At a time when businesses are facing budget cuts, pay freezes and tough markets, it’s easy to feel that passing on translation work to staff who “know a bit of Spanish” is a cheaper option that using a professional translator. Well beware - it may be cheap in the short term but it can be very costly in the long run. Let me explain by illustration:
Imagine the horror of reading that you are in a prison with an execution yard! That’s how a booklet for Russian prisoners in Lincoln Prison* described the exercise yard according to a recent report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Would you wash your clothes with Barf Washing Powder? That’s the offer on one of the latest ads in the English language section of the European TV channel Euronews.
These two examples just indicate how a single word can change the entire meaning or intent of what is said. Think of the effect of such a misunderstanding on one of your products. Multiply that by the amount of money wasted on advertising that error and again by the cost of correcting it. Now you see my point. We often use the phrase “lost in translation” to indicate that communication has broken down in the translation process, but actually translation produces the opposite effect - it opens doors, overcomes linguistic and cultural barriers, making it easier for you to sell your products or services.
It may cost more, but after all you’re paying a qualified professional to do the job right. Just because the office junior knows how to surf the net, would you let them design your company website? Of course not, you’d pay a professional web designer. Well why let them translate your company information for potential clients worldwide? Professional translators invest heavily in their education, often having spent several years living in the foreign country itself, and follow a program of Continued Professional Development which covers both business and IT skills as well as a specialised knowledge of the topics they translate.
More than that, they have a native-like knowledge of the languages they work with, and here in the UK professional translators only translate from the foreign language into their native tongue, so they are aware of the cultural nuances of the languages in question. That’s why I can tell you now - the ad for Barf Washing Powder was done by a non-native English speaker, because a native speaker would have understood in a flash the connotations of the word barf.
So the next time you want a document translated, think twice before reaching for the phone. Use a language professional. Better to be pound wise than penny foolish.
*Prisons: Execution yard is lost in translation, The Independent, 18 November 2010
Friday 19 November 2010
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Building a National Language? The Plight of Gaelic
A recent report by the Royal Society highlighting concerns over the development of the Gaelic language claims that every year up to 860 individuals need to become fully bilingual in order to halt the decline of the language. This news presents me with a moral dilemma - as a linguist it pains me to see the decline of any language since it also represents a cultural loss to mankind, another part of the intercultural patchwork of humanity unravelling - but as a Scot I am also tempted to think “So what?”
In recent years there have been huge steps forward in the development and promotion of Gaelic language learning, largely due to the fact that the Scottish Nationalist Party is in power. That in itself makes the whole process quite suspicious and - characteristically SNP - more to do with political ambition rather than educational or cultural reasons. However, despite these advances the general uptake of Gaelic has failed to stem the decline of the language, and that in part may be due to other factors.
Firstly, the concept of Gaelic as the “language of Scotland” is more of a romantic notion than a historical reality. It was only the language of the Western Isles and the Highlands. The majority of Scotland’s population actually spoke Scots or Lowland Scots as it is sometimes called. While some people class Scots as nothing more than a variation of English, it was a language in its own right which developed alongside English until James VI of Scotland became James I of England and moved his Court down to London. From then on English became the language of social mobility and prestige and Scots became less popular among the educated rich. The language went into further declined after the Act of Union in 1707.
So really, the majority of Scots today have no real affinity to Gaelic but they still do preserve some Scots dialect in their regional variety of English - with words like bairn (child), gleckit (stupid) or tane (taken). There is seen in the great variation in the vocabulary of cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh of Dundee for example. That being the case, why even bother to learn Gaelic? Should we not be trying to develop our use of Scots? That’s something the SNP seems to have neglected and for good reason.
You see to go down the road of independence you must have a strong sense of national identity. To develop the concept of national identity you need to develop national symbols - like a national anthem, national symbols and of course a national language. (Although initiating small changes like having a Scottish Government instead of an Executive also contribute to this end because it develops a sense of legitimacy.) Herein lies the problem. To develop a national language you have to control some specific steps - all of which take time - and the first step is to develop an acceptance that Gaelic is a language of prestige, something worth learning, and that’s just not happening!
