Language

  • Friend deputises when Capita interpreter fails to show

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Media, Politics

    image of scales of justiceOn 29th December the Grantham Journal reported on the case of a Romanian man appearing before Grantham Magistrates Court charged with the theft of £2,000 worth of chewing gum and other items from two Lincolnshire supermarkets.

    31 year-old Ionut Dumitru Nae of Coventry, had pleaded guilty on 24th November to attempting to take £900 worth of gum and other items from Morrisons in Stamford and then stealing more packs of chewing gum, champagne and other products to the value of pound;1,500 from Asda in Grantham.

    However, the defendant had to rely on the assistance of his English-speaking friend to translate in court when no interpreter turned up.

    Hat tip: Linguist Lounge.

  • Want to bash immigrants? Use interpreters! The Express does!

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Media, Politics

    The Daily Express, once described by Prince Philip as a “bloody awful newspaper“, is not well known for its love of foreigners.

    One has to wonder whether there are any limits the depths to which it will sink in its xenophobia.

    The latter was apparent in an article earlier this week on police use of interpreters in West Yorkshire (which are provided by our old friends and paragons of competence Capita Translation & Interpreting, according to the Bradford Telegraph & Argus. Ed.).

    Apparently the police had to resort to using interpreters 6,000 times for 75 different languages.

    The Express’ derisive attitude to foreigners is obvious in the report’s second sentence, as is its scant regard to skilled professionals such as interpreters being paid properly.

    The cost, believed to be rising because of a soaring number of immigrants, was not revealed but interpreters can command fees of up to £40 an hour.

    To support its xenophobia, the Express finds a willing accomplice in Bradford Tory councillor Michael Walls, who even goes so far as to suggest that officers with a second language assisting in interviews would be a cheaper option for the police than engaging a skilled professional interpreter. He is quoted by the Express as saying: “Police officers who have a second language would be more economical.”

    Clearly neither the Express nor Councillor Walls have heard of a minor impediment to such a scheme, one that’s called conflict of interest.

    Your correspondent wonders what the considered response of the Law Society would be to such a suggestion.

    The article is open to comments and Express readers are not backward in showing their xenophobia (and accompanying support for UKIP. Ed.) either. Indeed the first comment is quite definite, starting: “They should have to Speak English before we let them in!”

    How would that person feel if the tables were turned and he or she couldn’t go on holiday abroad because he couldn’t speak fluent, French, Spanish or Thai beforehand?

  • Oatcakes!

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Media

    Earlier this month, Staffordshire-based production team THE 7TH TOWN released its first feature length documentary called Oatcakes!

    It’s a film about local pride and the people of the Potteries directed by Robert Burns and produced by Toby DeCann.

    Local delicacy the Staffordshire oatcake (posts passim) features prominently in the film, as do the ales produced by Burslem’s Titanic Brewery (Edward Smith, captain of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, was born in Hanley. Ed.).

    There are fine renditions of the local accent too, as well as lessons in Potteries history, heritage and culture.

    It may be 1 hour and 45 minutes long, but if you have an interest in the food and/or people of the Potteries and North Staffordshire, it’s well worth watching.

  • Dark Ages Christmas cancelled at Poundland

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media

    cards with wording hark the herald anglesLocal papers around the country, including the Bristol Post, have reported that budget retailer Poundland has withdrawn Christmas cards containing a basic spelling error.

    The cards themselves feature the words “Hark the Herald Angles“.

    Furthermore, The Independent also reports that Poundland was also selling Christmas decorations spelling out either “Merry Shristmas” or “Merry Christmay“.

    It is apparent that proof-reading costs far too much and would – if implemented – destroy Poundland’s profit margin on seasonal kitsch.

    Incidentally, the Angles of East Anglia, in the shape of the Wuffingas dynasty, were instrumental in the establishment of Christianity in England. Rædwald (who was buried in the ship burial at Sutton Hoo) was the first East Anglian king to be baptised in 604. His descendant King Anna (or Onna), who reigned from c. 636 – 654 AD, had several of his offspring canonised as saints: his son Jurmin and all his daughters – Seaxburh, Æthelthryth, Æthelburh and possibly a fourth, Wihtburh.

  • Crowdfunding for Bristolians only

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media, Oddities, Tech

    What could have been a fine report on a local space technology story has been ruined by poor writing in the Bristol Post.

