Metaglossia: The Translation World

"ASCO 2026: the art of translation
Translating emerging science into care that works meaningfully in practice

Every year, ASCO arrives with a theme. Most quietly disappear into the background by the end of the opening session, overtaken by survival curves, late-breaking data and the relentless pace of oncology innovation.

This year’s theme was different. Translation.

More than a congress slogan, it felt like a call to action. The opening message was that oncology’s job isn’t just to generate innovation, but to ensure that innovation makes a difference where it matters.

That means translating emerging science into care that works meaningfully in practice. And translating clinical research into real-world impact across different healthcare systems, settings and communities.

For those working in healthcare marketing, there’s another challenge too: translating complex science into communications and experiences that help people understand, trust and act on it.

Because, as ASCO President Eric Small put it: “What matters to patients is what matters most.”

This year, breakthroughs were only part of the story.

What stood out most was how much smarter oncology is becoming in terms of when, why and how to treat. Across tumour types, discussions repeatedly returned to the same themes: intervening earlier, understanding disease more precisely, tailoring treatment more effectively and making better use of the tools available to clinicians.

Ultimately, ASCO 2026 wasn’t just about hazard ratios and first-in-class molecules. It was about exploring a broader question: how do we translate scientific progress into better outcomes for patients? Here are the trends that stood out.

Read the article in full here.

Costas Saratsis is Medical Strategy Director and Disha Srivastava is Group Director, Medical Strategy, both at VML Health
6th July 2026"
https://pmlive.com/pharma_news/asco-2026-the-art-of-translation/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

During nearly forty years in Pakistan, the Dutch Franciscan missionary carried out an unparalleled body of biblical and liturgical translations that enabled the emerging local Catholic Church to enter into profound dialogue with the country’s Muslim spirituality. An interview with American scholar Charles Ramsey

Last update: 2026-07-07 15:37:12

Last 6-7 June, the conference Of Priests and Sufis: Revisiting Catholic Scholarship on Islamic Mysticism was held at the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO) in Cairo. Organized by Riccardo Paredi, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow at the Catholic University of Milan, as part of the SEMENSUF (Seminal Sufism in Motion) project, the conference explored the contribution of Catholic priests and religious to the study of Sufism. Among the speakers was Charles Ramsey, chaplain at Baylor University, who presented a paper entitled “Liberius Pieterse (1905–1993) and the Sufic Roots of the Urdu Bible.” His presentation focused on a Dutch Franciscan missionary who spent nearly forty years in Pakistan and whose theological outlook was profoundly shaped by the country’s devotional and mystical traditions. We asked Ramsey to tell us more about this remarkable figure and to explain how Pieterse came to produce his Urdu translation of the Bible

 

Interview by Claudia Catanzaro

 

In the conference Of Priests and Sufis held in Cairo on June 6-7, you presented a paper on Liberius Pieterse. Who was this little-known scholar and what makes his missionary experience different from that of other Catholic missionaries in Pakistan?

What drew me to this person was that he was like one of those aromas that you smell and then ask yourself where it is coming from. Who is that? Liberius Pieterse, born Simon Carel, who converted to Catholicism as a young man. He took on this name and became a priest, but he remained someone about whom we know relatively little. He adopted a hidden spirituality. Not that he was hiding anything; rather, he wanted to make himself truly a servant of the Church, a servant of the people, and to live among the poor. I think that was at the heart of his spirituality, and it was faithful to his religious tradition as a Franciscan.

I had heard many times about the Catholic Bible translated by Pieterse. I myself am Protestant and Baptist, and so it was one of those that we’d consult on occasion, but it’s not something that I use daily. But everyone who studies Urdu, Urdu theology, and Urdu biblical tradition, agrees that the Catholic Bible is better. We all agree that the phrases are nicely said and sound somehow a little more natural and more literary than the Protestant version. There is an Urdu Bible translation that was prepared mostly in the modern era by Protestant missionaries – British, American, German. The Roman Catholics in the Punjab, what is now Pakistan, came quite late. Part of what Father Liberius Pieterse did was address a community that was forming. It was a church that was coming into being and that was using the Bible prepared by Protestants, that was missing the deuterocanonical portions of it – which can be important in liturgy. 

At this time, there was no formal liturgy in Urdu, no songbook or hymnal, and people had to use what they had. Liberius Pieterse took what was there and, with a deep understanding of the community and love for the people, improved the Urdu Bible, brought forth the additional deuterocanonical books, and, through deep engagement with the biblical texts and Church tradition, as well as a knowledge of poetry and music, combined singing, poetry, hymns, and the music of the people with the scriptures of the people, the Bible of the people.

That is very special, that usually does not happen in such a way. It usually takes hundreds of years, many different people. He was not a lone man working by himself, he’s a man working in community, with other priests and scholars from the community, men and women, mostly Pakistani. But he’s the one who helps and guides them and provides a culture for those who are translating the texts and are committed to the culture and the local language. A Sufi culture, but also committed to the church. 

Pieterse wanted the Bible to be clearly and evidently connected to Rome and to its tradition, but truly and authentically Pakistani. I emphasize Pakistani because he lived there before and during the violent and chaotic period of Partition. He lived among the people and learned their languages. Partition happened, and he, unlike any other missionary we know of, became a Pakistani citizen. He was so committed to the land, to its people, and to the future of this new nation that he lived among them until his death. He died during a visit to Rome. He was there for a conference and suffered a heart attack at the airport. By that time, he had been in Pakistan for over forty years, and we can only assume that he would have remained there until his death.

Liberius Pieterse was a very special man: not very well known, and someone who did not draw attention to himself. Most of the things he wrote did not bear his name, and additional research is needed to find him there. But his voice and his influence have been very faithful and fruitful. 

 

Which elements of Sufism are most clearly reflected in Pieterse’s Urdu translation of the Bible? And which linguistic choices most clearly reveal the influence of the Sufi context?

I would begin with the culture. As someone living in that land and among the people, the Islam that Pieterse experienced and came to know was Sufi Islam. He was in rural Sindh, in an area that is known even today as the heartland of Sufism in Pakistan. It was almost a rebellious center, because there was so much pressure from the Arab world and from the modernizing world to leave these old traditions and this spirituality behind.

In my paper, I emphasized that there is both a theological aspect and a sociological aspect. The theological aspect concerns the importance of these living saints, these awliyāʾ, spiritual figures who have authority. Through them comes the grace of God: healing, health, childbearing, protection from demons – everything related to the spiritual and inner world – and access to divine power through what we would call shafāʿat, the ability of one person to intercede on your behalf. In fact, throughout much of Sindh, not to have an allegiance to the Sufi awliyāʾ and to the chain of blessing would be seen as a character flaw. The whole idea is that there is this chain of blessing that has been passed on, so that they can intercede. The theology of that is very important. These people occupy a great place of honor. 

From a sociological perspective, the awliyāʾ have a great deal of social power. They are able to gather people and give them direction. They can greatly influence elections, and they have access to significant financial resources and land. They have both social and financial capital. Even today, many elections in Pakistan are shaped by the authority, the sīfārish, of these great leaders. One of the most famous is Pir Pagara, who lived in the very area where Liberius lived, during a time of social unrest, when people wanted the British to leave. In fact, one of the last people executed – hanged by the British for insurrection – was the father of the Sufi leader living in the area where Liberius was.

Liberius lived within this whole world of theological, cultural, and political Sufism. He understood the place these spiritual authorities had in the lives of the people. He understood the rhythms of going to festivals, to the ʿurs, and he understood the music. Sindhi Sufism is deeply musical: its shrines hold regular singing events. It is a thriving, vital, and very colorful culture. That is where he learned Islam and the language. The conversations he had there shaped his view of the world and of the people.

Secondly, this was a time when Pakistan was defining itself as a land for Muslims. Those translating the Bible or working as missionaries before Partition had always worked with a multi-religious audience. They had been preparing something that had to be understood by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Muslims. The questions were many: what language should we use? What codes should we use to clarify and communicate our vision of the divine and the meaning of Scripture in a way that was understandable to the people?

Pieterse, however, was writing for an audience that had defined itself as Muslim. This was a Bible for the Urdu-speaking Church of Pakistan. There was already a history of Muslim influence in Urdu Bible translations, going all the way back to Protestant work, such as that of William Carey and Henry Martyn, and others who had drawn on Muslims because they were leaders in society, they had great influence, and they were also specialists in Urdu. Urdu had so many Persian and Arabic roots that it made sense to draw on Muslim interlocutors.

 

When Pieterse was working on his translation, he was looking through a particular lens, one shaped by the linguistic and cultural tools available in the Sufi culture around him. The audience that was going to receive, hear, and read it was Muslim. Also, most of the people among whom he lived were poor and illiterate, whether they were Muslim or new Christians who had become part of the Church.

Those who could read were likely to belong to the middle or upper classes; they were likely to be Muslim and to have been educated in a very particular way, through the Persian kitābī tradition. To be educated meant that you had memorized and learned a great deal of Persian poetry, that you had learned how to read Arabic and recite the Qur’an, but that much of your cultural learning, your poetry, and what shaped your vision of the world was actually Persian. Those who could read were reading that tradition. Those who could not read were reciting Sufi poetry, and so these were the tools that were available to him. When Pieterse sat down to prepare his Urdu translation, he read it in the company of friends, both Christian and Muslim. As he read it, he worked on the phrases and the language to make sure it was understandable to them. He made it as indigenous and as contextualized as he could.

For instance, many of the deuterocanonical books contain a great deal of poetry. What Pieterse did was take the existing Hebrew, and some Syriac, and, as he looked at the poetic structures there, try to match them and bring them into a localized poetic idiom, with a rhyme form that would be familiar and, as I like to say, “prayable.” It is something that, when you read it, you can pray it. There was a rhythm, there was a cadence. It was natural not only to understand the meaning, but to engage with it and to pray these words.

There is a sense of the poetic nature of the language in the theological aspect of intercession. Pieterse inserted a word that is very clearly Sufi, we see it in poetry over and over again: wajd. It is the idea of experiencing the Holy Spirit, of being overcome by the Spirit by entering the Spirit. He was in a very ecstatic culture, where people wanted to cultivate that kind of experience. So he pointed to the experience of the Holy Spirit, to the coming of the Holy Spirit, through a word that had direct Sufi connotations and had not been used in any other Bible translation, certainly not in the Urdu one.

 

And when there was no equivalent in the Sufi lexicon?

