Archive for the 'English Language' Category

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The Importance of Translating Foreign Texts

Published on April 29, 2010 in English Language, Languages, Spanish Translation and Translation Buyers. 2 Comments

The reluctance of publishers in the English-speaking world to translate works from other languages truly boggles the mind. At a point in the world’s history in which we are more connected than ever before, America and the rest of the Anglophone world remain remarkably isolated from the literary contributions of other languages and cultures. The statistics are rather eye-opening: Just two to three percent of books published every year in the U.S. and Britain are translations, in comparison to close to 35 percent in Western Europe and Latin America.

Ignoring a bulk of the world’s literature represents a problem on several fronts. Aside from the fact that English speakers lose out on the obvious advantages gained by an understanding of different worldviews and perspectives found in foreign literature, as it turns out, a refusal on the part of publishers to translate books from other languages into English also does a disservice to non-English speakers the world over. “English often serves as the linguistic bridge for the translation of a book into a number of Asian and African languages.”  Lastly, a paucity of translated works means that the exchange of information and ideas that is cherished by free, democratic societies ultimately suffers.

Click here for more information on this story from Foreign Policy.

Transcreation: Specialized Translation for Marketing

Published on April 20, 2010 in English Language, Languages, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 1 Comment

The translation of marketing and promotional materials presents unique challenges, not only from a language standpoint but from a cultural one as well. Translations of advertising copy must strive for something beyond technical accuracy; just like the carefully-crafted original text, the translation of a marketing message must be both engaging and culturally relevant to the target audience. The incorporation of specialists in transcreation and cultural adaptation to the linguistic team ensures that marketing messages are accurately conveyed without sacrificing creativity or consistency.

Transcreation services focus on adaptation of a text rather than a strict translation, guaranteeing that – by remaining faithful to the original and reflecting the local preferences and culture of the target audience – the message achieves the greatest impact in every market. Transcreation entails a host of services including translation, copywriting, and localization, bringing together the creativity and contributions of professionals whose principal interests and activities center on content adaptation.

“The goal of transcreation isn’t to say the same thing in another language. Indeed, it is often not possible to say exactly the same thing in another language. The aim of the game with transcreation is to get the same reaction in each language, something that translation in itself won’t be able to achieve.” [1]

The translation of copy for the marketing world differs significantly from other types of translations such as technical translations, which leave little room for creativity, and some training in copywriting is recommended. Translators with a flair for creative writing tend to produce the best results with advertising, marketing, and media texts and are best suited to work as transcreators.

Transcreation demands an intimate understanding of the source language, continuous exposure to the local media in the target market, as well as a high degree of familiarity with the target audience. A specialist in transcreation will be able to evaluate why the advertising message works for the original group, and he or she will produce materials that are culturally adapted and tailor-made for the target audience. Ideally, translators, transcreators, and those responsible for content adaptation should engage the client in a dialogue about the brand and its intended message to consumers to maintain consistency and meaning for the target audience.

[1] Bad Language, Translation vs. Transcreation

Accent Reduction Techniques

Published on March 19, 2010 in English Language, Languages and Spanish Language. 2 Comments

Though many learn to express themselves quite masterfully in a foreign language, most speakers of a language other than their mother tongue can still be easily identified by their accent. Most of the time, an accent poses no problems in terms of intelligibility; indeed, many people find foreign accents charming. However, if your accent interferes with native speakers’ ability to understand you, or you’re simply looking to blend more with the locals, here are some tips for reducing your accent. Remember: it’s very difficult to completely eliminate an accent. Instead, your goal should be to neutralize your accent.

» Don’t speak too quickly. Native speakers will have a difficult time understanding you until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of the language. Speak slowly so that you can enunciate each word.

» Observe and imitate the facial movements of native speakers. When watching television or conversing with native speakers, take note of the facial movements of the person speaking in order to more accurately reproduce the sounds of the language.

