Chartered Institute of Linguists

The Centenary year of 2010 has been a very active one for us, so here is yet another Newsletter. Our Editor, Sally, has almost been a full-time journalist this year! It’s a fairly short Newsletter this time, though, since we only want to concentrate on the immediately past and last events of 2010, plus a quick mention of the AGM. I’ll leave my “flirtation” to the next issue: no shortage of “muses”, e.g. Thai reared her appealingly scripted head quite recently, or there was a lesser known Slavic beauty last year.

Our last event for this year is the Translators’ Workshop in Frankfurt on 6 November. In the last few issues of the Newsletter we have been discussing the idea of a “change of workshop format”, moving more in the direction of a “panel discussion/brains trust”. Well, we have not gone all the way in that direction but arrived at a consensus whereby part of the day will be devoted to specific topics as previously and the rest of the time to a panel discussion on issues which “touch the art of translation”. All details are on Page 4.

The battle is known in Germany either as the 2^nd Battle of Höchstädt, or the Battle of Höchstädt-Blindheim, which somehow became Blenheim for the British. We started our visit in the larger venue of Höchstädt, where we were very kindly welcomed by the town mayor, Hildegard Wanner. Frau Wanner gave us a brief outline of Höchstädt past and present, and the history of the palace in which we held the first meeting. Next, local schoolboy Stefan Lorenz, in the uniform of a drummer of the Guards’ Regiment of Elector Max Emanuel, demonstrated his impressive drumming skills to set the scene (his parents and sister Sarah, all keen local historians, were likewise present in period costume). We then heard a recording of a funeral march by Purcell and a reading of Robert Southey’s moving poem ‘The Battle of Blenheim’, after which renowned military historian Dr. Marcus Junkelmann, in the uniform of a Bavarian grenadier, took us through a myriad of military details: uniforms, equipment, weapons, musical instruments, the role of the drummer, the language of communication on the battlefield, nationalities present (who would have imagined that a female dragoon from Northern Ireland known as Mother Ross had been among the British contingent?!), the scale of casualties and the types of wound inflicted, plus the aims behind the battle, the course of the engagement and its outcome. Dr. Junkelmann’s breadth and depth of knowledge were matched only by his wit and enthusiasm. The morning conferencewas followed by visits to models of the battlefield in the palace exhibition and in the local museum which helped us to grasp the size and complexity of the battle.

Moving forward to the present day, we then heard from Agathe Lehr, a teacher at St. Bonaventura school in Dillingen. Frau Lehr told us about Unesco peace education and other international projects, and about local ties with Marlborough School and Blenheim Palace, in particular one of the Palace guides, Christine Gadsby, who is also a member of the academic staff. There have been exchange visits by school groups and other groups, including a number of concerts given in and around Höchstädt by the Blenheim Singers. The commemoration of the battle in 2004, which included a re-enactment, was a major event, as was the visit by the 11^th Duke of Marlborough. It was most heartening to hear of the wide range of cooperation across borders, and of the enthusiasm of Frau Lehr’s pupils for the various undertakings. Frau Lehr was the lynchpin of our visit, her input was invaluable and turned the weekend into an unforgettable experience for the GS.

In particular, we heard from former pupil Sarah Lorenz of efforts to preserve what remains of a former mill, seen ablaze in the battle tapestry at Blenheim Palace. The Simonsmühle dates back to the 13^th century. It served as a field hospital for the wounded from both sides during the battle, and is said to have been visited by Marlborough. Despite the owner’s resistance, the building has been accorded listed status. Sarah gave her power-point presentation very ably in English. Stefan Lorenz then gave us his power-point presentation about the battle, likewise in good English.

of the opposing forces, there is now a memorial commemorating the battle and symbolising present friendship between nations. Here, too, there have been exchange visits with Blenheim Palace. In the town’s museum we saw various items salvaged then or latterly from the battlefield, and the book in which the 11th Duke of Marlborough signed his name on the occasion of the commemoration of the battle 300 years on in 2004. Former GS chairman Jadwiga Bobrowska, who organised the GS study weekend, signed the book on the society’s behalf. A much earlier prominent visitor to Blenheim was Winston Churchill, whose quote about the battle is engraved on the ground in front of the memorial: “The Battle of Blenheim moved the political axis of the world”. A memorial route was established in 2004 with commemorative plaques at various points of historical interest.

