Audience lost before translation

THE Scottish Organiser of the National Union of Journalists was attending an international conference the other day, in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Just before it was Paul Holleran’s turn to deliver his speech, he was encouraged that the audience of journalists appeared to perfectly understand English.

A Finnish speaker’s perfectly fluent English had the delegates removing their headsets, offering simultaneous translation.

But the moment Holleran started speaking, back went on the headsets, in a ripple of activity around the conference room. As one delegate said afterwards: “We don’t understand Scottish.”

P.S. Holleran is a Scouser.