Jun 15, 2009 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Have you ever wondered where the word “bizarre” came from? Well, we hope that you had a nice rest since our last journey into the depths of the English Language history, because we are about to embark on another exciting journey through time. In the last newsletter we already became familiar with our wise and strong travel guide-the distinguished knight – Sir English Language. Last month, our guide has taken us to the very roots of the English Language and showed us the dangers and marvels of the Old English valley. Our previous journey proved to be interesting and breathtaking. However, there is still more places to visit and more things to learn about our beloved English Language. In this newsletter we will continue our journey into the fascinating Middle English town and Early Modern English country. We will meet famous people like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson. And so the journey begins… Contributed by Kristina Bobrova. Thanks for reading. Journey with the English Language Continues After passing through the most dangerous valley of the Old English, our guide takes us to the time of his youth and establishment – the Middle English Era – that was marked by the Norman Conquest in 1066, French hierarchy, and Old English traditions. After a long and dangerous journey that we took last month the reader is probably tired of bumpy roads and stormy seas and wants to stop at some comfortable and cozy tavern and perhaps see an evening play about love and jealousy, corruption and kindness. Thus, behold the town of Middle English! Who lives...
Apr 15, 2009 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Looking back at the history of English Language, it becomes evident that English has originated as a result of a long term battle and numerous invasions that happened on a little territory known today as the United Kingdom. Surrounded by water, this little island of approximately only 245 thousand square kilometres, has played a major role in the development of the world. Driving our attention on the road towards the historical contexts of the English language, it is important to make stops at the fascinating attractions such as literary examples and emergence of the new words to fully appreciate the evolution of such a wonderful tongue. Contributed by Kristina Bobrova. Thanks for reading. Meet Our Guide If the English Language was a person, he would probably be a strong old knight who has traveled to places all over the world and met Kings and Queens, presidents and vice-presidents, people of all cultures and ages. This adventurous traveler has met and had a coffee with Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson. He is an amazing storyteller and is always happy to take you on a journey back in time to tell you the story of his adventurous life that started in the world full of daring discoverers and life-risking invaders. But the reader has nothing to worry about, the experienced English Language is an excellent guide who can take you through all the hidden paths and fascinating monuments completely unharmed. Welcome to the Old English Valley First we will take a bumpy road full of unexpected rocks and trenches. Readers beware! You are now entering a dangerous...
Mar 15, 2009 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, “One-two-[CLAP]-four-five-six…Oh Shoot!” Now you may wonder, what kind of conversation is this? This, ladies and gentlemen, is actually a popular drinking game called “sam yuk koo” (three-six-nine) played by Koreans at gatherings and parties. So why is this significant? Well, games like these are often played by Koreans since alcohol drinking is an important part of their culture, and are used to liven-up the atmosphere and bond relationships. In this issue of our newsletter, we will tap into the Korean culture by understanding their drinking customs, and how the culture evolved. The LingoStar Team. Thanks for reading. Korean Drinking Culture Virtually everyone, but in general, men drink without limit. Koreans are trained to drink right from high school graduation, and some are trained even earlier. In fact, there are actually drinking courses offered by universities to help students understand their drinking culture. When freshmen enter university, a welcome party is held, and respectable professors and seniors offer drinks to these newcomers. And to seem polite, drinks offered would almost always be accepted by the gentlemen to seem courteous but ladies can decline without seeming disrespectful. What Do Koreans Do? While drinking with school mates, friends and colleagues, Koreans would often play drinking games to liven up the atmosphere. One of the popular games “sam yuk koo”, as described in our introduction, is often played. In this game, everyone takes turns shouting out a number; when you come across a multiple of three, you must clap your hands instead of saying the number. If, by accident, a number in the multiple of three was called out, the...