Indeed he created some new categories. He was trying to say: we can bring the Hebrew into Urdu, but some ideas are not simply one-to-one. Even when we talk about love: what is the definition of love? What does love look like? How do we take a term like agápē, love, and bring it into Urdu? It had not been easy for earlier translators to move from Hebrew to Greek, and it was not easy for him either to bring these ideas into Urdu without mixing the meaning. That is the difficulty of translation. It needs to be understandable and somehow digestible, but without lessening the value of what you are saying. You want the reader to grapple with this new idea, or with a new way of understanding the word itself.

I think Liberius was very intentional about that. He made certain choices in order to make the Gospel appealing to a Muslim reader hearing or reading it for the first time. I think he wanted it to be familiar, but at the same time he did not want them to think that it was exactly what they already had. That would have confirmed that they were right and that they could simply go on unchanged. He invited them to reflect on certain words, such as “church” and “baptism.” The Protestant Bible had rendered “church” as jamāʿat, a gathering. He decided to stay with the Greek and use ekklēsía. He then reflected on what it meant to be part of the Church, because he wanted to introduce the ecclesiology of which he was a part. He wanted them to understand the importance of being grafted into this larger structure of the universal Church, the Roman Church. The other word was “baptism.” There were many options, but again he chose to use the Greek term, báptisma. Sometimes, instead of giving a meaning that would be more readily understandable, he left the word opaque, so that the person had to reflect on its meaning.

 

What are the advantages or potential risks of translating Christianity through a vocabulary closely associated with Islamic spirituality?

I would say that this is no more dangerous than translating the Bible into German and placing it within a pre-existing German spirituality. That was very difficult. People already had their own understanding. Before someone like Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, people already had a Bible in their own language, and there was already a spirituality there. There were things they had heard and things they had read. So the translator was grappling with the text, with the language, and with the spirituality of the people. There is a context, a pretext, and a text.

I do not think we need to be afraid of coming too close to Islamic spirituality. I do not think it is any more dangerous, or any more difficult, than translating the Bible into any other cultural spirituality. There are certainly points of connection, echoes, and a language that is very rich and full of meaning.

If we think about the history of Muslim-Christian relations, the Bible has been a place of disagreement and conflict. We have not seen the Muslim community engage deeply or closely with Scripture, not even scholars. It is quite a modern phenomenon to see this kind of intentional engagement.

We have plenty of examples of Muslim exegetes who studied the Bible and included it in their commentaries of the Qur’an. We also have plenty of sayings of Jesus. But when one tries to grapple with the Christian and biblical message, it has always been a point of contention. I do not think we made it easier for them. In Pakistan, as the translation moved forward through successive editions, it became less available to Muslims, not more. The language began to shift, with fewer Arabic or Persian words and simpler sentences, so that a common laborer, or a reader without much education, could understand it. Today the Bible, particularly the Protestant Bible more than the Catholic one, has a kind of “Christianese” Urdu: a language known only to Christians and used only in the Church. This translation choice was intended to protect a community that owned the word and the Bible. It was the Bible for their community; it was not for the majority of people. I do not think that was Liberius’ heart. I think his intention was to create a Bible accessible to everyone, because we do not know who is going to end up in the Church.Today, most of the church comes from one particular segment of society. They tend to be from the Punjab, quite poor, from a particular background that doesn’t connect easily with their Muslim or “higher status” neighbors. There is a 5,000-year history of division between them that predates the modern era. They comprise the majority of the church today and this pre-existing cultural identity affects the reception of the translation in use today. Liberius was creating something available to everybody, and he had to use a language that was understandable, a Sufi-infused language. 

After him, and in Pakistan today, there are Christians and Muslims working together who have experimented with studies of the Bible in an Urdu that readily embraces Muslim spirituality and Sufi terms. Those trained there were trained in the seminary founded by the Franciscans, and we see some of that heritage and teaching. There is a journey today; it is not a closed book, but a thriving community. It is a community of growing relationships and growing influence in society. We see that in the arts, in music, and in so many areas of Pakistani culture. It is an exciting day when you see Muslim scholars reading the Bible with care and interest, wanting to study Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, and attempting studies on their own. I see that as connected to the legacy and work of Liberius Pieterse. He is known among the people as Āzād, which is the translation of Liberius, meaning “free man” or “the man who has been set free.” We see his spirituality being carried forward even among some Muslim scholars and thinkers today.

 

If Pieterse were working in present-day Pakistan, a country that differs profoundly from the Pakistan of the first year of independence, would he still adopt the same approach?

I cannot help but compare Father Liberius to some of the Catholic missionaries I know today. Two are from Ireland, one from the Netherlands, and they have done beautiful work. They themselves have adopted a form of dress and a style that are very indigenous, very Pakistani. Walking through the community, they look like Sufi saints, with their clothing, their white beards, and the love people have for them. People go to them for prayer and blessing; they are seen as holy people in the community. There is something very Sufi in the way they carry themselves. But I think they are also very gentle and careful to remain under the authority of the indigenous Church, of the bishops and the archbishop. The culture today is one in which protecting people from danger and persecution is very important. Nobody wants to be accused of pretending to be a Muslim, or of trying to convert Muslims, or of saying anything negative about Islam; that can be extremely dangerous.

The second element is that you do not want your Church to be confused or to come under pressure to become Muslim. If Liberius arrived in Pakistan today and were beginning his work, I think he would look around the community and say: “Wow, there is so much to be done, so many educational needs, so much poverty. We do not need to put our energy into evangelization, or into taking the Gospel into other languages and communities, because we have so much to do right here.” So I do not think he would adopt the same approach. I think he would have Muslim friends and would love music and poetry. But I think the fact that he arrived when he did gave him a particular perspective, a particular understanding. Again, he was a man within history. He was living at a time when the Church had not yet been formed. The clay was still very wet, and I would say that God used him to help shape the clay, which is the Church of Pakistan, and he did that very beautifully.

But no, I do not think he would be doing the same thing today. I think the contextualization of the Gospel within Muslim spirituality today is the work of Muslims. I think there is a curiosity and an interest, and those who are doing that today tend to be Muslims. The beauty of it is that they meet Christian friends, priests, and missionaries who are willing to engage with them and want to help: “Do you need a Bible dictionary? Do you need me to explain what this means? Because I hear that you want to do this in a way that is authentic and faithful. You are not trying to subvert the Bible; you are trying to understand it.” In relationships like that, I think something special happens, but there is also a shift of power.

Liberius, if you will, was going to be the one printing the Bible; he was going to be the one making the final choices. He was authorized to decide what went on that page and what people would read. The power was in his hands. When someone else reads the text and prepares their own translation, then in a sense the power is in their hands. That is a very different dynamic.

I think maybe the beauty of the Church today in Pakistan is that it is a vulnerable Church. It is not there with the force of empire, or of the East India Company, or of colonialism, and it can only survive if the community receives it and protects it. In my paper, we look back to a time when there were no Catholic Christians, zero Catholics. Now, there are likely over three million. I sometimes give a lower estimate, 2.5 million, but there are likely three million. It is a growing and thriving Church.

"US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze is taking on the art of translated poetry
By Tess Terrible, Catherine Shen
Published July 6, 2026 at 6:15 AM
Shawn Miller

Born in 1950 to Chinese immigrants, his family wanted him to pursue a safe career path that would assure security and prosperity. But while studying at MIT, he felt the call to write and study poetry; a call that changed the trajectory of his life.

Sze spent his career translating traditional Chinese poetry. He also taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico and is now a professor emeritus of the institute.

Sze is currently traveling the country with his signature Poet Laureate project “Words Bridging Worlds,” a series of workshops and readings that celebrate poetry in translation.

He joins us for a conversation on poetry, the power of language and the art of translation.

Where We Live is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode."
https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/2026-07-06/us-poet-laureate-arthur-sze-interview-2026
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"BEYOND LANGUAGE 2026: Living Up to Its Name
12 cities, 6 countries, 373 participants, 295 presentations, 51 academic institutions, 14 countries represented, and 3 continents, figures that could just as easily describe a scientific expedition, an international congress, or an ambitious mission to explore new intellectual frontiers. Instead, they offer the most fitting summary of BEYOND LANGUAGE 2026, which once again demonstrated that young scholarship recognizes no boundaries, geographical, disciplinary, or intellectual.

Over the course of this year’s edition, participants delivered 295 presentations addressing topics related to language, culture, communication, media, education, technology, and society. The conference brought together representatives of 51 academic institutions from 14 countries worldwide. Particularly impressive was the participation of international institutions, which accounted for 72.5% of all participating organizations. While institutions from Poland (14) and Ukraine (19) formed the largest national groups, the conference reached far beyond Europe. Thanks to scholars affiliated with institutions in Australia, Asia, and Africa, the event acquired a truly intercontinental dimension. One might therefore say that while many different languages were spoken during BEYOND LANGUAGE 2026, scientific curiosity remained the universal language shared by all.

The conference was not only a venue for presenting research findings but also a space for meaningful encounters, inspiring conversations, and the formation of new academic connections. Informal discussions and spontaneous exchanges of ideas served as a reminder that scholarship advances not only during presentations but also in the moments between them. More than one new research project likely began over a cup of coffee, and more than one future publication may have originated from a brief conversation following a panel session.

• This year’s edition unfolded from May through late June, gradually traveling across a series of distinguished academic centers throughout Europe. Each stop had its own unique character, yet all were united by the same goal: creating a platform where young researchers could engage in dialogue across linguistic, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries."
  https://uwr.edu.pl/en/beyond-language-2026-living-up-to-its-name/
  #metaglossia
  #metaglossia_mundus

"Summary: A new study utilized artificial intelligence and ultra-sensitive magnetic brain imaging to map neuro-aging. By tracking a cohort of multilingual individuals from the Basque region of Spain, the team discovered a striking, direct gradient between language count and neurological preservation.

Speaking two languages shaved approximately 6 years off a participant’s biological brain age, while those mastering four languages possessed brains that appeared an astonishing 13 years younger than their actual chronological age.

