The Departments Co-ordination Office

Welcome to the Departments Office at the h2g2 Language Thing! If you've arrived here from outside the Language Thing, click the banner at the top for more details on what we do and how to join.

People

The Chief Editor is Kat. The Chief Editor's job is to oversee the entire Language Thing, open new Departments, and answer to the Italics when everything goes wrong.

The Editor is Joe C.The Editor does the fiddly bits the chief editor can't be bothered to do. He also keeps an eye on the Heads of Departments. A Head of Department is someone who can speak and understand a language to a certain degree, so that people with a language problem can ask for help. If you'd really like to learn a language, ask in the Department Office in the relevant department. If there's no Department for your language, drop a note into the Co-ordination Office thread below, and we will consider opening one.

The Assistant Editor is Cat-Eyes. The Assistant Editor does the bits left over and deals with questions and complaints that might come up. If you have a problem please go to the Assistant Editor before the Chief Editor.

Joining us!

So, you want to join us? Excellent! The easiest way is to find a department you like, register in the thread at the bottom (so your name can go on the page) and then join the Speaking thread. Please remember that, in accordance with the House Rules, Postings written entirely in other languages may be removed:

Postings or entries containing languages other than English may be removed. Because we have to ensure we understand a Posting or Guide Entry before we can pass it, languages other than English may have to be removed. It's also polite when posting to a Conversation to stick to the same language as the other Postings in that Conversation; posting something in a different language halfway through is not very constructive. -h2g2 House Rules.

We have discussed this issue with the Editors, and agreed to ensure that all Researchers speaking on the Language Thing post an English translation of everything they say in the same post. To ensure that the Language Thing stays in the favour of the Editors, and for the benefit of all of our speakers, please provide a translation with your postings. We also ask speakers to press the 'Yikes!' button for any offensive posts, or posts with a misleading translation. In this way, we hope to be able to self-regulate so that the Language Thing will remain a useful resource for as long as possible. Thank you.

How else to get involved

If you want to go one further than just talking, you can volunteer to help with some teaching. Teaching at the Language Thing is designed to be as different from a formal teaching regime as possible . The focus is on as much or as little as the speakers feel comfortable with, as frequently or as infrequently as you like. Although those who already have an understanding of a language will obviously be more comfortable in the Speaking threads, those who want to learn are just as welcome! If you'd like to help with a little bit of teaching, instructions are on each Department page.

Finally, we occasionally need a new Head of Department for a particular language. If you think you're up to it, watch for a vacancy, and ask here for details

Summary for those who can't be bothered reading everything above

Well, it's quite simple; get back to the main page, find a department which interests you, and get involved!

One last thing - happy speaking!