Jan 15, 2009 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Shhh… Do you sense it? The season of love is approaching your doorsteps. Just as spring comes, Valentine sweeps in and adds the hint of love in air. Couples prepare something special for their loved one, and the singles set sail on their New Year’s resolution, searching for their special someone. Dear Language Friend, In this issue of our newsletter, you will be introduced to the ORIGIN of Valentine’s Day in the West and the East, WHAT each country carries out on this special day, and HOW we can add the air of love under your wings. Contributed by Tiffany Ho. Thanks for reading. Heartfelt Origins In the West, Valentine’s Day began in the time of the ancient Roman Empire. February 14th used to be a holiday to honour one of their goddesses – Juno Feast of Lupercalia. During that period, young boys and girls carried on their daily lives separately; however, on the eve of Lupercalia, every young Roman boy would draw out a young girl’s name from a jar, and be paired up for the duration of the festival. At times, the pairing lasted an entire year, resulting in the couples falling in love and possibly marrying later on. At the time when Claudius II ruled, Rome was involved in never-ending wars. Claudius II found it difficult to recruit more soldiers to his bloody campaigns, and came to the conclusion that this was due to the sentiment of unmarried men wanting to stay with their loved ones. Coming up with a solution, Claudius II ordered all engagements to be cancelled, and that no couples...
Nov 15, 2008 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, In this issue of our newsletter, you will find out WHY Poland is a fascinating country, you will discover HOW not to call a Polish person, WHEN the Polish state was established, and WHAT we recommend you to see, taste and experience about Polish culture. Contributed by Monika Gwara. Thanks for reading. Polish Generalities Poland (Polish: Polska) is one of the largest countries in the European Union with a territory comparable to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and an overall population bigger than Canada’s. The establishment of a Polish state goes back to 966 AD; and throughout more than a millennium of its existence, it has had a substantial influence on European history, politics and culture. Poland as a Popular Travel Destination Poland’s natural beauty, mild climate and interesting historic sites make it a great holiday destination. Poland is a country of diversity; a visitor can stay at a seaside or lakeside resort, in the mountains or in the woods, or still in one of the lively and fascinating Polish cities! The most beautiful Polish cities include Warsaw–Poland’s capital city with its historic Old Town and modern city centre, Cracow–a former royal seat attracting seven million visitors a year, Wroclaw and Gdansk. Polish People Poland is a homogenous country, with almost 97% of the population considering themselves Polish. Approximately 90% of Poles are members of the Roman Catholic Church. The Polish word for a Polish man is ‘Polak’; however, when this noun is used in English (Polack), it is always offensive. A stereotypical Pole is stubborn and arrogant, but also hospitable and resourceful, whereas Polish...
Oct 15, 2008 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, In this issue of our newsletter, you will find out WHY we should preserve languages on the brink of extinction, you will discover HOW languages have been revitalized, WHEN languages started to disappear, and WHAT LingoStar can do to help you communicate in endangered languages. Contributed by Annie Pei. Thanks for reading. Rising Awareness Compared to a few decades ago, people around the world are increasingly aware of the number of languages on the brink of extinction and, as a result, are trying harder to save them than ever before. Whether it be the Romansh language previously spoken by a limited number of those living in Switzerland, or the Maori language based in New Zealand, more and more language revival campaigns are being carried out. There have been a few notable successes, such as the Hebrew language which is now firmly established as the official language of Israel, but as of recent times approximately 750 languages have become extinct. Nevertheless, many organizations are still formed around the world to raise awareness, and try to bring back languages that are on the verge of disappearing forever. Language In The Past One of the factors contributing to the endangerment of many languages stems from suppression of local dialect. Looking back in history, it’s easy to find examples of this. One well-known instance took place in Europe many centuries ago as one empire began its expansion and virtually conquered Europe. The Romans would bring with them their own language, Latin, and impose this on every citizen in their empire. Latin was the official language of the Church, higher education,...
Sep 14, 2008 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Have you ever been greeted with a nice “sup!?”, or has a friend wished you “hf” when you were about to leave for an event? Did his choice of words leave you with a puzzled face? Welcome to the world of Internet language. Those are actually acronyms and abbreviations of real words or even whole sentences! Lenka de Graafova, Managing Director. Thanks for reading. “thx 4 reading” What is Internet and SMS (Text) language? Though chatting on the Internet and phone is very interactive and live, it is by no means as fast as oral communication. Because of this reason, some other ways were developed to increase the electronic communication speed. Internet slang became one of the ways to increase electronic communication speed, and it is also used for texting. This is quite handy, not only in terms of speed, but also in terms of efficiency. Internet slang tends to be shorter than actual orthography, leaving space in the message for more words. As texting has a character limit, this is a good way to cram more information into one message. As cell phones are gaining popularity, more texts are sent daily. Many people use acronyms because it is faster, more comfortable and easier to type short words. This abbreviated language is of course preferably used in informal settings, e.g. between friends and family members. Acronyms and Abbreviations In Use Nowadays, there are so many acronyms and abbreviations around, so it is impossible to list them all. Below, we will provide a few examples of acronyms and abbreviations and categorize them into 5 forms of shortened...
