UK language capacity in the fields of diplomacy, international relations and security
As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague, recently stated: “Diplomacy is the art of understanding different cultures, and using this understanding to predict and influence behaviour. Speaking the local language is the essential first step in this process.”
The British Academy’s policy report, Lost for Words, is an investigation into the Government’s current language capacity in the fields of diplomacy, international relations and security. The report identifies and analyses the challenges to language capacity across government departments, and gives recommendations on how to address the deficit.
The report has found that in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world, language skills are gaining rather than losing their relevance, and that an understanding of other countries, their histories, ambitions, cultures, and political systems is imperative diplomacy and maintaining national security. However, it also found that “the lack of language skills among British officials and armed forces is both embarrassing and risks putting the UK at a competitive disadvantage.”
Click here for more information and an executive summary of the report.