Accent Reduction Techniques

Posted On March 19, 2010By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Language/ 1 Comment

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

Posted On March 5, 2010By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation/ No 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

Posted On February 25, 2010By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Language/ No 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 20^th 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.

The Ladino Language

Posted On February 13, 2010By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language/ 2 Comments

The Ladino language permits you to travel (linguistically-speaking) through a time warp of sorts. If you ever wondered what Spanish sounded like in the 14^th and 15^th centuries, take a listen to Ladino, and you’ll be afforded a glimpse (or rather a sound byte) of the past. Also known as Judeo-Spanish, Ladino is currently spoken by approximately 150,000 people in Israel, the U.S., and pockets of Latin America.

In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain – Ferdinand and Isabella – issued the Alhambra Decree, giving Sephardic Jews the choice to convert to Catholicism or leave the country. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Jews fled Spain, settling in locations as diverse as Turkey and Greece, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Though forced immigration meant leaving behind much of their lives in Spain, the Jews did hold onto the language of their former home – Castilian Spanish; however, isolated from a Spanish language that continued to grow and evolve, Ladino remained largely suspended in time with grammar, orthographic conventions and vocabulary that reflect those of medieval Spain. Although exposure to languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Greek and French in the immigrants’ new communities contributed significantly to the Judeo-Spanish lexicon, 60% of the language’s vocabulary can be traced to Castilian Spanish.

As previously mentioned, Ladino retains many features that were particular to Old Castilian: differentiation of the ‘b’ and ‘v’ sounds (as in English); lack of the pronouns usted and ustedes (their use in Spanish developed post-1492); and, the absence of ‘ñ’ and the inverted question mark. In addition, “the phonemes /š/ (English sh), /dğ/ (English g in George), and /ž/ (French j in journal) were retained in Judeo-Spanish (in Spanish they became /x/).” [1]

Prior to the 20^th century, Ladino was written right to left using a version of the Hebrew alphabet known as Rashi script. Contemporary Judeo-Spanish utilizes the Latin alphabet, although texts for religious purposes are occasionally written using Hebrew letters.

Judeo-Spanish is considered an endangered language that faces the possibility of extinction within the next 30 years. Almost 90% of the Ladino-speaking population was wiped out during the Holocaust. The relatively few speakers that remain are primarily 50+ years of age, and most have neglected to pass down the language to the next generation.

Vida Larga para el Ladino – A short documentary of the Ladino Language

A video in Spanish about the Ladino Language

Sources:
[1] Judeo-Spanish/Judezmo/Ladino, Jewish Language Research Website

The Influence of Arabic on the Spanish Language

Posted On January 20, 2010By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation/ 1 Comment

When North African Muslims (often referred to as the Moors) defeated the Visigothic King Roderic and subsequently swept through the Iberian Peninsula, they began nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule in both Spain and Portugal. Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of Spain governed by Islamic leaders at various times during the period spanning from 712 until 1492. Nowhere else has there been more intense, prolonged and largely peaceful contact between the Christian and Muslim worlds than at that point in Spain’s history. This extended period of cultural contact resulted in deep-rooted linguistic ties between the Spanish and Arabic languages.

Spanish exhibits a lexical influence from Arabic. In other words, Arabic mostly contributed to the Spanish language in terms of new vocabulary as opposed to pronunciation or grammar. Second only to Latin, Arabic has made a significant contribution to the Spanish language, with scholars estimating nearly 4,000 Arabic loanwords, or nearly 8% of the Spanish lexicon.

Approximately 60% of the Spanish words derived from Arabic are nouns. Many Arabic loanwords include the prefixed definite article “al,” therefore, a great deal of these words begin with the letter ‘a.’ Words related to science, mathematics, architecture, geography, crafts, industry, commerce, agriculture, public administration, the military, trade and household goods are most common.

A host of simple, everyday words like taza (from tasa meaning “cup”), hasta (from hatta meaning “until”), cero (from sifr meaning “zero”), and azúcar (from sukkar meaning “sugar”) can all claim Arabic roots. For an expanded list of Arabic loanwords in Spanish, click here.

