Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
By Eloísa Monteoliva-García
When we talk about interpreting, whether related to interpreting practice, research or interpreter training, it is often conceptualised as an activity which primarily functions as a bridge between two parties who would otherwise be disconnected because they cannot access each other’s language. The interpreter is typically the bilingual participant in the room...
By Reza Shirmarz
Is gaming really a waste of time or could it be one of our greatest aids to language learning? Reza Shirmarz investigates.
Games have always been an efficient way to master new kinaesthetic and linguistic skills, especially for our youngsters. Computers and digital technology have not only revolutionised education systems, but also provided young people...
By Theo Merz
More people are listening to and making podcasts than ever before. BBC Sounds, the British national broadcaster’s radio and music app, reported around half a billion podcast plays in 2020; globally, there are some 1.7 million podcasts offering discussions and reports on topics ranging from true crime to ceramics, space travel, sex, gardening, left-wing literary analysis and...
By Debbie Garrick
Debbie Garrick takes us inside the varied, evolving and growing field of cosmetics and skincare translation
The cosmetics industry is worth billions worldwide. Germany, the UK and France are the biggest consumers of cosmetics and personal care items in Europe,1 and with €79.8 billion in retail sales in 2019, Europe is the largest cosmetics market in the world....
By Lucy Makepeace
Lucy Makepeace travels to the West African nation to help improve the way Ewe-speaking pupils are taught French
When I went to Senegal on a humanitarian mission in 2018, the level of poverty among the street children and communities I worked with was heartbreaking but sadly not unexpected. What really shocked me was that citizens were expected to speak French...
What Andrew Wong learnt from a unique project to translate (in relay) a children’s book based on a political speech
Former Uruguay president José Mujica is known as the world’s poorest president because he donated almost 90% of his salary to the poor. Elected to the country’s top office in 2010, the staunch leftist was a former Tupamaros guerrilla who was imprisoned for about 14 years...
Bridget Kendall tells CIOL CEO John Worne why her career as a BBC reporter would not have been possible without Russian
Bridget Kendall is perhaps best known as BBC Diplomatic Correspondent, working for both its radio and television networks. She joined the broadcaster in 1983 as a radio production trainee for the BBC World Service and in 1989 became its Moscow Correspondent....
Victoria Hislop’s love of Greece runs through her eight novels – every one of them set in the country. So much so that she was awarded honorary Greek citizenship in July for promoting the nation’s history and traditions. Though I knew of her reputation as a dedicated hellenophile, I was less aware of her passion for languages when we spoke in October. I discovered a...
By Carina Balbo
How Carina Balbo put self-doubt aside and entered the field of linguistic validation
Tuesday 19 June 2012. I will never forget that day. Usually after a job interview you hope with every ounce of your being to get the position. But this time I did not feel so desperate. Instead, I had an inner feeling of ‘what will be, will be’. I checked my emails and saw one...
By Karl McLaughlin
In the first of three stories from the "Pick of the conference" article in the latest issue of The Linguist, Karl McLaughlin speaks on translating press releases in emergency situations.
In countries that rely heavily on tourism, a less obvious consequence of health-related emergencies and other crisis situations is the need for translation of press releases...