Metaglossia: The Translation World

"Community Interpreters are a bridge between service providers and non-native speakers, facilitating the access to human rights

Thalita Lima

A linguist or a professional in communications? A Community Interpreter can be categorized as both, although it's more than that. 

Considering the context in which these professionals work, there is a “social factor” that makes this job essential and very noble, especially in the current flux of migrations, refugees, civil wars and various international human rights crises.

Let's explore the profile of this professional, their tasks and risks, and why it is crucial for upholding human rights.

Understanding What Community Interpreters Does‍

You may be familiar with interpreters in general, who work in conferences and business. Unlike them, Community Interpreters work directly with people in their day-to-day interactions, especially in dialogue with public services. That’s why they are also known as public service interpreters.  

This professional’s work involves facilitating communication in community-based settings. They essentially act as a bridge between service providers and non-native speakers. This includes spoken languages and sign-languages too!

In which context are interpreters necessary?

The settings for community interpreting are diverse and often involve sensitive and critical situations where accurate communication is fundamental. 

This can include interpreting for patients during medical appointments, translating legal advice for immigrants, assisting parents in understanding their children's educational needs, and more.

image by freepik.com

A few examples:

• Education
• Health care 
• Job training
• Public housing and social services
• Refugee and resettlement centers
• Immigration offices
• Legal settings
• Transportation services

Requirements for a Community Interpreter Profile

Community interpreters must be fluent in at least two languages and possess a deep understanding of the cultural contexts of the languages they interpret. This cultural competence ensures that the interpretation is not just a literal translation but a meaningful and contextually appropriate communication.

They frequently work with people in vulnerable situations, which require soft skills such as interpersonal intelligence, adaptability to varying local conditions, tolerance and sensibility. They must navigate complex and emotionally charged situations while maintaining professionalism and neutrality.

Why is neutrality important? Because the goal is to ensure that all parties understand each other clearly and fully, which can involve explaining cultural nuances that might affect communication. 

This role also requires an ethical posture. Confidentiality is an important value in this job.

What are the Challenges of the profession?‍

There is often a lack of recognition and formal training programs for Community Interpreters, leading to a lack of qualified professionals. 

Additionally, the emotional impact of working in high-stress environments can be significant and this can drive some talents away.

The role of Community Interpreter in Human Rights

These professionals are intermediaries with the mission of guaranteeing access to services and rights that might otherwise be inaccessible due to communication gaps. They are there exactly to fill these gaps between people, i.e, uniting purposes! 

The tasks performed by Community Interpreters can significantly impact individuals' lives. How can these impacts be felt? Let’s look at some examples.

1. Access to Healthcare
   

Patients who cannot communicate effectively with healthcare providers may struggle to describe their symptoms, understand diagnoses, or follow treatment plans. 

Community interpreters ensure that these patients receive the same quality of care as those who speak the dominant language, upholding their right to health.

1. Legal Rights and Justice
   

In legal settings, the risks are often high. Non-native speakers facing legal issues, whether criminal or civil, need to understand legal proceedings, their rights, and the implications of any legal advice or decisions. 

This professional provides essential services in courts, law enforcement interactions, and legal consultations, ensuring that individuals' legal rights are protected.

1. Education
   

Community interpreters help non-native speaking parents engage with their children's education, understand school policies, and participate in meetings. This engagement is crucial for the academic success and well-being of students. 

1. Social Life Integration
   

The impact here contributes to the empowerment of marginalized communities by providing them with the tools to communicate effectively in their new environments. 

This empowerment promotes better integration, reduces social isolation, and promotes equality. When individuals can access services and understand their rights, they are better equipped to participate fully in society.

1. Cultural Preservation
   

By acknowledging and respecting linguistic and cultural diversity, community interpreting helps to protect the cultural rights of individuals. This respect is fundamental to maintaining the dignity and identity of people from diverse backgrounds, which is a core principle of human rights.

1. Employment
   

Employment is another critical area where community interpreters are essential. Job seekers who do not speak the dominant language need interpreters to understand job applications, interviews, and workplace policies. Employees require clear communication to understand their rights, responsibilities, and safety protocols at work. 

Community interpreters facilitate these interactions, ensuring that non-native speakers have fair access to employment opportunities and workplace rights.

Balancing the challenges and rewards of this profession, it’s not difficult to conclude that recognizing it as essential for human rights and providing appropriate remuneration and resources can attract more individuals to this field. This will lead to a scenario where more people are able to communicate their needs and rights effectively."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Warns of risk of 'eroding public trust in our legal and governance systems'

Tuesday, 4 June 2024 17:0)

A UK-based association for practising translators and interpreters has accused the Isle of Man Constabulary of putting 'public trust in our legal and governance systems' at risk.

The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) is the 'only UK-based membership association providing a professional home for practising translators, interpreters and all those involved in supplying language services'.

The company's Chief Executive, Sara Robertson, has published an open letter addressed to the Island's Chief Constable Russ Foster.

It follows a recent call out from the Cabinet Office for people who speak multiple languages to get in touch so government could expand its pool of interpreters for 'any and all languages'.

CALL OUT

The opportunity was advertised as 'an interesting and important community role on our diverse and multi-cultural island where you will be supporting those who struggle to access services due to language across all government departments'.

For the constabulary, this would mainly mean translating for people during the taking of witness statements, in police interviews and when appearing in court.

No formal qualifications were required to take up the role.

RISKS

The ITI has raised concerns with this saying the use of unqualified volunteers 'poses significant risks to members of the public and undermines the maintenance of appropriate standards of professional interpreting and translation in public services'.

In her open letter Ms Robertson said: "The use of unqualified volunteers... risks eroding public trust in our legal and governance systems."

She goes on to explain the role of the paid-for services provided by the ITI and encourages the IOM Constabulary to 'collaborate with language service providers' - something a spokesperson for the constabulary says, it already does.

FINITE ACCESS

In a statement to Manx Radio the police spokesperson said: "The IOMC currently has an arrangement in place with Language Line who provide police organisations, amongst others, with telephone access to a qualified interpreter.

"Due to our location though they cannot facilitate an in person and on Island presence."

However they conceded that, due to the Isle of Man's locale, 'there is sometimes finite access to niche skills even in urgent circumstances'.

They said: "When dealing with both victims and suspects of crime communication with them is of the utmost importance in order to protect the vulnerable and to tackle criminality, two things that are key to the constabulary’s strategy. 

"In the make-up of the Isle of Man there is sometimes finite access to niche skills even in urgent circumstances, sourcing formally qualified individuals from the UK can take longer than time scales allowed in law or to obtain the best evidence.

