Vol. 47    November, 2004

Conference Agenda - Staying in Touch

In October National Sales Manager Carla Heironimus attended the Society for Chemical Hazards Communications Conference in Washington, D.C. This was an opportunity for her to visit with the many McElroy clients that translate Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). An MSDS is a fact sheet that summarizes the information about the manufacturer or importer of the material including identification of the material, physical and chemical properties, risks of fire or explosion, reactivity, risks to health and first aid, leaks or spills, emergency situations, transportation and handling, ecology, and special precautions. The high level of repetitive template text in these documents allows makes them excellent candidates for translation memory technology, which saves and recycles a translator’s previous translations segment by segment.

Later in the month Carla was joined by Business Development Manager Corrie Palm at the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Conference in Washington, D.C. where McElroy took the opportunity to monitor the current issues and needs of its regulatory client base.

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The Proper Care and Feeding of Humans: Human Resources Basics for Translation Companies

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Other recruitment tools may be more effective in your environment, or depending on the position to be filled. An inhouse posting is best when the position you are filling requires someone who is already familiar with your company’s or department’s processes and workflow, and the position that may then become vacant may be easier to fill, or to fill from outside. Your current employees are also very good sources — because they know both the potential candidates and the company, they will know whether they are good matches. And a well-written ad will generate the maximum number of qualified responses.

Job Description

Speaking of that well-written ad, its basis is a well-written job description. A written job description accomplishes many purposes: clarifies what kind of person should be hired, communicates the job responsibilities and requirements to that person, and provides a tool against which performance can be evaluated. A good job description has five parts: (1) job summary, (2) essential duties, (3) qualifications, (4) education and experience requirements, and (5) general working conditions and physical requirements. The job summary should give the position’s primary responsibilities in one or two sentences. The essential duties should be in bullet format and identify in specific detail all the job duties entailed in meeting the primary responsibilities. Include a final bullet that says “performs other tasks and cross-trains with other positions as assigned,” so that there can be some flexibility within the position. Qualifications, also in bullet format, include such things as organizational ability, computer skills, written and oral communication skills, or the ability to multi-task, exercise judgment, or work with interruptions. Be thoughtful about identifying the education and experience requirements necessary for the position. Is a degree necessary? What kind? Will work experience substitute? What kinds of work experience? How many years? General working conditions and physical requirements should list, for example, ambulatory or lifting requirements, the hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and visual acuity required for computing, stress related to responsibility and authority, or the potential for extended or irregular hours. Finally, have a pay range in mind. Software packages are available to help you draft job descriptions, and another very good resource is the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM, www.shrm.org).

Newspaper Ad

Now that a good job description is written, preparing a newspaper ad is easy. Be sure to have an attention-getter opening line, one that will cause the reader to be interested in your business and the position. Then describe the primary duties and qualifications as succinctly as possible. List the hours, pay range, and benefits — if you don’t list the pay range, you will screen many more résumés than necessary from candidates whose expectations you cannot meet. Finish by telling candidates exactly how to apply (e.g., cover letter with salary requirement and résumé via email).

Hiring Process

Define your hiring process, based on the position. For instance, when we recently hired a proofreader, we used the following process: (1) HR screened 200 incoming résumés; (2) the Editing Manager reviewed approximately 60 résumés that passed HR screening; (3) the Editing Manager distributed a proofreading test to the 10 best candidates; (4) the Editing Manager interviewed the top five candidates based on the test responses and results; (5) HR called the references of the two candidates remaining after the interviews; (6) the Editing Manager made a decision and offer, which was accepted; and (7) HR sent thank-you letters to all the interviewees. The screening criteria for the initial 200 résumés were (1) appropriate education, skills, and experience given in the résumé, (2) good English language skills (and no typos!) in the cover letter, (3) a pay expectation close to the range given in the newspaper ad, and (4) adherence to the instructions for applying. Although the person who dropped off a paper résumé in person meant well, her inability to follow instructions and the inconvenience caused by providing paper instead of an electronic file, given the volume of résumés and the time involved in screening, caused her to be screened out rather than in.

