October dates for your diary
October’s dates at a glance
Religious/Cultural
2 – Feast of the Guardian Angels, Catholic Christian
3 – Sharada Navaratri begins, Hindu
3-4 Rosh Hashanah, Judaism
4 – Feast of St Francis of Assisi, Christian
6 – Fast of Gedaliah, Judaism
9 – Birthday of Guru Ram Das, Sikh
12 – Yom Kippur, Judaism
12 – Dussehra, Hindu
17-23 Sukkot, Judaism
18 – Feast of Saint Luke, Christian
20 – Birthday of the Guru Granth, Sikh
24 – Shemini Atzeret, Judaism
25 – Simchat Torah, Judaism
28 – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Christian
31 – All Hallows’ Eve, Christian
31 – Reformation Day, Protestant Christian
Awareness and Events
1 – Anniversary of the Introduction of the Equality Act
1 – International Day of Older Persons
5 – World Teachers’ Day
6 – World Cerebral Palsy Day
10 – World Mental Health Day
10 – World Sight Day
11 – International Day of the Girl Child
11 – National Coming Out Day
15 – International Day of Rural Women
16 – International Pronouns Day
17 – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
18 – Anti-Slavery Day
18 – World Menopause Day
18 – Show Racism the Red Card’s Wear Red Day
26 – Intersex Awareness Day
29 – World Stroke Day
New languages offered as part of the TLS Learn DPSI grants scheme
We are delighted to offer grants of 50% towards the cost of the DPSI Law qualification for freelance linguists working in the languages Albanian, Romanian, Kurdish Sorani, Bengali and Turkish.
The grants are suitable for interpreters who already have experience and are now ready to gain the skills and qualifications to work in legal settings.
This will support TLS’s aims to strengthen employability and skills in the interpreting community, as well as contributing to the future of interpreting in the legal sector by helping more interpreters gain the relevant qualifications.
If you know anyone who would like to apply, find out more here: TLS Learn announces funding for new set of languages for DPSI-Law Grant Scheme
language fact file: Thai
Thai is the official language in: Thailand
Number of native speakers: approximately 61m.
Learn some: Greet people with ‘sawatdee’, which means hello. In Thai, people often add the word ‘ka’ if the speaker is female or ‘khrap’ if male to the end of their sentences, especially if they’re greeting or making small talk. This is just a way to signal politeness. So hello would be ‘sawatdee-ka’ or ‘sawatdee-khrap’.
Fast facts:
Thai is a tonal language, like Mandarin, Vietnamese and Cantonese. This means a phoneme or sound can have many different meanings, depending on the tone that’s used. This is the source of many jokes in Thai culture!
There is a language system within the Thai language specifically for referring to the Thai Royal Family. This is called ‘Rachasap’; this kind of system is known as an honorific. These are used in several languages and exist to show the relationship between speakers and to confer respect.
Thai speakers love to use repetition to show emphasis – it is not unusual to use an adverb or adjective over and over until the speaker feels their point has been made! Another way to show emphasis is to draw a word out as long as possible.
The Linguist Story - Lalida Murray
Tell us about the work you do for TLS.
I am a freelance Thai interpreter.
What’s been your favourite project at TLS?
I enjoy interpreting for mental health therapy because I have learned many valuable things from the therapists that I can apply to myself and my family.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge was encountering new technology terms that I was unfamiliar with. I prefer to know the subject before the appointment so I can study it thoroughly before the session starts.
Can you tell us about a time your work has made a difference to someone’s life?
It was very rewarding to interpret therapy sessions and witness the positive changes in the patients’ lives. It was a stark contrast from the first week when they walked in feeling sad and depressed, to when they finished the sessions and left the room with confidence and smiles. They gained hope and learned how to cope with their difficulties better.
Tell us something interesting about you.
While working in Thailand, I served as a registered nurse at a mission hospital in central Thailand, where I provided care for leprosy patients. These patients often suffered from severe deformities and were previously rejected by their families and society. Their deformities made it difficult for them to access education or secure employment, as they were viewed as contagious and avoided by others.
However, due to the dedication of missionary doctors and nurses, many leprosy patients have been successfully treated and cured. Furthermore, those in need received reconstructive surgery to help them reintegrate into society.
I am thankful for the opportunity to have been a part of this mission and to have positively impacted the lives of these individuals.
