Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
Covert languages often start with children, as with the M language in Malaysia
What the clandestine M language of Malaysia can tell us about secret languages around the world
By Norhaniza Nuruddin
The phenomenon of hidden languages is truly intriguing. These confidential communication methods often develop within groups, serving purposes...
As AI innovation snowballs, some developers are calling for a moratorium on new services. We asked stakeholders if the launch of new language-related AI should be put on hold.
John Worne, CIOL CEO
As language professionals, we find ourselves at what feels like a crossroads, where artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming our context. The...
Kashif Khalid traces the history, art and poetry of the language
According to 2022 estimates, Urdu is the tenth most widely spoken language in the world, with 230 million speakers, including those who speak it as a second language. The national language of Pakistan, it is widely spoken in India, as well as in various countries worldwide, including...
With her debut novel investigating the darker side of translation, the author discusses everything from positive changes in publishing to complicated relationships with language in diaspora communities
Could you tell us where you grew up and how your interest in languages began?
I was born in Oman and have vague memories of learning Arabic as...
By Romina Espinosa
Why in-house medical interpreting is better for our health
Medical interpreting is often done by freelancers, hired for one-off assignments, even if the patient has a chronic condition and/or needs several appointments and procedures. UC San Diego Health has an in-house team of six full-time English<>Spanish interpreters. Our...
By Gene Hsu
Gene Hsu considers approaches to song translation and proposes a comprehensive way to discuss the process
In popular music, song translation is used to help the target audience understand the source song, but the translations are often not singable. Some are produced by translators or songwriters, while others are done by internet users....
What is the most efficient way to learn a language? Petar Milin and Dagmar Divjak are turning to an algorithm to find out
Learning a new language is an incredibly daunting task for adults. While newspaper headlines may give the impression that the interest in language learning is on the wane, fluency in a foreign language is something many aspire to. Over the...
How languages helped the music promoter make it to the top in a male-dominated industry
Music promoter Rachel Strassberger, who counts Black Eyed Peas among her biggest clients, has combined a career in law and marketing with a passion for electronic music. She explains how speaking five languages shapes who she is, how she builds relationships and how...
By Agata McCrindle
Why peer-to-peer mentoring – a sort of supportive partnership – can help with professional development, motivation and accountability.
Mentoring offers personalised support among professionals and boosts career growth. Early examples can be traced back to Greek mythology. In Homer’s Odyssey, King Odysseus goes to war, leaving his son,...
By Holly Langstaff, Nicola Brown, Chris Dobbs and Rebecca Smithson
A new outreach project shows teens choosing their exam options that there’s more to languages than they thought, say Holly Langstaff, Nicola Brown, Chris Dobbs and Rebecca Smithson
A new languages outreach programme aims to change how secondary school students think about...