - PHOTO WWW.DEFENCE IMAGERY.MOD.UK/FOTOWEB/FWBIN/DOWNLOAD.DLL/45153802. JPG SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 5 4 3 2 1