"Therefore considerations are made in the interests of keeping people safe such are the challenges around the geography of being a small Island."

The Isle of Man Constabulary says it will review its organisational arrangements to ensure that its processes acknowledge the College of Policing and Police Approved Interpreters/Translators (PAIT) requirements.

STATEMENTS

Sara Robertson's letter to Chief Constable Russ Foster in full can be found HERE (https://www.iti.org.uk/resource/formal-qualifications-not-requirement.html)

Meanwhile, the Isle of Man Constabulary's response to Manx Radio, in full, reads: "The Isle of Man Constabulary (IOMC) is aware and has responded to the letter from the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

"We have confirmed that the original press release was put out in collaboration of the Isle of Man Constabulary with the Isle of Man Cabinet Office.

"The Cabinet Office administrates the scheme and it is important to recognise that this campaign was not purely for policing purposes but was in fact to assist those with language challenges to reach all IOM Government Services (IOMG) and therefore the successful applicants would go into an overall IOMG pool.

"Applicants were invited to submit greater detail including their experience, qualifications and information for vetting purposes.

"An expression of interest would not guarantee entry onto the scheme, or indeed future use in interpretation.

"The IOMC currently have an arrangement in place with Language Line who provide police organisations, amongst others, with telephone access to a qualified interpreter.

"Due to our location though they cannot facilitate an in person and on Island presence.

"When dealing with both victims and suspects of crime communication with them is of the utmost importance in order to protect the vulnerable and to tackle criminality, two things that are key to the constabulary’s strategy.

"In the make-up of the Isle of Man there is sometimes finite access to niche skills even in urgent circumstances, sourcing formally qualified individuals from the UK can take longer than time scales allowed in law, or to obtain the best evidence.

"Therefore, considerations are made in the interests of keeping people safe, such are the challenges around the geography of being a small Island.

"The Isle of Man Constabulary understand that interpreting is a specialist skill and have arranged a visit from the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) Operational Lead for Language to review our organisational arrangements and give tactical advice to ensure that our processes acknowledge the College of Policing and Police Approved Interpreters/Translators (PAIT) requirements.

"We can confirm that the review of our processes for our interpreting needs is purely due to the unique requirements to translate for policing purposes and want to reiterate that the recruitment is for a service to be provided for people for all of IOMG, not just the police.""

#metaglossia_mundus

"Mentally stimulating activities and life experiences can improve cognition in memory clinic patients, but stress undermines this beneficial relationship. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

By KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET JUNE 4, 2024

Researchers found that higher cognitive reserve improves cognition but is negatively impacted by physiological stress. This study highlights potential clinical applications for stress management in Alzheimer’s prevention. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

 

Mentally stimulating activities and life experiences can improve cognition in memory clinic patients, but stress undermines this beneficial relationship. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

In the late 1980s, researchers discovered that some individuals who showed no apparent symptoms of dementia during their lifetime had brain changes consistent with an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Since then it has been postulated that so-called cognitive reserve might account for this differential protective effect in individuals.

Cognitively stimulating and enriching life experiences and behaviors such as higher educational attainment, complex jobs, continued physical and leisure activities, and healthy social interactions help build cognitive reserve. However, high or persistent stress levels are associated with reduced social interactions, impaired ability to engage in leisure and physical activities, and an increased risk of dementia.

 

Study on Cognitive Reserve and Stress

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have now examined the association between cognitive reserve, cognition, and biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in 113 participants from the memory clinic at the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden. They also examined how this association is modified by physiological stress (cortisol levels in saliva) and psychological (perceived) stress.

Greater cognitive reserve was found to improve cognition, but interestingly, physiological stress appeared to weaken the association.

“These results might have clinical implications as an expanding body of research suggests that mindfulness exercises and meditation may reduce cortisol levels and improve cognition,” says the study’s lead author Manasa Shanta Yerramalla, researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet. “Different stress management strategies could be a good complement to existing lifestyle interventions in Alzheimer’s prevention.”

Limitations and Future Research

The relatively small sample of participants reduces the possibility of drawing robust conclusions, but the results are generalizable to similar patient groups. Moreover, since stress disrupts sleep, which in turn disrupts cognition, the researchers controlled for sleeping medications; they did not, however, consider other aspects of sleep that might impair cognition.

 

“We will continue to study the association between stress and sleeping disorders and how it affects the cognitive reserve in memory clinic patients,” says Dr. Yerramalla.

The study was largely financed by the Swedish Alzheimer’s Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, and Region Stockholm (ALF funding). There are no reported conflicts of interest.

Reference: “Cognitive reserve, cortisol, and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers: A memory clinic study” by Manasa Shanta Yerramalla, Alexander Darin-Mattsson, Chinedu T Udeh-Momoh, Jasper Holleman, Ingemar Kåreholt, Malin Aspö, Göran Hagman, Miia Kivipelto, Alina Solomon, Anna Marseglia and Shireen Sindi, 4 June 2024, Alzheimer’s & Dementia."

#metaglossia_mundus

"This article explains why, despite the proliferation of low- and no-code tools, data scientists will always be needed to add a human element to data-science tasks.

Data science will always need human cognition, analytical and discernment skills.

Written by Mamdouh Refaat

Published on Jun. 03, 2024

Low- and no-code tools put the power of data analytics and AI in the hands of non-data experts. They help organizations lower costs, speed development and collaborate faster and more extensively across the enterprise. They are an invaluable productivity tool for both data novices and experts alike. After all, expert data scientists also use low- and no-code tools to automate tasks where writing code from scratch would be an unnecessary effort. This gives them more time to do more work and explore other projects. 

The message is still the same. Low- and no-code tools remain productivity tools, not replacements. Data science experts are still necessary to keep the world of tech going.

The Role Data Scientists Play

To illustrate the role these low- and no-code tools occupy within organizational data science and AI initiatives, let’s compare them to a tool almost everyone is familiar with: Word processors. Low- and no-code tools are akin to word processors’ spell check, autocorrect and formatting features. They make the writing process smoother and more organized, but, should you wish, you can write without them. 

3 Human Skills Data Science Needs

1. Analytical skills to turn business problems into data problems
2. Cognition skills to determine the scope of data necessary to solve problems
3. Discernment to choose the correct modeling technique to address the problem

In theory, I could have written this article on a typewriter, but it would have taken me much longer and involved more work. The value of word processors is obvious: in the long run, they enhance peoples’ work and amplify their output. Low- and no-code data science tools present the same value proposition. They shorten time frames from months to weeks, increase collaboration and reduce errors. They are well worth the investment.

