Around the web – October 2016

October 9th was world Hangeul Day. Do you know anything about Korea’s alphabet, which – because it was deliberately invented – is sometimes called the most scientific writing system in the world? Anyway, here’s your October round-up of popular articles about language and translation.

• When is it time to say goodbye to a client?
• What are the Do’s and Don’ts for sending your CV to outsourcers and translation agencies?
• Separated by a common language blogger Lynne Murphy published three interesting posts: what do Americans call dandelion clocks? Do Americans use commas more than Brits? (Or vice versa?) and What are the differences between UK & US uses of ‘lewd’?

Donald Trump has been criticised for his lewd remarks about women

• Why should you attend events outside the translation industry?
• Several British tabloid newspapers reported on prospects of war with Russia after The Daily Star mistranslated (using Google Translate) an obscure Russian website.
• What words in other languages seem like English but aren’t?

Der ‘Oldtimer’ is a German word for a classic or vintage car         (Credit: Alamy)

• Is Hungarian Europe’s most complex language?
• What are the reasons involved in re-naming countries, cities and streets?

Stradbroke Island in Queensland, Australia, faces a campaign to refer to it only by its Indigenous Australian name, Minjerribah. Photograph: naphakm/Getty Images

• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Here are 30 words, phrases and neologisms popularised by cinema.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was made famous in the 1964 film Mary Poppins

• Can you guess the language in this short quiz, using your knowledge of alphabets, language associations, and some educated guessing?

Further reading:

• Around the web – September 2016
• Around the web – July & August 2016
• A few facts about the Korean language