Language Teaching: Learn how translation is helping – September Newsletter In September schools re-open in many countries after summer holidays. For teachers, this means thinking of new approaches and methods to make their teaching style more appealing. One of the subjects that requires a lot of thinking about is foreign language teaching and the role of translation. Have you ever wondered how teachers choose an approach to teach a foreign language? As you will read in our blog post, a lot of different approaches and methods have been used over the years. However, it is important to highlight that there is no right or wrong method to teach a language because every student is unique in his or her own learning style. Therefore, we can use different approaches. An important discussion about this teaching process is whether it is necessary to use translation. The grammar-translation method considered translation a useful tool to use. However, teachers haven’t always seen the use of L1 (native language) in foreign-language classes in a good light. Nevertheless, L1 usefulness has been revalued and today translation is a really valuable tool used when teaching a foreign language. In our September newsletter, you will find out more about this topic. Furthermore, at LingoStar we celebrate countries and their cultures each month. This time, we virtually travelled to Portugal, Greece, and Guyana. Read on to know more! READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
Ecolinguistics: How translation is helping fight climate change – August Newsletter Do you know that a language dies out every 14 days? And climate change is not helping. But how can language loss and climate loss be connected? August has been such a hot month with lots of fires and storms taking place in the world because of the planet heating up. But global warming is only one aspect of climate change. Despite the many events about the environment to raise people’s awareness, there is still a lot to do. The main issue is the lack of effective communication about the climate changes we are dealing with. Sometimes, we take the words we use to communicate for granted, but in some situations, choosing our words carefully is crucial. We just need to think about Africa, as you will read in our blog post, where little is being done to fight climate change. Moreover, people don’t speak English, leading to a lack of awareness of environmental issues. Therefore, translation has an essential role in helping people understand the meaning of global warming. In this newsletter, you will also find out about ecolinguistics, a branch of linguistics that explores the relationship between the language of a community and its environment. Furthermore, at LingoStar we celebrate various countries and their cultures each month. In August, we celebrated Argentine and Australian curiosities. READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
Poetry: How ancient poetry still widens our horizons – July Newsletter At LingoStar, we dedicate each month to an interesting language or translation topic. The month of July was dedicated to Chinese poetry. Poetry is one of the most ancient and significant genres of literature anywhere in the world. China can pride itself with a very rich and unique heritage of poems written in Classical Chinese. Thanks to translations from Classical Chinese into English, we can enjoy Chinese poetry even today. As you will find out in our blog post, the Classic Chinese is far different from any modern form of the Chinese language we know today. Although translating Chinese ancient poetry is an extremely challenging task, there have been many attempts and contributions thanks to which we now have access to the world of old Chinese poetry. These poems have been taken seriously in China, where even nowadays, people still read and honour these poets. Furthermore, in our newsletters we share cultural and linguistic facts. July was an important month because July 1st was Canada Day! We have also dedicated this month to four countries: Armenia, Poland, Russia, and China. READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
Literary Series’ Influence on Language and Culture – June Newsletter Do you realize the worldwide success of some literary series and how much they influence us? One of the many benefits of translation is that it allows literary masterpieces to become international. In this newsletter, we focus on four of the most famous literary series of the last two centuries. Let’s explore their translations and on-screen adaptations to understand their worldwide success and influence. Whether you are an unconditional fan of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Game of Thrones, or have just heard of them, it is undeniable that these series have greatly impacted worldwide societies. We’ve selected articles, videos, and events to make you understand the cultural influence of these literary series. We hope you find this month’s issue interesting! Furthermore, at LingoStar, we also celebrate special calendar dates each month and June was full of interesting dates to commemorate, from Father’s Day to International Day of Yoga, for instance. At the same time, we also dedicated this month to Indian poets and writers. READ THIS NEWSLETTER >> Finally, June was the month of LingoStar’s very first webinar about translation internships. Lenka de Graafova, our CEO, shared her long-standing experience of working with interns. Thanks to the participation of past interns, you will understand what a translation internship is about and how it can help you develop your translation career. We hope you start working in the translation industry soon! CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR WEBINAR...
