Vol/51 No/2 2012APRIL/MAYTheLinguist29OPINSIOECNT &IO CNO HMEMADENERTEmail with your viewsUseful toolIn the 1990s, The Linguist published anarticle that discussed a survey of linguists which found that they often walk around the house talking to themselves in the language they arecurrently using, as a way of practising. I wonder if this is because linguists areauditory learners. Could you carry out a poll of translatorsagain and see if you can replicate thesefindings? Susanna Rees MCILRates in printThe Linguistis a wonderfulsource of information and something I trulyenjoy reading. I read thearticle about the launchof Collins' free onlinedictionary and believe it is a very useful toolfor colleagues all overthe word.Cátia Cassiano MCILTalking to ourselves'Quest for the Holy Language' (TL51,1)contains some oversimplifications andinaccuracies. 'One of the most infamoustranslation errors of all time was made inHebrew' -setting aside the sweepingstatement, approaching the vast subject ofBible (chumash) translation requiresknowledge of the Biblical Hebrew originalplus commentaries. The definition of an ulpanas 'an institute orschool for the intensive study of Hebrew' isincomplete and was copied straight fromWikipedia. 'L'Haim'should readl'chaim; theHebrew letters are back-to-front. Correctly,right-to-left, it should read .?????No language can be properly learnt inisolation from its historical/cultural context. Weall need to approach such a rich and complexfield as this with care. This otherwisepraiseworthy article does serve to highlightone key question: what are the possibilitiesand limits of online language learning? Anthony BlendMCILEditor replies:We would like to apologise forthese errors. (This letter is an edited version.)Celebrating the online issueCongratulations on the first digitised edition.The nice appearance has been kept. Takes afew minutes to learn one's way around it,but the Search box helps. Here's lookingforward to regular issues the same way, inwhich case you can stop sending me thepaper edition and save postage and trees. Perhaps some hints on how to use itwould be helpful. For instance, to do a pdfdownload there's a button at the top of the screen.Brian Harris FCILThank you for giving us a crossword in therecent edition. It was very enjoyable. As aformer Esperantist, I needed Dr Zamenhof tolead me to Sartre's âme damnée. Will it be aregular feature? I do hope so.Michelle Homden MCILEditor replies:We are trialling the crosswordand would welcome more comments fromreaders. (See puzzle, opposite.) Crossword solutionPuzzle, opposite.M1M2N3F4P5L6G7UYANAA8VATARRNMBSTI9RANI10LLATIVEABERID11YNA12MICN13ASALLAK14MW15E16LSHT17UNISI18ANAR19RSR20OOTWORDS21URDSIBITAM22IKADOS23WEDENSNTHMLPuzzle pleasureWould it be possible to publish the results oflast years' CIOL translator survey shortly?Annette Holland MCILEditor replies: The Master Report is availableat www.iol.org.uk; for a summary, see page 12.'Holy Language' corrections

30 TheLinguistAPRIL/MAY www.iol.org.ukINSTITUTE MATTERSDIVISIONS & SOCIETIESAprilCIOL TRAININGEVENT Saturday 28 AprilLinguarama, LondonA BPG sponsored eventon cultural awareness andcross-cultural competence.MayNETWORKINGLUNCH & AGMSaturday 12 MayWig & Mitre, Lincoln,midday-4pm Alan Peacock, Director ofMembership, will attend.For details or to attend,call Candia Hillier on01522 526695 by 5 May.Steep Hill Room, Wig &Mitre, Steep Hill, LN2 1TL.TALK ON BASQUE Saturday 12 MayGrand Central Hotel,Glasgow, 2.15pmBernar Morote on Basquelanguage and culture.Grand Central Hotel, 99 Gordon Street, G1 3SF.LINCBPGSCOTKEYDIVISIONSBusiness, Professions & Government: Education: Interpreting:Translating: SOCIETIESCambridge: German: Hong Kong: Lincolnshire: London: North West: Scottish: Spanish: BPGEDUTDCAMGERLINCNWSCOTLONSPHKIDA group of 13 visited the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust inDerby, and had very interesting and informative tours oftwo sites. It was pleasing to welcome a number ofmembers attending their first BPG event. Rolls-Royce isimportant to Derby as the company employs 11,000people, designing and producing some of the mostadvanced aerospace, marine, energy and nucleartechnology in the world. The collection timeline runs through numerous earlypiston and jet aero engines, including examples of thefirst Whittle and German jet engine designs, through tothe RB 211 and beyond. Both civil and military hardwareis on display. It was explained that many early enginedesigns were named after birds of prey, such as Merlin,Griffon, Eagle, Hawk and Kestrel, and later after watercourses -Welland, Derwent, Trent and Nene being afew examples.We met at the former Light Alloy Foundry onOsmaston Road, which requires some local knowledgeto find as the sign was removed several years ago. Thesite now houses part of the heritage collection andcontains a large range of aircraft, tank and car engines.There are also some Rolls-Royce memorabilia and anumber of cars belonging to experts from the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club and the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts'Club. Of special historic interest was the RR carpresented by the Scout Movement to Baden Powell.The immaculate VW pre-production model of the latestRR car was relatively new, and still hot after a test runaround the block.The second half of the visit was to the heritagecollection housed at the ultra-modern Learning &Development Centre on Wilmore Road. After lunch wewere given a guided tour and saw a wide range of earlyand modern RR aero engines. We were also introducedto their latest marine products. Members couldexperience the cramped cockpit conditions of a jetbomber. There was, however, a lot more room in the fancasing of the RB211 engine for a photo opportunity.The verdict was that the visit was very successful andthere are plans to organise another in the future.Enjoying a Rolls-Royce lifestylePAUL SHIPMAN JOINS BPG DIVISION MEMBERS FOR A SUCCESSFUL TOUR OF THE ROLLS-ROYCE HERITAGE TRUST IN DERBY© WWW.VANESSACHAMPION.CO.UKON A ROLLSBPG members find out about a combustion casing(above) and pose in front of an RB211 engine (right)