Showing a ‘friendly face’ is what our military is told to do. How though do you win hearts and minds without conversation, without talking, without opening out a dialogue with the people you meet?
 
And what happens to the men and women who talk for us? Three hundred and sixty interpreters and translators have died in Iraq since 2003.

An Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project, led by a team from the University of Reading, has found that poorly organised language provision can have a major effect on the success of military intervention. The three-year project is the first study to examine the way war is spoken, and focus on the people who give a voice to the ‘friendly faces’.

Languages at War is undertaken with the University of Southampton and the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and the project has analysed two case-studies, Western Europe 1944-47, and Bosnia, 1995-1998. After examining the policy makers and the experiences of those at the sharp end of the conflicts, language was found to be instrumental in the operational effectiveness of troops on the ground.

Getting accurate and timely translation in the field, and understanding conversations enough to be able to intervene in them effectively to change hearts and minds, relies on having local interpreters who can do the job. They need to be properly selected, briefed and trained and respected as professionals in the theatre of operations.

In both case studies, linguists were not always seen as professionals with particular skills and knowledge. There was a tendency to use them for a variety of other tasks such as fixers and secretaries. At the beginning of deployments, there was little professional structure for these people, which meant they could be treated with suspicion as 'aliens' by the military with whom they worked.

Professor Hilary Footitt from the University of Reading’s Department of Modern Languages and European Studies led the project. She said: “From the First World War, on to the liberation of Europe in 1944, in Korea, in Afghanistan, soldiers have needed to talk to foreign allies and foreign civilians. Indeed General David Petraeus, Commander of US/NATO forces in Afghanistan has said the ‘human terrain is decisive’.

“Our research project has highlighted the need for the military to see languages as a vital part of their operations, and to plan for them accordingly. They need to respect locally recruited translators/interpreters, and make sure that these men and women have the professional structures to do their jobs properly. Languages are not an optional ‘add on’. They’re essential to winning hearts and minds.”

Experts from around the world will be gathering at IWM London over 7-9th April for a major conference which will conclude the Languages at War project.

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http://www.reading.ac.uk/languages-at-war/

AHRC Media Contact Jake Gilmore j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk  Tel: 01793 41 6021
 
 
Notes to editors:
 
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Each year the AHRC provides approximately £112 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,300 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

The University of Reading is one of the UK's top research-intensive universities. The University is ranked in the top 20 UK higher education institutions in securing research council grants worth nearly £10 million from EPSRC, ESRC, MRC, NERC, AHRC and BBSRC. In the RAE 2008, over 87% of the university's research was deemed to be of international standing. Areas of particular research strength recognised include meteorology and climate change, typography and graphic design, archaeology, philosophy, food biosciences, construction management, real estate and planning, as well as law. http://www.reading.ac.uk/

The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities. With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover well in excess of £400 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine.  www.soton.ac.uk

Imperial War Museum: The national museum of the experiences of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since 1914. The Imperial War Museum is the museum of everyone’s story: the history of modern conflict told through the stories of those who were there. It is an educational and historical institution responsible for archives, collections and sites of outstanding national importance. The Museum’s five branches are Imperial War Museum London, with six floors of exhibitions and displays; Churchill War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast; Imperial War Museum Duxford, a world renowned aviation museum and former Second World War airfield; and Imperial War Museum North, housed in a spectacular award-winning building designed by Daniel Libeskind. http://www.iwm.org.uk/