Jul 7, 2011 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, You have probably already noticed the vast number of languages that are available on the widely popular social networking website, Facebook. You also may have already seen the window below and marveled at the diversity of available languages: Yes, Facebook already has 69 languages available in its database, in addition to regional dialects and geographic varieties, such as English (US), English (UK), or English (India), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), or Spanish (Venezuela). Surprisingly, in spite of all the new features and constant improvements, Facebook is still free and easy to access. You may ask yourself: how come? How can Facebook afford to pay more than 70 translators for the 24,000 phrases currently present on the website? Well, it doesn’t have to. Here is the full story, courtesy of the LingoStar team! Contributed by Coralie Tripier and Cecilia Rose *** After having quickly conquered Harvard, the Ivy League, and later a large part of North America, former student and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had one thing in mind: making Facebook known and used worldwide. Clearly, the young CEO needed to translate the entire website into other languages, but that is not all: more than anything else, he needed to localize it – adapt it to different cultures. Sometime around the year 2007, Zuckerberg had a revolutionary idea: a translation by the Facebook user for the Facebook user! Since then, the Facebook Translation App – an application allowing users to translate and choose the best translations for the website – was launched. First, it helped translate the platform into Spanish, German, and French, before expanding to other languages....
Jun 1, 2011 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Our first name defines us, is part of us, and still, we often don’t think about its history. How many of us know the exact origin, meaning, and popularity of our given name? Very few, actually. Thus the LingoStar team decided to unveil the mysteries of our international team’s first names. Let’s take a closer look at the true sense (Étumon, in Greek), and at the reason (Logia, in Greek) – that is to say the etymology – of our Canadian, Czech, French, and Japanese names. Contributed by Coralie Tripier and Cecilia Rose. LENKA /leŋkə/ – Owner of LingoStar “Lenka” is a female Slavic name that was originally a diminutive of “Magdalena” or “Elena”, before being used as an independent name. “Lenka” is mostly to be found in Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Slovak, the meaning of the name is “light”, but “Lenka” is thought to be a clear reference to Magdalena, meaning “woman from Magdala”, a town that might have existed on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. However, there could also be another meaning to “Lenka”, or to “Magdalena”, as the word “migdal” means “tower” or “elevated and great”, in Hebrew. It is also a clear reference to Mary Magdalena, the apostle to apostles, the most elevated of all, hence the first one to see Jesus after his resurrection. CECILIA – /sɨˈsiːliə/ -Project Manager at LingoStar “Cecilia” is a female name derived from the Latin word “caecum”, meaning “blind”. Although it doesn’t seem at first “sight” to have a glorious meaning, especially considering that “Caecilian” is also used to describe a blind worm,...
Apr 6, 2011 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Planning a trip to Belgium? If so, be prepared for a complex linguistic situation. It is probably safest to speak English, which is neutral and likely to be understood all across the country, but maybe you are ambitious and want to speak the local language? Please read on… Contributed by Doris Anne Heidemann and Cecilia Rose. Thanks for reading! Linguistic Regions of Belgium Belgium is divided into three regions: Wallonia in the South, Flanders in the North, and the Brussels-Capital Region. In Flanders, Dutch (often locally referred to as Flemish) is the predominant language and Dutch-speakers comprise 59% of the Belgian population. In Wallonia, French is the predominant language and French-speakers comprise 40% of the Belgian population. There is also a German-speaking minority, mainly located along the Eastern border of Belgium and Germany. A small number of elderly people still speak local dialects like Picard and Walloon, however they will likely become extinct sometime in the future. The Conflict between Flanders and Wallonia Unfortunately there is an acrimonious linguistic conflict going on between the Dutch-speakers and French-speakers, which alongside with political conflict between the regions may split the country. Each side is struggling to uphold its respective culture and language. Caught in the middle is the Brussels-Capital Region, which is officially bilingual. Because of this status, both languages have to be represented by the authorities in street signage and for official matters. Interestingly, this does not apply to the education sector and schools are either Dutch or French, though in higher academia, English is quickly becoming the lingua franca. A Country Split in Two… or is...
