Cracking language codes, from Braille to Mongolian
To quote Nelson Mandela: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.’ And with GCSE and A Level language oral exams on the horizon, King’s linguists have been honing their skills. Six pupils - Annabel, Rebecca, Elukchana, Emma, Vicky and Ally – took part in the United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad. Their challenge was to crack language codes in Braille, Mongolian, Gumatj (an aboriginal language from Australia) and Ndebele, among others. Leonie won a Bronze award, and Vicky was awarded Silver.