Archivo de la etiqueta: speech

Speechpool

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More info about this project in the great interview originally published in The Interpreter Diaries to Sophie Llewellyn Smith:

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… Speechpool!

If you’ve been following the SCIC Universities conference in Brussels over the past few days, you may have already heard the big news: Speechpool, the dynamic, collaborative, multilingual website for interpreters to exchange practice material, has just been officially launched. When I first caught wind of this project in January, I knew that this was something that my readers would want to hear about, so I got in touch with Sophie Llewellyn Smith, the founder, to find out more. Here’s what I learned:

MH: Sophie, you have just launched Speechpool, a speech-sharing website for interpreters. Could you tell me a little bit about what it has to offer?

SLS: Speechpool will offer interpreting students, graduates and practising interpreters a forum to upload practice speeches and view other people’s. The idea is to create something truly collaborative in the form of a multilingual website and a Facebook page.Many students already give each other practice speeches in class, or in groups outside of class. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to record these speeches on a laptop, video camera or tablet computer, and allow others to benefit from them. If everyone gets involved, we could very quickly build up a large and dynamic bank of video clips.

MH: How did the project come about?

SLS: I spent several years as an interpreter trainer at the University of Leeds. Every year students would ask for good sources of practice material. Our main message to them was that they should prepare well-structured speeches for each other and practise in groups outside of class. Gradually we came to the idea of uploading audio files onto a file sharing website. We still had a problem with source language, though; sometimes our students were looking for speeches in a particular C language, but there was no native speaker of that language on the course. It occurred to me that students around the world were probably doing exactly the same thing. Surely it would make sense to pool all that material and make it freely available to everyone?

I have been working hard since last summer with a web developer to create a suitable website, and I have been very fortunate to receive financial backing from the NNI (National Network for Interpreting) in the UK, and a lot of help and goodwill from students and alumni of many interpreter training institutions. Now that the basics are in place, we are gradually working on adding more language versions to Speechpool, and starting to build up our stock of speeches!

The idea behind Speechpool is nothing new, but I hope the scale and ambition of the project and the features available on the website will make it a very useful and widely used resource.

MH: What target group do you have in mind? Are there any prerequisites that have to be met by those who’d like to become involved?

SLS: The website was designed with conference interpreting students in mind, but if the project is successful I would expect that other groups might take an interest, for example graduates wanting to maintain their skills or prepare for a test, practising interpreters trying to add a new language, interpreter trainers looking for material to use in class, or even language learners. It is also possible that the content of Speechpool might be of interest to public service interpreters, who make up a large proportion of the interpreting market in some countries and who don’t always have access to material (or even to training!).

We have set some limits on users who would like to upload material. This is to try to ensure that the speeches are of an adequate standard. You will need to be an interpreting student, graduate or practising interpreter to upload content, and you will need login details.

MH: Walk me through the website. How does it work?

SLS: First of all, I should say that the interface is multilingual, i.e. there will be parallel versions of Speechpool in English, French, Greek, and dozens of other languages. If you want to watch a speech in Hungarian, you simply go to the Hungarian version of the site (you can navigate from the home page).

To find a speech for interpreting practice, you will use a search function which allows you to search by topic (agriculture, finance, health etc.) and/or keyword. We hope this will allow users to refine their search and find the most relevant speeches.

To upload a speech, you will need to fill in an upload form with details of topic, keywords and links to background material. In order to avoid the site collapsing under the weight of massive video files, we have set it up so that speeches are actually uploaded to YouTube, then embedded in the Speechpool site. This means users will have to create a YouTube account.

For those who have concerns about privacy, YouTube allows you to adjust privacy settings to ‘unlisted’ so that the speech is only visible to those who have the link. It sounds rather complicated, but once you have a YouTube account, it’s really very quick and easy. We have counted on the fact that the new generation of interpreters is very comfortable with modern technologies, YouTube, Facebook and the like.

MH: What features or functions does Speechpool offer users?

SLS: The website has a few interesting features. First of all, when you have watched a speech, you can leave comments about it. You could even leave a link to your own interpreting performance (on YouTube) and ask for feedback from another user.

One of the important features of the site is that speeches won’t be graded for difficulty by an outside authority. Instead, the users themselves will vote on the perceived difficulty of the speech (a bit like the TripAdvisor site where you can vote on hotels or restaurants). This cumulative assessment by users will give each speech a ‘star rating’ for difficulty. When you search for a speech, you will be able to sort the results by star rating, but also based on whether the speech is recent, or very popular.

We very much hope that users will upload high quality speeches, but to address any quality problems we have created an alarm button. If you watch a speech and feel there is a significant problem with sound or image quality, or the quality of the speech itself (i.e. its content) you will be able to click on the alarm button and send an email to the site administrators to have the speech removed.

We see Speechpool as an interactive site where users can meet, chat, and ask for feedback or help. To encourage interaction between users, we have created a Speechpool page on Facebook. The idea of this page is that users can ask for a particular speech. For example, you might post: ‘please could someone prepare a speech about EU fisheries policy in Portuguese?’

To make the material uploaded to the site even more useful, we are asking users to include two links to relevant background material, and we are working on a way to allow uploads of transcripts and glossaries.

MH: What languages, topics, and interpreting modes will the speeches cover?

SLS: I confess I have taken a maximalist approach here. I can’t vouch in advance for what the speeches will cover, because it depends on who gets involved and uploads speeches; but the website is designed to accommodate speeches suitable for consecutive or simultaneous, a wide range of topics, and a truly vast number of languages. We are currently working on versions of the Speechpool site in the EU23, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, Croatian, Turkish, Icelandic and Macedonian. After that, we’ll see!

I should add that I expect Speechpool will include speeches given in a range of accents, including non-native accents. Many interpreters are called upon to interpret English, or French, or any other language, spoken in an unfamiliar accent or by someone who is not a native speaker. The Speechpool site is designed to offer speeches of this type; there will be an indication of whether the author of the speech is a native speaker, and what sort of accent he or she has. One of the exciting things about this project, to my mind, is that it could bring together interpreters from all over the world. Just one example: students from Ghana, Cameroon and Mozambique have volunteered to prepare speeches.

MH: There are already a few speech repositories available on the internet. What added value does Speechpool offer?

SLS: There are pros and cons to every speech bank. They serve different purposes.

In a sense, Speechpool isn’t ground-breaking: there are already speech banks on the internet set up by students to practise together. They tend to be small-scale and to use audio files. Some of them are short-lived; they grind to a halt when the founding students graduate. And at least one has been taken over by pornographic spam posts, unfortunately! Speechpool can offer something on a much larger scale: very wide language coverage, video clips, and hopefully more permanent!

Of the larger scale speech banks, some offer ‘live’ recordings of political debates or speeches only, while others are libraries of various speeches that were not prepared specifically as pedagogical material for interpreter training. The SCIC/EP repository (author’s note: access to this repository is restricted to selected users) offers a mixture of speeches, some of them recorded live in Parliament, for example, and some of them prepared by trainers as pedagogical material.

The idea behind Speechpool, on the other hand, is that it should largely contain speeches prepared by students for students (or at least by interpreters for interpreters), in video format. All the material will be original. There won’t be any video recordings of politicians’ speeches or parliamentary debates. There will be minimal ‘policing’ of the site, and users will be responsible for posting high quality content. If everyone joins in, it will be a very dynamic resource with a rapid turnover and a large number of speeches.

I see Speechpool as a more interactive site than many speech banks, and the Facebook page is a nice opportunity for users to chat and make requests. The fact that users will vote on difficulty is another distinguishing feature.