» Record your own voice and listen for errors in pronunciation. Become more aware of the mistakes you’re making by listening to a recording of your voice.

» Read aloud every day for 15 to 20 minutes. This exercise will help strengthen the facial muscles you use when speaking a language other than your native tongue.

» Become accustomed to the prosody or “music” of the language. Each language has its own rhythm, intonation/tone, and pausing. Familiarize yourself with these patterns in order to speak more naturally.

» Listen to audiobooks and follow along using a printed version of the text. You can also make a recording of yourself as you read portions of the book aloud, and then compare your speech to that of the audiobook’s narrator.

» Keep your dictionary handy. Familiarize yourself with your dictionary’s phonetic symbols, and look up the correct pronunciation of words that pose difficulty.

» Create a list of words that are difficult for you to say, and ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you. Make a recording of these words, listen, and practice saying them.

» Consider working with a speech-language pathologist or a dialect coach for professional evaluation and feedback.

Borges as Translator

Published on March 5, 2010 in English Language, Languages, Spanish Language and Spanish Translation. 0 Comments

As one of Argentina’s most famed writers, Jorge Luis Borges produced numerous original works of fiction, poetry, and essays; however, a lesser-known fact is that Borges also made significant contributions to literature through his work as a translator.

Borges’ paternal grandmother was English, and he grew up in Buenos Aires speaking both Spanish and English at home. “Borges would later comment that the household was so bilingual that he was not even aware that English and Spanish were separate languages until later in his childhood.” [1] Borges also spent a portion of his formative years in Geneva, Switzerland, where he studied both French and German.

Borges demonstrated a talent for translation at a very young age. At just nine years old, his very first translation into Spanish – Oscar Wilde’s short story “The Happy Prince” – was published in a local newspaper. As a young adult, he began to write and translate poetry while living with his family in Spain, focusing on translation from English, French, and German into Spanish. Borges went on to translate and subtly transform the works of literary greats such as Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse, Rudyard Kipling, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and G. K. Chesterton, and he was the first to translate the writings of Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner into the Spanish language.

Borges developed his own theories of translation through three key essays: “Las dos maneras de traducir” (1926), “Las versiones homéricas”(1932), and “Los traductores de Las mil y una noches” (1935). In these essays, Borges “challenges the idea that original texts are superior to translations and rejects the concept of a ‘definitive text.’” [2] Borges also puts forth the view that alternate and possibly contradictory translations of the same work can be equally compelling.

Borges’ reflection on translation nourished his creativity, and translation formed an integral part of the author’s literary process. “The intertwined functions of writing and translation for Borges ‘became nearly interchangeable practices of creation.’” [3] In fact, “not only did he argue that a text could be enhanced by a translation, he went further. For Borges…a translation could be more faithful to a work of literature than an original text.” [4]

Sources:
[1] Swarthmore University, The Garden of Jorge Luis Borges
[2] Periódicos Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
[3] Perilous Peripheries: The Place of Translation in Jorge Luis Borges
[4] The Chronicle of Higher Education, Invisible Work: Borges and Translation

The Lost Works of Jorge Luis Borges

Published on February 25, 2010 in English Language, Languages and Spanish Language. 0 Comments

Jorge Luis Borges, one of Argentina’s most celebrated writers, wrote not only in his native Spanish but in English as well. In collaboration with American translator Norman Thomas di Giovanni, Borges penned a number of short stories in English including “The Library of Babel” and “The Lottery in Babylon.” Unfortunately, after Borges’ death in 1986, the author’s widow revoked publishing rights on stories translated by or written together with di Giovanni, rendering many of these works inaccessible to the public.

Borges’ working relationship with di Giovanni expanded his influence within the English-speaking world and helped catapult Borges to fame as one of the best-known authors of the 20th century.

Until di Giovanni can reach some sort of settlement with Borges’ widow and/or the publisher, English-speaking readers will have to be content with translations by Andrew Hurley. Sadly, hidden away under lock and key, some of Borges’ original works in English are doomed to remain unread and unappreciated for the foreseeable future.

