Irish Times

General matters


2015

In a word . . . Cant People with two languages ‘recover twice as well from strokes’ Letter:Time to learn foreign languages Paul Gillespie: Plurilingualism – why we’re so bad at picking up more languages Creative Scotland pushing for revival of Scots language Letter: We must learn modern languages Gender offender – An Irishman’s Diary about linguistic neutrality CSO figures show 182 languages are spoken in State’s homes Courts Service pays more than €1m for interpreters Words to the wise: ‘Accuse me of anything, but do not attack my grammar’ Parlez-vous Français? Then the whole world will listen Letter: Constitution and language Letter: Languages and university entry State’s language policy is costing its citizens jobs, Senator says Smartphone app boosts instant translation No more lost in translation as tech industry finally finds its voice

2014

Revenue ‘failed’ in bilingual duty with LPT booklet €750,000 spent on language tuition for Foreign Affairs staff The linguists the Irish economy needs are already here Letter: French and languages in schools Schools need to vary language teaching amid ‘predominance of French’, report suggests Microsoft unveils real-time Skype translator service To Be Honest... a parent writes: The way Irish is taught makes learning it a misery The bilingual brain is more nimble and efficient Basque: a lost language twin Gullah, a language that emerged among African slaves, gets a new lease of life The (Welsh) language question My Education Week: Barbara Geraghty, lecturer in Japanese, University of Limerick Elephants can discriminate between different languages Is the essence inevitably lost in translation?

2013

Letter from Prof David Little about Speaking with one voice on languages Speaking with one voice on languages: Why do we have such a problem with modern languages? Minority languages report top grades Rote learning hits a cul-de-sac for Leaving Cert French Oral exams are just not fair Time to speak up for foreign languages

2012

Xcelerator, translation services via the cloud to language-service providers A readers' guide to learning Chinese Languages other than Irish or English spoken in Ireland Globish English is the language of the global village but we risk getting lost in translation Getting to grips with the local language one of the biggest challenges faced by emigrants Ukraine language law draws protests Irish start-up scoops a top European award for its revolutionary approach to teaching language skills French minister has strong Irish links Irish not so gifted in foreign gab (Special eurobarometer 386) Google Endangered Languages Project Polish up your Polish Letter:Spanish, a language of growth Tough talk follows language proposals Ukraine MPs fight over language An Irishman's Diary: the evolution of language can make fools of us all Polish up your Polish Trilingual kids who will never be tongue-tied Results on question on foreign languages in 2011 census Letter: Adieu mademoiselle Adieu mademoiselle Latvia votes against Russian as second language Fluent in three months? Mon dieu! Language learning with Dora on the Internet UCC hopes Chinese award leads to funding Letter: reassuring that Dublin has seen an increase in the learning of such languages as Brazilian

2011

Learn a language Immigration rules in the UK, which require people to be able to speak English, are lawful Letter about:Irish students lost in translation Irish students lost in translation Language and cinema: To dub or to double take? Letter about: Learning languages Letter about: Learning languages Learning languages Review of book about language: Translation and the Meaning of Everything By David Bellos Languages ARE draining away Atkinson argues "all languages are related to each other, having originated perhaps 100,000 years ago in Africa" Mathematics is universal and ubiquitous. But as with most foreign languages, we tend not to speak it very well Is it possible that languages share a common single source? Language complexity declined in move out of Africa Third level graduates and professionals who speak a second language will find it easier to emigrate to Australia Irish teenagers have poor language skills compared to their EU counterparts Why has bilingual approach stalled? Ability to speak two languages can delay dementia, research shows 16 million Spaniards speak a regional language as well as Castilian Spanish China's mobile phones lead a reading revolution

2010

Surge in demand for TEFL courses Reopening the book on the lost language of civilisation's cradle Found in translation Not lost in translation: dictionary traces English words' Irish roots TCD expert awarded Russian government prestigious Pushkin Medal Why more languages spell jobs 70 jobs will depend on whether candidates can be found with the necessary language skills Tibetans protest over being forced to study in Mandarin Circular labour mobility and language skills Inability of foreigners to learn Dutch Manx lives on Russian-language resource centre China gets first seanchaí as Irish boy masters Mandarin Rwandan teachers back at school to help country's anglophone ambitions Plain sailing: tall ship launches first French Week Developing Irish links with China Immigrants to UK face English test No quality controls laid down for courts and Garda translators 'Even with my English, I could tell it wasn't right' Lost in translation Language gap is latest threat to jobs Merkel dismissed calls from Turkish prime minister for Turkish language schools in Germany, School signs up for Chinese syllabus Ukraine vows not to repeat Ireland's language 'mistake' International student sector could double to €1.8bn - FG International student sector could double to €1.8bn - FG Proposal to bolster defendants' rights to interpretation Proposed legislation to help people to get a fair trial anywhere in the EU Alliance (Française) still firm even after 50 years Germans say 'Nein' to invasion by English words Death of last speaker of ancient language New study researches Irish Latin legacy Has Ireland dropped the ball on attracting international students? TWO ENTREPRENEURS have turned language learning into a computer game Tuning in to Europe New TG4 film about the Ulster- Scots language