All in all I suppose the added value I see is that Speechpool allows students to take responsibility for their own learning, but with a much wider pool of partners than might otherwise be possible. In an idealistic way, I see Speechpool as a way of bringing the different strands of the interpreting community together and creating something genuinely collaborative for the common good. And I very much hope we’ll avoid obscene spam messages!

MH: It all sounds very exciting! Do you see any potential pitfalls for this project?

SLS: Well, like any other collaborative project, the success of Speechpool will depend on its users. It will be interesting to see whether people are altruistic enough to make the project work; if no-one uploads speeches, the project won’t take off.

MH: Is the Speechpool site already up and running? Can people already use it to view and upload speeches?

SLS: The short answer to this is yes. We are busy testing the site, and some speeches have already been uploaded. The English, Greek and German versions are available, and we will be rolling out the other languages gradually. I expect the next few versions to include Italian, Spanish, French and possibly Hungarian and Macedonian.

MH: Where can my readers find out more?

SLS: I presented the project at the recent SCIC Universities Conference on 22nd March, and my presentation is available in the archive. A short clip introducing Speechpool has also been prepared by DG SCIC. The project was also featured in a recent video interview for the interpreting blog A Word in Your Ear.

As I said earlier, Speechpool also has a dedicated Facebook pageFacebook page. Click ‘like’ to receive regular progress updates and to become part of the Speechpool community. You can also follow Speechpool on Twitter (@Speechpool).

Most important of all, why not visit the site? You will find it at speechpool.net.

MH: How can people get involved in Speechpool?

SLS: The most important message I want to get across is that Speechpool will be free to use (though not to run…) and easy to access once you have login details, but the success of the project will depend on users!

If you can help us translate the content into another language, please get in touch at speechpool@gmail.com. More importantly, if you think this is a useful resource for interpreting students and you plan to view speeches and use them for interpreting practice, please upload a few speeches first!Speechpool is totally based on the principle of ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’. So get involved! Prepare a speech, upload it onto YouTube, and ask for your Speechpool login details. We’ll be happy to oblige!

The Interpreter Diaries.

Interpreting Martin Luther King

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PUBLIC SPEAKING:

Let nothing happen by accident! Let everything happen by design!

The development of an ability to present not only information but an understanding of the image that is created by any presentation is essential in working with any audience. The presentation must use as many of the senses as possible to allow the audience to have a greater chance of first understanding and secondly retaining the information which you are going to present. Therefore there are two distinct areas to presenting to an audience.

The first is an understanding of the nature of creating an image and the second is being as sure as possible that the image that you are creating matches the aspirations and dreams of your clients. This means that everything that happens to your audience must be as far as possible designed by you and not left to accident. Indeed theatre is the most successful presenter of ideas and concepts. Theatre goes beyond giving information to people in purely written or verbal form but also employs a number of other devices to elicit a response from its audience. Here are some of the areas which should be considered in any presentation.

Analysis of the Audience

Before approaching the development of a presentation to an audience a speaker must analyse the audience to develop a profile of a typical member. It doesn’t matter if you are talking to one person or many, this allows the tuning of the whole piece to match the aspirations of the client. One way of analysing is to follow this SCHEPPT formula.

Social
How is this audience structured socially?
Who are the power brokers?
What do they aspire to?
What is important to them?
Education Level?

Cultural
What is the ethnicity of the group?
What are the customs for decision making?
What are the taboos?
What is culturally desirable?
Speech Pattern?

Economic
What is the average wealth and income?
What is the projected income?
Houses, cars, dress sense?

Politics
What are the local politics of the group?
Are they conservative, progressive, traditional?

Physical
What is the area they come from like?
Technical How do they cope with change?
How do they cope with technology?
The overall picture is important for your presentation to be accessible and enjoyable. It allows you to use humour which is acceptable and to tailor your language and conceptual base to suit your client. You can then go on to design how you are going to create the image which you desire for this audience.

The Performer

Every time you stand in front of a group of people you are creating an image and performing. An awareness of how you appear is essential to success. Initially the perception of you by the audience will be 55% on how you look, 38% on how you sound, and 8% on what you say. However as you begin to gain the audiences confidence, the look becomes less important and what you say becomes much greater.

Voice
Your voice then is extremely important. Here are six important parts of creating good speech:

  1. Tone: Use the sound of the word to help create its feeling (onomatopoeia) slash, thud, solemn, integrity.
  2. Tune: Normal Range is two and a half octaves. Use the essential tune of any phrase. Falling tune in ‘Ladies and Gentlemen …..’ gives authority. Use variety for each phrase or descriptive word to vary and contrast each thought. Let the tune help the image. “Up the hill”
  3. Pause: Use before something important to create attention. Like a billboard, gives punctuation. Lead up with a rising cautionary and then pause before a lower executive and then a pause before you go on. This gives the audience time to see the picture and for you to read the audience. eg: Churchill – trimmed, rhythm, use of pause and phrases “the Battle of Britain is about to begin.” “Hitler knows he will have to break us in this island”
  4. Pace: Gloss over unimportant things quicker Important things must be slower Variety is important. About 120 words per minute average.
  5. Volume: Variety: Invite people to listen by backing off volume Use of a microphone.
  6. Clarity: Lips, Tongue, Teeth, Breathing, Vocal Chords. Lazy Speech, (Somethink, Nothink, Haitch) Dipthongs (Wide, Side, etc.)

Movement
Movement should reflect the statement. Use triangles. Make movements encompass all the audience. Gestures should match phrases in size, direction, length and speed. Control your Body Language- fidgeting, walking, getting up from a chair, stance, nervous reactions. (O.K., Scratch etc.) When to look at audience. T-T-Timing!

Mime
Paint pictures for people that they understand. Use mime to create not only an image but also a feeling. Your face says as much as your words about attitude. Use a range of facial expressions. Push yourself past ‘normal’ gesture. Use your body to highlight ideas. Part of Total package

Characterisation
Be careful about putting yourself “on the line.” Create a character which you can control, hide behind and stay objective. Uncontrolled emotional reaction is dangerous. Smile. Maintain eye contact, look around your audience.

Attitude
Positivity
Intensity
Enthusiasm
Emotion
Energy
Personal Presentation

Costume
Costume should reflect what you’re talking about. Costume should initially help audience to create an image initially. Using costume to put together ideas. Your dress says a lot about your attitude to life. Costume can often help to add something different to your performance. Think about style, colour (conservative or other).

Hair
Style, Neatness, Length, Colour. Facial hair (shadow). Other eg. Nose and ear.

Teeth
Straight
White

Make-up
Importance of eyes and mouth. Distance is important (10 metres limit). Base to remove skin blemishes and shine. Be aware of lighting. Be careful of street makeup.

Technical

Staging
Audience view Left to Right, Front to Back, Down to Up.
Entrances and exits.
Levels of audience and speaker. Above, Below, Level.
Stage locations.

Lighting
Colour, Intensity, Direction, Type.
Audience.
Highlight therefore control view.
Change to help idea.
Atmosphere control by lighting.
Sun location.

Sound
Use of sound before to set mood before or after.
Microphone levels (bounce from walls).
Mics offer variety.
Low bass high treble.
Microphone legs.
Microphone technique (popping, Height, Type). Hand held elbow lock.

Scenery
Setting of stage.
Using a lectern or behind table.
Use scenery to highlight ideas. eg. Photos, Posters but watch control.
Colour of scenery as per other decisions eg. Costume.
Interesting scenery, Paintings, Roadways, Aeroplanes.
Use of curtains.
Slides and overheads (KISS) and practise timing.
Paint their picture. (Eg Retirement home)

Props
Hand props to tell the story.
Create the Character.
Symbolise your idea. (Puppetry).

