Specialists in oral translation services

Monday, April 24, 2017

Ear to the ground: Podcasts for interpreters

By Catherine Sherry, AIB



Podcasts are an excellent way of keeping abreast of current affairs, keeping up our language skills, and keeping our delicate cochleae safe from the hullabaloo made by irksome fellow passengers on aeroplanes. And after all, what more do we live for?
So in this month’s blog we’re featuring a short selection in four languages (English, Spanish, French and Portuguese) that may come in handy vis-à-vis the abovementioned existential objectives. Please share any others you know of in the comments section below!

ENGLISH

US

The World in Words – PRI (weekly, 20-25 mins)
The World in Words podcast is about language — everything from bilingual education to the globalization of English to Icelandic insults.”

UK

The Allusionist - “Small adventures in language with Helen Zaltzman” (fortnightly, approx 20 mins)
Etymology, words in the news, words in literature, language and the brain… WITH transcripts and extras including further reading and listening. Brilliant.

Fry’s English Delight – BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lv1k1
“Stephen Fry explores the highways and byways of the English language”
Unfortunately, season 9 just ended so only a couple of episodes are available on iPlayer right now, but previous seasons, highly recommended, can be bought on CD or as audio downloads.


Just a Minute  - BBC Radio 4
Panel game in which the contestants are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition on any subject that comes up on the cards”
Classic British radio comedy, currently in season 77. It’s also a good game for trainee interpreters to practice their linguistic flexibility and endurance!


ESPAÑOL

ESPAÑA

Hispanorama – RTVE Radio Exterior (semanal, 30 mins)
Reportajes sobre la actualidad socio-política y cultural de ámbito hispanohablante, con especial atención a acontecimientos relacionados con América Latina.”
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/hispanorama/

ARGENTINA
Economista del medio (semanal, duración variable)
https://goo.gl/fmYXti
“Podcasts de economía. Lenguaje coloquial, coyuntura económica y algo de teoría discutida.”


PORTUGUÊS

PORTUGAL
A beleza das pequenas coisas (semanal, 1 hora)
http://expresso.sapo.pt/podcasts/a-beleza-das-pequenas-coisas
Conversas pelo país conduzidas por Bernardo Mendonça com as mais variadas personagens que contam histórias maiores do que a vida. Ou tão simples como ela pode ser.”

BRASIL
Café Brasil (periodicidade variável)
Falamos de comportamento, cultura, economia, saúde, educação, liderança, empreendedorismo e muitos outros temas que ocupam nossas vidas, sempre procurando chamar a atenção para um ponto de vista diferente daquele praticado pelo senso comum.”
With full transcripts on the website, Portuguese is worth learning for this podcast alone!

FRANÇAIS

L’AFRIQUE EN SOLO – France Inter (chaque samedi, 1 heure)

Soro Solo raconte les Afriques en musique. Société, cultures, traditions, modernités, légendes… On y trouve de tout, même un ami.”


Une semaine d’actualité – RFI (chaque samedi, 1 heure)
http://www.rfi.fr/emission/une-semaine-actualite
« L’actualité africaine et internationale de la semaine, passée en revue avec un invité. »

Les enjeux internationaux – France Culture (lundi-vendredi, 10 mins)
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/les-enjeux-internationaux
“Un éclairage quotidien sur les événements de l'actualité internationale, les tendances durables de la géopolitique, de la diplomatie, de l'économie ou de la démographie.”
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/les-enjeux-internationaux

Last but not least, when the day of toil is done, make sure you aren’t going to have to resort to talking shop or tongue wagging over dinner with a bit of this: http://www.dinnerpartydownload.org/