The origin of “troll”

Posted On March 25, 2013By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, The origin of..., Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

For most English speakers, the word troll, out of context, most commonly registers as a noun, perhaps due to the striking imagery it elicits.  Cue short, hideous monster-men hiding under a bridge, waiting to capture unknowing passersby.  The horror of this imagery is no doubt why the word most strikes us in this manner—as a noun— but the specificity of it contributes too.  That is, as a contemporary noun, troll’s imagery does not vary, although historically it has.

For instance, in the early to mid nineteenth century, troll (along with its alternate spelling, trowl) was a sort of drinking song that could be repeated indefinitely.  Even earlier (1570-1670), it was used to describe a wheel.  The connection between these two meanings is not a difficult for one to discern.  Save that they were used in England, the etymological origin of these varieties is unclear, which perhaps contributed to their diminished use and eventual obsolescence.

The surviving meaning, though, has clearer roots.  The Oxford English Dictionary describes troll as: “One of a race of supernatural beings formerly conceived as giants, now, in Denmark and Sweden, as dwarfs or imps, supposed to inhabit caves or subterranean dwellings.”  Early Scandinavian mythology has survived much like Greek mythology, and today transcends many languages and disciplines.  But of course, like with any language, some words simple do not translate.  The noun troll, it seems, is one such example.

Poster of Troll Movie

However, in contemporary context, troll is most commonly used as a verb.  This use likely originates from the Old French troller, a hunting term: “to quest, to go in quest of game, without purpose”.  Subsequent adapted use in Old English stripped the hunting imagery from the term, so that it could be applied to any sort of directionless rambling or movement.

Although Modern English has retained the traditional use in some cases (e.g. “to troll for fish”), it has also adapted it in an interesting manner that seems to incorporate the noun troll as well.  That is, to troll, in Internet speak, or to post deliberately antagonistic messages on chat boards or other forums, without any discernable goal besides disruption.  In this use, we have both the lack of direction and purpose, as well as the scary imagery of a troll, for such troll messages (or trolling) are often intentionally offensive and vicious.  In the same manner a troll a bridge snatches up victims, or a hunter or fisherman trolls for any and all game, so too are Internet trolls indiscriminate.

Image source: getsatisfaction.com

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Difficulties of ‘sounding right’ when learning English or Spanish as a second language

Posted On March 19, 2013By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

When learners of any non-native language reach a level of intermediate-to-advanced comprehension, new preoccupations emerge.  In English, we might describe one of these as “speaking so it sounds right”, but of course the crux of this—“sounds”—is not so simple as the statement suggests.

languages sounds

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One obvious sort of “sound” is pronunciation, the predictable ways of saying vowels and consonants.  For native English speakers learning Spanish, this is above all an effort of repetition, as the pronunciation of all vowels and (most) consonants is fixed.  Once you learn the patterns, you’ve just got to practice.  There are several variations, though; for example, the pronunciation of ll and y.

For native Spanish speakers learning English, however, the process is not so simple.  Although Spanish, like English, varies from region to region, these varieties are, once learned, predictable.  Pronunciation variance only truly exists for Spanish speakers who are exposed to multiple Spanish-speaking regions.  This is not the case for English, whose pronunciation system is fundamentally varied.  An easy example is the pronunciation of the a in cat versus that in cape.  The “rules” are complex and imperfect and, to an extent, mastering pronunciation is a process of trial-and-error.

Another sort of “sound” is the rhythm or isochrony of a language, and with this both English and Spanish learners struggle.  For native English speakers learning Spanish, the language can seem faster than their mother tongue, whereas for native Spanish speakers learning English, the latter can seem slower or unpredictable.  Again, a fundamental difference emerges here: Spanish is “syllable-timed”, and English is “stress-timed”.

