Translation Services Blog

We at Lingo24 absolutely love our language, but it seems others are getting increasingly frustrated by the amount the UK government is spending on translation and interpreting services. The news that West Yorkshire police spent over a million pounds during the (financial) year 2006/2007 - more than double the corresponding figures for 2003/2004 - has been greeted with disbelief and anger by the public and opposition politicians alike. They argue immigrants should be tested for their ability to communicate in English before they come to the UK. Ever the diplomats, we at Lingo24 think the solution lies somewhere between the two extremes. As a country, the UK benefits tremendously from inward migration - the nation needs people to do the jobs Brits can’t or won’t do. Short term the UK must help these people to function normally in society by providing translation and interpreting services. Longer term, however, we’d propose compulsory, subsidised language courses for immigrants to make sure they can be part of British society for a long time to come. Everyone needs to love their language, and see how much richer life is when accompanied by knowledge of a foreign language!