CHARTEREDINSTITUTEOFLINGUISTS 60/4 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

The Linguist

Leap of Faith
Behind-the-scenes of Welsh-
English drama: from playing
roles differently in each language
to filming everything twice

B-line to
success
How to avoid common
mistakes when working
to improve a C language

Novel accents
Why the translator of German
bestseller The Peacock
added Scots dialogue
 TRAINING

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 CONTENTS

The Linguist The Linguist, formerly

The Incorporated
Linguist, is the official
journal of the Chartered
Institute of Linguists

ON BOARD FOR ENGLISH? . 22

18 What new rules in Norwegian shipping tell us
about the impact of language policy on safety

Reviews
BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

TOP PICKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Our reviewer’s selection of influential titles

Opinion & comment

© SHUTTERSTOCK

LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

EN FAMILLE . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
News & editorial Features How to support a child with a language delay

FIGHT TO SAVE THE BIG IDEA . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

LANGUAGES AT HULL . . . . . 5 Making a success of Abraço Cultural Institute matters
INSIDE PARLIAMENT . . . . . . 6 INTERPRETING: A LIFE WITH LANGUAGES . 29
The all-party group met twice this spring FROM C TO B . . . . . . . . . . . 14 One member’s story in her native Macedonian
Practical advice for improving a C language
and getting it to the level of near-fluency JUST DO IT: JUST TEACH . . 30
Multilingual TV Council member Romana Sustar shares her
EMBASSY INSIGHTS . . . . . . 17 tips for online teaching with CEO John Worne
SO GOOD THEY Spotlight on the work of the Goethe-Institut
SHOT IT TWICE . . . . . . . . . . . 8 MARIO AND THE ART
Inside view of how global hits Hinterland and AUTHENTICALLY OF STORYTELLING . . . . . . . 32
Keeping Faith were shot in English and Welsh DIFFERENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Insights into author Mario Giordano’s work
Why Annie Rutherford added Scottish accents ahead of his talk on the role of the translator
THE TRAILBLAZERS . . . . . . 11 to her translation of a German bestseller
Influential silent film narrator Tokugawa Musei MEET OUR MEMBERS . . . . . 33
A WINDOW TO Translator Daniel Gwira discusses working in
OPEN CAPTIONS . . . . . . . . 12 THE WORLD . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 the UK and his recent return to Ghana
Could working collaboratively help subtitlers How World Kid Lit is broadening children’s
to deal with the challenges of the job? perspectives through translated books WORKING FOR CIOL . . . . . 34

FRONT COVER © S4C/BBC WALES

Editor M Moore linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk 7th Floor, 167 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2EA; info@ciol.org.uk; +44 (0) 20 7940 3100; www.ciol.org.uk
Sales D Butler +44 (0) 20 7940 3100; deborah.butler@ciol.org.uk
Printed by The Pureprint Group, www.pureprint.com. Published six times a year and distributed free of charge to
Editorial Board Career Affiliates and higher grades of membership. Student and IoLET Affiliate members have access to the digital copy.
Chair K Trotman BA MA DipTrans MCIL
Annual subscription £48 post free. Overseas subscription £63 (airmail Europe), £67 (airmail rest of world). ISSN 0268-5965
R Al-Taie MA PhD MCIL CL
D Butler BA (Hons) (ex officio)
C Fairfoull BA MA ACIL MCIPD AIRP The Linguist is online at tl.ciol.org.uk; Subscribe at www.ciol.org.uk/subscriptions
J Hughes CIOL Student Member Apply to become a CIOL member at www.ciol.org.uk/membership
K McLaughlin BA PhD FCIL CL FHEA
M Moore BA (ex officio)
J Oppedisano BA MA DPSI MCIL The editor reserves the right to edit all material submitted. Views expressed in The Linguist are not necessarily
E Pavlopoulos LLB MAEd PGCE the official views of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. All rights of reproduction, translation and adaptation
J Worne (ex officio) reserved for all countries. CIOL, The Linguist and officers accept no responsibility collectively or individually for
A Zafar BA MA CIOL Career Affiliate
the service of agencies or persons advertised or announced in the pages of this journal. The good faith with
For a list of Council and committee members, which we publish offers no implied/implicit guarantee.
see www.ciol.org.uk/council

@Linguist_CIOL AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 3

NEWS & EDITORIAL

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S EDITOR’S

NOTES LETTER
Over the last six months we’ve been doing quite a lot of I love a good
work, workshops and thinking about our future with detective noir, so
Council, Educational Trust Board members and others. it was a joy to
Ten clear things which have come out of this are: research our
1 We are ambitious for the future. article on dual-
2 We value the Royal Chart er – for many the charter is language Welsh
one of the defining reasons we choose to be part of CIOL. drama (p.8). The
3 The Royal Charter encapsulates our collective purpose: language choices
• To contribute towards international goodwill by encouraging the effective study and the creators make are fascinating. Hidden
practice of languages. producer Hannah Thomas told me that she
• To promote the exchange and dissemination of information on matters of interest to sometimes makes changes to the subtitles
linguists and those interested in the study of languages. prior to broadcast because the translators
• To provide means of recognising those who are qualified as linguists in the “lose some of the subtlety that I know exists
professions, the arts, the sciences, industry, trade and commerce. in the dialogue“. Lucy Harford outlines some
4 We are open to a broader membership – the translator/interpreter community is still of the challenges subtitlers face, and why it
our central concern but there is openness towards membership, associateship and can be hard to pick up on such nuances,
affiliates in more sectors and more job roles than we currently actively promote. while making the case for more collaborative
5 We want to maintain high standards for membership – high standards must be part working practices in the industry (p.12).
of our core identity and ‘brand’. It was felt that the award of Chartered status needs Marking Women in Translation month can
to be at least as searching in its requirements as it is today (and perhaps more so). be challenging for a 36-page bimonthly
6 There may be scope to streamline and simplify membership processes to enable publication, especially as most of our readers
more linguists to join, and to make it clearer how to progress through to the are not literary translators. It raises a question
professional grades and ultimately Chartered status. the Editorial Board considers regularly: how
7 We also stand for very high quality qualifications – the ‘gold standard’ and many of our articles should be of direct
predominant focus for our qualifications are those for professional linguists who use practical relevance to our readers and how
languages in their careers and working lives. many should be of broader interest within the
8 We want to do more to support early career linguists – there is a collective desire to language industries? (Answers on a postcard
offer more at the recent graduate/early career transition stage. People leaving please: linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk.)
university or starting work in public services, the armed forces and business need Few translators will ever get an assignment
qualification options to convert useful linguistic competence into professionally like Annie Rutherford’s (p.18) in which she
valuable credentials which unlock jobs and work. introduced accents to her translation of a
9 We seek to be a reliable partner and a confident and generous ‘brand’ – people and novel set in Scotland. And yet her article
organisations come to and look to CIOL for insight, advice and expertise because about it will be engaging even for those with
we know how to respect a confidence and we work for the common good. Building only a passing interest in cross-cultural
our reputation and good standing will further enable us to convene, shape and communication. It certainly seems a good
influence policy for the good of all. way to celebrate Women in Translation and
10 The world is our oyster for CIOL’s future! the authorship of women translators.
Overall, there’s a real sense of optimism and positive energy despite the pandemic. I am always pleased to hear from readers,
Online delivery of our qualifications, a successful online CIOL Conference, more online so it has been wonderful to receive emails
CPD, plus Technology for Translators week all mean we are well placed to turn the from many of you recently. Get in touch also if
page on a uniquely difficult chapter in our 110 year history. It feels like there are better you’d like to share your ‘caught reading’ selfies
days ahead. I hope you enjoy another great issue of The Linguist. or be featured in ‘A life with languages’ (p.29).

Miranda Moore

John Worne Share your views: linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk

4 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com


The latest from the languages world
Fight to save languages at Hull
The University of Hull has announced plans to
close its languages department, which would
see recruitment to undergraduate Chinese,
French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish
courses cease immediately. Research-based
postgraduate provision in modern languages
would also stop, with university-wide provision
ending entirely by 2023, according to the
University and College Union (UCU).
The union was told that in future students
would be directed to learn languages through
an app – most likely Rosetta Stone. This
prompted UCU Regional Official Julie Kelley
Languages cut MFL education:
dementia risk pupils miss out
Speaking more languages can delay the
onset of dementia, according to a new tool.
Developed by a team at the University of
Ottawa, the Dementia Population Risk Tool
(DemPoRT) enables people aged 55 or over
to assess their chances of developing the
condition within five years. According to
researchers, this helps them to reduce the
risks by making lifestyle changes, such as
eating more healthily, quitting smoking – and
learning a new language. Based on a survey
of 75,000 people, the ‘dementia calculator’ is
part of Project Big Life in Canada. The
findings reflect other research in this area.
cutt.ly/bmj_DemPoRT; www.projectbiglife.ca
@Linguist_CIOL
to say: “Hull University’s claims to have an
international outlook are beyond laughable
whilst it plans to close an entire modern
languages department, replacing some
courses with an online app anyone can
download to their phones for £10.”
Staff members vowed to fight the decision
but did not vote in sufficient numbers to
support strike action. Describing the plan as “a
brazen act of vandalism“ that would lead to 11
redundancies, the UCU said it would continue
trying to negotiate a better deal for affected
staff. The university declined to comment.
Millions of children in England and Wales
received no language education during the
first lockdown, according to a British Council
report. Teachers responding to the Language
Trends 2021 survey reported that 40% of
pupils in Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14) did not
engage with language learning, while 53% of
primaries suspended lessons. The situation
improved during the 2021 school closures,
with 98% of teachers better prepared for
online teaching, but 20% of primary pupils still
had no language provision. This has led to a
further decline in take-up at GCSE, with only
53% of Year 10 pupils studying a language.
cutt.ly/Trends2021
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
NEWS & EDITORIAL
What the
papers say…
Healing Words: Taiwan’s tribes fight to
save their disappearing languages, 9/6/21
President Tsai Ing-wen apologised for the
“centuries of pain and mistreatment”. In 2017
the parliament passed a law to promote and
preserve Indigenous languages. It designated
the 16 as national languages… Ting-chung
Chen, assistant professor of linguistics at
National Tsing Hua University, says the
government has good intentions but the
foundation, which is responsible for language
preservation and educational measures, was
understaffed and unable to meet the needs
of the 42 dialects within the 16 languages.
Jury Discharged in Joey Barton Assault Trial
After ‘Lost in Translation’ Issues, 8/6/21
After more than hour of translation difficulties
between Sheffield Crown Court and
Germany, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told
the jury: “It is just not right to struggle on.”
He told the panel: “Unfortunately this
morning I became increasingly concerned
that things are getting lost in translation.”
Judge Richardson said it was not anybody’s
fault that the trial had to be halted, but was a
consequence of the extraordinary measures
put in place due to the Covid pandemic. He
said a new trial date would be fixed.
How Keeping a Diary can Help Adults
Learn a Foreign Language, 10/6/21
Students’ learning diaries revealed how they
used their analytic language ability. They
identified common language errors that
(mainly) English speakers make in Spanish.
They described how the language worked in
Spanish, as well as in English… It appeared
that the diaries were used specifically as a
simple tool for tightening the nuts and bolts
of language learning.
T e Lin
Th inguis
it 5
 NEWS & EDITORIAL
Inside parliament
Thee all-partyy groupp considerss new w standardss ffor
policee interpreting, pluss valuablee businesss research
The All-Partyy Parliamentaryy Group (APPG) on
Modern Languages held two meetings in
Mayy with particularr relevance to translators
and interpreters. Firstt theyy looked att the
value off language skills forr SME (small and
medium enterprise) exports, with the launch
off Aston Business School and the Association
off Translation Companies’ ‘LO-C C 30’ report
(cutt.ly/ata_lo-c). This presents quantitative
research on 415 UK K SMEs across different
sectors, examining theirr organisational-level
language capacityy through statistical analysis
and modelling.
A keyy conceptt within the studyy is
‘language capacity’ (LO-C), which indicates a
company’s motivation, preparedness and
attitudes towards developing language-
related capabilities, as well as the actual use
off available language capabilities. The results
reveal thatt language capabilities are a key
driverr forr UKK SME exportt success, with a 30%
higherr success rate among SMEs thatt make
use off language capabilities.
This tallies with 2015 research from James
Foreman Peckk and Peng Zhou, who calculated
thatt investmentt in languages increases the
ratio off exports to sales byy 37% orr more
(cutt.ly/PeckZhou). Such research is valuable
when making the case forr focusing on
language skills in business. SMEs accountt for
6 T e Lin
Th inguis
i t Vol/60 No/4 2021
© SHUTTERSTOCK
more than 99% off private sectorr businesses,
butt are over-reliantt on Anglophone markets.
The second APPG meeting explored the
national ‘Police Approved Interpreterr and
Translator’ scheme (PAIT; cutt.ly/pait_npcc).
This is a new w standard forr safe and effective
language services in the UK’s police forces.
Developed byy Leicestershire Police on behalf
off the National Police Chief’ss Council (NPCC),
PAIT T iss a new
w classification forr interpreterss and
translators carrying outt police assignments in
England and Wales. Itt providess assurance that
the interpreters and translators used have the
rightt qualifications (DPSI Law w orr Diploma in
Police Interpreting), standards and vetting,
and (iff theyy are nott up to the job) receive
training orr are removed from police work.
The architects off the scheme described the
developmentt process in the face off the
realities off policing and the availabilityy of
translators in certain specialisms and
languages. The APPG noted thatt other
publicc sectors, including legal interpreting,
could learn from the PAIT T model.
TL Philip Harding-Esch workss on
behalff off the British Council to
supportt the APPG ML L (cutt.ly/appgml).
In the media
PHILIP HARDING-ESCH
Itt has been a time off upheaval for
languages education. In England, the
government’s consultation on transforming
the GCSE curriculum contentt to a system
centred on a frequency-based vocabulary
model prompted much controversy.
Schoolsweekk reported thatt the All-Party
Parliamentaryy Group (APPG) on Modern
Languages, backed byy overr 1,000
organisationss and individuals, wass calling on
the governmentt to reach more consensus.
Headteacherss warned thatt Ofsted’ss plans
forr 90% off students to studyy a language
GCSE were “unrealistic” with the current
numberr off available teachers, according to
the TES. Ofsted also found thatt when it
comes to language education, a
“disappointing” numberr off primaryy schools
are “barelyy outt off the starting block”.
The pandemicc continued to impactt on
languages provision. BBC C News noted that
in Northern Ireland language provision has
“collapsed”, with trips cancelled underr the
pressure and oral examss dropped forr 2022.
There was good news forr thousands of
Afghan interpreters, allowed to resettle in
the UK K in a “rapidlyy accelerated” policyy as
the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates.
The issue is nott whollyy resolved, however,
and The e Independentt ran a powerful
feature on the crisiss facing Iraqi interpreters.
The symbolicc significance off language
and multilingualism in policyy and publicc life
was clearr as the new w Scottish Parliament
was sworn in. The e National counted a
“record number” off MSPs making their
vows in languages otherr than English,
including Arabic, Canadian French, Gaelic,
Orcadian, Punjabi, Scots, Urdu and Welsh.
In a highlyy symbolicc developmentt forr the
EU post-Brexit, France will insistt on French
being used as the working language off EU
institutions while itt holds the EU
presidencyy in 2022. “French officials note
thatt with Britain gone from the EU, there
are onlyy two, fairlyy small, EU members –
Ireland and Malta – thatt use English as an
official language,” reported Politico.
Philip
p Harding-Eschh iss a freelance
e languages
projectt managerr and
d consultant.
thelinguist.uberflip.com

