Three ‘big-bangers’ – Ivars Apinis, Valda Liepina and Liena Muskare – share their memories of the beginnings of the Latvian language department, 20 years ago. With some sound from Latvia (a waltz, a metal band and a famous poem), they recall their adventures, their excitement, their hopes, and also the many challenges they faced, with huge piles of documents to handle and numerous terminology gaps to fill in while slowly recruiting new colleagues. They also recall how the Latvian community grew and throve in those years, like one big expat family. 
Poem: Baiga Vasara by Edvarts Virza, read by Inese Ruse
Music: Melanholiskais valsis by Emīls Dārziņš, performed by Elise Artoisenet; Paliekas by Catalepsia; Days Past by In Closing

‘Invisible heroes’ of the European Union. ‘Voice’ of the EU institutions. ‘A line of soldiers’ marching on a battlefield. These are some of the images used by scholars to describe EU translators at work.

Prof. Łucja Biel, from the University of Warsaw, shares with us her fascination with the ‘complex phenomenon’ of EU translations and the development of what researchers call ‘eurolects’. She explains her main findings regarding the ‘Polish eurolect’, which she studied at length.

Malta. Just over half a million inhabitants — and a fascinating language, mixing Arabic roots with Italian words.  

Antoinette Camilleri, from the University of Malta, tells us about the tumultuous history of the Maltese language, and explains how it has developed since it became an official language of the European Union 20 years ago – in a country that is thoroughly multilingual.

Music: Days past by In Closing; iċ-Ċimiterju by Brodu; Tifkiriet by Simon Bartolo, performed by Amber and Mary Rose Mallia 
Poem: X'jibqa' fina by Adrian Grima, read by Stephanie Abood

"AI@EC network" , "e-briefing lab", "e-summary", "AI explorers", "DGT GPT Lab": what and who is behind these new tools, services and networks recently developed by the European Commission's DG Translation? Cristian Brasoveanu, from the informatics unit in DG Translation, tells us all about it.

Sound/music: Thomas Perissino and "Days past" by In Closing

For this special episode, 4 experts from the EMT (European Master’s in translation) and from LIND (language industry expert group) discuss what they do in their networks and how they wish to better work together, within what they see as a true “ecosystem”. Before their lively and enlightening exchange, we talk with 2 colleagues from DG Translation who tell us more about the EMT and LIND and how they brought them together into a brainstorming workshop.

With Britta Aagaard and Oleksandr Bondarenko (LIND); Alexandra Krause and Emilia Perez (EMT); Anna Kokkinidou and Inkaliisa Vihonen (DGT)
Music: "Days Past" by In Closing

Nike Pokorn, from the University of Ljubljana, takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of literary translation in Slovenia.

 Starting with a brief recap of the history of Slovenia and of the Slovenian language, she explains the crucial role translation has played in the development of the language and of the national identity, and how translators are still shaping modern-day Slovenian. [40 mn]

With an extract from the poem “Srce v alkoholu” (Srečko Kosovel), read by Miha Žličar 
Music: "Lipa zelenela je" (Miroslav Vilhar, Davorin Jenko), performed by Elise Artoisenet, and "Days past" (In Closing)  
 

What is it like to be a Quality Officer in DG Translation? What do Quality Officers do? How do they work? How do they collaborate with each other? And how do they cooperate with others, in DGT and outside? What is their impact on DGT translators' everyday work?
Mateja Arnejsek, Ilona Klemm, Renate Mueller and Karolina Stefaniak, Quality Officers in DGT, share their experience with us.

1 million signatures, 7 countries, 7 organisers: that’s what it takes for EU citizens to request new legislation from the European Commission, through the European Citizens’ initiative (ECI).
Barbara Walentynowicz, member of the ECI team in the Commission's Secretariat-General, tells us about this paneuropean multilingual instrument of participatory democracy. She explains how essential translation is in the process, and how her team collaborates with DG Translation every step of the way. 
[With an extract from the Euractiv YouTube channel – Declaration by Alain Lamassoure and Olivier Chastel]

Exposition sur l’histoire de la traduction du Ve siècle à nos jours, rencontre multilingue à la frontière hispano-portugaise, soirée artistico-culinaire sur les «mots qui voyagent» : découvrez quelques-unes des activités organisées par les antennistes du Département espagnol de la DGT à l’occasion de la Journée européenne des langues, le 26 septembre, et de la Présidence espagnole du Conseil de l’UE [en français et en anglais].

Mariano Martín Rodriguez, traducteur au département espagnol de la DGT, nous emmène en voyage dans l’Espagne médiévale, à l’époque où la langue castillane prend son essor tout en s’imprégnant des cultures arabe et hébraïque qui font alors partie intégrante de la péninsule ibérique. Une plongée passionnante dans l’histoire linguistique et culturelle de l’Espagne.