Just as writing is about more than spelling words correctly and ensuring proper spacing, data science is about much more than pointing, clicking and organizing. It is about critical thinking, approaching problems, analyzing use cases and beyond. It requires human cognition. Low- and no-code tools can automate a data science workflow’s most repetitive steps, but there will always be unique problems and functions that only an expert data scientist can address by creating and revising code. 

 

3 Timeless Data Science Skills

In the face of the continued adoption of low- and no-code tools, it may seem natural to wonder: Should I go into data science? Should I bother specializing in it when software can automate some of it? The answer is unequivocally yes. 

Data scientists are still vital for organizations looking to maximize the value they get from their data. Data scientists are also the first line of defense when it comes time to oversee, monitor and troubleshoot projects and models. Their ability to dive into code to creatively solve problems and turn business problems into data problems differentiates them from users confined to low- and no-code capabilities. 

Here are the three essential and specific skills human data scientists bring to the table. 

Turning Business Problems into Data Problems

Turning business problems into data problems requires data scientists to have the analytical skills needed to understand the business process behind the objective and translate that process into a problem statement that data science can solve. 

Determining the Scope of Data Needed to Solve Problems 

The second essential skill data scientists need is determining the scope of the data needed to solve a given problem. Today, the ability to understand data and how it can solve problems is more demanding than ever because of the increasing availability of new data sources with increased digitalization. 

Selecting the Right Modeling Techniques

The third and most critical skill data scientists need is the ability to select modeling techniques suitable for the problem and the data. Again, this skill is independent of the mode of executing the project, whether it be using full code or low- and no-code tools. 

Let me describe an example of these skills in action from my own experience. A few years ago, we were tasked by a major North American telecommunications firm to develop a churn model to predict its clients’ churn behavior. We decided to develop a model that would classify the customers most likely to churn. 

The company had a gigantic data warehouse with hundreds of tables and views distributed over several databases. Two of our data scientists spent several weeks in discussions with the business managers and the data warehouse administrators to understand the business processes and the data related to customer retention. Before writing a single line of code or using any modeling software, we spent a considerable amount of time simply mapping the business processes and the corresponding data that reflected these processes. The need to do this well, using the three skills I mentioned above, will not change with the progression of data science tools or languages. 

Even with today’s top-notch data and technology, extracting meaningful value from data and AI projects remains a formidable challenge. Just because an organization has data does not mean it is worth anything. And the more sophisticated a business case is, the more involvement you’ll need from data scientists to gain a return on your investments. People capable of achieving this will always be in demand.

FURTHER READINGWill Low- and No-Code Platforms Steal Developers’ Jobs?

Data Science Basics Remain the Same

Yes, data science has changed since the turn of the century. New languages emerge, new technologies crop up, new use cases demand our attention — change is constant. I am always analyzing books, articles, videos and the competition to see how the field is changing. There are always new problems to solve and new things to learn.

But the pillars of what it means to be a successful data scientist have not and will not change. Though data science looks a lot different than it did, it still boils down to the same methodologies and processes: preparation, modeling, deployment. It still requires creative minds to turn business problems into data problems. It still requires unique solutions from people who can dive deep into code and solve an organization’s toughest hurdles. And above all, it still requires people with an endless sense of curiosity and initiative."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Trente-trois nouveaux passages de la Bible en langue des signes seront disponible sur le site Bible LSF le 6 juin prochain. cath.ch a pu assister à Corsier-sur-Vevey à l’élaboration minutieuse de la traduction et de l’adaptation pour la vidéo de versets de l’Evangile de Mathieu qui décrivent Jésus marchant sur l’eau.

Solange Ruedin, de la pastorale spécialisée de l’Eglise catholique dans le canton de Vaud, anime, avec son collègue pasteur, cet atelier de traduction de la Bible en langue des signes. Un petit groupe de paroissiens sourds et malentendants se retrouve régulièrement à la salle de la paroisse Saint-Jean pour avancer dans le projet de traduction de la Bible en langue des signes. «C’est une urgence», estime Solange Ruedin.

Trois heures environ sont nécessaires pour enregistrer le brouillon de trois versets de la Bible, au terme d’un travail où chaque mot est soupesé avec l’application d’un horloger. (cath.ch/bh)"

#metaglossia_mundus

"In Pormpuraaw, a small Aboriginal community on the western edge of Cape York in northern Australia, people speak Kuuk Thaayorre language which does not have any words for relative directions like left, right, front or back, but only absolute cardinal directions of north, south, east, west, etc. Even a child is able to identify these cardinal directions with absolute certainty, which many of us would not be able to do readily. It would appear that while language may not be the determinant of thought, it still moulds our thinking and world views and plays a causal role in shaping our cognition. But overall, modern research on crosslinguistic differences tends to suggest that the relationship operates both ways. There are languages scattered around the world, from Polynesia to Mexico, from Namibia to Bali, which rely primarily on geographical coordinates.

An Australian aboriginal tongue, Guugu Yimithirr, also has no relative directions, but only cardinal directions. To indicate where exactly they left something in the house, they’ll say, “I left it on the southern edge of the western table.” When shown a film on television, if it was facing north and a man on the screen was approaching, they would say that the man was “coming northward.” To be able to think like these people, one needs to have a compass somewhere in the mind all the time. Regardless of visibility conditions and regardless of where they are indoors or outdoors, stationary or moving, they have a spot-on sense of direction, and for this they don’t need to look at the Sun. They simply feel where north, south, west and east are. Guy Deutscher narrated how a speaker of Tzeltal from southern Mexico was blindfolded and spun around more than 20 times in a darkened house, but being blindfolded and dizzy, still pointed the geographic directions accurately.

We cannot conceive how they experience the world, or whether it influences their sense of identity: if a Guugu Yimithirr speaker is pointing at himself, it may be not to draw attention unto himself as we would, but maybe, to point at a cardinal direction behind his back, his own existence being irrelevant. To understand the role of language in thought, let us look at how different languages treat gender, or time. In English, if one says “I dined with my friend”, one need not specify the sex of the friend. This is not the case with French (amie (f) /ami (m)), or German (Freundin(f ) /Freund(m)). But English is particular about the time of dining (dines/dined/ dining/ will dine, etc.), while Chinese, for example, does not oblige its speakers to specify the exact time of the action ~ the same verb form is used for past, present or future actions.

