Is Turkey the True Origin of Indo-European Languages?

Posted On September 13, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, Languages/ No Comments

Thanks to a recent study conducted by an international research team, headed up by psychologist Quentin Atkinson of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, new evidence suggests that present-day Turkey (which about 8,000 years ago was known as Anatolia) is the true origin of the Indo-European language family.

Anatolia

The findings of this study have generated a lot of interest amongst linguists, archeologists and other scientists in related fields because the discoveries directly oppose the common belief held by a large percentage of experts / researchers that the origin of Indo-European languages actually dates back only 6,000 years to what we now know as present-day Russia.

Atkinson and his team used computational methods to analyze a wide range of words from more than 100 ancient and contemporary languages during this recent study. The investigation, which builds upon previous work undertaken by Atkinson in 2003, also incorporated the use of geographical and historical data – an entirely new approach for Atkinson and his team – in order to further support the validity of the Anatolian hypothesis.

Michael Dunn, a linguist at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands, explains that the commonly-accepted hypothesis (the Steppe hypothesis) is an idea which places the origin of Indo-European languages in Russia about 6,000 years.

Dunn explains that the Steppe hypothesis has been widely accepted because 6,000 years ago present-day Russia was home to the use of chariots. A constant reference to related words for “wheel” and “wagon” in most Indo-European languages connects the development of these languages to the important technological advancement of the chariot and therefore places the origin of Indo-European languages in Russia, where the use of the chariot experienced a real boom.

There are many people who are skeptical about the findings published by Atkinson and his team, including the linguist H. Craig Melchert, from the University of California, Los Angeles, who highlights the fact that most language trees relating to Indo-European languages can only be extended back a mere 7,000 years.

However, despite opposition from other experts in the field, Atkinson and his team refuse to accept that these new findings are insignificant. They analyzed 207 commonly used words across 103 ancient and modern Indo-European languages. Possible language trees were produced throughout the investigations and they were constructed using a series of estimated rates at which these Indo-European languages gained and lost cognates.

The study focused specifically on the use of cognates because cognates are examples of basic vocabulary terms that rarely get borrowed when speakers of different languages come into contact with one another.

Atkinson believes that cognates hold the key to the true origin of Indo-European languages, because when his research team combined their cognate-focused language trees with information gathered about the associated geographical locations, the appearance of Anatolian roots was the main constant, time and time again.

No doubt the debate between Anatolian and Steppe supporters will continue throughout the years to come. What is undeniable, however, is that a series of points in favor of the Anatolian hypothesis have been discovered thanks to the most recent work of Atkinson and his team.

The search continues!

The meaning of ‘pucho’

Posted On September 10, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, Lunfardo, Spanish Language/ No Comments

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 defining characteristic of the Rioplatense dialect. Add a dash of Argentine flavor to your Spanish vocabulary with the Transpanish blog’s ongoing feature highlighting some of the most frequently used terms in Lunfardo.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In Lunfardo, the word “pucho” has a variety of meanings. These include “remainder,” or “the leftovers of something,” but it can also be used to mean “cigarette” or the “cigarette butt” which clearly derives from the idea of the “remainder or leftovers of a cigarette.” When used in its diminutive form, “puchito,” the term means “a little,” “a bit,” or “a small piece of something.”

It is possible that the word comes from the quechua (South American indigenous language) word “puchú,” which means “residue.”

Related words in Lunfardo include:

noun faso: which also means cigarette.

Usage examples: Vamos a hacerlo de a puchos, // Let’s do it little by little
Sobre el pucho, nos dimos cuenta de…. // Suddenly, we realized….

The song “Sobre el Pucho,” composed by Sebastián Piana and with lyrics by José González Castillo beautifully features the word “pucho” to describe how it feels to be suddenly discarded like a cigarette butt (pucho) in the street.

Sobre el Pucho

Un callejón de Pompeya

y un farolito plateando el fango

y allí un malevo que fuma,

y un organito moliendo un tango;

y al son de aquella milonga,

más que su vida mistonga,

meditando, aquel malevo

recordó la canción de su dolor.

Yo soy aquel que, en Corrales,

-los carnavales

de mis amores-

hizo brillar tus bellezas

con las lindezas

de sus primores;

pero tu inconstancia loca

me arrebató de tu boca,

como pucho que se tira

cuando ya

ni sabor ni aroma da.