Key Facts
Building the Neural Timepiece: To construct a highly accurate baseline for normal cognitive decline, the researchers deployed AI to analyze the MEG brain connectivity profiles of a massive training group consisting of 728 individuals spanning a wide age spectrum.
The Basque Multilingual Matrix: The team then applied this validated “brain aging clock” to a test cohort of 144 individuals from the Basque country. This unique population was chosen because participants naturally juggle between one and four distinct languages, including combinations of Spanish, Basque, French, and English.
The Multilingual Gradient Unmasked: When the AI cross-referenced chronological ages with structural brain signatures, it unmasked a step-by-step biological fountain of youth:
Bilinguals (2 Languages): Brains appeared 6 years younger than normal baselines.
Trilinguals (3 Languages): Brains appeared 7 years younger than normal baselines.
Quadrilinguals (4 Languages): Brains appeared an incredible 13 years younger than normal baselines.
Depth of Experience Matters: Dr. Amoruso emphasizes that this neurological protection is not a binary, all-or-nothing switch. The protective delay in brain aging runs along a clear gradient tied directly to high language proficiency, high fluency, and the early childhood acquisition of a second language.
Managing Linguistic Rivals: The research team points out that the brain works hardest when it has to constantly suppress one language to speak another. They plan next-phase trials to investigate whether speaking languages that are highly similar (like Spanish and Italian) triggers an even larger brain-youth effect, as managing closely related vocabulary requires significantly higher levels of active cognitive control.
The Prevention Horizon: While factors like education, sex, and age were rigorously controlled, the team is expanding their scope to track patients with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. The goal is to see if lifelong multilingualism can preserve functional independence even after physical pathology begins damaging brain cells.
Source: FENS

People who speak more than one language seem to have younger brains, according to research presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2026.

Our brains are made up of billions of nerve cells which need to communicate with one another. As we age, the connectivity in our brains tends to deteriorate and, as a result, our memory and the speed of our thinking also decline.

The new research found that the more languages people speak, the younger their brains appear. Learning an extra language at a younger age and learning to become highly fluent in another language also seem to slow brain ageing.

The research was presented by Dr Lucia Amoruso from the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastián, Spain, who worked with a team from the Latin American Brain Health Institute at the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile, the Cognitive Neuroscience Center at the Universidad de San Andres, Argentina, and the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

The researchers recently published a study showing that in countries where people typically speak more than one language, people seem to age more slowly. In the new study, the researchers carried out detailed analysis on a group of people from the Basque region of Spain who spoke between one and four different languages including combinations of Spanish, Basque, French and English.

They began with a group of 728 people to create a ‘brain ageing clock’. They used a technique called magnetoencephalography which measures brain activity by the faint magnetic fields produced when brain cells are active. The researchers used artificial intelligence to process data on brain activity in people of different ages to show what is a normal level of brain connectivity at any given age.

Then the team used this clock to gauge the ‘brain age’ of a second group of 144 people.

When they compared people’s real age with the age of their brain, they found that those who spoke two languages had brains that appeared around six years younger than those who spoke only one language. For people who spoke three languages, their brains were around seven years younger, and for those who spoke four languages, their brains were around 13 years younger.

Dr Amoruso said: “In simple terms, people who spoke more languages tended to have brains that looked younger than expected for their chronological age. The effect was not only related to the number of languages spoken. Higher language proficiency and earlier acquisition of a second language were also associated with more delayed brain ageing. This suggests that multilingual experience matters as a gradient: it is not simply about being bilingual or not, but about the depth and duration of language experience.”

The researchers took account of factors such as people’s age, sex and education, but caution that they cannot rule out the potential influence of other factors that may have an impact on the brain, such as lifestyle and social engagement.

Dr Amoruso and the team now hope to carry out similar work in people with neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, where brain ageing and resilience are especially important. They also plan to look at whether speaking two or more languages that are very similar could have a bigger effect on the brain, as managing closely related languages may require greater language control.

Professor Christina Dalla from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, is chair of the FENS Forum communication committee and was not involved in the research. She said: “We know that many factors can influence our brain health and mental abilities as we age. For example, we know that not smoking, eating well, social and artistic engagement, as well as being active, can help. How we use our brains throughout life can also have an impact, especially if we engage in effortful learning that activates our brain.

“This study suggests that learning a second, third or fourth language could help our brains to stay younger for longer, and the earlier we start, the better. There are many good reasons for learning another language at any age – social, cultural and for the health of your brain – so we should support language learning at school and throughout life, even if it’s hard.”

Key Questions Answered:
Q: How can simply speaking another language make a person’s physical brain look 13 years younger?
A: Think of your brain like a high-performance muscle. When you speak only one language, your brain retrieves words easily without any internal competition. But when you are multilingual, all your mastered languages are constantly active at the exact same time inside your mind. Your brain has to work incredibly hard to suppress the languages you don’t need so you can speak the one you do. This intense, continuous mental effort keeps the brain’s communication pathways heavily active, reinforcing cell connectivity and delaying the natural fraying that occurs as we age.

Q: What is a “brain aging clock” and how did the researchers use AI to build it?
A: A brain aging clock is an artificial intelligence algorithm trained to recognize what a healthy brain looks like at every stage of life. The researchers used a highly advanced brain-mapping machine called a magnetoencephalograph (MEG) to record the microscopic magnetic fields created by active brain cells in 728 people. The AI studied these patterns to map out a “normal” baseline of how brain connectivity naturally drops over the years. When they plugged the multilingual group into this clock, the AI discovered that their internal neural wiring matched the profiles of people who were up to 13 years younger.

Q: Is it worth learning a new language as an adult, or does it only work if you learn it as a kid?
A: It is absolutely worth it at any age. While Dr. Amoruso’s study notes that the absolute strongest, 13-year anti-aging effects happen when you learn languages early in childhood and achieve deep fluency, learning an extra language later in life still provides immense benefits. Professor Christina Dalla, an independent expert from FENS, emphasizes that engaging in “effortful learning”, forcing your brain to tackle a difficult task like a new grammar system, is exactly what sparks neuroplasticity. No matter how old you are, picking up a new language is a phenomenal workout to keep your mind sharp and resilient.

Editorial Notes:
This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.

Original Research: The study will be presented at FENS Forum 2026

Neuroscience News is an online science magazine offering free to read research articles about neuroscience, neurology, psychology, artificial intelligence, neurotechnology, robotics, deep learning, neurosurgery, mental health and more.

https://neurosciencenews.com/multilingualism-ai-brain-age-clock-30999/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Large language models exhibit stigmatizing behaviour in contextual judgements of health conditions

"Current fairness evaluations of large language models (LLMs) deployed in healthcare settings largely focus on explicit statements about health-related stigma. Here we show that this may overestimate safety by contrasting explicit stigma-scale scores with contextual judgements in 51 scenarios. Across six LLMs and three high-stigma domains (human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and mental health), LLMs scored below the meta-analytic human benchmark on six stigma scales (Nhuman = 56,612). However, in a contextual judgement task with 61,200 model decisions, LLMs showed systematic differences in stigma-congruent judgements across health conditions, with the largest differences observed when mental-health disorders and highly stigmatized physical conditions (HIV/HBV) were compared with healthy baselines. Reasoning-enabled models were associated with smaller health-condition differences. From their reasoning content, we identified transferable prompting strategies that were associated with lower rates of stigma-congruent output in non-reasoning models across languages and scenarios. These findings expose a dissociation in LLM outputs between explicit statements and contextual judgements in the evaluated versions, and argue for context-sensitive audits of LLMs before health deployment."
Xi Wang, Yujia Zhou & Guangyu Zhou
Nature Health (2026)
Published: 06 July 2026
Abstract
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44360-026-00164-4
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Traduit de l’arabe par Antonino D’Esposito et publié chez Del Vecchio, le roman de Yassin Adnan figure dans la dernière sélection du Pisa Book Translation Awards 2026, aux côtés d’œuvres d’Amélie Nothomb et de Kevin Chen.

 

La traduction italienne de "Hot Maroc", roman de l’écrivain marocain Yassin Adnan, figure parmi les trois finalistes du Pisa Book Translation Awards 2026, prix italien consacré à la traduction littéraire.

 

La version italienne du roman, traduite de l’arabe par Antonino D’Esposito et publiée en 2025 par Del Vecchio, est en lice aux côtés de "L’impossibile ritorno" d’Amélie Nothomb, traduit du français par Federica Di Lella, et de "Città fantasma" de Kevin Chen, traduit du chinois par Silvia Pozzi.Cette sélection place "Hot Maroc" dans la dernière ligne droite de la sixième édition du prix, organisé dans le cadre du Pisa Book Festival...

 

https://medias24.com/2026/07/07/litterature-la-traduction-italienne-de-hot-maroc-se-hisse-en-finale-a-pise-1717773/

 

#metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Cahiers de littérature orale, n° 99 | 2026 : "Am Slam Gram !"

Am slam Gram ! aborde le slam comme art contemporain d’une parole scénique ouverte à toustes, où se mêlent des genres et registres émergeant à la confluence des domaines et des disciplines. Aucune revue francophone n’avait encore dédié de numéro thématique à cet espace d’expression. C’est maintenant chose faite avec ce numéro des Cahiers de littérature orale, dont le propos est d’en explorer les formes actuelles, non seulement en termes de dispositifs et de formes d’énonciations, mais aussi d’espaces de publication. À travers les expériences poétiques présentées, il est question de traduction dans des performances plurilingues, d’ateliers d’éloquence, d’éthique dans l’animation de scènes ouvertes, de confrontation postcoloniale avec d’autres traditions orales, ou encore de résistance face au chaos sociopolitique. Dans une perspective transdisciplinaire, ce volume donne à entendre des voix singulières et collectives, parfois vulnérables, souvent agentives, naviguant entre Haïti et La Réunion, la France et les États-Unis – berceau du slam –, en passant par l’Italie et l’Allemagne.

—

Sommaire

In memoriam
Laurent LegrainRoberte Hamayon (1939‑2025) [Texte intégral]

Éditorial
Philippe Glâtre et Camille Vorger Am slam gram ! [Texte intégral]

Articles
Eleonora Fisco Translating Slam and Spoken Word Poetry. Translation through Performance [Texte intégral] Traduire le slam et le spoken word. Expériences de traduction en performanceTradurre attraverso la performance. Pratiche di traduzione di slam e spoken word poetry

Jérôme Cabot La cheville ouvrière du dispositif slam [Texte intégral] Fonctions de l’animateur de scène ouverteThe Kingpin of the Slam Apparatus. Functions of the Emcee on Slam Open Stages

Élodie Géas Des ateliers de slam au lycée : l’expression de soi au service du care [Texte intégral] Slam workshops at secondary school: self-expression in the service of care

Audrey Noël et Francky Lauret Un dispositif créole autre que le slam : la pratique poétique réunionnaise du kabar fonnkèr [Texte intégral] A Creole Approach Other Than Slam Poetry: the Poetic Practice of Kabar Fonnkèr in Reunion IslandIn ron la pa lo slam : lo kabar fonnkèr La Rénion

Document
Esther Eloidin Voix insurgées [Texte intégral] L’émergence et l’impact du slam en Haïti, un art de résistance et de renaissanceRebellious voices. The emergence and impact of slam poetry in Haiti, an art of resistance and rebirthVwa ensurjan yo. Aparisyon ak enpak slam an Ayiti, yon atizay rézistans ak renésans

Entretien
Camille Vorger Mélodit [Texte intégral] Trouver sa voix entre slam, poésie et chant. Entretien avec LucioleWords’melody. Interview with Luciole, Between Slam Poetry and SongLa melodía de las palabras. Entrevista con Luciole

Compte-rendu
Laurent LegrainRiverti Camille, 2022, Humour et érotisme dans les Andes. Une ethnographe à marier, Paris : Les Indes savantes, 262 p. [Texte intégral]

Url de référence :
https://journals.openedition.org/clo/15337";
Date de publication : 07 Juillet 2026
Publié le 07 Juillet 2026 par Marc Escola
https://www.fabula.org/actualites/135503/cahiers-de-litterature-orale-n-99-2026-am-slam-gram.html
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Kindle Translate : comment traduire vos livres autoédités du français vers une autre langue ?