Behavioral Interviewing

If you haven’t heard of behavioral interviewing or don’t know much about it, make the time to find out. No matter how experienced you become at interviewing, you’ll still make mistakes, but behavioral interviewing techniques will minimize them. Behavioral interviewing is based on the assumption that past performance is a good indicator of future performance. ¹ Instead of asking a candidate what their skills are or how they would handle a particular situation, ask for specific examples of how they have used their skills or how they have handled that situation. Behavioral questions begin with such phrases as: Tell me about a time when… Give me an example of… Describe for me… How did you handle a situation where… What did you do when…. The other key point with behavioral interviewing is to tolerate silence. When the candidate says they cannot think of an example, insist (in a friendly manner and tone) that you are sure they can think of one and that you don’t mind if they take a few minutes to think about it. Asking the best kind of question will only work if you wait for the best kind of answer!

What You May Not Ask

There are certain issues you cannot ask about in an interview, and the basic rule is if it’s not job related, you can’t ask it. Topics that you cannot ask about include race, color, religion, creed, national origin, citizenship (although you can ask if they are legal to work in the U.S.), sex, marital status, name, age, birthplace, disability or handicap (you can ask if they can meet the physical requirements in the job description), criminal history (you can ask if they have ever been convicted of a felony), or language (unless it is job related, which may certainly be the case for those of us in the translation industry). ²

Other Interviewing Tips

Plan your questions in advance, in writing. Ask every candidate all of the questions; however, try to do this within the context of how the discussion unfolds naturally, rather than starting at the top and going down the list in order. Always allow the candidate ample time to ask questions, but only after you have finished asking yours (otherwise, the candidate may tailor his answers to what he believes you want to hear). A question I often end with is, “What are the last three books you’ve read?” because it brings the interview to a friendly, light-hearted moment that makes a good transition to the candidate’s questions. Do take notes during the interview, but be sure that everything you write is job related and professional. Most states require that all solicited résumés and application materials be kept for one year, but you should check your state’s requirements.

Calling References

Use only professional (not personal) references, preferably supervisors rather than HR staff, and contact at least three of them by telephone. You will learn a lot from their responsiveness (or lack thereof) and their tone and word choice. At the very least, confirm dates of employment, position held, ending wage or salary, and reason for leaving. If the reference is willing, also ask about the candidate’s quality of work, work habits, dependability, initiative, problem-solving and decision-making ability, interpersonal skills, and computer skills.

Orientation

Your great new employee is finally on board, so an orientation session on their first day is your next step. Some of the issues to be covered in this session are the W-4 and I-9 forms, your employee handbook and company policies, a confidentiality agreement, benefit information, and COBRA and HIPAA notices (more on these later).

Employee Handbook

In today’s litigious society, having an employee handbook is more important than ever. It will also save you time and trouble, in terms of answering questions, making decisions, and taking actions fairly and consistently. Typical employee handbook topics include policies (customer service, workplace harassment, computer and email use, problem resolution), employment (definition of full- and part-time, introductory period, performance evaluations), compensation (recordkeeping, pay periods and procedures, overtime), benefits (medical, dental, COBRA, HIPAA, 401(k), time off, holidays), conduct (attendance, smoking, termination, personal business), and rules (security and safety, substance abuse, workplace violence, concealed weapons). You may also wish to include a welcome letter, including your company’s mission statement if there is one, and company history. Your state workforce commission and SHRM are great resources for template handbooks, and you should have your handbook reviewed by an HR professional and an employment attorney. Give new employees 24 to 48 hours to review the employee handbook, and then obtain a signed acknowledgment that they have received, read, and understand and will abide by it. This acknowledgment statement is also a good place to reiterate that your handbook does not constitute a contract of employment; an employment attorney can help you with this language. Finally, try to review and update your employee handbook yearly.

Performance Evaluations

The next step in the employment process will be to evaluate the performance of your newly hired and oriented employee. This should be done at the conclusion of a 90-day introductory period, at six months, at one year, and then at least annually thereafter (although semiannually would be better!). Why? How else will they know how they’re doing, what’s going well, what needs improvement, what you expect, where they can grow, what opportunities are available, and how they can succeed? Every employee deserves at least once a year an investment of your time, effort, and personal attention in an honest and formal evaluation of their performance. Preparing the evaluation properly and well will take considerable time and energy to be specific, accurate, and complete. These evaluations should be in writing, and should include a self-evaluation by the employee. If the employee being evaluated is a manager, consider soliciting anonymous feedback from his or her reports (I use a software/web package called AllPoints Feedback for this (www.allpointsfeedback.com), and others are available). This process works best if the written evaluation and self-evaluation are exchanged the day before a scheduled meeting, so that both parties have time to reflect on the feedback and to prepare to discuss it. Set aside plenty of time for this meeting, and do not allow it to be interrupted.