Tango querido

que ya pa’siempre pasó,

como pucho consumió

las delicias de mi vida

que hoy cenizas sólo son.

Tango querido

que ya pa’siempre calló,

¿quién entonces me diría

que vos te llevarías

mi única ilusión?

Seal the Deal: Presenting and Following up on Translation Quotes

Posted On September 7, 2012By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators/ 1 Comment

If you’re a freelance translator, you probably send out translation quotes several times a week. Chances are that you never hear back from some of those potential clients. What do you do in those situations? Do you contact the client, or do you let that project just slip away? Here are some tips to help you seal the deal when it comes time to present and follow up on quotes that you’ve sent out for translations.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Inexperienced translation buyers may approach you about a quote before they’ve fully evaluated their needs. Don’t hesitate to ask plenty of questions to get a solid handle on the client’s requirements and expectations. Take charge and outline the steps of the process for clients if they seem unsure.

Agree upon how and when you’ll follow up with the client when you deliver the quote. A phone call, email or face-to-face meeting within one week of the original contact with the client is usually a reasonable time frame.

When you initially present your quote, make sure you convince the client of the value of your particular services and how his or her business will benefit by choosing you for the project. If you wind up chasing down the client, ask yourself why the client seems hesitant to work with you. What questions and objections did you fail to cover?

The most critical thing to remember is to maintain contact with the client. Let go of the expectation that the client will get back to you after receiving your quote; always follow up. If the client doesn’t call or email, cut back on the frequency of your contact but continue to pursue the project until you get a “yes” or a “no.” Remember that some clients take longer to decide than others.

Keep in mind that you are most likely competing against other translators for this client’s business. Sometimes it’s not the project quote itself but rather the follow-up that proves to be the deciding factor for the translation buyer.

Use and Origin of the word “che”

Posted On September 4, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, Languages, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/ 5 Comments

It’s difficult to walk the streets of Buenos Aires without hearing the word “che” at some point. In fact, Spanish speakers in some countries such as Mexico so strongly associate this word with the people of Argentina that they’ll occasionally refer to an Argentine as “un che.” Although most commonly used in Argentina and Uruguay, particularly in the region of the Río de la Plata, usage of the word “che” is not exclusive to these two countries. Neighboring Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil sometimes get in on the act too (although the word is spelled tchê in Portuguese-speaking Brazil).

Ernesto “Che” Guevara

So, what exactly does the word “che” mean? Che is an interjection that’s generally used to call attention, similar to how the word “hey” is used in English. It can also be used to express disgust or surprise in the way that “man” or “dude” is employed. The word is almost exclusively used in informal settings, among friends and/or family.

Examples:

“Che, Fede…¿salimos hoy de noche?” // “Hey, Fede…are we going out tonight?”

“Che, no lo puedo creer.” // “Man, I can’t believe it.”

There are several theories that attempt to explain the origins of the word “che”:
Some linguists speculate that che arrived to Argentina and Uruguay with Italian immigrants from the Veneto region of Italy. The Venetian dialect word “ció” is used much in the same way that che is employed.
Others feel that the roots of the word “che” lie in one of the region’s indigenous languages. In Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche people of Argentina and Chile, che means “person” or “people.” Che is defined as “man” in the Tehuelche and Puelche languages. Lastly, che bears the meaning “my” or “I” in the language of the Guaraní people of northeast Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

The Dictionary of the Real Academia Española states that the word is an onomatopoeia that mimics the sound made when trying to catch someone’s attention.

Finally, there are those who hypothesize that the Rioplatense che arose from the Valencian Spanish word “xe,” which is used to express surprise.

Can language affect how much you spend?

Posted On August 31, 2012By TranspanishIn Languages/ No Comments

We all know environment plays a part in how we behave, but how does our mother tongue affect our attitude towards money? New research claims the language we speak affects our saving habits. This article gives a summary of the differences between Chinese and English in a financial context.

Futureless language

Keith Chen, a professor at Yale’s School of Management, made the connection between language and behavioral finance at TEDGlobal 2012. The economist argued if you speak about the present and future in the same way, it encourages you to be equally interested in your finances now and then.

In Chinese, you can say: “yesterday it rain, today it rain, tomorrow it rain.” However, in English you would divide up time by saying: “it rained yesterday, it is raining now, it will rain tomorrow.” Chen’s research showed that futureless language speakers like the Chinese, who don’t distinguish between present and future actions, were the best savers in the world.

