Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
When the translator becomes lexicographer and a driver of language evolution and growth. Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún discusses his poetry translations into Yorùbá
Translating into one’s own first language is supposed to be a breeze. After all, I have spoken it all my life, used it in many professional settings, and I am a 40-year-old linguist and creative writer. The language is Yorùbá, spoken in...
Reproduced from The Linguist 61-1
The author of Nemesis and McMafia speaks to Miranda Moore about the role of languages in his life.
As an undergraduate studying drama with German at the University of Bristol in the mid-1970s, Misha Glenny got involved with a group of activists fighting censorship in the Eastern Bloc. “They would smuggle books and dismembered Xerox machines to...
Helle Gulowsen reports on a historic step forward as Norway regulates interpreting in the public sector
Governmental involvement in the provision of public service interpreting (PSI) in Norway is not new. The state has long recognised the crucial role of interpreters in ensuring equal access to public services and the right to due process for all, but it is only now that this has been...
Dom Hebblethwaite outlines a new initiative to validate and accredit courses around the world that meet CIOL’s exacting quality standards.
CIOL’s Recognition, Validation and Certification (RVC) Scheme is a new initiative. Introduced in 2021, it offers organisations delivering language education, vocational learning and assessments for linguists a formal means to achieve CIOL recognition...
How can former military interpreters transfer their skills to language work in the UK? Miranda Moore investigates
When interpreter Habib Abdali1 came to the UK in 2010 he took whatever work he could find, helping on a market stall, delivering food, driving taxis, painting and decorating. He even worked crowd control at the London Olympics. “Whatever paid me, I did that.”
It was a...
by Heather Watson
Heather Watson outlines the challenges of working as a multilingual press officer for the motor-racing industry
The Superbike World Championship is an international racing series for production-derived motorcycles. Founded in 1988, the championship is contested over roughly 13 rounds, which are held at some of the world’s most famous racetracks, from Australia...
An experienced European Commission linguist outlines the strategies she uses as a visually-impaired interpreter
I am a visually-impaired (VI) interpreter and have been on the European Commission staff since the early 1990s. There were already some VI interpreters working as freelancers for the EU Institutions at that time. We have certain challenges in common, but have devised our own...
by Maurice Varney
Writing on the body can be a covert form of communication, says Maurice Varney
‘Every picture tells a story’ has been used many times to explain art which at first seems inexplicable. There may be art that has no intended meaning, but it will always have meaning for the viewer. The same applies to tattoos. Someone who has HATE tattooed on one hand and LOVE on...
by Isabelle Heyerick
The interpreter selects strategies in real time, but little is known about this process. Isabelle Heyerick asks how signed language interpreters make such decisions
Any interpreter can attest that the cognitive work we perform entails more than merely rendering words from language A into language B. There is context to consider, the social rules and norms of...
by Michal Glowacki
Michal Glowacki considers the challenges of translating for the cycling industry and why it can sometimes be an uphill ride.
Imagine an amazing day, sunny, with hardly any wind – the perfect day for my first ride with a group of fellow cyclists (Polish zgrupka), some six years ago. I was enjoying the ride and learning the various hand gestures cyclists use to...