Secondly, in a globalised world of international trade, should we really be devoting so many resources to learning Gaelic? At a time when the Scottish economy is struggling, when there is such a lack of modern language uptake among school children and young adults, when we need to develop export and trade links abroad in order to grow our economy, is Gaelic really a priority? We need to look outwards not inwards.
And thirdly, language learning in itself does not produce bilingualism in the academic sense of the word. At its most simple level bilingualism can be defined as the ability to speak more than one language. However, it is actually a very complex and diverse condition, and the majority of advance proficiency language learners might never develop true bilingualism. So what is really required is that at the very least, up to 860 people per year have to be brought up speaking both Gaelic and English from infancy to adulthood so that both languages are acquired at a native or near-native speaker level. Quite a mean feat under the current circumstances.
In recent years there have been huge steps forward in the development and promotion of Gaelic language learning, largely due to the fact that the Scottish Nationalist Party is in power. That in itself makes the whole process quite suspicious and - characteristically SNP - more to do with political ambition rather than educational or cultural reasons. However, despite these advances the general uptake of Gaelic has failed to stem the decline of the language, and that in part may be due to other factors.
Firstly, the concept of Gaelic as the “language of Scotland” is more of a romantic notion than a historical reality. It was only the language of the Western Isles and the Highlands. The majority of Scotland’s population actually spoke Scots or Lowland Scots as it is sometimes called. While some people class Scots as nothing more than a variation of English, it was a language in its own right which developed alongside English until James VI of Scotland became James I of England and moved his Court down to London. From then on English became the language of social mobility and prestige and Scots became less popular among the educated rich. The language went into further declined after the Act of Union in 1707.
So really, the majority of Scots today have no real affinity to Gaelic but they still do preserve some Scots dialect in their regional variety of English - with words like bairn (child), gleckit (stupid) or tane (taken). There is seen in the great variation in the vocabulary of cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh of Dundee for example. That being the case, why even bother to learn Gaelic? Should we not be trying to develop our use of Scots? That’s something the SNP seems to have neglected and for good reason.
You see to go down the road of independence you must have a strong sense of national identity. To develop the concept of national identity you need to develop national symbols - like a national anthem, national symbols and of course a national language. (Although initiating small changes like having a Scottish Government instead of an Executive also contribute to this end because it develops a sense of legitimacy.) Herein lies the problem. To develop a national language you have to control some specific steps - all of which take time - and the first step is to develop an acceptance that Gaelic is a language of prestige, something worth learning, and that’s just not happening!
Secondly, in a globalised world of international trade, should we really be devoting so many resources to learning Gaelic? At a time when the Scottish economy is struggling, when there is such a lack of modern language uptake among school children and young adults, when we need to develop export and trade links abroad in order to grow our economy, is Gaelic really a priority? We need to look outwards not inwards.
And thirdly, language learning in itself does not produce bilingualism in the academic sense of the word. At its most simple level bilingualism can be defined as the ability to speak more than one language. However, it is actually a very complex and diverse condition, and the majority of advance proficiency language learners might never develop true bilingualism. So what is really required is that at the very least, up to 860 people per year have to be brought up speaking both Gaelic and English from infancy to adulthood so that both languages are acquired at a native or near-native speaker level. Quite a mean feat under the current circumstances.
Friday 15 October 2010
Planting the Seeds of a Freelance Career
As exciting as being your own boss is, it’s also a daunting prospect, especially as a novice translator. There’s so much involved in setting up as a freelancer - organising your workspace, joining professional bodies, contacting translation agencies, trying to develop a translation speciality, getting yourself “out there” - and all of this takes place under the shower of “what ifs.”
What if my language skills aren’t up to scratch?
What if I can’t make enough money to pay the bills?
What if my computer skills are too limited?
The list could go on and on but to be honest, who hasn’t felt the same way when starting a new job? Even the most skilled professional translator had to start somewhere, and while many translators would suggest that spending some time as an in-house translator is the best way to gain experience and industry knowledge that’s just not possible or practical to most new translators.