Basically, in Spanish, all of the syllables should take the same amount of time to say.   Because the frequency varies from speaker to speaker (and from time period to time period), it is not accurate to generalize Spanish as a “faster” language.  In English, syllables last different amounts of time, but without any sort of diacritical indicators.  This is an understandably complicated system for many native Spanish speakers.   Ostensibly, one could perfectly understand written English without having the slightest idea of how to correctly read it aloud.

However, it’s also worth noting that these categorizations are imperfect—most notably with respect to the syllable breakdown in Spanish.  In poetry especially, but in everyday speech as well, Spanish often exhibits elision, or the limiting or even complete omission of syllables.  This most commonly occurs in the present perfect form; for example, when saying he elegido (I have chosen), likely the first two syllables would be nearly synthesized to one.  This is understandably difficult for non-native Spanish speakers to recognize in speech, let alone authentically reproduce.

Keeping these aspects of sound in mind, both English and Spanish learners will be able to not only speak more correctly, but improve their listening comprehension skills.  Furthermore, reading in the second language will achieve new texture, for the voices—be they of particular characters or the narrator—will begin to resonate on more than a visual level.

When learners of any non-native language reach a level of intermediate-to-advanced comprehension, new preoccupations emerge.  In English, we might describe one of these as “speaking so it sounds right”, but of course the crux of this—“sounds”—is not so simple as the statement suggests.

One obvious sort of “sound” is pronunciation, the predictable ways of saying vowels and consonants.  For native English speakers learning Spanish, this is above all an effort of repetition, as the pronunciation of all vowels and (most) consonants is fixed.  Once you learn the patterns, you’ve just got to practice.  There are several variations, though; for example, the pronunciation of ll and y. 

For native Spanish speakers learning English, however, the process is not so simple.  Although Spanish, like English, varies from region to region, these varieties are, once learned, predictable.  Pronunciation variance only truly exists for Spanish speakers who are exposed to multiple Spanish-speaking regions.  This is not the case for English, whose pronunciation system is fundamentally varied.  An easy example is the pronunciation of the a in cat versus that in cape.  The “rules” are complex and imperfect and, to an extent, mastering pronunciation is a process of trial-and-error. 

Another sort of “sound” is the rhythm or isochrony of a language, and with this both English and Spanish learners struggle.  For native English speakers learning Spanish, the language can seem faster than their mother tongue, whereas for native Spanish speakers learning English, the latter can seem slower or unpredictable.  Again, a fundamental difference emerges here: Spanish is “syllable-timed”, and English is “stress-timed”. 

Basically, in Spanish, all of the syllables should take the same amount of time to say.   Because the frequency varies from speaker to speaker (and from time period to time period), it is not accurate to generalize Spanish as a “faster” language.  In English, syllables last different amounts of time, but without any sort of diacritical indicators (i.e. link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritic).  This is an understandably complicated system for many native Spanish speakers.   Ostensibly, one could perfectly understand written English without having the slightest idea of how to correctly read it aloud. 

However, it’s also worth noting that these categorizations are imperfect—most notably with respect to the syllable breakdown in Spanish.  In poetry especially, but in everyday speech as well, Spanish often exhibits elision, or the limiting or even complete omission of syllables.  This most commonly occurs in the present perfect form; for example, when saying he elegido (I have chosen), likely the first two syllables would be nearly synthesized to one.  This is understandably difficult for non-native Spanish speakers to recognize in speech, let alone authentically reproduce. 

Keeping these aspects of sound in mind, both English and Spanish learners will be able to not only speak more correctly, but improve their listening comprehension skills.  Furthermore, reading in the second language will achieve new texture, for the voices—be they of particular characters or the narrator—will begin to resonate on more than a visual level. 

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Frankenstorm: The Perfect Storm with a Perfect Name

Posted On October 30, 2012By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages/  No Comments

Can a new word become part of a language before the event it refers to officially happens? That seems to be what happened with “Frankenstorm” — the storm currently terrorizing cities and towns along the East Coast.