Dates for your diary - September
FREE online events
Live online conversation – 19 September 11.15-11.55am Skills first – the hidden benefits of socio-economic diversity - Diversity and Inclusion Leaders – Accelerating workplace inclusion (dileaders.com)
Reviving Anti-Racism in our Workplaces Tickets, Tue 10 Sep 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
September’s dates at a glance
Religious/cultural
1 – Ecclesiastical Year begins, Orthodox Christian
7 – Samvatsari, Jain
7 – Ganesh Chaturthi Hindu
8 – Feast of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Christian
8 – Nativity of the Theotokos, Orthodox Christian
14 – Feast of the Cross, Christian
16 – Mawlid Al-Nabi, Islam
17 – Anant Chaturdashi, Hindu
21 – Feast of Saint Matthew, Christian
22 – Mabon, Wicca and Pagan
27 – Meskel, Ethiopian Orthodox Christian
29 – Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, Christian
Awareness And Events
10 – World Suicide Prevention Day
15 – World Afro Day’s ‘Big Hair Assembly’
18 – International Equal Pay Day
21 – World Alzheimer’s Day
22 – Autumn Equinox
23 – Bi Visibility Day
23 – International Day of Sign Languages
23-29 – UK National Inclusion Week
Language Fact File - Spanish
Spanish is the (or an) official language in: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain and Equatorial Guinea.
Number of native speakers: approximately 500m.
Learn some: Spanish is a global super language, so many of us already know the basics – greetings, pleasantries etc. If you are too convincing with those and you need to explain to someone that you don’t really speak Spanish, it’s “lo siento, no hablo español”!
Fast facts:
- Although the language is named after its country of origin, Spain, it is actually the largest of several regional languages spoken there. What we call Spanish is castellano, or Castilian. In Spain, there are also: Basque, Catalan, Valencian and Galician. Across the world, there are also significant variations in vocabulary and pronunciation, especially among Latin American countries.
- After Mandarin Chinese, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world, and growing! Unlike Mandarin, Spanish is written phonetically, which means that once you know the rules of pronunciation, you can read anything, even if you don’t know what it means.
- While it is no longer spoken as an official language in the Philippines, Spanish heavily influenced Tagalog, of which 33% of words are Spanish. Four languages are also based on Spanish: Papiamento, Chavacano, Palanquero and Yopará.
TLS News - August
On the ground training delivered to maternity and labour ward staff
Communication with healthcare professionals when preparing for and giving birth is vital for mums’ and babies’ health outcomes.
TLS delivered on the ground training to at least 60 staff members at Queen’s Hospital, showing them how to access our on-demand services quickly and easily via PRISM. Four virtual sessions were then offered to 32 staff who were unable to attend in person.
PRISM is our dedicated device for accessing remote interpreting services in clinical settings. It has been designed by us to make our services as easy to use and accessible as possible, both for NHS staff and patients. It provides a screen on a fully articulating wheeled stand, through which both video and telephone services can be accessed quickly and with a minimum of fuss. It can be moved to wherever required in the hospital and placed into the optimum position between a patient and clinician during a consultation.
If you are interested in hearing more about how Prism could benefit you, please contact your account manager for more information, or click this link:
https://mailchi.mp/languageshop/prism
Linguist Story
Every month in our newsletter, we get to know a bit more about one of our linguists. This month, we have a husband and wife team for you! José (Enti) Bracamonte and Susana (Marisú) Basagoitia both work as Spanish interpreters.
Tell us about the work you do for TLS
Enti: I do over-the-phone and face-to-face interpretation work. I was onboarded on the same day as my wife. We have always worked together (over 25 years now), so we were both very happy that The Language Shop accepted us. We are very grateful.
Marisú: I am an English/Spanish interpreter, and I very much enjoy helping TLS clients communicate with their service users. I mostly do telephone interpretation work, but I also enjoy helping people communicate through video calls and face-to-face.
What’s been your favourite project at TLS?
Enti: The conversations we are brought into are obviously important to the parties involved, so I approach them all with the same keen spirit of service. That said, beyond my honest desire to help others, also lies a selfish desire to learn and grow that can only be fulfilled with experience; therefore, every telephone call, every video call, every face-to-face conversation is important to me.