So maybe part of the solution lies in the old adage that failing to plan is just like planning to fail. That planning can easily fall into two categories:
1. Business planning
While the prospect of working at home in your pyjamas, drinking endless cups of coffee while daytime TV plays in the background sounds appealing to some, remember that you still have to make a living out of your freelancing! So be business-like.
• Contact your local Business Link Office.
Arrange to attend some of their workshops(http://www.businesslink.gov.uk). These cover different aspects of starting a new business, such as business planning, finance, bookkeeping etc. They also organise network events and carry out industry wide research that can help you find potential clients.
• Think marketing!
You can build a fairly basic but attractive website by using a hosting service like Mr Site (http://www.mrsite.co.uk) or Moonfruit (http://www.moonfruit.com) without any real knowledge of web design - and all for a few pounds a month! You can also get free business cards and stationery by using a service like Vistaprint. (http://www.vistaprint.co.uk) At this stage there’s no need to spend a fortune, so update your social websites like Facebook or LinkedIn, and use them to inform and hopefully encourage your contacts to promote your business for you.
2. Professional planning
You can still work with experienced translators without having an in-house position with a translation agency. How? By joining the UK’s two principal professional bodies for the translation industry - the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (http://www.iti.org.uk) and the Chartered Institute of Linguists (http://www.iol.org.uk)
• Both organisations operate student and associate membership grades for those studying or starting out in the profession. Membership benefits include a subscription to trade magazines so you can keep up to date with new developments
• Both run internet forum groups on a variety of subject areas and languages, so you can ask questions, get to know other translators and get involved in other professionals activities.
• Both offer excellent opportunities to attend training, networking and social events. Huge emphasis is placed on Continued Professional Development or CPD, which encourages you to develop new and existing skills and achieve a greater level of professionalism in your work.
So really, there is a massive amount of help out there. Plant the seeds and with time they’ll start to grow and develop.
What if my language skills aren’t up to scratch?
What if I can’t make enough money to pay the bills?
What if my computer skills are too limited?
The list could go on and on but to be honest, who hasn’t felt the same way when starting a new job? Even the most skilled professional translator had to start somewhere, and while many translators would suggest that spending some time as an in-house translator is the best way to gain experience and industry knowledge that’s just not possible or practical to most new translators.
So maybe part of the solution lies in the old adage that failing to plan is just like planning to fail. That planning can easily fall into two categories:
1. Business planning
While the prospect of working at home in your pyjamas, drinking endless cups of coffee while daytime TV plays in the background sounds appealing to some, remember that you still have to make a living out of your freelancing! So be business-like.
• Contact your local Business Link Office.
Arrange to attend some of their workshops(http://www.businesslink.gov.uk). These cover different aspects of starting a new business, such as business planning, finance, bookkeeping etc. They also organise network events and carry out industry wide research that can help you find potential clients.
• Think marketing!
You can build a fairly basic but attractive website by using a hosting service like Mr Site (http://www.mrsite.co.uk) or Moonfruit (http://www.moonfruit.com) without any real knowledge of web design - and all for a few pounds a month! You can also get free business cards and stationery by using a service like Vistaprint. (http://www.vistaprint.co.uk) At this stage there’s no need to spend a fortune, so update your social websites like Facebook or LinkedIn, and use them to inform and hopefully encourage your contacts to promote your business for you.
2. Professional planning
You can still work with experienced translators without having an in-house position with a translation agency. How? By joining the UK’s two principal professional bodies for the translation industry - the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (http://www.iti.org.uk) and the Chartered Institute of Linguists (http://www.iol.org.uk)
• Both organisations operate student and associate membership grades for those studying or starting out in the profession. Membership benefits include a subscription to trade magazines so you can keep up to date with new developments
• Both run internet forum groups on a variety of subject areas and languages, so you can ask questions, get to know other translators and get involved in other professionals activities.