Auteurs, vous pouvez traduire vos livres en 6 langues et quelques clics ! Moins de 5 % des livres disponibles sur Amazon sont traduits dans plus d’une langue.

Pour les auteurs indépendants, le coût et la complexité d’une traduction professionnelle ont toujours été un frein.

C’est pour briser cette barrière qu’Amazon lance Kindle Translate, son outil de traduction géré par IA. Maintenant en français.  L’autoédition en France, franchit un nouveau cap !

Initialement limité, le service évolue en s’ouvrant désormais à six langues. Les auteurs indés utilisant Kindle Direct Publishing peuvent désormais traduire leurs ebooks entre l’anglais, l’espagnol, l’allemand, le français, l’italien et le portugais.

Kindle Translate – Comment ça marche ?
Directement depuis l’espace de gestion KDP, vous pouvez générer une version entièrement mise en page de votre livre en quelques clics. L’outil est entièrement gratuit pendant sa phase beta.

Avant la publication, chaque texte est évalué par un système automatisé. Le but est de garantir la qualité et l’exactitude. Les auteurs conservent le choix de prévisualiser le document ou d’activer une publication automatique.

Les livres traduits bénéficient des mêmes options de redevances (abonnements Kindle Unlimited etc.).  Ils portent une étiquette indiquant qu’ils ont été traduits via l’IA d’Amazon.

Un succès qui se chiffre en millions de pages
Pour les auteurs autoédités, l’opportunité est immense. Pouvoir toucher un public mondial sans investir des milliers d’euros c’est une manne, mais attention à ne pas perdre le contrôle.

Des milliers d’auteurs ont déjà adopté l’outil, et les lecteurs ont dévoré des millions de pages de ces livres traduits, selon Amazon.

Avec cette expansion, l’autoédition n’a plus de frontières. Une histoire écrite dans une chambre à Paris ou à New York peut instantanément trouver son public à l’autre bout de la planète dans une multitude de langues."

Par Elizabeth Sutton / 06/07/2026 / Autoédition, IA, Intelligence Artificielle, kindle
https://www.idboox.com/news-livres/kindle-translate-lia-damazon-accepte-le-francais-pour-les-livres-des-auteurs-independants/
#metaglossia : À vos claviers !
#metaglossia_mundus

"Google lance le premier laboratoire africain d’IA à Accra

Google a annoncé le lancement à Accra, au Ghana, du premier laboratoire africain consacré à l’intelligence artificielle appliquée, une initiative destinée à accélérer le développement de start-up africaines spécialisées dans l’IA. L’annonce a été faite le 1er juillet à Johannesburg, à l’occasion du premier Google Cloud Summit organisé sur le continent, où le groupe américain a également indiqué avoir dépassé son objectif d’investir un milliard de dollars en Afrique sur une période de cinq ans.

Baptisée Google Africa Applied AI Lab, cette nouvelle structure sera installée au sein de l’AI Community Centre d’Accra. Elle réunira des entrepreneurs issus de différents pays africains, des chercheurs de Google et des partenaires spécialisés dans le capital-risque afin d’accompagner le développement de solutions fondées sur les technologies d’intelligence artificielle. Les candidatures resteront ouvertes jusqu’au 31 août 2026.

Le programme offrira aux jeunes entreprises un accès anticipé aux derniers modèles d’IA développés par Google ainsi qu’un accompagnement technique et stratégique. Les projets retenus concerneront notamment les secteurs du travail, de la création, de la gestion des connaissances, du divertissement et du développement logiciel. L’objectif affiché est de favoriser l’émergence de futures licornes africaines, ces entreprises technologiques non cotées dont la valorisation dépasse le milliard de dollars.

Lire aussi : Au Ghana, la réforme des redevances sur l’or fragilise confiance et investissements

Une opportunité majeure pour le continent
Selon James Manyika, vice-président senior de Google chargé de la recherche, l’intelligence artificielle représente une opportunité majeure pour le continent africain, et le groupe entend collaborer avec les acteurs locaux afin de soutenir cette dynamique.

Le choix d’Accra s’inscrit dans la continuité de la stratégie africaine de Google. En 2019, l’entreprise y avait déjà inauguré son premier centre de recherche en intelligence artificielle sur le continent, qui mène depuis des travaux portant notamment sur la prévision des inondations, la santé maternelle, la sécurité alimentaire et le développement des langues africaines. En 2025, ce dispositif avait été renforcé par la création d’un AI Community Centre, soutenu par 37 millions de dollars d’investissements cumulés consacrés à la recherche, à la formation et aux infrastructures."
El Mehdi El Azhary
Publié le 06/07/2026 à 17:02
https://www.lebrief.ma/afrique/laboratoire-africain-ia-accra-google-100158685/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

‘A window for seeing, a window for hearing’: On translating Dalit writer Chandu Maheria’s memoir
Translator Hemang Ashwinkumar writes that the memoir helped him ‘reclaim a lost home … from the fog of neofascist irrationality, singularities and despair.’

Writer Chandu Maheria.
One of my favourite poems of all time is “To a Crow” from Arun Kolatkar’s Kala Ghoda Poems (2004), where the humble bird ponders over a roadside twig, wondering if it’ll be a perfect fit for the nest it is building. The bird’s dilemma represents all creative processes, but it also stands in for the ontological and epistemological dilemma of humanity. A dilemma about a home one dreams of, wishes to erect and inhabit, be it textual, cultural, social, national or universal. To cultures attuned to binaries, home is the self to the other of the outside. But a home, with its inheritance of chains, can also be a cage the self seeks to break free of. Thus, the struggle of a creative practitioner, including a translator, is a concomitant abjuring and conjuring of homes. I decided to translate Chandu Maheria’s Homes Without Windows because it afforded my crow the possibility of both: breaking a home and making a home, leaving a nest and weaving a nest, twig by choice twig.

The seedy architecture of caste
The memoir unearths the vibrant community life of the Dalits who had to migrate post-independence to Rajpur and Gomtipur, the working-class suburbs in east Ahmedabad, from far-flung villages in Gujarat because “there was no place for us there, just none” and because seedy chawls, mushrooming in the shadow of mill chimneys, offered them home. A home without windows, perhaps built to the dictates of caste that Dalpat Chauhan so painfully describes in his story “Home”.

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Homes Without Windows is a scathing comment on the seedy architecture of the caste universe whose politics is best captured in Slavoj Žižek’s hermeneutics of toilets. Essentially a schtick, it examines the designs of French, German and Anglo-Saxon toilets to posit the ideologies and cultures of those societies. Indian society remains conspicuously absent from Žižek’s tripartite analysis, but Maheria’s memoir fills that gap. The very first essay presents a profound and multi-layered exploration of the relationship of Dalits with the material, structural reality of toilets and, more significantly, with the idea of faeces. What does a toilet, like the ones at the mouth of Hiralal’s chawl in Rajpur, or its outright, inexplicable absence in different parts of the country even today, say about the character of Indian society? What explains its absence in key human institutions like temples, churches, schools and bazars? Even in homes, for that matter. Notably, toilets in Indian households for a long time were located at the far end of the backyard, that is, away from the sanctum sanctorum of family life. The answer lies in the caste order, rooted in the mendacious metaphysics of purity and pollution, which has been the organising principle of Indian society and, as Alan Dundes shows in Two Tales of Crow and Sparrow (1997), a part of cultural memory. And the people who have borne the burden, the sheer violent brunt, of this toxic ideology are the Dalits, a people ordained to perform dirty jobs as hereditary occupations. At the height of upper caste disgust, a Dalit body, forced to negotiate human excreta, becomes one with it, something which is borne out time and again by unspeakable atrocities like the recent one in which a Dalit youth was force-fed faeces of a dog. The author brings the pathologies of this home in all its revolting starkness and shames us into dumping it.

A longing for equality
Homes Without Windows concomitantly provides us a window to a world not long bygone, a world where identities were not hard-edged or hate-fed but bloomed in the osmosis of lives. A window Forough Farrokhzad sought to “the moment of awareness and seeing and silence.” Thus, in Maheria’s world, Christians celebrated Christmas by organising Natal Garba and Hindus looked forward to sevaiya and holy prasad of Qurbani on Eid and saw teachings of Islam as a part of their moral universe. Here, in a mind-boggling twist to the hoopla of conversion, Hindus called their temples deval (church) and converted Christians insisted on asserting their Hindu identities without guilt. Perhaps, it’s this culture of intermingling that enables Maheria to accommodate Gandhi’s anti-caste campaign within Dalit politics in a luminescent essay, just as it helps him deconstruct the apparently adversarial relationship of the Marxist and Dalit struggles for subaltern emancipation. The way he subverts gender roles in the memoir, invoking the tradition of calling his father Ba (mother), for example, underlines his deep longing for a home of equality, love and friendship. His long essay on his mother Dahima is a paean of love, devotion and admiration for the life of a Dalit woman, spent in fighting odds, altruism and providing her family an anchor of dignity, self-identity and hope.

“A woman as generous as she was truthful and optimistic, Ma never tired of running around for the welfare of her family, neighbours, remote acquaintances, even random passers-by and thus, won glad, grateful hearts, almost in hundreds. Thus, my Dahima, literally a sane mother, was Ma to many.”

Dahima becomes a Cosmic Mother and Maheria prefers to be known, as he was in his Rajpur years, as Dahima no Dikaro (Sonny of a Sane Mother).

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Central to Maheria’s polemic is the idea of biradari, a call to transcend the boundaries of ethnic or social identities, a hail to join forces for imagining a common future on a shared, salubrious planet. He rues the emergence of a political context in Gujarat whereby the Dalit and the Muslim residents of Baharpura in Dhoraji remain outside not just of the town but outside the imagination of developers and policymakers. When a large part of society begins to look upon such exclusion as a precondition to the onward march of history, it augurs a dangerous trend, the erection of a windowless, claustrophobic home.