Paul Payack, the president and chief word analyst of Global Language Monitor, which tracks word usage in the English language around the world, suggests that the name Frankenstorm most likely became an official English word before the storm even made landfall. To qualify as having entered the English lexicon, a word must be mentioned at least 25,000 times in the global media, including print and electronic media, blogs and social media. And it has to be used in every place where English is spoken as the primary language.

The popularity of the word largely comes from the well-known literary character it refers to, Frankenstein, and its eerie occurrence so close to Halloween. But the extreme makeup and strength of the tropical storm-turned-hurricane is ultimately what connects it to the terrifying and destructive man-made character from Mary Shelley’s novel. Perhaps not surprisingly, the blogosphere is already lit up with debates as to what extent Frankenstorm is also man-made.

So there are several reasons that this ‘perfect storm’ seems to have gotten a perfect name … or nickname, at least. Let’s not forget she’s actually called Sandy.

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Take a Butcher’s at Cockney Rhyming Slang

Posted On October 17, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, English Language, Languages, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

What exactly is Cockney Rhyming Slang and where does it come from? Is it still used today? Was it developed for particular social or political reasons?

There are many worthy questions surrounding the use, creation and development of Cockney Rhyming Slang and there’s a lot of fun to be had too in the practice of this fun English language feature.

Where does the term Cockney Rhyming Slang come from and what is a Cockney?
The origin of Cockney Rhyming Slang is not completely clear. Many people attribute its development to the underground vernacular that was spoken by London thieves (in particular, those based in East London, Cockney being the term now used to loosely refer to Londoners with East London accents).

Cockneys were and – at the very core of it all  –  still are working class people from London. The term, Cockney, is derived from the word cockeneyes (a word which was developed in the 14th century) which means “eggs that are misshapen.”

The term is now used to refer to the majority of East-London born Brits, but when it first originated during the 17th century, it was more specifically used to refer to anyone born within the sound of Bow-bells, the bells found in the tower of St. Mary-le-Bow. The term is still used in a relatively derogatory way, but there are very few people who still use Cockney Rhyming Slang as a way of conversing on a daily basis.

The idea behind Cockney Rhyming Slang originating from London thieves comes from the idea that these professional tricksters wanted to develop a kind of language that authorities or spies listening into conversations would not be able to understand. However, as the language was never particularly widespread, no well-documented, it is difficult to be certain about this idea.

Church of St Mary-Le-Bow by Thomas Bowles, 1757.

How does Cockney Rhyming Slang work?
The title of this post makes use of Cockney Rhyming Slang as an illustration of how the language feature is constructed. The word “Butcher’s” in the title actually forms part of a longer rhyme (commonly understood by all Cockneys) even when taken completely out of context and when removed from the original and longer rhyme, as it appears here in the title.

The full Cockney Rhyming Slang which includes the word “Butcher’s” is actually, “Butcher’s Hook” which rhymes with the English verb “to look” and therefore when a Cockney wants to take a “look” at something, he or she might say, “Let’s have a butcher’s” without necessarily having to complete the entire rhyming and adding the word “hook” on the end of the sentence.

In another example, picture yourself at home looking for something to take to work that you frantically cannot find. A Cockney might suggest “going up the apples” in order to look for the missing item. “Apples” comes from the Cockney Rhyming Slang, “apples and pears” and “pairs” rhymes with “stairs.” Therefore, when someone tells you to “go up the apples,” he or she is actually suggesting that you try going upstairs.

Examples of Cockney Rhyming Slang
Have fun incorporating some of these popular Cockney Rhyming Slang expressions into your daily conversations and find out whether you have any friends who happen to be Cockneys and who can follow what you’re saying without difficulty.

“Bacon and Eggs” – rhymes with “Legs” – “She has such long bacons.”
“Bees and Honey” – rhymes with “Money” – “Hand over the bees.”
“Crust of Bread” – rhymes with “Head” – “Use your crust, lad.”
“Rabbit and Pork” – rhymes with “Talk” – “I don’t know what she’s rabbiting about.”
“Scarpa Flow” – rhymes with “Go” – “Scarpa! The police are coming.”
“Trouble and Strife” – rhymes with “Wife” – “The trouble’s been shopping again.”
“Uncle Bert” – rhymes with “Shirt” – “I’m ironing my Uncle.”

