Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
Having navigated some difficult times since 2020, I am glad to say that the Chartered Institute of Linguists is in good shape as we close out the 2023/24 membership year.
First and foremost, it is really worth celebrating that CIOL has been fortunate enough to maintain a strong and active membership community across more than 50 countries and speaking over 50 languages. The...
By Alison Rodriguez
As September gets ever closer, I’m delighted to share that the International Federation of Translators’ theme for International Translation Day 2024 is “Translation, an art worth protecting”.
International Translation Day (ITD) has been a key date celebrated in the FIT calendar for over 35 years, with FIT Council creating an annual...
By Rosie Eyre
When I began coordinating the Stephen Spender Prize in 2021, from a box room overlooking an Aldi car park in the second summer of lockdown, it was hard not to feel like the world had closed in. But as life gradually opened up again, and my first autumn of prize coordination introduced me to poems translated by entrants of every age, from more languages...
By Alexa Polidoro
March this year saw the release of a book entitled La langue anglaise n’existe pas. C’est du français mal prononcé.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, an English version hasn’t (yet) been written, so I’ll translate that for you: The English language doesn’...
By Rafał Byzdra
Why did you decide to take the DPSI?
I took the DPSI primarily to enhance my job prospects. I realise how important it is to be externally recognised as an expert in one’s field. You may be well aware of your worth but to be given official recognition is something that proves it to other people, making you more credible in their eyes. At the same time it...
By Anita van Adelsbergen
As a Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and Chair of the CIOL Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, I think of World Day for Cultural Diversity as a day both to celebrate the richness of the world's cultures and the essential role of translators and interpreters in enabling intercultural dialogue towards peaceful...
By Laura Jones
In April, I was invited to speak to Translation Studies students at Cardiff University about the realities of working as a freelance translator. During the relaxed and informal Q&A session, we discussed everything from AI, MT and CAT tools to finding clients and knowing what to charge for our services. I tried to be as open and honest as possible...
A podcast with Emma Gledhill
For this podcast in the series ‘A Language I love is…’, we travel high into the Alps, to join linguist and translator Emma Gledhill in the Graubünden/Grisons canton of Switzerland.
Emma's chosen language is Romansh, the distinct Romance language of the region that, despite its endangered and disunited state, nonetheless holds the...
By Sarah Cutts MCIL
Having previously worked in-house for ten years, and in my own freelance business for seven years, I have provided many certified translations from Spanish and French into English and have helped clients in various situations.
I mainly work with private individuals, who sometimes have no idea what they need in terms of certification. Obviously,...
By Professor Michael Kelly OBE, recipient of the David Crystal Award 2024
I fell in love with languages at the age of 11, in my first year at the Hull Grammar School, when I started to learn French and Latin. I was amazed that you could talk about things in such different ways. I soon realised that a door had opened into new worlds that I had never suspected. It...