Meet The Team - Katerina

23 Apr 2018

2010 marked the first globally recognized English Language Day. It was formed together by the United Nations and celebrates diversity and multiculturalism. Today also coincides with World Book Day and Copyright Day. Working in probably one of the most diverse industries there is, I am very lucky to be surrounded by bilingual colleagues and interpreters. I spoke with my fellow worker Katerina to find out more about her fondness for the English language, our culture and our writers. I wanted to also leave you with a few interesting facts about the lingua franca of today!

Fact # 1 The letter “E” is the most frequently used letter in the English language. In fact, it appears in approximately 11% of all words in the English vocabulary. 

So Katerina, what do you like about the English language?

“For me English is the language of "approachability". In many languages one must acknowledge certain social boundaries. You speak differently with your family and friends than you do with your boss, an older person, or simply someone you’ve never met before. It’s a way of distinguishing between formal and informal speech but rather than depending on the context, you’re basing it around the person you are talking to. In my native language (Czech), if you heard someone calling a police officer “mate”, you would know, they would end up in trouble. Whereas in the UK (especially “up North”) you hear this all the time. It’s easier to approach people of similar age as well because you don’t have to worry about the way in which you address them.”

On reflection, I totally understand where Katerina is coming from. I remember in high school learning GCSE German and the many rules that came with this, especially when addressing people of authority “vs” friends. I do think when it comes to language learning each one has its uniqueness and complexities. Some of these you initially love, some grow on you and others…well they seem impossible to comprehend.

What would you say is the most difficult thing about learning English?

“The omnipresent exceptions – there are ten exceptions to every rule. And that’s just grammar. Then you have all the different dialect differences in vocabulary and pronunciation. Out of the difficult things, this is definitely the most entertaining as well as excruciating. (I obviously have a soft spot for the Yorkshire dialect.)”

For me hearing this, I sit and wonder how difficult it must be on occasions to understand dialectic differences (ones you did not even know existed when learning English). Of course these differences are beautiful and make our language what it is, but even I struggle with this. I find myself asking people with stronger accents, “Can you repeat that again please?” or “Just say that slowly, I missed that”. So, hats off to you Katerina!

What about British culture, what do you like about this?

“I like the general politeness and the language-related friendliness. I love the general terms of endearment like "love", "pet", "duck", or "darling". People are friendly and approachable, and random chitchat is nothing out of the ordinary here. You get to hear a life story of a stranger on a bus or get to know the family tree of your local shop assistant - these little things always brighten my day as they make me feel like I'm no stranger here.”

It is things like this that make me proud of Britain. With current bad news seemingly creating further isolation, we have to work to put out good news like this and spread positivity. Working for a multicultural organisation like Enable2 openness and acceptance is at the core of our work, thus we work towards lessening solitude in society.

I learnt from getting to know Katerina and sometimes interrupting her on her lunch break (sorry) that she loves to read, and what a better day to talk books than William Shakespeare’s birthday. I asked her about her thoughts on him as such an impactful writer…

“British literature is immense! Shakespeare has a special place in my heart. His works were a huge part of my university studies and we developed a certain mutual love-hate relationship during those times. It's especially his sonnets that stand out to me, they are the work of a true genius and I believe they belong on a shelf in every bookcase”.

What about some suggestions to the readers of this blog, are there any books you highly recommend?

“There are memoirs I read that I discovered a profound personal connection to like "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami and dystopian novels that filled me with self-reflection such as George Orwell’s "1984"."

Katerina added she also loves:

 “…the fantastic works of the imaginations of genius authors like Sir Terry Pratchett [who wrote] The Discworld Series, and one of my all-time favourites "The Carpet People"). I still believe that one would need several lifetimes to fully appreciate the vastness of literature and the power it possesses.”

I sit here in awe of someone who has only lived in England for 4 years….yes I said 4 years! Katerina has become totally absorbed in the English language, our culture, our writers and our brown sauce (see photo above!). Extremely talented and educated we are lucky to have Katerina in the Enable2 interpreting team. She completes many sessions for us alongside working in the Client Services Team, putting those amazing language abilities to use!

Today gives us a time to reflect on the many complexities and wonderfulness that make up the English language. Katerina shows us here that no matter how many times “Ee by gum!” may have been unexpectedly posed to her, the UK is a place in which she feels settled. I wanted to leave you with another fact:

Fact # 2 Did you know that the English language is highly ranked as one of the happiest languages in the world. And to make the language an even happier one, the word ‘happy’ is used three times more often than the word ‘sad'. How amazing!

If you have any other fun English language facts that you feel like sharing with us, then please don’t hesitate to comment! Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and don’t forget to hit share if you like what you’re reading on our weekly blog entries.