    Yesterday’s Post carried a story on Bristol SpacePlanes and its efforts to develop a reusable orbital vehicle.

    CGI impression of Bristol SpacePlanes Ascender craft
    A CGI impression of the Bristol SpacePlanes Ascender craft

    The Post’s journalist gets off to a bad start in the first sentence:

    Bristolians are being invited to help launch planes into space in a new crowd-funding [sic] campaign.

    Just Bristolians, Bristol Post?

    I thought the idea of crowdfunding (minus the hyphen. Ed.), was that anyone can be part of the crowd that provides the funds, irrespective of geography.

    This suspicion is borne out by 30 seconds research. The first item on crowdfunding I found, from Wikipedia, states: “Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the internet.”

    Nowhere in the Wikipedia entry is there is indication at all that crowdfunding is to be restricted solely to Bristolians.

    Or am I just misreading to local media’s propensity to find a local angle to a story? Here’s a hint: it already has one, featuring a local high technology company and doesn’t need a second one! 🙂

  • Technology encourages boys and poorer children to read for longer

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Tech

    New technology is unlocking the key to the biggest problem that has been bedevilling the education world for years – the poor performance of white working-class boys in reading, The Independent reports.

    The Early Years Literacy Survey shows the role touch-screen devices play in the home and pre-school learning environments.

    image of Kindle ebook reader

    Figures show that a higher number of children from low income groups (DE households) are more likely to read stories on touch-screen devices for longer and use them for educational activities than those from high income groups (AB households). Findings show that:

    • Twice as many young children from DE households than from AB households read stories on a touch-screen for longer than they read printed stories (29.5% vs. 17.4%);
    • A higher number of children from DE households than AB households use technology more for educational activities than for entertainment (43.2% vs. 30.4%). Figures also reveal that boys are more likely to use touch-screen devices for reading and educational activities for a longer period than paper;
    • Twice as many boys as girls look at or read stories on a touch-screen for longer than they look at or read printed stories (24.0% vs. 12.0%); and
    • More boys than girls use a touch-screen device for educational activities than for entertainment (36.0% vs. 28.2%).

    The survey also found that 91.7% of children aged 3-5 have access to touch-screen technology at home and access to touch-screen technology in early years settings has doubled since last year. Moreover, the majority of pre-school teachers and practitioners said they would like to see more touch-screen technology in use in early years environments.

  • Travelodge produces guide to the West country accent

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language

    Alright me babber? Have you heard that hotel chain Travelodge has produced a guide to the West Country accent? The Gloucestershire Echo has.

    The Echo article has a brief list of common phrases – presumably from Travelodge’s publication – to help visitors get by in the West:

    • Alright me Babber: How are you?
    • Oldies: Holiday
    • Fotawl: Photograph
    • Pown: Pound (Money)
    • Safternun: This afternoon
    • Laters: See you later
    • My luvver: A term of endearment
    • Tiswas: Confused
    • Gurt lush: Really good
    • Babba: Baby

    Adge Cutler
    Adge Cutler – an archetypal West Country man
    The West Country accent is the third most popular in the country, according to research, behind the Geordie and Yorkshire accents (don’t tell my Lancastrian brother-in-law! Ed.).

    One noticeable omission from the glossary above is ‘daps‘, Bristolian dialect for those shoes used for PE in schools, otherwise known as plimsolls or pumps. Bristolians also use the term to describe trainers.

    The research also found that people who speak in West Country accents are less likely to be able to understand the accents of other people from elsewhere in Britain than they could understand Spanish or Italian. Curious (Blige! As one would say in Bristol. Ed.).

    My copy of the Oxford Companion to the English Language, published 20 years ago, says the following about West Country accents:

    The range of accents in the West Country extends from broad in the working-class and in rural areas through accents modified towards RP in the town and the lower middle class to RP proper in the middle and upper classes. Local speech is rhotic, with a retroflex /r/ in such words as rap, trip and r-coloured vowels in words such as car/cart. Postvocalic /r/ is widely retained in such cities as Bristol and Exeter, despite the influence of RP, which is non-rhotic. In other cities, such as Plymouth and Bournemouth, rhoticity varies. Traces of variable r-pronunciation are found as close to London as Reading and Berkshire.

    The entry then goes on to deal extensively with local grammar, vocabulary and the literary West Country.

    Hat tip: Yelena McCafferty.

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