What Exactly is DeepL? The DeepL Translator has taken off like a rocket and is going strong. It is the new miracle in AI (artificial intelligence) translation because it translates as fast as other translation machines like Google Translate and Microsoft Bing Translator. However, its translations sound more natural. So, what is DeepL? DeepL is a German company founded by the developers of Linguee. DeepL’s focus is to develop more AI products for the language industry. The company released its DeepL Translator in late August 2017 featuring English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Dutch language translation. Russian and Portuguese were added in December 2018 due to user demand. They continue to add more languages and next they will release Chinese and Japanese. How Does the DeepL Translator Work? Since DeepL uses linguee.com as a resource, it already has a huge collection of curated translation data at its disposal. It uses neural machine translation. This is one of the many approaches for machine translation, predicting the sequence of words in a sentence. DeepL, however, does not want to talk about the specific model they use. Other companies have made theirs open source. Nevertheless, Jaroslaw Kutylowski, DeepL Chief Technology Officer, says that they keep on top of the current science of machine translation and combine their findings with their own ideas and experiences having developed DeepL. The “Men vs. Machine” Debate The release of this unexpectedly accurate machine translator by DeepL has enflamed the debate about human and machine translation once again. While some translators fear for their jobs, others stay calm. They are rather interested in what is technologically...
It Means What?? Weird translations of restaurant menus Have you ever skimmed through a multilingual restaurant menu that was translated into you native tongue? Quite a few thinks can happen: it makes you laugh, it makes you shake your head in disbelieve or it leaves you utterly puzzled. Everyone needs to eat. Also or maybe above all in countries in which you do not understand the native languages. That is why translations of restaurant menus are so important. Google is not your best friend in many cases either. It once wanted to make me believe, that one Turkish dish means “infertile”. Why It Is so Important So, depending on the country and language, food around the globe will have different names and translations. The translation of restaurant menus can be one of the most important marketing strategies for a restaurant. If the exotic names of dishes are not translated, customers will not dare to try them, and thus, they will stick with the same old traditional food. There is no room for innovation at a restaurant where customers always order the same dishes. On the other hand, some restaurants translate their menus using automatic translation tools. As a result, you will find hilariously inaccurate translations. These translation engines often provide literal translations that make customers laugh and, above all, make restaurants look foolish. For example, take bonito a la plancha, a Spanish grilled tuna dish, translated as “beauty to the iron”. Not quite capturing the meaning there! Funny Examples of Translations of Restaurant Menus We thought it might be funny (and educational) to find some more examples to illustrate...
Ever heard of Patagonian Welsh? Down in the South of Argentina, in the Chubut province of Patagonia, you will not only hear Spanish or other native languages associated with Southern Argentina. You will also hear Patagonian Welsh. There are about 5,000 speakers. But, how did it end up there? How Welsh Came to Argentina During the industrial revolution, some Welsh people were afraid of losing their cultural heritage. Therefore, and among other reasons, they decided to immigrate to the US. But there they would be assimilated to a new language and lifestyle. So, they went looking for a better place to conserve their language, culture and tradition. They considered Vancouver Island. But they finally decided on Patagonia as it seemed to have everything required. After a two-month journey by ship, about 200 people arrived on the Argentinean coast in July 1865. They struggled greatly at first because of the very different environment and conditions they had to face. Luckily, after some initial mistrust, they received help from and started trading with the native Teheulche Indians. Finally, they established their first permanent settlement called Rawson at the end of 1965. Ten years later, after discussions about the ownership of the land with the Argentinean government, they received ownership of the populated land. The Welsh made the land fertile. It looked as if their dream had come true with schools, chapels and a local government in Patagonian Welsh. However, more and more people were attracted to the prosperity, Welsh as well as non-Welsh. By 1915 about half of the population was non-Welsh. Simultaneously, the Argentinean government made Spanish the mandatory language...
The Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences will land soon in Vancouver The University of British Columbia will host this year the 88th annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Congress takes place from June 1st to June 7th. It is one of the most important academic events related to the above-mentioned fields. Also, the Congress “brings together academics, researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners”. Their aim? “To share findings, refine ideas, and build partnerships that will help shape the Canada of tomorrow”. The World-famous Congress of the Humanities and Social Science will be hosted at the UBC This Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences is organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Moreover, it usually attracts more than 8,000 attendees among scholars, students, researchers, academic associations and partners. So, for a full week, they offer public lectures, workshops and public events. Last but not least, they share their research findings. As a result, “Luminaries, researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and students from across Canada and abroad meet”. They also “share ideas and engage in discussions that have direct importance for Canada and the lives of Canadians.” The Congress’s Main Theme Even more, this year’s Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences will revolve around the following theme: “Circles of Conversation”. Also, it “will open up much-needed space for dialogue, debate, and dissent”. Plus, it will “showcase creative critical engagements within and across disciplines”. For example, topics will be as diverse as sustainability, accessibility, global mobility, health, culture, education, etc.”. Eventually, it will emphasize the importance of engaging on art to be investigated creatively in relation...
How to get started New year, new website? Launching a new website can be a stressful experience for the creator. Many questions and concerns can arise, as there are a lot of elements to take into account: content, marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), analytics, design, images, etc. In this blog post, you will find useful tips to get you started in creating an inviting and resourceful website for a successful website launch! Keywords, Keywords, Keywords First of all, bear in mind that you should apply and review the following suggestions regularly. Doing it just once before your website launch won’t be as effective. To start with, you have to think of the content and the design of your website. Who do you want to address? Is your content interesting and relevant enough for your audience? But most importantly, and before writing any content, look out for the best keywords to use and work with SEO. You want to go for balanced keywords that have a high ranking in volume but a low ranking in difficulty and competition. Selecting the right keywords is one of your most challenging tasks. They determine how high your website comes back in the search engine results. If you’re interested in SEO and global websites, check out our post about it! Design and Social Media As for the design, you should test it with browser emulators. See if it works well with major search engines like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera. You also have to think about your potential clients, find a good strategy to get noticed and make your website stand out....
What Is Translators Without Borders? Translators Without Borders (TWB) is an independent, non-profit association. It started in 1993, helping non-governmental organisations (NGO) with language barriers around the world. TWB provides free and professional translations that could help those who are not multilingual to get useful information for their health and well-being. Translators Without Borders is associated with Traducteurs Sans Frontières, also a non-profit organization founded in 1993 by Lori Thicke and Ros Smith-Thomas. Goals and Achievements The goal of associations like Translators Without Borders and Traducteurs Sans Frontières is to connect the world’s volunteer translators with non-governmental organisations whose focal point is health, nutrition and education. By providing free translations, they allow the NGO to save money. Because they don’t have to spend money on translators, they can spend the savings on the cause itself. Every year, the two organizations contribute over six million translated words to non-governmental organizations. Among others for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Médecins du Monde, Action Against Hunger, Oxfam, UNICEF and Handicap International. However, this is not enough to cover all of the need. A large number of other organizations still need help breaking language barriers in many countries. TWB are doing their best to improve the situation. They have developed an open digital platform, established an organizational structure, opened better communication between NGOs and TWB workers and translators, and created a training center for translators in Kenya in 2012 to help translate life-saving health information into African languages. Working in Translation Is Important Are you a professional translator and wish to play a role in the success of TWB? Why not apply...
Sliding from Chilean Christmas into New Year’s After all the Christmas celebrations, we are looking forward to the next event: The New Year! The New Year approaches in every part of the world, for some sooner, and for some later, like in China or India. But isn’t it interesting how both similar and different traditions and the conditions they are celebrated in around the world can be? With that in mind, let’s have a look at Chilean Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Christmas in Chile For children, the school holidays have just begun. The hot sun burns your skin during Chilean Christmas while you walk along the beach sipping a refreshing beverage and contemplating the Christmas decorations in the gardens and on the streets. There are people dressed up as Santa Claus in his typical red suit and white beard. It is too hot to hang chocolates on the Christmas trees since they would melt. Also the Christmas trees look like firs but are made of plastic due to the different flora. Chile is a mainly Catholic country and many religious traditions apply here as well as in other Christian countries. They have nativity scenes, for example, and go to a church service after dinner that is called Misa del Gallo. What’s more, Chilean Christmas dinner is quite late around 9 pm to 10 pm, often having an asado, a barbecue outside. There are also dinner types more familiar to minds of Northern Hemispherers, however, like turkey (or any other type of meat) and papas duquesas, Dutchess potatoes. After the late dinner and the church service, Chilean people open...