 

It does not mean that the English do not understand the difference between sexes or that the Chinese do not understand the difference between past, present and future ~ but it does mean that they are not obliged to think about timing while describing an action. Similarly, Matses in Peru want their speakers to be precise about facts they are reporting. A Matses man when asked how many wives he has, unless he can actually see them at that moment, would have to answer in the past tense, like “There were two the last time I saw.” He must be absolutely certain that one of them hasn’t died or run off with another man since he last saw them, even if this was only five minutes ago. When one is obliged to specify certain types of information, it forces one to be attentive to those details. Since such habits of speech are inculcated from childhood, it is only natural that they will become habits of mind that go beyond language and shape experiences and perceptions, feelings and memories. The question is, is it supported by hard evidence?

Mark Twain once mocked the pronoun confusions of “the awful German language” ~ a young girl is an “it” while a turnip is a “she”. Most people, however, treat gender assignment in a language as arbitrary without any cognitive content. But experiments suggest that speakers do indeed, on a subconscious level, form associations between non-living (“neuter”) objects with masculine or feminine properties depending on their gender assignment, as in the 1990s experiment with German and Spanish. A German bridge is feminine (die Brücke), for instance, but el puente is masculine in Spanish and the same is true for clocks, apartments, forks, newspapers, pockets, etc., whereas an apple is masculine for Germans but feminine in Spanish, just like for chairs, brooms, butterflies, keys, mountains, etc. When speakers were asked to grade various objects on a range of characteristics, Spanish speakers deemed bridges, clocks and violins to have more “masculine properties” like strength, but Germans tended to think of them as more slender or elegant.

With objects like mountains or chairs, which are “he” in German but “she” in Spanish, the effect was reversed. When they were asked to assign human voices to various objects, French speakers assigned female voices to a fork (la fourchette), while Spanish speakers, for whom el tenedor is masculine, preferred a male voice. This is not to say that speakers did not know that inanimate objects do not possess biological sex, but to look at the inanimate world through the prism of gender may have some emotional connotation. Deutscher wondered whether the opposite genders of “bridge” in German and Spanish, for example, could have an effect on the design of bridges in Spain and Germany. We really do not know how the “emotional maps imposed by a gender system” affect tastes, habits and preferences. In Mandarin, speakers point past in the front and future at the back with their hand gestures, unlike us whose spatial gestures for the past and the future are just the opposite.

In English, for example, we look forward to the future lying ahead, or look back to the past left behind. But for the Chinese, the past gives the strength to move ahead, while uncertainties of the future are better left behind. The question whether language shapes thought probably goes deeper ~ what do we actually mean by thought? Psychology defines thinking as an activity that goes on in the brain while processing information received through senses and stimuli. Thinking involves memory but goes beyond ~ thinking is involved when we form concepts, feel an emotion or physical pain, engage in problem solving, reasoning or decision making. Can we experience a feeling of a sensation without a corresponding word in our language? Can we experience and identify pain without having a concept of pain in the language? Can there be thought without concept, or concept without language? To a large extent thinking may be language-based, but obviously we can think in images. Experimentally, it has been shown that imagining a physical activity stimulates the same regions in our brain that get activated when we actually perform the action.

Rather than being unidirectional, traffic flows both-ways between language and thinking, both of which are again influenced strongly by culture. As linguist Philip Lieberman says, “there are intimate, complex relationships that hold between biology, culture, language, and thought. Biology sets limits on thought, but culture changes biology, language transmits culture, and culture influences language and thought.” That language is a mirror of culture, and not something inherited by a child in the form of Chomskian Universal Grammar, has been convincingly demonstrated by Daniel Everett based on his study of the Piraha people who inhabit the extremely isolated Amazonian regions of Brazil. The language of the Pirahas does not exhibit one characteristic common to all languages, which is recursion ~ the embedding of clauses within clauses seen in most languages and is regarded as the defining characteristic of any human language.

Everett lived with Pirahas for 86 months and observed that they live a simple life, based on bounties on nature, and live on ‘here and now’ without having any sense or need of the past or the future, recognizing ‘the passage of time through wet and dry seasons’ and using ‘the full moon as a simple calendar’. Consequently, their language has evolved to meet the needs of their values, lifestyle and culture. It has no words for numbers ~ only ‘few’ and ‘many’, no words for colours or for markers of time like a week, month or year ~ only seasons, wet or dry. Their language to them is only a tool to negotiate their life which is lived only in the present and without much complexity. Actually, we are as yet far from understanding how the words that we hear or sentences that we read acquire meaning in our minds ~ how the brain’s neurons translate them into perception and thought.

Given that neurons in our brain are responsible for everything we perceive, think or do, we cannot as yet answer how objects, events, ideas, sensations, or people are encoded in the hardware of the brain by the actions of the hundred billion neurons that are tightly packed inside it. We may have shaped our destiny through innovation and creativity, through the use of increasingly sophisticated tools and language that had set us apart from our primate cousins and given us cognitive flexibility far superior to every other animal, flexibility that has led to the astounding diversity of about 7,000 languages around the globe.

But we are at the infancy of our understanding of the relationship between language and thinking. As Alan Moore said in his Promethea, “The only reality we can ever truly know is that of our perceptions, our own consciousness, while that consciousness, and thus our entire reality, is made of nothing but signs and symbols. Nothing but language. Even God requires language before conceiving the Universe. See Genesis: “In the beginning was the Word.””

(The writer is an author commentator and academic)"

#metaglossia_mundus

 

"La maîtrise de la langue joue un rôle important dans l’apprentissage des maths. Les élèves bilingues auraient-ils alors une longueur d’avance dans cette matière ? Que dit la recherche ?

Published: June 3, 2024 4.13pm SAST

Author

1. Xavier Aparicio

   Professeur des Universités en psychologie cognitive, Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)

Xavier Aparicio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC) provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation FR.

The Conversation is funded by the National Research Foundation, eight universities, including the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University and the Universities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pretoria, and South Africa. It is hosted by the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Western Cape, the African Population and Health Research Centre and the Nigerian Academy of Science. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a Strategic Partner.

Le bilinguisme peut avoir un impact sur le fonctionnement cognitif, notamment sur les fonctions exécutives comme la logique, la mise en place de stratégies, la planification, la résolution de problèmes et le raisonnement. Associées aux aires préfrontales du cerveau, celles-ci permettent la gestion de nos comportements sociaux, l’adaptation à de nouvelles situations et la régulation de nos émotions.

Les fonctions exécutives nous permettent donc, au quotidien, de gérer des situations qui demandent de la réflexion et de la créativité. Ainsi, elles sont étroitement associées aux apprentissages scolaires, et particulièrement mises en avant pour le développement de la littératie et l’apprentissage des mathématiques.

