Silver medal for talented linguists
TWO talented linguists have impressed with their language knowledge at a national competition.
Teenagers from King’s School claimed silver medals in the UK Linguistics Olympiad after translating obscure Icelandic and African dialects.
The pair were given examples with translations and had to work out the grammar rules before applying them to new translations.
Sixth form students Daisy Hammersley and Megan Whiteley were able to decipher dialects from central Africa and remote northern Iceland to come in the top 15 per cent of 1,500 modern foreign languages A Level students nationwide.
Daisy, 17, from Chelford, who wants to study German and international management at university, said: “I enjoyed the challenge of working out what was being said from the patterns of words and the context. It wasn’t easy but I don’t suppose it was meant to be.”
Megan, 17, from Bollington, who wants to study Anglo Saxon, Norse and Celtic at university, said: “It would be nice to believe that more and more British people will learn another language, as it is an invaluable skill.”