Language is Everything

The 'hidden dangers' of English

The latest edition of the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce's Business Intelligence magazine features an article by us entitled "The 'hidden dangers' of English":

Taking a broad sweep across the globe — from Africa's Atlantic coastline to Asia's Pacific rim — what do China and the 22 member states of the Arab League have in common?

Two recent Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce events have focused on these countries in different ways: at the end of February, the Chamber led a highly successful trade mission to Qingdao, China's fifth-largest city; at the beginning of March, the principal speaker at the Chamber's monthly 'World Trade at One' seminar was Abdeslam El-Idrissi, the director of trade services at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce.

The two regions share many things, not least of all a long and proud history of international trade. Yet one of the most striking similarities is an enthusiasm for learning English. From Tangier to Tianjin, English is the language of global business.

This is excellent news for native English-speakers, most of whom are monolingual. Or is it? Certainly, there are many advantages to having English as a mother tongue, particularly the ability to 'get by' in just about any city in the world. Yet people often overlook the 'hidden dangers' of being a monolingual English-speaker.

1. Imbalance

As Kenneth Katzner notes in The Languages of the World: "Observe a German tourist talking to a Japanese shopkeeper in Tokyo, or an African diplomat to his counterpart from Asia, and the medium of communication will almost certainly be English." The crucial point here, however, is that English is being used as a lingua franca, with the parties 'meeting halfway' across the language divide. When one of the parties is a native English-speaker, this balance is destroyed. Over time, if one side feels they are unable to express themselves as accurately — or as easily — as the other, all kinds of hard-to-detect stresses and strains are added to the relationship.

2. Comprehension

If 'everyone speaks English', native English-speakers are at no advantage. In fact, they can be at a disadvantage, since people who speak English as a second language often find other non-native-speakers easier to understand. According to Talking World Class, a 2005 report from CILT (the National Centre for Languages), Korean Air awarded a contract for flight simulators to a French company because their negotiators spoke "clearer and more comprehensible English" than those from a UK supplier.

3. Cultural barriers

Although language barriers can be overcome by speaking English, cultural barriers — which may be much more significant obstacles to relationship-building — remain. Learning a language is not just about vocabulary and grammar: it's about exploring different ways of living and doing business. Similarly, interpreters and translators do more that help you to understand a person's words: they help you to understand a person's thoughts, feelings and aspirations.

4. One-way competition

The global success of English has increased foreign competition within the UK, without making it easier for us to compete overseas. To put it starkly: fluent English-speakers from abroad can compete for British jobs, whereas monolingual Britons find it harder to compete for jobs abroad. And this 'one-way competition' applies at all levels: dozens of national 'icons' — from Heathrow Airport to the England football team — are run by people speaking or learning English as a second language.

As we say, there are many advantages to being a native English-speaker: we are extremely fortunate to be able to 'get by' all over the world. But when you are planning your next overseas venture, remember the 'hidden dangers' of being a monolingual English-speaker and ask yourself: is 'getting by' good enough?

Language is Everything: proud to support AfrOx

"Africa faces a new health epidemic: cancer. In 2002, there were half a million deaths from cancer in Africa. In less than 20 years that number could double to one million a year as growing tobacco usage and chronic viral infection, among other factors, inflict untold misery on a continent already fighting the ravages of HIV/Aids, TB, malaria and much else besides."
Professor David Kerr and Alan Milburn MP

In May 2007, representatives from 23 African countries met with experts and stakeholders from around the world to highlight Africa's impending cancer crisis. A new organisation, AfrOx, was established to work with African partners and co-ordinate the development of sustainable national cancer plans.

Language is Everything is proud to be supporting AfrOx. Carolyn Burgess (our chief exec) is an AfrOx founder, with responsibility for raising awareness within the business community. We're also providing practical help, such as creating a new AfrOx web site.

Other AfrOx founders are:

• Professor David Kerr — Rhodes Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Oxford
• Alan Milburn MP — Secretary of State for Health from 1999 to 2003
• Professor Peter Boyle — Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO) in Lyon, France
• Professor Tim Eden — Professor of Teenage & Young Adult Cancer at the University of Manchester
• Dr Twalib Ngoma — Executive Director of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
• Sir John Arbuthnott — a microbiologist of 40 years standing, and former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathcylde
• Princess Nikky Onyeri — Chief Executive of the Princess Nikky Cancer Trust, the foremost non-governmental organization in Nigeria
• Professor Rebecca Lingwood — Director of Continuing Professional Development at the University of Oxford
• Dr Ken Fleming — Head of the Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford.

You can download our 1-page briefing on AfrOx — along with the AfrOx newsletter — below. You can read more about Africa's cancer crisis here, and you can also visit the AfrOx web site.

Download AfrOx_briefing.pdf

Download afrox_newsletter_vol_1_issue_1.pdf

Language is Everything Q1 2008 results

We've published our results for the first quarter of 2008 (see chart). Sales were £389,222, an increase of just over 4% from the first three months of 2007.