Auditorium
Heating or cooling.
Entrances for you and for audience.
Time for entry for you and for audience.
Floor Type.
Size
Staging available

Tips

Things that stop people performing well:

Lack of subject knowledge.
Self Consciousness
Fear of mistakes
Appearance
Sound of their voice
Movement
Bad previous experience
Lack of knowledge of technical equipment
Size of the audience
Unfamiliar surroundings

Ways to Present Well: Well Before
Write the date down.
Arrive early or visit before planning (photo of venue).
Ask where to park.
Take an umbrella.
Check about technical equipment. (Mic, lights, lectern, etc.).
Write out your introduction in full, double spaced and large type.
Number your cards.
Write speech triple spaced in phrases in bold type.
Practise with your video.

Ways to Present Well: Just Before
Move your seat out.
Plan route to stage.
Toilet.
Hair.
Clothes.
Don’t look until you’re ready.

Ways to Present Well: After
Finish and move.
Don’t peter to a finish, upward inflection.
Don’t spoil by long thank you.
Move off quickly and be invited back for questions.

Robert Motton

Poder aprender

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Test Aptitude: Fiche Profil STAGE SCIC

La buena selección es una de las claves del éxito en la formación en interpretación. No resulta un ejercicio fácil: muchos alumnos presentan un potencial lingüístico sólido, un bagaje cultural extenso o la madurez aparentemente necesaria para cursar estos estudios sin problemas pero, aún así, resulta difícil saber si esos alumnos podrán aguantar la presión de una formación intensa y exigente. Algunos formadores establecen paralelismos entre la formación en interpretación y la preparación de los deportistas de élite quienes, además de tener talento, tienen que poder aprender de sus errores en lugar de buscar excusas para fallar. La clave está en poder aprender.

El psicólogo Pep Marí habla de todo esto en su libro Aprender de los campeones. Os copio a continuación un extracto de su reciente entrevista en La Vanguardia como lectura adicional a mi vídeo L´étudiant idéal.

ENTREVISTA:

- ¿Cómo surgió la idea de publicar el libro ‘Aprender de los campeones’?
- Llevo trabajando 23 años como psicólogo en el Centro de Alto Rendimiento y los principios que regulan el alto rendimiento son los mismos que en cualquier actividad, ya sea deportiva o del tipo que sea. Para ser el mejor cirujano, periodista o psicólogo tienes que hacer lo mismo que para ser el mejor futbolista.

- ¿Cuáles son estos principios?
- En el libro los represento a través de una pirámide en cuatro niveles. El primero, y es lo que tienen en común los campeones, es que pueden aprender. Son personas que se acompañan de un entorno inmediato que no resta en su rendimiento. Si tú eres inestable viviendo no puedes ser regular rindiendo. En segundo lugar, no sólo pueden aprender sino que también quieren aprender. La motivación. Tienen muy claro los objetivos y lo más importante es que se dejan la piel para conseguirlo.

-¿Cuál sería el tercer nivel?
-  Los campeones saben aprender: reconocen los errores como propios y no buscan excusas, y los corrigen rápidamente. Un entrenador me dijo que hay dos clases de deportistas, aquellos que buscan una excusa para poder fallar y aquellos que buscan una solución para poder acertar. Los que buscan excusas no son campeones. Los perdedores se quejan, los ganadores aprenden. Un campeón puede, quiere y sabe aprender pero falta una cosa.

-¿El qué?
- La puesta en escena, es decir, saber competir, rendir bajo presión, controlar los nervios, mantener la concentración y tener confianza en tus posibilidades. Está muy bien esforzarse pero no hay suficiente, hay que saber rendir. La cultura del esfuerzo más la de la eficacia es éxito asegurado. Además de saber rendir y esforzarse en el libro también da mucha importancia al talento.

  • ¿Se puede ser un campeón sin talento?
    - Te pondré un ejemplo con los jugadores Messi y Pedro. ¿Cómo es que Messi hace unas cosas que Pedro no hace? Podríamos caer en la tentación de decir que Messi tiene una técnica tan depurada que le permite hacer cosas que Pedro no puede hacer. Yo lo encuentro erróneo. Pedro tiene una técnica muy depurada, es buenísimo técnicamente y las cosas que hace Messi él también las podría hacer. Técnicamente está dotado para hacerlas, ¿pero por qué no las hace? Porque no se imagina que las podría hacer o como mínimo no se lo imagina tan rápido como Messi ya que si te lo imaginas más lento que tu defensor te quita el balón y ya no lo puedes hacer. Por eso digo que para mí el talento es imaginar rápido.

- Entonces el talento es imprescindible, ¿o no?
- El talento es imprescindible para conseguir el alto rendimiento pero no es suficiente. El entrenador de Los Lakers Phil Jackson dice que el carácter es más importante que el talento. Estoy totalmente de acuerdo porque el carácter es el que permite que el talento surja, se desarrolle y se materialice. Veo deportistas con un talento brutal que no han sido capaces de cuajar su talento y demostrarlo porque no tenían humildad, autocrítica, autonomía, persistencia en el esfuerzo, no vivían de una manera compatible con el alto rendimiento, y por culpa de este carácter no han podido manifestar su talento.

- Hablando de entrenadores, ahora que comentaba Phil Jackson, ¿para usted cuáles han sido las claves del éxito de Pep Guardiola?
-  Principalmente dos claves. La primera es la gestión de las personas. Es un gran gestor de personas y ser el líder de un equipo implica tratar a todo el mundo diferente en función de lo que necesita, no de lo que pide. A diferencia de Frank Rijkaard, que trataba a todo el mundo diferente pero en función de lo que pedían los jugadores y no de lo que necesitaban. Tú tienes que ser suficiente psicólogo para ver qué necesitan las personas en cada momento. Guardiola también ha conseguido algo muy difícil que es hacer entender al resto del colectivo de personas que aquel trato diferencial que le haces a aquel individuo en particular no sólo es lo mejor para ese individuo sino que también es lo mejor para el resto del equipo. En esto, Guardiola es un genio.

-¿Y la segunda clave?
- Está relacionada con el nivel de competir. Guardiola es un experto ajustando el nivel de alerta de sus jugadores antes de los partidos. Si los jugadores salen al campo muy nerviosos o tensionados cometerán muchos errores por precipitación pero si salen relajados se les anticiparán en las acciones o no llegarán. Hace falta salir al campo con el nivel justo de alerta, ni mucho ni poco, para cada partido.

- Podemos decir que Guardiola tiene mucha psicología deportiva…
- En este sentido soy bastante crítico. Una de las cosas que me permite mi profesión es trabajar con muchos entrenadores. Yo no creo que sea un genio aplicando la psicología, lo que pasa es que tiene mucho sentido común. Guardiola es un catedrático del sentido común y en un mundo donde hay tan poco sobresale mucho. Conozco a entrenadores que hacen servir la psicología y la integran tan bien como Guardiola pero nadie los conoce  porque son deportes minoritarios y no son tan mediáticos.

- Sin dejar el Barça, ¿cómo se explica que jugadores que lo han ganado todo sigan sin perder la motivación y las ganas de ganar?
- A la mayoría de los humanos ya nos fallaría la motivación. En este caso, no hay más remedio que trascender. Es decir, darle otro sentido a las cosas, un sentido que va más allá del objetivo real. El Barça no sólo juega para ganar sino también para ser un referente y un ejemplo para la sociedad. Y, por otro lado, estos jugadores quieren marcar una época, quieren pasar a la historia como el mejor equipo. Si no la ‘lían’ de esta manera tan grande faltan motivaciones porque un objetivo conseguido deja de serlo y cada vez tienes que fijar un objetivo superior que te haga más ilusión que el anterior. No queda más remedio que trascender.

