This petition speaks for itself. Bradford University has an excellent record of teaching translation and interpreting. I remember the days when Bradford and Salford were the first to integrate at-sight translation and other practical uses of language into their undergraduate courses. Unfortunately, investigation of the university’s website indicates most of this has now gone.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Save language provision in higher education, particularly Interpreting and Translating. …

Submitted by Vanessa Rennie – Deadline to sign up by: 18 December 2008 – Signatures: 1,584

This petition concerns the UK’s provision of language learning, and more specifically the future of the University of Bradford’s Department of Languages and European Studies. This department has faced a number of cut-backs in recent years, with recruitment onto Undergraduate courses stopped last year. It has been proposed to halt recruitment to the MA course in Interpreting and Translation. The University of Bradford is one of only five Universities within the UK which offers this course, and yet the University has decided to terminate this valuable course for ‘financial reasons’.

The government has made a number of pledges with regards to language learning, and particularly in higher education. CILT states: ‘We want to play our part in ensuring that our country has access to the language professionals in interpreting and translating that we need…’ If the government really wants to promote language learning, it not only needs to encourage more pupils to take languages at GCSE, but also to support language departments at a higher level. Allowing these departments to close will be detrimental to the government’s long-term language objectives.

Some ill-thought-out Google statistics in the Nürnberger Nachrichten, 21 February 2008:

Dass Bären schon immer erfolgreich waren, unterstrich André Fischer, Lokalchef der Nürnberger Zeitung. Doch erst das Internet habe den Eisbären-Boom möglich gemacht. 2,2 Millionen Google-Treffer habe der Begriff “Flocke” bereits. Günter Beckstein , so Moderator Siegfried Zelnhefer vom Presseamt, müsse sich mit 42 000 zufriedengeben, Angela Merkel mit 318 000.

I get 11,400,000 for Flocke, but that includes flock wallpaper, a hot air company (appropriately) called Heißlufttechnik Flocke GmbH, a horse, some people with the surname Flocke, a flock of tables and Professor Dietrich Flockerzi.

Günter Beckstein is much more of a rara avis. I get only 3,660 ghits if I enclose the name in inverted commas. This takes account of various spellings of his first name. For “Angela Merkel” 4,280,000. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was close to the figure for genuine polar bear Flocke hits, which puts Frau Merkel in quite a different league.

Nothing much will be happening here for a week or two.

If it does, it may be something I posted in advance, like this!

I think some people are unaware that they aren’t actually obliged to provide amusements for children.

Some words have two different translations.

Lücke in German can mean a gap in a contract that shouldn’t be there – a gap.

It can also mean a situation that has been missed out by some legislation – tax laws, for example and can therefore be exploited – a loophole.

Mixing the two up in translation can be quite amusing.

Nick Freeman is an English solicitor with his own Wikipedia entry. He is famous for getting people off driving charges on technicalities and the press have called him Mr Loophole. He has now registered the name Mr Loophole as a trade mark. More in The Guardian.

Gap, conversely, is a clothing company.

(Via Geeklawyer, who credits the mysterious Blawg Review editor)