Cette connexion forte entre la pratique régulière d’une seconde langue et la plus grande efficience des fonctions exécutives nous invite à examiner, de façon plus spécifique, l’impact du bilinguisme sur l’apprentissage des mathématiques et la résolution de problèmes chez les enfants.

L’impact du bilinguisme sur la résolution de problèmes

Sebastian Kempert, Henrik Saalbach et Ilonca Hardy ont exploré les bénéfices cognitifs du bilinguisme chez des élèves du primaire, en se concentrant sur la résolution de problèmes mathématiques. Les auteurs ont mis en évidence que les bilingues ayant une forte fluence – c’est-à-dire une grande facilité à lire et s’exprimer avec précision – étaient davantage susceptibles d’obtenir des performances supérieures dans la résolution de problèmes en comparaison aux monolingues et aux bilingues de faible fluence.

 

Ainsi, le bénéfice du bilinguisme sur les compétences en maths n’est pas généralisé à l’ensemble des participants considérés comme bilingues, mais limité à ceux qui ont un bon niveau de maitrise des langues.

Ces résultats sont en adéquation avec d’autres travaux mettant l’accent sur l’importance des compétences langagières dans l’apprentissage des mathématiques. Cela se vérifie notamment lorsque les problèmes mathématiques sont extraits d’un contexte porteur de sens, comme dans les énoncés des problèmes arithmétiques.

Ainsi, les bilingues émergents, ou les élèves allophones (de langue maternelle étrangère) ayant un faible niveau dans la langue de scolarisation peuvent rencontrer des difficultés lorsqu’ils sont confrontés à des problèmes mathématiques.

Le bénéfice du bilinguisme sur les compétences en maths n’est pas généralisé à l’ensemble des participants considérés comme bilingues, mais limité à ceux qui ont un bon niveau de maitrise des langues.

L’étude de Sebastian Kempert et ses collègues souligne par ailleurs que les élèves bilingues peuvent rencontrer des défis supplémentaires lorsqu’ils résolvent des problèmes mathématiques en raison de la nécessité de jongler avec plusieurs langues. Si cela peut représenter un défi, avec une pratique régulière, les avantages cognitifs semblent l’emporter sur les coûts, du moins en ce qui concerne la résolution de problèmes mathématiques.

Une autre étude de Mark Leikin, Esther Tovli et Anna Woldo a exploré l’interaction entre le bilinguisme, les fonctions exécutives et la créativité dans la résolution de problèmes, ici chez des étudiants universitaires. Les résultats ont mis en évidence que les bilingues dont les compétences entre les deux langues sont équilibrées ont obtenu de meilleures performances aux tests de pensée créative.

Dans l’étude de H. Lee Swanson, Genesis D. Arizmendi et Jui-Teng Li, c’est l’impact de la mémoire de travail qui est examiné. Associée aux fonctions exécutives, celle-ci joue un rôle de maintien et de traitement des informations, permettant notamment de relier les éléments d’un énoncé aux connaissances et stratégies de résolution présentes au sein de la mémoire à long terme.

Menée auprès d’enfants hispanophones vivant dans un environnement où l’anglais américain est parlé, l’étude a montré que l’augmentation de la capacité de mémoire de travail était corrélée de façon significative à la résolution de problèmes mathématiques dans les deux langues parlées.

La question de l’éducation bilingue

Les conceptions de ce qu’est l’éducation bilingue sont assez variées en fonction des approches et des pays. Il en résulte une absence de résultats et de prescription universelle en la matière. D’après Colin Baker, la conception de ce que doit être l’éducation bilingue dépend assez largement du point de vue, et à l’heure actuelle les études menées dans un contexte donné peuvent s’avérer plus ou moins pertinentes dans un autre contexte.

Ellen Bialystok a dressé une synthèse, principalement orientée sur les pratiques nord-américaines, et montre que l’expression « éducation bilingue » est générique, correspondant à une multitude de circonstances particulières. Ce terme fait ainsi référence à tout programme scolaire dans lequel plus d’une langue est utilisée pour enseigner des matières académiques non linguistiques, ou bien où la langue de scolarisation ne correspond pas à la langue du foyer ou de la communauté.

Read more: À partir de quand devient-on bilingue ?

Cependant, les raisons explicites de l’intégration des langues, les langues spécifiques choisies, la structure du programme et la relation entre les langues scolaires et la communauté varient considérablement et influencent les résultats scolaires.

Il en résulte néanmoins une distinction entre une « éducation bilingue », visant à promouvoir deux langues en tant que supports d’enseignement pour des parties significatives du système scolaire, et celle destinée à enseigner aux élèves allophones la lecture et l’écriture dans leur langue maternelle, tout en développant ces apprentissages dans la langue seconde. Pour les allophones, l’enseignement de contenus dans leur langue maternelle permettrait une transition progressive vers la langue de scolarisation sur une période de plusieurs années.

Dans une étude incluant des élèves de la maternelle à la deuxième année du primaire, Kathryn Lindholm-Leary a évalué 283 élèves hispaniques de faible statut socio-économique (SSE) dans des programmes anglais ou bilingues. Les élèves entrant dans les programmes anglais de maternelle avaient des scores linguistiques plus élevés que ceux entrant dans les programmes bilingues, mais ces différences ont disparu au bout d’un ou deux ans, puis se sont inversées. Les élèves du programme bilingue ont alors dépassé le groupe d’instruction uniquement en anglais dans les scores aux tests en anglais et en espagnol à la fin de la deuxième année.

Ces résultats vont dans le sens d’un effet bénéfique sur le long terme d’un enseignement bilingue, notamment sur les compétences linguistiques et l’alphabétisation dans les deux langues. Dans la méta-analyse de David J. Francis, Nonie Lesaux et Diane August, il ressort que l’enseignement bilingue a un effet positif faible à modéré sur les résultats en matière de lecture en anglais.

Quelles sont alors les raisons qui pourraient expliquer de meilleures performances en mathématiques des élèves en situation de bilinguisme ? Une explication que Viorica Marian, Anthony Shook et Scott R. Schroeder proposent pour analyser les meilleurs résultats en mathématiques des enfants dans les programmes bilingues est que le niveau de bilinguisme atteint dans ces programmes a permis d’entraîner les fonctions exécutives, dont l’efficacité soutient, entre autres, les performances en mathématiques.

[Déjà plus de 120 000 abonnements aux newsletters The Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous aujourd’hui pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux du monde.]