Our party then travelled across the former battlefield, accompanied part of the way by Herr Gumpp and Herr Mayer. We stopped to climb a recently erected viewing platform that allows a clear view over what is now beautiful, fertile farming land. From there, we resumed the link to today, and travelled to another preservation project, the Eichberger Hof (www.eichbergerhof.de). Thanks to architects Ludwig and Lisbeth Pfaud, the building, which Prinz Eugene of Austria is said to have visited, is now also being painstakingly restored. To our surprise, we were met here by the Lorenz family, again in period dress, and members of the society founded to preserve the Eichberger Hof, also in period dress, one of whom, in the guise of a Prussian officer, demonstrated the use of his musket (with no ill effects!).

At the very start of our meeting, Jadwiga referred to the Chartered Institute of Linguists’ motto, ‘Universal Understanding’, and this was very much at one with the Unesco projects we heard about, and the leitmotif for the entire weekend. Our special thanks go to Frau Lehr for all her work and great kindness, the Lorenz family for their own special contribution, the Mayors of Höchstädt and Blindheim and their staff, and the gentleman from the Donau-Zeitung Dillingen who accompanied us in Höchstädt and at the Eichberger Hof. We were met with kindness and interest at every turn, and cannot recommend too highly a visit to Höchstädt and Blindheim to those interested in this crucial event in European history.

By way of something completely different, we spent the Saturday evening in Augsburg. There, Roman Kotlarzewski, in his role as Jacob Fugger’s book-keeper Matthias Schwarz and dressed accordingly, took us on a fascinating and witty tour of the Fuggerei, a before-its-time social housing complex that still exists under much the same rules, before joining his Renaissance dance group, Augusta Historica (www.augusta-historica.de), for a demonstration of period dancing at the Fugger Palace. The costumes were made by group members, and the ladies dresses and headgear in particular were stunningly beautiful. We ‘had a go’ at a couple of the simpler dances ourselves, with brave Roman giving instructions, before dining in the atmospheric courtyard of the palace’s Damenhof.

Thanks to Gabriele Matthey and Guglielmo Fittante for drawing my attention to media reports on the continuing decline of language teaching in the UK. It goes so far that a number of universities are closing down language faculties. This particular rot appears to have set in since the government decided in 2004 that language learning would be optional as of the age of 14. This is due to change as of 2011, with languages then to be compulsory for 7-11-year-olds. The British Academy is quoted as saying that there is only one UK citizen working in Continental Europe for every four EU citizens working in the UK (actually, British Academy, Britain is in the EU as well, they obviously mean non-UK EU citizens!).

GS Diary 2010/11

6-10 October

Frankfurt Book Fair

This year’s guest of honour is Argentina. There will be an amalgamated ‘Weltempfang Politik, Literatur, Übersetzen’ replacing the two former translators’ and international centres. Despite the cutback, there will be a number of talks and events geared towards translators and interpreters, and a BDÜ/VDÜ stand in hall 5.0.

6 November

Translators’ workshop in Frankfurt am Main

For full details, see page 4.

12 November 2010 – 3 April 2011

Evolving English: One language, many voices

A major exhibition and events programme at the British Library in London. It is the first ever exhibition exploring the evolution of the English language, from Anglo-Saxon runes to modern day rap. Driven by developments in religion, politics, technology, economics and culture, English today is spoken by a third of the world’s population. The exhibition will examine where the language is now, where it has come from and where it is heading. The new varieties of the language appearing in world literature and on the internet show that this incredible story is by no means over. For full details, see http://www.bl.uk/evolvingenglish.

7-8 May 2011

ITI conference in Birmingham

Interested parties are invited to submit proposals for plenary sessions, panel discussions, workshops and talks on practical aspects of interpreting and translation. The deadline for submission is 31 August.

For further information, see www.iti.org.uk / www.iti-conference.org.uk.

