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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thelinguist.uberflip.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER The Linguist 29 OPINION & COMMENT Michelle Homden MCIL is a translator at the Directorate- General for Translation in Brussels. TL Why life at the Commission is all about learning MICHELLE HOMDEN Working for Europe You are never too old to learn: relevant for me, as I was hired aged 43 but by no means the oldest recruit in the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT). Staff in the English Department cover more than 40 source languages and one target – English – and it needs constant work. For example, to enrich agricultural vocabulary, a presentation was given on orthophotography. Combining mapping and photography, this technique assists identification of landscape features such as woodland, scrub, riverside vegetation and something called 'unconsolidated scree'. Cultural knowledge matters. In January this year, Latvia assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. The DGT Library organised a lunchtime seminar on information provision, past and present, in Latvia. This led to a discussion on the needs of the multitude of Russian-speaking citizens in the Baltic States. Latvian snacks were served, accompanied by a beverage made of birch tree sap, which was surprisingly refreshing. In early June, the three units of the English Department decamped from Brussels and Luxembourg for a team event in the Walloon town of Dinant. The theme of this training activity was wellbeing, or how to prevent the problems inherent in the sedentary, screen- fixated life of a translator. Drawing on in-house resources, the organising team invited staff to run workshops on their preferred relaxation techniques. From mandala-colouring to video gaming and from reiki to ergonomics, ideas flowed. As a newcomer, I was thrilled to be allowed to share my own panacea: running in the fresh air. Training offered by various cycling organisations has helped me to settle into city life. My daily commute is now a bike-ride through broad streets of elegant architecture and largely benign motorists. My knowledge of the city was enriched by the 'Brussels for Europe' masterclass, a series of lectures and excursions organised by the Brussels Free University. The city's complex linguistic situation was a major theme. Brussels is effectively a French-speaking enclave in Dutch-speaking Flanders. Outsiders sometimes struggle to understand the measures protecting the equal status of the two languages. Seemingly all entities – educational, social, cultural, even pro-cycling groups – are designated either French- or Dutch-speaking. As one lecturer tried to explain, they cannot be "linguistically asexual". An Estonian participant wanted to start an English-speaking political party. "You can," was the reply, "but it must be either a French or Dutch-speaking English-speaking party". Brussels is complicated, but remarkably pleasant if you keep an open mind. As usual, the release of GCSE results in August sparked a series of language-related stories, with The Guardian, Financial Times, Telegraph and Independent all reporting on the fall in pupils taking languages. Business leaders commented that the drop in numbers for European languages was "a matter of concern", given that Europe is the UK's largest export market and that "it is no longer possible to presume that business will be done in English". (Was it ever?) However, numbers for languages such as Arabic, Polish, Urdu and Portuguese all increased, prompting researcher Professor Alan Smithers to claim that by entering pupils for exams in their 'mother tongue', schools were "taking the easy route to a top grade". The Express remarked in horror that students taking these languages were three times as likely to get an A* than those taking languages such as French, and ran an online poll asking "Should migrants be allowed to study languages in their mother tongue?". Meanwhile The Independent Letters Editor reported a view that the "pernicious term 'modern foreign languages'" had put pupils off the subject, since "nobody likes anything foreign". The Express reinforced its campaign against migrants and their languages by reporting that translators and analysts in languages such as Oromo, Amharic and Tingrinya (sic) were being sent to Calais because of the crisis there – at taxpayers' expense. According to The Mirror, the taxpayer also picked up the bill for British bobbies sent to the Balearic islands to deal with "drunken British holidaymakers", reporting that the PC and sergeant sent from West Midlands police spoke Spanish. But the wackiest – and perhaps also the most intriguing – story about languages over the last couple of months was the one about whistled Turkish. Apparently research has shown that, in contrast to all other known languages, whistled Turkish is processed equally by both sides of the brain. Teresa Tinsley is Director of Alcantara Communications; www.alcantaracoms.com TERESA TINSLEY