• Both offer excellent opportunities to attend training, networking and social events. Huge emphasis is placed on Continued Professional Development or CPD, which encourages you to develop new and existing skills and achieve a greater level of professionalism in your work.
So really, there is a massive amount of help out there. Plant the seeds and with time they’ll start to grow and develop.
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Unequal Opportunities with John Humphreys - BBC2 Monday 20 September
For those of you who saw John Humphreys’ BBC2 programme on the attainment gap between pupils from poor backgrounds and their richer counterparts, it was indeed very thought provoking. Despite massive investment in education over the past decade, the gap seems to be growing wider which will have drastic consequences on society in years to come.
However, the analysis fell into the trap of oversimplifying the relationship between poverty and academic achievement and their subsequent effect on social mobility. While the link between the two is essentially a “no-brainer” Humphreys’ analysis failed to pick up on two essential points.
Firstly, the fault does not lie with private education - there will always be people richer than you who can pay for private education, tuition or anything else for that matter. The quandary is that in modern Britain there shouldn’t be “good” schools or “bad” schools - every school should be a “good” school and as the BBC2 programme highlighted, funding is not the single determining factor. It falls to good leadership, good teaching and a desire to promote excellence. So the question that should be addressed is: Why are there not more “good schools”?
Secondly, the education system can only help break the poverty trap when parents come on board - something Humphreys ignored. A crazy comment was made by a primary teacher from Tower Hamlets, London - that despite living near a park there are “three year old children who have never set foot on grass let alone be taken to a museum or a cinema.”
Sorry, but this has nothing to do with poverty - it’s down to lazy, uninterested parents. It costs nothing to go to a park, library, museum or art gallery. Many of those same parents have no problem spending their cash on plasma TV’s and the latest mobile phones yet can’t afford a bus ride into town to take their kids to the local museum? Stop blaming poverty for what is nothing more than a can’t be bothered attitude! If parents took the time to engage their children more rather than sitting back and expecting the state or the school to do all the work, some of these kids would have a better chance to fulfil their potential.
Education can liberate people from a life of poverty and ignorance but only when it is valued.
Do you agree? If not, why not? let me know by leaving a comment.
However, the analysis fell into the trap of oversimplifying the relationship between poverty and academic achievement and their subsequent effect on social mobility. While the link between the two is essentially a “no-brainer” Humphreys’ analysis failed to pick up on two essential points.
Firstly, the fault does not lie with private education - there will always be people richer than you who can pay for private education, tuition or anything else for that matter. The quandary is that in modern Britain there shouldn’t be “good” schools or “bad” schools - every school should be a “good” school and as the BBC2 programme highlighted, funding is not the single determining factor. It falls to good leadership, good teaching and a desire to promote excellence. So the question that should be addressed is: Why are there not more “good schools”?
Secondly, the education system can only help break the poverty trap when parents come on board - something Humphreys ignored. A crazy comment was made by a primary teacher from Tower Hamlets, London - that despite living near a park there are “three year old children who have never set foot on grass let alone be taken to a museum or a cinema.”
Sorry, but this has nothing to do with poverty - it’s down to lazy, uninterested parents. It costs nothing to go to a park, library, museum or art gallery. Many of those same parents have no problem spending their cash on plasma TV’s and the latest mobile phones yet can’t afford a bus ride into town to take their kids to the local museum? Stop blaming poverty for what is nothing more than a can’t be bothered attitude! If parents took the time to engage their children more rather than sitting back and expecting the state or the school to do all the work, some of these kids would have a better chance to fulfil their potential.
Education can liberate people from a life of poverty and ignorance but only when it is valued.
Do you agree? If not, why not? let me know by leaving a comment.
Sunday 5 September 2010
Languages develop, grow and die!
While many people imagine learning a new language to be a dull affair with dusty grammar books, endless vocabulary lists and rote learning, languages are actually more akin to living things than most people appreciate.
Languages develop and grow with time - and the English language is probably one of the best examples of this. Look back 20 years and we would never have used words like "blog" or "twitter" as we do today. In fact since Shakespeare's time over a million words have been added to the English language.