-En este punto de trascendencia encontraríamos a Messi. Parece que este jugador no tiene límites a pesar de su juventud…
- Cuando vino a Barcelona de pequeño lo hizo con su padre y parte de su entorno le ha dado un punto de soporte para tener los pies en la tierra, eso ha sido muy importante. Y en la parte deportiva otra clave es el equipo. La prueba la tienes en la selección argentina, no es capaz de rendir al mismo nivel porque los valores que ha hecho servir Guardiola para crear este equipo, como la solidaridad, el sentido común, la discreción o la persistencia son valores que definen la personalidad de Messi y él se identifica con estos valores. El Barça también se identifica con Messi. Existe esta comunión tan clara e identitaria y a Messi le es más fácil asumir el rol que tiene en el Barça.

- Guardiola en más de una ocasión ha manifestado que es partidario de contratos cortos, ¿pero este Barça se entiende sin Guardiola?
- Cuando el entrenador Phil Jackson llega al baloncesto profesional dice que los jugadores son muy egoístas, y piensa cómo pueden ser tan egoístas y jugar a un deporte en equipo. Yo siempre digo que en los deportes individuales para triunfar tienes que ser un poco egoísta pero para ser un buen deportista de un deporte colectivo tienes que ser generoso. Tienes que saber anteponer el bien colectivo al tuyo particular, y eso es muy fácil de decir pero muy difícil de hacer. 

- ¿Y cómo se consigue eso?
- Phil Jackson para arreglarlo propone apelar a una fuerza más grande y gratificante que el propio ego: la belleza del sistema. Se ha llegado a un punto que jugar en el Barça debe ser una pasada, tanto que está por encima del bien individual. Conocí a un entrenador que decía que cuando se juega para el equipo se juega mejor y se disfruta más. Esto es verdad. Cuando hay esta sintonía de equipo y ya se ha creado este sistema de juego, que casi va solo y ya da igual que jugador pongas en esa posición en el campo, funciona y además luce. Phil Jackson comenta que eres un líder cuando eres capaz de hacer mejor a los que tienes a tu lado. En el Barça está pasando esto, va solo, incluso ya no depende de quien juega y me atrevería a decir ni del entrenador, si ahora pones otro entrenador creo que la dinámica arrastraría.

- ¿Y todo esto se puede extrapolar más allá del ámbito deportivo?
- En una de las fórmulas del libro explico que si juntas la ambición, el orden en el estilo de vida y la humildad, esto asegura la progresión a nivel deportivo y de lo que sea.

- En el libro también hace referencia a la presión, algo ineludible para los deportistas de alto nivel. ¿Cómo se puede hacer frente a ella para rendir más?
- La presión se puede aprender a llevarla mejor. Hay varias maneras de afrontarla. La primera es evitarla, ésta es la peor de todas. Si tú tienes un problema y lo evades se hace cada vez más grande, y no estás aprendiendo nada. La segunda manera es controlándola, ajustando muy bien el nivel de activación para jugar. La tercera manera es tolerar la presión, saber que forma parte de la competición y tarde o temprano vendrá. Se trata de que la dejes pasar, que no te rebotes, que hagas lo mismo que harías a pesar de que no estuviera. Para ello utilizo la frase de un actor, John Wayne, que da título a uno de los capítulos de libro: “Ser un valiente es estar muerto de miedo y a pesar de eso subir al caballo”.

- Interesante frase…
-  Todo el mundo tiene miedo y lo que se trata es subir al caballo. Y hay dos clases, los que suben y los que no. Y la última y mejor manera de afrontar la ansiedad es disfrutar bajo presión. Los mejores lo hacen. 

- En su trabajo en el CAR y por su experiencia durante estos años, ¿cuáles son las principales consultas que atiende de los deportistas?
- Básicamente son tres consultas. La primera está relacionada con no saber competir. Deportistas que entrenan de una forma perfecta pero llega el momento de la competición y los nervios les pueden. Otra consulta es cuando los deportistas nuevos se integran al CAR y su estilo de vida cambia radicalmente. La mayoría son deportistas que nunca habían salido de casa y se tienen que espabilar. Les cuesta adaptarse, no quiere decir que no se adapten sino que les cuesta, y son demandas que van en la línea de facilitar la adaptación. Y para acabar problemas de orden personal. Son personas antes que deportistas. Cuando pasan estas cosas evidentemente afecta el rendimiento.

- ¿Y a partir de que edad se tendría que trabajar aspectos psicológicos con el deportista?
- Desde el principio se puede empezar a trabajar. En el CAR la edad mínima para estar interno es a partir de los 14 años. Aunque no es tanto la edad sino el grado de autonomía, madurez y la claridad de los objetivos del deportista. Una de las cosas positivas de la psicología es que hace el vestido a medida.

- Para acabar la entrevista, ¿algún consejo para los deportistas que empiezan?
- Les digo que no se precipiten y que tengan coherencia entre el nivel de ambición de los objetivos y el compromiso de los medios. Si quieres ser uno más con que te impliques un poco ya lo tienes, si quieres ser uno de los mejores te tienes que comprometer, y si quieres ser el mejor tienes que vivir de una manera. Para ser uno más no hace falta incorporar un psicólogo, para ser unos de los mejores lo recomiendo, y para ser el mejor es imprescindible.

Interpreter’s mid-career crisis

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“In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it; they must not do too much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it.”

John Ruskin

How do work patterns affect us?

Jobs often used to be for the best part of someone’s working life. They provided security, stability and structure. However, people can now expect many changes in the course of their working lives. These may include changing employer, re-training, periods of unemployment, and even complete changes of occupation. More and more, people have short or fixed-term contracts, or work on a self-employed basis, and have career breaks. Individuals usually have to construct their own career paths, which can lead to uncertainty about the future, as well as unrealistic workloads for some and no work for others. And while it’s possible to embrace an alternative point of view, and thrive without paid employment, unemployment generally leads to poor physical health, poor mental health and poverty.

So being in paid employment is generally considered to be a good thing. It is no longer just a way of earning a living: it provides identity, contact and friendship with other people, a way of putting structure in your life and an opportunity to meet goals and to contribute.

Having said that, work stress is now more of an issue than ever: every year, millions of work days are lost because people experience illnesses caused or made worse by their work.

The Health and Safety Executive defines stress as ‘The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them.’

Some of the symptoms of stress are:

  • physical – fatigue, indigestion, headaches, appetite and weight changes, joint and back pain
  • psychological – anxiety, tearfulness, feeling low, mood changes, indecision, loss of motivation, increased sensitivity
  • behavioural – increased smoking and drinking, withdrawal or aggression, lateness, recklessness.

What causes stress at work?

The job

Job demands that can lead to stress include: having too much or too little to do; work that is too difficult or too easy; being under pressure to meet deadlines; shift work; and physically demanding work. People doing repetitive tasks, at a high pace, with little freedom to take decisions are especially at risk. Lack of control over the pace of the work or how to get the job done is one of the most common causes of work-related stress.

Poor working conditions, such as noise or bad lighting, poorly designed equipment, exposure to hazards or witnessing other people’s suffering are all sources of stress. People who are simply in the wrong job for their skills, abilities and expectations are also likely to experience stress.

Your role in the organisation

Problems can occur if people aren’t clear about the scope or responsibilities of their job. Conflicting demands make them feel very torn; for example, the demands of quantity versus quality, or quantity versus safety, or being expected to do things against their beliefs or personal and professional standards. This is made worse if there is a lack of managerial or supervisory support. In turn, managers and supervisors can find that the responsibility to provide this support conflicts with other goals expected of them by the organisation; or they may not receive the training to enable them to offer effective support.

Career development

Feeling trapped in a dead-end job, or insecure, is also very undermining. This may be because there are only limited opportunities for promotion and training, a threat of redundancy through organisational restructuring, or because you are working on a fixed-term contract.