Following are some key points to keep in mind regarding performance evaluations:

• When documenting a behavior, whether positive or negative, give at least three specific examples of that behavior. When the behavior is negative, the point is not to humiliate the employee with a litany of mistakes, but to make the point that her performance has been tracked and that you have a basis for the statements you’re making about her performance. Then place more emphasis on the future than the past.
• Avoid “always” and “never.” Don’t say “Employee X is always late for his shift” unless that is absolutely true. It’s probably more accurate and better to say, “Employee X was late for his shift at least two times per week during the last three months.”
• Nothing should be a surprise. If something in the evaluation, particularly constructive feedback, is being heard by the employee for the first time, you’ve not done your job during the year.
• Be timely. Not being timely sends a message to the employee that the evaluation isn’t important and you don’t care about them.
• Try to list as many accomplishments as possible — it’s a strong moment when you can come up with more of these than the employee can.
• Ask outright for what you want to be different.
• Ask what you can do differently, better, or more of.
• Be as polite, respectful, and positive as possible; be very aware of your body language and tone, in addition to your words.

I keep a file folder (not their official personnel file) for each employee, and every time there’s a problem, question, comment, accomplishment, or communication regarding that employee I put a copy of it or note about it in the file. Then at the end of the year I don’t have to rely on my memory and have a lot of good information to refer to in preparing the evaluation. If you do this, however, consider that everything in this file, as well as the employee’s official personnel file, including their written evaluations, may appear in court one day. This will help keep you absolutely honest, accurate, objective, and professional.

Performance evaluation template forms are commonly available, but should be modified to be specific to your organization or even the particular position being evaluated. Our typical written annual performance evaluation includes the following sections: responsibilities; accomplishments; job knowledge, performance, and productivity; dependability, cooperation, and initiative; work environment and safety; overall performance; and action plan. If the employee being evaluated is a manager, we usually add these categories: managerial skills, communication skills, problem solving and conflict resolution, administrative skill, and time management.

Performance Problems

When your employee experiences a patterned performance problem or slump, assume there’s a reason and try to find out what it is. Employees don’t intend to perform poorly or have problems, and my experience is that it’s most often the result of a non-work issue. Our approach is to support the employee however we can (flexible hours, reduced hours, time off, referral to counseling, financial assistance) but at the same time focus on a return to the desired performance level within a reasonable timeframe.

Progressive Discipline

I have had quite a bit of success with simply inviting an employee with a performance problem to help me avoid the disciplinary process. But when that doesn’t work, you’ll need to implement progressive discipline. The typical progressive discipline process is (1) an oral warning for a first offense, (2) a written warning for a second offense or lack of improvement, (3) suspension for a third offense or lack of improvement, and (4) discharge for a fourth offense or lack of improvement. Clear documentation during this process is extremely important.

Personnel Files

An employee personnel file should contain (1) pay/status change forms, (2) time off forms, (3) performance evaluations and training documentation, (4) the W-4 form, and (5) application information, confidentiality agreement, and handbook acknowledgment. The following information should not be kept in personnel files, and should be kept separately from each other: (1) benefit information, (2) I-9 forms, and (3) payroll records. Although there are many good reasons for the segregation of this information, the primary reasons are to protect personal health information and other personal data, and to limit the information available to strictly what is required should you be subject to a compliance audit or investigation. These files should all be kept in a locked cabinet, and retained as required by federal, state, and local laws.

Termination (Voluntary)

Every employee will eventually resign, if their termination is not caused by some other event. You should always obtain a dated and signed resignation letter that includes the date of the last day of employment. If possible, hold an exit interview, conducted by someone in HR (even if you have to contract with a consultant) who did not directly work with or supervise the employee. During the exit interview, ask about general employment matters (hours, responsibilities, workload, advancement), training, pay, supervision, and reason(s) for leaving. You will also need to provide COBRA information and forms.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) contains a rule designed to ensure the privacy of protected health information (PHI). This Act primarily impacts health care providers and insurers, but also affects employers that sponsor group health plans. The deadline for compliance was April 14, 2003 (or 2004, depending on the size of the health plan), so if you have never heard of or don’t know much about HIPAA, contact your insurance broker or representative for information, forms, and assistance. At the very least, you may have to provide a Notice of Health Information Privacy Practices at new-employee orientation and include it in your employee handbook, sign HIPAA Privacy Business Associate Agreements with the various insurance or benefit entities you contract with, and have Individual Authorization for Use and/or Disclosure of PHI forms available if an employee requests your assistance with a matter that involves PHI. Depending on your particular situation, you may also be subject to other compliance requirements.