The big idea
Abraço Cultural Founder Daniel Morais and Co-Founder
Abraço Rio Carolina Viera reflect on the NGO’s growth
How would you describe Abraço Cultural?
CV We provide language and culture classes
as a self-sustainable NGO with two major
goals: to help refugees integrate into the local
community by giving them a job; and to build
a more diverse, tolerant and rich community
through language and cultural education
delivered by refugees. An important aim is to
give everyone the opportunity to learn
languages, so our courses are much cheaper
than traditional schools. For more about
Abraço Cultural, see abracocultural.com.br.
How did the idea come about?
DM I was involved with NGOs that support
refugees through Atados – an NGO that I
founded in 2012. In 2014, a group of
volunteers and I created a network to
showcase the different cultures of refugees.
They saw that the refugees had a lot to give
but no way of making an income. Abraço
Cultural was our idea to address that.
How did you get started?
DM We organised volunteers into three
groups – communications, administration and
language/pedagogy – which are still our three
departments. We started in São Paulo in 2015
with a summer course. We were supposed to
have 40 students but almost 800 signed up.
We started with 120 students and by the end
of 2020 we had over 2,000. Working with
dedicated volunteers you can reach any goal.
When you established a second office in Rio
you had no funding. How did you manage?
CV We got creative. Daniel found a space
we could use for free for three hours a day.
Now we have two schools in Rio with 12
@Linguist_CIOL
FEATURES
classrooms. It was hard at first but it made us
stronger. In Rio, we also run events with
partners such as SESC, a non-profit that makes
education, recreational, culture and health
programmes available to the community.
DM In São Paulo we used Atados resources.
We still have volunteers and partnerships, for
example refugees who cater for our events.
How did you develop the pedagogy?
CV Daniel had an innovative idea but the
materials were uninspiring and grammar-
based. When I joined in 2015 as Pedagogical
Coordinator, we revised the pedagogical
references and rewrote every Abraço book.
We use our own books as it is less expensive AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH
for students and, more importantly, it enables Abraço teachers in Rio (main image) with
us to share cultures of the Global South. Carolina (centre); and Daniel (inset)
So what is your background? How many people work for Abraço?
CV I am a teacher. I have degrees in French CV We have two people in the pedagogical
and Portuguese – one focused on literature, department, two in administration and one in
research and language, the other on teaching. communications in each city, plus 34 teachers
For over 10 years, I worked as a French from 13 nationalities, including Benin, Cuba,
teacher and also in my school’s pedagogical Haiti, Palestine, Syria and Venezuela.
department. I am currently a postgraduate
student in culture and education. Tell us about teacher training at Abraço…
DM I studied management in school. I CV We take an innovative approach. The
didn’t like studying languages, and I felt that initial training is 2-3 weeks. We also have a
combining the culture of refugees with monthly workshop and an annual session
language learning would be more attractive. with professionals from all over the world.
How did you cope with the pandemic? What’s next for Abraço Cultural?
CV Some of our teachers didn’t have CV We are starting to offer scholarships to
computers or internet access at home, so we make language learning accessible for people
provided that and did an intensive training across Brazil who wouldn’t normally have this
week, followed by monthly workshops. Our experience. We also hope to create a new
offices in Rio and São Paulo had always been cultural experience, combining online and
quite separate, but we really pulled together. offline, so watch this space…
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 7
 MULTILINGUAL TV
So good they shot it twice
How are bilingual Welsh-English shows made? Miranda Moore
speaks to the makers of Keeping Faith and Hidden to find out
F
aith Howells is one of those roles that
actors dream of playing. Relatable,
funny, empassioned and complex,
the character had viewers gripped as she
struggled to make sense of her husband’s
disappearance in the surprise BBC hit
Keeping Faith. Eve Myles brought charisma,
strength and vulnerability to the part, which
was reportedly written for her. Yet she has
admitted to turning it down four times
because she doubted her ability to learn the
Welsh script.
Shot in both English and Welsh, and
co-commissioned by the Welsh-language
channel S4C, the show was first broadcast in
Wales as Un Bore Mercher. Its success – it was
one of the BBC’s top five shows of 2018 –
marked a significant milestone for S4C.
Established with government funding in 1982
following a campaign by Welsh-language
activists, it initially broadcast a mix of Welsh-
language content and English-language shows
from Channel 4 (which launched at the same
time). Under scrutiny from Westminster, it
was criticised for poor viewing figures, but by
2019-2020, 11.5 million people across the UK
were watching its shows (more than three
times the population of Wales). Since 2010, it
has broadcast entirely in Welsh.
Dual language series with two different
versions (usually one entirely in Welsh and
one entirely in English) are distinct from
bilingual shows, where the two languages
mix in each episode. S4C’s first attempts
included Tân ar y Comin/A Christmas
Reunion, starring Edward Woodward (1993).
But it wasn’t until the success of Scandi noirs
such as The Killing and The Bridge that the
channel found a tried and tested model of
8 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
filming back to back (with each scene shot in
one language and then the other). The joint
S4C/BBC Wales drama Y Gwyll/Hinterland
became the first breakout success of its kind,
with Netflix picking up the English version.
First airing in 2013 and running to three
series, Hinterland firmly established the
Welsh noir genre, pushing boundaries when
it came to including Welsh-language
dialogue in the English script. Its success is
credited as showing proof of concept for
bilingual programming, paving the way for
more Welsh-language content in future back-
to-back productions. When Craith/Hidden
followed in 2018, there was a Welsh version
and a bilingual version that was predominantly
in English but included episodes with almost
50% of the scenes in Welsh.
Executive Producer Ynyr Williams spoke to
me as filming on the third series was coming
to an end. “You have to have credibility so
that the sales agents and distributors know
that you will deliver something in two
languages which is strong and dramatically
interesting, and I think that’s what happened
with Hinterland.”
Who speaks what?
The first episode of Hidden begins with a
scene in English, as DCI Cadi John (Siân
Reese-Williams) speaks to her terminally ill
father after a long absence. Subsequent
scenes are entirely in Welsh: as the body of a
young woman is discovered, the detectives
interview her father; in a remote cottage the
perpetrator interacts with his mother and
daughter. A nurse uses the phrase ‘No rest for
the wicked’ in her Welsh-language chatter, as
English words perforate the Welsh dialogue,
STAR TURN
Celia Imrie as Faith’s mother in Keeping Faith/
Un Bore Mercher (above); and Siôn Alun Davies
and Siân Reese-Williams in Craith/Hidden
reflecting the way people speak in bilingual
areas. “The great thing about Hidden, and
Hinterland before it, is that it shows a
bilingual country where it is totally natural in
some places to speak Welsh and English at
the same time,” says Williams by phone from
Caernarfon, a castle town where the two
languages mix freely in everyday conversation.
Decisions are made about which language
to use for each scene during the early stages
of production. “I usually talk with the
producers about the precincts where Welsh
would be the predominant language. There
were about five or six scenes in a cottage and
all of that was shown in the Welsh language,
because we thought that that would be the
natural language for that location,” he says.
“The producers and myself speak at least
two languages, so we’ve an innate
understanding of the linguistic issues of Wales,
thelinguist.uberflip.com

geographically, politically, procedurally and
socially, so all those factors play into the
decision-making process.” In the second
series of Hidden there are several scenes in a
secondary school in Gwynedd, and although
many of the young people speak English to
each other, the teachers speak only in Welsh,
reflecting the Welsh-first policy of schools in
this part of Northwest Wales.
Interestingly, where scenes are shot in both
languages, there can be a different dramatic
tension in each version. This was particularly
evident in Richard Harrington’s performance
as DCI Tom Mathias in Y Gwyll/Hinterland,
which Williams worked on as a producer. “I
know that Rich Harrington has said the
emotional charge of the languages could be
really different in Welsh and in English, and
some of the actors commented that his
performance did change. Some words will
give you a different dynamic drive, especially
in Welsh where the consonants are harder. At
times it’s easier to be in somebody’s face in a
language that is consonantly hard.”
For Reese-Williams, who was raised
bilingually in Mid Wales, “there is a different
vibe in the Welsh – it feels more authentic in a
way. This is probably because in real life these
characters are Welsh speakers and would be
speaking Welsh to each other naturally.”
Where a scene works particularly well in one
language, the producers may decide to use it
for both versions. “Always with these thought
processes it’s about the dramatic input of the
language,” explains Williams.
How filming works
These dramatic differences can cause
unexpected challenges. “You have to play
around with – and be aware of – your
performances in relation to where you want
to be at the end of the scene. Because
shooting out of sequence, as they do, the
language could have taken you somewhere
in a scene, but you have to make sure you’re
in the right place for the story,” he adds.
Filming back to back extends the shoot by
about a third, according to Craith/Hidden
Producer Hannah Thomas, so it takes 16
weeks to shoot six episodes in both versions.
“The actors are very adept at switching
between languages, so we will do it shot by
MULTILINGUAL TV
shot: we’ll do the wide in English and then in
Welsh, then we’ll move in to get the close-
up.” It helps to start each scene in the
language that was used last for the previous
scene (e.g. English, Welsh; Welsh, English).
Although most actors and crew members
are bilingual, filming instructions are given in
English to make sure everyone understands.
“There’s a kind of nod to make sure that
everybody understood the dynamics of the
scene in one language before moving on to
the other,” explains Williams.
For the same reason, Hidden is written in
English first, even though the writer, Carol
Lewis, is a prolific Welsh-language writer.
“Some of our financiers don’t speak Welsh, so
she will write in English first and then adapt
her own script into Welsh,” says Thomas.
“For the purpose of getting everyone on
board we have to go English first.”
With the exception of S4C’s most recent
co-production, Yr Amgueddfa/The Museum,
titles rarely have the same meaning in both
languages. Keeping Faith clearly wouldn’t
work in Welsh (un bore mercher means ‘one
Wednesday morning’), while craith (‘scar’)


and y gwyll (‘the dusk’) were adapted as
‘hidden’ and ‘hinterland’. “It was a collective
endeavour. Craith, I think, is a lovely sounding
word where ‘scar’ perhaps isn’t, and in Welsh
it also speaks to a craith in the land in a way
that maybe in English it doesn’t. It just has a
little bit more heft in Welsh. So we were
trying to think of an English title that would
reflect the themes of keeping secrets hidden,
of keeping emotions hidden,” says Thomas.
The expansive Welsh landscape is central
to Welsh noir, rooting the drama in the
wilderness. The title Hinterland clearly speaks
to this, and according to Williams, Y Gwyll
has a similar feel: “In Welsh you would say
‘this landscape is very dusk-like’ because it’s
grey-ish, very dark, kind of gloomy. The worst
thing we could do would be to literally
translate something like this.”
Getting the green light
For a channel operating in a language spoken
by less than 900,000 people, the benefits of
co-commissioning a dual language
production are many. The fact that two
broadcasters have sufficient faith in a series
to invest in it, and that an English version is
available, boosts confidence among
distributors and sales agents. In addition,
“having another broadcaster on board
instantly doubles the budget”, says S4C’s
Drama Commissioner Gwenllian Gravelle.
However, it’s about much more than
finances. “It’s about making sure that our
shows are a representation of Wales and the
people of Wales, so it’s a real responsibility,”
she adds. BBC Wales also shares this aim,
fulfilling its public service remit by providing
10 The Linguist V ol/60 No/4 2021
programmes in Welsh. “We work well
together because we’ve both got the same
goals,” Gravelle confirms. “But we also have
a few projects in development with other UK
broadcasters, which is very exciting.”
For Welsh-speaking creatives who choose
to stay in Wales this sense of responsibility is
personal. “I feel very lucky – I think we all do –
to be able to film in Welsh and to play a part
in ensuring that Welsh survives not only in
Wales, but also that it’s heard internationally.
Because lots of people see it as a dying
language, which it isn’t – it’s a vibrant,
growing modern language,” says Thomas.
This linguistic reality is increasingly reflected
in S4C programming, as the channel strives to
be more representative. “Our channel Hansh,
for younger viewers (16+), is a bit more
relaxed with the language, you know, whereas
40 years ago when S4C started it wasn’t as
bilingual,” explains Gravelle. Watching Yr
Amgueddfa in Welsh on the S4C app, I was
struck by the amount of code-switching,
especially among the younger characters,
which reflects this more natural approach.
“We’re also trying to encourage our sort of
lost audience of mixed households – of
people who can speak Welsh but maybe
their partner can’t – saying, ‘You don’t have
to be fluent to enjoy our dramas.’” In
addition to subtitles in English, S4C now
includes Welsh subtitles for some of its shows
to support language learners and children.
This is another area which has been
positively impacted by Scandi noir and the
subsequent increase in foreign-language TV,
driven largely by Netflix. “People who love
drama are getting much more used to reading
TWICE THE CHARM
Eve Myles as Faith Howells in the third
series of Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher
subtitles,” says Gravelle. “[Bilingual show]
Bang has been shown on Acorn TV in
America; 35 Days/35 Diwrnod is on Britbox
and that’s all in Welsh, so things are changing;
people aren’t as afraid of subtitles any more.”
When a show is picked up by a global
streaming service, it also raises awareness of
Wales’s potential around the world. “I think
people see that within just a 200 mile radius
there’s a lot of different kinds of landscapes
and there’s an industry here full of Welsh
creatives who are used to making shows,”
she adds. Sky’s forthcoming thriller Extinction
is filming in Cardiff as we speak, and parts of
The Crown were shot in Aberystwyth and
Caernarfon, with subtitled dialogue in Welsh
from Keeping Faith actor Mark Lewis Jones.
It is rare for monoglot English speakers to
be cast in these productions, and Eve Myles’
candour about her initial reluctance to learn
Welsh and the subsequent joy she found in it
has encouraged audiences to give language
learning a go. “I guess I’m a classic example
of someone who didn’t think it was possible.
And it really is,” she said.
If S4C’s remit is to make high-quality,
inclusive drama for the people of Wales, it is
achieving this while fulfilling further goals of
representing Wales and the Welsh language
on a global platform. As Thomas says: “Ed
[Talfan], who’s the co-creator of Hinterland and
Hidden, has demonstrated that language can
sell – that people can tune in to Welsh.”
Visit s4c.cymru/clic to watch S4C online.
thelinguist.uberflip.com
 MULTILINGUAL TV

