Brussels, 25/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - More than 3,000 teenagers from 720 secondary schools across Europe took part in the EU Young Translator (Juvenes Translatores) contest on Thursday 24 November. The 17-year-old pupils put their command of foreign languages to the test while trying their hand at being a professional translator.
The pupils translated a one-page text based on their choice of any of the 506 language combinations possible among the EU's 23 official languages. This year the theme of the texts was volunteering, to mark the European Year of Volunteering. European Commission translators will mark the texts and select one winner per country. In March 2012 the winners will be invited to Brussels to receive their prize from Commissioner Vassiliou. The competition has inspired similar moves in the United States and Turkey. (LC/transl.fl)