Around the web – December 2018 & January 2019

Here’s a look at the most popular stories about translation, interpreting, and language for December 2018 and January 2019*.

• In the UK, unqualified interpreters used by police have caused court delays, and in at least one instance the collapse of a case.
• Some words don’t cross borders very easily. 
• Did you know a former conference interpreter was recently elected to Switzerland’s top government post?

Karin Keller-Sutter is an alumni of The Institute of Translation and Interpreting at Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

• The Society of Authors has announced its 2018 Translation Prize shortlists.
• What does the profession of literary translator entail?
• December is always the time for “words of year” and 2018’s crop were particularly depressing. But will they last?

“Toxic”, “single-use” and “misinformation” were amongst the words of the year for 2018.

• Translating film titles can be a tricky business
• Duck cold: How do the French use animals to talk about weather?

Ducks gather on the bank of the Yauza river during snowfall in Moscow on December 19, 2018. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

• Humour: some of the funny words that kids invent

“Insect Day” is more commonly known as “Inset Day”.

• Français : quand la traduction de l’anglais au français est amusante autant que ridicule

* I was away from late December until January (hence the round-up covering two months), and so I’ll leave you with a “translation” I saw on my travels …

close-up of the English

close-up of the French

Further reading:

• Around the web – October 2018
• Around the web – November 2018
• Translation troubles
• Just the tonic!
• Too funny for public transport?

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Around the web – November 2018

Here’s a look at the most popular stories about translation, interpreting, and language for November.

• Language problems: interpreters need to grasp cultural differences as well as linguistic ones when responding to crises.
• The art of hyping machine translation (or when the media take a well-spun PR message at face value).
• When is it time to bade farewell to a client? asks colleague Claire Cox.

Claire Cox: “As a professional translator, I don’t want to work for an outfit that regards me as an interchangeable cog in a large machine”.

• International trade: without the language industry, most exporting and importing would stop (see also follow-up post here).
• How do the French convey excitement linguistically and culturally?
• Geoffrey Pullum has written a brief ‘Brexicon’ – a glossary of recent Brexit-related coinages that may help any non-Brits confused about the language used to talk about the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. (see also this guide in The Guardian, published the same week)

Do you know the meaning of ‘Brino’, ‘ERG’ ‘remoaner’ or ‘Maybot’?

• Does the ‘wright’ in ‘playwright’ have anything to do with ‘write’?
• Should we say octopuses or octopi? Can we finally resolve the debate?

Eight tentacles, three plural forms, and only one right way to say it.

• Why the time is now for foreign language music hits in the English-speaking world.
• Take a look at these beautiful linguistic maps of Europe, Asia and Africa dating from 1741.

Eighteenth-century German linguist Hensel probably had to use second-hand and third-hand transcriptions for languages he was unfamiliar with.

• Try your hand this trending words 2018 quiz. How did you do? Many of the terms aren’t particularly new, but have become popular this year.

 

Further reading:

• Around the web – October 2018
• Around the web – September 2018

Interpreting 20 years ago

Sorting through some old papers I came across this article from a local newspaper dated 22nd July 1993. The person to the right in the photo is me when I had not long turned 23 and this was one of my first major liaison interpreting contracts: for a week I interpreted for an American architect from Louisiana who had been invited to Reunion to compare Creole architecture in the Southern US with that of the island. I remember that I worked hard compiling my glossary and terminology list and that it came in very useful, but I also cringe when I think about how inexperienced I was!

Do you have any cringe-worthy photos, memories or experience to share too?