The trailblazers
Jeffrey Dym celebrates the life of Tokugawa Musei, influential benshi
(silent film narrator) and storyteller, on the 50th anniversary of his death
Tokugawa Musei (䕿૝ 䄬्) is one of Japan’s
greatest narrative artists. He began his career
as a benshi (୐ॊ), or silent film narrator, where
he not only perfected silent film narration
(setsumei; 抍ก), but also played an integral
role in developing a new form of comedic
storytelling called mandan (ᄓ抨). Moreover,
his work on early radio and television affected
the style and sound of radio broadcasters
and television announcers to the point where
his influence can be discerned today.
Consequently, Musei ranks as one of the most
influential performers of 20th-century Japan.
Born Fukuhara Toshio in 1894, Musei was
a talented storyteller even as a child.
Entertainers at the time were generally A good benshi was a faithful commentator; to lose their jobs as theatres wired for sound.
scorned, so his father suggested that he work he did not exaggerate or mislead audiences. Musei branched out into other activities, such
as a benshi, since they did not have to show He let the audience enjoy the film, without his as working on the radio and acting in movies.
their faces. His father had forgotten – or did setsumei impinging upon them. Musei put it He became a renowned radio personality
not realise – that benshi provided maesetsu this way: “When I perform, I separate myself and won numerous awards, including the
(introductory remarks) on lit stages before from my ego, and from the hidden shadows Hs bunka sh (Cultural Broadcast Award).
they drifted off to the shadows. of the picture I speak as if I were actually the Between 1932 and 1969 he appeared in 52
In 1913, Musei became an apprentice of movie talking. In other words, I do not think movies. He also published over 50 books and
benshi Shimizu Reizan and within two years that I am a setsumeisha giving setsumei.” hundreds of articles.
he was working at the Aoikan theatre. It was To accomplish this feat, a benshi had to Because of his writing ability, news agencies
there that he assumed the name by which he prepare, and to ensure that what he wanted often asked Musei to report on current
would be known for the rest of his life. He to say fit into the time allotted, he had to events. He went to England to report on the
took on the name because he had a ‘dream possess a firm understanding of the plot and coronations of both King George and Queen
voice’, the meaning of the kanji for ‘Musei’. themes of the movie, as well as of the details Elizabeth. From 1951, he published a weekly
Benshi interpreted the intertitles on silent of the passing scenes. He had to understand ‘transcript’ of an interview with a politician,
films, voiced the characters and provided thoroughly the mood and tempo of the film. businessman, actor, athlete or other celebrity.
general commentary. Musei specialised in Musei played an integral role in the Tokugawa Musei died on 1 August 1971 at
providing setsumei for foreign films such as development of a new form of oral comedy the age of 77. He must be considered one of
the German Expressionist film The Cabinet of known as mandan, which emerged from the Japan’s greatest narrative artists and his
Dr Caligari. Though they were often provided private backstage performing that took place influence can still be felt today.
with a translated synopsis, how much of the during the frequent power failures at the Jeffrey A Dym is Professor of History at
foreign film intertitles a benshi actually Konparukan theatre. In the early 1930s, Sacramento State. His research on Tokugawa
understood is unclear. talking pictures emerged and benshi started Musei is published in In Praise of Film Studies.

@Linguist_CIOL AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 11

 MULTILINGUAL TV
Open captions
Subtitling can be lonely work, but collaborative practice
could help with many of the challenges, says Lucy Harford
N
ot so long ago, before the advent of online
streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon
Prime, foreign-language drama was considered
to be niche, arthouse and a bit snooty in the UK.
And to some extent, it still is; many people have an
ingrained aversion to subtitles. However, recently we’ve
seen a dramatic rise in uptake and appreciation of
foreign drama on a global level, and audiovisual
translators/subtitlers are now bridging worlds left, right
and centre.
As things stand, subtitling is generally a post-post-
production activity: subtitles are written once the final
edit has been submitted and the director has already
moved on to the next project. And this makes sense,
especially if the material wasn’t originally intended for
foreign audiences. However, the subtitling guidelines in
our textbooks don’t necessarily apply any more, and we
are constantly having to adapt due to a new thirst for
world drama and modern filming styles. These include
rapid shot changes, where the director changes the
camera angle to cut between characters or scenery,
which in an ideal world subtitles shouldn’t cross.
The problem is, as with anything that grows rapidly and
without sufficient forethought, the field of subtitling has
ballooned before the industry has had time to establish a
decent working framework. Although the standard of
subtitling on major platforms is generally very high and
subtitlers do an amazing job, our lives would be so much
easier if there were more opportunities for collaboration
during the creative process.
Many a subtitler has sat at their desk reading a line of a
script over and over, wondering what a new piece of slang
means, or whether there is a double entendre they’re
missing. Is the character being insulting? Slightly arrogant?
Or was it a casual remark – no need to read too much
into it? They may need a more succinct way of putting
12 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
something; with sometimes just 42 characters per line to TEXT CUES
work with, a shorter word can make all the difference. There has been an
The subtitler may wish they could lean across the desk increase in demand
and ask a colleague, but most freelance translators are for audiovisual
lone rangers. They don’t have the luxury of bouncing translation, which is
ideas off their peers. Unless the project manager generally a post-post-
absolutely loves sending emails back and forth, over the production activity
course of a project they are pretty much left to their own
devices when it comes to deciphering the meanings of
nuanced phrases and finding the best way of conveying
them in the target language.
In my experience (aside from a few notable exceptions),
subtitling projects follow a standard process. The subtitler:
IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK
1 Receives notice of the upcoming project.
2 Downloads the scripts and audiovisual files.
3 Spots and translates the subtitles. ‘Spotting’ is the
cueing of subtitles (i.e. deciding when they enter and
leave the screen) and consists of inputting an ‘IN’
timecode and an ‘OUT’ timecode.
4 Delivers the project with some notes.
5 Moves on to the next project.
After delivery, there is no feedback and no conversation
with the reviewer/proofreader; the subtitler doesn’t see
or hear anything about the project again.
Unique to subtitling
Though the challenges are similar to other fields of
translation in many ways, there is an additional layer of
communication to decode in audiovisual translation, as
factors such as facial expression, body language,
background music and scenery play a role in what the
words mean. Occasionally the audiovisual files are
missing, which means the translator doesn’t have access
to the context in which the dialogue is meant to be
interpreted, and has to guess from tone of voice,
character knowledge and other cues.
thelinguist.uberflip.com

There are also time restraints. A character may be
speaking quickly so a ‘full translation’ won’t fit on screen
and we have to go with a shorter alternative. We might
also want to know whether a direct translation is
appropriate or whether we should localise a bit for the
audience. Some agencies prefer a translation that reads
more like the source language sounds, even if the
joke/word doesn’t work as well in the target language. For
example, the word bravo in French can be translated as
‘bravo’ in English, but today we would more commonly
say ‘well done’, as ‘bravo’ sounds quite dated.
In fact there is a pedagogical argument to avoid over-
translating/localising, so the subtitler would not translate
certain names, such as festival titles or culinary dishes,
leaving viewers to look them up if they are interested. It
may also be easier for language learners if the translation
is direct. For instance, in French people often say Non,
mais… and although we don’t say ‘No, but…’ in English
in the same way, a direct translation may be appropriate.
How to work together
Working independently and at one’s own pace is
wonderful and liberating, but a subtitler has to make
difficult choices and omit certain information to fit the
message on screen, in keeping with reading speeds
and shot changes. In a recent Instagram Live session,
subtitling expert Jorge Díaz Cintas and translator
Daniela Costa discussed the lack of professional
resources in the subtitling industry and the need to
enhance creative collaboration.1
Subtitlers of all levels have little or no guidance
regarding the audiovisual material at hand and no way of
consulting the dubbing team to compare translation
choices. A film or television series will be translated
slightly differently for dubbing and subtitling for many
reasons, including the human brain’s ability to process
@Linguist_CIOL
MULTILINGUAL TV
the spoken word faster than the written word and the DRAMATIC SHIFT
educational aspects mentioned previously. However, a The popularity of
lot could be gained from the two teams collaborating Scandi noirs
and maintaining a level of consistency. The Killing (top) and
Furthermore, how can audiovisual translators expect to The Bridge (above)
improve their skills and practice if they never receive led to a boom in
feedback, constructive or otherwise? From accidentally foreign-language
using the wrong language variant (e.g. UK vs US English) TV (main image)
to an overuse of exclamation marks or poor segmentation, and audiovisual
we can only learn from our mistakes if they are identified. translation
So what is the solution? A truly transparent and
collaborative process may never be the norm, but the
technology that allows us to Zoom across continents,
Live Chat with customer services and Slack among
colleagues already exists, and incorporating them into a
desktop-based profession is not a huge leap.
The new platform OOONA provides online tools for
subtitling and captioning, including a cloud service that
automatically backs up work. Models such as this could
potentially incorporate chat plugins, enabling a more
seamless conversation between project managers,
translators, proofreaders and quality controllers.
In the past five years alone I have seen amazing
advancements in subtitling software, such as the ability
to preset in-house guidelines, import scripts and
automatically generate subtitles from audio. While many
will want to explore the possibilities of integrating
artificial intelligence (machine translation) as an aid, I
believe adding more humans to the process would
produce much better and sustainable results. As
subtitlers, we need to protect our profession, and the
best way of doing this is by working together.
Notes
1 ATA Audiovisual Division, Instagram Live session;
instagram.com/p/CMpfEISn_4P/
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 13
FEATURES

INTERPRETING
FROM C TO B
Sophie Llewellyn Smith offers her advice on self-assessing a C
language, and effective approaches to turning it into a B language

