August 2009

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Will Facebook Own Crowdsourced Translation?

by Richard Brooks August 27, 2009 Languages

On Tuesday, the Baltimore Sun noted that Facebook has applied for a patent for its crowdsourced translation application. The app, which has been in use since early last year, has helped Facebook quickly and efficiently translate its pages into different languages.

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Cash Machines in London go all Cockney

by Richard Brooks August 27, 2009 Languages

According to the BBC five cash machines in east London will be talking in cockney for the next three months. The cash machines belong to Bank Machine’s ATM’s. Customers will be able to choose Cockney as a language option. They can expect to see phrases such as ‘please enter you huckleberry Finn’ rather than ‘pin’ [...]

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President Obama in Controversy over Healthcare Translation Policy

by Richard Brooks August 20, 2009 Languages

Accoring to various news reports there is controversy in the USA this week over ‘ObamaCare’ policies which state proposed healthcare reform plans which include providing on site interpreters for patients who have limited English. The healthcare reform legislation is currently pending in Congress. English language advocates are up in arms as this could add a [...]

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Confusion over Nazi Slogan Translations

by Richard Brooks August 18, 2009 Languages

The federal court of justice has overturned the conviction of a man who was fined 4,200 euros for possessing and transporting 100 t-shirts which were to be sold with the words ‘Blood and Honour’ printed on the front. ‘Blood and Honour’ is a translation of the German ‘Blut und Ehre’ which was a Hitler Youth [...]

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Facial Expressions Don’t Always Translate

by Richard Brooks August 17, 2009 Education

Facial expressions and body language are often thought of as a universal language. However, researchers from The University of Glasgow have now discovered that the way people perceive facial expressions varies across different cultures.

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Google adds Hawaiian Language

by Richard Brooks August 10, 2009 Languages

Web giant Google have added a Hawaiian language version of its search engine. It was done by Keola Donaghy of the Ka Haka Ula Oke’elikolani college of Hawaiian Language. Keola Donaghy campaigned for 3 years to get Google to produce a Hawaiian version of its search engine. He estimates that it took him 100 hours [...]

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Unlocking the Meaning of an Ancient Hieroglyphic Script

by Richard Brooks August 7, 2009 Languages

Translating ancient scripts is difficult, especially when the civilization they belonged to is long gone. We lucked out with the ancient Egyptians when we found the Rosetta Stone, which had the same passage translated into three different scripts: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic Egyptian and classical Greek. Since linguists could read classical Greek, they were able [...]

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5,000 New German Words

by Richard Brooks August 4, 2009 Languages

According to the BBC around 5,000 new words have been added to the German language in the latest edition of the well respected German dictionary, Duden. Most of the new words have come from the English speaking world. New terms have been added such as ‘After show party’, ‘No-go area’, ‘It girl’ and ‘Babyblues’. Twitter [...]

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