Videos on Cockney Rhyming Slang
Take a “butcher’s” at these two interesting videos on Cockney Rhyming Slang taken from YouTube (one of which includes the loveable Stephen Fry) whenever you get the opportunity and use the chance to brush up on what you know.


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Social Networking Verbs Enter the Collins English Dictionary

Posted On September 28, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, English Language, Tips for Translators/  No Comments

“Google It”
“Bing It”
“Facebook Me”
“Tweet Me”
We all use these phrases which have now become familiar household verbs and nouns, so much so that the Collins English Dictionary has made a number of updates recently to officially include these relatively new terms from the technological age in their English language records.

Language constantly evolves, which is one of its most beautiful and fascinating elements. It is therefore only natural that in a world obsessed with the Internet and online communication, the Collins English Dictionary should decide to officially recognize the importance that these terms have in our lives on a daily basis.

Recent Collins English Dictionary Updates
What is perhaps most interesting about the recent developments to the Collins English Dictionary is that the range of new language entries, reflective of our technological world, covers a really wide spectrum. For example, in addition to the more obvious inclusions, like the verb “To Facebook,” the following have also been included:

amazeballs
bashtag
Bing
cyberbully
cyberstalking
FaceTime
hyperconnectivity
IM
liveblog
livestream
SMS
touch-ready
tweetup
Twitterer
Twittersphere

English Dictionary Inclusion is still a serious matter
It is also important to recognize that the developments found in the Collins English Dictionary have been researched into and pondered over with care and deliberation. A few months ago, the Collins English Dictionary began to crowdsource for information on the modern uses of the English language. It is the first dictionary to work in this way and the move seems to be particularly pertinent to our time.

A word in any language can only really ever become a word when enough people start using it. Therefore, after receiving about 4,400 submissions and plowing through the information with patience and dedication, the Collins English Dictionary has finally released its newest version of the English language in use in 2012.

All submissions had to go through an intensive review process by the lexicographers employed at Collins to prove that it is being used widely enough and has sufficient longevity to stand the test of time. For this reason, submissions such as, “Mobydickulous” and “Tebowing” were, not surprisingly, allowed to make the final cut.

 

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Do you Write Correctly in English?

Posted On September 17, 2012By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Tips for Translators/  No Comments

Even if you think you know how to write correctly in English, particularly if you are a native English speaker writing in English, there might be a number of things you are doing wrong on a regular basis having unwittingly falling into bad habits.

English grammar is, when compared to most Latin-based languages, relatively straightforward, as there are less verb conjugations to worry about and less verb tenses to take into consideration. English writers don’t have to think about gendered adjectives and gendered nouns either, which makes English grammar even less complicated to learn and perfect.

Having said all that, it is fair to say that English writers, particularly native speakers, can be lazy when it comes to correct English grammar precisely because of the fact that the grammar is less demanding and it is at this moment that bad habits start to set in.

What are some of the most common English grammar mistakes?
Most English grammar or punctuation errors, even within the world of professional writers and journalists, show up in the use of commas, hyphens, capital letters, spelling, contractions (through the use apostrophes), the incorrect use of double negatives and the construction of compound tenses.

Thanks to the huge surge in technological development over the past fifteen years, the need for speed means that children are adopting text message writing styles for school-based writing tasks, replacing words like “you” with “u” and “be back later” with “b bk l8r.” The interest and emphasis placed on “good” English writing is not as strong as it used to be and it is becoming more and more evident by the day.

Is there a difference between British English and North-American English?


Yes! There are many differences between British and North-American English and those differences are important. The problem is that there are almost always so subtle that they slip most people by.