© SHUTTERSTOCK

14 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com


A
n interpreter’s quest for rock solid
passive languages is never-ending.
How can you assess the lacunae in
your passive or ‘C’ languages and design an
action plan to address your weaknesses?
Resources for foreign language learners are
designed for linguists in general, rather than
for interpreters in particular, meaning courses
to help you learn a foreign language will only
get you so far. Once you’ve acquired the
basics of a language you will have to create
your own programme to meet your goals.
Here’s one way to go about it:
Analyse what you need to know. Think
about the kind of interpreting you do, or want
to do: Medical? Legal? Conference? What are
the benchmarks for qualification, and what
range of vocabulary is involved? Whereas an
in-house interpreter for a car manufacturer
may be exposed to a limited vocabulary and
uniform meeting types, a conference
interpreter working for the EU institutions
would need to meet accreditation standards
and be able to cope with a wide range of
terminology, registers and speaking styles.
Check your knowledge. Based on your
response to step 1, find source materials that
will test you in relevant areas: fast, dense
material; idiomatic or technical material; formal
or colloquial material. Where are the gaps in
your knowledge: Terminology? Cultural
references? Idiomatic expressions? What
happens when you encounter challenges –
does your output suffer? Is your delivery
marred by false starts, hesitations or fillers?
Work on coping strategies. This relates
particularly to where unknown or difficult
words cause problems with your technique.
Depending on the issue, you may need to
focus on stress management strategies,
generalising and/or summarising, or adapting
decalage (i.e. the time between the start of
the speech and the start of the interpretation).
Cloze exercises (where you input words
missing from a text) and sight translation are
helpful for developing workarounds.
Fill the gaps in your knowledge. This can
be done in various ways, but I have offered a
few tips to point you in the right direction on
page 16.
@Linguist_CIOL
GAINING FLUENCY
For many interpreters, adding another
C language is of less value than turning a
C language into a B, because they work in
markets where it pays (or is essential) to be
biactive. AIIC’s definition of a B language is
“a language in which the interpreter is
perfectly fluent, but which is not a mother
tongue”. I’m ambivalent about this definition,
because the word ‘perfect’ isn’t defined and
surely implies ‘native’ fluency. This conflates
the ability to do a retour (i.e. interpret into a
non-native B language) with native or near-
native ability in the B language.
Many interpreters with noticeable non-
native features in their B language provide an
excellent service, without their clients feeling
SPENDING TIME ON
IMPROVING YOUR
SPEAKING SKILLS
PAYS OFF IN MORE
WAYS THAN ONE
that they are lacking in any way. (The bar is set
higher or lower depending on the employer
and the type of interpreting involved.)
To my mind, interpreting successfully in a
B language means expressing the speaker’s
intentions faithfully and clearly, even with a
reduced ‘toolkit’, and this requires strong
problem-solving skills. The interpreter must
be able to work around obstacles, thanks to
anticipation, reformulation, ‘chunking’,
strategic use of intonation, and a supply of
ready-made solutions for particular linguistic
and cultural challenges.
Viewing retour skills through the lens of
problem-solving abilities moves the goalposts;
it allows you to approach the work of turning
a C language into a B, not with a view to
learning a language ‘perfectly’, but with the
aim of boosting a set of definable skills.
Instead of retourists feeling that they fall
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
FEATURES
short compared to native speakers when
interpreting into their B language, they can
view this work as a set of challenges which
their problem-solving skills will help them
overcome, with the aim of shaping a retour
that is fit for purpose.
A FOCUS ON PROBLEM-SOLVING
How, then, to develop these problem-solving
skills? Just as you won’t become a fantastic
hairdresser if all you do is look at pictures of
great haircuts, if you want to improve your
retour interpreting, you need to focus on the
most useful activities and exercises to
improve the relevant sub-skills.
Two of the most common mistakes I see
aspiring retourists make are 1) doing nothing
but interpret speeches during their practice
time, and 2) trying to improve their B
language with methods that are too passive
(and more suited to improving a C language).
For example, they spend a lot of time
watching TV, reading articles or listening to
the radio while having breakfast or washing
up. I’m not suggesting these activities are
pointless. However, they conflict with what I
see as one of the cardinal principles of retour
work: if you can’t talk spontaneously and
idiomatically in your B language, how can
you hope to interpret successfully?
Over the years, I have come across many
interpreting students and coaching clients
who don’t like preparing speeches, doing role
plays or improvising in their B language. But
focusing exclusively on interpreting into your B
language, because you are uncomfortable just
speaking it, is like trying to run before you can
walk. Working towards a strong retour involves
first improving your speaking skills (syntax,
pronunciation, vocabulary and intonation),
then building in some set phrases for particular
situations, and then practising interpreting.
To improve your speaking skills, you need
to move away from passive, listening-based
exercises, and replace them with active
exercises where you have to say something
out loud. This will help you to work on one or
more of the important sub-skills mentioned
above. Instead of passively listening to a
podcast try shadowing (i.e. simultaneously

The Linguist 15
 FEATURES

repeating what you hear, B>B, in order to
work on accent or intonation). When reading a
newspaper article, read it out loud; select key
nouns and verbs, and look for alternatives. If
the subject of the article interests you, prepare
a short speech on the topic and deliver it out
loud (to the mirror if necessary). Follow up by
choosing an article in your A language and
sight translating it into your B language.
When listening to the news in your B
language try giving a one-sentence summary
of each news item. While reading literature,
note down three interesting phrases and
incorporate them into the next speech you
prepare. Don’t stop at revising a point of
grammar – also invent five example
sentences with the target structure.
If you’ve picked up some useful turns of
phrase from press articles or radio
programmes, make a point of activating
them rather than letting them stagnate as
part of your passive vocabulary. For example,
you could pick a topic for a conversation
class with a native speaker and incorporate
five new phrases into your chat, or do a few
role plays on a relevant topic with a practice
partner. You could even do some B>B
consecutive or (harder!) simultaneous
interpreting on a suitable topic, and
reformulate the source material, incorporating
your new phrases. For a break from formal
learning, have fun and work both on the
flexibility of your B language and on your
delivery. Ideal candidates for this are games
like Articulate, Taboo and Just a Minute.
Spending time on improving your speaking
skills alongside your retour interpreting skills
pays off in more ways than one. It enriches
your vocabulary, gives you ready-made
solutions to draw on under pressure, teaches
you to overcome linguistic and interpreting
challenges, boosts your confidence, reduces
the need for a native speaker to correct your
mistakes, and helps you sound more natural.
Whether you’re working on improving a
C language or turning it into a B language, I
hope to have persuaded you that practising
interpreting is not the be-all and end-all.
Active exercises are the key to producing C or
B languages that are evaluated not based on
some unrealistic standard of perfection, but
on whether or not they are fit for purpose.
16 The Linguist
Improving your C language
Once you’ve assessed the gaps in your
knowledge and vocabulary, there are many
ways to work on improving your abilities:
1 Think carefully about how much time you
have to devote to your C language, and
what your learning style is. Do you prefer
reading or listening? Are you a visual
learner? We all lead busy lives, and if
you’re combining language studying
with a job and/or family life, it’s best to
look for activities that you enjoy and fit
into little pockets of time in your day.
2 Be consistent. Language knowledge is
one of those ‘use it or lose it’ activities,
so aim for little and often.
3 Make use of new technologies and the
internet. Back in the day, I would write a
list of new vocabulary I had encountered
in the papers, record the words on
cassette (ha!), leave a blank, and then give
the translation. Nowadays, you can use
your mobile phone to do much the same
thing, or explore apps such as Quizlet to
create flashcards and audio recordings.
There are tech solutions for everything
from acquiring basic vocabulary and
listening to native speakers in context
(e.g. FluentU) to finding practice material
(e.g. SCIC Speech Repository and TEDx
talks) to checking your understanding
after interpreting a speech (e.g. by
switching on the captions on a YouTube
video). These options can add fun and
variety to your practice, and save time.
4 Listen actively. Don’t just try to absorb
by osmosis. Useful tasks to set yourself
when listening to C-language materials
© SHUTTERSTOCK
include giving a brief oral summary of
what you’ve heard; writing three
questions about it and listening back to
find the answers; and discussing what
you’ve heard with someone else.
5 Change the balance as your knowledge
becomes more advanced. You can’t
understand the structure of a language
without some book learning about
conjugations, declensions, phonology
and so forth. A typical example of this is
the differing use of verb tenses between
languages, which can affect the meaning
of a sentence. As your knowledge
advances, however, it’s important to shift
the focus from grammar and word lists to
understanding the language in context.
Interpreting from a C language is very
rarely an exercise in information retrieval
akin to a listening comprehension. It’s not
about words; it’s about understanding a
speaker’s intentions, ideas and tone.
Often, this comes packaged in humour,
cultural references and idioms. This is
where you need to move beyond
textbooks and into the real world;
depending on your weaknesses and
needs, you might like to watch TV, listen
to political satire or read children’s books,
school textbooks or lifestyle magazines.
6 Last but not least, practise interpreting
the type of material you will be exposed
to at work. It’s a good idea to record
your performances. Leave a gap of a
few weeks or months, try again and
compare the two versions in order to
assess your progress.
thelinguist.uberflip.com
© GOETHE-INSTITUT LONDON/PAU ROS
Embassy insights
Joanna Biernat considers how the Goethe-Institut and German Embassy
work collaboratively to support culture and language education in the UK
We tend to associate the Goethe-Institut with
German language training and exams, as it
offers a wide range of highly rated multi-level
courses. However, its remit extends far
beyond traditional teaching. Established 70
years ago as the successor to the German
Academy, the non-profit institution now has
159 institutes around the world with the aim
of promoting German language and culture.
Its success as a cultural association is
achieved through its collaborative work with
bodies such as the Franco-German Cultural
Fund, the German government and local
German embassies. Funded mainly by the
German government, it provides everything
from basic competency classes to advanced
qualifications, using a wide range of materials
and a flexible pedagogical approach. Blended
learning, combining 50% self-study with 50%
interaction in class, has been particularly
beneficial during the pandemic. It also offers
scholarships and course fee waivers to
students who aim to be German teachers.
In each of the 98 countries in which Goethe
operates, the local German embassy plays an
important role in promoting and organising
@Linguist_CIOL
its cultural events, and in bringing together
language students, the media, politicians,
artists and interested individuals. Its remit to
enhance people’s linguistic capabilities via
cultural events means it offers a broad
spectrum of activities, encompassing dance,
theatre, film, visual art, literature, music,
media, fashion, design and current affairs.
Launched in 2019, its online platform
Kinder Universität (Kinderuni) provides
lectures on scientific topics for school
children. Advanced learners can watch in
German with English subtitles, while
beginners can watch in English and six other
supported languages, with German words
introduced in a fun way. Kinderuni also runs
outreach projects, including Deutschland-
Wochen, organised in collaboration with MIT
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to
support the Year of German-American
Friendship in 2018.
In addition to supporting German-language
education through the Goethe-Institut, the
German Embassy in London has a far-reaching
programme of outreach activities. It supports
the Schools: Partners for the Future (PASCH)
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
FEATURES
READING ROOM
The Goethe-Institut library in London
initiative, offering pupils worldwide networking
opportunities to help them expand their
language abilities and cultural understanding.
Established by the German Foreign Office in
2008, PASCH now has 12 partner schools in
the UK. During the pandemic it ran digital
health workshops for German students in
collaboration with Goethe.
The embassy recently launched a speaker
programme called German For Young
People. This free service enables UK schools,
universities and British-German clubs to invite
speakers to talk about German culture,
language, society and current events.
Speakers, whose fees are covered by the
embassy, have expertise in different aspects
of British-German relations and include
journalists, teachers, academics and former
embassy employees.
See www.goethe.de for more information.
Joanna Biernat-Sowka MCIL is a Strategic
Client Advisor for a software company.
The Linguist 17
 FEATURES
Authentically different
Why Annie Rutherford added linguistic diversity to her translation
of The Peacock, and how she approached the Scots text
I
FIT FOR A LAIRD t’s a strange thing: as a reading public, we think
The translation of nothing of British novels set in Botswana, France or
Herrenhaus had to be Brazil – and yet with translated books there’s an
carefully considered: expectation for them to function as ambassadors for the
‘castle’ seemed countries they’re from. When we come across a
appropriate, as they translated novel set in the UK, we find ourselves startled,
are dotted across the at best. So when I told people I was translating a novel
Scottish countryside. set in Scotland, I got some baffled reactions. “You’re
Eilean Donan Castle is translating into… which language?” people would ask.
pictured (below) Isabel Bogdan’s The Peacock was a bestseller and
booksellers’ favourite in its native Germany. The comedy
of errors is set over the course of a bankers’ team-
building weekend at a dilapidated castle in a
“little glen at the foot of the Highlands”. Bogdan’s
familiarity with the region is evident in her playful
descriptions. Nonetheless, translating the book into
English posed various challenges that the author didn’t
face in the original – as the publisher, Katy Derbyshire,
acknowledged when she originally approached me.
“I want the Scottish characters to sound Scottish and
the English to sound English (and the Polish to sound
Polish), and I want the humour to work in English,”
she explained.
The novel brings together characters from various
backgrounds – geographically and also in terms of age
and class. Lord and Lady McIntosh (who own the castle),
their housekeeper and the Polish estate manager are
joined by investment bankers from London, who are
accompanied by a cook and a young team-building
facilitator. There is little differentiation between the
characters’ voices in the original and certainly no use of
18 The Linguist Vol/56 No/2 2017
dialect. This is hardly surprising – reading in the other
direction, I’ve noticed that German translations of British
books rarely seem to reproduce dialects.
However, it was clear that for the English translation to
succeed, it would be key to create believable voices for
everyone – from David, the shy Cambridge alumnus, to
Aileen, the housekeeper who has never felt the need to
leave the glen where she grew up. As a result, I decided
very early on to use Scots English for Lord and Lady
McIntosh and Aileen.
Creating character dialects
Scots English (or Scottish Standard English) exists on a
spectrum with Scots, a West Germanic language variety.
It has a distinct phonology from English and draws on
Scots vocabulary, but is closer to English grammar and
orthography than to those of Scots. (There are exceptions
though: Scots English often uses the present participle
where English would use the past, for example.) The
vocabulary of Scots English varies across different regions,
and writing in both Scots and Scots English can be fraught,
as the Scots language lobby is vocally protective of the
varieties, which have long been minoritised.
This wasn’t the first time that I’ve translated into Scots
English – I did so when translating an extract from Arno
Camenisch’s The Last Snow. The context was rather
different though: in The Last Snow, Scots words stand in
for Swiss German, recreating Camenisch’s multilingualism.
In The Peacock, I was translating the British characters
‘into’ their own dialects and producing a linguistic
diversity which doesn’t exist in the original.
www.ciol.org.uk

