Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
By Antonica-Roxana Clinciu
As a recent graduate in English Language and Literature, with a fluency in English and a native command of Romanian, I find myself standing at the threshold of a vast linguistic landscape, eager to immerse myself in the art of interpretation and translation. It's not merely a career path I'm drawn to, but rather a calling rooted in a...
By Debbie Butler
As we celebrate International Women's Day, as a longstanding member of the CIOL team, a member of the CIOL Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee and as a linguist (German) myself, I feel it is well worth recognising the remarkable contributions of female linguists, interpreters and translators as we celebrate International Women’s Day. Many women...
By Gwenydd Jones MA, DipTrans, MCIL, Chartered Linguist
The Translator's Studio
Since I have no functioning crystal ball, this article is my opinion in 2024 about the future of translation. If you’re asking yourself whether AI is going to replace translators, I’d like to throw a couple of questions back at you:
Thoughts from the steering group of the CIOL Scottish Society
In many ways, Scotland is a great place to be a linguist. It is a multilingual, multicultural and inclusive society. Linguistic diversity is part of the national identity: while English is the main language, over 150 other languages are spoken in Scottish homes.
Historically, Gaelic was the main language...
Mentoring in troubled times
By Steve Doswell, CIOL Chair of Council
Today, 17 January 2024, is International Mentoring Day – a day to celebrate the power and impact of mentoring in personal growth and development, our working lives, education and in building our communities.
CIOL offers a free Mentoring platform, supported by an expert UK-based third-...
By Mark Robinson
I like to think that we’re ahead of the AI (artificial intelligence) curve in the world of professional translation. We have had a form of AI – neural machine translation – around for a few years now, and it has become a helpful tool for professional linguists - in certain circumstances only, and for appropriate projects with careful checking. The large...
By Dr Joseph Lambert
"Happy robots” - AI and robots are now literally everywhere..! Photo from Joseph’s recent trip to Copenhagen.
What are the biggest threats and opportunities to you as a professional freelance translator today? Are you happy with your rates of pay and working conditions? What is the longer-term outlook for the...
By Giulia Lucania
Food conveys history, identity and tradition. These aren’t just empty terms, they symbolise worlds whose stories are just waiting to be told.
Translating and writing for the food and beverage industry isn’t always a piece of cake. It has two main flavours, technical and creative. This sector is brimming with lots of different text types,...
By Diana Singureanu
This article is written in response to WIRED's Pro Interpreters vs AI Challenge, referenced within the article
Translators and interpreters have been conscious of the threat of AI for some time. Many view the question of whether machine interpretation will take our jobs as a when rather than an if. I must also declare I'm sceptical that machine...
By Anna Ostrovsky
How languages shape our identity
Growing up in Germany as a Russian native speaker I would work diligently on eliminating my jarring Russian accent. From reciting Rilke to pre-meditating set phrases until I would feel safe enough to speak up in class: self-conscious and attuned to the slightest reaction to the slightest nuance in my speech, I would make...