Differences lie in a number of areas including anything from small changes to spelling (one letter differences) and the replacement of one word for another, to different ways of phrasing an idea. For example:

1. “programme” in British English becomes “program” is the US
2. “industrialisation” in British English becomes “industrialization” in the US
3. “enquiry” changes to “inquiry”
4. “trousers” becomes “pants”
5. “she hasn’t gotten a handle on things” would always be written in the US as “she hasn’t got a handle on things”

Which websites are best for checking English grammar doubts?
There are a number of sites that you can visit to check all grammar doubts when producing a piece of written copy in English, but some of the best and most trustworthy sites include the following:

The BBC has a great site on grammar, pronunciation and language queries which helps non-native speakers improve their English grammar just as much as it clarifies niggling doubts for natives: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/

The University College of London (UCL) maintains an excellent online grammar course / resource site which can be used to put any grammar doubts you might have to rest: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/

The Student Room is another excellent site. It is more of an online community with lots of forum threads to hand which deal with all kinds of English grammar problems that you might encounter: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=634990

Wordreference is excellent for dealing with grammar queries that might emerge thanks to doubts that occur when translating. The forum threads are the most useful for checking out these kinds of doubts: http://www.wordreference.com/

 

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English Language Remained More Stable in the 20th Century

Posted On August 1, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, English Language, Languages, Tips for Translators/  No Comments

A scientific and linguistic analysis of data culled from digitized books shows that the English language remained relatively stable in the 20th century, with popular words and phrases falling out of favor at a slower pace as compared with past centuries.

The increased availability of digital information through initiatives such as Google Books makes quantitative academic research more feasible than ever. This access to copious amounts of digitized data allowed Slovenian researcher Matjaz Perc from the University of Maribor to analyze English-language books spanning five centuries. He discovered that during that time period, the English language has grown by about one-third. Additionally, he found that while the word “the” holds the distinction of most-frequently-used word between the years 1520 and 2008, the most common five-word phrases have changed quite dramatically since the end of the 16th century. In 1575, the top three phrases were “I have the honour to,” “Long Service and Good Conduct,” and “Lord’s Commissioners of the Admiralty.” By 2008, those top three phrases were supplanted by the following: “at the end of the,” “on the part of the,” and “in the middle of the.”

Perc found that popular words and phrases—referred to as “n-grams” in the study—went in and out of style much quicker in the 1500s, often being given the linguistic boot after just a few years. It wasn’t until the end of the 1700s that the English language’s list of top 100 phrases began to stabilize. Today common turns of phrase can live on for decades.

From a mathematical point of view, a snowball effect of sorts seems to be at work with these commonly used words and phrases. Once a particular phrase becomes popular, its popularity continues to grow and grow, making it less likely to be phased out of the language in the near future. And so, for better or worse, it looks like those well-worn clichés are here to stay.

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Spanish Words Disguised as English

Posted On June 13, 2012By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanglish, Spanish Language/  1 Comment

Long before the hybrid Spanglish came on the scene, the two languages—Spanish and English—were mixing it up in dusty border towns and far-flung tropical locales. Over the years, English has been enriched by the addition of numerous Spanish loan words, some borrowed with virtually no changes while others have been anglicized to a certain extent, either in terms of spelling or pronunciation. When American settlers began exploring the west in the early 1800s, they encountered an established Mexican culture that supplied the English language with a number of everyday words. Merchants trading in the Spanish-influenced Caribbean returned not only with goods but new words as well. Novel dishes and ingredients introduced to us through exposure to Hispanic cultures have broadened both our menu options and our vocabulary.

While languages such as Spanish and French have academic bodies—the Real Academia Española and the Académie Française, respectively—charged with maintaining the purity and integrity of these languages, no such body exists for the English language. English abounds with words adopted from other languages, and new words continue to enter the language, many of which can claim foreign pedigrees.