Read more about Borges’ collaboration with di Giovanni and the resulting works in English here at The Guardian website.

Rules for Capitalization in English

Published on February 1, 2010 in English Language, Languages and Tips for Translators. 3 Comments

The rules for capitalization in English can be complicated. Use this list to help guide you when composing a text in English.

  • Capitalize the first word of a sentence.
  • Capitalize the first word of a direct quote.
  • Capitalize the first word of each line in a piece of poetry or verse.
  • Capitalize the pronoun “I” including its contractions (e.g. I’m, I’d).
  • Capitalize proper nouns (used to denote a specific person, place, organization, or thing).
  • Capitalize familial relationships when used as proper names (e.g. Uncle Bob).
  • Capitalize acronyms except for those that have become regular words, as in the case of “radar” and “scuba.”
  • Capitalize the names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages.
  • Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name; however, do not capitalize when the title serves as a description following the name.
  • Capitalize the titles of government officials when used before their names.
  • Capitalize the names of national, political, racial, social, civic, and athletic organizations.
  • Capitalize points of the compass (north, south, east, west) only when they refer to specific regions or sections of a country.
  • Capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles with the exception of short prepositions or the articles “the,” “a,” or “an,” unless they appear as the first word of the title.
  • Capitalize the months of the year, the days of the week, periods and events (e.g. Great Depression), and holidays. Do not capitalize the names of seasons except in a title.
  • When writing a letter, capitalize the first word of the salutation and the first word of the closing.
  • Capitalize words and abbreviations derived from proper nouns (e.g. Daliesque).
  • Capitalize the names of trademarks.
  • After a phrase ending in a colon, do not capitalize the first word if it begins a list.
  • Capitalize the names of God, specific deities, religious and mythological figures, and holy works. Do not capitalize the word “god” when used in a non-specific manner.

“Unfriend” Selected as the 2009 Word of the Year

Published on January 9, 2010 in English Language and Languages. 0 Comments

The New Oxford American Dictionary considered a slew of new words for the 2009 Word of the Year. The technology sector contributed heavily to the roster of candidates – particularly from the realm of social media – with new additions such as “hashtag” and “tweetup” growing out of the much talked about site Twitter. The world of fashion, the economy, and politics and current events also pitched in with words like “jeggings,” “Great Recession,”“zombie bank,” and “snollygoster.”

So, which new word took top prize? “Unfriend” was bestowed the title of 2009 Word of the Year by the lexicographers at Oxford, a verb meaning “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.”

For a more complete list of the contenders for the 2009 Word of the Year along with their definitions, take a peek at this article by The Telegraph.

10 Free Online Resources for English Language Learners

Published on January 7, 2010 in English Language and Languages. 2 Comments

Studying English can open all sorts of doors – it’s no wonder that there are an estimated one billion people currently learning the language! Fortunately, the English language resources you’re in search of are right at your fingertips. Explore the following 10 free online resources for English language learners:

ESL Instructors and Students The OWL at Purdue The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) delves into English grammar and mechanics and provides practice exercises and business writing tips. The OWL’s writing tutors even serve up individualized help online.

ToLearnEnglish This site features a placement/leveling test, reading and listening exercises on a range of topics, over 7,000 lessons for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners, and free, printable grammar and vocabulary worksheets. ToLearnEnglish also features chat rooms and forums that add to a sense of community.

BBC Learning English For those keen on British English, the BBC’s Learning English site offers up interesting features such as “Words in the News” and “Keep Your English Up to Date,” plus 200+ episodes of an award-winning English language teaching soap opera called “The Flatmates.”

SharedTalk Owned by the well-known language-learning software company Rosetta Stone, SharedTalk offers you the opportunity to chat live (either text or voice) with native English speakers from around the world.