That's why learning a language requires constant effort - we will never know all there is to know about our mother tongue let alone a second or third language that we have come to master!
Sadly, by the same token languages also die out. There are many reasons why this is the case, some of which are politically, socially or ethically motivated. Regardless of the reason the death of a language represents the death of a cultural entity.
We talk of the world being like a global village, well the death of a language is like letting a historic building fall into decay and ruin. It might not seem important to some people but to linguists it's a tragedy.
Languages develop and grow with time - and the English language is probably one of the best examples of this. Look back 20 years and we would never have used words like "blog" or "twitter" as we do today. In fact since Shakespeare's time over a million words have been added to the English language.
That's why learning a language requires constant effort - we will never know all there is to know about our mother tongue let alone a second or third language that we have come to master!
Sadly, by the same token languages also die out. There are many reasons why this is the case, some of which are politically, socially or ethically motivated. Regardless of the reason the death of a language represents the death of a cultural entity.
We talk of the world being like a global village, well the death of a language is like letting a historic building fall into decay and ruin. It might not seem important to some people but to linguists it's a tragedy.
Monday 5 July 2010
As the holiday season gets underfoot many Brits will be packing their sun-tan lotion and heading off to foreign lands. Sadly, we Brits have a terrible reputation abroad when it comes to language skills. Recently Irene Macías wrote about our apparent unwillingness to learn foreign languages recently in the Times Higher Education supplement*. For those working in the tourist industry it is a sad reflection on our desire (or lack of it) to give a good level of customer service.
Some say it’s because of our island mentality - all our neighbours speak English (of a sort!), while on the continent speaking a second or even a third language is not just common, it’s almost expected.
So let’s look at a couple of common misconceptions…
1. “Everyone speaks English anyway”
Wrong! If that were the case we’d have no problems abroad. While many people see English as the key to economic success - a better job, income or education - 75% of people in the world speak don’t speak any English**. In the future that might change as languages like Chinese and Spanish develop - Spanish is already the second language of the United States.
2. “I’m too embarrassed to try and say a few words in their language”
Actually you’ll find that people will warm to you and show you a lot of respect because you actually bother to say a few words - even if you’re pronunciation is a bit dodgy! It tells them that you are interested in their culture and lifestyle.
3. “I’ve tried to learn a few phrases but no-one understand me!”
That might happen, but don’t be put off! Remember - people everywhere have different accents - even when you visit somewhere new in the UK you might get some strange looks when you start to speak - so it’s not personal, don’t be put off.
So why not try brushing up your language skills before going on holiday. Some colleges and universities run language classes for holiday makers and you can find some free lessons on i-tunes or YouTube.
* http://timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=412280&c=2
** http://www.cilt.org.uk/home/valuing_languages.aspx
Some say it’s because of our island mentality - all our neighbours speak English (of a sort!), while on the continent speaking a second or even a third language is not just common, it’s almost expected.
So let’s look at a couple of common misconceptions…
1. “Everyone speaks English anyway”
Wrong! If that were the case we’d have no problems abroad. While many people see English as the key to economic success - a better job, income or education - 75% of people in the world speak don’t speak any English**. In the future that might change as languages like Chinese and Spanish develop - Spanish is already the second language of the United States.
2. “I’m too embarrassed to try and say a few words in their language”
Actually you’ll find that people will warm to you and show you a lot of respect because you actually bother to say a few words - even if you’re pronunciation is a bit dodgy! It tells them that you are interested in their culture and lifestyle.
3. “I’ve tried to learn a few phrases but no-one understand me!”
That might happen, but don’t be put off! Remember - people everywhere have different accents - even when you visit somewhere new in the UK you might get some strange looks when you start to speak - so it’s not personal, don’t be put off.
So why not try brushing up your language skills before going on holiday. Some colleges and universities run language classes for holiday makers and you can find some free lessons on i-tunes or YouTube.