2009

English test for foreign workers in Singapore The rules of language do matter Éamon Ó Cuív, will give a speech on “Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used Languages” 13th summit meeting of the British-Irish Council Identity debate rouses passions of French public Common sense lost in translation and a streetwise stock investor Kurdish broadcast restrictions eased Ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia march against new law Hungary objects to Slovakia law The verdict of companies with long-time dealings with Germany: speak their language. Foreign nurses' English level an impediment HSE sends emergency phrase books to every acute hospital EU extends use of Welsh Tourists and language in Greece CHINA’S STATE news agency : trial run of an international English-language TV news service Falling in love with France “Not much priority is given in schools to the instruction of modern languages” in Brazil The largest English-speaking country? China, of course Think globally, speak locally Unregulated interpreters Adequate language skills or translation facilities needed for vulnerable migrant workers An Irish versus a foreign name Accents López’s party and Basque cultural identity To inflict unity on Europe's diverse peoples is so divisive Interpreters for gardaí are not vetted abroad Educational holiday in Cadiz China moves to discipline 'wild use' of language The survey on Racism, Interculturalism and Resources for Minority Ethnic Students Language policy in Spain Learn a language in your home Letter: Mind your language Found in translation: Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Paris: Cafe culture Minority Kurds celebrate new rights in Turkey (Kurdish-language) Turkey to publish Koran in Kurdish “Millennials’ desire to work overseas and use other languages BROADCAST BRETON Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library English loses dominance in European Commission as interpreters retire English language interpreters become endangered species EU’s single emergency number more multilingual Getting closer to China Nashville rejects English-only proposal

2008

LPGA in the US making plans for an "English only" language policy backtracked Online games firm in Dublin in 5 different languages Teaching English abroad was a popular route to employment for young Irish emigrants Making drama from a European dream The liberation of Paula Spencer in Paris Facebook to set up international HQ in Dublin Immigrant language project extended National Centre for Plurilingualism at NUI Maynooth Much higher risk of unemployment for all migrants from non-English-speaking countries compared to Irish nationals Linguistic analysis used to identify unsigned texts Localisation of freight firm’s European websites in multiple languages Sign language CHINA'S AFRICA Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire Co Dublin registration fee rise for most of those from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) the word "cool" Immigrant groups criticise hike in registration fee Parallel drawn between Lisbon debate and concerns in 19th century Key facts on Georgia's South Ossetia region (including language) Mauritania: economic and political facts (languages) Chinese students in Ireland Foclóireacht na hEorpa faoi chaibidil sa Chatalóin Immigrants complain of lack of access to English-language training The quizzical story behind the origin of a quizzical word Warning EU translation delays could sink trade deals with poor countries Tribunal awards €5,000 to 58 workers (contracts and documentation were not in the language of the workers who were all foreign nationals.) Belgium's deep linguistic divide overshadows political dialogue International polyglot composition of the European Parliament Language as we know it is the product of a vast evolutionary process Rules of the Road in several languages Proposal for EU police in tourist areas Our cultural nationalism and Catholicism are utterly European Needs for guides, with a shortage of language skills now a "pressing issue" Separatists in Spain still seethe despite pride over win at Euro 2008 (language policies mentioned) Start of EU French presidency (includes mention of Chronic lack of French-to-English interpretation services) French lesson for our arts ministers German alphabet makes room for a new letter of the law Private domestic slang Suggestion to review the guidelines of providing foreign language versions of prisoners’ rights Warning against language stipulation for immigrants Standardising Chinese menu translations A European conversation Learning the mother tongue, and the father's . . . Providing support for Irish-speaking families Spain boosts Irish tourism drive Deaf woman contests jury exclusion (sign language interpretor should be provided) Africa:a continent of 54 countries, 2,000 languages... Nerdic - the fastest-growing language in the world Letter: Going for 'gotten' Letter: Mangling the official languages Hundreds of Polish Masses offered Ulster-Scots makes its voice heard Reviving a language that was a world apart Official opening of the Battle of the Boyne site(in different languages) Translation opens up a whole new world of literature Groups welcome immigrant strategy Communication can prove a challenge on the European golf tour A lot of effort goes into protecting French from being polluted by foreign words Swiss-German language row reveals deeper problems of identity sign language teaching programme CON TEXT VERBING Foreign stars in Hollywood

