28 TheLinguistAUGUST/SEPTEMBERwww.iol.org.ukFEATURESThe series continues with an overview of the publicservices interpreting situation in Sweden Is there a need for public serviceinterpreting (PSI) in Sweden? Yes. The most frequent combinations arebetween Swedish and Arabic, Persian, Polish,Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish,Somali and Sorani.Are there best practice standardsthat require equality irrespectiveof language, and support thedevelopment of PSI? The Ordinance on Authorisation ofInterpreters and Translators containsprovisions governing public authorisation ofinterpreters. The authority responsible forauthorising interpreters and supervising theiractivities, Kammarkollegiet, has drawn upregulations for enforcement of the Ordinanceas part of its Regulations for AuthorisedInterpreters. Other laws contain provisionsrelevant to interpreters, including the Actconcerning confidentiality for interpreters andtranslators, the Administrative Procedure Actand the Public Access to Information andSecrecy Act.Have working standards beensecured for PSIs in Sweden?There is a fixed tariff for assignments in publiccourts, police stations, the enforcementservice and the prosecution authority; all otherpublic sector assignments are paid accordingto a price list set by the agencies. Thesituation for PSIs is rather insecure today.Are there national PSI standards?In order to be authorised as an interpreter inSweden you have to pass a proficiency examwith high professional qualification standards.The test is available in 40 languages and isGlobal insightsarranged by Kammarkollegiet, which can takedisciplinary action if needed. There is a database of authorisedinterpreters. Kammarkollegiet has a separatedatabase that includes trained interpreterswho are not tested according to theOrdinance and are not supervised byKammarkollegiet. There are also interpreterswho do not belong to either group. Publicsector service users are getting better atdistinguishing between these three groups.Do public service personnelreceive training on how to workwith PSIs and across cultures?Interpreting service providers give sometraining to public service personnel. Is there a code of conduct forPSIs working in Sweden?Kammarkollegiet has published a professionalcode of ethics for authorised interpreters andtranslators. 'Good Interpreting Practice andGood Translation Practice' is based on a seriesof principles and is intended primarily forauthorised interpreters and translators,although it is useful for anyone who acceptsinterpreting and translation assignments. Thepublication also provides service users withinformation about the interpreting task.Are PSI qualifications from othercountries recognised?Kammarkollegiet authorises interpreterstrained in other EU member states accordingto the EU directives on the recognition ofprofessional qualifications. There is noconversion course for PSIs trained elsewhere.What are the main obstacles toprogress? Public service personnel's poor knowledge ofthe issues surrounding PSI. Many of thosewho apply for authorisation have poor orinsufficient skills (both language andinterpreting skills). Lack of qualified languageexperts in some languages makes it difficultto arrange proficiency tests. A greatercommitment from politicians in interpretingissues would be desirable. What would you like to achieve inthe next five years?A sufficient number of qualified andauthorised interpreters, training programmesthat respond to needs, better knowledge ofthe business among users, a more securesituation for interpreters, better use of newtechnology, reduced travel time. To be ableto offer authorisation for more languages,which could be achieved partly through goodprocurement, but mainly by political decisions.Klas Ericsson and Ivett Larsson,Kammarkollegiet© ISTOCKPHOTOSERVICE USERS:A police car outsideKarolinska Hospital in Stockholm

