New ‘mixed’ language discovered in Northern Australia

Source: Live Science

A new language, one that combines elements of English with traditional indigenous speech, has been discovered in northern Australia, according to a new study.

The language, now known as Light Warlpiri, is spoken by approximately 300 people in a remote desert community about 400 miles (644 kilometers) from Katherine, a town located in Australia’s Northern Territory, said Carmel O’Shannessy, a professor in the department of linguistics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. O’Shannessy documented the discovery of Light Warlpiri in a study published online today (June 18) in the journal Language.

Light Warlpiri is known as a “mixed language,” because it blends elements from multiple languages: Traditional Warlpiri, which is spoken by about 6,000 people in indigenous communities scattered throughout the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory; Kriol, an English-based Creole language spoken in various regions of Australia; and English.

See: Live Science

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LTi publishes report on the state of the European language technology industry

Source: LT Innovate

LT-Innovate unveils an in-depth analysis of the present state and future potential of the European Language Technology market: “LT2013: Status and Potential of the European Language Technology Markets”. This report provides projections for the next five years that demonstrate the critical role the LT industry plays in the development of a single, multilingual, digital marketplace.

The future of the industry, says the report, will depend on LT becoming the critical enabling technology for the rapid emergence of Unified Communications, Unified Information Access and a Unified User Experience across the digital marketplace as a whole.

LT-Innovate strongly believes that Language Technology is a key enabling technology for Europe’s Digital Single Market. By automating the complex processes involved in managing linguistic content, spoken interaction and language translation, Language Technology could deliver a major boost to Europe’s global competitiveness. Now that social media, the cloud, mobile and big data are transforming the IT ecosystem, language technology is poised as the missing piece in the great digital puzzle.

Check out the Executive Summary and Key Extracts of the Report

Download your FREE copy of the LT2013 Report

See: LT Innovate

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Mobile commerce hits language barriers in Europe

Source: Mobile Commerce Press

Language proves to be a hurdle for mobile commerce

Mobile commerce has managed to make major progress in the U.S. and Japan, but in Europe, mobile commerce has met with significant challenges that extend well beyond issues concerning security and efficiency. Language and infrastructure have proven to be the most complicated problems faced by the mobile commerce sector in Europe. Both the U.S. and Japan enjoy universal e-commerce markets due to the fact that both countries have a predominant language. Europe, however, is filled with countries that have very different languages from one another, making it difficult to create a universal mobile commerce ecosystem.

Universal market in Europe has yet to take form

European countries tend to be homes to national markets that do not synergize well beyond the boundaries of the countries they take form in. Such markets are meant to appeal to those that live in particular countries, of course, but this tends to create some division when it comes to universal commerce. For instance, those from countries where English is not a prominent language could have trouble participating in mobile commerce in countries like the United Kingdom, where most commerce services are based on the English language.

Europe 500 aims to solve the language problem

In order to address this issue, Europe 500, a conglomeration comprised of many large European companies, has begun to leverage its various investments to provide better localization to e-commerce sites in various countries throughout the European Union. This is expected to help make it easier for consumers to participate in mobile commerce no matter where they are in Europe by providing them with services that are based on their native language. More.

See: Mobile Commerce Press

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Concerns over language impacts of legal aid changes

Source: Cambrian News

DWYFOR Meirionnydd MP, Elfyn Llwyd, has raised concerns over the impact proposed changes to legal aid will have on Welsh language provision.

Mr Llwyd, who was consistently campaigned against the changes expressing particular concern for services in rural areas, warns that people’s fundamental right to receive legal aid through the medium of Welsh will be eroded as the Government removes the individual’s right to choose their legal representation.

He added that the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, had admitted that his department had given very little consideration to the future of Welsh language provision, and that there’s a strong possibility that the changes fail to conform to the Welsh Language Act and are therefore illegal.

Mr Llwyd said: “Access to justice should be a fundamental right for every citizen. “These reforms signal a government undermining this belief by forfeiting client choice in an attempt to keep costs down.

“The legal aid system in the UK was established so as to help the most destitute. “

See: Cambrian News

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Report adds ’style’ to Chinese lexicon

Source: China Daily

From “Gangnam Style” to “carrier style”, the English word “style” has become part of Chinese hot phrases.

According to the 2012 Chinese Language Situation report, which was released by the Ministry of Education and National Language Committee of China on June 5, some words that use the Roman alphabet became frequently used new words last year. But language experts say this is normal.

“The combination of different languages is part of their development,so we don’t have to be overly worried about an invasion of foreign languages,” said Yang Erhong, a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University.