Mar 31, 2011 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, A comic is a graphic medium in which images support a sequential narrative. The origin of the genre dates back to Ancient Greece. Originally a comic (from the Greek κωμικός, kōmikos “of or pertaining to comedy”) was a humorous work. It wasn’t until the 19th century when the comic in its now familiar form began to spread among European and American artists. When the first comic strips began to appear in newspapers in the early 20th century, they emerged as a popular mass medium. It didn’t take long for the strips to be gathered together in cheap booklets called comic books. Their scope soon embraced all kinds of literary genres, beyond just humor. Nowadays comics can be found in a wide variety of media in different countries all over the world. In France and Japan, for example, comics – called bandes dessinées and mangas, respectively – have acquired huge popularity, even finding their way into the national curriculum. However in many countries such as the US, the educational potential of comics is yet to be fully explored. Contributed by Doris Anne Heidemann. Thanks for reading! Controversial Debate about the Educational Value of Comics in the U.S. In the 1930s debates raged in the US regarding whether or not comics should be used for educational purposes. One argument was that they increase students’ motivation and help them remember their lessons more easily, thereby making the teaching process more effective. One study from back then revealed that by the 1940s, more than 90 % of all 8 – 14 year olds and 65% of all 15 – 18...
Feb 14, 2011 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, We hope 2011 has been fruitful so far and that we will work with you in the near future! In the following newsletter we discuss interpreting text during translation and the potential danger that has brought about throughout history. There are no two languages that are so similar to one another that it is possible to do a word-for-word translation. Because of that, no translation software can translate a complex text accurately and in the appropriate style. Think of all the difficulties that may arise when a text has to be adapted to a foreign culture. Considering this, a quality translation needs to be the product of human intelligence. Translators do not just have to have expert linguistic knowledge; they also need to have broad social and cultural backgrounds. This experience very often strongly influences the interpretation of the text. Please read on to see that this interpretation bears potential danger when controversial topics are concerned. Contributed by Doris Anne Heidemann. Thanks for reading. Violence Against Translators Over The Centuries Are translators considered an endangered species? They have been persecuted, tortured and even killed over the history of translation. But what makes translating such a dangerous profession? The answer is obvious. It is the age-old dilemma every translator is confronted with: should (s)he deliver a literal translation that is very close to the original, which might not sound natural, or should (s)he submit a free translation, which sounds nice from an aesthetic point of view but deviates somewhat from the original. The French philosopher Voltaire compared translations to women, advising that they are either beautiful or...
Jan 27, 2011 | Translation News
Dear Language Friend, Brrr, it is getting cold in B.C.!!! Winter is coming and it’s getting dark very early these days… So what’s better than sitting down at the fire with a nice hot drink and a good book?! Enjoy your reading and remember: very often a translator has had his or her share in making your reading pleasureable… In this newsletter we have a look at the U.S. translation market and invite you to follow us into the world of fiction… Contributed by Doris Anne Heidemann. Thanks for reading. Dwindling Translations in the U.S.: Why Many Foreign Authors Do Not Find their Way into the American Market Hardly any Translations of Foreign Works in the United States Are the United States regressing into cultural isolation? This is what American writers and linguists are afraid of, with hardly any translations from foreign authors being published in the U.S. According to the former Nobel Prize winner, Portuguese Jose Saramago “world literature is made by translators”. However, only 3% of the books that appear in the United States are translations from foreign languages. This figure also includes non-fiction books. Overall 340 foreign fiction books are published by American publishing companies every year: an appallingly low number! It was as far back as the Cold War when the last boom of published translations in America occurred, with the public wanting to understand issues beyond the Iron Curtain. Nowadays critics such as the famous Spanish translator Edith Grossman, speak of a “linguistic apartheid” in the U.S., while others such as the British author Tim Parks consider the lack of translations to be...
