Language is Everything

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.