Aug 14, 2008 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Ever complained about the unpredictable spelling of English words? Or even French? Indeed, these mismatches between pronunciation and spelling have been categorized as major flaws of our National Languages by poor spellers, and spelling errors have been a major “needle in the eye” for linguists since the Renaissance period and even earlier on. Contributed by Annie Pei. Thank you for reading. The Challenge of Words For many of us, spelling is definitely a challenge. Looking back on our elementary school years, some of us relive the glorious marks on our spelling quizzes whereas others… well… let’s just say those quizzes really weren’t golden moments in their lives. Sometimes, the errors are humiliating, such as when the word love mutates in a very sad fashion to become “luv”. But just when those unfortunate few thought they had their native language all deciphered, along comes the challenge of learning a second language. Suddenly, “random” slashes on top of certain letters appear (French and Spanish, for example), dots appear on top of e’s and o’s, etc. Gradually, the longing for words to be spelt the exact way they’re pronounced dominates the thoughts of those poor language students who are unable to spell in their native languages let alone others. School and other sites providing language courses induce nightmarish scenarios and the non-linguistically talented pupil has no escape. Change is Coming But lo and behold! Throughout the years, many languages have sought to reform the ways certain words are spelt. In the year 2004, France acknowledged changes to the spelling of approximately 2,000 words in the French vocabulary (“levraut” has...
Jul 14, 2008 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Over the course of history, there have been many who have attempted to create new languages. J.R.R. Tolkien would be a prime example, creating a whole new dialect used by the Elves in his famous series, The Lord of the Rings. However, there is one language that stands out in particular, one that even has native speakers-Esperanto, a language created with the objective of bringing the world together. Read on for further information regarding this intriguing tongue that was once expected to bring world peace and facilitate negotiations! Contributed by Annie Pei. Thank you for reading. The Importance of Communication It is no surprise that since the beginning of time, mankind has been striving to achieve universal linguistic comprehension. Politicians depend on the absence of language barriers to negotiate, challenge, and propose ideas that are understandable amongst other municipal, provincial, and world leaders. Economically, one of the key reasons why trade has been able to cross nations, oceans, continents even, is due to the work of business partners speaking the same languages around the world, or at least using interpreters and translators to facilitate communication. Even socially, language communication is a main factor in the relationships we form with others and how we interact with friends and strangers in everyday life. But there are times when no one is able to relate to another, posing problems for everyone. Realizing this, in the year of 1887, one man formed a new language, a language we now recognize as Esperanto. What is Esperanto? In 1887, Doctor L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish man of Jewish descent, created a language...
May 14, 2008 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Spring finally came to Vancouver! With the arrival of the nice warm weather, my spirits are lifted with the breeze. I personally came from Japan and this is my second spring in Canada. In spring time, I always feel like trying something new. Have you ever felt like that? So last spring, I started doing yoga. Since then I have been practicing yoga regularly, and as a result, developed an interest in India. In this newsletter, I will talk about Indian languages and one of the popular Indian exercises – yoga. Contributed by Makiko Hirota, an aspiring translator of Japanese at LingoStar. Thank you for reading. Languages in India In India, more than a hundred languages are spoken. The languages of India primarily belong to two major linguistic families – the Indo-European and Dravidian families. The northern Indian languages from the Indo-European family such as Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Bengali and Oriya evolved from Old indo-Aryan such as Sanskrit, while Hindi, Urdu and the closely related languages were strongly influenced by Persian and Arabic. The south Indian (Dravidian) language has a history independent of Sanskrit. However, in later stages all the Dravidian languages were heavily influenced by Sanskrit. The major Dravidian languages are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Indo-Canadians (Canadians whose origins trace back to the Indian sub-continent) In Canada, Indian community has been growing fast. There are close to 400,000 people whose mother tongue is Punjabi in Canada. With the latest census showing a 35% increase in Punjabi speakers since 2001, Punjabi has become the 4th most spoken language after English, French and Chinese...
