Chartered Institute
of Linguists

NEWS & VOICES

Category:
The Linguist

 

In the under-representative world of publishing, can a mentorship for a minority ethnic translator make a difference, asks Miranda Moore

It has been five years since journalist Danuta Kean published a report on the severe underrepresentation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the British literary industry. In addition to a legacy of “white male elitism” that...

Published on Wednesday, 12 February 2020 - 9:16am
Category:
The Linguist
Published on Tuesday, 21 January 2020 - 1:30pm
Category:
Blog
Category:
The Linguist

By Erwin La Cruz

Do measures that pit machine translation against human interpreters give an accurate picture, asks Erwin La Cruz

The fight for translation supremacy between machines and humans rages on. The reports from the front line are delivered in code: LEPOR 0.68, NIST 0.56, BLEU 0.46, METEOR 0.56, WER 0.39. These acronyms are translation quality evaluation metrics. These...

Published on Wednesday, 15 January 2020 - 9:18am
Category:
The Linguist
Category:
The Linguist

 

Fuschia Hutton and mentor Oliver Lawrence outline the benefits of CIOL’s mentoring scheme from both sides

CIOL launched its mentoring programme, through which seasoned translators and interpreters share their knowledge to help less experienced linguists reach their full potential, at Members’ Day 2018. Mentees can choose mentors according to the skills and expertise they most...

Published on Thursday, 2 January 2020 - 10:20am
Category:
The Linguist
Category:
News

The Queen’s speech today outlined Boris Johnson’s agenda for the new session of parliament.

In a key element of the speech, the Queen says her government will “work to promote and expand the United Kingdom’s influence in the world”, starting with a review into security, defence and foreign policy “covering all aspects of international policy from defence to diplomacy and development”....

Published on Thursday, 19 December 2019 - 3:10pm
Category:
News
Category:
Blog

By Ignaty Dyakov MCIL, CL, MSoA

Prologue

Can I say that I have always loved languages? Not sure, but if one believes in the law of attraction, then - I suppose - I have always been attracted to languages, as I have studied quite a few. When somebody asks me how many languages I know, I usually respond, ‘None, however I have studied a variety of them throughout the years’. Having...

Published on Monday, 11 November 2019 - 4:05pm
Category:
Blog
Category:
The Linguist

By Anita van Adelsbergen

Anita van Adelsbergen considers the many challenges of specialising in canine and equine translation

When you are working on a translation and can’t find a certain word, Google will usually find your answer. But as an interpreter in the middle of a field, arena or paddock, that is a bit more difficult. And when it comes to equine interpreting, just...

Published on Wednesday, 9 October 2019 - 9:16am
Category:
The Linguist
Category:
Blog

By Gordon Southwood

 
Gordon Southwood ACIL German to English


 

This story explains my motivation to learn French and German, subjects in which I have never taken any exams, but have made my way up to conducting business at boardroom level, in both languages, in the world of manufacturing. It was on this basis that CIOL awarded me membership at Associate level...

Published on Thursday, 12 September 2019 - 9:51am
Category:
Blog
Category:
Blog

By Karine Chevalier-Watts

 

 


Karine Chevalier-Watts, MCIL Chartered Linguist
Director of “KLAS Languages”
Chair & Treasurer of the CIOL Translating Division

 

 

Ever since I was a little girl growing up in France in the 1970s listening to my elder brother’s Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John and David Bowie records, I was...

Published on Thursday, 8 August 2019 - 11:01am
Category:
Blog
Category:
News

Quality and standards are the badge of honour and core characteristics of all who call themselves a “professional”. Disregarding economic argument, the value of a professional is embedded in their knowledge and expertise and their ability to apply both to a purposeful endeavour in pursuit of success.

Founded over 100 years ago, long before it became a chartered body, the Institute of...

Published on Wednesday, 7 August 2019 - 1:47pm
Category:
News