WordReference This site offers an extensive set of bilingual dictionaries for translating terms to and from English and valuable user forums where you can pose questions to native English speakers regarding grammar and vocabulary usage.

About.com: English as 2nd Language About.com’s ESL pages provide comprehensive grammar lessons, vocabulary lists, idioms and expressions, and strategies to improve your English communication skills.

Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab Randall’s listening activities for English language learners at all levels focus on improving comprehension of the spoken word.

Merriam Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary Merriam Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary, geared specifically toward those studying English as a second language, is an excellent resource for intermediate to advanced students. The site offers up 3,000 must-know words with the ability to create personalized, virtual flash cards, as well as quizzes and pronunciation exercises.

Antimoon The site aims to “provide advice and inspiration to learners of English as a foreign language.” Rather than vocabulary drills and grammar exercises, what you’ll find here is an overall approach to studying English that differs in some ways from conventional methods. Antimoon’s lively discussion forum focused on language learning is the site’s most compelling feature.

International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) IDEA is a site for those English language learners interested in listening to and comparing the recordings of English accents and dialects from around the world. This site is a great tool for training your ear to hear the differences among accents.

Will Slang Be the Ruin of the English Language?

Published on December 19, 2009 in English Language and Languages. 1 Comment

The answer, according to some detractors, is yes.  But is slang really damaging the English language or is it just a natural part of its evolution?

Though colloquialisms have long been a part of the richness of the language, experts say that slang-filled “multicultural English” is overtaking proper English as teens’ preferred method of communication. Concerned parents and educators worry that their children’s inability to differentiate between slang and more formal speech could result in serious setbacks for them in the work world. As a result, some schools have gone to such lengths as to ban the use of slang; however, others disagree with such a hard-line approach. They argue that “slang is…a natural human tendency,” and they favor teaching youngsters about the appropriate uses of informal language as well as its origins, rather than trying to impose an outright ban that they say just won’t work.

Read more on the debate here at BBC News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8388545.stm

Google Adds Dictionary to its offerings

Published on December 7, 2009 in English Language, Languages, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 2 Comments

Google adds another language tool to its arsenal with the introduction of Google Dictionary.  Google’s new dictionary offers up results in close to 30 languages, including the major Western European languages, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Hindi.  Notable exceptions from the line-up include Japanese and Persian (Farsi), though surely Google will work to support these languages at some point in the future.

Dictionary results in English show the main definition with pronunciation, synonyms, related phrases, and “web definitions” pulled from various sources throughout the Internet.  Users can also star words for future reference.  Google Dictionary features a minimalist design that makes it ideal for mobile devices and those with slow Internet connections.  The absence of ads makes for a simple, distraction-free user experience.

Both monolingual and bilingual, bidirectional dictionaries are available.  While the results provided by the English dictionary and the Spanish<>English dictionary were fairly comprehensive, the monolingual Spanish dictionary only returned a few sketchy web definitions.  Many users would probably be better off sticking with an academic dictionary such as the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española for Spanish definitions.

Indeed, while Google’s new dictionary feature will be useful to some, it won’t be a solution that meets everyone’s needs.  “Alex Zudin is the owner of Paragon Software, which works closely with Merriam-Webster, Oxford and other renowned keepers of language to build applications based on their data.  Zudin says that Google could provide a service in the low-level consumer market, but higher-ed students and professionals would still buy the unabridged versions.” [1]

Google previously returned links to web definitions by entering “define:” plus a search term; however, Google Dictionary offers a more elegant solution with extra features.  In addition, many users were unaware of this search trick, even though it existed for some time.

Google Dictionary is a natural complement to the company’s other language tools.  The dictionary joins Google Translate, Google Translator Toolkit (which includes a basic translation memory (TM) tool and offers the ability to share glossaries), and a newly integrated search feature called Google Translated Search that makes it easier to search for results written in other languages. 

[1] Los Angeles Times, Google quietly rolls out Dictionary

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