COBRA

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provides for the continuance of group health coverage (at the employee’s election and expense) after certain “qualifying events” that would otherwise result in the loss of coverage, such as termination, reduction of hours, death, divorce, or Medicare eligibility. The continuance in the case of termination is usually up to 18 months, although there are varying lengths of continuance according to the different qualifying events and other circumstances. Your state may also have a program for continuing coverage beyond the federal requirement. Again, your insurance broker or representative may be able to help; or you can contract with a company that provides COBRA administration. Revised regulations regarding when and how you must give notice and the formats of model notice forms will take effect November 26, 2004 , so be sure you are ready for these changes.

Conclusion

Don’t despair — it is possible to fulfill the HR function in your company even if you are small or growing. Independent consultants are available, who can be contracted with on a per-hour, per-project, or retainer-type basis, and you can find these consultants through the local chapter affiliate of SHRM. Look for a consultant with a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) or SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification, which indicates that they have a certain amount of education, testing, and experience in the field. You can also obtain HR (and other) services through a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). Then, when you are ready, add a qualified part-time or full-time HR representative to your staff. Because handling the HR function well will protect your most important asset, and save you time, trouble, and money in the long term.

This paper is intended to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. Neither McElroy Translation nor the author are engaged in rendering professional HR or legal services. If legal or expert HR assistance is required, the services of a competent, licensed professional should be sought.

Notes

¹ Human Resource Essentials, by Lin Grensing-Pophal (Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resources Management, 2002), pg. 42.

² Ibid, pp. 44-45.

This article was published in the September 2004 issue of The ATA Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Number 9.

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Beware – American Abroad

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WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?

Mom gave me a book titled ‘Who Moved My Cheese.’  It was a great book describing the different ways one can react to change — strict denial, complaining, balking at it and refusing to change, or just going with the flow.  I've considered myself an adapter for years now, but I have never been challenged to the extent I have over these past weeks.  It amazes me how little I am aware of, how American I really am, and how ingrained that is in my actions.  I may not be a genius, but I am by no stretch an idiot.  But lately I have been astonished about how little I really know outside my own protected world.  For example...

• I took 4 showers and did 2 loads of laundry in freezing cold water before realizing that you actually have to turn on and off the hot water heater with what appears to be a light switch.
• In train stations and other public places, you have to actually pay to use the toilet. After a long train ride perhaps it would have been wise to  ensure I carry change at all times. At least that is how I felt riding endlessly on a bumpy bus.
• Um, exactly how do you flush the toilet? Oh, it’s on the wall. Duh. And do you seriously expect me to squat over that hole?
• On the train the conductor was mumbling something to me I couldn’t understand, and the other passengers were staring at me.  They all began to point at the top of my train ticket.  Oh, I realized, that is why everyone was sticking their tickets in a machine outside the train, to validate the time.  Sorry.
• I have waited in restaurants after finishing a meal for LONG periods of time, not realizing they don’t bring you the check unless you actually ask for it.  And not speaking the language or knowing how to ask for it doesn’t help any either.
• I am only starting to feel comfortable with the keyboard, to find the @ key was a struggle, and to find the apostrophe key was worse.
• I literally sat in front of the washing machine on the floor twice, trying to be patient, turning knobs and pushing buttons.  Why won’t the door open?  What exactly is the problem here?  Turns out you have to wait about 5 minutes before it will open, a safety mechanism since it loads from the front.
• Out of desperation I ate a half a watermelon with a serving spoon, trying to fit the large thing in my mouth with each bite.  They have everything else in the apartment, why not utensils?  I found them two days later in the dining room hutch.
• Keys seem to operate different, you have to turn them more than once to lock and unlock doors.  And I never seem to turn them the right way. I’m sure people think I am trying to break in every time I go home because I stand there for so long, turning and turning, back and forth, back and forth.
• Are you sure you gave me the right change?  It doesn’t seem right, but I don’t know how to say that to you.  I hold up my hand, 5, with a puzzling look on my face. I probably look like I’m saying, ‘hi, I’m 5'.
• What do you mean there are no restaurants open before 8pm, that couldn’t possibly be right, could it?  And what do you mean everything closes between 1:30 and 3:30, clearly that is an exaggeration, right?
• What do you mean this is a supermarket?  There is nothing ‘super’ about it at all.  Where are the bagels?  How can you have so many choices for fresh olives and no choices for sliced bread?  Have you not heard of sliced bread here?  And which milk is skim?  I can’t read the labels.
• I would have sworn my compact fridge was broken; I just couldn’t get it to turn on. I even pulled it out from under the counter looking for a plug.  Hours later after giving up I found a strange plug just hanging near an outlet on the wall farthest from the fridge.  What the heck, I’ll just plug it in and see.  Lo and behold the fridge starts to hum.
• Why did all my clothes turn pink?  That doesn’t happen at home.  Oh, temperature is measured in Celsius, not Fahrenheit.  I washed them in 70 degree water not realizing that it was 158 degrees Fahrenheit!
• What do you mean I weigh my own fruit in the supermarket?  Is that what those people were doing printing out bar codes and sticking them onto bags?  This kind of technology seems pretty out of place next to the guy sweeping the floor from what would appear to be a bundle of sticks tied together to make a broom.
• How can I not read the menu?  Shouldn’t some of the words be the same, like ravioli or lasagna or manicotti or something?  I swear none of this looks familiar to me... please tell me I don’t have to eat ice cream AGAIN for dinner.
• Why does nobody say ‘bless you’ to me?  It’s bad enough that I seem to be allergic to something here, but am I invisible as well?  Sometimes I think I’ll never stop sneezing until someone acknowledges me.  One day a British man said bless you and I nearly wanted to knock him over in a warm embrace.
• Um, where is the AC?  What do you mean there is no AC?  Anywhere?  How is that possible with this heat and humidity?  What do you all do between 1:30 and 3:30, lay in tubs of ice just so you can tolerate the rest of the day?
• What the heck am I supposed to do with this thing that is not quite a toilet but looks like one? Do people seriously use these?