The following list of words, although far from exhaustive, provides a glimpse of some of the Spanish loan words that you probably use all the time but never gave a second thought as to their origins.

adobe, alpaca, amigo, armadillo, banana, bandoleer, bolero, burro, bronco, caiman, caldera, chili con carne, chihuahua, condor, conga, conquistador, corral, coyote, creole, cumbia, daiquiri, desperado, embargo, flamenco, galleon, gaucho, gazpacho, guanaco, guerrilla, hacienda, iguana, jaguar, junta, latino, llama, machete, macho, maize, mambo, manatee, maracas, mariachi, marijuana, matador, merengue, mesa, mescal, mosquito, negro, oregano, paella, pampa, patio, pasodoble, piñata, plaza, poncho, puma, quinoa, rodeo, rumba, salsa, siesta, silo, taco, tango, tapas, tequila, tobacco, tornado, tortilla, vanilla, vigilante, vertigo.

Can you think of any other examples of Spanish words that have snuck into English?

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English Words that Take on Alter Egos in Spanish

Posted On May 17, 2012By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation/  No Comments

As a non-native speaker of Spanish, it’s a given that certain words will occasionally throw me for a loop during the course of a conversation. What I don’t generally expect is that those words will be from my own language! A number of words such as chequear (to check) and frizar (to freeze) have passed seamlessly from English to the domain of Spanglish; however, the meanings of other words and phrases have morphed substantially, creating confusion among native English speakers.

Here’s a brief list of English words with alter egos in Spanish that I’ve encountered here in Argentina. Try to imagine the words being spoken with a Spanish accent to get the full effect.

un shopping…..a mall

zapping…..channel surfing

el living…..the living room

un lunch…..a buffet of hors d’oeuvres and finger foods/sandwiches

un tupper…..a Tupperware container or any plastic food storage container

un after office…..a happy hour

un ticket…..a receipt

un country..…a gated community

un jogging…..a pair of sweatpants, sweats or a tracksuit

tuning…..customization (usually in reference to cars)

un brushing…..a blow-out (hair)

un slip…..men’s bikini briefs

Have you ever been stumped by an English word or phrase that’s been adopted by the Spanish language?

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Should Translation Apps Be Used by Emergency Personnel?

Posted On March 22, 2012By TranspanishIn English Language, Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation/  No Comments

Every second counts in an emergency. In everyday life, a language barrier can produce frustrating or even comical results, but in critical situations, first responders can’t rely on pantomime or guessing games to determine crucial information about non-English speaking patients’ status or medical history. Doctors at clinics and hospitals frequently use staff medical interpreters, telephone language line services, and in some cases, video medical interpretation systems to help them interact with non-English speaking patients, but emergency personnel in the field rarely have access to these language aids.

 

A language barrier at the scene of an emergency poses several difficulties. First of all, when emergency personnel encounter a non-English speaking victim, they automatically lose precious time in assessing the patient because of the lack of fluid communication. Even if the patient speaks some English, the likelihood exists that a first responder will misinterpret information, as a person suffering a medical emergency will probably have more difficulty than normal communicating in a second language due to the stress of the situation. Misinformation about the patient’s status could actually be more harmful than no information at all.

 

Interested users can now download an app version of Google Translate—one of the web’s most ubiquitous machine translation tools—that functions on Apple’s mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In all, 64 languages are supported by the app. In addition, a speech-to-text function is supported for 17 languages, allowing for quicker and more efficient input of text to be translated, and users can listen to translations spoken aloud for 24 languages.

 

Machine translation may be used in a pinch until qualified interpreters can be brought to the scene or the patient can be provided professionally translated medical information, but such apps must not be considered a substitute for a professional translator or interpreter. As previously discussed on this blog [see “When Never to Use Google Translate”], machine translation has its faults and should never be the sole resource for medical translation or interpretation in life-or-death situations. Inaccurate translations delivered by an app in an emergency situation can actually do more harm than good to the patient. Ideally, instead of fiddling with their smartphones, emergency personnel (paramedics, police, etc.) should be completely free from the worry of interpreting what the patient has to say so they can focus on doing their job: administering first aid.

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