2007

Poland revealed in new Irish magazine The right language Citizenship to involve language test How we use language affects how we think. 35,000 Belgians march in defence of unity Development of computerised language translation systems Forward thinkers commit crime against grammar Questions on integration Language learning system launched Call for Polish to join Irish and English as official languages of State Gallic medal for Irish Francophile Immigration and language skills Lithuania wants young emigrants to return home Chinese or Arabic websites can have domain names expressed in their own languages Multiple languages on the web Recognising sign languages as official languages Languages becoming extinct faster than animals, plants and birds State has role in promoting ethnic integration Expanding Polish firm opens its second clinic Research identifies language as key barrier to fuller integration Changed notion of identity urged Speech patterns can tell us a lot about a people English 'main problem for immigrants' The English of Ireland Call to increase foreign nationals in Civil Service Understanding the real 'Béarla barrier' Sign language software applauded Glasgow Gaels Pan-African unity debated at summit Language skills for immigrants Nominee: Olga Gashi Word Perfect Translations Languages that can be used for patents in the EU Interpreters for 80 different languages were needed to cope with asylum seekers from 91 countries. French music scene and film : La Vie En Rose Refugee applications:Lack of interpreter availability The immigrants' inside story Irish cite language problems for EU jobs Nicolas Sarkozy's informal edict that French people should use the familiar pronoun tu rather than the formal vous French president raises eyebrows with his preference for friendly pronouns Aboriginals told they must learn English Aboriginal languages will not be top of the curriculum NUI's signing program selected for Microsoft competition Euroscola programme 'Chinglish' is no laughing matter for Beijing officials Management expertise and language skills were key attractions for Paragon in choosing Ireland for its international headquarters Shodo, traditional Japanese calligraphy Census results Growing demand exposes poor translation services Talking the talk A new home from home Dickens on France Poles here, and here to stay Irish firms find it difficult to recruit overseas workers because of lack of language skills The DVDS we never see(foreign-language films) British language plan slammed A tale of two colonies Health at risk over language barriers Citizenship and language tests for immigrants. Bilingualism delays dementia We should not welcome the spread of English as a world language Epiphany celebrated in several languages

2006

Ulster Scots recognised Many Polish workers feel isolated due to having poor English Many Polish workers feel isolated due to having poor English The Museu da Língua Portuguesa Ulster Scots New rights website is multilingual Chinese community in Ireland Sutherland urges Irish to adapt to needs of migrants Rights body wants English taught to migrants French ban in Flemish schools is double Dutch to some Government needs to challenge anti-immigration views Councils urged to help integrate migrants into society Translation booklets developed for patients in orthopaedic ward HSE to cater for health needs of foreign nationals Drug advice to be printed in range of languages It's not a silly moo, it's just my accent Language-learning scheme Immigrants trying to master everyday English Language course for immigrants seen as success French honour 'Irish Times' journalist Lara Marlowe Sports coverage and TG4 A sign in a Philadelphia cafe telling customers to speak only English has sparked a debate on freedom of speech Letter: INTERPRETING IN THE COURTS Court Service in talks with firm to provide interpreting service Starlings master human language patterns Rising star of ethnic radio is beginning to sparkle 167 languages spoken in Ireland Health lacks cultural diversity (interpretors) 167 languages in the Republic is a big challenge for the health, education and justice systems The French president and a coterie of his ministers stormed out of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels last week when the head of a business lobby group began to deliver a presentation in English Census in 13 languages aims to tell full multicultural story From Acholi to Zulu, Ireland a land of over 167 languages Sage is to invest approximately €3 million establishing an international localisation centre and European data centre in Dublin A warning to purists

2005

Languages in the EU Spanish is absent on the Costa del Sol School of mixed nationalities B of I language help for immigrants Tradition of French engagement with world in question Official languages in South Africa Tradition of French engagement with world in question Classroom revolution: The changing ethnic mix in our schools Lack of fluency in English means jobs below their ability for non-nationals Clare group wins translation deal Canadian French Festival of French Welsh Irish Institute for Chinese Studies announced Welsh psychedelic popsters Super Furry Animals, Rhys Chinese year of the rooster Language and the way we use it says a lot about how we think and ultimately who we are. Exclusion of representatives of the English as a Foreign Language sector from China forum Language schools fear visa changes for Chinese students Multilingual Commission getting lost in translation for all 20 EU official languages Mandarin will be in demand