Relationships at work

The relationships we have with our colleagues, can have an enormous effect on the quality of our working life, and can be significant sources of stress or support. Supportive relationships can give protection against other workplace pressures; stressful relationships can intensify them.

Working in isolation from others makes it more difficult to build supportive relationships; for example, for people who work at home or run their own small businesses. But isolation isn’t only physical – it may include being the only man or woman or person of an ethnic minority in a workplace.

Bullying is a major source of stress and is very destructive, to the person being subjected to it and to the organisation itself.

Organisational structures and culture

The operating style or ‘culture’ of an organisation may cause problems. It may include lack of communication, consultation or participation in decision making, and unjustified restrictions on behaviour. If there are no policies in place to cover these matters, there will be no clear standards for the behaviour that is expected, and no system for individuals to challenge racism, sexism or other discrimination or harassment. This promotes the attitude that people should just deal with it on their own. An organisation that runs on fear, or interprets stress as individuals not coping, will simply generate more stress.

Personal factors

What we bring with us to work can also contribute to stress. This may be the conflicting demands of managing home and work life; personal crises, such as illness or bereavement; financial worries; or the psychological factors that can drive us to unhealthy working patterns.

One common pattern is when a person works harder and harder to close the gap between what they are achieving, and what they think they should be achieving. They stop taking breaks, lose touch with their own needs and sense of enjoyment, and feel guilty when they are not working. Working harder brings exhaustion, their performance deteriorates, and they become more and more anxious, because they aren’t making real progress. It leads to loss of energy, emotional exhaustion, poor sleep, indecisiveness, and sometimes increased drinking, smoking, eating or spending. The person ends up feeling trapped, and can become depressed.

How can I tackle stress?

Preventing stress means achieving a balance between demands and the capacity to respond to them. Learn to recognise what you find stressful in the work environment and what helps you work well. Taking action, however small, can improve your life at work and stop you feeling trapped or the victim of people’s demands. You may be free to do some things without reference to anyone else, but some things you will need to negotiate, formally or informally, with colleagues or managers. However, there are many things employees can do for themselves.

Taking control

  • Develop good relationships with colleagues so that you can build up a network of support.
  • Talk to someone you trust, at work or outside, about what upsets you or makes you feel stressed. This is not a sign of weakness, it’s taking responsibility for your wellbeing.
  • Treat colleagues with the respect and consideration you want from them.
  • Communicate if you need help.
  • Be assertive – say no if you can’t take on extra demands.
  • Be realistic – you don’t have to be perfect all the time.
  • Write a list of what needs to be done; it only takes a few minutes and can help you to prioritise, focus and get things in perspective. It can also feel satisfying to tick items off once they have been done.
  • If everything starts to feel overwhelming, take a deep breath. Try and get away from your desk or situation for a few minutes – get a drink or go to the toilet.
  • Try and take a walk or get some fresh air during the day – exercise and daylight are beneficial to mental as well as physical health.
  • Make sure you drink enough water and that you eat during the day to maintain your energy levels.
  • Learn some relaxation techniques.
  • Work regular hours and take the breaks and holidays you’re entitled to. If things are getting too much, book a day off or a long weekend.
  • Try not to work long hours or take work home with you. This may be all right in the short term, if the work has a specific purpose and is clearly defined – a team effort to complete an urgent project may be very satisfying – however, working longer hours does not generally lead to better results.
  • Maintain a healthy work-life balance – nurture your outside relationships, interests, and the abilities your job does not use.

Preventing stress with the help of your employer

  • Make your physical work environment as comfortable to work in and appropriate to your needs as you can. If necessary, enlist the help of a health and safety officer.
  • Discuss your workload, or the organisation of your work with your manager or supervisor. Get feedback on your work, and discuss setting realistic targets and how you can solve any problems you are having. If you can’t resolve problems in this way, talk to the human resources department or trade union representative.
  • Ask how your goals fit in with the organisation’s overall aims and objectives so that you can see a real purpose to your work.
  • Discuss the possibility of flexitime (flexible working hours), if, for example, you have difficulty with rush-hour travel, or need to leave work early some days to get to a support group or fit in with child care.
  • Make use of the support already on offer: some organisations provide employee assistance programmes providing free advice and counselling; others have internal systems such as co-worker support.

Organisational culture

  • Be aware of any policies on harassment, bullying or racism, so that you know what behaviour the company considers unacceptable, how to challenge it and what support there is.
  • If stress, work overload, bullying or poor communication are issues for you, they are probably issues for others in the organisation as well. Sharing your concerns with those you trust could lead to more of a joint effort to get your employer to introduce changes; for example, better consultation within the organisation, an anti-bullying policy, a commitment to tackling stress through health and safety policies, or an investment in staff support.
  • If you are aware of bad practice in the organisation (for example, financial corruption or abusive behaviour towards clients or staff) find a way of speaking out about it. Do protect your own position though, and get advice, for example, from the union, employee assistance programme (if your organisation has one) or Public Concern at Work .

Career development: staying or moving on

  • Make the most of any opportunities for training and development offered by your employer.
  • Keep your CV up to date, and plan for the future. It’s worth thinking about your career path, whatever your situation, so that you can be positive about staying or moving on.
  • Use careers counselling or similar expertise if you feel stuck, bored, want a change of direction, or feel your job is doing you harm and you don’t know what you want to do. A crisis can force a change of direction, though it’s probably not a good idea to make major life-decisions when you are in the middle of one. Look at the options, when you are able, so you can act when the time is right.
  • Use whatever counselling or support is available, if you are facing redundancy or retirement.

What if I do become distressed at work?

Anyone can become upset and reveal to their workmates that they are human. People who use mental health services may have particular need for a safe space to express feelings. If someone is going through a mental health crisis or breakdown, whether or not it’s caused by work stress, it will be experienced in their working life.

If you can learn to identify what triggers your stress, this will make it a lot easier to find the right coping strategy. If you do get distressed, keep a diary of what happened, how you felt and how you reacted, so that you can cope better the next time the same type of situation arises; or indeed to learn to avoid that type of situation if at all possible.

Ways of coping

  • A brief time-out period when you are distressed could restore you and allow you to continue working.
  • You may need a quiet place away from colleagues and client to shout or cry.
  • You may prefer someone to be with you to help calm you down or just listen.
  • You could learn specific therapeutic techniques using breathing or meditation, or exercises that improve your energy.

These are just some examples, and it may take a few tries at finding what works for you. But once you know what you are likely to need, you may be able to make or negotiate with your employer, in advance, the conditions that will allow you to help yourself feel better and get back to working.

Getting help

If you are worried about your mental health, or other people are expressing concerns, you may want to get professional help. This is not giving in, it’s taking action. If you work for a large organisation, they may have an occupational health service. Someone in the workplace is not only easier to access, but has the advantage of understanding the organisation and being a potential ally in dealing with your supervisor. However, if you do not feel secure enough in your job to approach them, or there is no service available, you may want to talk to your GP or a counsellor. You may need time off work; and sickness absence with mental health problems is just as valid as that for any physical health problems.

Making adjustments to how you work

Many of the adjustments that can help with mental health are things you might expect an employer to adopt as a matter of ordinary good practice; some you may be able to organise for yourself; others would require action, or at least agreement, on the part of the employer. The key to negotiation with the employer is to think creatively about what will enable you to do your job effectively. Here are some examples:

  • using voice-mail to take messages (without slowing down the overall response time) if phone calls make you anxious
  • a quiet workspace to avoid distractions and aid concentration, or being able to work from home
  • changing your supervisor, if another would be more flexible
  • restructuring a job or temporarily reallocating some of the duties (for example, ‘front-line’ work)
  • using email when face-to-face contact is too stressful
  • flexible hours to accommodate therapy, medical appointments, rush-hour pressures or the morning drowsiness associated with some medicines
  • on-the-job support, or permission for a support worker to come in or to be contacted during work hours
  • permission to take time out when distressed: this could just be a few minutes away from your workstation, going out for some air, or having a short rest
  • a workstation by a window, or a lightbox, if you have seasonal affective disorder.