“We should believe in the ability to filter and develop language itself,” Yang said. “As time goes by, we can decide if those foreign elements will stay or not.”

The phrase pattern of ” style” became well known from the South Korean music videoGangnam Style, which took the online world by storm in 2012.

After the successful landing and subsequent takeoff of a Shenyang J-15 carrier-borne fighterjet in China, netizens called the gestures that the crews used for takeoff and landing “carrierstyle”.

Now, the phrase pattern is one of the most popular among Chinese, and can be heard even inthe media from time to time.

Han Baocheng, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, agreed that the popular use of the phrase is part of normal language evolution.

See: China Daily

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Translation error causes brief concern for German chancellor Merkel during meeting with Romanian PM

Source: Romania Insider

Translation was not at its best during Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s visit to Germany, as during his meeting with Angela Merkel, the translator [sic]  mistakenly translated the idea of weakening corruption as strengthening corruption, which had the German chancellor briefly at a loss for words.

There were comments from the public that also mentioned the less-than-perfect translation [sic] during one of the conferences that Ponta attended while in Berlin.

Victor Ponta’s delegation to Berlin also included an MP representing the German minority in the country, Ovidiu Gant, which was mentioned by the German chancellor as a positive aspect. Ponta’s message to Germany was mainly that Romania has regained its stability after several years of economic instability, and that it wants to become a trustworthy and strategic partner for Germany.

See: Romania Insider

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Dictionary now recognizes Internet buzzwords

Source: ecns.cn

Frequently used English Internet buzzwords and acronyms have made their way into the latest edition of the New English-Chinese Dictionary, a major reference book for English learners in China.

The dictionary has added 297 popular words, especially acronyms frequently used in online chatting and texting, including “ZZZ”, “2D4″ and “BFF”, in its appendices, an unprecedented move in China’s major dictionary community, said Shanghai-based Wenhui Bao.

ZZZ can be an indication of sleep or being tired. The term can also be used when something bores you. BFF, acronym for “best friends forever”, and 2D4, acronym for “to die for”, have both gone viral in texts.

The dictionary, with its 4th revision just completed, has the largest circulation among foreign language dictionaries in China.

See: ecns.cn

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Health care providers hire interpreters for patients

Source: The Tennessean

(…) In the past 20 years, interpreters have grown in value in the Nashville area, especially in the health care community. To meet the language needs of the influx of immigrants into the area, health care providers have had to ratchet up their interpretation services.

Lori Catanzaro, senior lecturer in Spanish at Vanderbilt University, sees the need for bilingual health care in Nashville. In the fall she’ll start teaching a weekly Spanish class for health care professionals.

The intermediate Spanish class is not a licensing class for interpreters but aims at improving interactions between health care workers and their Spanish-speaking patients. It will incorporate cultural lessons as well as language. More.

New system to help Phelps court interpreters

Source: Kearney Hub

Phelps County District Court is going to be a translator-friendly courtroom with the purchase of a new video and audio sound system.

Clerk of the District Court Jennifer Nelson and County Attorney Tim Hoeft received Phelps County Board of Supervisors’ approval for the purchase at Tuesday’s meeting.

Nelson said the district judge requested an updated system because cases involving hearing-impaired people must be moved to the county courtroom.

The county court has the equipment needed. Moving court is difficult, according to Nelson, because of the busy schedule in county court.

Hoeft explained that the system would have a projector suspended from the ceiling and cameras in the room.

See: Kearney Hub

EU-funded project develops online tool with grammar rules already in place (MOLTO)

Source: CORDIS

European cooperation is based on our ability to understand each other. Given that there are presently 23 official EU languages, the availability of online tools to facilitate accurate translation is fundamentally important.

An EU-funded project has developed an innovative online tool that will enable web-content providers to automatically create publishing-quality translations. This tool has been calibrated to apply to specific professional fields, yet requires no specific training to use.

A number of online translation tools are currently available to the public. Some programmes are already used by many people worldwide, and improve the quality of their translations through machine learning. In other words, these systems use feedback to learn from their own mistakes. The disadvantage to this, however, is that explicit grammatical rules are the exception rather than the rule.

This is where the EU-funded MOLTO (‘Multilingual on-line translation’) project comes in. The project, which finished in early 2013, set out to develop a system with grammar rules already in place. The ultimate objective was to create a translation technique so accurate that people could produce texts using the translations directly, without fear of mistakes.