Interculturalism: Cartoons & Asian Heritage Month – May Newsletter Did you know that May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada? Canadians celebrate it since the 1990s. It is a time to reflect on and celebrate the contributions that Canadians of Asian descent have made, and continue to make, to the growth and prosperity of Canada. Asian Heritage Month is also a time to remind ourselves that diversity and interculturalism are a gift and a strength. And that is the reason why we still have to stand against any kind of racism. At LingoStar, we took this opportunity to write a newsletter that focuses on interculturalism and the influence cultures and languages have on each other. In this issue, we’ve focused on the cartoons that shaped our childhoods across different continents. In particular, we’ve focused on the adaptations made due to cultural differences. We hope you find this month’s issue interesting! Enjoy! READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
How to subtitle videos in YouTube – LingoStar’s April Newsletter Do you want to know how to subtitle videos in YouTube? This month’s newsletter focuses on how to get a better understanding of how subtitling works and how this practice can help you go worldwide. At LingoStar, we have worked hard trying to provide you with information and tips on how to get started with subtitling your own videos. Also, April was a month full of special calendar dates. It started with April Fools’ Day followed by Easter and it ended with English and Spanish Language Days. At LingoStar, we commemorated each of those dates with a special social media post. We have created a newsletter that, we hope, will interest you and help you understand how subtitling works. Enjoy! READ THIS NEWSLETTER >> Furthermore, learn about closed captions vs. embedded subtitles, review our YouTube subtitling tutorial, or listen to Frozen’s Let It Go in 25 languages! Discover fun facts about Denmark 🇩🇰, Brazil 🇧🇷, Mexico 🇲🇽, and other countries featured on our Instagram account. Enjoy our April 2021 newsletter filled with language-related tips, events, and...
Black History Month Focus and the Current Status of Women of Colour in France Do you want to learn more about women of colour in France? This month’s newsletter is packed with news and resources about Black History Month. Also, review a wide range of translation projects that we’ve been working on along with revamping our Instagram account. March has also been full of special calendar dates to commemorate and celebrate. Firstly, black history was recognized and celebrated in Canada in February and we keep the conversation going on LingoStar’s social media. Secondly, March was about gender equality while celebrating Women’s Day on March 8th. Lastly, March was a month filled with French events for International French Language Day. We hope you find this month’s issue interesting! Enjoy! READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
How a Language Influences Culture and Identity The language industry is buzzing with activity! With so many interesting news stories, it was challenging to select just a few of them. International Mother Language Day guided this month’s theme. This special day reminded us of how a language influences our culture, defines us, and of the importance to preserve and transmit one’s cultural and linguistic heritage for the survival of future generations. With this in mind, in this edition, we bring you a selection of news articles, and our own social media and blog posts, such as our blog post about Variations in written Canadian, American and British English. We hope you will enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed selecting them for you! READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
Explore the Canadian English Language Variety – January Newsletter 2021 is now well under way and it’s fair to say it’s not exactly the start we would have liked. But we remain positive and we look forward to better days to come.The economic and health conditions remain volatile and uncertain for the time being. But the one thing we know for sure is how important our mental wellbeing is. We will continue to share with you news related not only to our industry and our projects but also how to stay healthy mentally and physically. As we look at how the translation industry is changing, a new year also brings new resolutions. In this newsletter, you will for example learn a lot about the history of the Canadian English language. So it’s time to plan ahead, as we give you a glimpse of what lies ahead and what to look forward to this year.Thank you for your continued support! We look forward to a flourishing partnership with our loyal and new followers, clients and suppliers in 2021! READ THIS NEWSLETTER...
Experiencing Different Languages and Cultures: An interview with Lenka de Graafova, CEO of LingoStar Language Services Vancouver, Canada We recently interviewed Lenka de Graafova, M.A., CEO and Managing Director and owner of LingoStar Language Services Inc., who told us why she decided to provide translation services in Canada and set up her own agency in Vancouver, and what her experience of languages and cultures around the world has been like. Who is Lenka de Graafova, M.A.? In addition to being the director of LingoStar Language Services, Lenka de Graafova is a lover of world cultures and languages. Together with her team of multilingual writers, she regularly posts articles on foreign languages and cultures on social media. She is also an expert in creating websites in foreign languages and wrote the ebook How to make money online, not just in Czech in 2016. She is now about to release a brand new series of Localization Guides and the Beginner’s Guide to Multilingual Website Translation in English, published for the North American market. You can also download her free ebook for a quick overview of what to expect >> How to expand your online business – An Introduction Guide to Multilingual Website Translation. Lenka, you’ve been living in Canada for some time now. What brought you to Canada? I have lived in Canada for 16 years now. I’m originally from the Czech Republic. The desire to experience life on the other side of the world brought me here. I studied translation in the Netherlands and the UK and I wanted to experience everyday life in an English-speaking country. My goal was...