 

Carol Curtis, our managing director, said:

"The first three months of the year have always been our slowest in terms of sales. Also, we normally see a big drop in activity over the Easter period, which, of course, fell into the first quarter this year. Overall, therefore, we're pleased with our performance so far in 2008."

Ten things you didn't know about Somalia

The World Health Organisation has today declared that Somalia has eradicated polio. The last reported case was on 25th March 2007. WHO described the news as an "historic achievement", and paid tribute to 10,000 Somali volunteers and health workers in "one of the most dangerous places on earth". In the latest of our regular features, here are ten things you didn't know about Somalia.

1. Somalia gained its independence in 1960, following a merger between British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland.
2. The country has been caught up in a violent civil war since 1991.
3. Somali was made the country's official language in 1973.
4. At this time, it was also decreed that the language should be written in the Roman alphabet, rather than Osmanian (which contained elements of Arabic and Ethiopic scripts).
5. There are Somali-speaking communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.
6. Somalia is more than 2½ times the size of the UK.
7. The highest point is Mount Shimbiris; at 2,416 metres, this is just under twice the height of Ben Nevis.
8. The country's population is estimated to be around 9 million (slightly bigger than the population of London).
9. According to Home Office statistics, Somalia is one of the top ten nationalities for asylum applications in the UK.
10. Somalia's flag (pictured at the top of this post) is light blue with a white star in the center. The light blue colour is based on the flag of the United Nations.

Language is Everything on the Pacific Rim (2)

Qingdao News has featured an interview with Colin Pepler, our national sales manager. Colin was in Qingdao recently as part of a Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce trade mission (see our posting for 5th March below).

Also, in case you were wondering about the answers to our Howden quiz (see our posting for 6th March below), here they are:

Download Howden_quiz_answers.pdf

From Howden to the Gulf

Last night, Carolyn Burgess (our chief exec) addressed the AGM of the Howden Civic Society. The Society tries to play an active part in the community by stimulating an interest in the history of Howden (which is where our company is based) and its future development.

One of the highlights was our 'Places and languages quiz', which you can download by clicking on the link below.

Download Howden_quiz.pdf

Later today, meanwhile, Carolyn will be chairing a Chamber of Commerce 'World Trade at One' meeting focusing on investment opportunities in the Gulf. The main speaker will be Abdeslam El-Idrissi, the director of trade services at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce.

Language is Everything on the Pacific Rim

Colin Pepler, our national sales manager, has just returned from a Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce trade mission to Qingdao, China's fifth-largest city. Our photo shows Colin in discussions at the Grand Regency Hotel.

You can download a copy of our Qingdao flyer by clicking on the link below.

Download Qingdao_flyer_Feb08.pdf

Looking back on the mission, Colin said:

"We'd like to thank everyone in Qingdao who gave us such a warm and friendly welcome. There's a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit in the city: the skyline is full of cranes, there's an incredible sense of ambition in the air, and every person we met was full of ideas and questions. It's very much 'full steam ahead' in China."

The power of words

Later today, four US states hold presidential primaries that could see Barack Obama take a decisive step towards winning the Democratic nomination.

One of the controversies in the campaign so far has been an allegation that Mr Obama plagiarised part of a speech by Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts.

Leaving aside the argument about plagiarism, it's fascinating to look at the section of the speech that sparked the controversy. Responding to the charge that his campaign was about words rather than substance, Mr Obama declared:

"Don't tell me words don't matter. 'I have a dream' — just words? 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal' — just words? 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself' — just words? Just speeches?"

Here at Language is Everything — where we're often asked about our name — it's a sentiment we can agree with entirely.

We launch our 2008 annual report

Today is International Mother Language Day, a UNESCO-inspired event to promote linguistic and cultural diversity. This year, it also marks the start of the United Nations' International Year of Languages.

At Language is Everything, we're celebrating the day by launching our annual report for 2008.

The report includes:

• A vision of the future: what will the world look like in 2040?
• Peace through trade: what exactly is a World Trade Centre?
• Telephone interpreting: what are the two crucial issues facing the profession?
• Financial results: how did we do last year?

You can download a PDF version of the report by clicking on the link below.

Download Annual_report_2008.pdf

Printed copies of the report are available upon request.

New post for Carolyn

At its AGM last Friday, the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce appointed Carolyn Burgess (our chief exec) as its vice president. At the same meeting, Carol Thomsett succeeded Malcolm Scott to become Chamber president for 2008.

Carolyn said:

"It's a huge honour to become an officer of an organisation stretching back 171 years. Malcolm has done a fantastic job as president over the past 12 months, and I know that Carol is going to continue driving the Chamber forward during her term of office. The Hull & Humber region is bursting with talent and vision, and the Chamber plays a critical role in bringing people together and making things happen."