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
If interpreters are supposed to be invisible, a sign language interpreter for a conference on Ebola in New York failed this September, as his 'performance' went viral on YouTube, with reports that he had 'stolen the show'. The concept of invisibility is occasionally questioned by some daring individual, who asks whether it is desirable, or even possible, in all circumstances. In this issue, the debate is raised in various guises. In an article looking at the challenges of working with survivors of torture, it becomes clear that interpreters are not always passive participants but, in certain situations, can be active agents in aiding a client's recovery (p.14). Jonathan Downie argues for a new model, in which interpreters and clients become partners (p.27). While Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston looks at the vital role of interpreters and translators at the European Court of Justice, and particularly at the very active part lawyer-linguists play in ensuring that justice is done and that the Court runs as smoothly as possible (p.8). Being prepared is another recurring theme: how prepared new translators are for the business side of freelance work (p.16); how ready primary schools are for compulsory language education, which began in September (p.20); how prepared businesses are to negotiate culture in take-overs and mergers (p.24); and how to plan for changes in your working methods and schedule when moving into a new field – in this case, literary translation (p.22). We are also giving you the chance to up-to-date with all the important (and not so important) language stories of 2014 on page 18. Happy New Year from The Linguist team! Miranda Moore 4 The Linguist DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015 www.ciol.org.uk NEWS & EDITORIAL CHAIR'S NOTES In my last Notes I encouraged members of the Institute to consider putting themselves forward for election to Council, the Institute's governing body. I was delighted by the number of members who contacted me wanting to know more, and am pleased that there is now a very healthy field of candidates seeking election, as you will see from the ballot papers and supporting statements enclosed with this issue. I very much hope that members will want to take part in the process of selecting their representatives on Council, and look forward to seeing a number of new faces round the table at our Council meetings after the AGM in March. Autumn is a busy time for the Institute and its staff, with Members' Day and the Language Show in October, and our annual awards event in November. This year, Members' Day was held in the spacious and elegant surroundings of the British Medical Association's headquarters in Bloomsbury, and combined a range of fascinating seminars with an excellent Threlford Memorial Lecture by Eleanor Sharpston, Advocate General at the Court of Justice (see page 7 for a behind-the-scenes view). We are hugely grateful to Eleanor for delivering such an erudite and entertaining lecture despite battling with a nasty throat infection (see page 8 for an abridged version). Our stand at the three-day Language Show Live at Olympia London once again attracted large numbers of visitors interested in CIOL membership and in our examinations. The show also featured a wide range of seminars and events. At many of these, Institute members played a central role, including the British Academy Born Global symposium, presented by CIOL Vice-President Richard Hardie and Trust member Bernadette Holmes, and the Speak to the Future Language Leaders' Summit, chaired by CIOL Vice-President Baroness Jean Coussins. I am pleased at the very positive response to our new website, which represents a further step in the modernisation of the Institute, which Executive Director Ann Carlisle spoke about at Members' Day. The website not only advertises us to the outside world but is also an invaluable source of information for members. For example, it brings news of the relaunch of the Chartered Linguist scheme, which Karen Stokes will write about in more detail in the next issue. As part of my continuing aim of strengthening our cooperation with fellow language bodies, in September I took part in a round-table event at the annual conference of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC), alongside the ATC Chair and the Chair of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI). The event provided a great deal of food for thought about the future of the translating profession in the face of the ever-increasing use of machine translation. I was also pleased to represent the Institute at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Association of Police and Court Interpreters. Looking outside the UK, in November I took part in a four-country workshop on quality in public service interpreting at the International Metropolis Conference on migration in Milan. As you receive this issue, Ann Carlisle and I are in Hong Kong, representing Institute 'headquarters' at the 30th anniversary AGM of the Hong Kong Society. Keith Moffitt EDITOR'S LETTER