New Spanish Spelling Reforms from the RAE
Spanish Spelling Rules Get a Makeover Change is coming to Spanish orthographic conventions courtesy of the Real Academia Española (RAE), the organization that defines Spanish language standards. Last week, the RAE announced a number of planned changes prepared by 22 linguists from both Spain and Latin America. If all goes well, the changes to the […]
When was the first Spanish Grammar Book published?
In 1492, Antonio de Nebrija published Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar book of the Spanish language. Works had previously been published on Latin usage, such as Lorenzo Valla’s De Elegantiis Latinae Linguae (1471), but Gramática was the first book to focus on the study of the rules of a Western European language […]
Castilian Spanish Versus Latin American Spanish
Castilian Spanish – so named for its roots in the region of Castile – emerged from Spain’s many regional languages and dialects to become the primary language of the nation. Castilian Spanish was later brought to the New World through the colonization efforts of the Spanish, where the language enjoyed widespread adoption throughout the Americas. […]
World Cup Attracts Multilingual Audiences
The FIFA World Cup – soccer’s premier sporting event – is coming to African soil for the first time in history. South Africa will play host to 32 national soccer teams and 350,000 foreign visitors during the month-long event, requiring that both linguistic and cultural barriers be bridged for the global cast of players, organizers […]
Recent Translation and Language News
Here are some of the top language-related stories from the last month: 1. The recently elected president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, sports an animal last name. Could the warm and fuzzy appeal of her name have helped her to get elected? 2. As part of the state’s new comprehensive immigration reform, Arizona now requires […]
Concern for Trademark Infringement in Spanish
With an ever-growing number of businesses looking to cash in on the growth of the Hispanic market in the U.S., English-language trademarks have become increasingly susceptible to infringement by companies looking to take marketing shortcuts. So, what exactly constitutes trademark infringement? To qualify as infringement, the translation into Spanish must be determined to be direct […]
What Do Translators Expect from Agencies?
As freelance translators, we all know the importance of making a good impression on our clients and maintaining a healthy professional relationship with them; however, what about the impression the client makes on you? The translator-agency relationship can vary significantly from vendor to vendor, depending on factors such as the size of the agency, the […]
The Importance of Translating Foreign Texts
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 […]
Transcreation: Specialized Translation for Marketing
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 […]
Desktop Publishing and Translation
While the content of a translation is always of utmost importance, the presentation of that content should not be underestimated. Even the best translation can flop if it is presented in an unprofessional manner. Desktop publishing (DTP) ensures that a translation delivers visual impact, with a design that complements and enhances the written word. Using […]