Here is our third newsletter of the Institute’s centenary year. The GS made a noteworthy contribution to the centenary by organising the Anglophoner Tag in Hamburg – at least that’s the impression I got from the good vibes during the event and the feedback so far from those participating. I think that our two representatives from the CIoL, John Hammond and Christine Pocock, greatly enjoyed their trip to Hamburg. Not only did the core of the AT, the Saturday seminars, excel in the coverage of a wide range of professional and academic topics, but the extra-curricular programme was also extraordinarily attractive and well organised – from the AIRBUS visit on the Friday and the ecological boat trip around the Port of Hamburg on the Sunday to the choice of venues for supper and, for those who needed extra recuperation after each day’s full programme, an excellent pub. Thanks again to the organisers, above all Gabriele Matthey and our Treasurer, Andreas Busse, who has also written the report on pages 2,3 and 4.

For some of the participants the arrival was strewn with obstacles due to various transport delays. A group of ten eventually gathered at the AIRBUS main gate, where we were welcomed by one of the guides. The two-and-a-half-hour tour provided an insight into a European company of around 12,000 employees just at the Hamburg location. Yes, truly international since various factories are situated in Germany, Great Britain, France and Spain. The Hamburg works alone has more than 250 buildings and workshops with the most modern assembly lines worldwide. I got the impression that the employees are truly proud of being part of this trend-setting, top-notch company.

Most of the participants stayed in the centrally located Maritim Hotel, a classic venue for the conference itself. Our official meeting on Saturday was convened by Gabriele Matthey, our Honorary Secretary, who cordially welcomed the 39 participants. We were then very honoured to listen to John Hammond, Chief Executive of the Institute, who had joined us for the centenary in Germany. In his welcoming address John highlighted the qualification of Chartered Linguist that has recently been introduced by the CIoL.

The first talk, presented by Charles Rothwell from ITI GerNet, dealt with “English Youth Speak”. He has been a teacher in Germany and England for more than 30 years and gave us a highly amusing insight into “Youf Speak”, particularly expressed in music (Hip-hop and Rap) with its roots in multiculturalism. It was a very lively interactive presentation where characteristics of Youf Speak such as “safe”, “sound”, “wicked” and “brill” were mentioned as examples. Abbreviations of the chat-room type and brevity are preferred, such as “safa”, the coolest of the cool. In conclusion it must be said that Youf Speak is only meant to be used by young people among young people.

Natascha Dalügge-Momme from the ADÜ Nord was unfortunately unable to present her lecture on intercultural differences in technical translations, due to an accident. Marlies Adjanor from Hamburg University stepped in with her most interesting talk on further education projects run by the “Arbeitsstelle für wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung” (Centre for Continuing Academic Education). Ms Adjanor, a philologist in charge of the Education Centre, explained that particular focus is put on sign language translating, as well as further education studies in translating and interpreting for the courts and authorities. After passing a written and oral examination, each student receives an academic certificate and is then entitled to be sworn in by the Ministry of the Interior of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg as a certified translator/interpreter.

a “Wortschatz” (vocabulary or lexicon) on the one hand and, on the other, a valuable translation asset. One of the psychological aspects of terminology is abstraction, i.e. the suppression of unpleasant facts (“collateral damage” meaning civilian casualties, whereby the word casualty in itself is playing down the seriousness of severe injuries or even death). Another example of the psychological aspect of terminology is manipulation by, for example, a “spin doctor” (Imageberater/Schönredner).

Barbara Müller-Grant from the BDÜ Hesse was our next speaker, on “Lebenspartnerschaften” (here mainly same-sex partnerships) and recent changes in German law. She compared the legal status in Germany with the U.K. (civil partnership) and the USA (civil union). Since 2004 there has been a “life partnerships law” (Lebenspartnerschaftgesetz) in Germany and there are “registered life partnerships” (eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaften). As of 1 January 2009 such unions are recorded in an Electronic Civil Status Register (as a replacement for the “Familienbuch”) where marriages, deaths and births are entered as well. Couples may have a religious ceremony first, prior to a civil ceremony.