Becoming better savers

Chen tried to eliminate all other factors to prove his point about the psychological effect of language on financial behavior. He compared almost identical family units in countries including Switzerland where the main difference was the language spoken.

He found that those who spoke futureless languages were 30 per cent more likely to have saved money that year, with 25 per cent more in retirement savings. It would seem, then, that courses in futureless languages such as Chinese could help learners save money as the grammar encourages an empathy with one’s future self.

Learning a language to change your outlook

This research shows that certain languages have an affinity with particular psychological approaches to life. When you’re a student of new languages you will find they all have their own nuances and specialist vocabularies, whether you’re learning Chinese or English.

Schools such as Malvern House offer courses that focus on these different aspects of languages. For example, you can focus on business English or exam English, depending on the direction you want your life to take. To find out more about such specialist courses, visit this page.

Five Networking Tips for Translators

Posted On August 28, 2012By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators/ 1 Comment

Translation work can be pretty lonesome sometimes. High speed internet connection at home, a professional email for work purposes and a reliable computer is all that the qualified translator needs on a daily basis. If he or she isn’t careful, it can be very easy to become a kind of recluse and feel fairly isolated from the rest of the working world in general.

This is why it is important for translators to network. It is inspiring and productive to stay in contact with new trends and to make an effort to be part of the translation community close to where you live. The problem is that not all translators really know where to start or how to network effectively.

The following tips cover some of the most useful networking strategies for translators worldwide. A daily dose of networking communication is all that it takes to turn a worn-out, stale translator into a modern, energetic master of language once more. If you love translation, but you feel that you need guidance and support every now and then, the ideas below are perfectly designed to meet your needs.

Contribute to Portals
Translation portals can be some of the best ways for translators to find support from other translators, find work and further develop their translating skills as the demands of their jobs expand.

Two of the most well-known translation portals are www.proz.com and www.translatorsafe.com. Both portals are particularly popular thanks to the extensive support and guidance translators can find via the forum discussions and translator help pages. Proz operates on a points system whereby translators who dedicate regular time to helping other industry experts and contributing to posts that have been published in the forum space earn more points. The more points a translator earns, the better their profile looks in Proz.

Positive profiles are clearly the best way forward for securing more work and better paid work too, which is why it is a really good idea to join these portals and make a constant effort to stay active on these sites as well.

Join Associations
It is also a very wise idea to join at least one translator association, particularly if you are working as a freelance translator as is the general custom of most translators across the globe.

There might be times when you need legal support or sound advice before signing a contract or launching into a long term project with any given company or independent client. As a member of a translator association, you will always have somewhere to turn should you require support of this kind.

Some of the most popular translator associations include:

1. The American Translators Association
2. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting
3. The Association of Translation Companies

Get Social
A quick search on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Termwiki will immediately highlight a long list of translators, translating companies, translating experts or translating sites that you can join and follow.

Once friends with other translating professionals, you will be able to share posts to your work and to job opportunities that come your way. The more you share, the more people will share with you in return and promote the translation work that you do. Essentially, getting social on social networking sites is one of the best and cheapest ways to spread information about your translation skills and learn about translation opportunities in record time.

Blog It
As an expert in translation, recognize that you have an important skill to share with others. Translators are in high demand across all industries, particularly in recent years as international business is now open to small businesses too via cheap, international online advertising with the likes of Google AdWords, for example.

If you start blogging about translation and translation-related topics on a weekly basis (regular posts are essential), then people interested in translation or people looking for translators will actually end up contacting you directly or following your blog and all your interesting updates.

Find your Specialization and Cut out the Middleman
This final tip is directly aimed at those translators who are looking for work and it highlights the benefits of cutting out the middleman. Ignore translator forums, translator groups and translator associations or websites and hit your potential client at the very source.

Make a decision and decide what kind of translation work you want to specialize in, if you haven’t done so already. There’s a huge difference between translators who specialize in medical translation and those who specialize in legal translation. Translating tourist material is nothing like translating novels and other kinds of creative writing.

When you know what kind of translation you want to dedicate most of your time to, head straight to the source with CV and past work examples at the ready and find out who, in your chosen industry, is in need of a translator.

For example, if your idea of a dream job is translating for hostel and tourism websites, send your CV to as many different hostels as possible and perhaps even visit some of them in person if you can.

