ROBIN NIBLETT AND BILINGUALISM

 

Some think of me as a "criticón", a nitpicker, a faultfinder, who relishes criticizing others all the time on grammar, syntax, spelling, and... pronunciation. Nothing farther from the truth, believe me. To prove it, I recently watched on Spanish TV (rtve), commenting on the Ukraine war and Trump's antics, a certain Robin Niblett, speaking in educated, easy-to-understand, clear, and well-pronounced Spanish. I rushed to check up on him because the name sounded British. Sure enough! Dr. Sir Robin Christian Howard Niblett, KCMG, Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House, BA, MA, Ph.D., is a British specialist in international relations. You should have heard him speak in flawless and phonetically perfect Spanish. J.H. Elliott, the historian, spoke good Spanish but with a pronounced English accent. Ian Gibson's Spanish pronunciation is a laugh after nearly 60 years of residence in  Spain, but Dr. Niblett left me open-mouthed and wordless. Tom Burns and Felipe Fernández-Armesto are cases apart. This short note will prove that I can also recognize and applaud someone's good English or Spanish, and I am happy to do so! Dr. Niblett, congratulations, and I bow to your many accomplishments and linguistic prowess, proving that it can be done.  (PS. On another note, I am wary of experts on international affairs.)