What we’ve been up to! It has been a long time since we updated you on our on-going projects! At LingoStar, we like to work on a wide variety of topics and we learn from each of them. All our professional linguists are fully-qualified and come from different backgrounds. Therefore, we always have a team member able to meet your needs. In this new blog post, we shine the spotlight on the role of languages in the film industry. We also introduce you to some outstanding projects we recently completed. To what extent are language professionals involved? The film industry relies on a wide range of linguists. You might think of dubbing and subtitling, which are obvious fields of specialization for professional linguists in the audiovisual industry. But there are others you may not have thought about! For example, production companies hire localization professionals for movies made in other countries, or movies that have plots in which different cultures are involved. Indeed, even if the director might know the target culture, it is likely that the actors, screenwriters, costume designers, etc., will need training on the particular culture in the film to portray a true representation of that culture. Behind the scenes, language specialists can play a big role, too! As professional linguists, we contribute! Currently at LingoStar, we are working on an interesting project for a film series where we play both the role of a tutor and translator. The characters in the series often have to speak Latin, which is very interesting for us as Latin is often referred to as a dead language, but in this...
A decade of change in communications Can you picture yourself answering a simple “Ok.” when receiving a text? Ten years ago you certainly would have and it is likely that you didn’t even know what an Emoji looked like. With the exploding increase in use of smartphones, you won’t have missed that the language of Emoji has been added to the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. The 7001st language During the last decade, we have seen that people don’t use their phone as a simple tool anymore. It has quickly become a second version of one’s self. Your smartphone is your reflection in the mirror. You can easily tell whether someone likes a little colour in their life or prefers minimalism by looking at their phone case. The apps they download reveal a lot about their lifestyle. The wallpaper hints about their personal life. But what is betraying us in our way of speaking? Guess! The language of Emoji allows us to transcribe our emotions and tone much more efficiently than using words. How and when did the language of Emoji appear? It all started with the emoji’s ancestors : the emoticons. Emoticons were the very first common digital language. Combining existing characters in chatrooms allowed to insert emotions in a message. For example, if something made you happy you would write “:-)”. The first actual Emoji is born in 1999, in Japan, by Shigetaka Kurita, by request of the mobile carrier company DoCoMo. Their aim was to offer their customers a catchy and effective new way to communicate. For example, one could send an icon of a raining cloud...
Academic year resolutions for your children The backpack is ready, the sandwich is in the lunchbox, fall breeze starts to blow… it’s that time of year again: back to school! What resolutions have you made this year for your children? At LingoStar, we think that speaking foreign languages from a young age is an asset in every aspect of life. What is your opinion on the matter? Why is childhood the best time to learn a foreign language? Many studies prove that the best time to introduce someone to a foreign language is before the age of twelve. The language function is in development and soaks up vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation much easier than it will ever do in the future. Now, you might be wondering if it is not confusing for children to be exposed to foreign languages while they are still learning their native language. Scholars have demonstrated that bilingual children have the capacity to differentiate between two languages before even having the ability to talk. Therefore, they won’t mix them up when it is their time to talk, as changes are naturally made in their brain to assign certain words and sounds to the language they belong to. They also claim that it is totally fine to teach children two languages until the age of five. After this age, three new languages can be introduced. Is the study of a new language profitable to my children’s personal growth? Teaching different languages to your children is a very good way of providing education. It will improve their creativity, develop curiosity and give them more general knowledge. The...
Is machine translation about to replace human translation? Translation companies have always tried to provide the best quality translations possible. So far, using human translation seems to be the best option. However, some companies have recently announced new translation systems that would bring considerable improvements to the industry. Their promise is to provide high quality and natural sounding translations through convenient devices. Recent breakthroughs in the real-time translation field After adding instant image translation to its “Google Translate” service in 2012, Google launched its first headphones in November 2017. They enable users to have direct access to Google Assistant. They can listen to music; ask for traffic information; write emails and have a conversation in another language thanks to Google Translate. Google’s earphones – the Pixel Buds – are a real-time translating device that can translate 40 languages. Although its product gathered impressive press coverage, Google wasn’t the first company to develop this kind of technology. In 2016, Waverly Labs, an American company, produced the first earpiece language translator. Since then, real-time translation has been a trend that no company wants to miss. Several companies worldwide have been developing their own devices such as LeTrans, Travis The Translator, Ili Wearable Translator and Bragi Dash Pro. How do these new technologies compare to human translations? These technologies are very easy to use. For most of them, all you need are earpieces and a smartphone. With the translating earphones, two people who speak different languages can both hear the words in their own language instantly during a conversation, and straight in their ears. These technologies aim at making international communication easier....
Methods to become a certified translator in Canada Whether you want to be a certified translator or you’re just interested in learning more about this profession, here are some interesting facts that you may want to know. The translation industry in Canada in 3 numbers: Per capita, Canada has the highest number of university programs in translation The average translator salary in Canada is around $54 000 A Bachelor’s degree is often required (language major preferred) What is a certified translator? Certified translators are language professionals whose translations are considered valid and accepted as official documents by all governing authorities in Canada, regardless of the province or territory where they obtained their certifications. Certified translators are often specialised in one or two fields. They comply with provincial and/or territorial translation associations’ standards. These associations grant this title according to several criteria. How do they get their certifications? All certified translators, interpreters and terminologists have their title granted by provincial or territorial regulatory bodies. Each has its own evaluation methods and works independently. However, there is a national regulatory council responsible for the application of uniform standards for the professional certification to ensure translation quality and protect the public. The Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC) represents all certified translators, interpreters and terminologists in Canada. Most provincial or territorial regulatory associations in Canada are members of this council. In order to be eligible for certification, all translators have to be accepted as members of their respective provincial or territorial associations. Each provincial or territorial association uses different processes to select its members. These processes are well described on their...
How to Watch TV Shows and Movies to Learn New Languages Everybody learns grammar when studying a foreign language in school. However, is this really the best way to become bilingual? As a French-speaking person, I learned English grammar, but I can only write and speak with ease because I try a original solution to learn new languages with a few fun tricks. Why learn English? I began to learn English in elementary school at the age of 10 and continued on to my high school graduation. However, I always learned the same thing every year. At first, I found learning English pretty boring and difficult, but my growing love for music and especially for English-speaking artists led me to try to understand what was said in the songs I was enjoying. This was how my crusade for a better understanding of English began. The Attempts My first attempt was to read books in English. But when you do not have a high level of English, a foreign sci-fi book must come with at least one dictionary to understand every hard word you come across. You need to take breaks in your reading to search for the right meaning of these words. There is no doubt that this can kill the momentum and with it, your interest in the story you are reading. My second attempt was to change the language of my devices. I decided to change the language of my phone and my game station but the result wasn’t great, since I wasn’t really reading anything new. Since I had been using these devices all the time...