The Peacock is mainly narrated through internal
focalisers, with different scenes told from the perspective
of different characters (although always in the third
person). With one significant exception, the dialogue is
entirely in indirect speech. On one level, this style
allowed me a certain flexibility. The fact that Aileen’s
speech is never quoted word for word enabled me to
soften her Scots into Scots English (at one point “Jim
hadn’t understood her first sentence because of her
broad Scots accent”).
In this way I could keep the orthography of her
speech consistent with the rest of the text and ensure
these sections remained accessible to a readership
beyond Scotland. For example, we learn that “She still
had plenty of time to have weans, and she wasn’t
worried about finding the right man to start a family.” If
I’d been working in Scots, this might have become “She
still had plenty o time to hae weans, and she wisnae
fashed aboot findin the right man to stairt a family.”
I had a choice of Scots words for ‘children’: ‘bairns’
tends to be used more on the east coast, while ‘weans’
spills out into the regions around Glasgow. There’s also a
generational difference, and as Aileen is younger, ‘weans’
feels more natural, particularly imagining the book to be
set around the Trossachs (about 30 miles from Glasgow).
The subtlety of regional markers
I realised that the voice I used for a character in any
indirect speech had to be consistent with the voice when
the story was narrated from that character’s perspective.
So I moved away from stylistic consistency across the
whole text in favour of consistency within individual
voices. This didn’t only affect dialect words; the
McIntoshes and Aileen refer to the family’s animals using
the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’, while the visiting bankers stick
with the less familiar ‘it’.
Regional markers are often a lot more subtle than the
obvious dialect words. While the McIntoshes refer to the
‘glen’ and the bankers talk about the ‘valley’, I was more
interested in the regional use of words such as ‘living
thelinguist.uberflip.com
FEATURES
room’/’sitting room’/’lounge’. While working on The
Peacock, I consumed as much Scottish media as possible,
trying to tease out the different elements in my own
vocabulary – listening to BBC Scotland, revisiting favourite
authors and paying close attention when chatting to my
elderly neighbours. (And yes, I also watched the well-
known comedy-drama Monarch of the Glen.)
I utilised social media for anecdotal research on which
words people from different regions use. ‘Sitting room’
turned out to be more typical of speakers from the south
of England, while ‘living room’ is more frequently used
by Scots. English speakers more often refer to the
evening meal as ‘dinner’, while Scots tend towards ‘tea’ –
unless people are dining out or having guests over, in
which case ‘tea’ becomes ‘dinner’.
One translation choice was more of a cultural
translation – and one I had to defend a couple of times.
In the original, the McIntoshes live in a Herrenhaus
(‘manor house’/’mansion’). I have never heard the word
‘manor house’ used to refer to a house in Scotland – to
my mind it conjures images of Agatha Christie and
Middle England. ‘Mansion’ is less jarring geographically, COVER STORY
but still has nothing to do with the kind of place that the Isabel Bogdan’s
McIntoshes live in – a relic of Scotland’s feudal system, Der Pfau (above); and
defined more by its age (the oldest parts of the building Annie Rutherford’s
date back to the 17th century), and the fact that it translation (top)
belongs to the local landowner or Laird, than by any
potentially imposing appearance. Castles like this are
dotted about the Scottish countryside and are just that –
castles – unless, like Aileen, you live nearby or work on
the estate, in which case they are simply ‘the big house’.
As a speaker of Scots English, I often find that I am
editing myself as I write, reluctantly removing words like
stramash (‘uproar’/’row’) from my translations. At other
times, I have polite stand-offs with editors about phrases
which apparently sound strange to non-Scottish ears. Yet
why shouldn’t we translate into this colourful, expressive,
humorous language? In this sense, translating into Scots
English for so much of The Peacock was a joyful release
– and something I hope to do more of in future.
APRIL/MAY 2017 The Linguist 19
 FEATURES
A window
to the world
Why is it important for children to have access to books
in translation? Claire Storey reports on World Kid Lit
Over the last 18 months, countries around
the world have seen borders closing and
restrictions imposed on travel. Against this
backdrop, interest in children’s books in
translation appears to be growing, and 2020
was the most successful year to date for the
World Kid Lit team. Founded in 2016 by
Marcia Lynx Qualey, Lawrence Schimel and
Alexandra Büchler, World Kid Lit is a collective
of interested individuals – mainly translators –
who work to highlight the importance of
translated literature for children and young
people. But why does it matter that we
include books on our children’s bookshelves
that come from beyond our own country?
Firstly, there are some incredible books out
in the world that have been written by people
who do not write in English. If we do not
translate them we, as English speakers, are
missing out. Secondly, books allow us to cross
borders into different countries and immerse
ourselves in different lives and realities. I
would argue that in our current situation,
where we cannot travel as much or expose
ourselves to different countries and cultures,
this element is more important than ever.
And thirdly, there is much discussion about
the need for diversity and inclusion in the
books our children read. In a recent talk,
Sanchita Basu De Sarkar and Melanie
Ramdarshan Bold suggested that they were
“cautiously optimistic” about the rise of
diverse and inclusive books for children.
However, the special thing about translated
20 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
books is that they are not only set in
countries and cultures that differ to our own,
but they are written by people living in them.
By their very nature, books in translation offer
a different perspective and reflect different
realities, and they do so by providing
authentic representation.
Solutions for publishers
In November 2020, CLPE’s ‘Reflecting
Realities Survey of Ethnic Representation
Within UK Children’s Literature’ reported that
“the number of children’s books published in
the UK between 2017 and 2019 featuring
characters from a Black, Asian or minority
ethnic background has increased to 10%.” In
a society where 33.5% of primary-aged
children are from a minority ethnic
background,1 this would suggest that our
literature, while improving, is still not
representative of the children reading it.
Every year, World Kid Lit publishes a list of
books in translation for children and young
adults that have been published during that
year (with the caveat that these are only the
books we are aware of – there may be more).
Looking down the 2020 list, it becomes
apparent that while translated books are
being published, there is a prevalence of
books translated from the dominant Western
European languages and regions, particularly
from French and German.
While these publications are to be
welcomed, we are keen to advocate for
more translations from beyond our European
borders. A rise in the number of English-
language editions of books written by
authors in Asia, Africa and Latin America
would facilitate a more nuanced view of life
in those parts of the world, adding to the
ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity of the
books and protagonists young people
come across.
It can be a challenge for English-language
publishers and editors to find these books,
particularly if they are written in languages
that are unfamiliar to them. Some of the
biggest hurdles to translating books from
other countries include hearing about the
books in the first place, locating a reader to
assess a manuscript in the original language,
and finding a translator.
To facilitate this, World Kid Lit has
developed various resources. These include a
section of the website called Translate This!
where we highlight titles that are yet to be
thelinguist.uberflip.com

translated. We also provide a downloadable
list of expert readers who can help publishers
assess children’s and young adult (YA) books
in a range of languages. Many of them are
also translators. They are often keen to share
information about books from their country
of interest and have a wealth of expertise,
including knowledge of funding that may be
available to English-language publishers.
Branching out
Starting life as a blog entitled World Kid Lit
Month, the initiative has since evolved to
provide resources not only for publishers but
for translators too. While we do still celebrate
September as World Kid Lit Month, our
resources are available all year round and we
post weekly content on the blog, which is
edited by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp and me.
Engagement on the website has risen over
the years, with more than 18,000 visitors in
2020. Despite being a voluntary collective,
our pool of contributors and reviewers is
expanding, and we encourage anyone who
would like to get involved to contact us.
We are active on Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook,2 often responding to requests for
help from teachers who are looking for books
from certain areas of the world or to support
certain areas of the school curriculum.
Translated literature doesn’t just have to be
about languages; it can support topics in
history, geography, religious studies and art,
to name a few examples.
@Linguist_CIOL
We are also seeing an increase in events
focusing on the translation of books for young
people. Recently, Five Leaves Bookshop
included an online discussion between
publisher Emma Dai’an Wright and me as
part of their series investigating diversity in
children’s publishing. Cork World Book Fest
featured readings and discussions of children’s
books in translation for the first time in 2021,
including books translated from Chinese,
Indonesian, Japanese, Latvian and Spanish.
At the American Literary Translators
Association Conference 2020, the session
which drew the biggest virtual crowd
featured Ruth, Mia Spangenberg, Daniel
Hahn and David Jacobson talking about
translating children’s books. The YA Studies
Association also featured a panel discussion
about translated books during their inaugural
conference in 2020.
The challenges of the pandemic have driven
many of us to think more creatively and to
increase our use of technology. To celebrate
World Kid Lit Month 2020, we launched
World Kid Lit Live: live-streamed discussions
on Facebook and our YouTube channel.
Initially a two-part series for September, the
success of these panel discussions was such
that the series has continued, focusing on
certain regions or languages.
Managed behind the scenes by Marcia Lynx
Qualey (ArabLit) and Mohini Gupta (Mother
Tongue Twisters), these sessions have been
very well received. Commenting on the
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
FEATURES
DIVERSE STORIES
Author Hadil Ghoneim speaks at World Kit Lit
Live (above); and a selection of translated books
and ‘Translate This!’ recommendations (left)
Arabic session, Alexandra Büchler (Literature
Across Frontiers) said: “The response shows
that you have tapped into a strong need in
the Arabic-speaking world and that there is a
lack of opportunities to debate the topic.”
For World Kid Lit Month 2021, we have a
new series of resources to help educators,
librarians and booksellers engage more easily
with translated literature. This includes
reading lists of 20th- and 21st-century classics
in translation – books that may well be found
on the bookshelves of any school or library.
We also have reading lists that focus on
books by language and geographical region,
including bilingual reading lists.
The website is searchable by age group,
country, region and source language, so if
teachers are looking for books that relate to a
specific topic or age group, a simple search
should provide lots of ideas. In the run-up to
September, why not speak to your local
library or school and ask what they’re doing
for World Kid Lit Month?
www.worldkidlit.wordpress.com; to join the
discussion group email worldkidlit@gmail.com.
Notes
1 cutt.ly/reflect_realities
2 @worldkidlit and facebook.com/worldkidlit
The Linguist 21
 FEATURES
On board for English?
A row in the Norwegian shipping industry shows how
vital language policy is to safety at sea, says Andrew Draper
A
proposal to make the use of English
mandatory in radio communication
for large ships in Norway – even
when one Norwegian is speaking to another
Norwegian – has sparked protests from trade
unions and the national language board. They
are concerned it would worsen safety rather
than improve it. “Every professional is against
it,” says Johannes M Sivertsen, Norwegian
Maritime Pilots’ Association (NMPA) Chair.
Seafarers say it’s unwise to force two
Norwegians who maybe don’t have great
English language skills to speak English to
one another, with possible fines if they don’t.
Politicians have joined the fray, arguing in
defence of the national tongue.
The proposal from the Norwegian Coastal
Administration (NCA) is part of a broader
change to the rules that apply to particular
coastal areas, last updated in 2015. It is now
being considered by Transport Minister Knut
Arild Hareide, who says: “We have to have
good rules at sea. It’s crucial for safety and
for working conditions for employees along
our coast. This regulation is important for
Norway.” If adopted, the rules will apply to
ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication.
The SafeSeaNet reporting system shows
that 73% of registered calls from ships in
Norway in 2019 had a non-Norwegian
master. The assumption is therefore that the
master had limited or no Norwegian and
might communicate better in English. Such
situations are part of the reason that the
international Safety of Life at Sea convention
(SOLAS) calls for use of English as standard.
40% of maritime accidents worldwide are
linked to inadequate understanding between
seafarers on board the same ship and poor
communication between ship and shore.
22 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
One notable example was the collision of
the Polish ship Stanyslaw Kulcinsky with the
Kattwykbrücke (bridge) on the river Elbe,
Hamburg, in 1991. The German pilots,
working with shore-based radar assistance
during a fog, were speaking in German only
– a language not understood by the Polish
master. The recommendations for the
manoeuvres were given in English too late.
Standardised language
Measures were first brought in to address
these issues in 1977 in the shape of the
Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary.
The MARCOM research project of 1997-98,
coordinated by the Seafarers’ International
Research Centre at Cardiff University, referred
to several reports which emphasised that
safety is compromised where pilots are
unable to communicate effectively with the
crew. Pilots are used to guide ships through
hazardous waters, utilising their local
knowledge and expertise.
The United Nations’ International Maritime
Organization (IMO) went on to adopt
Standard Marine Communication Phrases
(SMCP) in 2001. They include phrases
developed to cover the most important
safety-related fields of verbal shore-to-ship,
ship-to-ship and on-board communications.
For officers in charge of large ships, the
ability to use the SMCP is an international
requirement. According to the IMO
resolution on this: “The language used
should enable the shore-based authority and
the participating ship to understand each
other clearly. Where language difficulties
exist and in particular where requested by
master or the shore-based authority, a
mutually agreed upon language or English,
using the Standard Marine Communication
Phrases, should be used.”
An e-learning project, funded by the
European Commission, was launched in 2019
to reduce the number of onboard accidents
caused by poor communication. Coordinated
by shipping company LAM France, and run
with the EC’s Erasmus education scheme, the
Practical and Communication Based Maritime
English pilot project was launched in France.
Other developments include work by the
International Association for Marine Aids to
Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, which
is preparing international standards and
guidelines for operators of vessel traffic
Tragedy at sea
Inadequate English-language skills were
criticised by the official Norwegian
committee that investigated the
Scandinavian Star ferry disaster of 1990 in
which 159 people died in a suspected
arson attack while en route between
Denmark and Norway. Several fruitless
investigations have been carried out over
the years into exactly what happened and
why, but the report did state: “With
regard to safety functions, the Committee
does not consider that it was justifiable to
sail with a crew consisting of so many
persons with a poor command of English.
The Scandinavian Star’s emergency plan
was in English, and since no fire and
abandon ship drills had been held, many of
the crew were unable to make themselves
familiar with the emergency plan.” Many
were Portuguese with little or no English
or Scandinavian language ability.
thelinguist.uberflip.com

