NHS translation bill tops £23m, says 2020 Health

The NHS in England spends £59,000 a day on translating documents and providing interpreters, according to a health think tank.

A Freedom of Information request by 2020 Health showed the total bill topped £23m last year - an increase of 17% since 2007, it said.

The organisation described the amount of money spent as "truly staggering".

BBC website

Jewish US army translator who got close to the Nazis

A German Jew who became a US military translator is the last surviving member of a team that carried out psychological tests on leading Nazis after the war. They learned very little, he says - but he gained unique insights into their characters.

"If you took away the names of these Nazis, and just sat down to talk to them, they were like your friends and neighbours."

Howard Triest, 88, spent many hours with some of the most notorious leaders of the Third Reich, acting as a translator for American psychiatrists at Nuremberg.

BBC website

Poorly organised language provision has major effect on success of military intervention

A University of Reading led study has found that poorly organised language provision can have a major effect on the success of military intervention. The three-year project is the first study to examine the way war is spoken, and focus on the people who give a voice to the 'friendly faces'.

Reading website

New translation tool launched

Researchers now have a tool offering translations of open-access material in nine major languages.

WorldWideScience.org was launched in 2007 by the British Library and the US Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information to provide a single portal - www.worldwidescience.org - to carry out federated searches of multiple open-access scientific databases around the world.

The alliance now encompasses about a dozen national libraries and research organisations, and the database links to 400 million pages of research in 65 countries. The search engine has expanded its users from fewer than 8,000 in January 2009 to nearly 96,000 in April 2010, while the languages employed by users have risen in number from 71 to 114.

Times Higher Education

Smart spectacles aid translation

Spectacles that can provide subtitles have been created by hi-tech firm NEC.

Resembling glasses but lacking lenses, the headset uses a tiny projector to display images on a user's retina.

NEC said it planned a version that used real-time translation to provide subtitles for a conversation between people lacking a common language.

BBC website

Exam 'may need Irish translation'

Grammar schools setting their own transfer tests may have to translate them into Irish, Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has said.

She said pupils from Irish medium primary schools must get an equal chance, and failure to do so could lead to legal challenges from parents.

BBC website

Brussels seeks recruits for an English victory

In the early days of the European Union, French famously dominated as the principal language spoken in Brussels' corridors of power, something our cousins across the Channel regarded as a significant national victory.


But yesterday the European Commission was forced to admit that times have changed, as it launched an appeal for more native English speakers to act as interpreters.

The Independent

Learn languages or lose out on a job | Business | The Observer

EU chief warns that British students are missing out as firms increasingly opt for bilingual graduates
Liz Lightfoot
The Observer,
Sunday September 21 2008

Britons are missing out on jobs at home and abroad because of their inability to speak languages other than English, the European Union commissioner for languages has warned.

Bad French prolongs Russia-Georgia conflict - Telegraph

Bad French prolongs Russia-Georgia conflict - Telegraph: "Bad French prolongs Russia-Georgia conflict
The conflict between Russia and Georgia has been worsened by badly-translated French, France's foreign minister has admitted on the eve of crucial talks in Moscow between the European Union and the Kremlin."

Facebook translated into Spanish

Facebook has introduced a Spanish version of its popular social networking website as part of efforts to attract new audiences.
It said this was the first of several languages besides English that the site plans to offer, with French and German versions expected soon

BBC website
Friday, 8 February 2008

'Routes into Languages' manager on BBC Radio 4

Heather McGuinness, Manager of the 'Routes into Languages' was among the guests on today's edition of the Learning Curve on BBC Radio 4.

Monday, 4 February 2008
Listen Again at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/learningcurve.shtml

Lost without translation

The UK's population is growing. Part of that increase is fuelled by women from other countries having children here.
And as the Local Government Association (LGA), representing 400 councils in England and Wales, outlines to a House of Lords select committee how migration stretches community services, one midwife tells how the changes affect her

BBC website
Tuesday, 11 December 2007

Councils urged to translate less

Councils are being advised to "think twice" about spending money on translation which might be better spent on English classes.

Announcing new government guidelines, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears urged councils to use common sense before deciding what needs translating.

BBC website
Friday 7th December 2007

Translation tool may aid troops

A wristwatch-based translation device, designed to help British soldiers overcome language barriers, could be in production by the end of the year.

Friday, 13th July 2007
BBC website

IRELAND: Courts body to fork out €2m on interpreters as demand rises

THE Courts Service will spend €2m on interpreters this year - 20 times more than it spent in 2000.


The contract for interpretation services now covers hundreds of different languages as diverse as Vietnamese, Turkish and Swahili, and the total payout has jumped from €103,000 in 2000 to €1.25m two years ago to €2m this year.

Monday 2 July 2007
Irish Independent

Translation help 'should be cut'

The amount of official material being translated by bodies such as councils should be cut to encourage immigrants to learn English, Ruth Kelly has said.

Sunday, 10th June 2007
BBC website