Gibraltar as a Country Within a Country You drove all the way through Spain. You passed by the dry Andalusian landscape and heard Spanish at every corner. Until you have to stop at the border. But it is not the border to France. It is on the opposite side of the country, at the very Southern tip of Spain. It is just a tiny corner of the Iberian Peninsula at its closest point to Africa: Welcome to multicultural Gibraltar. The Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar has always been a very attractive destination since time memorial. Despite its location, this wonderful gem is actually part of the United Kingdom since 1713 with the signing of the Utrecht Treaty designating it as one of the British Overseas Territories (BOTs). Gibraltar is only 7 km2 of surface and a crossroads of different cultures, religions and languages embracing people from all over the world. You can hear people speaking on the street with their strong conservative British accent while watching the typical Sevillana dance and tasting the Genoese panissa. If you love nature, don’t miss the chance to climb The Rock and see the wild monkeys. Visit one of the 150 caves, or just relax on one of the beaches all around the coastline. English as the Official Language and Spanish Wide Spoken As a part of the United Kingdom, this little isthmus has English as its official language. But its proximity to Spain makes the variety of English highly influenced by an Andalusian dialect. The two different languages find themselves in a diglossia situation. That means they have different roles in...
Christmas Spirit Celebration or Winter Solstice Celebration? These two phrases have been around the world for quite a bit now. But, Christmas Spirit, Winter Solstice, what do they mean? Is there a connection between them? Are they the same celebration? When are they celebrated? Winter Solstice Celebration, also called Yule Winter Solstice is a time of great symbolism and power. It marks the return of the sun, when the days finally begin to get a little longer. Moreover, it marks the beginning of winter which also coincides with the shortest day of the year. The celebration usually is between the 20th and the 22nd of December in the northern hemisphere, and around June 20th and 22nd in the Southern hemisphere. People has been celebrating this major Pagan festival with rituals since before medieval times. It is an originally Nordic tradition that made the burning of a Yule Log its main attraction. Nowadays, terms similar to Yule are used in the Nordic countries to refer to Christmas and its religious rites and holidays of the season. Christmas Spirit Celebration The Christmas Spirit Celebration also has a Nordic origin. It is usually celebrated around the same times as the Winter Solstice Celebration, but it is mainly celebrated in Hispanic countries. It is said that when winter solstice begins, the Christmas Spirit comes down to earth and visits all men of good will who welcome it to their homes with rituals. These rituals bring prosperity, peace, good energy, and love in the new year. If you are interested in Christmas traditions around the world, look here. Steps for a Christmas Spirit Celebration People...
Global Websites for International Audiences If you have a website, it surely is one of your priorities to make it to the top of search engine results. To achieve this, having an excellent SEO strategy is essential. How about expanding your website to international audiences? Do you have to adopt a similar strategy or does it have to be different? Have a look at this article to create global websites! The Importance of Search Engines SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a straightforward concept consisting in making sure a website comes up at the top of search engine results for terms and sentences relevant to the website’s content. In other words, SEO allows users to find the best websites on the web depending on the keywords used in the said search engine. If you have a good SEO strategy, you are most likely to have a successful website! But what if you wish to expand your website to foreign language markets? Your Target Search Engine in a Foreign Country First, you have to ask yourself, can your website be in the target country’s language? You also must not forget to consider the culture of that country, their consumers and most importantly what search engines they use. Yes, Google is not the only search engine. Let’s take China for instance. The main search engine in China is Baidu. In Japan, it is Yahoo. Another example, in Russia Google.ru is not the main search engine. It is Yandex, for the good reason that the latter is built around the Cyrillic Alphabet. So of course, if you have, let’s say, a Chinese website,...
