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/527274
thelinguist.uberflip.com JUNE/JULY The Linguist 5 The Vatican has translated a contemporary novel into Latin for the first time. Commentarii de Inepto Puero – or Diary of a Wimpy Kid – was translated as part of a programme to promote the use of the language. Jeff Kinney's book about the life of a US Middle School pupil, which has sold around 150 million copies worldwide, was translated by Monsignor Daniel Gallagher, who also runs the Pope's Latin-language Twitter account. Wimpy kid learns Latin The British government is fighting a court case brought by two men who previously worked as interpreters for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Mohammad Rafi Hottak, who was granted refugee status in 2013, and a man known as AL, who remains in hiding in Afghanistan, claim that the government's assistance scheme for foreign interpreters discriminates against them because they stopped working with the British Army before 2012, and that it is therefore unfair and unlawful. They presented video evidence in court that they say shows there is still a real threat to their lives. The latest from the languages world There are signs that the use of Spanish could be an important component of the US presidential campaign, as contenders try to woo Hispanic voters, who could make up 10% of the electorate in 2016. Republicans Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush (pictured), both fluent in the language, have included Spanish in recent speeches – Rubio on announcing his candidacy and Bush during a visit to Puerto Rico. However, they will want to avoid alienating more right-wing elements within the party calling for 'English only' legislation, so it remains to be seen how much they will use the language. By comparison, the Democrats' Spanish language skills are lacking, although candidate Hillary Clinton has used some Spanish words in her speeches. She will take comfort from a study from the Pew Research Center which suggests that 83% of registered Hispanic voters prefer English or are bilingual. President Barack Obama received 71% of the Hispanic vote, even though he does not speak Spanish. NEWS & EDITORIAL A bill to require public bodies to promote the use of British Sign Language (BSL) received the backing of the Scottish parliament a week before the Scottish National Party's landslide victory in the general election. The proposed legislation, introduced by then Labour MSP Mark Griffin, aims to improve access to services for the estimated 6,000 people in Scotland whose main language is BSL. In the same week, the Green party outlined its Deaf manifesto, which pledged to recognise BSL as an official language and improve education for Deaf people. The party's only MP, Caroline Lucas, held her Brighton Pavilion seat. Government vs Afghan linguists Political support grows for BSL A new survey has revealed that a fifth of people in the UK over the age of 16 would like to study another language. When asked what skill they would most love to learn, a language came third, behind cooking (39%) and playing a musical instrument (23%). Half of the 1,018 people surveyed said they would take a course to achieve that aim. The poll was commissioned by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education for their Festival of Learning. Presidential treatment for Spanish 21% wish to learn a language Schools, colleges and other education providers, including supplementary schools, can still apply for the British Academy Award scheme, designed to boost the numbers of young people that continue learning languages to higher levels. To apply for awards of £4,000, with the chance of an additional £2,000 for two overall winners, UK institutions need to explain what they would do to increase numbers or attainment. Partnerships between academic, business and community organisations are of particular interest. Applications can be made at www.britac.ac.uk/baslas until 30 June. Awards offer schools £4,000 GAGE SKIDMORE, JEB BUSH SPEAKING AT CPAC 2015 IN WASHINGTON, DC (CC BY-SA 3.0).