When Spaniards express approval and encouragement by shouting “¡olé!” at a bullfighter or flamenco dancer, they echo the Arabic expression “wallah” meaning “[I promise] by God.”

There are also numerous place names derived from Arabic, particularly in southern Spain where Muslim rule was most influential. Jaén (from Jayyan meaning “Crossroads of Caravans”), Madrid (from al-Magrīt meaning “Source of Water”), La Mancha (from la’a Ma-anxa meaning “No Water”), and Guadalajara (from Wādī al-Ḥijārah) meaning “River or Valley of Stones”) are all of Arabic origin.

10 Free Online Resources for Spanish Language Learners

Posted On January 2, 2010By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language/ 1 Comment

Whether you’re just starting to dabble in the world of foreign language study or you’re an accomplished polyglot with five languages under your belt, the Spanish Language resources you’re looking for are merely a click away. From beginner language forums to college-level courses, the Internet offers a wealth of language resources that are available for free. Explore the following 10 free online resources for Spanish language learners:

Notes in Spanish This site provides a series of podcasts using real-world language and scenarios, ranging from beginner level through to advanced. Notes in Spanish also features a very active blog with additional content such as videos. Note: Many discussion topics focus exclusively on vocabulary and grammatical constructions used in Spain.

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 Spanish speakers from around the world.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Through MIT’s OpenCourseWare program, the university provides course materials for a number of Spanish language and literature courses that can be downloaded completely free of charge. MIT’s language offerings look to develop an understanding of vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills using various assignments, activities, and other resources.

BBC Languages – Spanish The BBC offers a choice of two different 12-week beginner courses: “Spanish Steps” or “Mi Vida Loca.” The site also features handy phrases to use while on vacation including food and drink, shopping, and even slang and swear words.

About.com: Spanish Language Look to About.com for comprehensive grammar lessons, vocabulary lists and tips for increasing your Spanish vocabulary, as well as a cultural section that provides insight into the customs of various Spanish-speaking countries.

StudySpanish.com StudySpanish.com This site features sections on Spanish pronunciation (with audio clips), grammar, vocabulary and verb drills, plus quizzes to help you gauge your progress.

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College With content that’s geared more toward advanced learners, at Bowdoin College’s site you’ll find an online Spanish textbook that addresses advanced grammatical concepts, a style checklist for Spanish composition, and articles and general resources about Latin America written in Spanish.

Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson Spanish Language and Culture with Barbara Kuczun Nelson Brush up on your language skills with study modules featuring videos focusing on Spain and Latin America, as well as grammar exercises.

WordReference WordReference This site offers an extensive online dictionary, a verb conjugation tool and user forums where you can pose questions to native Spanish and English speakers about grammar and vocabulary.

Destinos Destinos A 52-part series presented as a telenovela or Spanish soap opera, the entertaining format of Destinos is sure to engage you while introducing everyday situations in Spanish.

Latinos and the 2010 U.S. Census

Posted On December 30, 2009By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Language/ No Comments

With the 2010 U.S. Census set to begin in March, members of the Latino community are at odds over their participation in the decennial survey. Some fear that the census data collected by the government could provide an inaccurate tally of the population. “Concerns about an accurate count of the Latino community partly stem from the outcome of the 2000 census, when the Census Bureau estimated that it over-counted the total population by 1.3 million people while under-counting Hispanics by 250,000.” [1]

Accurate census data that reflects the true makeup of the population is of great importance; decisions regarding the distribution of federal funding for community projects and political representation rely heavily upon information culled from the census. An inaccurate representation of the population could lead to the loss of federal dollars for services that would benefit the Latino community.

The language barrier is one of the principal threats to the accuracy of the Latino count. Advocates are hopeful that the government will hire additional Spanish-speaking census workers to conduct field interviews and outreach with Latinos who may be wary of completing census forms. The Census Bureau announced that 13 million bilingual census forms would be printed to promote increased participation in the government headcount.

Undocumented immigrants within the Hispanic community are far less likely to complete census forms out of fear of an investigation or raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though the Census Bureau asserts that the information collected is not shared with other government agencies and is kept confidential for a period of 72 years.