I am truly getting what I asked for — to understand what it is like to truly be lost, to force myself to change the way I think and adapt to my surroundings. Some things I may actually miss when I am gone...

• There is an easy way of life here.  Italians work hard, but don't take themselves too seriously. They devote a large amount of their time and energy to their family. They know how to work, but more importantly they know how to relax. They take time out to be with each other... you often see them hanging around shops, stores, parks or balconies, while the kids quietly play nearby.
• Dogs are allowed everywhere.  You see them in bars, in the mall, on the bus, in restaurants.  Actually, compared to the kids in the states they are quite pleasant to be around.
• There is no tipping in Italy.  And still the waiters and waitresses are in general much more friendly and helpful than they are in the states.
• Nothing beats an afternoon nap, and you are almost forced to take one because everything closes from 1:30 to 3:30.
• The Italian people are kind and helpful.  Now this means that even if they can’t help you they will try, which is why you can almost never trust them when they give you directions.
• Gelato.  You can’t turn a corner without running into a shop that sells it.
• It’s light until almost 10pm here.
• The whole time I have been here, fast food has not really been an option.  It’s nice to be forced to make a meal about more than just eating.
• Public transportation.  It’s cheap and easy.   Fresh parmesan on everything.
• No matter how oddly dressed the teenage boys are, or how crass they seem to be acting, one in the group will always give up their seat on the bus to a woman.
• The whole time I have been in Turin I have never heard a parent raise their voice to their child. Quite a difference from anywhere else I’ve been. Granted, I don’t understand what they are saying, but their tone is always gentle and loving. Maybe it’s because they don’t have Wal-Marts or McDonalds here.
• Walking. I can’t begin to imagine how many miles I have walked since I have been here. I walk to explore and see the sights, walk to get somewhere, or walk because I have absolutely nowhere to be.

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Australia

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Body Language

• To beckon a waiter use a quiet hand motion.
• When yawning, cover your mouth and excuse yourself.
• Winking at women is considered rude.
• The “V” sign (made with index and middle fingers, palm facing inward) is a very vulgar gesture. The “thumbs up” gesture is also considered obscene.