A Linguistic Feature of Rioplatense Spanish: Hablar en capicúa

Posted On August 22, 2012By TranspanishIn Languages, Lunfardo, Spanish Language/ No Comments

Rioplatense or River Plate Spanish, the dialect of Spanish spoken in and around Buenos Aires, Argentina, is characterized by a number of features, most notably the use of voseo and Lunfardo slang; however, a lesser-known phenomenon called “hablar en capicúa” or “hablar en sánguche” also exists within the dialect.

Hablar en capicúa (known in English as epanalepsis) consists of taking a word or pair of words appearing at the beginning of a sentence and repeating it at the end. In Rioplatense Spanish, there is typically a slight pause and a downward inflection when the repeated words are spoken.

The word “capicúa” means palindrome (a word, sentence, etc. that reads the same forwards and backwards). Thus, hablar in capicúa is to speak in palindromes, as the repetition of the same word at the beginning and end of the sentence produces a palindrome of sorts. Others refer to this rhetorical term as “sandwich speak” (hablar en sánguche) presumably because part of the phrase is sandwiched between the two repeated bits.

Examples:

Me tomé todo el vino, me tomé. // I drank all the wine, I drank [it].

Sos un buen tipo, sos. // You’re a good guy, you are.

Tengo que morfar, tengo. // I have to eat, I have to.

Unlike Lunfardo and voseo, which have been adopted by Rioplatense speakers at all socioeconomic levels, hablar en capicúa is primarily employed by less-educated speakers.

Esperanto, The Universal Language, Celebrates its 125th Birthday

Posted On August 20, 2012By TranspanishIn Languages/ No Comments

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 young, 27 year-old, Polish ophthalmologist, Ludwig Zamenhof, Esperanto attempts to break down language barriers that exist between different countries and different cultures. It was Zamenhof’s idea to eradicate the problems that we encounter when we are unable to communicate in a common language. It was Zamenhof’s hope to create a universal understanding through Esperanto (esperanza being the Latin based word for hope).

Esperanto’s Journey Through History
In Nazi Germany, Esperanto was associated with rebel movements and many people who spoke the language were persecuted because it was believed that Esperanto speakers formed part of the Jewish conspiracy to enslave members of the Arian race, for example. During the formative years of the 20th Century in Spain, the working classes saw the language as the perfect vehicle towards the development of a society built on equal opportunities.

In the 1980s, thanks to the huge development of the Internet, Esperanto experienced an increase in popularity once more (it experienced its very own kind of renaissance, as it were) as more and more people began to learn the language via Internet courses and online programs. In 1991, Pope John Paul II was the first Pope ever to use Esperanto in a public address and in 2012 (having celebrated its 125th birthday) it is one of the most widely-distributed languages on the planet.

In fact, out of the 6000 most popular languages spoken and understood worldwide, Wikipedia ranks Esperanto as the 27th most utilized language when it comes to online articles and social networking platforms, including Facebook.

Some Fascinating Facts about Esperanto
Owing to the innovative purpose behind its creation (the idea of generating a universal language that will forever prevent communication barriers in the future), fascinating facts about Esperanto abound. Some of the most interesting are as follows:

World renowned writer, Leo Tolstoy, was an Esperanto speaker and avid fan of the language.
It is believed that there are roughly two million Esperanto speakers living in the world today.
In Mexico alone, The Mexican Esperanto Federation can verify that roughly 800 people take online language courses in Esperanto every year.
Google, Skype, Firefox and Facebook are all available in Esperanto.
Many foreign language students across the world are choosing to study Esperanto as one of their language choices owing to the fact that, with few grammar irregularities to take into account, it’s fairly easy and quick to learn.
The Esperanto alphabet is made up of 28 letters and each letter has its own particular sound.
Approximately 70% of Esperanto’s language roots are Latin-based.
Most of the words are created by mixing and matching prefixes and suffixes.
There are only 16 grammar rules to learn in Esperanto.
Native Esperanto speakers exist. Esperanto is, for a few dozens of people, their first or native language.
It is now possible to buy books and newspapers (both originals and translations) or to listen to radio and television programs, in Esperanto.
The language does not incorporate the use of synonyms.

What Lies Ahead in the Future for Esperanto?
The future of Esperanto most certainly lies in the possibility that it provides for coming into contact with other cultures, making friends worldwide and for travel. The “Pasporta Servo,” which is a kind of guide that lists other Esperanto speakers living all over the world, offers the interested Esperanto speaker a list of places where they can stay when travelling the world (usually the house of a fellow Esperanto speaker, for example).

