Did you know that the Finnish word for March, maaliskuu, is believed to come from the word maallinen in the sense of “earthly”, because snow begins to melt and first spots of bare earth can be seen? Anyway here’s your March round-up of popular articles about translation and language.
- One of this month’s top language news stories was the missing Oxford comma $10 million lawsuit. But it’s not the first time rogue punctuation has proved costly.
In 2006 Alitalia listed $39.00 for a business class fare from Toronto to Cyprus instead of the usual $3,900. Estimated cost to the carrier: $7.7m.
- This EU Guide gives key climate change terms in 23 languages (PDF).
- The phenomenon of mansplaining doesn’t just exist in English-speaking countries. Here’s a linguistic guide to the term in 34 other languages.
Now you can say ‘mansplaining’ in 35 languages
- Is English becoming Americanised? Listen to the debate on BBC Radio 4’s Word Of Mouth.
- Lauren Gawne of Superlinguo has made a great list of linguistics and language podcasts. Lauren herself co-hosts the Lingthusiasm podcast with Gretchen McCulloch. Also at Superlinguo: Why say ‘nieces and nephews’ when you can say ‘niblings’?
- Some names are harder to live with abroad: Why it’s hard to be a Kevin in France.
- Do we need a better lexicon about sex wonders The Allusionist? And if so, should we call it a sexicon?
Does the available vocabulary for sex leave something to be desired?
Humour:
Would you use these solicitors?
- More funny sign translations.
- Australian accents explained by comedian Simon Taylor.
Humour en français :
- Quand quelqu’un ne connaît pas un métier cela donne lieu à des demandes totalement insolites (ici des demandes faites à des agences web).
Further reading:
A Smart Translator's Reunion 