Homes Without Windows is a mirror, reflecting both the self and the home it has chosen to inhabit in all their hideousness and beauty. It dreams of a home, to use Tagore’s vision for Viswa Bharati, where the whole world meets in a single nest. Translation is an intimate act of reading, but reading, if conscientiously done, can also be an act of translation, a thoroughgoing translation of the self, a self at home (with windows) in the world. In the age of slop and destruction of reason, Maheria’s memoir helped me reclaim a lost home – a Rajpur of my own – from the fog of neofascist irrationality, singularities and despair. The name of his home is “Nirant” (A place sans terror/fear). What’s yours called?"
Hemang Ashwinkumar
Jul 05, 2026 · 07:30 am
https://amp.scroll.in/article/1093668/a-window-for-seeing-a-window-for-hearing-on-translating-dalit-writer-chandu-maherias-memoir
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Sakana AI launches Sakana Translate, a free web app for Japanese, English, and Chinese translation with unique proofreading and Q&A features.

"Sakana AI is stepping into the translation arena with the launch of Sakana Translate, a new feature within its Sakana Chat service. This move aims to bridge language gaps with a focus on the nuances specific to Japanese communication...

Existing translation tools fail: struggle with Japanese subtleties like honorifics and cultural concepts

 

Sakana AI develops: proprietary Namazu model series adapted for Japanese language

 

Launches Sakana Translate: free web app for Japanese, English, Chinese translation

 

Deep Japanese understanding: focus on post-training technologies for nuanced Japanese communication

 

Three core functions: Translate, Proofread, and Ask for comprehensive experience

 

Bridges language gaps: aims to improve communication with unique features

 

The new tool leverages Sakana's proprietary model series, Namazu, which has been specifically adapted for Japanese language contexts. Sakana Translate supports bidirectional translation between Japanese, English, and Chinese.

 

Sakana Translate offers three distinct modes: Translate, Proofread, and Ask. This multimodal approach seeks to provide a more comprehensive translation experience than standard tools.

 

Deep Translation for Japan

 

The company states that existing translation tools often falter when dealing with the subtleties of Japanese, such as business honorifics, cultural concepts, and informal language. Sakana AI's development of Sakana Translate stems from its research into post-training technologies focused on a deep understanding of Japanese language and culture.

 

The concept is to go beyond mere word replacement, aiming to convey the underlying context, tone, and register of the original text. This is crucial for effective communication, especially in business settings.

 

Three Core Functions

 

The 'Translate' mode handles long texts, up to approximately 5,000 characters, with real-time streaming output. This is designed for documents, articles, and emails.

 

The 'Proofread' mode refines input text for naturalness, politeness, and appropriate tone, highlighting changes for easy review. This feature is particularly aimed at improving business correspondence and written English.

 

The 'Ask' function allows users to directly query the translation results. This includes clarifying nuances, exploring alternative phrasing, and understanding grammatical choices, all within the same interface.

 

 

 

 

Competitive Benchmarks

 

Sakana AI reports that Sakana Translate achieves competitive scores in translation quality benchmarks, placing it in a similar range to leading models when evaluated using XCOMET-XL on the WMT 2024 dataset.

 

 

 

 

Qualitative assessments on real-world Japanese texts have reportedly confirmed its strengths in handling honorifics, cultural concepts, and context-specific language.

 

 

 

 

Sakana Translate is currently available for free as a web app, requiring only an account registration. Sakana AI plans future enhancements including industry-specific engines, file translation, and enterprise-focused features like API access and on-premises deployment."

 

Jul 6 at 1:03 AM

 

https://www.startuphub.ai/ai-news/technology/2026/sakana-ai-launches-deep-translation-tool

 

#metaglossia 

 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Edits app gets auto-translated bilingual captions
Meta also added updated creative templates and seasonal sound effects to its video creation tool.

Meta has unveiled even more functions for its Edits video editing app, including auto-generated bilingual captions, improved creative templates and a new range of seasonal sound effects.

The main update this week is auto-generated bilingual captions, which will help creators expand into new markets.

The bilingual captions will offer text in 15 languages, and could greatly expand audience reach potential for content created in the app.

Instagram, which is directly connected to Edits, has been working to improve the exposure opportunities for international content creators by showing more translated posts in Explore feeds.

This update is another step in that direction.

The second image above shows the latest seasonal sound effects options in Edits. Parent company Meta said these will let users “bring summer energy” to their clips.

Meta also added new template creation tools, including expanded support for overlays and the ability to lock clips.

As explained by Meta: “When you lock a clip, it stays in place and easily carries over for anyone who reuses your template.”

That will provide more capacity for creative trends and takes, and could also encourage more users to post their own video updates.

The functionality of Edits continues to expand, with Meta adding new features and tools into the app every other week. It’s worth checking out these tools, which could help maximize short video approaches."
Published July 5, 2026
By Andrew Hutchinson
Content and Social Media Manager
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/edits-app-gets-auto-translated-bilingual-captions/824421/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Meta has added real-time translation for 14 languages, including Korean, to its Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta AI smart glasses, expanding total supported languages to 20. Translated content is delivered through open-ear speakers and a dedicated app. Simultaneously, Meta is accelerating its push into the South Korean market by broadening its sales network from its official website to include the country's three major mobile carriers—SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus—as well as major electronics retailers like Hi-Mart and Electro Mart.

Key Elements

 

Meta has added a real-time Korean translation feature to its AI-powered smart glasses, the "Ray-Ban Meta" and "Oakley Meta." The company announced on the 6th that it now supports real-time translation for 14 new languages, including Korean.

 

With this update, the number of languages Meta's AI glasses can translate in real time has expanded significantly from 6 to 20. Beyond Korean, newly added languages include Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Hindi. Translated content can be heard immediately via voice through the glasses' built-in open-ear speakers and can also be viewed as text within the dedicated Meta AI application.

 

Meta explained that this feature allows users to continue conversations without pulling out their smartphones in situations requiring quick interpretation, such as traveling abroad or speaking with foreigners. Both products were developed in partnership with global eyewear company EssilorLuxottica and officially launched in South Korea at the end of May. They offer photo and video capture, music playback through open-ear speakers, and voice-command-based AI assistant functions. When a user says "Hey Meta," the AI analyzes the surrounding environment and context to provide voice responses.

 

Alongside the software update, Meta is also aggressively expanding its domestic distribution network. The glasses are currently available for online purchase through Meta's official website, and starting on the 22nd, sales will begin on the official online stores of South Korea's three major mobile carriers—SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus—as well as select offline retail locations. The products will also be available at major electronics retailers Hi-Mart and Electro Mart.

 

A Meta representative stated, "AI glasses represent a form factor that redefines how we interact with artificial intelligence," adding, "We plan to continue updating the software so that more users can experience the convenience of daily life through Meta AI glasses."

 

Both the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta are equipped with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and 3K Ultra HD capability, enabling high-resolution photo and video capture. The glasses are designed with a front-facing LED that automatically illuminates during recording to alert those nearby that filming is in progress."

2026-07-06 03:36 (GMT+1)

https://finance.biggo.com/news/b68197e7-eade-4e1f-8be5-2ee66f75bfdc

#metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Recognising deafblindness as a distinct disability
July 5, 2026 
Dr Christine Peta

Imagine living in a world where you cannot see or hear, yet your right to inclusion is still denied.

IN the global conversation on disability rights, one group remains persistently overlooked: people who are deafblind.

In many countries, deafblindness is not formally recognised as distinct from other disabilities, leaving millions of people invisible in statistics, policies and programmes.

Deafblindness is often treated as a subset of other disabilities.

Policies may categorise deafblind persons as either “deaf” or “blind”, erasing the unique nature of their needs.

Yet deafblindness is a distinct disability, with specific challenges, barriers and requirements for support.

For persons with deafblindness, everyday life presents extraordinary hurdles.

Communication, mobility and access to information are profoundly restricted.

Unlike those who are solely deaf or blind, people with deafblindness cannot rely on one sense to compensate for the other.

Tasks such as navigating public spaces, accessing education and healthcare or participating in community life become far more complex.

Without tailored support, many individuals with deafblindness are confined to their homes, dependent on family members and excluded from society.

This isolation erodes mental health, limits opportunities for independence and perpetuates poverty.

One of the most vital supports for people with deafblindness is the professional interpreter-guide.

These specialists provide access to information, communication and services by adapting sign language, tactile methods or spoken language to the individual’s needs.

They also assist with mobility, guiding deafblind persons through public spaces, workplaces and social settings.

Interpreter-guides are more than translators; they are enablers of independence.

With their support, individuals with deafblindness can attend school, participate in meetings, access healthcare and engage in civic life.

Yet in many countries, interpreter-guides are scarce or not formally recognised as essential professionals.

Deafblindness must be explicitly recognised in all disability frameworks.

Investment in interpreter-guides is essential. Awareness campaigns should highlight the distinct nature of deafblindness, challenge misconceptions and promote inclusion.

Tactile communication devices, braille displays and accessible mobile apps can help bridge gaps in communication and information access.

Organisations such as the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) have campaigned for recognition of deafblindness as a distinct disability.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) affirms the right of all persons with disabilities to full inclusion, but implementation remains uneven.

Around the world, individuals with deafblindness have demonstrated resilience, creativity and leadership.

In the United States, the late Helen Keller is celebrated as an example of a deafblind person who achieved extraordinary success. Despite losing both her sight and hearing at a young age, she learnt to communicate through the guidance of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, and became the first deafblind person to earn a college degree. Keller went on to become a renowned author, lecturer and activist, advocating for disability rights, women’s suffrage and social justice.

Haben Girma, born to Eritrean parents, is the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School (2013).

She works globally as a disability rights lawyer, focusing on digital accessibility and inclusion.

She has been honoured by the White House and listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Her story shows how resilience can shape global disability leadership.

David Geyer, born in Brakpan, South Africa, became deafblind after contracting tuberculosis (TB) meningitis as a child.

He co-founded DeafBlind South Africa in 1996, one of the first organisations dedicated to deafblind advocacy.

He attended the Helen Keller Centennial World Conference on Deafblindness (1980) as the first South African deafblind participant.

He has promoted lifelong learning, independence and technology use among deafblind persons.

These life stories, among many others, demonstrate that deafblindness is not a barrier to participation but a different way of experiencing the world.

With support, determination and inclusion, persons with deafblindness can overcome immense challenges and contribute profoundly to society.

Recognising deafblindness is, therefore, not optional, but a moral and legal imperative.

Dr Christine Peta is a disability, public health, policy, international development and research expert. She can be contacted on: developafrica2020@gmail.com"
https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/recognising-deafblindness-as-a-distinct-disability/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Hindi will be introduced as an official language in the Assam legislative assembly, alongside Assamese, English and Bodo from the Budget Session starting Monday, Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass said.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Sunday, Dass said the decision was taken at the general purpose committee meeting held a day ago.