On Sunday, 17 of us went on a tour of Hamburg harbour with an ecological flavour. Although the weather was inclement, our boat gave us shelter from the rain. During this “alternative” harbour trip, organised by the support group “Save the Elbe”, we learned about environmental policy, expansion of the port facilities, deepening of the river bed and water pollution. Since pollutants such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons are being dumped into the river every day, the food chain is affected and bathing in the river cannot be recommended. Thanks to the support group, people are becoming more aware of the need to protect the river environment.

Regarding the GS Newsletters: with the domain provider I use it is not possible to (or I don’t know how to) paste the newsletter in the format that Sally Lamm produces. I can, however, reformat the newsletter and remove pictures, logos etc and paste the body of the information. This in turn means I can display the newsletters in a rolling form, showing all those issued in a year, so back issues are available on display. Paul Woods made the suggestion at the 2009 AGM that it might be a good idea to show back issues, and I am glad I have been able to implement his suggestion. I have all of the issues from 2008 to date and one from 2006 and 2007 respectively. A maximum of 5 years will be displayed, which is probably enough. All of the back issues that I hold are listed and are available in PDF format on request to me. If anyone has any more in PDF format, please send them to me and I will add them to the database.

During the 2009 AGM John Graham kindly suggested he could provide the DTT Calendar of Events for the GS Website, which was displayed until recently on the Information Page. Although very informative and all-encompassing, a decision was made that the content was really too extensive for the GS and we should probably stay nearer to home with the information we display. Consequently, after the chairman discussed this with John Graham, it was decided to remove the DTT Calendar of Events from the Information Page. In the future the Information Page will be used mainly for GS events when information becomes available and possibly information on other events where participation of GS members can be anticipated or other information more likely to be of direct relevance to the GS. In addition, there is now a link to the DTT on the Links page, where a link to the DTT Calendar of events is available on the DTT main page.

The Photos page has been revamped and I have now called it the Photo Gallery. I have grouped photos together in sub-pages for the main events from which I have been sent photos; additionally, I have made a miscellaneous sub-page for unrelated photos which I have been sent. There will obviously be a limit to the number of photos that can be displayed but I don’t know how much that is, so until we hit the limit I will continue to publish all of the pictures members send to me. Please put a caption on them and I’ll take it from there.

2. Opt-in Members List: This list is purely for CIoL GS members to be able to associate easily with other members. I would like to stress here that people do not have to be part of the Chartered Institute of Linguists to join the CIoL German Society. To be added to the Opt-in Members List, members must opt-in either by e-mail or by letter. If opted-in members wish to opt out, this must also be submitted in writing or by e-mail. This list is by German state and includes the following information: name, town, internet address or telephone number and finally CIoL division if applicable/relevant/wanted. No other information is intended to be posted here, as that can be gained by contacting members themselves, so this should be seen as a stepping stone to members if required. We might well be surprised to find out that we are relatively near other members. Who knows how this might progress?

3. Find a GS Interpreter, Translator or Teacher: This page is for members/non-members of the CIoL German Society to find a member who is an interpreter, translator or teacher. It is our Website, so why not try and use it, hopefully to the advantage of our members? There is an indemnity clause, as we are not in a position to recommend or assume responsibility for recommending members, so please see it purely as a platform to disseminate information if you wish. To keep it simple, the information displayed will be by state and include name, town, website and very short description of services, i.e., any person, any town, any@www.de/e-mail address or contact telephone number, interpreting D-GB-D, translations D-GB: English teaching. This too is an opt-in arrangement, so please let me know if you wish to make use of it.

As always, members might have suggestions about what they think is good or bad, right or wrong, or ideas for improvement, or may just wish to discuss something, and for this we have the Forum. If there are ideas for the benefit of the GS, including the content of the Website, why not put them on the Forum and we can see what happens? Use of the Forum will allow time for consideration and discussion, whereas if we just wait for the AGM, the discussions, even about minor points, might take longer that anticipated – which might lead to me missing my train again … Greetings to all.

The Lake District has always been quite a melting pot in spite of it being sparsely populated among its mountains and fells and, in olden times, its isolated geographical position between England and Scotland. Following the unknown Bronze Age peoples, its first inhabitants were the Celtic Brigantes, who later had to coexist with the Romans, who fortified the area at about the same time as Hadrian’s Wall was built. Later, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon kings struggled for control of the area. Cumbria, from “Combrogi” or “Cymri” retained its Celtic language (Brythionic branch, similar to Welsh) into the Middle Ages, along with Anglo-Saxon.

