Re: interpreter strip
Settummanque, ("MAJ)
Sat, 26 Oct 1996 20:08:53 -0500
Hi Rob:
This should be a simple answer, if Marge can help us out a bit:
>Miguel, an exchange student from Seville Spain, has earned his Boy Scout badge
>and is now a member of our troop. As you may have guessed, the language that
>he has proven his ability to use is English. We could always get him a strip
>indicating his ability to speak Spanish, but his challenge has been learning to
>use English, not Spanish.
Write to Marge Weixelbalm, Administrator, Direct Service Council BSA
at the National Office address in Irving, explaining the same thing you did
here.
A short time back, about 1990 or so, there WAS a "American English"
interpreter strip made available ONLY through Direct Service for those Scouts
and Scouters raised in another country and was taught/learned English well
enough to translate. I know there's one because I wrote asking for one in
1990 and I got a note back saying that the strips were back-ordered. I never
got one, and I moved onward and forgot about it. We had a student/Post member
in my Explorer Post named Pak that spoke fluent Korean but had to learn English.
We were trying to get one for him.
The other alternative is to go the patch-company route, and write to Stadri
Emblems, Inc. in New York and ask them to create 40 or so of them for you.
They won't do any smaller than that, I'm told...and you can "donate those" to
Direct Service so that the next person asking can get one from the Council
office. I think, personally, that's how they came across the original ones
in the first place.
There are two major "variations" of English, I'm told...American English and
"traditional" or Old World English. Our British counterparts and those in
Commonwealth countries as well as most of Canada speak "Old World
English"; while us Yanks speak "American English", full of words that are
spicy and hard to interprete let alone understand their full meanings. I know..
the past week, an interpreter traveled with me translating my English to
French....it wasn't easy.
>Suggestions would be most appreciated.
Hope that helps...If Marge isn't there (she was supposed to retire from
the Profession two years ago, and because of her special expertise, they
keep renewing her contract (she's not a professional...she's a professional-
technical employee, and the only one that serves as "Council Scout Executive"
on paper only (the Chief Scout Executive serves as the official Council Scout
Executive of the Direct Service Council; Marge does the day-to-day admin
stuff for him and the Council President, also the National President of the
BSA),
there should be someone there to let you know about the "American English"
strips.
Good luck, and if you happen to get an extra one, send it my way please!
Settummanque!
-----
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle)
http://www.vhm.com/~uscardnl/
(Brigade) Signal Officer, TF 21, 21st Theater Army Area Command
Kaiserslautern, Federal Republic of Germany
"everything I say is "on the record"; speaking ONLY for myself unless indicated"
personal inquiries via blkeagle@midwest.net or kyblkeagle@aol.com
professional inquiries via waltonm%po2.hq@taacom.kaiserslautern.army.mil
-----FORWARD in service to youth and the nation-----
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