"The meeting was held on Saturday. It was decided that along with Assamese, English and Bodo, Hindi will be introduced as an official language in the assembly," he said.

"Since Hindi is a 'Rashtra Bhasa', as a sign of respect for it we have decided to introduce it in the House," the Speaker added.

Dass also said the committee had decided to rename ALA TV, which streams the proceedings of the assembly, as 'Assam Bidhan Sabha TV'.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dismissed speculation that Bodo would be withdrawn as an official language in the assembly.

In a post on X, Sarma said he had been informed by the Speaker that there was no proposal to discontinue the use of Bodo in the assembly.

He said Bodo language is an inseparable part of Assam's rich cultural heritage and identity, adding, "It carries the history, traditions, and aspirations of the Bodo community and enriches the vibrant diversity that defines our state." -- PTI"
https://m.rediff.com/news/commentary/2026/jul/05/hindi-to-be-introduced-as-official-language-in-assam-assembly-speaker/2efd5e164cded2402cae9faa5861f985
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Spain has an island where people speak entirely through whistles, full sentences travel across kilometres of mountain valleys, and every child still learns the language in school

On a small, mountainous island in the Canary archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa, an entire community still communicates using nothing but whistles. The island is called La Gomera, and the whistled language, known as Silbo Gomero, can carry a full sentence across several kilometres of deep mountain ravine, far further than the human voice could ever travel.

It works by replacing every vowel and consonant of Castilian Spanish with a distinct whistling sound, distinguished by pitch and whether the sound is continuous or interrupted, allowing practised whistlers to convey more or less any message they could otherwise say out loud. Long dismissed by outsiders as a simple signalling system, Silbo has since been studied by linguists and neuroscientists, recognised by UNESCO, and is still taught in every school on the island today.

How an entire island learned to speak in whistles
Silbo Gomero developed as a practical solution to a genuine problem, communicating across a landscape that was never built for the human voice. La Gomera is a small volcanic island with steep rocky slopes and deep wooded ravines rising to nearly fifteen hundred metres at its highest peak, and for the shepherds and farmers who once worked its terrain, walking down into one ravine and back up another simply to pass on a message could waste hours of the day.

According to UNESCO's own record of the tradition, the whistled language replicates the islanders' everyday spoken Spanish using two distinct whistles for the five Spanish vowels and four whistles for the consonants, handed down over centuries from master to pupil, and it remains the only whistled language in the world that is fully developed and actively used by a community of more than twenty two thousand people.
Why the whistles carry so much further than a shout
The physical advantage of Silbo over ordinary speech comes down to simple acoustics.

A whistle concentrates sound energy into a narrow, high pitched frequency band that travels much further through open air than the broader, lower frequency range of the human voice, and it also bounces cleanly off the steep rock faces that line La Gomera's ravines rather than getting absorbed or scattered the way spoken words often do in that kind of terrain. Historical accounts of the island describe messages travelling up to five kilometres between hillsides, easily covering the kind of distance that would otherwise require someone to walk for the better part of an hour, and its sheer loudness meant Silbo was traditionally used for public information as much as for private conversation, from announcing market days to letting neighbouring villages know when a ferry had arrived.
What happens inside the brain of a whistler
Long before Silbo caught the attention of conservationists, it caught the attention of neuroscientists curious about how flexible human language processing really is. According to a study published in the journal Nature by Manuel Carreiras and colleagues, brain imaging of proficient whistlers showed that the left temporal lobe, the region normally associated with processing spoken language, became active while listening to Silbo in exactly the way it does for ordinary speech, while this same activation was absent in people who could not understand the whistled language.
The researchers also found that regions in the brain's frontal lobe, typically engaged during spoken language comprehension, responded in a similar way when proficient whistlers listened to Silbo. Their conclusion was striking, the brain's language processing regions can adapt to an unusually wide range of signal types, treating a whistled tune as genuine language rather than simply background sound, so long as the listener has learned to decode it that way.
From near extinction to a compulsory school subject
Despite its practical advantages, Silbo very nearly disappeared during the twentieth century as roads, telephones and mass emigration from the island reduced the everyday need to whistle across a valley. Concerned that the tradition was fading, local authorities on La Gomera declared Silbo part of the island's historical and ethnographic heritage in 1999 and made it a compulsory subject taught in every primary and secondary school, alongside launching an annual event called School Encounters with Silbo Gomero to keep younger generations engaged with the tradition.
The effort paid off, and in 2009 Silbo Gomero was formally inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognition that gave the island's preservation campaign both international visibility and a stronger case for continued funding and support.
Why Silbo still matters today
Silbo Gomero today survives as something between a living language and a cultural performance, understood by nearly the entire population of La Gomera and still used during religious festivities and traditional processions known as bajadas, even as its practical, everyday use for long distance messaging has faded alongside the arrival of mobile phones.
It has also become an important part of the island's tourism economy, with restaurants and hotels regularly hosting demonstrations for visitors curious to hear the whistled language in person. For linguists, though, its real significance goes well beyond novelty, Silbo remains one of the clearest living examples anywhere in the world of just how adaptable human language truly is, proof that the brain does not care whether meaning arrives through spoken words or through a carefully pitched whistle carried on the mountain wind, as long as the listener has learned the code."
TOI World Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Jul 05, 2026, 12:51 IST
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/spain-has-an-island-where-people-speak-entirely-through-whistles-full-sentences-travel-across-kilometres-of-mountain-valleys-and-every-child-still-learns-the-language-in-school/articleshow/132192295.cms
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Dakar, 5 juil (APS) – Des éditeurs en langues nationales ont proposé, samedi, à Dakar, de développer l’édition sénégalaise par la promotion de l’alphabétisation.

L’édition de livres dans les langues sénégalaises ne cesse de faire du chemin, a reconnu la directrice des éditions EJO, Ndèye Codou Fall Diop, tout en estimant qu’il est nécessaire d’apprendre à davantage de personnes à lire et à écrire dans les mêmes langues.

Au Sénégal, ‘’presque tout se fait en français’’ dans l’Administration publique, a-t-elle observé en intervenant à un débat sur ‘’l’édition en langues africaines : enjeux, défis et perspectives’’, à l’occasion de l’anniversaire de la bibliothèque dakaroise ‘’Teere ak teraanga’’.

Le français ‘’n’est pourtant pas la langue de communication de nombreux Sénégalais’’, a signalé Mme Diop lors de ce débat, une initiative de l’Association culturelle pour la renaissance africaine.

La directrice des éditions EJO, qui enseigne le wolof au CESTI, souhaite que les autorités du pays s’attèlent à une alphabétisation massive des Sénégalais en langues nationales.

Ceux qui savent lire et écrire dans les langues locales s’intéressent aux livres publiés dans les mêmes langues, ce qui augmente les tirages des maisons d’édition, a laissé entendre Ndèye Codou Fall Diop.

‘’Éditer, c’est important, mais cela n’a pas de sens s’il n’y a pas assez de lecteurs’’, a-t-elle soutenu, proposant d’apprendre les langues nationales aux enfants.

Les prix des livres en langues nationales peuvent baisser, s’il existe des lecteurs en grand nombre, a laissé entendre Mme Diop.

L’alphabétisation est utile non seulement pour l’édition en langues nationales, mais pour transmettre aussi ‘’les valeurs et les savoirs’’ aux futures générations, selon l’éditeur et écrivain Mamadou Ndiaye.

‘’La souveraineté dont on parle passe nécessairement par nos langues nationales’’, a ajouté M. Ndiaye.

La présidente de l’Association des juristes sénégalaises, Aminata Fall Niang, pense que les textes relatifs aux droits et aux devoirs des citoyens doivent être traduits dans les langues sénégalaises et africaines, et ces langues enseignées à davantage de personnes.

L’écrivain Marouba Fall, qui dit s’être mis récemment à l’écriture du wolof, souhaite que les autorités du pays incitent les Sénégalais à s’intéresser davantage à la lecture et à l’écriture des langues nationales.

FKS/ESF"
https://aps.sn/des-editeurs-proposent-dalphabetiser-davantage-pour-booster-ledition-en-langues-nationales/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Enhancing the linguistic and instrumental competence of trainee interpreters in tertiary Institutions

"Abstract
This corpus-based study aims to investigate the interpreting competence of Arabic-English interpreters through the design and analysis of a simultaneous interpretation corpus. The corpus is composed of some speeches that have been interpreted by interpreters of well-known Arabic channels such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. It is the contention of this study that the problems that interpreters encounter are not only linguistic, but they could be cultural, technical or psycho-physiological. The study analyses the parallel corpus with a view to finding the linguistic and extralinguistic (i.e., cultural, encyclopaedic, and subject-specific) problems (if any) that interpreters encountered while rendering these speeches from Arabic into English and vice versa as well as the strategies they employed in the process of interpreting. It relies on a qualitative approach to analyse the parallel interpreting corpus. In addition, it investigates psycho-physiological aspects of interpreting such as saturation and external pressures to ascertain the impact it has on the performance of interpreters, how this can be addressed during training and how Computer Aided/Assisted Interpreting (CAI)/Computer-assisted interpreter training (CAIT) tools can enhance the competence of the would be interpreters. The study uses an eclectic theoretical and conceptual framework that draws insight from the key models of interpreting competence (Beeby et al., 2009, 2011, NAATI, 2016) Gravitational Model of Language Availability (Gile, 2009), social constructivist learning theory and instructional design models (Ghani and Daud, 2018). The problems identified in the end-product, and the multidisciplinary inquiry guides the design of technology-mediated training materials or training prototype that can enhance the linguistic and extra-linguistic competence of interpreters.
Keywords
Interpreting, instrumental, linguistic, extra-linguistic, competence, Arabic
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10566/24811
Collections
Magister Artium - MA (Foreign Languages)"

Date
2026
Authors
Salasa, Gadeeja S
Publisher
University of the Western Cape

https://uwcscholar.uwc.ac.za/items/80376648-76d8-4172-826c-a6e6290e120a
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

 

"“El odio es el mecanismo político fundamental”: Eduardo Rabasa, traductor de ‘1984’
Entrevista
Eduardo Rabasa conversa sobre su traducción, la primera en México, de ‘Mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro’, la novela de George Orwell.

Mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro, la novela distópica más importante del siglo XX y la más representativa del británico George Orwell, es traducida en México por primera vez. La versión al idioma español que hablamos en nuestro país fue realizada por el escritor, traductor y editor Eduardo Rabasa, un sueño que se cumple después de treinta años. El fundador de la Editorial Sexto Piso lleva a Orwell tatuado en el brazo izquierdo y ha leído unas once veces la novela de este autor visionario nacido en la India. George Orwell, seudónimo de Eric Arthur Blair, supo descifrar, como pocos, los mecanismos del poder, el carácter frágil de la verdad en la era de las ideologías y la manipulación del lenguaje como arma de control. Big Brother o Gran Hermano, Newspeak o neolengua, así como Thought police o policía del pensamiento, fueron términos creados por Orwell para describir el mundo y la sociedad que imaginó en esta novela cuya actualidad es sorprendente.

Te recomendamos:
Gonzalo Celorio: “Soy un miniaturista condenado a pintar murales”

¿Cómo entraste en la obra de George Orwell?

En la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas de la UNAM, una maestra, Tere Lozada, me dio The Lost Writings, una colección de escritos perdidos de Orwell. Me seguí con Mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro y Rebelión en la granja. Esas lecturas cambiaron mi forma de ver el mundo, sobre todo, la realidad política. Hice mi tesis sobre Orwell y me eché un par de años leyéndolo. Desde entonces se volvió un autor muy importante para mí.

¿Qué te impresionó de su escritura?

El uso del lenguaje. Es un tema importante en Orwell, así como la relación entre lenguaje y pensamiento que en este libro está muy presente. En un ensayo Politics and English Language reitera cómo el lenguaje determina buena parte de lo que pensamos. Su prosa es refinada y pulcra, pero al mismo tiempo es simple. Ahí radica su elegancia, en la economía del lenguaje.

¿Por qué decides traducir esta novela?

Era una idea que siempre tuve. Había traducido sus ensayos y su Diario de guerra, pero esta es la obra cumbre, por lo menos para mí. Ahora que pasó a dominio público fue la oportunidad perfecta para cumplir mi sueño de toda la vida. Estuvo bien que pasara un tiempo porque me sentí más preparado para traducirla. Es una obra de gran complejidad.

¿A qué te enfrentaste durante la traducción?

Primero al peso de lo que estaba traduciendo. Además, es un libro muy traducido y pensé: para qué una más. Es una versión traducida en México y ahí está la diferencia. Me parece bien abonar desde del español que aquí hablamos. Por otra parte, hay muchos giros del lenguaje que no se traducen de manera exacta debido a las diferencias en la conjugación de verbos en inglés. Por ejemplo, hay palabras compuestas de la neolengua inventada por Orwell que en inglés tienen sentido, pero cuando pasan al español quedan excesivamente largas. Siempre digo que traducir es meterte a las entrañas de un libro, sobre todo en una novela como esta.

Meterse a fondo en la maquinaria de George Orwell debe ser fascinante. ¿Hubo algo que te haya sorprendido?

Van diez u once veces que la leo. Me llamaron la atención los breves pasajes que tienen lugar en el campo, cuando el personaje recuerda su niñez. Siendo una novela que ocurre en una ciudad gris, fea, sucia, en los pasajes del campo Orwell se permite una especie de homenaje a lo bucólico. También me llamó la atención que casi al final, cuando Winston está solo en el café donde lo torturan y lo emborrachan y ya con la mente transformada, se pone a garabatear con el dedo y escribe sobre la mesa 2 + 2 =. Orwell no lo cierra. En otras traducciones sí está 2 + 2 = 5, pero en el original Orwell lo deja abierto. Según yo, se trata de un gesto de esperanza, pues en su fuero interno el personaje no se atreve a decirse a sí mismo 2 + 2 es igual a 5. Luego está el título, que en casi todas las ediciones en español lo traducen con número, 1984, pero el original está con letras. Me parece que fue intencional. En el libro se habla mucho de cómo los acrónimos evocan una cosa y el lenguaje extendido otra. Por eso en el partido se la pasan recortando el lenguaje, para hacer más conciso y acotado el rango de pensamiento. El hecho de que el título sea extendido tiene, según yo, la intención de evocar un paisaje más amplio en la novela; por eso decidí ponerlo con letras.

El Partido Único de la Sociedad de Oceanía nos dice mucho de lo que podría pasar en el futuro o ya está pasando en algunos gobiernos que tienden al totalitarismo.

Orwell tenía en mente al partido nazi y al régimen soviético. Por desgracia, a lo largo de la historia se ha repetido el fenómeno. Es la vocación de Trump. Se supone que Estados Unidos es la gran democracia, el faro de libertad del mundo occidental, pero él ha dicho en varias ocasiones que le encantaría perpetuarse en el poder, o sea, ser un dictador o fundar una dinastía como en el régimen chino. Lo dijo hace poco: “Me gustaría entregarle el poder a mi hijo”. Cosas que parecerían muy locas en voz de la máxima democracia del mundo con un líder que claramente se comporta e incluso se considera un Big Brother.

Resulta fascinante cómo ciertos autores tienen la capacidad de adelantarse a un tiempo, de imaginar un futuro. ¿Qué vio Orwell?

En su ensayo How I Write, cuenta que desde los cinco años descubrió una vocación literaria y habla del poema de William Blake y el tigre. Pero también dice que uno de sus rasgos distintivos como escritor es la capacidad de ver cosas que los demás no ven. Y no es que no puedan, sino que no están dispuestos a aceptarlas. Es el concepto del “doble pensar”, la idea que nos hacemos de ciertos aspectos de la realidad que si los tomáramos literalmente resultarían apabullantes. Orwell no tenía eso, estaba dispuesto a llevar el pensamiento a sus últimas consecuencias, aunque no le gustara la conclusión a la que llegaba. Recordemos que le tocó vivir una época convulsa: las dos guerras mundiales, el nazismo, el ascenso del régimen soviético. Le tocaron fenómenos extremos y tenía esa capacidad de escribir tal como veía las cosas. No necesitaba hacerse piruetas mentales para acomodarse a un sistema de pensamiento u otro, a un partido u otro. Tenía una gran honestidad y ese rasgo distintivo le permitió ver cosas que poca gente veía y que incluso siguen vigentes en nuestras sociedades.

Por ejemplo, el modo en que se ha degradado el lenguaje en el espacio público, lo que hoy vemos en algunos discursos políticos.

Estamos viviendo la literalidad de lo que era ficción para Orwell. Mucho de la comunicación política actual, de los grandes centros de poder como la presidencia de Estados Unidos, la de Argentina, el candidato de Colombia, sucede a través del insulto. Miley dice: “Zurdos de mierda, los vamos a joder”; eso es desde el más alto centro de poder. Es algo muy orwelliano porque el insulto es una expresión de pensamiento simple, sin complejidad, dirigida a desatar una emoción, una respuesta catártica de histeria, de odio, incluso de rechazo. Esa degradación del lenguaje tiene una connotación política muy clara que Orwell pudo ver. Muchos de estos movimientos y grotescos personajes políticos, dicen: yo le hablo a la gente en su propio lenguaje, Buscan un lenguaje con efecto político a partir de ideas sencillas y simplificando fenómenos muy complejos.

El Big Brother, ese ente oculto que nos ve día y noche, ¿también es algo que experimentamos?

El tema de la vigilancia tomó fuerza desde el 11 de septiembre, cuando George Bush coartó las libertades civiles; luego vinieron las revelaciones de Snowden sobre cómo nos espiaban. Tenemos la vigilancia gubernamental, pero también la vigilancia, muchas veces voluntaria, de los aparatos inteligentes y las redes sociales. Es como un Big Brother autoalimentado por uno mismo. Cuando dices algo o te detienes en cierta información, de pronto ya te están inundando con eso. Lo mismo cuando subes un post: te la pasas checando si ya lo vieron, si no lo vieron, si tiene like, si te critican, si mejor lo bajas. Lo que en su momento parecía ciencia ficción, como las telepantallas en los hogares donde te transmitían propaganda y te veían, es muy parecido a lo que hacemos con las camaritas: nos estamos autovigilando todo el tiempo. Ya no es solo el Estado, es la propia sociedad colaborando. Las telepantallas de Orwell son hoy las cámaras de las redes sociales. La diferencia es que las prendemos voluntariamente.

¿Cuál piensas que es la gran profecía en Mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro?

La gran profecía es haberse dado cuenta de que el odio es el mecanismo político fundamental. Incluso en regímenes democráticos donde se cuenta con la voluntad o la participación del individuo común, hay una idea muy acertada cuando dice que, en su vida cotidiana, la gente es muy razonable. Si va al supermercado con diez libras, sabe que le alcanza para comprar tal y tal cosa; no hay duda. En cambio, cuando se habla de política, las categorías racionales de esa misma persona se trastocan, es capaz de entrar en ciertos estados de histeria o de odio que son inducidos desde el poder. Creo que la universalidad de ese mecanismo fue muy profética. Podríamos pensar que solo está asociado a regímenes totalitarios, pero te das cuenta de que no. Si lo vemos en el ámbito del poder político, en las redes sociales sucede lo mismo. El odio es el alimento de muchas personas dispuestas a destruir vidas sin importar las consecuencias con tal de probar el efecto de esa pequeña descarga que sacará un momento de mí.

Es interesante descubrir la claridad con la que detectó los resortes del poder.

Al final, hay una revelación entre el héroe caído en desgracia y su torturador, que le dice: “A ver, ¿por qué crees que hacemos todo esto?” Cuando Winston responde: “Me vas a decir que es por nuestro propio bien”, le da una descarga eléctrica y le dice:“No digas estupideces, lo hacemos por el poder puro. Los totalitarismos del pasado se engañaban supeditando el ejercicio del poder a un fin, a la grandeza del pueblo, por ejemplo, pero nosotros no. Para nosotros, es el poder por el poder desnudo, por el puro placer del ejercicio del poder”. Suena muy fuerte. En el caso de algunos regímenes políticos, no te explicas ciertos actos sino a partir de esa categoría. ¿Cómo puedes justificar racionalmente que metan a niños en jaulas para deportarlos? Eso es sadismo puro, no encuentro otra palabra. Creo que Orwell lo vio claramente."
Guadalupe Alonso Coratella
Ciudad de México / 03.07.2026 14:06:36
https://amp.milenio.com/cultura/laberinto/eduardo-rabasa-reto-traducir-1984-distopia-actual
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Taiwan-Ireland Poetry Translation Competition 2026 - Call for Entries

The deadline for submissions is 1 September 2026

Entries from translators at all stages of their careers and from anywhere in the world are welcome

 

"Organized by The Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation, in partnership with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature in Taiwan, this annual competition celebrates the rich linguistic and literary traditions of Taiwan and Ireland, encouraging translators to explore connections between different poetic cultures and to bring new voices to readers across languages.

