06-04-2023, 12:41 PM
(06-04-2023, 12:29 PM)Chris KC Wrote: I feel we may be taking "thread drift" off the map... However I must remark that language skills in general are chronically undervalued in the profession of engineering in the UK. As a new graduate working for a vehicle manufacturer in the 80's I quickly found myself dispatched to monthly management-level meetings in France because none of the UK-based management team could muster schoolboy French; and yet I was denied the opportunity to continue French at A-Level and forced to study chemistry instead (which is no use to anybody...) Over the years I witnessed several appalling engineering "howlers" resulting from careless use of language or shoddy translation. Today's engineering teams are truly international in character (albeit not many ancient Romans) and the ability to communicate clearly across linguistic and cultural barriers is the No.1 job skill.
You just reminded me of my uncle, born and raised in Holland but spent his entire career as a professor of mechanical engineering in Canada. He also consulted on some significant projects (think the vibrations on the CN tower). He was a schemer and would typically combine trips back to the home country with a few lectures so that he could write off the trip. One of these times he did a lecture on valves, but being unable to remember the dutch word used the english 'valve' for the entire lecture. First question at the end: 'what's a valve?'