services (VTS), who guide ships in busy coastal
areas. This will standardise their use of English
terms when they communicate with ships.
Should Norway go further?
According to the IMO, “the language
requirement is an important part of
compliance, and thus [seafarers] would be in
breach if they were not able to use and
understand English. There are actually a
number of companies that offer English
language testing as a service so that seafarers
can show that they are compliant.” However,
this requirement only applies if those
involved do not speak a common language.
Many vessels in Norwegian waters have
Scandinavian-speaking officers. The current
rules require deck officers to communicate in
English or a Scandinavian language if a pilot
is not being used to guide the ship. The new
language regulations would only apply to
ships of 500 or more gross tonnage in the VTS
area. But those who object say the existing
rules on the use of English go far enough.
IN THE DOCK
An industrial ship in Stavanger port
© SHUTTERSTOCK
@Linguist_CIOL
The Language Council of Norway
(Språkrådet) supports this view: “Most people
express themselves most precisely in their
own first language. Few are bilingual. If you
have Norwegian as your mother tongue, you
should use it so long as there are no special
reasons to use another language.” The
state’s consultative body on language issues,
Språkrådet notes that in the petroleum
industry, there is a health and safety
regulation that requires Norwegian to be
used as much as possible by businesses.
Other languages may be used if necessary or
appropriate to carry on business, and if it
does not negatively impact on safety. ”The
same should apply to shipping,” it said.
The NMPA added that it had difficulty
finding a situation along the Norwegian coast
where the use of English would have
prevented an accident or where the use of
Norwegian or a Scandinavian language had
caused mishaps. “But on the other hand, we
can say with certainty that poor language
understanding, especially poor English skills,
leads to many situations with varying degrees
of seriousness. That navigators must today
satisfy certain minimum abilities in English is
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
FEATURES
unfortunately just a theoretical demand. Our
daily reality is something else.”
In September 2000, the Royal Navy ship
HMS Grafton ran aground in Oslofjord.
Morten Kveim, Head of Section at the
Norwegian Maritime Officers’ Association
(NMOA), says VTS tried to guide the ship out
of the fjord using English. The NMOA noted
that there were communication difficulties
just before the grounding, while the BBC
reported that Commander Bob Sanguinetti
was severely reprimanded at a court martial
after pleading guilty to negligence.
The NMPA says pilots currently contact
ships and determine whether communication
should be in English or Norwegian to ensure
vessels receive and understand information.
Sivertsen argues that where Norwegians come
to the assistance of Norwegians: “It makes
no sense to us that using English will increase
safety… In fact, the contrary will be so.”
Nevertheless, the Norwegian Maritime
Authority backs the state position, pointing out
that a “not inconsiderable” number of vessels
along the Norwegian coast have bridge crew
who do not speak Norwegian. A decision from
the government is expected in the autumn.
The Linguist 23
 REVIEWS
Translation and
Transmigration
Siri Nergaard
Routledge 2021,
208 pp; ISBN
9781138543683;
Paperback
£27.99
There are an estimated
272 million international migrants
around the world, equivalent to
3.5% of the world’s population.
Most of them leave their home
countries for work reasons, but
millions are driven away due to
conflict, violence and climate
change. Migration has become a
highly charged political issue, but
it remains a subject that is poorly
understood, tending to generate
radical confrontation rather than
constructive debate.
Translation and Transmigration
sets out to cast some light on this
through a detailed analysis of the
challenges and difficulties faced
by migrants, and the linguistic,
cultural and semiotic flux in which
they live. The term ‘translation’, as
used in this book, refers both to
interlinguistic translation and to
the broader concept of cultural
transformation. People who
move from one linguistic/cultural
sphere to another for a length of
time – whether by choice like the
book’s author or forcibly like
refugees – live ‘in translation’.
The book is structured around
three key areas: migrants
themselves, hospitality and
borders. Geographical borders
logically play a fundamental role
in transmigration, as barriers which
both divide and unite; which keep
24 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
out but also allow in. Migrants
must cross them not only
physically but also culturally and
linguistically, just as translations
cross borders between languages,
sometimes with powerful political
and ethical implications.
Hospitality is shown to be
contradictory, involving the
acceptance of immigrants but
only under certain conditions.
Compassion for the impoverished
refugee and fear of ‘the other’
co-exist in the recipient
community. Siri Nergaard reflects
on the apparent preference in
our societies for the static over
the mobile, for the rooted citizen
over the incoming foreigner
(and, by extension, for the
unalterable original over the
changeable translation).
In addition to offering a broad
picture of the societal and
linguistic issues that migration
involves, Translation and
Transmigration contains a lengthy
reflection on what it means to live
outside one’s home country in a
multilinguistic state of virtually
permanent translation. It provides
us with a valuable and timely
framework for considering how
these crucial issues, which affect
communities all over the world,
can be addressed and resolved.
Ross Smith MCIL
Deciphering Aztec
Hieroglyphs
Gordon Whittaker
Early alphabets and writing
systems are endlessly fascinating.
Egyptian hieroglyphs are a thing
of beauty, while Akkadian and
Sumerian cuneiform tablets
contain huge amounts of data
about lost civilisations. Writing
systems used in the Americas
have generally attracted less
interest, not least because there
are so few clues as to how the
Inca knotted string system, the
quipu, could be used to run a
whole empire.
Stone pillars and buildings
covered in complex half-legible
hieroglyphs, left by the Maya in
the depths of the jungles of
Central America, stirred the
imagination of 19th-century
travellers. However, only in the
last 50 years have so many
inscriptions been deciphered.
These focus on the exploits of
kings and the founding of cities.
Texts (the codices) do exist, but
the conquistadors destroyed
many as works of the devil. In
contrast, Aztec writing survived
the conquest by nearly a century.
The Spanish were interested in
these civilisations. Missionaries
focused on the local language,
Nahuatl (still spoken by nearly
two million people today), to help
in the process of evangelisation.
However, Aztec records also
Thames and
Hudson 2021,
224 pp; ISBN
9780520380370;
Paperback
£25
provided valuable information
concerning the tributes which
were being paid by subject
tribes. In addition, for some
years after the invasion, Aztec
writing developed a way of
dealing with topics of a more
Hispanic nature.
Today, the details of
genealogies, conquests by ruling
kings, and major events such
as the founding of the great
temple in the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlan, have proved to
be of greater interest to modern
historians. We now know that
what was assumed to be a
rather simple set of pictograms
actually includes phonetic,
syllabic and pictorial symbols,
which enable far more
information to be presented.
Deciphering Aztec
Hieroglyphs: A guide to Nahuatl
writing offers a groundbreaking
study of writing in the language,
beginning with the role of the
scribe in Aztec society. Over 300
illustrations in full colour provide
a fascinating range of examples,
which show how information
could be contained in a single
glyph. The fact that the one for
‘leg’ has ten possible readings is
indicative of how complex the
writing system really is.
Professor Tim Connell Hon FCIL
thelinguist.uberflip.com
 SECTION REVIEWS
HEADER

Top picks Crossword no.29

Solution, page 26

Our regular reviewer, Graham Elliott, discusses the

books that have most influenced him through his life 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 10

11 12

13 14 15

16 17

18 19 20 21
To a teacher developing a wider interest in language, The Cambridge
Encyclopedia of Language (3rd ed, 2010) was a trove of insights. If I
wanted to know about signing, twin talk, acoustics, graphology or
Japanese onomatopoeia, it was the best place to start. Even a few 22 23

minutes of idle browsing was rewarding. Its ‘sequel’, The Cambridge

Encyclopedia of the English Language (3rd ed, 2018), is narrower in
focus, but deeper and sharper in analysis. It charts the evolution from 24 25
Anglo-Saxon to the world’s lingua franca, and features much besides.
Illustrations and captions add to the enjoyment. Both books are
written by David Crystal, doyen of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Across Down
A ‘circuit breaker’ is a measure taken against the Covid epidemic. 1 See 12 and 13 across. (6) 1 A grammatically simplified
Known elsewhere as ‘fire breaker’ or ‘wave breaker’, the aim is to 4 One of the five official means of communication. (6)
control the infection rate. Such imagery makes language more vivid languages of the UN. (6) 2 French city where Picard is still
and memorable. In Metaphors We Live By (1980), George Lakoff and 9 Procrastinator. (7) spoken. (5)
Mark Johnson believe that metaphors also structure our understanding 10 The word for ‘snow’ is aput in 3 Unable to progress. (7)
of the world. Illness is an ‘enemy’ to be ‘beaten’; its pain may be this language family. (5) 5 Money (coll.). (5)
‘crushing’; the ‘journey’ metaphor abounds. Politicians, pollsters, 11 Boudicca was the leader of 6 A royal dynasty in France and
academics and others use them to frame discourse (and rebut critics). this tribe. (5) Spain. (7)
Steven Pinker has done much to popularise the theory of Universal 12 Do widzenia in 1 across. (7) 7 Small lamb chop. (6)
Grammar (UG). He sets out his ideas in The Language Instinct (1995), 13 Dzien dobry in 1 across. (4,7) 8 Cave dwellers; species of
a lucid and persuasive account of language evolution. The metaphor 18 Capital resident who drops ‘is wren. (11)
for the human brain and instinct in question is a Swiss Army knife and aitches. (7) 14 Frédéric Mistral was the most
one of its tools: compartmentalised, developed specifically, nestling 20 Expressing strong famous writer in this language. (7)
alongside other functions. The themes of adaptability and expressive agreement, 18 across might say 15 English name of what the
power are further developed in Words and Rules (1999). ‘I should _____’. (5) Greeks call Lefkosia. (7)
The companion book to a 15-part series on philosophy for the 22 Romance languages 16 Eye-like architectural feature,
BBC, Men of Ideas (1978) features one-to-one discussions between developed from a vulgar form of as seen in the Pantheon in
presenter Bryan Magee and an eminent philosopher. John Searle this language. (5) Rome. (6)
proposes that meaning and use – not truth – are central to the 23 How a Basque native refers 17 The US used speakers of this
analysis of everyday language. Noam Chomsky gives an exposition of to her homeland. (7) Native American language to
early UG: what it was against (behaviourism) and what it seeks to 24 Official language of one of protect communications in
explain (a genetic endowment for acquiring one’s mother tongue). the four provinces of Pakistan, WWII. (6)
Iris Murdoch stipulates the difference between fiction and philosophy: named after the River Indus. (6) 19 Ode to Joy is the fourth
the former entertains and mystifies; the latter explains and clarifies. 25 Official language of movement of this Beethoven
Her aperçus on writers, style, personality, criticism and art are Afghanistan. (6) symphony. (5)
outstanding. The format returned with The Great Philosophers (1987). 21 Language which gave us
Graham Elliott MCIL the robot. (5)

@Linguist_CIOL AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 25

 OPINION & COMMENT

Email linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk with your views

Overstepping our authority

Katherina Polig makes the point that
translating press releases poses particular
challenges and demands skills that go
“beyond accuracy and completeness of
information“ (TL60,3). Does it? Is it really
within the remit of the translator to render an
overly verbose Italian or French press release
into a sober and concise German tone, as
she suggests? Her interesting feature adds to
the discussion as to how much freedom we
have as translators/transcreators.
She says that the format and style of press
releases vary widely between countries and
that this is where the translator needs to
intervene. However, German, Italian, French
and English definitions of what a press release
is, and how one should go about writing one,
are surprisingly similar. We are told in all
these countries that a press release should be
factual and avoid boastful language and
exaggeration. Authors should avoid a heavy
nominal style, passive tense and intricate
embedded clauses. They should adopt a
‘journalistic style’ – i.e. be informative without
value judgements. A press release should be
worded in a neutral way and provide the
journalist with factual information, rather than
serving any promotional purposes.
It seems to me that it is not that the
expectations for press releases are different
in different countries. More likely, the authors
disobey the rules, perhaps out of ignorance
or because they are not
writers/editors and are
blissfully unaware of their STAR
LETTER
clichés. This, in my opinion,
happens regardless of country.
But is it really the job of the
translator to take the matter in her/his own
hands to this degree? Must we obey the
rules that the author has disregarded? Could
this not be seen as overstepping our
authority as translators? (I am the first to say
that the translator often knows better, but I
also know that it is often best not to insist.)
I would caution translators not to deviate
too much from the source. I would personally Caught reading The Linguist
be worried at completely restructuring a Nathalie Reis MCIL read the June-July issue
press release, shortening it from 700 words at Marseille Provence airport, waiting for her
down to 350, and leaving out details that I connecting flight to Corsica. She spent a week
suspect might not really be needed. This is on the island with her family after they had
particularly risky if you are not an employee been apart for a year due to the pandemic.
or a direct subcontractor of the company. Where do you read yours? We’d love to
What is legitimate, I would say, is to see your snaps. Please send them to:
cautiously tone down the language, leave out linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk.
tautologies and superfluous, exaggerated
adjectives. And perhaps split an over-long,
complex sentence into two shorter ones, to Star Letter prize
improve legibility. But whatever you do, be This issue’s Star Letter writer
prepared that you might be challenged even wins a copy of Alex Bellos’s
when you allow yourself relatively minor The Language Lover’s Puzzle
editorial changes. You may well need to Book. For your chance to
justify them to your client. win, share your views at
Isabelle Weiss MCIL linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk.