Hispanic advocacy groups have been running informational campaigns to educate Hispanics about the census and to encourage participation. The Latino interest group known as the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) even went so far as to create Christmas-themed census posters “showing Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem for a census and the birth of Jesus,” a move that stirred up controversy among religious conservatives and the broader Latino community. [2]

Unfortunately, the poster controversy served to widen the rift between Latinos who are promoting participation in the census and those who are urging a boycott to protest the crackdown by federal authorities on illegal immigration, as well as the lack of movement on immigration reform.

More information on the Hispanic Community in U.S

[1] ABC News, High-Stakes Census for Latinos Complicated by Fears

[2] The Washington Post, Hispanic leaders disagree over Christmas-themed census poster

New Inclusive Grammar Guidelines from the Real Academia Española

Posted On December 14, 2009By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators/ 3 Comments

Spanish speakers around the world, take heart; you don’t speak incorrectly, just differently. The Real Academia Española (RAE), Spain’s language authority, is finally acknowledging the diversity of grammar and vocabulary among the Spanish language’s nearly 500 million speakers in some 20 countries. The language mavens at the RAE just released a two-volume set detailing the state of grammar in the Spanish language; however, unlike their previous guidelines dating to 1931, this time they’ve gone beyond the borders of Spain to include acceptable grammar usage in other parts of the world. Instead of taking a purely prescriptive approach, the RAE’s new set of grammar books aims to document how the Spanish language is currently being used with indications for what scholars consider proper grammar. The project was 11 years in the making, and the finished tomes span some 4,000 pages. A third volume is due out within the next few months.

Read more information (in Spanish) at Real Academia Española

Google Adds Dictionary to its offerings

Posted On December 7, 2009By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, 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

Latinos and the Nonprofit Sector

Posted On November 26, 2009By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Language/ 1 Comment

With the Hispanic segment of the U.S. population growing rapidly, it’s no wonder that retailers have begun to sit up and take notice of this group’s influence; however, it’s undeniable that the non-profit sector needs to engage Latinos as well in order to advance their agendas. Hispanics have a great deal to offer nonprofit organizations in the way of volunteerism and monetary contributions, but just as corporate outfits must modify their advertising approach for the Hispanic market, non-profit organizations must also find new approaches to actively engage Latinos. “A launch into the Hispanic market is essential to any organization’s survival…but it’s not something that can happen without proper planning and thought.” [1]

One of the key means of reaching out to Spanish-speaking donors or potential volunteers is by securing a professional translation of all copy such as brochures, press releases, and fundraising letters. While many Latino communities in the U.S. prefer information in English, be sure to provide literature that shows sensitivity to the traditions, norms, and other cultural subtleties that are unique to your prospective donors or volunteers. Avoid using the same English-language materials that were developed for your non-Latino audience.

While traditional written materials are a mainstay of any fundraising or volunteer campaign, the power of the Internet and social media should not be overlooked. According to Vanguard Communications, a public relations and social marketing firm based in Washington, D.C., “The number of Latinos using social media is growing exponentially, but the number of organizations tweeting in both English and Spanish is still fairly small. A Facebook fan page or Twitter account dedicated to your issue is a popular mechanism for providing Spanish-language updates and action steps and promoting the offerings through your other outreach efforts.” [2]

A nonprofit organization looking to establish loyalty toward its cause must focus on getting to know its audience, encouraging involvement and demonstrating a commitment to the Latino community. “The U.S. census identifies Latinos as a young population, indicating the majority has not reached their primary giving years,” thus the development of a thoughtful strategy for capturing Hispanic donors and volunteers has the potential to reap great rewards in the future. [3] Latinos who perceive themselves as valued, respected and an integral part of an organization’s agenda will prove to be an invaluable resource to nonprofits as they look to advance their worthwhile causes and efforts.

[1] Fundraising Success, Conference Roundup: Reaching the Hispanic Population
[2] Vanguard Communications, Understanding Trends in Hispanic Outreach
[3] Association of Fundraising Professionals, Diversity Essay: Latino philanthropy in the U.S.

Spanish Language