As a demonstration, the project aimed to produce a set of translated articles in the domain of cultural heritage on the Wikipedia website. An important point to note is that while existing online translation tools are often designed for consumers of information, MOLTO targeted producers of information. The quality therefore needed to be good enough so that, for instance, an e-commerce site could translate their web pages automatically without fear that the message would change. More.

See: CORDIS

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2013 Translation Prize Winners Announced

Source: Publishers Weekly

The French-American Foundation and the Florence Gould Foundation have announced the winners of their 26th Annual Translation Prize for superior English translations of French works published in 2012. This prize is the largest annual award for translations of French prose into English.

The fiction winner was Alyson Waters for her translation of Prehistoric Times by Eric Chevillard (Archipelago Books). The nonfiction winner was Nora Scott for her translation of The Metamorphosis of Kinship by Maurice Godelier (Verso Books). Both winners received a $10,000 prize.

See: Publishers Weekly

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The language services market slows down in 2013, but grows nevertheless

Source: Global Watchtower

The Language Services Market: 2013 is published.  As in previous years, we surveyed a vast audience of language service providers (LSPs) from our database of 27,668 companies to arrive at our market sizing and growth rate estimates. What does the report tell us this time?

• The language services industry continues to grow, albeit slowly. LSPs: look up and smile. You are part of an industry that is worth US$34.778 billion and continues to grow at 5.13%, despite macroeconomic indicators telling a different story. Yes, it is true that the growth rate has slowed down: In 2012, we estimated market growth at 12.17%, up from 7.14% in 2011. But the demand for language services and technology continues to increase and we expect that to further boost growth rates in the coming years.

• The composition of the top rung has changed. Lionbridge Technologies claimed the #1 spot in the rankings of the top LSPs of the world after a gap of eight years. Military supplier Mission Essential Personnel and its other public sector competitors have departed from the ranking, owing hugely to the cut in government spending on language services and budget sequestration.

• Expanded regional rankings see new names. This year, we expanded our rankings of the top LSPs in five of the nine regions: Asia (from 20 in 2012 to 30), North America (from 25 in 2012 to 30), Northern Europe (from 20 to 25), Southern Europe (from 15 to 20), and Western Europe (from 25 to 35). The rankings for Western Europe are the largest we’ve ever had in regional tables till date. There were new names in the rankings of the other regions, too: Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. All in all, 185 companies appear in this year’s rankings.

See: Global Watchtower

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Court interpreters ask for decent contract

Source: KMJNow

Interpreters are used just about every day in court but that may change if a proposal to cut hours comes into play.

Court interpreters stood outside the Fresno County Courthouse Wednesday holding signs and asking for the public’s support.

They say they’re fighting for a decent contract because the courts are proposing to eliminate in-person interpreting to those who don’t speak English well.

Instead the courts would like to use video remote interpreting as a substitute.

Interpreters said that means they can be sent home at any time without pay which eliminates full-time employment and affects their health care benefits.

They said if this were to happen that would mean reduced access for victims, defendants, witnesses and even lawyers and judges.

See: KMJNow

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University unveils translation master’s program to satisfy predicted job demands

Source: Dailyillini

Elizabeth Lowe, director of the Center for Translation Studies, has been developing the program for a long time, but because the final approval did not come until February, the department has only had since then to recruit students for its first class this fall. Despite the short notice, Lowe said that the department has been receiving applicants from around the world and accepting students on a rolling schedule.

Before the new master’s program, there was an 18-credit certificate program that was available to undergraduate and graduate students. Lowe said the center plans to eventually create an undergraduate program for a major and minor in translation studies.

Lowe said that the program’s applicants hold a variety of bachelor’s degrees. She said the center prefers that applicants have a background in three different languages, one being a proficiency in English even if it is not their first language. The center encourages people from all different backgrounds to apply because of the nature of translation and interpretation; anything from legal documents to scientific procedures requires translation.  Because there are so many different fields in translation and interpretation, Lowe said the program is asking applicants to choose from three different tracks: translations for the professions; literary and applied literary translation; and conference and community interpreting.

See: Dailyillini

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Ontario’s French language watchdog urges province to protect vulnerable francophones

Source: The Ottawa Citizen

Ontario’s French Language Services Commissioner says the province needs to do more to protect its most vulnerable francophones.

François Boileau’s office received nearly 350 complaints last year, but what concerned him even more was the lack of feedback related to key government ministries, including citizenship and immigration, children and youth services, and community and social services.

Boileau said francophones in Ontario are in the same position as many other minorities: They constantly have to assert themselves and claim their place in society. Otherwise, he said, they lose ground.

