In our last blog post, we talked about the Spanish language, which is spoken all over the globe. This time, we are focusing on the culture associated with it. In this blog post, we set out some of the most popular traditions of Hispanic culture. About the word “Hispanic” and Hispanic culture We use the term Hispanic when referring to people who originate, either directly or through their ancestors, from a predominantly Spanish-speaking country, especially from Spain or a Latin American country. The Catholic religion It goes without saying that Hispanic culture is closely related to the Catholic religion. Take Argentina for example. Jesuit missionaries from Spain introduced Catholicism in Argentina in the 17th century. Since then, the Catholic Church has had a significant influence on Argentina’s history, as well as on the ruling class in the country. There are regional differences in the practice and degree of religiosity in Argentina. The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires. People consider it to be the most secularized region of the country. On the other hand, the provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Tucumán often show a strong sense of religious devotion. One of the biggest religious assemblies in Argentina is Señor y Virgen del Milagro (in English, the Lord and Virgin of the Miracle). People usually celebrate it in Salta. The event contains a large procession of people who walk, bike or ride on horseback from their farmlands and desert towns into the province. It’s also recognizable in a great number of movies or TV shows that include a Hispanic or Latin individual. They tend to carry the rosario (a beaded necklace with...
About the Spanish language Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world, beaten only by Mandarin, English, and Hindi. It is a Romance language spoken by natives in Spain and most Central and South American countries. In Spain, the variant is Castilian Spanish. Let’s talk about the different varieties of Spanish. There are many variations of the Spanish language. You can find them everywhere. Each country has its own variant. In Spain, the official language is Castilian Spanish and it has many varieties. In Galicia, people also speak Gallego (Galician). One of the things that characterizes the language variation in this area is the exclusive use of the past simple. Some languages have past simple and past perfect, and so does Spanish. Read on to learn about some examples! Varieties of the Spanish language: past tenses La Fundéu and La Real Academia Española are some of the institutions in charge of explaining the correct use of the Spanish language. They recommend the use of both past perfect and past simple. However, in some parts of Galicia, Asturias, and in the Canary Islands, people frequently use the past simple. According to some studies, in Spain the past perfect is more common when talking about today or now. Meanwhile, the past simple is used when explaining something that was done: last night or yesterday, for example. So instead of saying “¿Por qué no ha venido con nosotros?” (in English, “Why didn’t he join us?”), the inhabitants of these areas would say “¿Por qué no vino con nosotros?”. Varieties of the Spanish language: expressions In Spain, there is a misconception...
Discover Dutch and Flemish The Dutch and Flemish languages have many things in common. But they also have differences. Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands and one of the three official languages of Belgium. The population of Flanders, a northern Belgium region wedged between the North Sea and the Netherlands, speaks Dutch. However, the variant spoken here is known as Flemish. Flemish speakers account for 59% of the Belgian population. There are four principal Flemish dialects in Flanders. There is Brabantian, Limburgish, East Flemish, and West Flemish. But how do Dutch and Flemish differ from one another? Main differences between Dutch and Flemish The variations of this language don’t lay in grammar. The differences are in vocabulary and pronunciation. Usually, there are no changes in grammar; but in some dialects, the word order can change a little. Dutch speakers generally tend to pause between words; in Flemish, the words are often strung together. Let’s talk about the differences in pronunciation. Even those who don’t speak the language can perceive a variation in the pronunciation of different words. This is because the pronunciation of Flemish is more similar to French than Dutch, as Dutch leans more towards English. One example of this is the scraping G. The further you move south (from the Netherlands to Belgium), the sound of the letter G becomes softer, more like the French sound of the letter. The flow of words also becomes more relaxed. So we could say that Belgium has the softest version of Dutch (at least if we don’t take into account the African variants of the language). Do Dutch...
The vast majority of the people who live in the Netherlands speak English fluently. So do we need English and Dutch translations to target people in the Netherlands? In fact, at 70%, the Netherlands has the highest percentage of non-native English speakers in the world. The Netherlands is the only country in the European Union that doesn’t require foreigners to speak its own native language. This means that if you want to get a job, live, or even go to university there, you don’t need to prove that you speak a minimum level of Dutch. It is true that in most cases, students usually have to prove their language skills in the country’s official language before enrolling at a university; however, in the Netherlands, this is not the case, since many Dutch universities offer degrees in English. So compared to other countries, it is exceptionally easy to live in the Netherlands without speaking the country’s native language. About the Dutch language We may consider Dutch a small or not widely used language, but people actually speak it in several countries: it is the official language of the Netherlands and Belgium, where it takes the name of Flemish. People also speak it in Aruba, Suriname, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Germany, etc. Dutch has its roots in a dialect of Low German and a lot of its words come from English. This is why people usually say that Dutch is a mix of German and English. Dutch has 23 million native speakers all over the world. As we have mentioned before, Dutch is spoken in several countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, etc. However,...
Japanese words in English and other languages There are many languages in the world that are difficult to translate into English. Japanese is one of them. One reason for Japanese translation being really hard would be the unique development of Japanese culture. Japan is an island nation surrounded by the sea. For this reason, it developed its own culture and technology while adopting those introduced from the continent a long time ago. In this blog post, we will look at some hard-to-translate words that other languages and countries have adopted in their original form. With globalization, Japanese food culture is also spreading to other countries. Indeed, different Japanese meals and food items are being presented in the Japanese language in other countries. Some of the most popular examples of Japanese food names are sushi, tempura, ramen, and wasabi. Japanese translation and pop culture Another influential phenomenon is the Japanese modern pop culture. The globalization of recent years has led to the spread of Japanese pop culture worldwide, along with a growing preference for works that are uniquely Japanese. Two perfect examples of words being used in other countries using the original Japanese wording are Anime and Manga. A manga is a story that uses pictures and texts. On the other side, an anime is short for animation, wherein a cartoon has dialogue and music that cannot be heard in the comic. Thanks to these entertaining blockbusters, some of the Japanese words appearing in them are becoming widely used. For example, the word kawaii means cute or adorable. Japanese translation phrases derived from Japanese culture Another characteristic of Japanese culture...
Creativity in a language is one aspect of human intelligence and we express it also through language and translation. Furthermore, we have to consider that languages change throughout time. Neology is the term we use to indicate the process of the creation of a new lexical unit. Neologism is the product of this activity. One of the most difficult challenges for translators is the necessity to find the right word. This happens because sometimes the perfect equivalent does not exist in the target language. That is why translators need to create new words or neologisms. How and why do we use creativity in language translation? Creativity in language and translation is important in a lot of fields, for instance in the technological field where translators have to manage large language databases. Furthermore, they have to do some statistical calculations in order to produce correct and usable text. There are a lot of reasons that push a community to create a neologism; the creation of a new word can derive from the need to name an original reference. This is the case for a new scientific discovery or invention or a new social expression. Neologisms in different fields and creativity in language translation Creativity in language and translation and, more generally, neologisms appear in the following fields: science and technology, culture and society, politics, and art. Over the last few years, scientific and technological progress has introduced procedures and devices in our daily lives that were impossible to imagine before. As a consequence, we have to create new words, especially in the IT and communication field where all new terms...
