Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
What is Certified English?
As the global professional body for linguists, we at the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) are excited to introduce Certified English. This speaking test is designed to provide advanced adult speakers of English as a second or additional language with an opportunity to...
Mariane Lambert won the CIOL Award for Best Candidate in the Diploma in Translation
Why did I take the DipTrans?
I truly became aware of the DipTrans around 2018. I had already been working as a freelance translator for a few years at the time, and although my business was doing fairly well, I was looking for a new challenge. I will also readily admit that, having no...
Ozge Solak receives the award for Best Candidate in the DPSI from HRH Prince Michael of Kent at the CIOL Awards
Why did you decide to take the DPSI qualification?
I thoroughly enjoy interpreting and translating, with a passion for law and a desire to practise in the field. With a bachelor's degree in French and English translation and interpretation and a passion...
Kirsty Low receives the award for Best Candidate in the CertTrans from HRH Prince Michael of Kent at the CIOL Awards
What made you decide to take the CertTrans?
As a translator still at an early stage in my career – I completed my Master’s degree in translation in 2021 and began working as a full-time freelance translator at the start 2022 – I decided to take the...
CIOL Chair of Council Report
Ahead of the AGM on 4 April 2023, CIOL members can download the Annual Report 2017-2023 which summarises our performance since I was elected to Council in 2017.
While writing it, I realised how much has changed over the past six years which have probably been the most challenging in the history of CIOL. Economic, social...
By Séverine Hubscher-Davidson
A challenging environment
Psychological health has become an increasing concern for language practitioners. In 2021, the ITI published a position statement on translators’ mental health and wellbeing, and in 2020 and 2021 the CIOL published two guides on the topic of stress management and resilience. According to the CIOL Insights Survey 2022...
In a previous blog I explored Is Machine Translation replacing human translators? My conclusion was that the best answer for the present and foreseeable future is “Augmented Translation” mutually reinforcing human-machine translation workflows but with the human to the fore.
CIOL explored this topic at a recent All Party Parliamentary Group meeting in the House...
But where are you from?
Where are you really from?
Yes, but where were you born?
I mean where did you grow up?
Yes, but where are you originally from?
If you happen to be a person that was born in one country, moved to another, and was raised in a third, with parents from different cultures or countries, you know the struggle. If you happen to...
It was two years ago that I took my final leave of CIOL’s offices in Fleet Street, caught my last commuter train home and entered what the French call “le troisième âge”, the successor to childhood and a working adult life.
So what is life as a retired linguist really like? Well, the retired bit is easy – newfound time to read, an abundance of hours spent cycling, days out, art...
Asset or irrelevance?
As someone with bilingual Italian language skills and good French and Spanish – but more interested in business than in working as a translator, interpreter or teacher – I have always been puzzled by whether my language skills are an asset or an irrelevance. Do I look for work using my Italian, or is that restrictive? Do I need to live in...