* http://timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=412280&c=2
** http://www.cilt.org.uk/home/valuing_languages.aspx
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Spanish Language Day - Saturday 19 June
Spanish is spoken by over 450 million people in 21 countries worldwide; it is the second most spoken language in the USA (after English) and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations!
To celebrate this remarkable language, Spanish Language Day is being celebrated this Saturday, but for now here are some quirky facts about our closest Spanish speaking neighbour - España.
1. Spain has the longest coastline in Europe.
2. Real Madrid Football Club was the first team to win the European Cup in 1956.
3. Christopher Columbus is buried in Seville Cathedral.
4. One of the first every lotteries was held in Spain in 1763.
5. On New Year’s Eve crowds gather in city squares, and as the clock strikes 12, you are supposed to swallow a grape for every chime!
6. The German car designer Benz was married to a Spanish woman - they had a child called Mercedes - and the name of the car was born!
7. The Moorish palace in Granada - the Alhambra - is Spain’s most popular tourist attraction. The name means ‘red castle’ after the colour of the clay used to build the walls.
8. Paella is eaten all over Spain but the classic recipe comes from Valencia. For an easy-to-follow recipe check out: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/the-ultimate-paella-recipe/index.html
More details about Spanish Language Day can be found at: http://londres.cervantes.es/en/culture_spanish/spanish_language_day.htm
To celebrate this remarkable language, Spanish Language Day is being celebrated this Saturday, but for now here are some quirky facts about our closest Spanish speaking neighbour - España.
1. Spain has the longest coastline in Europe.
2. Real Madrid Football Club was the first team to win the European Cup in 1956.
3. Christopher Columbus is buried in Seville Cathedral.
4. One of the first every lotteries was held in Spain in 1763.
5. On New Year’s Eve crowds gather in city squares, and as the clock strikes 12, you are supposed to swallow a grape for every chime!
6. The German car designer Benz was married to a Spanish woman - they had a child called Mercedes - and the name of the car was born!
7. The Moorish palace in Granada - the Alhambra - is Spain’s most popular tourist attraction. The name means ‘red castle’ after the colour of the clay used to build the walls.
8. Paella is eaten all over Spain but the classic recipe comes from Valencia. For an easy-to-follow recipe check out: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/the-ultimate-paella-recipe/index.html
More details about Spanish Language Day can be found at: http://londres.cervantes.es/en/culture_spanish/spanish_language_day.htm
Wednesday 2 June 2010
Summer's coming...ice-cream and exam results!
Well as another summer brings about a flurry of flip-flops, Bermuda shorts and white legs-turning-pink, thousands of youths will be receiving their exam results, planning graduation parties and starting out down new career paths.
Fortunately many of them will have studied languages and we’re not just talking about A-Levels or Scottish Higher results, but up and down the country thousands of graduates will soon be the proud owners of a language degree.
Congratulations to every one of them, even if the results didn’t quite meet their expectations. The truth is that having a language qualification is more important that the level of that qualification. Why?
1. Languages are alive - they constantly change and develop, and that means you will always have more to learn. If you’ve studied maths, for example, you’ll have had to learn methods and formulas that you can apply to specific problems - but once you understand those methods you’ve got it cracked! Languages are different - you can spend all your time studying but you’ll always come up against new words, phrases or expressions.
2. Language skills - even if they are imperfect, basic or rusty - will always be useful because no matter where you go in the world (perhaps with the exception of France!) people always appreciate the fact that you are willing to try and speak their language.
3. Language skills are desperately needed - without them businesses can’t function, and governments would be stuck. Translators, interpreters and teachers might be the best examples of language professionals but what about other jobs where languages can be useful - administration, sales, hospitality and tourism, logistics, engineering, telecommunications - language skills are highly valued, and employees with language skills often command a higher salary.
So whatever your result, be a happy linguist and use you skills, develop them and let other people know you have them. You never know where those skills will take you!
Fortunately many of them will have studied languages and we’re not just talking about A-Levels or Scottish Higher results, but up and down the country thousands of graduates will soon be the proud owners of a language degree.
