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
Monday, 5 July 2010
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!
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