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 2017/JANUARY 2018 The Linguist 5 The latest from the languages world An increasing number of court cases in Wales are being heard in the Welsh language, according to the Lord Chief Justice. His annual report estimates that the number of cases heard in Welsh will rise to 600-700 by the end of the year, up from 570 cases in 2015-16. This is likely to increase demand for Welsh-speaking judges, legal practitioners and legal interpreters working in Welsh and English. More than a third of judges are now able to conduct cases in Welsh. NEWS & EDITORIAL The publication of a book which provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the situation for languages post-Brexit has been described as "timely and urgent". Professor Naomi Segal made the comments as the collection of essays by prominent experts in various language-related fields was published by Palgrave Macmillan in October. Edited by Emeritus Professor Mike Kelly HonFCIL, Languages after Brexit: How the UK speaks to the world after Brexit includes chapters on translation and interpreting, community-based language teaching, and the increasing value of language and culture to business in post-Brexit Britain. The UK's language resources and capabilities in an often hostile post- referendum climate, and the need to foster relations with our European neighbours, are considered by contributors from a range of backgrounds, including the renowned linguist David Crystal HonFCIL, CIOL Vice-President; language education consultant Teresa Tinsley; CIOL Vice-President Tim Connell FCIL; Director of Cambridge University's Language Centre Jocelyn Wyburd; CIOL Chief Executive Ann Carlisle; AHRC Leadership Fellow in Modern Languages Janice Carruthers; and Campaign Director of Speak to the Future Bernardette Holmes. www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783319651682 In the media PHILIP HARDING-ESCH Following earlier reports on the drop in GCSE and A level entries in England, new data from the year's exam results generated headlines with the realisation that entries in Ebacc subjects had dropped for the first time, and languages are to blame. Schools Week quoted a headteacher who described modern foreign languages (MFL) as "high risk", adding that the Progress 8 measure (which unlike Ebacc does not mandate MFL) "overrides all the other measures". Nick Gibb in The Telegraph mounted a spirited defence of MFL: "Global Britain needs more linguists if we are to succeed after Brexit." Yet one cannot help but worry that the government's expectation that 90% of pupils will take a language GCSE by 2020 may falter in the face of unions describing the policy as "delusional" and several quoted stakeholders calling for the Ebacc to be scrapped altogether. So it was good to read positive stories about language policy in other parts of the country. BBC News reported that a Welsh government-funded MFL mentoring scheme, led by Cardiff University, has seen MFL uptake double in some schools. Reports from Northern Ireland show the number of pupils being educated through Irish will double over the next 15 years, while several outlets reported on Scotland's national plan for the teaching of British Sign Language in schools – a UK first. Meanwhile media interest in the science of language learning continues unabated. The Daily Mail was very excited that brain research shows that "bilingual children really DO find it easier to learn a third language in later life", while The Times flagged research from Edinburgh University indicating that language learning can stave off dementia. But the science story that got everybody talking was the study showing that "alcohol helps you speak languages better". I loved the quote from the research team: "We need to be cautious about the implication of these results." Philip Harding-Esch is a freelance languages project manager and consultant. A gender-neutral version of French, which is being adopted by Government departments in France, has been described as a "gibberish" by the Académie Française. The écriture inclusive, which aims to end the grammatical bias inherent in the language, is gaining ground in academic and political spheres, but the body which acts as the custodian of the language warned that it was putting French "in mortal danger". Gender-neutral terms are created using mid punctuation points; ami•e•s ('friends'), for example, replaces the male word amis to refer collectively to men and women. The government department for equality has embraced the new form, describing the dominance of masculine endings as a type of "sexual tyranny", while 300 academics signed a letter in November explaining that they would no longer teach the grammar rule that states that the masculine prevails over the feminine. Keyboards with a mid-point key will be available next year. Brexit brought to book Gender-neutral French grows Welsh rises in the courts © SHUTTERSTOCK