Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
CIOL welcomes the recent statement in the House of Lords by Lord Wolfson committing to commissioning a full independent review of the existing qualifications and standards requirements for assignments with the UK Ministry of Justice. The review is due to be completed before the new contract...
We posted this question on our social media platforms and asked our following of language professionals to let us know their thoughts. We received some great responses from this post, so we collected them and put them into this blog. Please continue reading to see what your fellow linguists answered:
"Learning languages enabled me to deal with amazing people and learn different...
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...
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. We assess candidates in a wide range of languages against the Common European...
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...
Traditionally coaching and mentoring have sometimes been viewed as tools that are used to help with career advancement, but that isn’t their only use. They can be used very effectively to support users in many other aspects of working life, including supporting well-being and mental health.
As remote working and technological advances means that the line between work and home life...
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...
On X/Twitter, we asked our followers to tell us what advice they would give to their younger selves before starting a career in translating or interpreting.
Below are some of their responses:
1. Work hard and study 2. Have a business plan 3. Make sure your skills are up to scratch...
by Megan Bowler, Student Affiliate member
Though many translators find it helpful to make use of translation tools as they see fit, the possibility of clients misunderstanding the contributions of these tools can lead to translators being devalued. Responses to the CIOL’s 2021 translation survey indicate that technological developments are changing not only the way translation...