Plusieurs études sur les jeunes élèves des premières années scolaires ont en effet mis en évidence une relation directe entre les capacités exécutives des élèves et les résultats en mathématiques et un grand nombre de recherches ont établi que le bilinguisme favorise le développement des fonctions exécutives chez les jeunes enfants. Il est important de noter que le niveau d’efficacité des fonctions exécutives des enfants est un prédicteur de la réussite scolaire. Par conséquent, l’éducation bilingue peut avoir un effet bénéfique dans la mesure où elle favorise non seulement la pratique des langues, mais aussi un aspect crucial de la performance cognitive.

Les recherches montrent que le lien entre bilinguisme et succès dans les performances mathématiques n’est pas linéaire, et suppose de considérer différents facteurs, cognitifs, linguistiques, sociaux et environnementaux pour ne citer que ceux-ci. Elles amènent également à développer une réflexion en termes de politiques éducatives, relatives à l’apprentissage des mathématiques d’une part mais aussi à la place des langues dans les enseignements et les apprentissages.

En analysant la synthèse d’Ellen Bialystok trois résultats possibles sont identifiés concernant l’enseignement bilingue :

• aucune différence mesurable entre les programmes bilingues et les programmes standard ;

• un certain avantage à participer à un programme bilingue ;

• des difficultés pour les élèves des programmes bilingues qui conduisent à des résultats moins bons que ceux qui seraient obtenus dans des programmes traditionnels.

S’il semble ressortir majoritairement des études un bénéfice des programmes bilingues, se pose la question de l’évaluation des compétences linguistiques dans un contexte où les langues maternelles des enfants varient de façon considérable. Il semble donc indispensable de développer des études, intégrant de façon systématique les langues des apprenants, pour identifier plus précisément les bénéfices que peut apporter la pratique régulière des langues sur les apprentissages en général, et celui des mathématiques en particulier.""

#metaglossia_mundus

"ENTRETIEN - À l’occasion du centenaire de la mort de Kafka, Le Figaro revient sur la singularité de son style avec Florence Bancaud, universitaire et spécialiste de l’œuvre kafkéenne.

La langue de Kafka, un art de l’esquisse allemande

Par Raphaël de Charette

ENTRETIEN - À l’occasion du centenaire de la mort de Kafka, Le Figaro revient sur la singularité de son style avec Florence Bancaud, universitaire et spécialiste de l’œuvre kafkéenne.

 

Florence Bancaud est professeur des Universités à l'université d'Aix-Marseille, spécialiste de littérature et histoire des idées germaniques. Elle est notamment l’auteure de Franz Kafka ou l’art de l’esquisse.

LE FIGARO.- Quelle est la singularité du style de Kafka ?

Florence BANCAUD.- La singularité de son style vient du fait qu'il était de père tchèque et de mère allemande. Il écrivait en langue allemande, celle de sa mère, mais aussi celle de l'administration, donc une langue assez sobre. Les caractéristiques de la langue de Kafka, c'est justement une extrême sobriété, une certaine ascèse du langage. Il choisit des termes simples, des mots très faciles à comprendre, neutres, en apparence. J'ai beaucoup travaillé sur ses manuscrits, qu'il corrigeait dans le flux de l'écriture. Il n'écrit jamais avec des scénarios préétablis, mais directement sur le papier et ce qu'on peut relever dans l'ensemble des corrections, c'est que ça va dans le sens d'une épure toujours plus grande. Durant sa grande phase de création, de 1909 à 1924, il enlève de ses textes les hyperboles, les métaphores, tout ce qui est de l'ordre de la surcharge, pour garder des phrases en apparence assez neutres mais qui en réalité sont très polysémiques.

Son écriture a-t-elle été influencée par des modèles ?

Oui, malgré cette épure et cette simplicité apparentes, Kafka a plusieurs modèles sur lesquels il insiste beaucoup, notamment dans son journal. Le plus important, qui est aussi un anti-modèle, c'est Goethe, qui représente un peu le modèle de l'écriture autobiographique, de la construction de soi par l'écriture. Kafka dit que c'est un modèle un peu inégalable : c'est l'esthétique vers laquelle il tend mais qu'il sait ne jamais pouvoir atteindre. En revanche, les inspirations sur lesquelles il insiste beaucoup sont Bouvard et Pécuchet et L'Éducation sentimentale, de Flaubert. L'Éducation sentimentale est d'ailleurs son livre de chevet, qu'il va lire et relire toute sa vie durant. Ce genre de choses n'est pas très connu, mais c'est vrai qu’on peut aussi considérer que Kafka a une écriture qui est à la fois fantastique et réaliste. Il y a des moments, notamment dans la description de ville ou de scènes de la vie quotidienne, où l'écriture est très réaliste, inspirée de Flaubert. Kafka dira d'ailleurs de sa nouvelle Un célibataire entre deux âges que c'est son Bouvard et Pécuchet à lui. C'est la caricature d'une figure de célibataire telle qu'on peut en voir souvent chez Flaubert, donc ce modèle d'écriture là est très important. Il admire aussi beaucoup Kleist, écrivain allemand, qui représente pour lui le maître dans l'art de la nouvelle. Ce dernier concevait la nouvelle comme un organisme, un tout très achevé et construit. C'est véritablement le second maître d'écriture de Kafka.

« Il écrit surtout la nuit , dans un état de demi-sommeil où il est assailli des images oniriques. »

Florence Bancaud, universitaire

Quel est cet «art de l’esquisse» propre à Kafka dont vous parlez dans l’un de vos ouvrages ?

Kafka aurait voulu faire les Beaux-Arts et être dessinateur, c'était sa vocation première. Récemment, un livre de ses dessins a été publié. Ils sont très expressionnistes, très expressifs, avec des personnages, des silhouettes noires qui rappellent Kafka et ses personnages. Cet art de l'esquisse, il le transpose dans ses écrits. Tous les jours, il rédige une petite ébauche de texte, une phrase, un aphorisme. Il écrit surtout la nuit, dans un état de demi-sommeil où il est assailli des « images oniriques », des images intérieures qu'il essaye de transposer à l'écrit. Après la rédaction du Verdict, sa première nouvelle qu'il écrit en une nuit, il dit que c'est comme une naissance. Plus qu'une esquisse, c’est une œuvre achevée, dont il est extrêmement fier. Mais parfois, justement, il commence à écrire, porté par cette transe plus ou moins onirique et tout d'un coup, l'inspiration s'arrête. Alors soit il essaie de reprendre les jours suivants cette esquisse, soit il la laisse de côté. C'est comme un organisme qui n'est plus viable pour lui. Esquisse donc, parce qu’on peut considérer toute son œuvre comme une œuvre de fragments : ses trois romans sont inachevés, tout comme la plupart de ses nouvelles. Beaucoup s'arrêtent au beau milieu d'une phrase, parce que l'inspiration est retombée. Mais pourquoi art ? Même si Kafka était très exigeant avec lui-même et qu'il considérait cet inachèvement comme un échec, on peut considérer, nous lecteurs, qu'il a laissé de véritables œuvres d'art, même avec ces textes inachevés, parfois reconstitués par son exécuteur testamentaire, Max Brook. Le rapport un peu ambigu de Kafka à son œuvre, qu'il considère comme incomplète et insatisfaisante, est dû à son désir de l'écriture parfaite. Il a toujours le sentiment que le mot peut trahir la pensée. Il faut essayer de viser au plus près de l'idée mais les mots sont parfois incapables de la traduire avec justesse. J'ai beaucoup travaillé la poétique de Kafka, sur toute sa théorie du langage, ce refus de la métaphore facile, le refus des comparaisons et de toutes les formes d'ornement. Il préfère viser la simplicité la plus extrême pour essayer de rendre de la manière la plus transparente possible sa pensée et ses fameuses images oniriques.

