This month marked an important milestone for me, as a quarter of a century ago (!) on 25th February 1994 I created the company that would eventually become Smart Translate. On a more global scale, February 21st was annual International Mother Language Day. For more on the subject of language here’s a look at the most popular stories about translation and language for February 2019.
- The Netflix film ‘Roma’ recently won awards at the Oscars. But if you’ve watched it with French subtitles you might not have appreciated it very much.
“There is nothing like a couple of sentences without verbs or articles to disorient viewers.”
- Claire Cox blogged about promoting the highest standards in the language profession.
- Renowned translator of Japanese literature Donald Keene died aged 96 on February 24th.
- Has France abandoned its interpreters in Afghanistan? (article in French). See also this RFI English article.
Interpreters are called Tarjuman in Dari, the variety of Persian spoken in Afghanistan
- The power of language: we translate our thoughts into words, but words also affect the way we think.
- We actually devote less language to conveying information than what might be expected.
What we talk about when we talk
- We should strive to use languages “to illuminate each other, rather than having a world where one strives to outshine the other”.
- Language and food: why do potatoes make great idioms?
Potavid
- Humour: here are 6 hilarious video game voice-over fails.
- Lastly, colleague Nikki Graham is currently running a survey on translation qualifications. You can participate here.
Further reading:
A Smart Translator's Reunion 
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