Without a doubt, the initial hope that Zamenhof had when he created the language in 1887 is on its way to be realized on a large scale. Esperanto is breaking down the language and cultural barriers that we experience on a day to day basis and it is its simplicity that has made it so attractive to so many people.

Esperanto is the world’s best example of a universal language because, unlike English, it isn’t attached to any particular culture and it isn’t the property of any one country. Perhaps by 2050, Esperanto will have taken over the throne that the English language world has held onto for such a long time.

Happy birthday Esperanto!

Pasporta Servo website

“Spanglish” Finds Its Way into the Spanish-Speaking World’s Most Prestigious Dictionary

Posted On August 16, 2012By TranspanishIn Spanglish, Spanish Language/ No Comments

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 (DRAE).

The RAE’s decision to finally include the word “espanglish” came about as a result of years of lobbying by the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (ANLE), an organization that defines Spanish language standards in North America. In the past, the DRAE neglected to designate terms as specific to U.S. Spanish speakers, but with the growing number of Latinos in the United States, the RAE realized that it could no longer afford to ignore this segment of the population. As such, the next edition of the DRAE will specifically indicate if a term was coined by Spanish speakers in the United States.

While the linguists at ANLE are celebrating the inclusion of “espanglish” in the DRAE, not everyone is pleased about the new addition. Language purists view the existence of Spanglish as threatening. A number of noted Spanish-language writers and academics have made disparaging remarks about the rise of Spanglish, and one linguist in particular warns that the Spanish language as a whole is in danger of devolving into something of a dialect without clearly defined standards.

The highly esteemed academic Antonio Garrido Moraga offered this opinion about Spanglish, “I advocate for Hispanics to learn English and preserve Spanish. Now, if they don’t learn English and they only express themselves in that jumble of Spanish and English, they’re condemned to the ghetto.”

Like it or not, the acceptance of the concept of Spanglish by the RAE opens doors for the inclusion of other Spanish words “made in the USA.” The word “forma” instead of “formulario” (form), “aplicar por” instead of “postularse” (apply for), and “aseguranza” instead of “seguro” (insurance) are just some of the words that are heard daily on the streets of New York, L.A. and other major American cities with a significant Hispanic presence. If Spanglish advocates get their way, these words will soon be gracing the pages of the DRAE as well.

Example of Spanglish:

The meaning of ‘fiaca’

Posted On August 9, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, Lunfardo, Spanish Language/ 2 No Comments

In Lunfardo, the word “fiaca” is a noun that means “the feeling or state of being bored, idle, slothful or unmotivated.” When used to refer to a person, possible English translations of the word “fiaca” include lazybones, lazyhead, bum, layabout, and idler.

The Lunfardo word “fiaca” is said to have originated from the Genoese dialect of Italian. In that dialect, the word makes reference to “a lack of energy/tiredness attributed to missing a meal.”

Related words in Lunfardo:
verb hacer fiaca: laze about, bum around

Usage examples: ¡Qué fiaca que tengo! // Man, I feel like a slug today!

Los domingos me gusta hacer fiaca. // I like to laze about on Sundays.

The song “Doña Fiaca,” written by Eladia Blázquez, prominently features the word “fiaca” in the title and lyrics.

La fiaca no es pereza, no es descanso,

Es una sutileza de algo más.

Una melange de todo a nuestro modo

Un rasgo del folklore nacional.

La fiaca, es una filosofía

De la antigana de no hacer, del no querer,

La diosa del desgano y de la cama

Y la madam de la comodité.

Y convengamos que es un poco pastenaca

Aquel que nunca le da la fiaca,

Hasta el mismísimo Ministro de Trabajo

Su golpe bajo, debe amagar.

La gente fina la bautiza en su lirismo

Como ausentismo, pero es lo mismo,

Y doña fiaca es una mina que domina

En casa, en la oficina y en toda la nación.

Si alguno ha pensado en vacunarse,

Lo siento, pierde el tiempo sin razón.

La fiaca, sin remedio, va a atacarle

Porque es igual al virus de Hong Kong.

No teman, el mayor de los incordios

Serán las ganas que le den de apoliyar.

Si en alguien, el bostezo se hace gordo,

Llamen al “tordo”, que lo va a curar.

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