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 2016 The Linguist 29 SECTION HEADER REVIEWS I was pleased to maintain a long-standing Institute tradition by taking part in Critical Link 8, on the theme of 'Future-proofing interpreting and translating'. The conference was held in Edinburgh, somewhat closer to home than the 2013 conference in Toronto. Critical Link International is a global not-for- profit organisation for the advancement of community interpreting in the social, legal and healthcare sectors, and CIOL Vice-President Ann Corsellis and former Council member Jan Cambridge (who presented at the conference) have been heavily involved since its early days. Critical Link 8 attracted more than 350 delegates from more than 30 countries, including interpreters, academics, language services companies, representatives of public sector agencies, administrators, healthcare workers, social workers, and many from the world of sign language interpreting. One of the standout sessions was the first day's keynote address, 'A Language Which he Understands: The role of the interpreter in court proceedings', given by Lord Carloway, head of the Scottish Judiciary. Demonstrating an excellent understanding of the difficulties Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies (LINCS), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh; 29 June - 1 July 2016 facing court interpreters, he challenged some accepted wisdoms by arguing, for example, that a defendant does not require a full interpretation of a nuanced discussion between a judge and counsel that a native speaker would struggle to follow. The programme was immensely rich and varied, with as many as 10 parallel workshops taking place at once. As a Harry Potter fan, I found myself wishing I could borrow Hermione Granger's time-turner so that I could be in more than one workshop at a time. A recurring theme was the role of the interpreter in settings such as medical consultations and immigration interviews, and the extent of the interpreter's involvement in such settings beyond pure interpreting – a contentious subject for many delegates. On behalf of the Institute, I took part in a presentation about the work of the International Language Certification for Interpreters Network (ILCN), of which CIOL is a member. It aims to share knowledge and good practice in the certification of public service translators and interpreters. Keith Moffitt HonFCIL Critical Link 8 Critical Link International This is actually a re-issue of the third edition, which first appeared in 2004. Language and gender is a relatively new subject, and the updates at regular intervals have been extremely valuable, not least the new final chapter here. It is interesting to see how the approach to the subject has changed, even in the last 30 years, as perceptions of language have become so much more detailed under the heading of 'discourse' and the study of gender has gone far beyond simplistic concepts of masculine and feminine. The book follows the development of the subject, beginning with historic sources of a mainly literary nature, but which serve to reflect the key issues: gender differences in communication; the importance of context, such as social networks and the workplace; the way in which men communicate with men, and women with women. Particular studies cover strategies such as question-handling, hedging, compliments, courtesies and the use of bad language. How children develop their understanding and use of language in different situations is instructive, as it looks at how groups form and interact with each other. It is generally recognised that boys dominate in turn-taking and opt for more combative styles of speech, but this may form part of a strategy to establish solidarity and a clear position within the group. Policies at school may also have an impact, for example if the teacher consciously ensures that all pupils are encouraged to speak, or moves away from more traditional ways of establishing gender identity, which may range from seating arrangements to boy versus girl competitions. Examples from around the world suggest that patterns of communication are changing. It is interesting to note that, in experiments involving all male or all female groups, participants show an interest in moving into mixed groups where the modes of communication and expression tend to be modified. This shows signs of change and indicates the need to avoid stereotypes. Women, Men and Identity: A Sociolinguistic account of gender differences in language is an important source for anyone wishing to find out more about language and gender. It is laid out as a textbook but makes particularly interesting reading because of the number and range of case studies. Tim Connell FCIL, CIOL Vice-President Women, Men and Language Jennifer Coates Routledge 2015, 245pp; ISBN 9781138948785 Paperback £30.99 UÉÉ~á B xäxÇàá Critical Link 9 will be held in Tokyo in 2019; www.criticallink.org