You are probably the best judge of what would be most successful for you. If you want to think through some of the possibilities with another person, before negotiating with your employer, or have someone to back up your request, you could speak with someone involved with your care or treatment, a local supported employment organisation, or with a disability employment adviser who are part of Jobcentre Plus. DEAs can give you advice and carry out an employment assessment to find out what assistance you may need. Via the Access to Work scheme, they may be able to help you get funding for changes to premises, equipment, personal support or assistance, or help with extra costs of getting to work.

Should I tell my employer if I have a mental illness?

Some people say you should be open about mental illness. Others advise against it, where there is a choice. Some recommend waiting until the employer has formed an impression of you based on your abilities and character, not on their preconceptions. Some companies have positive policies on disability and equality at work, which ought to mean that being open about your mental health is less of a risk.

An employer only has to make adjustments for needs that they know about. Therefore, if you want the protection of the Equality Act, or simply want your employer to understand your needs, you will have to make sure that someone in a responsible position knows what they are. This could be your manager or the human resources (personnel) department.

If you do decide to tell, think about how and when to do it, how much information you want to give, what kind of information, and who to share it with. For example, the human resources department may know your diagnosis, but they don’t have to tell your supervisor or workmates.

You don’t have to go into personal details; focus on what you need for the job. Employers’ concerns tend to arise out of assumptions about poor work performance. They want to know if you can do the job and will get along with the customers or clients and the rest of the team. If you can show that your objective is to get the job done, this should go a long way to reassuring them. Being straightforward and unembarrassed about your history will help them get it in to perspective.

The potential risks of disclosing something about your mental health history include:

  • not getting the job
  • being teased or harassed by other employees
  • being assumed to be a less productive member of the team
  • having fewer opportunities for career development
  • being treated as more vulnerable than other employees, or having everything (anger, excitement, time off sick, or a grievance) associated with your mental illness
  • coming under closer scrutiny than other employees, and having to work harder to gain the same respect.

The potential benefits of disclosure are:

  • being open about it can encourage others in the same situation
  • keeping it secret may be too stressful, or against your beliefs
  • it gives you a stronger basis for requesting adjustments to your job or work environment
  • it could give you the opportunity to involve an outside adviser or support worker, who could see you at work or speak directly with your employer
  • it could make it easier to go into work at times when your symptoms are greater
  • it enables you to enlist the support of colleagues.

Source: http://www.mind.org.uk/

En català al Parlament Europeu

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Admeto que aconseguir que el català esdevingui llengua normal al Parlament Europeu ha estat gairebé una obsessió en els vuit anys que porto treballant en aquesta institució. Confesso que, quan vaig arribar-hi, l’any 2004, creia que ho aconseguiríem de seguida. Sabia que els nostres predecessors ho havien intentat fins a la sacietat, sense sortir-se’n. I tanmateix, estava segur que es tractava (vaja, que es tracta) d’un tema absolutament de sentit comú i de fàcil solució. L’aliança catalano-defensora en aquest assumpte vé de lluny, i en els dos mandats que he viscut, hem procurat enfortir-la.

És ja prou conegut per a tothom que el català és una llengua viva, utilitzada amb total normalitat per uns 10 milions de persones pertanyents a tres països de la UE i un d’associat (Andorra); que al PE són oficials llengües que compten amb molts menys parlants que el català; que la Constitució espanyola (article 3) considera el català una de les quatre llengües cooficials de l’Estat espanyol; que és una llengua d’ús habitual en l’administració, el sistema educatiu, els mitjans de comunicació i en tots els àmbits culturals; i, que donat que el respecte per la diversitat lingüística és una de les bases democràtiques i culturals de la construcció europea, tal i com queda establert en l’Article 22 de la Carta de Drets Fonamentals de la Unió, resulta profundament injust discriminar una llengua amb l’argument que no s’utilitza en tot l’Estat.

Però, si tot això és tan evident, què és el que falla? Molt senzill: l’estructura de l’Estat, Madrid, el govern central, digueu-li com vulgueu. En aquest sentit, he de dir que no he percebut cap diferència substancial entre els governs del PP i els del PSOE. I això és preocupant.

I no obstant, tinc la impressió que estem més a prop que mai de resoldre l’afer, almenys en la seva dimensió europarlamentària. El President de l’Eurocambra en Martin Schulz, lector empedreït de Cabré, ha reiterat sovint el seu compromís personal i polític en favor que puguem usar el català als plens del PE, amb tota normalitat. Som conscients de la magnífica oportunitat que aquesta situació ens aporta, i hi estem treballant.

Confio que aviat resoldrem aquest clar dèficit democràtic i lingüístic, i quan ho aconseguim, estic segur que molta gent que avui no és conscient de la importància d’aquesta fet es preguntarà: com és que no ho hem resolt abans, això? I la resposta caldrà trobar-la, un cop més, en un model d’Estat, l’espanyol, que no respon a la realitat nacional actual, i que no encaixa en l’Europa dels pobles que tanta gent somniem, i per l que treballem.

Raül Romeva i Rueda, Construint Sinergies

Raül Romeva i Rueda, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, es eurodiputado y Vicepresidente del Grupo de los Verdes/Alianza Libre Europea del Parlamento Europeo.

Interpreting Steve JOBS

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LA PREPARACIÓN:

Para interpretar el discurso de Steve Jobs en la ceremonia de Stanford, recibí un mail con un enlace a la página de la universidad, concretamente a la transcripción del discurso. Por lo tanto, contaba con el texto que iba a leer Steve Jobs, o que previsiblemente iba a leer. A veces, los oradores se apartan de su propio guión, y entonces los intérpretes, aunque hayamos preparado el texto con antelación, no tenemos más remedio que dejar de lado el guión que hemos estudiado y trabajar “sin red”. (Afortunadamente, a Steve Jobs en esta ocasión no le dió por improvisar.)

Conste que había recibido en el mail también un segundo enlace, al vídeo de Jobs pronunciando su discurso. Como la idea de A Word in Your Ear era la de grabar una interpretación de una simultánea en las condiciones más parecidas posibles a la realidad, opté por no abrir este segundo enlace. De modo que escuché a Jobs pronunciar su discurso por primera vez mientras lo estaba interpretando en simultánea, como sucede en el contexto de trabajo real. (Si a Jobs le hubiese dado por improvisar, mala pata para mí, como sucede en la realidad.)

Para ajustarme a las condiciones de trabajo reales, también leí el texto por primera vez el mismo día que iba a interpretarlo, en un rato de descanso mientras trabajaba en una conferencia. Es lo que suele suceder: cuando tenemos la suerte de recibir un guión, solemos estar trabajando ya en la conferencia. Por lo tanto, no nos sobra el tiempo para prepararlo – los textos se suelen entregar, con suerte, menos de media hora antes de pronunciar el discurso, y si no hay suerte, y la fotocopiadora está lejos, después de que lo hayan pronunciado. Además, los recursos que podemos consultar en cabina cuando estamos trabajando son limitados, aunque si hay suerte, cuando disponemos de una conexión a Internet (como en este caso) tenemos acceso a diccionarios online y otras herramientas terminológicas. Otro factor que limita nuestras capacidades para preparar un discurso mientras trabajamos en una conferencia es el hecho de que tampoco podemos volcar toda nuestra atención en el guión: la conferencia continúa, en cualquier momento tenemos que intervenir para interpretar de una lengua dada que no cubren los compañeros y por eso no se puede “desconectar” completamente de lo que sucede en la sala para concentrarnos en preparar ese discurso que otro orador va a pronunciar más tarde.

