Invitation to Classical Chinese Poetry has been one of the most ancient and significant genres of literature all over the world. One of the reasons is its ability to express millions of delicate feelings. Chinese poetry is written in a way that enables readers to enjoy the beauty of the language. There have been many attempts to translate poems from Classical Chinese to English. As a result, these poems have become more popular around the world. In this blog post, we focus on Chinese poetry and try to explore its depth through a poem from a prominent Chinese poet so read on! What is Chinese poetry and why is it so attractive? With its long history, China has one of the richest cultural backgrounds in the world. Some of the very first elements of their cultural heritage appeared in the form of poems. Those poems used Classical Chinese (also known as Literary Chinese). They are far different from any modern form of the Chinese language we know today. So why haven’t they all been forgotten by now? In fact, many people still love and study these poems today. It is due to the sophisticated and beautiful way in which they express ideas and provide profound insights into life and beauty. Classical Chinese to English Although translating Chinese ancient poetry is an extremely challenging task, there have been many attempts to translate poems from Classical Chinese to English. Thanks to those contributions, we now have access to the world of old Chinese poetry. We’ve picked one of the highly appreciated poems translated from Classical Chinese to English so that you...
Some literary series enjoy more success than others… We assume you all know Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, or Narnia? In this blog post, we focus on two of these literary series to dig deeper into how much success they’ve had and how they’ve influenced us all. The Worldwide Success of Literary Series Harry Potter Translations Some literary series have seen worldwide success. Even if you’ve never watched their film adaptations, you may have heard a lot about them! We all know Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia. These are indeed four of the most renowned ones. But do you really know how they became so successful? Their worldwide success is due, without a doubt, to their numerous translations! Without the translated versions, they would have probably become successful in their original language and country but not worldwide. Do you know how many translations there are for each famous book series? Let’s focus on Harry Potter, probably the best example here. J. K. Rowling, a British author, wrote the Harry Potter fantasy series. She published her seven novels between 1997 and 2007. The books became immensely popular. They’ve received endless positive reviews and have met commercial success worldwide since the release of the first novel. As at February 2018, the book series has won multiple awards and sold more than 500 million copies worldwide. It’s the best-selling book series in history and it was translated into 80 languages! The first volume was even translated into Latin and Ancient...
Some data about the Bengali language The Bengali language, also called Bangla, is the official and national language of Bangladesh, but not the only one. “Bangla” is written বাংলা in the Bengali script. This writing system (brahmic script) is the 6th most widely used one in the world. The original inhabitants of the Bengal region of Southwest Asia are the Bengalis. 98 % of Bangladeshi people speak Bengali as their first language. It is also one of the official languages of India. Indeed, 7.1 % of Indians speak it. It is the most widely spoken of the 22 languages of India, after Hindi. Other communities speak it, for example in Pakistan, in the UK or in the USA. In a nutshell, it is the 5th most spoken language by native speakers in the world. It is also the 7th most spoken language by the total number of speakers. There are around 267 million speakers, of which 230 million are native. The evolution of the Bengali language The Bengali language can be traced back to 3500 B.C. to the Indo-European language family. Many assume that it was born from Sanskrit. But scholars and linguists believe that it derives from Indo-Aryan languages like Magadhi Prakrit and Pali. Modern Bengali uses words taken from Turkish, Portuguese, Persian or English, for example. We can divide the evolution of the Bengali language into three stages: Old Bengali, Middle Bengali and Modern Bengali. Old Bengali dates back to around 650 A.D. when priests and scholars widely used Sanskrit in literary works in Bengal. However, this is a bit of a dark area in the history...
English is the product of many cultures and despite being of Germanic origin, an important part of English language etymology finds its source in the French language. In Twenty Years After – the sequel to The Three Musketeers by French novelist Alexandre Dumas – D’Artagnan said “English is little more than badly pronounced French”. Several years later, George Clémenceau (early 20th century French PM) said the same. Is there any truth in their claim? To find out, we need to go back in time and look at English language etymology in its historical context. But first, here are a few useful definitions. English Language Etymology: Definitions Cognates Cognates are words that share a common ancestry. True cognates might not be instantly recognizable; they only share the same etymology. But they can also have the same spelling and meaning, or they can be loanwords or calques. They can be close cognates (same meaning but slight variation in spelling) and even false cognates (or “false friends” – same spelling but different meaning). For example: True cognates: to attest < attester, from Latin ad-testari, curfew < couvre-feu, from the Old French cuevrefeu (used in the Middle Ages when fires had to be covered and people had to be home and off the streets by a certain time), coward < couard, Old French.Close cognates: analytique > analytical, créatif > creative, banque > bank.False friends: magasin (FR) = shop (EN) not magazine (publication), douche (FR) = shower (EN) not douche (EN) (medical term or type of person), bras (FR) = arm (EN) not bra (EN) (undergarment). Read more about the etymology of words between...
Learn how to produce multilingual subtitles in your YouTube videos Have you ever considered adding multilingual subtitles to your YouTube or company videos in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, Russian or any other language? Do you see yourself or your company as a global communicator and multilingual content creator? Would you like to gain more exposure in different countries where people do not speak English as their native language? In this blog post and video tutorial, learn the basics of subtitling using YouTube Studio and how to easily add English and multilingual subtitles. Learning how to subtitle a video in other languages can be a lengthy process. There is not just the actual translation but also specific subtitling rules to follow. There are various subtitling programs, as well as different ways to display subtitles. Looking to hire professionals to add subtitles to your videos? Get a free translation quote here >>. How can you manage to learn it all? At LingoStar, we’ve used YouTube Studio to translate subtitles from English into French, Spanish, and Czech. We’ll show you the easy way to start creating your subtitled videos in foreign languages. By doing so, you’ll be able to attract viewers in multilingual communities both in your own country and worldwide. Are you ready to become a global entrepreneur? You’ll also find out how to use the closed caption option in YouTube where subtitles can be turned on and off. Furthermore, you’ll get to know about the differences between closed captions and embedded subtitles and how to handle both versions before publishing them on YouTube.YouTube offers the option to add subtitles...
The problems women of colour face in France… France is a country rich in cultural diversity, partly shaped by its immigration. In this article, we shine the spotlight on women of colour in France, the problems they face and their struggle. It will allow you to understand why, increasingly, women of colour are leading the fight against racism in France. Women of colour in France, and around the globe, are victims of both sexism and racism. In society, on social media, at work… Being different is stigmatized when it should be seen as something positive… A study published by France Stratégie (an institution planning the social, economic, environmental and cultural development of France) has shown that, in France, men have more working opportunities than women. And among all these men, Caucasian men have more opportunities than the others. So what about women of colour? Mentalities might be evolving but, unfortunately, racial and gender discrimination in the world of work is still deeply rooted. An example of discrimination against women of colour at work The French website Abenafrica contains numerous stories testifying to this sad reality. A 23-year-old woman from Martinique – a French overseas territory – explained that she had a team meeting at work. She entered the room and was about to close the door. Her boss said “Oh no, please, don’t close the door! It’s really hot today, just like in your country!” Her name is Émilie. She was born in Paris. France IS her home country. This is just one of the many examples witnessing the discrimination women and people of colour face every day. And...
