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 DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016 The Linguist 33 INSTITUTE MATTERS A taisbeanadh in Cambridge MARTIN PENNOCK AND STEPHANIE TARLING ENJOY THE CAMBRIDGE AND GERMAN SOCIETIES JOINT WEEKEND For many years there has been a link between the German and Cambridge societies, and Cambridge Society members often attend the annual study weekends that have been organised by the German Society since 1987. These events are mostly in Germany but have included occasional trips to Austria, Italy and Luxembourg. The last visit to Cambridge was in 2002. The theme for the 2015 weekend on 4-6 September, which emerged over two years of planning, was music and the Gaelic language. After checking into accommodation in Cambridge colleges and a B&B, early arrivals went on a guided tour of Cambridge, followed by some punting. Friday evening was dedicated to networking in a local pub. On Saturday, the conference took place in Ely. The speaker, former CIOL CEO Alexandra Jones or, to use her full Gaelic name, Sandaidh NicDhòmhnaill Jones, enthralled the audience from the start. Her taisbeanadh (a concept that covers exhibition, display, show, revelation and representation) could not be called a 'talk': with song, music (including her beautiful Celtic harp), dance and language we were led on an erudite yet accessible journey through the history and characteristics of the (mainly Scottish) Gaelic language and poetry. Fascinating for the translators among us was the challenge of Celtic poetry translation, and the difficulty of rendering the deeply rich and complex metres and rhyme schemes. We were able to appreciate the beauty of Gaelic song and poetry in the original and to marvel at the skilled translations (often by Sandy herself). After a guided tour of Ely cathedral, the afternoon was capped with more music. Barbara Wibbelmann offered some haunting Gaelic love songs and laments, accompanied by Marion Treby on keyboard, and by Cambridge Society Secretary Les Ray on guitar. Our symposium concluded with an intriguing set of traditional songs from Britain, Galicia, Brittany and further afield by the folk duo Na-Mara. Sunday morning brought another tour of Cambridge, this time with a literary emphasis, and the weekend concluded with lunch in Grantchester. Bemused locals seemed puzzled by visitors from Germany lining up to photograph the Grantchester church clock at 'ten to three'. Clearly they were unfamiliar with Rupert Brooke! Meeting demand , Magdalena Bednarska, IoLET Examinations Assistant, discusses her role in ensuring quality and fairness in Diploma in Translation exams As an Examinations Assistant, I work on the Diploma in Translation (DipTrans) examination, which is one of the qualifications offered by the Educational Trust (IoLET) to linguists all over the world. The DipTrans is pitched at level 7 (Master's degree level), targeted at people who want to work as professional translators, whether it is their main activity, additional work or part of a career change. The exam is run once a year in January and is available in about 50 countries and language combinations, depending on demand. My team makes sure this demand is met, as far as possible. The exam process runs in stages throughout the calendar year, almost coinciding with the seasons. This generally involves setting, as well as marking and moderation. My work is about planning and administering processes as well as ensuring that relevant procedures are followed. This means liaising with examiners and safeguarding the quality of documents, whether internal or published for the public. Helping to oversee the process, to ensure that all the procedures are followed at every stage and that all candidates are treated fairly, is very rewarding. Another satisfying part of the job involves finalising the papers for the next examination session. All the i's have to be dotted and all the t's crossed until the texts are ready for candidates to get their teeth into – all in a multinational work environment, where a language expert is no further than a desk away should linguistic assistance be needed.