Congratulations to every one of them, even if the results didn’t quite meet their expectations. The truth is that having a language qualification is more important that the level of that qualification. Why?
1. Languages are alive - they constantly change and develop, and that means you will always have more to learn. If you’ve studied maths, for example, you’ll have had to learn methods and formulas that you can apply to specific problems - but once you understand those methods you’ve got it cracked! Languages are different - you can spend all your time studying but you’ll always come up against new words, phrases or expressions.
2. Language skills - even if they are imperfect, basic or rusty - will always be useful because no matter where you go in the world (perhaps with the exception of France!) people always appreciate the fact that you are willing to try and speak their language.
3. Language skills are desperately needed - without them businesses can’t function, and governments would be stuck. Translators, interpreters and teachers might be the best examples of language professionals but what about other jobs where languages can be useful - administration, sales, hospitality and tourism, logistics, engineering, telecommunications - language skills are highly valued, and employees with language skills often command a higher salary.
So whatever your result, be a happy linguist and use you skills, develop them and let other people know you have them. You never know where those skills will take you!
Friday 2 April 2010
Do you say what you mean?
Do you say what you mean? It might seem a strange question, but a huge amount of human communication takes place when people say the opposite of what they actually mean.
No, we're not talking about the "men are from Mars and women are from Venus idea", an idea based on the fact that men and women communicate differently. We're talking about the fact that most human communication is a co-operative effort where we deduce meaning, as much from what isn't said as from what is said.
It might seem a bit confusing at first, but think about it: you walk into a room and say "It's hot in here!" What do you expect other people in the room to do?
a)Turn the heating down?
b)Open a window?
c)Reply "Yes it is isn't it" and continue doing whatever they are doing?
In most cases we would expect someone to suggest a) or b) or at least explain why it is so hot in the room, and that's probably why we said "It's hot in here!" in the first place. So our comment was designed to elicit a response on the basis that our listeners can work out what our intention is.
In linguistics this is described as:
1. The locutionary effect - the literal meaning of our utterance
2. The illocutionary effect - what we actually mean by the utterance ie. will someone open a window please
3. The perlocutionary effect - what we want our listeners to do ie.get up, go to the window and open it.
So, what about you, do you say what you mean?
No, we're not talking about the "men are from Mars and women are from Venus idea", an idea based on the fact that men and women communicate differently. We're talking about the fact that most human communication is a co-operative effort where we deduce meaning, as much from what isn't said as from what is said.
It might seem a bit confusing at first, but think about it: you walk into a room and say "It's hot in here!" What do you expect other people in the room to do?
a)Turn the heating down?
b)Open a window?
c)Reply "Yes it is isn't it" and continue doing whatever they are doing?
In most cases we would expect someone to suggest a) or b) or at least explain why it is so hot in the room, and that's probably why we said "It's hot in here!" in the first place. So our comment was designed to elicit a response on the basis that our listeners can work out what our intention is.
In linguistics this is described as:
1. The locutionary effect - the literal meaning of our utterance
2. The illocutionary effect - what we actually mean by the utterance ie. will someone open a window please
3. The perlocutionary effect - what we want our listeners to do ie.get up, go to the window and open it.
So, what about you, do you say what you mean?
Thursday 25 February 2010
Glaswegian Interpreter - shocking to some?
It was interesting to see that Jonathan Downie, a graduate of Heriot Watt is now the worlds first "official Glaswegian interpreter" - see http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-central/157749-parliamo-glasgow-meet-the-worlds-first-glaswegian-interpreter.
For some, the news that visitors to Glasgow need an interpreter is not surprising but for others it's a crying shame that "badly spoken English" is being promoted. (That's for those who see Scottish English as a variety of British English.)Interestingly, the concept of "good" or "bad" English tends to hold little ground in modern linguistics and is seen as a throwback to the complaint tradition where a prescriptive approach to language was the norm - telling people what they should and shouldn't do with language.
These days linguists tend to follow a descriptive approach - they try to describe what actually happens in real-life language rather than what "should" take place according to some textbook.