Estas son dificultades comunes a la preparación de cualquier texto de un discurso que un orador vaya a pronunciar. Una dificultad adicional común de los discursos leídos -a diferencia de aquéllos en los que el orador habla libremente, sin apuntes, es la velocidad a la que habla (lee) el conferenciante! Aunque se haya preparado el texto (¡y menos mal!) el orador puede llegar a “escaparse” (y creo que a mí me sucedió), aunque casi siempre hay manera de volver a atraparlo.

En el caso concreto del discurso de Steve Jobs, lo que posiblemente me haya preocupado más al preparar el texto fue acertar con el registro justo en el que se dirigía a su público: llano, casi familiar, pero emotivo. Y lo más difícil fue encontrar una fórmula adecuada para la conclusión, el “mandamiento” que dirige a los estudiantes. Mi guía para ser fiel al mensaje del original fue la siguiente pregunta: ¿si el propio Jobs hubiese pronunciado su discurso en castellano, qué les hubiera dicho a los alumnos? Para mí, interpretar es elegir las palabras con mucha libertad, pero buscando el máximo de fidelidad a la idea y emociones que el orador ha querido expresar.

En conclusión: siempre, siempre se agradece recibir el texto escrito de una intervención antes de escucharla – pero esa gran ayuda no impide que interpretar un discurso en simultánea sea todo un reto.

Carmen Gómez Von Styp, intérprete funcionaria del SCIC, Comisión Europea.

Aurelio ARTETA, contra una injusta política lingüística

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Una de las necedades mayores en política lingüística es sostener que no hay que politizar la lengua. En primer lugar, porque las políticas lingüísticas referidas a las lenguas minoritarias en España (catalán, euskera y gallego) son nacionalistas. Los nacionalismos étnicos son nacionalismos lingüísticos, lo que significa que se basan en un silogismo como éste: si toda nación tiene derecho a la soberanía y la nación se caracteriza por disponer de una lengua propia, entonces debemos tener una lengua, para así llegar a ser una nación y por tanto proclamar nuestro derecho a la soberanía. Pero, en segundo lugar (y precisamente frente a esos nacionalismos), aquella afirmación es estúpida porque hará falta presentar alguna justificación política bien fundada a fin de defender los derechos lingüísticos de los ciudadanos. En definitiva, porque habría que alcanzar una justicia lingüística.

1. Entre nosotros hace tiempo que florecieron una falsas justificaciones de esas políticas. Las insidias habituales han comenzado por servirse de expresiones tramposas (lengua propia, lengua minorizada); han fomentado emociones de culpa por haber perdido una lengua o de venganza por haber dejado que nos la arrebataran; han cantado las excelencias del bilingüismo, cuyo atractivo primordial se sostiene de hecho en las mayores oportunidades de empleo público; han revestido esta política de la mentirosa aureola de progresismo política y superioridad didáctica; y la han confirmado, en fin, ante la opinión pública mediante un falseamiento sistemático de las encuestas sociolingüísticas.

Aquí pasamos revista a los argumentos mayores que suele emplear la política lingüística del nacionalismo. Tratamos así de rebatir defensas como la presunta igualdad de todas las lenguas (y la consiguiente propuesta de la necesaria discriminación lingüística para las menos extendidas), el hipotético valor de la pluralidad lingüística y, en fin, el no menos hipotético valor intrínseco de la lengua en tanto que soporte de la identidad individual o grupal. Naturalmente todo ello se condensa en la tesis de que la pérdida de una lengua implica por principio el empobrecimiento del mundo, igual que sucedería con la desaparición de algunas especies animales.

2. Las conclusiones ilegítimas no se hacen esperar. Dejaremos de lado los presuntos derechos de la lengua (y deberes hacia ella), como si la lengua en abstracto pudiera ser un sujeto moral o político. Bajo el influjo del nacionalismo, se hablará de unos derechos históricos a la lengua, pero los muertos no mandan sobre los vivos. Se mencionará también el derecho de una colectividad a la lengua, pero no reconocemos sujetos supraindividuales de derechos. Y admitido un derecho individual a esa lengua, sus defensores nacionalistas sostienen que es un derecho que va con su sujeto allá donde éste se desplaza. Lo que es más, sostendrán asimismo que es un derecho que asiste a todos y a cualquiera, lo mismo a sus hablantes como a los aspirantes a conocerlo…

3. Es hora de pasar a las justificaciones verdaderas, esto es, a los fundamentos de una política lingüística legítima. Lo inmediato es dejar sentado que, frente a su valor identitario, el valor primordial de una lengua es el instrumental o comunicativo y que el problema político que se plantea es el de cómo los individuos ejercen su libertad con respecto a la lengua.

Pues el sujeto primero de los derechos lingüísticos es el hablante, bien sea esa lengua la suya materna u otra adquirida en virtud de necesidades de convivencia o de supervivencia (por ej., para acceso al trabajo y ejercicio de otros derechos). O, lo que es igual, el sujeto de derechos es el miembro de la comunidad lingüística de que se trate y sus derechos no rebasan los límites de esa comunidad. De suerte que el principio básico de una política lingüística justa es el de adecuación a la realidad sociolingüística, no el de atenerse a un principio de adecuación a la demanda ni de libre opción lingüística. Así lo considera la Carta Europea de Lenguas Regionales y Minoritarias, de 1992, ratificada por España en el 2001. Se consagra, pues, la primacía del uso, lo que significa que (al contrario que otros derechos) el derecho lingüístico nace del uso efectivo de la lengua. En cada caso, la política lingüística de un país con respecto a una lengua regional habrá de asegurarse que exista un número suficiente de hablantes y de contar con recursos económicos suficientes para atender sus exigencias. Las demandas del mero aspirante a aprender esa lengua habrán de ser comparadas con otras necesidades de mayor amplitud, gravedad o urgencia de la comunidad. A fin de cuentas, entre nosotros lo primero que revela nuestra realidad sociolingüística es que los españoles tenemos una lengua común, lengua mayoritaria de conocimiento y de uso incluso entre las comunidades con lenguas propias o particulares.

4. Algunas aplicaciones prácticas de todo lo anterior.

a/ En la enseñanza pública

Por una parte, no a la inmersión lingüística (Cataluña), por lo que entraña de abandono de la lengua común y, con ello, de la lengua materna española de los alumnos. Por otra parte, no a la libertad de elección lingüística (Euskadi y Navarra). Porque nuestro derecho es a elegir nuestra lengua, la de nuestra comunidad lingüística, no a optar entre nuestra lengua y otra que los sujetos no hablamos, que apenas se habla o que nunca se ha hablado en esa comunidad; igual que el derecho de los padres es a hacer constar la lengua real de sus hijos, no la deseada por sus padres…

b/ En el acceso al empleo público

En las oposiciones a la Administración Pública no cabe exigir niveles de conocimiento de una lengua, ya sea como requisito o como mérito, para aquellas plazas cuya función no los requiere o no los requiere en la proporción abusiva que se pretende. Lo contrario sería hacer una selección contra toda justicia.

Aurelio Arteta.- Catedrático de Filosofía Moral y Política de la UPV

Linda FITCHETT, President of AIIC

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AIIC is the only global association of conference interpreters. Since the very early days of modern conference interpreting, AIIC has promoted high standards of quality and ethics in the profession and represented the interests of its practitioners.

Who are we?

AIIC is an open and representative professional organisation of staff and freelance conference interpreters, with over 3,000 members in 100 different countries.

What do we do?

