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The Challenges of a Modern Day Linguist

In the last week I have been overwhelmed by the enormous amount of well wishes I received regarding my father, who I mentioned in my last blog.  It was great to hear from so many people and to be in touch with them. 

As well as the news about my family I’ve recently been sharing topics such as technology developments and customer experience.  In last week’s blog we also discussed machine translation and I also attached a white paper that our Director of Technology has prepared.  All very important.  Today I want to talk about the people, especially our linguists, who work for thebigword.  Technology alone does not create a world class service; it is a tool to be used by people.  

thebigword employs, either on a permanent or contract basis, 12,000 linguists who cover 500 languages and work from 73 countries throughout the world.  One of our great assets is that after 36 years in business we have a sensational database.  However the nature of their work means they, and the language companies they work for, regularly face difficult challenges.

Firstly, the majority are freelancers.  The advantage of being a freelancer is that you have flexibility, and are not committed to working specific hours and specific days.  You can accept and refuse work as it suits you.  The disadvantage of this is that, as a freelancer who works under these conditions, you are not guaranteed work. This potential job insecurity does not work for everyone.  An additional challenge is that if you refuse work on a number of consecutive occasions you are less likely to be offered it.  That is very stressful for linguists and indeed for us. 

A further challenge for both us and our linguists is that increasingly in this technological world it’s absolutely essential that translators and interpreters can cope with the many different ways linguistic work is presented to them. Your ability to use technology is absolutely essential.  You can be the best translator in the world but if you don’t know how to use a Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tool, or any of the array of other software tools designed to help you as a linguist, then you will find it difficult to get work. 

thebigword undertook a survey of the type of work that causes linguists the most stress.  The high levels of stress occurred mainly in the areas of interpreting such as:
  • Hospital interpreting, perhaps where a patient is told they have an incurable condition
  • Interpreting for people who are looking for financial assistance and have no money for food
  • Working in a mental health environment
  • Working in areas of conflict such as Afghanistan and other areas of conflict
  • Political meetings representing a leader
  • Difficult court cases which could involve such things as rape, murder etc. 

We are very proud that over the past 5 years thebigword has invested over £750,000 ($1,125,000) with the International School of Linguists (ISL) http://www.islinguists.com.  ISL have, on our behalf, designed over 100 courses that cover a wide range of subjects for both interpreters and translators. Many of the courses cover language technology and linguistic subjects but a number are specifically being designed for our clients.  ISL courses include;
  • Business skills for linguists
  • Safeguarding vulnerable people
  • How to mirror client tone of voice for translators working with companies including Harley Davidson, Suunto, TJX, Honeywell, Microsoft, IHG and Morphy Richards
  • How to interpret for clients including the Home Office, Mental Health Trusts and NHS hospitals
  • Courses and tests for the MOD including language proficiency testing, Afghan and Sierra Leone cultural awareness and an overview of the UK military
  • Skill builder courses including how to interpret for torture survivors and an introduction to emotional intelligence
  • Software tutorials so that translators can learn how to use thebigword Highly Secure Translation Editor and Review Tool
  • Qualifications for existing and aspiring linguists to become qualified and expand their employment opportunities

What encouraged me to write this week’s blog especially about linguists was whilst hearing the difficult news at the hospital I realised how many times a day our interpreters are put in this difficult situation, having to explain to a limited English speaker some traumatic news that they  then have to pass on to an unsuspecting patient.

With this in mind, we’ve asked ISL to look at creating a new course with guidelines to help our interpreters who find themselves within those difficult situations.  I want to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful linguists working for us, in so many countries; not just in hospitals but in areas of conflict in various parts of the world.  Without your work, life would be even more difficult than it is today.

Wishing you all a good week.








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