Personally it's a far more practical approach to language study, after all language is a vehicle for social identity, social change and individual expresion, and it's something that lives, grows, changes and develops.
For some, the news that visitors to Glasgow need an interpreter is not surprising but for others it's a crying shame that "badly spoken English" is being promoted. (That's for those who see Scottish English as a variety of British English.)Interestingly, the concept of "good" or "bad" English tends to hold little ground in modern linguistics and is seen as a throwback to the complaint tradition where a prescriptive approach to language was the norm - telling people what they should and shouldn't do with language.
These days linguists tend to follow a descriptive approach - they try to describe what actually happens in real-life language rather than what "should" take place according to some textbook.
Personally it's a far more practical approach to language study, after all language is a vehicle for social identity, social change and individual expresion, and it's something that lives, grows, changes and develops.
Thursday 18 February 2010
Higher Education drops out
The Higher Education finance debate rages on only to add fuel to the fire over funding and the quality of education here in the UK. It's a sad state of affairs that a party which once promised to put "Education, education, education" at the heart of it's agenda now wants to make cuts in education!
Of course everyone needs to tighten the belt when the economy goes through a rough time, but it's a question of priorities.
Universities need to find cash to provide a quality student experience but this is difficult at a time when funding cuts result in staff cuts, courses being axed and perhaps most worrying if you're a happylinguist cuts in language degrees and departments.
It fails to look at the bigger picture. On one hand China and India continue to churn out graduates as quickly as they churn out goods for export, and this will result in stiff competition in the global job market in a few decades time when Chinese and Indian universities rise up the list of top notch institutions.
On the other hand, the inability of the UK to measure up to our European neighbours in terms of language skills already means that there are not enough qualified UK linguists to properly represent British companies abroad.Even the Directorate General of Translation for the EU can't find enough qualified native English speakers to work as translators!
The gap will only widen - soon it'll be an abyss - and the UK will be left even further behind, or in political terms, we could say that it will be "Dole, dole, dole" for a lot more people.
Of course everyone needs to tighten the belt when the economy goes through a rough time, but it's a question of priorities.
Universities need to find cash to provide a quality student experience but this is difficult at a time when funding cuts result in staff cuts, courses being axed and perhaps most worrying if you're a happylinguist cuts in language degrees and departments.
It fails to look at the bigger picture. On one hand China and India continue to churn out graduates as quickly as they churn out goods for export, and this will result in stiff competition in the global job market in a few decades time when Chinese and Indian universities rise up the list of top notch institutions.
On the other hand, the inability of the UK to measure up to our European neighbours in terms of language skills already means that there are not enough qualified UK linguists to properly represent British companies abroad.Even the Directorate General of Translation for the EU can't find enough qualified native English speakers to work as translators!
The gap will only widen - soon it'll be an abyss - and the UK will be left even further behind, or in political terms, we could say that it will be "Dole, dole, dole" for a lot more people.
Thursday 28 January 2010
Why is learning a language such hard work?
For many people the thought of learning a new language seems a bit overwhelming, even though millions of people worldwide do exactly that when they move to new places (either because of work, family, war or natural disaster) and learn new languages.
One of the reasons why we feel that its more bother than what it's worth is that we think back to our school days - years spent learning French or German grammar and we still couldn't have a conversation with a Frenchman or a German at the end of it! Maybe we put it down to the fact that we British "just aren't good at languages."
In fact, it's more to do with the age we started learning the foreign language or the methods used to teach us. Have a look at the following clip (courtesy of Eddie Izzard and YouTube) which illustrates perfectly what I mean...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4
Au revoir!
One of the reasons why we feel that its more bother than what it's worth is that we think back to our school days - years spent learning French or German grammar and we still couldn't have a conversation with a Frenchman or a German at the end of it! Maybe we put it down to the fact that we British "just aren't good at languages."
In fact, it's more to do with the age we started learning the foreign language or the methods used to teach us. Have a look at the following clip (courtesy of Eddie Izzard and YouTube) which illustrates perfectly what I mean...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzDbNFDdP4
Au revoir!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)