Crossword solution
Puzzle page 25
O T H S A P I H D N I S
25 24
J C I S T A U
A R E K S U E N I T A L
23 22
V Z O T I I U
A C O C O Y E N K C O C
21 20 19 18
N I D C O
17 16
N G I N G O O D M O R
15 14 13
T O L E N
E Y B G O O D I N E C I
12 11
L R N O M L G
T I U N I R E Y A L E D
© SHUTTERSTOCK

10 9
U O H T T I I
8
C I B A R A H S I L O P
7 6 5 4 3 2 1

26 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com


The cheek of it!
Eloísa Monteoliva-García’s interesting article
on the challenges of ‘stand-by’ interpreting
(TL60,3) brought back memories of my days
working in the diplomatic field, when such
situations were regularly encountered. World
leaders would often (try to) speak to each
other without interpretation but call upon the
interpreter when they became stuck.
Strange as it may seem, this was often more
taxing mentally than interpreting the entire
time, as you had no working rhythm. Despite
the appearance of having a rest, the need for
full concentration to follow the conversation
and be able to react swiftly to offer the missing
term could prove very tiring. Moreover, due
to their more limited grasp of the language,
the client would often use constructions you
would not have chosen to convey the idea
and painted you into a corner linguistically
when you were summoned to fill the gap.
On a lighter note, on one memorable
occasion I was sitting across the table from
two well-known leaders at a large official
dinner (not between them, as was often the
case in such settings). I realised that my then
boss was trying to catch my attention with a
hand gesture (tapping his cheek repeatedly
with the fingers of his open hand while
holding my gaze). This Spanish gesture
commonly means caradura (‘you cheeky sod!’).
In fact, he was explaining that his favourite
fish dish was kokotxas de merluza (‘hake
cheeks’) but he did not know the word
‘cheeks’ and wanted me to intervene. I did
not realise what he was asking as I could not
hear the conversation clearly. From the hand
gesture, I believed I had done something
very wrong and was being rebuked.
Karl McLaughlin FCIL CL
Update: ESIT survey
In our news item ‘Interpreters Find “Remote”
Harder’ (TL60,3), we said that the majority of
interpreters reported that fees were the same
or lower for remote simultaneous interpreting
(RSI) than for on-site RSI. This information was
provided by the ESIT summary of its report. It
would have been clearer to give the full data:
66% of respondents said fees were the same,
11% lower and 17% higher.
@Linguist_CIOL
OPINION & COMMENT
Our new cover: have your say
The Linguist had a major redesign more than a decade ago and (with several design
tweaks along the way) we feel it has stood the test of time. However, along with recent
updates to the CIOL crest and logo, it seems a good time to refresh the cover. Our
team has selected two options, both in keeping with the current style, and would love to
hear your feedback. Option 1 modernises the overall look, overlaying the text on the
image, while option 2 gives the red banner a more contemporary feel. View the options
online and let us know what you think by 31 August: ciol.org.uk/linguist-new-cover.
Option 1 Option 2
ISSUE 60/2 | APRIL MAY 2021 CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTS ISSUE 60/2 | APRIL MAY 2021 CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTS
linguist Linguist
the
The
Permission Permission
to breathe to breathe
Why your wellbeing
Why your wellbeing is key to
global sustainability goals
is key to global
sustainability goals
On stand-by
When to interpret and when On stand-by
not to interpret while using When to interpret and
this under-researched mode when not to interpret
while using this under-
researched mode
Gaming it
Are videogames
the perfect tool for
Gaming it
Are videogames the perfect
language learning? tool for language learning?
30507 Linguist Cover Ideas-gamer v3.indd 1 08/07/2021 17:12 30507 Linguist Cover Ideas-gamer v3.indd 2 08/07/2021 17:12
In praise of older women
István (Stephen) Vizinczey’s delightful little I do not have to log on to innumerable
book, In Praise of Older Women, expresses – portals, use overly complicated login systems,
in its title – exactly what I am intending to do remember where and how I have to invoice,
in this letter: praise the lovely ladies who or consider how the various translation
have stuck it out. I am of course talking about memory jungles operate. I do not have to
the small translation agencies, which seem to waste vast amounts of time clicking to confirm
be run by women around my age. They are this, that or something else. Oh, and they
doing a fabulous job in defiance of the usually pay substantially more – and much
market trends and large organisations. faster – than their multinational counterparts.
What really made me reach for the pen (or So please, go and read Vizinczey’s book,
keyboard) is the way they are running their knit, garden or even learn a language
businesses. From what I can see, they are instead of further complicating our lives with
one-woman shows, meaning I only speak to more passwords and opaque mazes of
one person – be it confirmation of departments. Learn from the wonderful older
assignments, invoicing or anything that needs women this letter is in praise of (you know
clarification, along with the weather, our dogs who you are). Keep going!
and our children. Hanna Heffner MCIL
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 27
 OPINION & COMMENT
En famille
Language delay: why giving up a language is not the solution
ESTELA BAYARRI
Many people still believe that bilingualism (or
multilingualism) can cause speech delay.
Usually this is a belief held by monolingual
people, whose lack of direct experience and
understanding of bilingualism may bring about
this misconception. However, when health
and education professionals share this belief,
and even recommend that families stop
using one of the family languages, we are
faced with a potentially damaging situation.
A language delay refers to difficulties in
understanding and/or using spoken language
when these difficulties are unusual for children
of this age. In children aged 18-30 months it
is preferable to talk about ‘late talkers’, who
may have a good understanding of language
but limited spoken vocabulary for their age.
Bilingual children can have a language delay,
just like monolingual children, but the
difficulties are not caused by bilingualism.
Paediatricians and educators are rarely
trained in language development and
pathology, or in working with bilingual
children. Therefore, they are not in a position
to offer knowledgeable opinions regarding
language delay. Giving up a home language
will have incredibly negative consequences
for the child and their family.
To understand this we need some basic
knowledge about how children develop
language skills. The first thing that appears in
28 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
babies is the communicative intention. We
observe that a child has the desire to
communicate; is connected with their
environment, with their mother and father; is
able to express their needs and emotions; and
feels pleasure in interaction, in play. A baby’s
communication is made up of gestures, facial
expressions, sounds, vocalisations, smiles and
crying. Later on, they begin the babbling that
becomes communicative – the jargon-state
with which they practise the ‘song’ of the
language (intonation, tone, pauses, rhythm).
Finally, the first words begin to appear.
Language is a skill that is acquired through
social interaction with others. The young child
learns to speak thanks to their relationship
with their caregivers. All of this takes place in
a natural, subconscious way. It happens
through daily activities, interactive routines
and experiences of significant value for the
child, such as playing, stories and music.
Imagine a child who communicates with
their mother, with whom they have an
emotional connection: they play, they have
fun. They do all this in one language. Now
imagine that the family is told to stop using
this language in favour of one in which the
mother is not as competent. How will the
mother and child relationship be affected?
Very deeply indeed. This is an important first
reflection to realise that focusing on just one
language is not the solution.
By negatively affecting a child’s emotional
and developmental well-being, it may even
impede language development. If the child is
© SHUTTERSTOCK
unable to speak to parents and grandparents
in their language, this can cut them off from
their roots and cultural traditions.
In fact, bi/multilingualism can positively
impact on children with language delay,
supporting their communicative development
in multiple ways. For instance, speaking more
than one language has consequences for
sensitivity and flexibility, such as understanding
different perspectives. Research shows that
bilingual children have a higher metalinguistic
awareness, and better cognitive and linguistic
skills, than their monolingual peers, which
suggests that bilingualism fosters language
development. What they learn in one
language can be transferred to another.
Families speaking European languages can
find valuable support from the PEaCH project
(bilingualfamily.eu), which I have been
working on this year. It offers free resources
in the 24 official languages of the European
Union to empower bilingual families.
The most important thing is to get back to
what really matters: establishing a loving and
strong bond with your child and offering
them quality moments to foster interaction,
communication and language. Do it by
speaking in the language of your heart.
TL Estela Bayarri is a Speech and
Language Therapist and author of
Helping Our Children to Speak Naturally;
creciendoconlaspalabras.com
thelinguist.uberflip.com
 INSTITUTE MATTERS

A life with languages

Ana Ilievska Zavrsnik MCIL writes in Macedonian and English about how her fascination with
languages led to a vocation as a translator, teacher and language and culture consultant

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Born in Skopje, North Macedonia,
and raised in Ljubljana, Slovenia,
I grew up with two languages.
My fascination with them set my
future career path. That is the
reason I use my Macedonian and
Slovene equally.
I am a translator, a lecturer and
a chartered language specialist,
working as a language and
cultural consultant for public and
corporate sectors across the UK
and Slovenia, and as a volunteer
translator for international human
rights organisations. My work is
@Linguist_CIOL
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more a vocation than a job, so I
always go the extra mile.
A big challenge for me is to
make people aware that with the
help of a good teacher anyone
can learn a language, regardless
of their talent and age, if they just
put in the effort. It can be difficult
to stay calm when someone
provokes me with “you should
know this, you are a translator!”
as if I am a walking dictionary.
However, it is really rewarding
to help people learn Macedonian
and Slovene, and discover my
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national heritage, and to enable
so many agencies to be more
successful in both of my countries.
My classes are full of laughter,
sharing language and cultural
values in a relaxing atmosphere.
At this point in my career, I can
choose the translation projects
which interest me, and I always
learn something from them.
In my free time, I like long
walks while listening to podcasts
and drinking good coffee, visiting
museums and galleries, and
reading linguistic and grammar
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
+,(* !&+*%(, #,
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books. I translate pro bono for
some clients, and I like to
discover interesting places and
translate their stories for my
trilingual blog.
My projects give me the
privilege of staying in military
academies, and open doors to
places which are not open for
everyone. They also offer the
chance to meet inspiring people
and hear about different
experiences along the way. I can
hardly wait to find out where the
next project will take me.
The Linguist 29
 INSTITUTE MATTERS
Just do it: just teach
CIOL Council member Romana Sustar shares her top tips
for adapting to online teaching with CEO John Worne
Hi Romana, how are you?
Very busy but ok!
Tell us a little about yourself and how
you came to be teaching languages…
I come from Central Europe – that’s where I
grew up. After I completed my education
and got my Master’s, I left and have lived so
far in 12 different countries. That’s one of the
reasons why I speak seven languages. I’ve
always loved languages, but like every
language student, I started teaching because
I needed a job and money to pay my
summer language school. At the university,
the professors encouraged us to go abroad
and learn with native speakers.
Have you had any particularly
memorable incidents teaching?
Lots, but the most memorable – and
remember I’m not an interpreter – was when I
found myself interpreting for Silvio Berlusconi
on his tour to visit Austrian regional politicians.
What was he like?
Very charismatic, energetic and short! I was
much taller than him. However, teaching
languages is my passion, and language
teaching is a great way to integrate myself
into new countries and cultures; it’s a great
integration technique.
You’ve taught many types of student
but which type have you most enjoyed?
ABILITY TO EXECUTE
In general, I really like everybody, because
everybody is unique. But the type of students
that are the most interesting are those who
have a goal or a vision or a dream. Someone
who says: “I need to learn language
30 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
because…” And this can be anything; it can
sometimes be professional but most of the
time it is something human – love or pursuing
a dream or finding some connection to a
family history or researching something to
find really crucial information to improve our
world. Sometimes teaching a language has
this metaphysical level which you can’t
explain, where you have to transmit the
feeling, not just the grammar and vocabulary.
I know exactly what you mean,
Romana. So did you do any online
teaching before Covid-19?
Yes, I started in 2013. It was quite common
here in the UK, especially in the London area.
I’d started looking for work in language
MAGIC QUADRANT
The chart shows how various online
learning platforms perform against four
distinct characteristics (September 2020).
Leaders execute well against their current
vision and are well positioned for the future
© GARTNER, INC
COMPLETENESS OF VISION
schools as part of my integration process, but
they said ‘no’ as they had online programmes.
It was a totally new world for me.
So you have quite a lot of experience
over many years, which online
platforms would you recommend?
I like a lot of platforms but I would suggest
the most mainstream ones because a lot of
customers are not tech savvy. It’s already
difficult to learn something and adding
technical complications is just too much. I
don’t 100% recommend Microsoft
Teams because it’s too complicated for
some people. But I definitely recommend
Zoom, because everybody knows it – the
whole world uses it so the fear is gone. I also
like BlueJeans because it’s innovative but easy
to use. It, too, offers services such as video
meetings, huddle rooms and event support,
but it also has social broadcasting features,
allowing users to cast content on social media.
I really like the Gartner Magic Quadrant –
a research methodology that competitively
positions four types of technology provider in
fast-growing markets: leaders, visionaries,
niche players and challengers (see chart, left).
So what about business development
and building your own brand?
When you start from zero, nobody knows
you. So what you really need, in my opinion,
is a website which you are in charge of – not
some third-party platform which controls your
data. Then you need LinkedIn and maybe
Facebook as well. And you need these three
things connected because wherever you get
recommendations you need to share them. It
improves your credibility.
thelinguist.uberflip.com