Kafkaïen, kafkéen... On hésite parfois sur l’usage de ces termes : lequel choisir ?

«Kafkaïen» est devenu un adjectif mythique. Il n'y a pas beaucoup d'adjectifs qui montrent à quel point l'auteur est devenu mythique : shakespearien, balzacien… et donc kafkaïen. Quand on dit « kafkaïen », il y a deux sens. Soit ça évoque l'atmosphère un peu absurde, dérisoire de l'univers de Kafka, soit ça évoque une situation dans la vie quotidienne qui évoque l'absurde propre à Kafka. Par extension ça désigne ce qui est oppressant, ce qui est incompréhensible, qui peut être cauchemardesque. C'est un adjectif souvent associé à des impressions assez négatives et qui est un peu biaisé, du fait de cette mythification de Kafka, qu'on réduit justement au kafkaïen, à cette atmosphère glauque et absurde. Or cela masque une partie de la personnalité de Kafka, qui pouvait être très drôle et lisait ses œuvres, notamment La métamorphose, à ses amis qui étaient littéralement pliés de rire. On a du mal à imaginer cela parce que l'univers est tellement noir, tellement sinistre. Je préfère donc l'adjectif « kafkéen ». « Kafkaïen » qualifie une atmosphère, et « kafkéen » désigne ce qui est propre à Kafka. Par exemple on ne dira pas « les phases de création kafkaïennes ». Elles sont propres à Kafka, mais elles ne sont pas liées à cet univers glauque. De même, on parle de l'œuvre kafkéenne et non pas kafkaïenne."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Soudan du Sud: un recueil de poésie en bari pour mettre en lumière des langues locales

Au Soudan du Sud, l’urgence de promouvoir le patrimoine linguistique du pays était à l’honneur ce vendredi 31 mai. À l’Institut français de Juba, à l'occasion du Derik Cultural Festival, c'était le lancement d’un livre de poésie en langue bari, la langue autochtone de la région de Juba. Son auteur, David Lukan, était accompagné d’autres écrivains et experts sud-soudanais.

Publié le : 03/06/2024 - 16:47

Par :RFISuivre

Avec notre correspondante à Juba, Florence Miettaux

Le lancement de ce livre a été l’occasion d’une réflexion critique sur le statut des langues locales dans le pays. Le Soudan du Sud en compterait 71, selon un rapport de l’Unicef de 2016. Des langues que la Constitution transitoire adoptée à l’indépendance du Soudan du Sud, en 2011, considère toutes comme des langues nationales, à égalité.

Mais pour celles dont les locuteurs se raréfient et qui n’ont pas développé de système orthographique, face à la domination de l’anglais et de l’arabe, langues importées durant la colonisation, la menace d’une extinction à court terme est réelle.

Vêtu d’un boubou flamboyant, David Lukan a lu des extraits de son recueil de poésie, « ‘Doko Nikan Ko Kare », qui veut dire « Emportés par la rivière » en langue bari. Cette langue qu’il a apprise « dans le ventre de sa mère », dit-il, il ne l’a jamais perdue, même pendant son long exil à Khartoum. Il a mis 23 ans pour parvenir à publier ce premier recueil. Un acte presque militant.

« L’impact du colonialisme a perduré de façon psychologique »

« L’impact du colonialisme a perduré de façon psychologique, sur notre façon de penser, dit-il. Quand ils nous disaient que nos langues ne sont pas des langues, que ce ne sont que des dialectes, de façon inconsciente ou subliminale, nous avons commencé à y croire ! Donc cela prend du temps et des efforts d’éducation, pour transformer cette façon de penser et promouvoir nos langues autochtones », estime-t-il. 

L’écrivain sud-soudanais Victor Lugala s’adresse ensuite au public : « Êtes-vous capables d’écrire une lettre, là maintenant, à votre mère, au village, dans votre langue maternelle ? Vous ne l'êtes pas ! Voilà notre dilemme aujourd’hui. Je suis content que David Lukan ait fait ce livre, c’est un défi qu’il nous lance. Car certaines de nos langues autochtones sont en danger, et risquent de disparaître. »

Le Ministère de l’Éducation sud-soudanais a introduit l’enseignement en langues locales à l’école primaire. Mais au-delà, et jusqu'à l'université, aucune formation spécialisée n’existe."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Publié le 03/06/2024 à 05:13

Correspondant

Ce samedi 1er juin s’est tenu un rassemblement place du Mercadial à Saint-Céré à l’appel du collectif "Pour que vivent nos langues", pour une modification de la constitution afin que nos langues vivent et pouvoir vivre dans nos langues.

"Nos langues ne peuvent vivre dans cette précarité" affirme le collectif "Pour que vivent nos langues" dans un appel aux rassemblements au Pays basque, en Bretagne, Corse, Alsace, Catalogne. "Elles ont besoin que ce qui a été construit jusqu’à présent ne puisse pas être remis en cause, que les projets d’avenir soient consolidés, d’une sécurité juridique qui nécessite dès à présent une modification de la Constitution.

 

En mai 2021, était votée la loi relative à la protection patrimoniale des langues régionales et à leur promotion dite "Loi Molac" que le Conseil constitutionnel censurait partiellement dans la foulée. Depuis, une interprétation restrictive de l’article 2 de la Constitution (qui indique notamment que le français est la langue de la République) continue à être systématiquement opposée à chaque avancée possible pour nos langues, et les problèmes se multiplient" explique le collectif.

