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 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 The Linguist 25 SECTION HEADER OPINION & COMMENT Coverage of language-specific issues associated with Brexit was subdued at the year end. However, the visit of the Polish Prime Minister, who commented that Polish should be taught more in UK schools, provoked much media attention, including The Guardian gathering readers' views on which languages should be taught and why. Meanwhile Sarah Vine, in The Daily Mail, took the opportunity to argue that immigrants should be learning English and not the other way around. Major advances in automatic translation made headlines: Google's 'neural network' technology allows machines to 'learn' languages on their own, while Microsoft Translate now enables real-time face-to- face conversations. Dr Kevin Stennard of the Girls' Day School Trust wrote about the potential implications for education in the TES: "MFL is arguably the curriculum area most likely to be transformed by digital technology in the next decade." Luckily, Flux magazine promised us that "Google Translate will not replace human translators (yet)", although their view that automation means "other jobs will probably go first" is hardly reassuring. The announcement of the BBC World Service's "biggest expansion since the 1940s", including services in 11 new languages, received a lot of coverage. BBC News ran a series of fascinating profiles of some of these languages, such as English- based Pidgin, with short video clips. As the holidays approached, it was great to see languages feature in mainstream media, with pop group Little Mix reading the news in Italian, Spanish and Norwegian on Alan Carr's 12 Stars of Christmas on All4, and five-star reviews for Arrival, the Hollywood blockbuster whose protagonist is a linguistics professor tasked with contacting alien visitors. The Wall Street Journal celebrated the introduction of "a new character type to the cinematic pantheon: the linguistic hero". I think we can all raise a glass to that! Philip Harding-Esch is a freelance languages project manager and consultant. 2017 begins with an intensive assessment period. I find myself on the top floor of the library, strangely comforted, despite the pressure, by the last few fireworks on the skyline. As I edit and re-edit, I'm coming to realise just how reflective the assessment period is – quite apt, then, that it's shaping the start to my new year. Each semester, a significant portion of my assessed pieces require me to be directly reflective through learning logs. This is a practice that I have come to appreciate and intend to continue as I progress in the profession, with the CIOL criteria for becoming a Chartered Linguist in the back of my mind. Now coming to the end of my second semester, I find these reflections seeping into all course modules. I can discern a sort of maturation in my applied translation work like a steadying of the hand: my techniques are taking shape and becoming clearer as I build on the foundations of my first semester. My methods are also becoming more flexible, better adapting to the specific requirements of each genre. Through the winter months, we have dealt with literature in the form of young adult fiction, magazine journalism, tourism and, currently, marketing (not to mention a little Flaubert). This, combined with last semester's technical translations and my enduring favourite, African literature, has instructed me well in the nuanced challenges across different text types. I am ready to refine my areas of interest and develop them into creative specialisms over the coming months. As well as improving my competence in my French > English language pair, I finally feel prepared on a practical level. The translation industry module allows students to compare professional materials (from CVs to fees and websites) with those of our colleagues, creating a rich source of ideas from which to draw. I now have the resources I need to join and support the translation market. Perhaps more importantly, throughout the industry and CAT tools modules, challenges in the profession have been topics of study. This focus has enabled me to devise protective measures against the potential threats of exploitative agencies and CAT tool misuse, among other developments affecting translators today. I now look forward to my final dissertation module, confident that my professional skills have been bolstered with the help of tutors and colleagues. An intensive assessment period is cause to reflect on skills developed so far on the MA course Master in the making STUDY BOUND The walk to the library HANNAH EMBLETON-SMITH Hannah Embleton-Smith is an MA Translation student at Bristol. TL In the media PHILIP HARDING-ESCH