Corporate Culture

• Personal relationships are important in the Australian business world. Connections are valued. An introduction by an established representative may be helpful in establishing a relationship with an Australian firm.
• Australians take punctuality seriously. If possible, arrive fifteen minutes early for a business meeting.
• Australians will quickly get down to business. Communications will be direct, good-humored and to the point.
• Australian businesspeople tend to be pragmatic, efficient and profit-oriented. They appreciate straight-forward, open presentations.
• Australians dislike one-upmanship. Don’t overplay qualifications, rank or titles.
• Negotiations proceed quickly. Bargaining is not customary. Proposals should be presented with acceptable terms. Leave some allowance for some give and take.
• Australians will often negotiate major issues without over-emphasis on details. However, contracts are generally detailed and firm.

Dining and Entertainment

• Always arrive on time or a few minutes early for a dinner.
• The person who makes the invitation generally pays the bill in restaurants. However, it isn’t unusual for friends to split the bill.
• Australians follow continental-style dining etiquette (fork held in the left hand; knife in right).
• Barbecues — very informal “cook outs” — are popular in Australia.  Sometimes uests bring their own meat or other items.
• The guest of honor is generally seated to the right of host.
• Soup should be eaten by moving the spoon away from you, not toward you.
• Lay knife/fork parallel on plate at 5:25 position when finished eating.
• Keep your hands above the table and elbows off the table.
• Offer to help with meal preparation and clean-up when being entertained in a home.
• Do not say “I’m stuffed” after a meal. This means you are pregnant.

Dress

• Australians wear fashions similar those worn by Europeans and North Americans.
• For business, men should wear conservative jackets and ties. During the summer months, jackets are often removed. Women should wear skirts and blouses or dresses.

Gifts

• It is not customary to exchange business gifts during initial meetings.
• When invited to an Australian’s home, bring a small gift (flowers, chocolates, or books about your home country or region) for your hosts.
• Australia produces excellent wine. Taking wine would be like taking sand to the desert.

Helpful Hints

• Stick with standard English, not Aussie terms.
• Aussies dislike class distinctions and have a history of “cutting down the tall poppy.” This grew out of the Australian prisoners’ hatred of their British overseers. Many Australian politicians have declined the designation of knighthood for fear of alienating their constituents.
• Australians sit in the front seat of a taxi/limousine. A single passenger sitting in the back seat is viewed as “putting on airs.”
• Australians respect people with strong opinions, even if they don’t agree.
• Avoid discussions about the treatment of the aboriginal people.
• Don’t comment on anyone’s accent. Accents often distinguish social class.
• If you are teased, you are expected to reply in kind, with good humor. Such self-confidence will increase an Australian's respect for you. They do not admire a subservient attitude.
• Do not sniff or blow your nose in public.

-- Excerpted from the “Put Your Best Foot Forward” series by Mary Murray Bosrock. These publications are available for the U.S., Asia, Mexico/Canada, Russia, Europe and South America.

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The Celebration of Linguistic Diversity

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Diversity of languages and of cultures, as in the case of biodiversity, is increasingly being seen as a good and beautiful thing in itself. Each language has its own way of seeing the world and is the product of its own particular history. All languages have their individual identity and value, and all are equally adequate as modes of expression for the people who use them. We know from comparisons of the rates at which children learn to speak, that no language is intrinsically more difficult than any other language.

The Structure of Language

Language is an arbitrary system of sounds and symbols which is used for many purposes by a group of people, chiefly to communicate with each other, to express cultural identity, to convey social relationships, and to provide a source of delight (for example, in literature). Languages differ from each other in their sounds, grammar, vocabulary, and patterns of discourse. But all languages are highly complex entities.

Languages vary in the number of their vowel and consonant sounds from less than a dozen to over a hundred. European languages tend to have inventories in the middle range — from around 25 such sounds (e.g. Spanish) to over 60 (e.g. Irish). Alphabets reflect these sounds with varying degrees of accuracy: some alphabets (e.g. Welsh) are very regular in the way they symbolise sounds; others (e.g. English) are very irregular.

Within grammar, each language comprises several thousand points of word formation and sentence construction. Each language has a huge vocabulary available to meet the needs of its users — in the case of European languages, where scientific and technical vocabulary is very large, this reaches several hundred thousand words and phrases.

Individual speakers know and use only a fraction of a language’s total vocabulary. The words educated people use — their active vocabulary — can reach some 50,000 words; the words they know but do not use — their passive vocabulary — is somewhat larger. In everyday conversation, people often make use of a small number of words, but with great frequency. It has been estimated that a 21-year-old has already uttered some 50 million words.