How about looking after yourself? What
about your mental and physical health?
I think the health aspect is extremely
important. I completely lost my voice teaching
during lockdown. I was so scared! I couldn’t
make a sound; I couldn’t even call the doctor.
I know why it happened: I was teaching 10
hours a day for three weeks straight because
I was in a rhythm. Luckily there was no lasting
damage, but the doctor said: “You just have
to be quiet; don’t try to speak for five days.”
It was terrible. You are voiceless!
Ideally, you should stay away from the
screen for 10-15 minutes per hour – for your
voice and for your eyes. So if you teach a
45-minute session you should have a
15-minute break. I think this is crucial if you
teach eight hours per day. I also recommend
drinking five cups of lukewarm water with a
few drops of honey. You should practise
using your muscles, and be conscious of how
you are speaking all the time. You might
even think about voice training, because we
tend to speak in the wrong way, and to sit in
the wrong way too. As a teacher, your voice
is your career in the same way as it is for an
actor or a voiceover artist.
Can you share a few tips for adapting
the way we speak and sit?
How we breathe affects the way our voice is
projected. Taking shallow breaths can make
the muscles in our throat tense up, which
puts a strain on our voice. We should take
deep breaths using the diaphragm. Yawn to
@Linguist_CIOL
open your chest and larynx. Laugh heartily,
using big open vowel sounds as you expel
your breath. This is a fun way to practise the
deep breaths necessary to project your voice.
Sit up with your back straight and keep your
shoulders back. I have bad posture because I
didn’t take much care about it when I was in
my 20s. I’m using a tool called Go Upright: if
I slouch, it vibrates. My posture has improved,
but I still need to build muscle strength and
be reminded about posture awareness.
How about client set-up and connection?
Things can go wrong. So before I take on a
new client, I always offer a 30-minute
introduction free of charge to meet and
greet them, and set out some expectations.
In this session, I also send them a link to an
internet speed checker and tell them: “If you
decide to continue, please check your
internet connection and send me the result.”
This needs to be done. There might still be
issues on any given day, so I always have
unlimited data on my phone, just in case;
and I exchange phone numbers with my
clients because sometimes, if it’s really
important, you can still call them.
What else do you do to set expectations?
The biggest mistake is to get super excited
when you get your first clients and they say
they’ll commit to 10 lessons over 10 weeks.
When they start cancelling and rescheduling,
the lessons draw out to 20 or 30 weeks. If
this is your only job, that’s very bad for your
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
INSTITUTE MATTERS
finances. So in this first 30-minute session you
have to say very clearly: “If you commit to
this but cancel less than 24 hours in advance,
the lesson is lost.” The terms on which you
are working as a professional are really
important and you need to have it in writing,
because people tend to forget.
Overall do you prefer teaching online
or face to face?
I like both actually, so I’m in favour of a hybrid
solution. I miss face-to-face interactions,
because there is a beautiful connection with
another human which will never ever happen
online. But I also like online because it saves
a lot of time. Plus, with online, I can reach the
whole world. I love that! As [educational
technology expert] Elliott Masie says: “We
need to bring learning to people instead of
people to learning.”
So if you were to sum up online
teaching in a hashtag what would it be?
#JustDoIt. Simple as that.
What hashtag would your students use
for their experience of learning online?
#ILoveIt.
Romana Sustar MCIL CL is a member of CIOL
Council. Her native languages are German
and Slovene, her languages of qualification
are English and Spanish, and she lives in the
UK. www.romanasustar.com; LinkedIn:
magromanasustar; Twitter: @romanasustar
The Linguist 31
 INSTITUTE MATTERS
Mario & the art of storytelling
Why the German Language Society are so excited to be welcoming literary star Mario
Giordano to discuss the author-translator relationship at their next event. By Romana Sustar
I discovered Mario Giordano at a Graz train
station on my way back to London. It was a
freezing morning and it started to snow. I got
myself a cup of coffee, sat down in the waiting
room and found a book that somebody had
left there: Tante Poldi und die sizilianischen
Löwen (Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions).
The blurb said: “On her 60th birthday,
Auntie Poldi retires to Sicily, intending to while
away the rest of her days with good wine, a
view of the sea and few visitors. But Sicily isn’t
quite the tranquil island she thought it would
be. When her handsome young handyman
goes missing – and is discovered murdered –
she can’t help but ask questions. Soon
there’s an investigation, a smouldering police
inspector, a romantic entanglement, one
false lead after another, a rooftop showdown,
and finally, of course, Poldi herself, slightly
tousled but still perfectly poised.”
I managed to squeeze it into my heavy
suitcase, wondering why an Italian author was
writing about Bavarian women. I soon found
out my assumption was wrong. Mario
Giordano is the son of Italian migrants and
one of Germany’s most versatile novelists
and screenwriters. His Auntie Poldi murder
mysteries are on the bestseller lists in Germany
and the US. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions,
his first novel translated into English, was an
32 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
IndieNext Pick, a B&N Discover Selection and
an Amazon Top Ten Best Book of the Month.
His muse is Albrecht Dürer’s Rhinoceros
(1515). A large print of the woodcut hangs in
his workspace as a symbol of storytelling. It
was drawn based on a written description and
sketch of a rhinoceros that died in transport,
and which Dürer never saw. His imagination
and mastery transformed it into an immortal
being, with hard plates covering its body and
a horn on its back. “That’s the magic of
storytelling. And that’s the way it is with
stories: something has to perish to be
resurrected,” says Giordano.
The prolific author has penned over 25
novels, books for children and young adults,
and art books, as well as TV screenplays. The
award-winning film Das Experiment, based on
his novel and screenplay, was a huge success
in 15 countries. He also works as Head of
Content Development for Bastei Lübbe
publishing, developing digital book series for
the US, Chinese and German markets.
So when he agreed to speak at the
German Language Society’s (GLS) November
event, we were thrilled. His books are
available in at least seven languages, and his
first translator into English was John Maxwell
Brownjohn (1929-2020). Maxwell translated
more than 160 books, winning the Helen and
GLOBAL ACCLAIM
Mario Giordano with a selection of his books
Kurt Wolff Prize and the Schlegel-Tieck Prize
for German translation three times. He also
collaborated with Roman Polanski on Tess,
Bitter Moon, The Ninth Gate and The Pianist.
At the GLS event, Mario Giordano will
discuss the relationship between the author
and translator. What does the translator need
in order to translate a good novel and
maintain the quality? As a speaker of
German, English, Italian and Korean, he
offers unique insights.
It is thanks to that unexpected encounter
with Auntie Poldi on a snowy train station
that one of the most famous contemporary
German writers will be our guest this winter,
and we couldn’t be more excited. So if you
find a book, take it with you.
Contact GLS@ciol.org.uk to book a place at
GLS’s English-language event ‘Don’t Break
My Heart: Mario Giordano discusses the
relationship between author and translator’
on 25 November at 7.30pm (GMT). Auntie
Poldi and the Sicilian Lions is available in
Czech, Dutch, English, French, German,
Italian, Latvian and Polish. To find out more,
see Instagram: mariogiordano.de; Twitter:
grumpygiordano; www.mariogiordano.de
thelinguist.uberflip.com

Meet our members
DANIEL GWIRA DISCUSSES HIS RECENT MOVE TO GHANA AND THE THINGS HE HAS LEARNT AS A TRANSLATOR
Tell us a bit about your background…
I was born in the UK but went to secondary
school in Ghana. I started being interested in
languages other than English in my mid-teens:
French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. I
learned them on my own because there were
no teachers (except on and off in French). I
can’t say that was a problem specific to a
developing country, because I doubt many
schools anywhere would have the resources
to provide teaching in all those languages.
I originally wanted to teach French literature
in an American university. I was given a
scholarship to study for a PhD there, but I left
with a Master’s because I wanted to broaden
my mind in other subjects and languages.
After seven years in the US, I ended up in
London and started studying to gain a
Diploma in Translation. My work in languages
started from there, although I struggled to
get work as a freelance translator at first.
Why did you want to work with languages?
I’ve always had a love for the English
language. As a child, reading was my
favourite pastime and the language was
invariably English because we were living in
the British Isles. I was taught a bit of French
as a small child but thought it ‘hard’, which is
surprising because I later took BA and MA
degrees in French literature, and currently
translate from French into English.
You recently moved back to Ghana. Why
did you make that decision at that time?
I spent much of my life in the West because,
for a long time, I liked it better than my own
part of the world. However, if you live in a
country as part of a minority you have to
accept how the majority culture treats you,
or leave to a place where you feel more
comfortable. I took a lot of crap from people,
which included a few bad experiences with
racist individuals in the translation industry.
@Linguist_CIOL
There was an American who had a pile of
jumbled up texts he wanted me to sort out –
not translate or edit. There was an assumption
that I wasn’t a proper translator, just an office
help. At a German translation society meeting
in London, a guy who had been very helpful
to me as a new translator suddenly called me
a monkey. Overall my experience of the UK
translation industry was ok, but changes are
needed in the West, which is why I left.
What challenges were there in moving your
business from Southampton to Accra?
My main challenge in returning to Ghana was
getting used to a country I’d last seen in March
1982! There weren’t any big administrative or
business challenges, though before I moved it
had seemed an impossible undertaking. The
internet in Accra is acceptable, though not as
good on the outskirts, where I live, as in the
city centre. I live where I do because of its rus
in urbe environment and beautiful surrounding
hills. I managed to set up in business very
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
INSTITUTE MATTERS
quickly and the only reason I am not quite
working at normal pace is the pandemic
(which would be the same anywhere).
Which of your assignments over the years
have you been most excited about?
After 21 years as a translator I’ve had too
many exciting assignments to mention. One
that particularly interests me now is a legal
case involving Ryanair and some employees
who were made redundant during the
pandemic. It’s an ongoing case with ever
more twists and turns – and also quite
lucrative for me!
What advice would you give a newcomer?
The main thing I would advise someone
coming into the industry to do is pay
attention to the advice you were given when
studying to become a translator. I was told a
lot of things but chose to ignore much of it
in the beginning – to my cost. You will also
learn a lot of things along the way. As a
freelancer you have to decide whether to
work only with agencies, only with direct
clients, or with a mix of both. I’ve only
worked with agencies because that fits my
talents. To work with direct clients you have
to be tech-savvy so as to handle the many
technical problems that will inevitably arise.
When working with agencies you have to
remember that many project managers do
translations on the side, so they can be as
stressed as you (or more!).
Who has most inspired you in your life?
I can’t say any specific person has inspired me
though I have admired a number of historical
figures. What has inspired me most is an idea:
to have the broadest possible education.
That has helped me considerably in
translation because you need a broad frame
of reference in many subjects and not just in
the specific specialism you’re working in.
The Linguist 33
 INSTITUTE MATTERS
WORKING FOR CIOL
Would you like to join our team of expert assessors?
CIOL Qualifications (CIOLQ) is an Awarding
Organisation and the associated educational
charity of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
We offer professional qualifications in
interpreting and translation which are
recognised both nationally and
internationally by the professions, business
and public services, and we test language
skills for government and other bodies.  Simplified Script), Czech, Dari, Farsi, French,
We assess candidates in a wide range of
languages against the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFR) scales C1 (Upper-Intermediate) and
C2 (Advanced). The timings and volume of
our assessments vary, but we test large
cohorts in European and world languages
approximately six times a year. Our core
qualifications are regulated by Ofqual,
Qualifications Wales and CCEA.
We have an extensive database of
freelance assessors, who are linguists from a
variety of backgrounds and devote time to
assessment commissions, showing
dedication to their professional and personal
development. Assessing is both varied and
incredibly rewarding. It can also be
challenging, but assessors frequently talk
about the skills and knowledge they gain
while doing this type of work, which can
open up new opportunities and further
career progress.
We are now launching a recruitment
campaign to expand our database of subject
matter experts from interpreting, translation
and teaching backgrounds. This is an
excellent opportunity for suitably
experienced and qualified individuals who
34 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021
wish to work flexibly from home, collaborate
with a preeminent UK-based professional
membership body for language
practitioners, and further their knowledge
and experience of language assessment.
We are looking for assessors in 32
languages: Albanian, Arabic (MSA), Bengali,
Bulgarian, Cantonese (Traditional or
German, Gujarati, Hungarian, Italian,
Japanese, Kurdish (Sorani), Mandarin
(Traditional or Simplified Script), Panjabi
(Indian), Pashto, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian),
Portuguese (European), Romanian, Russian,
Slovak, Slovene, Somali, Spanish, Swahili,
Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish and Urdu.
Our assessors are involved at all stages of
assessment. Pre-exam they write exam
papers, edit papers or proofread exam
materials; during the exam they conduct oral
assessments or manage the whole remote
assessment recording process; and post-
exam they either mark, moderate or review
candidate evidence.
We are looking to recruit for all of the
above roles. If you are an experienced
assessor of higher level CEFR proficiency, it
would be great to hear from you. We offer
competitive rates of pay and considerable
flexibility to accommodate your other
professional and life commitments. If you
are interested in joining our team, email
your up-to-date CV and other supporting
documents to angie.papa@ciol.org.uk.
Training will be provided for all successful
applicants. We look forward to hearing
from you.
CONTRIBUTORS
Andrew Draper
Andrew Draper MCIL is one of
three Chartered Linguists in
© NATASHA HIRST
Danish-English. A journalist,
editor and linguist, he directs
the translation and journalism
operations of Nordic International Ltd. He
has a degree in Scandinavian Studies from
University College London. See p.22
Lucy Harford
Lucy Harford MCIL is a French-
English subtitler and translator,
and also teaches GCSE French
both privately and within
schools. The vast majority of
her work involves subtitling French and
English TV drama and films for hearing, hard
of hearing and deaf audiences. See p.12
Sophie Llewellyn Smith
Sophie Llewellyn Smith is an
EU-accredited conference
interpreter (EL, DE, FR<>EN),
trainer and creator of
Speechpool and TerpSummit.
She offers 1-1 coaching and membership sites
for English and French retourists, and blogs
at theinterpretingcoach.com. See p.14
Annie Rutherford
Based in Edinburgh, albeit with
frequent stints in Germany,
© PERRY JONSSON
Annie Rutherford is Assistant
Festival Director for StAnza,
Scotland’s international poetry
festival, and a writer and translator. She co-
founded the literary magazine Far Off Places
and Göttingen’s Poetree festival and is fictions
editor for The Interpreter’s House. See p.18
Claire Storey
Claire Storey is a literary
translator working from German
and Spanish into English. As
co-editor of World Kid Lit, she
is an advocate of translated
books for younger readers. Claire
also volunteers in schools, talking to
students about careers with languages;
clairestoreylanguages.co.uk. See p.20
thelinguist.uberflip.com
 CIOL mentoring ENHANCE YOUR
WELLBEING AND
As a benefit of membership, CIOL members PERFORMANCE WITH
have the opportunity to learn from one A CPD ON
another’s knowledge and experience.
EMOTIONAL
As a mentee: receive individual advice and
guidance tailored to your career goals.
INTELLIGENCE
FOR TRANSLATORS
As a mentor: use your skills and experience
to support and develop fellow linguists in
their careers.

It’s now easier than ever to get involved!

FIND OUT MORE

To register visit:
Visit openlearncreate/EI-for-Translators
ciol.org.uk/benefits/mentoring

30522 Qtr pg Linguist Mentoring ad.indd 1 06/07/2021 12:43

FREE WEBINARS TRAINING

for language professionals

As a CIOL member, The popular titles most

you have access to our
library of free webinars –
over 150 hours of CPD,
being added to
all the time!
recently added include:
• How to translate marketing text
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Explore these and the full list of titles available exclusively

to CIOL members in our free webinar library at:

ciol.org.uk/ciol-training
30522 HALF pg Linguist Video ad.indd 1 06/07/2021 12:43
Professional qualifications
now available online
CIOLQ offers three leading professional language qualifications
which are all widely recognised and sought-after in the profession.
1 2 3

Translators Public Service Police

Diploma in Interpreters Interpreters
Translation Diploma in Diploma in
(Level 7) Public Service Police Interpreting
Interpreting (Level 6)
(Level 6)

In response to the ongoing situation with Covid-19, you can now take our
qualifications online in the comfort and safety of your own home.

Our qualifications for translators and interpreters have been developed to meet professional language
standards and are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain relevant, reliable and valid.
Created by fellow language professionals, our qualifications are designed to allow candidates to demonstrate
the highest levels of interpreting and translating. They are widely recognised by government departments,
agencies, business organisations and public services, and are available in a wide range of languages.

To find out more visit:

ciol.org.uk/qualifications
CIOL | Chartered Institute of Linguists