Celtic and Anglo-Saxon, however, soon had a rival in the Norse language. The Vikings started to arrive from Western Norway, via Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man in the eighth century. Penetrating inland, they founded the small farms typical of the area. The Norse language is strongly evident in place names and geographical terms all over the Lake District: Streams are termed “becks”, from “bekr”, waterfalls are “forces” from the Norse “foss”, “'thorpe”', is a hamlet. The famous “tarns” (small lakes) derive from “tjorn”. The place name “Satterthwaite” means “summer pasture clearing”*. “Fell” derives from "fjall" the Norse word for hill, cf. the Icelandic volcano underneath Eyjafjallajökull, the “island mountain glacier”, of noxiously eruptive fame.

Both the Lake District and Welsh use the system of adding on to fifteen (except for Welsh’s “two nines”). Presumably sheep came in units of fifteen. The Welsh numerals are often quite different but the pattern is the same. The Lake District versions seem to have included an element of humorous rhyming slang. There must also have been an all-England and Southern Scotland association of shepherds in those days, since this counting system seems to have caught on not only in the Lakes but also north of the Border, in Yorkshire and even as far away as Wiltshire. The Scottish system is very similar to the Borrowdale version, and in Wiltshire it runs as follows:

According to a reliable UK magazine, it was decided earlier this year that people could only come to Britain from abroad to study English if they could already speak it to a high GCSE level, unless they were being sponsored by their own governments or were preparing to study for a full-time university degree. The step was apparently taken in an attempt to stop illegal immigration. One result is that some countries have already started sending students to Canada, the US, Australia and Ireland instead, with the obvious loss of revenue for the UK (language schools, host families and the economy at large). And while bogus language centres had been a known problem for years, the response appears to have been ill thought-out. One body is to challenge the changes as having been introduced unlawfully, with the ruling justice commenting that ‘It is difficult to see how the extension of the level of English to those who come to study English can reasonably be justified’.

GS Diary 2010/11

10-12 September

GS study weekend in Höchstädt

For full details see our previous issue. The formal booking deadline has passed, but any latecomers still interested should contact organiser Jadwiga Bobrowska at J.Bobrowska@gmx.net.

25 September

Chartered Institute of Linguists’ Centenary Members’ Day

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, Coram Street, London WC1N 1HT. The registration deadline is 17 September.

For programme and booking form, see http://www.iol.org.uk/events/MembersDay/MemDayBkingForm2010.pdf

6-10 October

Frankfurt Book Fair

6 November

Translators’ workshop in Frankfurt am Main

9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Saalbau Gallus, Frankenallee 111 (a short walk from Galluswarte). Further details in due course.

7-8 May 2011

ITI conference in Birmingham

4. The Chairman gave a résumé of the previous year’s events. Once again there had been a diverse and geographically dispersed programme throughout 2009 with the AGM in Cologne (March), the Anglophoner Tag in Brighton (June) and in September the International BDÜ Conference in Berlin as well as the Study Weekend with the Cambridge Society in Graz. Full reports of both these events had appeared in the GS News 01.2010, and thanks were extended to Andreas Busse and Sally Lamm respectively for their contributions.

It was impossible to get a contingent from any other hotel/chain, so anyone not wishing to stay at the Maritim or too late to obtain a room from the contingent is requested to find alternative accommodation themselves. Early booking is advised because May is obviously a very busy month in Hamburg and prices are very likely to increase by then. Try: Ibis, Novum (a small Hamburg chain with hotels dotted around the station), Intercity or www.hamburg.citysam.de/hotelhamburg. htm, www.hotel.de or any other hotel booking site.

