Chartered Institute
of Linguists
NEWS & VOICES
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 Twitter, we asked our followers to tell us what advice they would give to their younger selves before starting their career in translating or interpreting. Below is a list of responses we receieved from this Tweet.
1. Find an experienced proofreader2. 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...
by Isabelle Heyerick
The interpreter selects strategies in real time, but little is known about this process. Isabelle Heyerick asks how signed language interpreters make such decisions
Any interpreter can attest that the cognitive work we perform entails more than merely rendering words from language A into language B. There is context to consider, the social rules and norms of...
As we gradually see the pandemic restrictions being lifted, it is clear that life will never return to the same ‘normal” as pre-pandemic. The workplace has undergone a quiet revolution in terms of the way people now want to work and it has been proven that new ways of working can be implemented.
For many, home working or partial homeworking has become the norm and is likely to remain...
by Michal Glowacki
Michal Glowacki considers the challenges of translating for the cycling industry and why it can sometimes be an uphill ride.
Imagine an amazing day, sunny, with hardly any wind – the perfect day for my first ride with a group of fellow cyclists (Polish zgrupka), some six years ago. I was enjoying the ride and learning the various hand gestures cyclists use to...
by CIOL
In response to the crisis in Afghanistan, we have recently published an interview with Mehdi Bahrami MCIL CL, an experienced interpreter and translator as well as a language and cultural advisor.
In this video, Mehdi talks to CIOL's CEO John Worne to discuss the professional opportunities that exist for working in Dari and Pashto in...
by John Forster
Overview on back cover
This little booklet, inspired by and dedicated to my two grandchildren, consists of a series of anecdotes in which I recall events and personalities during my 25 years of military service and thereafter, with the odd white-knuckle episode, making the most of the dying embers of the British Empire. I am now in my 87th year, ostensibly fit...
by Annie Rutherford
Why Annie Rutherford added linguistic diversity to her translation of The Peacock, and how she approached the Scots text
It’s a strange thing: as a reading public, we think nothing of British novels set in Botswana, France or Brazil – and yet with translated books there’s an expectation for them to function as ambassadors for the countries they’re from. When...
by Sophie Llewellyn Smith*
Sophie Llewellyn Smith offers her advice on self-assessing a C language, and effective approaches to turning it into a B language
An interpreter’s quest for rock solid passive languages is never-ending. How can you assess the lacunae in your passive or ‘C’ languages and design an action plan to address your weaknesses?
Resources for foreign...