Living languages and cultures are constantly changing. People influence each other in the way they speak and write. New media, such as the Internet, give languages fresh opportunities to grow. Languages are always in contact with each other, and affect each other in many ways, especially by borrowing words. English, for example, has over the centuries borrowed from over 350 languages, and European languages are all currently borrowing many words from English.

Language Acquisition

The task of learning the mother tongue is one which we accomplish essentially in the first five years of life, though certain features of language (such as vocabulary acquisition) continue indefinitely. Language develops through several stages. During the first year the baby makes a wide range of vocalisations, out of which emerge the rhythm and intonation patterns, and then the vowels and consonants. Around one year the first understandable words are uttered. During the second year two-word combinations follow, moving slowly to three- and four-word combinations. Three- and four-year-olds use increasingly longer and complex sentences. Vocabulary grows from some 50 active words by 18 months to several thousand words by age five.

The mother tongue is usually described as an individual’s first learned or primary language. This is the language people know best, the language they use most, or the language with which they most closely identify. With some bilingual people, two languages have been learned so closely together that it is impossible to choose between them, in terms of “first” or “second” languages. With most bilinguals, however, the distinction is clearer, as the learning of a second or third language takes place in school or later in life. There is no absolute age limit beyond which it is impossible to learn another language.

Bilingualism is a complex phenomenon. A common myth is that a bilingual person has two equally developed languages; in reality, bilinguals rarely display a balance between their two languages. Another myth is that all bilinguals are the same in their abilities; in reality, they display many kinds of bilingualism. Some sound like native speakers in both their languages; others have a strong foreign accent in one. Some can read well in both languages; others can do so only in one. Some prefer to write in one language, but can only talk in another.

Bilingualism brings all kinds of benefits. Being bilingual can enhance your chances of successfully learning other languages. Somehow, the learning of a third language is facilitated by the learning of a second. Bilinguals may also have some advantages in thinking: there is evidence that they make faster progress than monolinguals in certain areas of early cognitive development and are in many ways more creative in their linguistic skills.

Bilinguals have the great advantage of being able to communicate with a wider variety of people. Because bilinguals have the opportunity of experiencing two or more cultures in an intimate way, their ability can lead to more sensitivity in communication and a readiness to overcome cultural barriers and to build cultural bridges. There are also important practical issues: bilinguals have a potential economic advantage because a larger number of jobs becomes available to them. It is also increasingly accepted that multilingual companies have a competitive edge over monolingual ones.

Language Families

Languages are related to each other like the members of a family. Most of the languages of Europe can be grouped together, because of their common origins, as a single, large Indo-European language family. The families in Europe with the most member-languages and the most speakers are the Germanic, Romance, and Slavic.

The Germanic language family has a northern branch with Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic and Faeroese, as well as a western branch with German, Dutch, Frisian, English and Yiddish as its members. The Romance language family has as its members Romanian, Italian, Corsican, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, French, Romansh, Ladin and Sardinian. To the Slavic language family belong languages such as Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Sorbian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian and Bulgarian. Within the Celtic family are Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton, with revival movements under way for Cornish and Manx. To the Baltic family belong Latvian and Lithuanian. Separate families with only one member are Greek, Albanian and Armenian. Basque is an exceptional case, because it does not belong to the Indo-European family and its origins are unknown.

Other language families also have members in Europe. In the North we find the Uralic languages: Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, several Sámi languages, as well as other small languages in the northern parts of the Russian Federation such as Ingrian or Karelian. In the Southeast we find representatives of the Altaic language family, notably Turkish and Azerbaijani. The Caucasian family is spoken in a relatively small and compact area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and comprises also about 40 members, among them Georgian, and Abkhaz. The Afro-Asiatic family includes Maltese, Hebrew and Berber.

All these languages use a small number of alphabetic scripts. Most languages use the Roman (or Latin) alphabet. Russian and some other Slavic languages use Cyrillic. Greek, Yiddish, Armenian and Georgian each have their own script. Non-European languages widely used on European territory include Arabic, Chinese and Hindi, each with its own writing system.

The Languages of Europe

Estimates vary but there are about 225 spoken indigenous languages. The five languages spoken by most people in Europe are, by number of mother tongue speakers, Russian, German, English, French and Italian. But most European countries operate routinely with several languages.

The exceptions are small states such as Liechtenstein and the Holy See (Vatican), and even in these places we find significant use of second languages.

The 48 states parties to the European Cultural Convention have around 40 “state” languages and many accord special status to other languages.