Marisú: Although I can’t say that I have any favourite projects, I do love working with people and helping in any way I can. I really do my best to facilitate communication by speaking calmly, clearly and carefully, finding the most appropriate words for the situation.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Enti: Before moving to the UK, I worked mainly as a conference interpreter for the International Law Enforcement Academy. Telephone interpreting is vastly different and it poses many new and interesting challenges.
Marisú: Every mode of interpreting comes with a standard set of challenges, but the one thing most people would probably never guess is visual input. A very big challenge for a conference interpreter who is making the switch to telephone interpreting is not being able to see the person who is speaking. Working without visual input requires you to adapt and use different skills.
Can you tell us about a time your work has made a difference to someone’s life?
Enti: My wife and I used to do lots of field work back in the day, when we first met, with volunteers and experts that sought to bring economic development to the most impoverished areas in El Salvador. Inevitably, there would sometimes be distrust among the local population. When suspicions ran high and tempers began to boil over, Marisú and I were always quick to help defuse the situation and to point out, as early as possible, the potential areas of conflict that might arise.
Marisú: Whether they ever become aware or not, interpreters always make a difference for the people they assist. A mother seeking help for her child, a solicitor wanting to help a client, a doctor trying to diagnose an ailment; there are tons of everyday-life examples where interpreters make a big difference in people’s lives. What I do is very rewarding and, although I sometimes don’t get to see the smiles, most of the time I get to hear them for sure. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Tell us something interesting about you
Enti: I love dogs. I used to feed and help strays in the rural area I used to live in, before moving to the UK. Also, I am a hardcore heavy metal fan, and I have recently taken up cooking as a hobby—out of sheer necessity.
Marisú: My husband, José Enti, and I have worked together since 1997. Back in El Salvador, we both worked, for 15 years, as conference interpreters for the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), which provides training for judges, prosecutors, police officers, and other law enforcement officials from Latin America and the Caribbean. The ILEA instructors come from various US federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
What are your ambitions for the next 12 months?
Enti: As a family, we are still trying to adapt to our new life in the UK, and there is lots of work that still needs to be done on that front. My main goal for now is to help my family get a proper foothold on which to build.
Marisú: I would like my family to be able to travel a little (husband, children, and grandchildren), which means increasing our household income, saving where we can and making a few healthy sacrifices (no sodas, no sweets, no junk food).
To learn more about Enti and Marisú, you can visit their website:
therandomfactor.com
Your month ahead - Important upcoming dates for your calendar
18 July – 17 Aug – South Asian Heritage Month
Since 2019, South Asian Heritage Month has celebrated the culture and contributions made by people from this part of the world living in the UK. There are millions of South Asians and their descendants living in this country, with large numbers of people having moved here in the Post War Period and following Indian Independence and Partition in 1947. The theme of this year’s Heritage Month is Free to Be Me and aims to encourage the next generation of children of South Asian descent to ‘feel empowered in their identity and proud of who they are’. Find out more here.
28 – World Hepatitis Day
World Hepatitis Day raises public awareness about viral hepatitis, promotes prevention and encourages testing and treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) leads on the day and urges us to come together to help eliminate hepatitis by 2030. Read more about the background of this day and find out the theme for 2024 when it is announced here.
July’s dates at a glance
Religious/cultural
1 – The Apostles’ Fast begins - Orthodox Christian
3 – Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, Christian
5 – Birthday of Guru Hargobind, Sikh
7 – Islamic New Year, Islam
9 – Martyrdom of The Báb, Baha’i
15 – Saint Vladimir the Great Day, Orthodox Christian
17 – Ashura, Islam
21 – Asalha Puja (Dharma Day), Buddhist
22 – Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, Christian
23 – Birthday of Guru Har Krishan, Sikh
23 – Birthday of Emperor Haile Selassie, Rastafari
24 – Pioneer Day, Mormon Christian
25 – Saint James the Great Day, Christian
Awareness and Events
14 – International Non-Binary People’s Day
18 – Nelson Mandela International Day
18 Jul-17 Aug – South Asian Heritage Month
28 – World Hepatitis Day
in other news: stories from the language industry and beyond
ITV promises BSL version of election debate after legal threat - BBC News
Where Are My Mother's Teeth? Language Barriers Limit Seniors' Access To Healthcare (indiacurrents.com)
Simple ways to make hiring more inclusive for disabled people - Diversity and Inclusion Leaders – Accelerating workplace inclusion (dileaders.com)