Ahmadinejad's Speech Hampered by Translation Problems
September 27, 2010
A speech by the President of Iran was lost on English speakers when translators stopped speaking, blaming technical glitches. Mamoud Ahmadinejad was addressing a world poverty conference at the United Nations in New York when he announced that "there's no translation." UN interpreters' … » read more
Journalist Says Schools Lack Proper Grammar
September 27, 2010
UK schools must do more to teach grammar, a British journalist and editor has said. Simon Heffer, an associate editor and columnist for the Daily Telegraph (London) told BBC Radio 4's Today program that there are "many contexts in life where formal education in every sense of the word is required. I think … » read more
Fijian Government Wants National Language
September 27, 2010
The government of the Republic of Fiji is considering plans to designate a single national language. Fiji, whose islands lie 200km north of New Zealand, already has three official languages—I taukei (Fijian), English and Hindi. Speaking at the launch of a Fijian language textbook recently, however, education … » read more
Thousands Be Talkin' Like Pirates
September 20, 2010
Spurred on by the web, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide hoisted their Jolly Rogers and swashbuckled with gusto to take part in one of modern life's more unusual linguistic celebrations. International Talk Like a Pirate Day was instituted in 1995, but the advent of social networking sites such as … » read more
Linguistic Divides Fuel Debate over Ukraine Language Bill
September 20, 2010
Politicians in multilingual Ukraine are divided over a proposed bill that would strengthen minority languages. The bill would retain Ukrainian as the official language of Ukraine but loosen restrictions on other prominent languages, such as Russian, Bulgarian and Hungarian. Head of the Russian-Speaking … » read more
Automatic Translation Pioneer Dies
September 20, 2010
A pioneer in computer translation technology has died at the age of 77. Beginning in the 1970s, Czech-born Frederick Jelinek led a team of researchers in developing speech recognition technology. Although neither he nor his team had linguistic training, he applied mathematical principles to the … » read more
New Dictionary Reflects Modern Chinese, Garners Criticism
September 07, 2010
The Oxford University Press has spent six years researching for the latest version of its Chinese dictionary. The OUP, which also publishes the multivolume Oxford English Dictionary, is courting controversy among Chinese language purists by including internet words denounced by critics as simply … » read more
Google Experimenting with Voice Translation
September 07, 2010
Google chief Eric Schmidt has unveiled a new live translation smartphone application at a conference in Germany. Schmidt demonstrated the technology in Berlin, during the keynote address at a conference for the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA), the largest global consumer electronics … » read more
Welsh Speakers May Not Use Welsh-Language Services
September 07, 2010
A consumer watchdog has said that Welsh speakers say they want Welsh-language services more than they actually use them. Consumer Focus Wales has warned that the government's newly appointed Welsh Language Commissioner, whose role will be to encourage bilingual services, may … » read more
Digest: Google Good for Your Health and More
September 07, 2010
Internet search giant Google is lending a hand to translate health articles into Arabic, Hindi and Swahili. The company described language as "the barrier that denies millions of people worldwide the opportunity to improve their health with valuable health information." Volunteers in a pilot project will use the … » read more
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