Esperanto, The Universal Language, Celebrates its 125th Birthday
What is Esperanto? Despite the international power of the English speaking world, Esperanto (celebrating its 125th birthday this year) is considered to be the universal language of our time by at least two million people who use the language every day just like any other. Created in Warsaw on the 26th July 1887 by the […]
“Spanglish” Finds Its Way into the Spanish-Speaking World’s Most Prestigious Dictionary
The Real Academia Española (RAE), the Spanish-speaking world’s language authority, is finally rolling out the welcome mat for the word “Spanglish” (or espanglish, as the term is written in Spanish). The RAE plans to incorporate the word into the 2014 edition of its master reference work known as the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española […]
The meaning of ‘fiaca’
Argentine Spanish is strewn with words and colorful phrases from Lunfardo, a rich vocabulary born on the streets of Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th century. Now considered a fixture of the Spanish language in Argentina (especially in and around Buenos Aires) and Uruguay, linguists cite the use of Lunfardo as a […]
English Language Remained More Stable in the 20th Century
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 […]
Tips for Proofreading Translations
Proofreading a translation before sending it off to a client is a final yet important step in every translator’s workflow. Careless errors not only reflect poorly on the translator, but they can have serious consequences for the client as well. Keep the following proofreading tips in mind to ensure that the client receives a polished, […]
The Value of Professional Translators
Ever since the advent of machine translation, naysayers have been predicting the extinction of the human translator. In their opinion, it’s only a matter of time before this new technology renders professional translators completely obsolete. However, it’s not as easy to replace a human translator as some would have you think. Trained professional translators possess […]
The Field of Translation Ranks among Top Recession-Proof Industries
With the global economy still feeling the effects of the recession, some industries are holding their own while others are floundering. Fortunately, the prospects for the field of translation look extremely promising, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projecting industry growth of 42% during this decade, a figure that exceeds growth estimates for […]
The Meaning of ‘Chamuyar’ / ‘Chamullar’
Argentine Spanish is strewn with words and colorful phrases from Lunfardo, a rich vocabulary born on the streets of Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th century. Now considered a fixture of the Spanish language in Argentina (especially in and around Buenos Aires) and Uruguay, linguists cite the use of Lunfardo as a […]
New Additions to the Dictionary of the Real Academia Española (DRAE)
Last Friday, the Real Academia Española—the absolute authority on all aspects of the Spanish language—updated its online dictionary by means of 1,697 modifications, including new words, abbreviations, anglicisms and more. This update constitutes the fifth revision to the venerable dictionary since 2001. With an average of more than 2,000,000 visits per day, the DRAE is […]
How Math Can Save a Language from Extinction
With more and more languages fading into obscurity each year, linguists and other interested scholars find themselves frantically trying to record the details of these rare tongues before they completely disappear. Ultimately, while a language’s salvation lies in the hands of its population of current and potential speakers, the field of mathematics may be able […]