To nip briefly into last year: One of our main events, the Frankfurt Translators’ Workshop, had to be cancelled, mainly because its long-established format has now become obsolete in this age of internet forums and webinars. We discussed this, quite polemically, at the last AGM and then more objectively at our committee meeting in November (which replaced the workshop on that date). It is recognised that the workshop needs to be oriented much more towards commercial aspects, i.e. how to run your business efficiently, make money and not lose it all to the taxman, etc. We’re thinking of structuring this year’s workshop in the form of a panel discussion or “brains trust” to address such important topics, rather than concentrating solely on specialist translation issues (which are now amply covered by the said internet forums and webinars). However, further ideas are still welcome. Otherwise, 2009 was an excellent year for us, with some scintillating events. Read the reports inside!

This first Centenary year issue is a bumper edition. Our articles, or the “Rag Bag” quotes from other sources, sometimes elicit comments from readers. This is to be welcomed. For example, the item on “public viewing” in our August issue prompted a lengthy and somewhat scholarly reply from a reader in Thuringia. I have just re-read it and actually find it a useful contribution to the ongoing debate on “Denglish”. I therefore suggest that we henceforth make use of our own website for such correspondence and debates. It could result in fruitful interactive discussion and will help keep our website nicely tuned. Members could also let off steam on issues that impassion them!

The event in the nicely located Henry Ford Building of Freie Universität Berlin attracted more than 1,500 participants from over 40 countries. The conference was perfectly organised by the BDÜ Service GmbH, and the general feedback was overwhelming. I can only give some of my impressions, since there were so many workshops, lectures and panel discussions, and only the “Tagungsband” stretches to almost 600 pages (for further information/insight pls. refer to www.publikationen.bdue.de).

There were high-calibre participants from Germany and abroad, and I would especially mention Professor Jutta Limbach as one of the keynote speakers. She is the former President of the BVG (Federal Constitutional Court), and former Chair of the Deutscher Sprachrat (German Language Council) and also former President of the Goethe Institute. Professor Limbach stressed that you have to be at home in other cultures in order for example to gain an attitude of mind as mediator in conflict-solving. Globalisation requires intercultural communication and dialogue and rational and emotional intelligence. Her words that it is so important to cultivate one’s own native language / mother tongue do not really need any further explanation, since we as translators know exactly how important this is. I would only mention her point about what the world has done to the English language as regards so many English family corruptions (e.g. Denglish, Spanglish etc.)! And it is worth mentioning that each language provides such an invaluable cultural heritage and wealth. This presentation ended with standing ovations, and yes, Prof. Limbach really has understood the importance of international understanding, and you could feel her passion for language.

The first workshop on quality assurance in translation dealt with quality and who is going to pay for it. Quality assurance criteria and procedures in the translation business as exemplified with the automotive industry. Based on the European standard EN 15038, text and service quality can be assessed and audited, and quality really means meeting customers’ expectations, reliability, competence and re-traceability. Proofreading and re-editing require extra time, and customers who ask for extra service based on the “Vier-Augen-Prinzip” are usually willing to pay for it.

The second workshop I attended was on the EU terminology database IATE (Inter-active Terminology for Europe), the former Inter-agency Terminology Exchange. This freely accessible inter-institutional database is the successor to the former EURODICATOM, and now features a centrally coordinated database and administration with more than 9 million entries up to now. It covers 23 official languages and is therefore the largest multilingual and multi-directional terminology database worldwide. For further info pls. refer to http://iate.europa.eu

I also took part in an extremely lively and controversial panel discussion about who killed creativity? Do we really need TM? Now apart from the TM lobbyist who is only interested in selling his product, it soon became clear that CAT tools only assist in providing a rough translation which is OK and helps to speed up the job but no doubt about it, TM never achieves the standard of traditional translation and has to be handled with utmost care, and we have to be aware that it may reduce our sense of responsibility for quality translation. Often it requires too much post-editing, and the linguistic quality is only achieved by actions of a human translator. Be aware of the dangers of TM, but make the best use of it. Another provocative but in my opinion true statement was that translations should be better than the source text and that we are also responsible for educating our customers.

The ECML, founded in 1994, is a Council of Europe institution (not to be confused with the European Council!), and is one of the few such bodies outside Strasbourg. It has 34 member states. Its aim is the promotion of and support for linguistic diversity as a source of potential from which great benefit can be drawn. The organisation favours the term plurilingualism for people, a new word for many of us, and multilingualism for societies. The university coordinates with the centre on a wide range of forward-looking projects. This is of necessity the briefest of summaries: For full details of the ECML’s work, see http://www.ecml.at.

