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European Parliament Hires 10-Year-Old Interpreter

Posted by samzenpus on from the what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you're-11? dept.

Fluent in English, French, Spanish, Mandarin and working on German, 10-year-old Alexia Sloane has become the youngest interpreter to work at the European Parliament. An amazing feat not only for her age, but also because she is blind. From the article: "'There is usually a minimum age requirement of 14 just to enter the European Parliament so for Alexia to interpret there at the age of 10 was amazing,' said mum Isabelle. Alexia has been tri-lingual since birth as her mum is half French and half Spanish and her dad Richard is English." I Guess I should stop bragging to my nephew about having a paper route when I was his age.

20 comments

  1. Broken Link by BandoMcHando · · Score: 1

    Since the original link seems broken:
    http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Alexia Sloane

    Also - slightly misleading summary - from the various news articles discussing this, it appears she won a local community "Most Courageous Child" award, and as part of it was given the opportunity to go to Brussels and sit in on and interpret for an environment committee meeting - not quite sure how much of a prize that is!

  2. There's a lesson in this by wiedzmin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You see what your child can accomplish if they don't spend hours in front of a TV?

    --
    Bow before me, for I am root.
    1. Re:There's a lesson in this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a terrible metaphor! So, it's not her skill or talent, but the fact that they managed to keep the blind girl from watching TV all day...nice...

    2. Re:There's a lesson in this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Her skill developed because her mind was not poisoned by television. What the fuck is wrong with you. Nobody is born with skills. One must train to aquire them, siting all day in front of the TV wont do.

    3. Re:There's a lesson in this by Chardansearavitriol · · Score: 1

      A lesson? Yeah. Kids can be made into databases. Why dont they get some math kid out to count pi? Seriously ,tired of this. Intelligence does not equal database. Thats why we have computers; rote memorization is easy if you beat the child hard enough. And these kids are going to go, well, pretty much nowhere in their life. The media has decided that this, here, now, is the pinnacle. At lest the blind girl will never be able to read how much people think she's special for being blind. What a miserable 15 minutes of fame! But, there we are.

    4. Re:There's a lesson in this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My mom had a saying once: TV is not reality. You see other people fulfilling their dreams and you are watching it So you are not fulfilling yours or your child not fulfilling his or hers. Amen Granted, TV has its merits sometimes educationally..but it should be just for that..

    5. Re:There's a lesson in this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know you are just trolling, but that's the most heartless thing I've ever read. I pray to God you never have children, or if you do, their mother gets custody so they don't have to live with your twisted view on children.

      It's rare to find a post on Slashdot that is truly disgusting, but this is it. There is something wrong with you.

    6. Re:There's a lesson in this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yea, and just look how happy she is in the picture. A perfect example of drones for the future.

      Nobody is born with skills. One must train to aquire them, siting all day in front of the TV wont do.

      I also enjoyed this quote from above. Studying languages every waking moment of your life isn't life either.

      With that set aside, yes having your kids watch TV all day every day is bad, I agree. Before I get off your lawn, nobody says anything bad about radio anymore, why is that? TV and radio (music, talk shows) were both forms of mindless entertainment.

  3. Not old enough for real work by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

    Her fluency aside, she probably doesn't have the vocabulary necessary to deal with the concepts dealt with at a parliamentary meeting. If she does, at age 10, I pity her.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    1. Re:Not old enough for real work by srodden · · Score: 1

      I pity her future boyfriends :)

      --
      Why can't we let people believe whatever they like? It's not like a little religion has ever hurt anyone.
    2. Re:Not old enough for real work by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 1

      If you knew how well interpreters at the EU parliament are paid, you wouldn't pity her...

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    3. Re:Not old enough for real work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we have a figure?

    4. Re:Not old enough for real work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The figure of a 10 year old girl?

    5. Re:Not old enough for real work by EvilAlphonso · · Score: 1

      According to friends and ex-colleagues, on the low end of the scale you'd start at about E4500/month after taxes + perks. Now if you're married, you get extra money... if you have kids you get extra money... if you never resided in the country where they send you, you get extra money and days off (the further away from your place of origin, the more you get)... did I mention automatic salary index, extra days off? The salary and perks scale is available on the EPSO website, interpreters somehow get an AST (assistant level) job paid as an ADM (administrator) job. Unlike IT people who end up earning (about 1/3) less than in the private sector for quite a good part of their career.

    6. Re:Not old enough for real work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i know it's hard because TFA is a broken link, but teh google or another search engine of your choice might lead you to the story...

      She wasn't "hired," she was a guest of her MEP for a day shadowing interpreters.

      And contrary to your assertion, TFA says she handled the technical language with aplomb.

      http://www.metro.co.uk/news/860967-blind-ten-year-old-becomes-european-parliaments-youngest-interpreter

    7. Re:Not old enough for real work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I pity her future boyfriends :)

      I think its safe to say she has a career or job for life. Parliament or Government has a great place for her to use her uncanny ability. If they didn't need her there then she wouldn't be and maybe we would not have known this incredible story. Evidentially, ten years old or not, there seems to be a permanent place for her. :) Im plenty sure her family is extremely happy about this. How many kids do we know of or even hear of that achieve this or to go to say work in Government at a young age? Depending on where we are talking, I would have to say, next to none. She is for very unique. It appears that she will be taken care of for the rest of her life in this position. Boyfriends? hahaha...I don't think she at all needs them! If anything, they will need her! Yep, she will be one very successful awesome lady one day..no doubt.

    8. Re:Not old enough for real work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many kids do we know of or even hear of that achieve this or to go to say work in Government at a young age?

      If my child wanted to work for the EU government, I would have failed as a parent. How can any caring parent let his/her child work for such an undemocratic and corrupt organisation?

  4. Why does this sound more reasonable? by xaoslaad · · Score: 1

    And how is this hiring? http://www.neatorama.com/category/society-culture/languages-society-culture/ Alexia Sloane is only ten years old, but she got the opportunity to work as an interpreter at the European Parliament in Brussels. Alexia received an exception to the age 14 minimum rule because she is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin, and is now learning German -and she does a great job interpreting. Did I mention that Alexia is blind? Alexia has been tri-lingual since birth as her mother, a teacher, is half French and half Spanish, while her father, Richard, is English. She started talking and communicating in all three languages before she lost her sight but adapted quickly to her blindness. By the age of four, she was reading and writing in Braille. When she was six, Alexia added Mandarin to her portfolio. She will soon be sitting a GCSE in the language having achieved an A* in French and Spanish last year. The girl is now learning German at school in Cambridge. Alexia has wanted to be an interpreter since she was six and chose to go to the European Parliament as her prize when she won a young achiever of the year award.

  5. Trilingual since Birth???!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trilingual since birth uh?? Really I must have been trilingual since birth because my dad can speak German, Swedish and English. I must have just forgotten how to speak German. No she learned the languages at an early age but not at fucking Birth or did she translate the summery. I am sick of translators who don't understand what is being written especially technical manuals like for car repair, etc. Yeah they can translate in sentence for sentence type translation but they loose important technical details or just fuck'um up.

  6. misleading description by Rxke · · Score: 1

    From another article, it's clear she won a prize to VISIT the EU parliament, probably had a go at a bit of translating, but in no way it looks like she actually works there...

    http://www.firstnews.co.uk/news/blind-10-year-old-is-europes-youngest-interpreter-i4231