AIIC is active in all areas affecting conference interpreting and works for the benefit of all conference interpreters and for the profession as a whole.

AIIC sets professional and ethical standards for the profession and promotes the working conditions that high quality interpreting requires. The Association also contributes its expertise to ensure that future generations of interpreters will be trained to today’s high standards.

Enrique DANS, sobre lenguas e Internet

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Se hablan en el mundo unas 6.000 lenguas, la mitad de ellas concentradas en ocho países: Papua Nueva Guinea (832), Indonesia (731), Nigeria (515), India (400), Méjico (295), Camerún (286), Australia (268) y Brasil (234). No obstante, este multilingüismo planetario no goza de buena salud, según la UNESCO alrededor del 50% de esas 6.000 lenguas está en peligro de extinción y el 96% de ellas son habladas solamente por el 4% de la población mundial.
Internet surge, a su vez, como potencial amenaza ya que más del 90% del contenido en la red se reduce a sólo 12 lenguas.

Preguntamos a Enrique Dans sobre el papel que Internet, y las nuevas tecnologías, tendrán en ese aparente proceso de pérdida lingüística y cultural.

6,000 languages are spoken worldwide, and half of these are concentrated in eight countries: Papua New Guinea (832), Indonesia (731), Nigeria (515), India (400), Mexico (295), Cameroon (286), Australia (268) and Brazil (234).  Nevertheless, this global multilingualism is in poor health.  According to UNESCO, some 50% of these 6,000 languages are in danger of extinction and 96% of them are spoken by only 4% of the global population. The Internet emerges as a potential threat, given that more than 90% of its content is in only 12 languages.

We ask Enrique Dans about the role that Internet and new technologies will play in this apparent process of linguistic and cultural decline.

http://www.enriquedans.com/

A Word in Your Ear, NEW BLOG

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Enrique Dans me aconsejó hace unos meses crear un blog con todo mi material. La verdad es que la simple idea de volcar todo el material de los últimos dos años en una nueva plataforma daba un poco de vértigo: seleccionar y ordenar todos los vídeos, con tématicas diferentes o características técnicas distintas, suponía mucho trabajo. He ido haciéndolo poco a poco. Seguro que faltan cosas, es posible que no todo funcione bien, me disculpo si así fuera.

Anotación personal: la mejor forma de comunicar el salto a la nueva plataforma era a través de un vídeo y, para hacer algo con gancho, decidí contactar a mi amigo Matthew, siempre encantado de echarme una mano. Este vídeo, realizado sin ensayos previos, ha salido así a la primera, no es perfecto pero tiene su gracia. Enjoy!

GALWAY

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This programme is the only one of its kind in Ireland and it aims to provide students with the necessary skills and qualifications required to become a conference interpreter. Training is provided by conference interpreting professionals in both modes of conference interpreting (consecutive and simultaneous interpretation), the theory and practice of interpreting and the history of the profession. In order to prepare the students for their future professional careers, they are also furnished with communication skills, voice coaching, public speaking, professional ethics, conference preparation/procedures, along with working practices and conditions. The National University of Ireland Galway also organises a study week at the European Institutions which offering students a hands-on insight into the profession. Admission to the course is subject to success in both a suitability test and an interview.

Is é aidhm an chláir, an t-aon chláir den chineál seo in Éirinn, mic léinn a oiliúint chun an t-éileamh idirnáisiúnta d’ateangairí comhdhála cáilithe a shásamh. Déantar dianchleachtadh ar cheird na hateangaireachta agus ag deireadh an chúrsa, bíonn na mic léinn ábalta léiriú líofa, éifeachtach a thabhairt ar óráid go leantach agus go comhuaineach. Chun mic léinn a ullmhú don saol gairmiúil dírítear ar scileanna cumarsáide, glóroiliúint, mar aon le nósanna eitice/imeachta comhdhála, cleachtais agus dálaí oibre. Déantar staidéar ar chúrsaí reatha, ar phróisis agus nósanna imeachta an A.E. agus eagraíochtaí idirnáisiúnta eile. Eagraíonn Ollscoil na hÉireann Gaillimh turas staidéir chuig Institiúidí na hEorpa chun léargas a thabhairt do na mic léinn ar obair na n-ateangairí comhdhála sna hinstitiúidí sin. Beidh ar iarrthóirí tabhairt faoi thriail infheidhmeachta agus agallamh chun a n-oiriúnacht don chlár a mheas, agus caithfidh siad pas a fháil iontu sin.

EUTISC

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Danielle talks about EUTISC, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Danielle nos habla del EUTISC de la Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife.
http://webpages.ull.es/users/experto/

Marlene nos habla del EUTISC de la Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife.
Marlene talks about EUTISC, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.

http://webpages.ull.es/users/experto/

El húngaro

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Carlos nos habla de una de las nuevas lenguas de la UE: el húngaro.

Carlos talks about one of the new EU languages – Hungarian.

Anotación personal: Es admirable la cantidad de jóvenes intérpretes que, durante los últimos años, han ido añadiendo lenguas de las ampliaciones al Este de la UE a sus combinaciones lingüísticas. Un trabajo nada fácil. Trabajar con Carlos es siempre un placer porque consigue hacer que lo difícil parezca fácil. Desprende, además, un positivismo y una energía envidiable.
Carlos habla a título personal: sus opiniones no reflejan necesariamente las de la Comisión Europea.

MIC 25º aniversario

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Hace muchos años que colaboro con el Máster de interpretación de conferencias de la Universidad de La Laguna, MIC, en Tenerife, España. Judith, su responsable de redes sociales, me planteó hace un tiempo hacer un vídeo en el marco del 25º aniversario de la escuela. Este vídeo, filmado en el TEA, cuenta mi trayectoria personal.

Este vídeo es el primero de una serie: el MIC invita a todos sus ex alumnos a contar sus historias. Más información sobre el tema en sus redes sociales del MIC.

Anotación personal: Me gusta mucho el ángulo y la luz de este museo de los arquitectos Herzog y De Meuron, el vídeo adquiere en este entorno una atmósfera especial.

Las clases virtuales

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In this video, in Spanish, English, French and German, we demonstrate how new technologies can be employed in conference interpreter training.
(This video was taken during a MIC virtual class: La Laguna –SCIC: Brussels in March 2012)

Students MIC 2012

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Zia and Jon, students of the 2012 batch of the MIC in La Laguna, Spain, tell us about their experiences.
Zia y Jon, alumnos de la promoción 2012 del MIC de La Laguna, España, nos cuentan su experiencia.

Anotación personal: muchos de mis seguidores son alumnos de traducción, interpretación o estudiantes de lenguas en general. Este vídeo está hecho para ellos, para que vean qué piensan otros estudiantes, quizá  formándose como ellos. Me gusta este vídeo, hecho en una única toma, sin repeticiones ni guiones previos, por su frescura y franqueza. Zia y Jon dicen lo que piensan sin más, hacen algunas reflexiones, más allá de lo puramente lingüístico, nada desdeñables.

Fernando SAVATER, sobre lenguas

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Reflexionamos con Fernando Savater sobre lenguas, traducción e interpretación.
Fernando Savater discusses languages, translation and interpretation.

 

Marco BENEDETTI, Director General of DG Interpretation, European Commission

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Marco Benedetti, Director General of the DG Interpretation in the European Commission (SCIC), shares his experience and his beginnings as interpreter and Head of his Service.

Marco Benedetti, Director General de la Interpretación de la Comisión Europea (SCIC), nos cuenta su experiencia y sus comienzos como intérprete y como responsable de su Servicio.

Marco Benedetti, Directeur Général de l’Interprétation à la Commission Européenne (SCIC), nous raconte ses expériences et ses débuts en tant qu’interprète et en tant que responsable de son Service.