Hermione Penz of Graz University then spoke about communication strategies for achieving understanding in intercultural project discussions, preferring a positive approach to the traditional deficiency-orientated approach. Communication strategies are used to prevent or repair breakdowns in communication. Analysis of the problems arising has revealed that they tend to occur at discourse level and in relation to frames of reference, politeness and listening, whereas actual cultural differences account for only a third of all misunderstandings. Hermione gave us some amusing examples of the type of crossed wire that can happen.

Next, GS chairman Mike Harrington made an impassioned plea for ‘Good old books as background reading for your specialisation’, based on his acquisition of old scientific textbooks. Specifically, he referred to a 1914 work on steam turbines and a later publication from 1926. There has been a fair degree of continuity over the years and decades in both terminology and institutions. Mike also says that Goethe’s writings on natural science are a must for understanding certain references in Faust. Language aside, says Mike, Goethe’s chapter on granite is as good as any modern book (geology being a major interest of Mike’s).

Georg Marko of the university took us into medicine with a critical analysis of the lay discourse on multiple sclerosis (having decided to abandon his original subject, the language of pornography). He examined social identities and shared features, health identities, and new groupings in post-traditional societies. Georg stressed the importance of Internet-based communication. He had chosen MS because of the urgent need for sufferers to organise their lives around it, and because it is a highly unpredictable disease. Patterns of communication had been identified via computer analysis, including the frequency of terms used, use of brand names, acronyms and clippings.

personal identity, and may become the foundation of interactive communities. Bernhard identified three types of alternative lifestyle, escapist, confrontational and reformist. The particular two he had studied were EMOS (young, introverted, much given to computer communication, very me-based, and violent), and LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability), whose focus and motivation were very different. The language of both groups was analysed according to the frequency of the words and phrases used.

All of the above was a far departure from the daily work of the translator, and was highly thought-provoking. It was a packed and varied morning, with much discussion ensuing, and it is a great pity that each speaker could not have had more time. Thanks to Waldemar Martyniuk, Director of the ECML, for taking the time to welcome us and introduce the organisation, Ursula Newby of the centre and David Newby of the University for talking about their respective fields of work, and the four other speakers mentioned above. Later on in the day, some of the group took the opportunity to go on a guided walking tour of Graz. In the evening, we met for dinner in a delightful traditional restaurant which looked like someone’s living room, and provided excellent food, drink and service.

but simply indicated a medical practice. There were a few parallels, too, with our Luxembourg visit in 2005: A wonderful host and hostess on the spot, a sudden deluge during an al fresco lunch, and accommodation full of surprises. Thanks to Ursula and David Newby for all their hard work to make it such a successful, fun weekend and to the Cambridge Society for inviting us to join in and for coordinating it all. We sincerely hope for another joint event in Germany this year. Sally Lamm

“What’s wrang wi you?” I asked. “I’ve promised to write a piece about Scottish dialect for our next newsletter.” “Well you’re a right **/**** (depending on stress levels and if you come from Glasgow) eejit,” I replied. “Your knowledge of Scottish dialect is restricted to me in a bad mood and that Scottish phrasal mug you got for Christmas.” Chairman Mike (or Mick to some of his friends – possibly RC) just looked at me glaikitly and started greetin’ again. He was completely scunnered with writing articles for the BDÜ and I.o’L., and I was getting a bit crabbit with him spending all his evenings gazing at the computer screen. “Haud yer wisht. You’re nipping ma heed. I’ll do it for you.” I offered.