Vol/51 No/4 2012AUGUST/SEPTEMBERTheLinguist29REVIEWScapacity, advocated since the 1950s by theChomskian school, was definitively flawed. Everett, together with a growing numberof linguists and cognitive scientists, favoursthe idea that language is acquired throughthe normal mental processes wherebyhumans learn a range of different skills, ratherthan being the product of a specific'language instinct' (Steven Pinker's term) or'language organ'. For the author, language isa tool, devised and used by humans forpurposes of communication, just as we haveinvented other tools to fulfil other functions. In .The Cultural ToolEverett sets out toexplain his findings to a non-specialistaudience. His aim is twofold: to examine andreject the arguments for Universal Grammar,and to put forward his own theory of languageacquisition, which he sums up as: cognition +culture + communication = language. Alongthe way he provides numerous anecdotesand illustrations from his experiences amongpreliterate Amazonian communities, notablythe Pirahã tribe and their remarkable language.In his analysis of Universal Grammar, Everettdraws not only on his own work but on that ofmany other linguists and social scientists. Theresult is a carefully reasoned description ofwhy Chomsky's 50-year-old theory is strugglingto hold up in the face of more recent,technologically advanced linguistic andcognitive research. Particularly interesting isthe notion of 'Construction Grammar', inwhich language acquisition is regarded asbeing based not on the painstakingaggregation of individual nouns, verbs,adjectives, etc, via a complex generativegrammar, but rather on the perception andgrouping of units -or signs -which may be aword, phrase or sentence and in which noChomsky-style parsing is necessary.Language: The Cultural Tool will beenjoyed by anyone wishing to find out howthings currently stand in the language instinctv. cognition+culture debate. But Everett'sbook is more than a linguistic treatise: it is animpassioned defence of cultural diversity, anda tribute to the extraordinary capacity of thehuman mind to adapt to its surroundings andcreate the cognitive tools that have enabledhumans to survive this far.Ross Smith MCILLanguage: Thecultural toolDaniel EverettProfile Books,2012, 320 pp;ISBN 978-1846682674Paperback,£14.99Daniel Everett is an American scholar whocombines a distinguished university career intheoretical linguistics with a lengthy trackrecord of field work among indigenouscommunities in Brazil. During decades ofresearch on little-known Amazonian languageshe came to the conclusion that the theory ofUniversal Grammar and innate linguisticself-study aid, both for students on taughtprogrammes and for independent learners. It consists of 31 clearly-structured chapters,in which all the basic points of Russiangrammar are discussed, including 12 chaptersdevoted to verbs and conjugation (withindividual chapters on participles, gerunds,verbs of motion and reflexive verbs) and ninechapters on nouns and declension (with acomprehensive and lucid description ofgrammatical case). All other parts of speechare covered, and practical information onspelling, punctuation and word order isintroduced. In addition, the authors providea concise glossary of linguistic terms inRussian, with their English equivalents andinformation on their use, as well as shortexercises at the end of each chapter. A key selling point is the highly accessible,user-friendly and engaging style in which thebook is written. The authors assume noprevious knowledge of grammar orlinguistics, and they explain complex pointsof Russian grammar in a straightforward andnon-technical manner. Readers not only learnabout the formation and use of grammaticalforms but are also given definitions of wordsand phrases, such as noun, clause andnominative case, which are not familiar to alllanguage learners. In this respect, Da!is moreeffective than many competing works aimedat the same target audience.The focus on aspects of Russian grammarthat pose particular problems to nativeEnglish speakers is very effective. Manycases, such as irregular plural forms ofmasculine and neuter nouns, 'fleeting'vowels and negative pronouns, have beencarefully selected and an 'eye' icon identifiesthem as areas that merit special attention. The overview of spelling rules, descriptionsof verbal aspect and verbs of motion, andchapters on impersonal sentences and theessentials of Russian syntax are particularlyuseful. Other noteworthy features, includingpractical tips by Mr Smirnoff, 'the friendly faceof Russian grammar', and the categorisationof grammar points into three difficulty levels,add to the appeal. A comprehensive andengaging grammar manual, Da! is a welcomeaddition to the English-language literature onRussian grammar and should be an effectivereference work for students of all levels. James WilsonDa! A PracticalGuide toRussianGrammarTatiana Filosofova & Marion SpöringHodderEducationPublishers,2012, 288 pp;ISBN 978-1444148787Paperback,£21.99Aimed at students at the beginner andintermediate level, Da!is appropriate for useas a supplement to grammar materials inRussian course books, at schools, colleges anduniversities, and is a useful reference work and