Making the Irish Language work in Europe

MEDIA BRIEFING
Atlas/05/01
Making the Irish language work in Europe

While the arguments over the future of the European Constitution continue, London agency Atlas Translations is poised to benefit from a recent change to the list of languages used by the European Union (EU).

It was announced earlier this month that Irish, spoken by more than a third of Ireland’s 4.1 million population, will become an official working language of the EU, the twenty-first language to be accorded this status.

This means that Irish can be used in communication within EU institutions, and translation of all the Regulations, Directives, and draft documents will be necessary. It is estimated that 2.5 million pages a year need to be translated for the European Commission alone.

Clare Suttie, Director of Atlas Translations, explained: “Legislation approved by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers will now be translated into Irish, and interpretation from Irish will be available at European Parliament plenary sessions.” There will inevitably be a huge increase in demand for Irish translators. “Atlas can call on its database of freelance translators and interpreters to provide fast, accurate translation services,” says Clare.

Atlas, who have more than 14 years’ experience, have a staff of 10 in their Covent Garden office but are able to call upon over 6000 specialist suppliers with skills in all the languages of Britain and Ireland — not just Irish but also Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Cornish — not to mention those of the countries that joined the EU in 2004, including Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese and Polish.

Ends

Notes for editors

Journalists seeking further information should contact Clare Suttie on 020 7240 6666 in the first instance.

Atlas Translations was established in 1991, and is an established, professional company, with an excellent reputation within the language, communication and translation industry. Atlas Translations is a member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, the Association of Translation Companies and the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. These bodies monitor the qualifications and competence of members, and define codes of practice.

Services include translation, proofreading, subtitling, localisation, interpreting, BSL interpreting, voiceovers, telemarketing, copywriting, indexing, transcription, Americanisation, brand checking, typesetting, deaf and blind communication services, Plain English, fact-checking, research, cultural awareness training and much more.

Atlas is able to offer a complete range of high quality language, communication and translation services from start to finish. Teams of experts, who are specialists in their fields, work only in their mother tongue. Hence Atlas attract major clients in numerous fields – banking, pharmaceutical, marketing and PR, computing, charities, museums and airlines – from Microsoft to Glaxo SmithKline. Atlas work in all languages – from American English and British Sign Language to Xhosa and Zulu.