And that’s how I turned writer, spending hours sweating over the keyboard, with no time to shower and getting mankier and mankier by the minute. By the end of the day the flat looked like a complete midden, the kids had had nothing to eat for tea but jeely pieces. Chairman Mike, in the meantime, was gieing it laldy with your treasurer Andreas and cocking their wee finger in a pub in Düsseldorf, even though it was Baltic outside. Mike felt a bit uncomfortable, though, because he’d put on long-johns that were a wee bit small and were giving him a wedgie. (This is not as rude as you may think – see glossary). So he drank lots of chasers and came home steamin’ called me his nippy sweety and tried to

But is this financial recognition always merited? Not according to an article submitted by Donna Elliott, in which author, interpreter and translator Stephan Egghart complains bitterly (and rightly) about sloppy, direct translation. In this context, he also points the finger at the media for mistranslating idioms, the use of false friends, the use of sentence structures which are right in the source language but not in the target language, and so on. This reminded me of a recent obituary in a renowned English-language paper in which the ‘evangelische Kirche’ was described as Evangelical!!

Back in 1994, we heard interesting presentations in Düsseldorf on sign language and lip reading, so it was with these in mind that I recently visited a new museum in Frankfurt am Main dealing with the history of the deaf and hearing impaired. It is the first of its kind in Germany (Leipzig has Europe’s largest collection of literature on deafness), and Hesse was the first German state to adopt in 1999 the European Parliament’s 1988 resolution on recognition of sign language as a language in its own right.

The museum covers the long history of discrimination against the hearing impaired, in particular during the National Socialist period, and how education for those affected has gradually improved, the organisations that exist to help them, and the technical aids developed over the years. One special feature deals with the life and work of deaf Jewish artist David Bloch. The curator would like to expand the museum if the space and funding were available, as there is ample additional material to exhibit. For details, see www.deafmuseum.de.

Those who remember Joy will be interested to hear of her good work in the Gambia, as reported in the local Daily Observer and the Romford Recorder earlier last year. Inspired by an article in the latter about poor schooling conditions in the West African country, she has been active in raising funds for a new school and the provision of the necessary equipment and materials, plus herself sponsoring a number of children whose parents could not afford the attendance fee. In this context, Joy quotes the motto of her old school in Romford, ‘Gladly learn and gladly teach’.

What is a Waffelbodenstrahlanlage? Well obviously it’s a corrugated bottom blasting facility! Thanks to Mike for passing on an email in which the translator suggested that in fact ‘in English, it sounds more like a radical cure for cellulitis of the derriere’!! Mike also submitted a witty cutting making fun of the word ‘Easybad’ spotted on the side of a car. Could this mean ‘einfach schlecht’, or did it signify that ‘leicht verderbliche Ware’ was being transported? No, it was an advertisement for bathroom fixtures and fittings.

GS Diary 2010

6 March

GS AGM in Düsseldorf

The venue is the International English Library, after an optional lunch (for details see enclosed agenda, p.10)

28-30 May

Anglophoner Tag in Hamburg

Hamburg has been dubbed the most English of German cities, is easily reached from the UK, and is a major port and vibrant city (and incidentally a venue for CIoL exams). The meeting will be held at the Maritim Hotel Reichshof in Kirchenallee, right opposite the main station. By an uncanny coincidence, like the CIoL, the hotel is also celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year.

The provisional programme includes talks on whether and how the language you use influences the response you get, and on the (advance) translation and simultaneous reading during performances of plays. We also hope to find someone who could give us an insight into ‘youth speak’ (English or German). Optional events on Friday and Sunday are a tour of the Airbus factory, and of Hamburg harbour (with an environmental flavour) and of course good fish dishes. We also expect to have someone from the Institute present. Will those interested please contact Gabriele Matthey ASAP at translations@gmatthey.de.

10-12 September

GS study weekend in Höchstadt

Where?? Actually the site of what we Brits know as the Battle of Blenheim of 1704 (Blindheim, we were never good at foreign names). I shall now quote my Collins dictionary: “A village in SW Germany, site of a victory of Anglo-Austrian forces under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugène of Savoy that saved Vienna from the French and the Bavarians”. Need one say more?

The nearest larger town is Ulm. The weekend’s theme is ‘War and peace through the prism of the Battle of Blenheim’, with a talk by a military historian, a tour of the battlefield, and talks on social cohesion and peace education. We shall also be visiting beautiful Augsburg (birthplace of Brecht) for a tour of the Fuggerei, followed by a Renaissance/Baroque evening. For full details (including handy travel hints), please contact organiser Jadwiga Bobrowska at J.Bobrowska@gmx.net.