Have you been away on holiday since the end of June? If you were in the northern hemisphere you might well have suffered from the prolonged heatwave. Let’s cool off with a look at the most popular stories about language and translation for July and August.
- In this article, three economists use data on languages spoken in the EU to show that post-Brexit, German and French would become dominant in its institutions over English.
- Talking about Europe, one of the recent major language news stories concerned incorrect translations of the executive summary of the British Government’s Brexit white paper. This op-ed FT article by Michael Skapinker says this translation gaffe shows a deeper cluelessness.
- Kate Briggs recently wrote a book about translation called This Little Art. Benjamin Moser wrote a review in The New York Times. Nine leading translators (including Susan Bernofsky, Lawrence Venuti and Emily Wilson) wrote an open letter criticising Moser’s review. Here’s what colleague Tim Gutteridge thinks about it all.
- In World Literature Today, Amanda Allard writes about her new translation of Marguerite Duras’s The Lover.
An emerging translator explores how translating The Lover helped her become “unstuck” at a time when she felt neither fully at home in English or in French.
- Forensic linguistics: how a murderer was brought to justice by his texting style.
- What exactly is the ‘-dom’ in ‘freedom’? Where does this noun-forming suffix come from?
- What are the least popular emojis on Twitter?
These are the top ten most popular emojis on Twitter. But what are the least popular ones?
- Have you seen the film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? How have other countries translated its absurdly long title?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with a potato peel pie
- This map shows the (often hilarious) literal translations of Chinese names for U.S. States.
- Humour: what it’s like to have an imperfect accent in France?
On a final note, nominations are now open for the 2018 ProZ.com community choice awards.You can nominate candidates in translation and interpreting categories here.
Further reading:
A Smart Translator's Reunion 