But not all francophones can be full-time activists, and many hesitate to assert their right to be served in French because they feel intimidated or worry such a request could bring about negative repercussions, he says.

“These are people that will never make a complaint because they are already in a vulnerable state of mind, so they’re not confronting the administration,” he said.

In his annual report released this week — his sixth since being named commissioner in 2007 — Boileau calls on the province to develop an action plan to ensure “disadvantaged populations” have access to French-language services.

In particular, he highlighted children, seniors, people with mental health challenges, and immigrants.

Treva Cousineau of the Association des communautés francophones d’Ottawa said Boileau is on the right track, and she agreed that francophones who speak out about their language rights are typically well-connected, educated people. Read more.

See: The Ottawa Citizen

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Microsoft launches Bing translator for Windows

Source: WebProNews

Microsoft has announced that the Bing Translator App for Windows is now available.

“Designed specifically for Windows devices, the app places translation technology in your hand by instantly translating content in more than 40 languages,” a spokesperson for Microsoft tells WebProNews. “Whether utilizing your PC’s camera to deliver video mode translation or typing in a quick phrase, the Bing Translator app is a great addition to your Windows devices.”

“In addition to being simple to use, the app was built specifically to take advantage of Windows 8,” he adds. “Use the Share charm to quickly translate highlighted text from other apps or just snap the Bing Translator app to the either side of the screen and translate quickly while doing other things.”

The app also includes offline access in case you know you’re not going to have Wi-Fi or other access. You can download the language pack you need so you can always access translation while offline.

See: WebProNews

Bapu’s autobiography to be translated into Kashmiri

Source: Times of India

‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’ — life story of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who waged wars with non-violence —will soon be available in Jammu and Kashmir.

After growing demand from Kashmiris to print Gandhi’s autobiography in their regional language, the book is being translated by three scholars. The best translation, which retains the heart of Gandhi’s teachings, will be selected and printed.

Managing trustee of Navjivan Trust Vivek Desaisays that the Kashmiri translation of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography aims to take the message of peace and non-violence to a state which has reeled under active terrorism for the past many years now.

“Gandhi’s life would offer a solution to the problem of terrorism to the locals. We hope it helps trigger a mental thirst for peace through non-violence,” says Desai.

See: Times of India

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The University of Salford confirms plans to close courses in modern languages

Source: Times Higher Education

The University of Salford has confirmed plans to close virtually all courses in modern languages, politics and contemporary history and shut down an entire school “to secure the future of the university” after seeing falling student demand.

Salford has also announced another 46 jobs are at risk, affecting both professional services staff and academics. The University and College Union said it could not rule out strike action, calling the latest announcement the 13^th round of job cuts in the last two years.

In a further development, the troubled institution has sacked its deputy vice-chancellor, Adrian Graves, for gross misconduct after he was investigated following an alleged row with a student at the university’s swimming pool.

In May, Times Higher Education revealed a leaked Salford management document outlining a communications strategy to handle “what without doubt will be a very controversial announcement on 5 June”, involving course closures in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences. More.

See: Times Higher Education

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Navajo: ‘Star Wars’ gets a new translation

Source: NPR

If you’ve ever wondered how to say “May the Force be with you” in Navajo, you’re in luck. On July 3, a new translation of Star Wars will be unveiled on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona. The 1977 classic has been translated into many languages, and the latest effort is the brainchild of Manuelito Wheeler, director of the in Window Rock, Ariz.

“We needed a way to preserve our culture,” Wheeler tells NPR’s Robert Siegel. “Language is at the core of a culture. And I felt we needed a more contemporary way to reach not just young people but the population in general. And so, that’s when the idea of translating a major movie into the Navajo language came up.”

See: NPR

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The German language loses its longest word

Source: BBC

The German language has lost its longest word. BBC News Magazine’s Jon Kelly asks how lovers of plus-sized lexicography will cope.

Sesquipedalians – lovers of long words – will shudder.Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobics – those with a fear of such grandiloquence – will be happier.

The German language, famed for its sprawling compound nouns, has lost its most circumlocutory term.

Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz- meaning “law delegating beef label monitoring” – has been excised from the lexicon. All 65 letters of it.

The word, introduced in 1999 in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, gloried in the barely less difficult-to-pronounce acronym RkReUAUG. But now it has been repealed following changes to EU regulations on the testing of cattle.

It’s a somewhat prosaic fate for such an expansive expression.

To some, this is entirely natural. “The way language develops is that terms will shorten over time,” says Denny Hilton, a senior assistant editor at the Oxford English Dictionary. “It’s just how words tend to evolve.” More.

See: BBC

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