Most countries have a number of traditionally spoken minority or regional languages. The Russian Federation has by far the highest number of languages spoken on its territory; the number varies from 130 to 200 depending on the criteria.

Some regional and minority languages have obtained official status, for example, Basque, Catalan and Galician in the regions of Spain in which they are spoken. Welsh has protective language rights in the United Kingdom, as does Frisian in the Netherlands and the Sámi languages in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Due to the influx of migrants and refugees from all over the world, Europe has become increasingly multilingual. London, for example, has more than 300 languages spoken as a home language. Most other larger cities, particularly in western Europe, easily have 100-200 languages spoken as mother tongues by their school populations. The most common languages include Arabic, Berber Turkish, Kurdish, Hindi, Punjabi, and Chinese. However, many of these languages are spoken by small minorities, and their future is under threat.

Daily, informal, oral interaction between parents and children is crucial to the survival of a language. Experts have estimated that over this century at least half of the world’s languages, and perhaps more, will die out. Within two generations all traces of a language can disappear when children are no longer raised in it.

The reasons for giving up a language are manifold, and include the physical destruction (through environmental crisis and disease) of a community or its habitat, active antagonism by political groups, and — the commonest cause — economic and cultural domination by more powerful and prestigious languages. But whatever the reason, the result is the same: the loss to humanity of a unique resource.

Through the work of the Council of Europe, two important international instruments came into force in 1998. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is in force in 11 countries; the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which includes some provisions for minority languages, is in force in over 30 European countries. These treaties are important in protecting and promoting the linguistic wealth of Europe.

At the beginning of the 21st century all European citizens live in a multilingual environment. In their daily lives citizens come across many different languages, for example on a bus or a train, through TV, radio or newspapers, or the ingredients on a product in the supermarket.

There is a need to increase popular knowledge and understanding of the diversity of the languages of Europe, and of the factors affecting their maintenance and growth. There is a need to generate a greater interest in and curiosity about languages. There is a need to enhance linguistic tolerance within and between nations.

These are just some of the aims of the European Year of Languages 2001 which is organised by the Council of Europe and the European Union.

Internet Links

The World Wide Web has many sites on languages, diversity of languages, multilingualism, language learning, etc. Below is just a small selection (most of these sites will lead you further by following their collections of links).

Language policy division, Council of Europe: www.coe.int/lang

European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, Graz: www.ecml.at

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/
Treaties/HTML/148.htm

European Commission: europa.eu.int/comm/
education/languages/index.html

European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages: www.eblul.org

European Centre for Minority Issues: www.ecmi.de

European Language Council: userpage.fu-berlin.de/~elc

Linguistic Rights (Most Clearinghouse): www.unesco.org/most/ln2lin.htm

European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations: www.ercomer.org

Youth of European Nationalities: oehinfo.uibk.ac.at/misc/jev

Ethnologue database (6,700 languages of the world): www.sil.org/ethnologue

Languages on the web (over 30.000 links): www.languages-on-the-web.com

Human Languages Page: www.june29.com/
HLP

Eurolang: www.eurolang.net/browse.htm

Linguist-list: linguistlist.org

Computer E-mail Lists for Individual Languages: www.evertype.com/langlist.html

Yamada WWW Language resources: babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides.html

Central site of Mercator centres: www.mercator-central.org; Mercator Education: www.mercator-education.org

Foreign language Resources: www.itp.
berkeley.edu/~thorne/HumanResources.html

Eric Clearinghouse on languages and linguistics: www.cal.org/ericcll

University of Cambridge Language Centre: www.langcen.cam.ac.uk

Frequently asked questions about linguistics: www.zompist.com/langfaq.html

Dictionaries (1500 in 230 languages): www.yourdictionary.com

Or, similarly dictionaries at: www.dictionary.com

Other dictionary (reference to international organisations): europa.eu.int/eurodicautom/
login.jsp

“Linguistic Olympics” (games, quizzes): darkwing.uoregon.edu/~tpayne/lingolym ; also in Russian: proling.iitp.ru

Tongue twisters, with 1842 entries in 75 languages: www.uebersetzung.at/twister

Sounds of the world’s animals: www.
georgetown.edu/cball/animals/animals.html

The Lord’s Prayer in 1116 languages and dialects: www.christusrex.org/www1/pater

How to say “I love you” in various languages: www.worldpath.net/~hiker/
iloveyou.html

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