 

This year's competition features three short poems by Jocelyn Wen (温若喬), a poet who writes in the Taiwanese language: 〈相辭〉 Sio-sî, 〈無聲無說〉 Bô-siann-bô-sueh, 〈行跤花〉 Kiânn-kha-hue

 

Entries from translators at all stages of their careers and from anywhere in the world are welcome. Whether you are an experienced literary translator, a student, a poet, or someone with a passion for languages, you are encouraged to engage creatively with these remarkable poems.

 

Deadline for Entries

 

The deadline for submissions is 1 September 2026.

 

For further details please visit https://www.tcd.ie/literary-translation/upcoming-events/";

Post Date:2026-07-04

分享到

https://www.roc-taiwan.org/ie_en/post/5749.html

#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus 

"Prize money for the winning book double from £50,000 to £100,000, to be split equally between the author and translator(s).
Shortlisted titles will continue to be awarded a prize of £5,000 (also split between author and translator).

The announcement comes as the International Booker Prize, which has established itself as the world’s most influential award for translated fiction, celebrates its 10th year. Since its launch in 2016, officials said the prize has celebrated 11 winners writing in 11 different languages and driven a 31% increase in sales of translated fiction in the U.K.

Daria Bukhman

The move comes after Bukhman Philanthropies supported the prize in 2026. Furthermore, in recognition of the decade-long funding commitment, the prize will be named the Bukhman International Booker Prize. Under the arrangement, officials said Bukhman has committed to providing £1.4 million annually for the International Booker Prize, “to enable the Booker Prize Foundation to engage more readers with the world’s best translated fiction and to support the translated fiction ecosystem” over the next decade.

“Some of the books that deeply influenced me growing up were translated fiction. It was through these works that I first understood the world is larger than any single perspective,” said Daria Bukhman, Co-Founder and Chair of Bukhman Philanthropies, in a statement. “Supporting this prize over the next decade is deeply personal to me. In a world increasingly shaped by speed, distraction, and massive advancement in AI, translated fiction asks us to slow down, to listen, and to understand lives unlike our own.”

The additional funding will also enable the Booker Prize Foundation to continue gifting 500 sets of each year’s shortlist to libraries across the U.K. through The Reading Agency; “improve access” to the nominated books through the Booker Prize Foundation and National Literacy Trust’s prison reading program Books Unlocked; and support Braille and audio editions of the winning International Booker Prize books.

In addition, officials said the prize will develop “new initiatives to support translators in building their craft, forging meaningful connections, and bringing a wider range of international works to new and younger audiences.”

“Bukhman Philanthropies’ commitment has the power to reshape not only the future of the prize, but the landscape of literature itself, elevating writers and translators whose stories connect us more deeply to one another across cultures, borders, and experiences,” said Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, in a statement. “As we look towards the next decade of the prize, we do so with a deep sense of responsibility and hope.”

Prize officials said Crankstart, the charitable foundation of Sir Michael Moritz KBE and Harriet Heyman that provides academic scholarships to low-income students, and which has supported Booker Prize Foundation’s work since 2019, will continue to fund the foundation’s work. (For more information on how the Booker Prize Foundation is funded see here).

2027 Judges Announced
In addition to the funding news, the International Booker Prize this week announced the judges for the Bukhman International Booker Prize 2027.

The 2027 Bukhman International Booker Prize judging panel (from left): Caleb Azumah Nelson, Olga Ravn, Katie Kitamura, Patrick McGuinness, Tessa Thompson.

The panel includes: Booker Prize-shortlisted author Katie Kitamura as Chair; Booker Prize-longlisted writer, translator and Professor of French and Comparative Literature Patrick McGuinness; filmmaker and Sunday Times bestselling author Caleb Azumah Nelson; translator and International Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Olga Ravn; and award-winning actor and producer Tessa Thompson.

The award seeks long-form fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the U.K. and/or Ireland between May 1, 2026, and April 30, 2027. A longlist of of 12 or 13 books will be announced on Tuesday, 16 March 2027 with a shortlist of six books to follow on April 15, 2027. The winning book will then be announced at a ceremony in May 2027. Rules and submission guidelines are available here.

“Translation represents a dialogue between two minds. The Bukhman International Booker Prize offers readers the opportunity to experience the profound encounter between author and translator. As a prize, it is exemplary in the way it recognizes the work of both participants. The celebration and support of this intrinsically human collaboration feels particularly vital right now.”

About the Author
Andrew Albanese
Andrew Richard Albanese is the editor-in-chief of 'Publishing Perspectives' and founder and editor of 'Words & Money,' a media site that centers the role of libraries in the 21st Century publishing business. A veteran library and publishing industry reporter, he has previously worked for 'Publishers Weekly' and 'Library Journal,' where he was widely known for his in-depth coverage of the Google Books and Apple E-book price-fixing cases, developments in the digital library market, book bans and freedom to read issues, the open access movement, and copyright issues. He is a former associate editor at Oxford University Press, and the author of 'The Battle of $9.99: How Apple, Amazon, and the Big Six Publishers Changed the E-Book Business Overnight.'"
https://publishingperspectives.com/2026/07/booker-prize-foundation-adds-new-funding-partner-will-double-top-prize-money/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"This study examines the sentiment translatability of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows through comparative analysis of the English original and four Chinese translations—two by human translators and two by neural machine translation systems. By integrating the NRC emotion lexicon with the DUTIR Chinese sentiment dictionary, we construct four core metrics (polarity, intensity, density and complexity) to develop the Sentiment Fidelity Index (SFI), which quantifies how faithfully translations preserve the source text’s affective structure. Results reveal substantial differences in sentiment fidelity across translation approaches. Human translations demonstrate distinct strategies: Yang’s version achieves the highest SFI, maintaining 94% of the original’s emotional complexity and closely mirroring chapter-level emotional arcs, while Ren’s translation adopts an emotion-amplifying strategy, increasing overall sentiment intensity by 15% but reducing complexity. Both machine-translated versions exhibit systematic weakening effects, with 24% average loss in emotional complexity and tendency to neutralize strongly affective expressions. The analysis reveals a hierarchy of sentiment translatability, with joy showing the highest retention and disgust the lowest. While machine translation has advanced in syntactic accuracy, it continues to lag in conveying emotional nuance. This study broadens methodological scope in children’s literature translation research while providing theoretical grounding and empirical evidence for improving machine translation of sentiment-sensitive texts."
Published: 03 July 2026
Lost in algorithmic translation? A quantitative analysis of sentimental differences between human and machine translation of the children’s literature classic The Wind in the Willows
Yuhao Liang & Xiao Zhang
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2026)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-026-08201-z
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Eljay Castro Deldoc is a Palanca award-winning playwright, director, and translator

 

"Yemaya is unlike any play being staged in the Philipping theater circuit today, and that’s exactly what director Ed Lacson Jr. set out to do. 

 

As 9 Works Theatrical’s first attempt at a straight play, Yemaya is a triumph for stage, sound, and lights design. The Black Box at The Proscenium Theater in Rockwell is transformed into an otherworldly space, like a cavern at the bottom of the ocean. The audience is immersed in a world swathed in blue hues and warm sunshine that seems to be situated somewhere on sand and below sea. Set pieces float and sink like anchors from above. A beautiful soundscape ripples throughout the theater space. Everyday items like dominos and coconuts, feathers and rice, and SPAM and Coca-Cola become the focal points of emotionally charged choreography. 

 

Nothing less is to be expected from Lacson. He is a multiple Gawad Buhay Award winner, two of which he won Outstanding Stage Direction and Outstanding Set Design for his last directorial work for 9Works Theatrical, Himala: Isang Musikal. Building worlds on stage through imagery and scenic design is his greatest love and biggest strength. It is what attracted him to Yemaya’s Belly in the first place when he first encountered the obscure but beautiful script by Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes. 

 

“I knew it was going to be a difficult material to do. But it has a lot to offer as a material to a director because of the images it conjures in your mind, and then how you’re going to use your imagination to create this world that [Hudes] painted for you.” 

 

 

MAGIC IN EVERY SCENE. Benedix Ramos as Jesus/Mulo performs on a stage that feels like its own very real world. Photo by Dan Esguerra 

The play follows a boy overcoming hardships with persistence and imagination, leading him to hop on a raft to sail towards the United States of America, a land of dreams, wonders and the promise of a fresh start. Hudes’ storytelling is rooted in magical realism, where a sip of Coca-Cola becomes a mystical experience and voices from the sea call their children to them. It is also grounded in very real experiences of domestic life, death, displacement, and immigration. If the Odyssey is about a hero’s journey home, this epic is about what it takes to leave it behind. 

 

The material checked all the boxes Lacson was looking for in a comeback production after years away at sea working on cruise ships. Choosing an obscure but beautiful work by a non-white female playwright allowed him to introduce a new voice to Philippine theater as well as exercise his scenic design muscles. But there was just one more hurdle they needed to overcome: the play is in English.  

 

Filipino, but not the Philippines

“I was very specific to do [this production] in Tagalog. That was a non-negotiable for me. So luckily, 9Works was brave enough and kind enough to just accommodate my request and I asked Eljay, of course, to translate for me.” 

 

Eljay Castro Deldoc is a Palanca award-winning playwright, director, and translator. His celebrated work, Si Maria Isabella at ang Guryon ng mga Tala, led to his first collaboration with Lacson, who directed a production of it back in 2015. Lacson describes Deldoc’s command of the Filipino language as masterful. 

 

“The lyricism that Eljay uses is on that fine line of accessible but not too colloquial. It’s an elevated way of using the Tagalog language, which I think is very beautiful.” 

 

However, Deldoc’s challenge was not simply translating the material to Filipino, but fulfilling both his responsibility to the original playwright and upholding the trust and vision of his director.

 

“Yes, confident ako sa pag-handle ko ng Filipino language. Pero siyempre, di ko rin alam kung anong naririnig ni Ed sa vision niya, sa imagination niya. Malinaw sa akin na ang ise-serve ko ay si Alegria [Hudes] tapos si Ed, silang dalawa. I have to be faithful [to the source material] dahil translation siya tapos pagdating naman kay Ed, kailangan kong ma-capture kung ano man ang naiimagine niya na feeling niya kaya kong i-deliver.” 

 

(Yes, I’m confident in my grasp of the Filipino language. But of course, I didn’t know what Ed hears in his vision, in his imagination. It’s clear to me that I will serve Alegría Hudes and Ed, the two of them. I have to be faithful to the source material since it’s a translation, and when it comes to Ed, I have to capture what in his imagination that he feels I can deliver.)"

https://www.rappler.com/people/human-interest/yemaya-play-english-filipino-translation/

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