Although we were all aware of COVID-19 when I posted my last round-up on 29th February, I think few of us could have imagined the situation we’re living through right now. Today, instead of listing articles by order of popularity as I normally do, and in case you’re fed up of hearing about the coronavirus, I’ve divided this blog post into two sections: links that are either related or unrelated to COVID. It’s interesting to note in this (longer-than-normal) post that the majority of March’s most popular articles were actually the latter.
Links unrelated to COVID-19:
- How do you nudge a dormant client? asks Corinne McKay.
- March 8th was the International Women’s Day. Unfortunately the corporate world has taken to branding the day and marking it with ’empowering’ messages.
A message to our sponsors
- On a side note, here are nine translated books that have been written (but not always translated) by women.
- Understanding language rights as human rights links language recognition to freedom of expression and non-discrimination.
- In a world where everything is “curated”, what does the word even mean?
- Scorching, furious and delighted or vast, spotless and awesome? Cambridge Dictionay’s About Words blog took a look at some extreme adjectives in the English language. They also looked at some common proverbs.
A senses of vastness
- Is it ‘geez’ or ‘jeez’? Lynne Murphy examines the differences between UK and US English use of the term.
- Japan asked the international media to change how Japanese names are written, but no one listened.
- Trilingual literary translator, poet, and memoirist E. J. Koh talks about the pursuit of translation in this interview.
- 20th March is International French Language Day. This year also marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of what was to become the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Many see “social distancing” to be the greatest pandemic-era addition the vernacular yet.
COVID-19-related posts:
- How do innocuous words become insidious in the face of a public health emergency?
When language goes viral
- In an instant our vocabulary — just like everything else — has changed.
- Coronavirus meets linguistic diversity.
- How are translators around the world translating “social distance” and other COVID-19-related terms?
- Lots of people are talking about being in ‘quarantine’ when in fact they mean ‘isolation’.
What’s the difference between “quarantine” and “isolation”?
- FIT-IFT, AIIC and WASLI appealed to international & national organisations and institutions to include freelance interpreters and translators in economic, social, tax & other measures to alleviate the severely negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
- To finish on a note of humour here’s a collection of the funniest coronavirus jokes and memes (so far – doubtless there will be more before this is over).
Further reading:
A Smart Translator's Reunion 