Translation and Language Industry Observations
Translation and Language Industry Observations
French is the fifth most spoken language in the world according to a report of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). It is the third most used language of business, and is ranked as the second most studied as a foreign language. French is indeed a language of the future. What is a Francophone? …
Since Brexit, there are 27 member states in the European Union in which 24 different official languages are spoken. This makes translation a hot topic in the EU. The most common languages are English, German and French, which, including Spanish, often also function as relay languages. ( A relay language is the translation from an …
Portuguese is spoken by about 250 Million people worldwide. In the translation industry, most of the work we do is intended for either Brazil or Portugal. Portuguese is spoken in a number of African countries as well. But most companies do not target their localization efforts to poor countries like Angola, even though Portuguese is …
When it comes to countries, bigger isn’t always better. Although Europe’s smallest countries are tiny enough to be overlooked, each of them has a fascinating history and many intriguing attractions to discover, from beautiful scenery to historic cities to excellent museums. Read on to learn more about Europe’s seven smallest countries, the languages spoken in …
Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe which is comprised of five countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland. The combined population of these countries is about 27 million. Which is far less than the populations of single Western European countries like Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia and the UK. Localizing for Scandinavia means translating …
Yiddish is mainly spoken today by several hundred thousand Hasidic Jews in the USA and in Israel. It is a Germanic dialect which is written using the Hebrew alphabet. Yiddish, which means Jewish, was spoken by several million people before World War II. Yiddish is commonly referred to by Ashkenazi Jews as “Mama Loshon,” which …
What is a saying? This is the dictionary definition: a short, pithy expression that generally contains advice or wisdom. If a saying becomes famous it is for a reason. A few catchy words that pack a powerful message, one of popular wisdom. Sayings usually teach us a lesson or moral. Each language has its own …
One of the problems that face translators is that some words have no equivalent in other languages. This can also pose a challenge to people who are non-native speakers of a language, since second language speakers tend to process spoken language through internalized translation. Hebrew is one of the most ancient languages in existence. But …
Europe being the epitome of the diverse ancient background has twenty-four official languages, with Russian being the first, German second and French third. The classical list doesn’t stop here as the state also has more than 60 regional and minority languages. This undeniably powerful language, German, is challenging to learn but offers many benefits that …
German is a language with a long history and many interesting facets. Spoken as the official language in Germany, Austria, parts of Switzerland, and the miniscule state of Liechtenstein, and as a minority language in several other European countries, German has a base of native speakers numbering almost 100 million. The German-speaking lands have also …
Thai is a fascinating language. It has a neat logic to the way some words are put together. A visitor to Thailand must keep in mind that not all Thais are fluent in English. The same as a person whose native language is English may not be fluent in French or German. But here is …
South Korea has now become a top country many people want to visit. It’s the land of the exciting K-Pop, K-dramas, world-famous kimchi, 12-step skincare routine, tech giants Samsung – you name it. And if you plan to visit the country or simply just to feel even more connected with the culture, the Korean language …
A new Google application has been developed with the aim of preserving and teaching indigenous languages which are also endangered. This includes Maori, Creole, Yiddish, Yugambeh and others. The app is written in open source, and learning is done by photographing objects and translating them in real time. This was announced this week on the …