 

"Les collectivités publiques pour l’usage de nos langues dans leurs institutions sont attaquées et leurs délibérations annulées au Conseil d'État ou au tribunal administratif. La situation se dégrade également dans l’enseignement. Les alertes de la chambre régionale des comptes de Bretagne pointant l’insécurité juridique de la circulaire de l’Éducation Nationale de 2021, le blocage de la contractualisation de Scola Corsa et le non-renouvellement des conventions".

C’est donc une trentaine de personnes qui s’est rassemblée samedi 1er juin à 13 h 30, place du Mercadial à Saint-Céré, afin de soutenir la démarche engagée par le collectif "pour que vivent nos langues". C’est à l’initiative du mouvement "calandreta" (écoles en immersion occitan) et sous la dynamique de la calandreta Esquirol que ce regroupement a pris forme à Saint-Céré. Par cette action résonnent les mots "Culture, transmission, famille, histoire, racines…" qui touchent toutes les personnes attachées à une langue régionale. Pour information, il reste des places en maternelle à l’école calandreta Esquirol de Saint-Céré pour la rentrée 2024.

Contactez le 0616353045 ou envoyez un mail à calandreta.esquirol@gmail.com"

#metaglossia_mundus

"There are several “types” that bilinguals can fall into

Linda Hilary Faria, Guest Writer

June 3, 2024

Bilingualism, the ability to use two languages proficiently, has become increasingly common in the US. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, about 67.3 million (or 20.6%) people in the US can speak two or more languages. As migration occurs, cultures multiply, and languages spread, bilingualism is on an all-time rise. 

Language goes beyond communication—it’s an identity and can provide amazing social and economic opportunities. 

I have researched six different bilingual types which many bilinguals can fall into. 

Simultaneous Bilingualism vs Sequential Bilingualism: According to Tabors (1997) simultaneous bilingualism happens when a child is exposed to two different languages at an early stage. As they grow older they get native-like proficiency in both languages. On the other hand, sequential bilingualism happens when a child has first learned a language but then learns a second one later on in life or maybe directly after the first one.

Balanced Bilingualism vs Dominant Bilingualism: According to ReasearchGate.com balanced bilingualism is when a person has an equal balance of proficiency in both languages. Whereas in dominant bilingualism a person is stronger in one of their languages than the other (although they are still considered proficient in both).

Additive Bilingualism vs Subtractive Bilingualism: According to bilingualspeechie.com additive bilingualism means to learn a second language without that second language interrupting the first language. Subtractive bilingualism means when you learn a second language it messes with your brain’s retention of your first language.

I grew up in a Brazilian household and community where I did not have much practice with English, not until kindergarten at least. This put me in sequential bilingualism, learning English after Portuguese. Sadly, I started to lose proficiency in Portuguese as I learned and used English more often (subtractive bilingualism), although after immersing myself into my culture once more by traveling and making more Brazillian relationships, I still consider myself to be more dominant in English than Portuguese. An interviewee, and an old friend of mine, for this article can also relate to my experience. 

Esther Coelho (the Vice President of the class of 2025) says, “Portuguese was technically my first language mixed with English because both my parents immigrated to this country when they were early adults. They didn’t speak English very well. So I started learning English in head start and advanced quickly… but in English, I’m more confident just because I’m better at it, I’d say.”

It’s a funny thing, bilingualism. I know so much in English about history, sciences, and politics, but the moment I sit at an American church it doesn’t feel the same to me. 

To me, English and Portuguese convey different emotions and feelings. This can lead to times when being bilingual is challenging. 

Many times I feel misunderstood and lost. I can’t express everything I feel and believe strictly in English or Portuguese, I always find myself mixing up the languages into a messy knot of arguments, conversations, and explanations. 

Coelho expresses her struggles, “I always find myself speaking both languages mixed together, like I’ll start my sentence in English but end it in Portuguese ALL THE TIME.”

Jazzynett Rosario, another interviewee, a close friend of mine who I consider an older sister relates to the mess of mixing languages in her head. She’s a Puerto Rican woman who works as a Customer Care Representative. Her main languages are Spanish and English but she was adopted into the Brazillian community which allowed her to learn Portuguese phonetically. She states, “It’s like a whirlwind in my head. At times you can think in one language but can be speaking in another.”

Many times I find myself having different personalities in the languages I speak. I find myself to be more “me” with Portuguese (possibly because of the cultural aspects as well). I realize I am louder, more outgoing, happier, and more loving when speaking in Portuguese. While speaking English I am more closed off, still the extroverted, positive, and loud person I am, but with limitations. 

Although I find myself able to get angry in Portuguese, when in English I feel restricted. I use English in a school setting mostly and the occasional outings to the grocery store or even the mall. This causes me to have an unhealthy relationship with becoming angry or sad in both languages. My dominance in English allows me to have plentiful vocab to express feelings of anger than I do with my vocab in Portuguese. Unfortunately, in the settings I speak English in, I have my “happy mask” on.

I believe we can all agree that when we are out doing our jobs or learning, we aren’t the relaxed selves that we can be in our homes or around our family and close relationships. We have a “happy mask” on. We pretend to be doing alright leaving home problems in the back of our minds and focusing on our professional environment. Similarly, the lack of opportunity to healthily express my negative emotions in English can harm me in Portuguese. Overall it deeply affects my relationships. 

I have concluded that no one will ever fully understand and know me completely because of this unique side to my life. I realized that my American friends are missing out on a whole other part of me, even when I know most aspects of their lives. Sadly, they don’t see the whole other part of me that, in my opinion, is so much more fun to be around. My Brazillian friends will probably never realize just how capable I am in English. My parents won’t ever completely understand how I feel in certain situations because I can’t properly communicate with them. Many times I feel like an outcast, someone who has an unhealthy relationship with her proper emotions because others can’t understand me well. 

This is why I am blessed to have friends who share the same struggles and experiences. Rosario, being one of them, relates saying, “Even though you’re able to immerse yourself into various settings, it can cast you out as well. Some folks may not consider you fully as a part of the community. It may feel like you always have a shoe out the door. They sometimes may think of you as a prestige person because of your privilege through your ability to speak many languages. You can build barriers while trying to break down others. At times you will feel out of place because you are multicultural, too American for the Latin community too Latin for the American community.”

Gaby Estrada, a former student of LHS who graduated in May of 2022, says, “When you’re in a group and speak in a language others don’t understand, people tend to assume you do it to talk bad about them… it creates the idea that everyone does it to talk trash.”

However, there are so many advantages to speaking a second language. It shows great mental strength, and social abilities, and enhances your view of the world. 

No doubt speaking a second language will help me in the future with jobs. Even now it’s working its effects in the new language I’m currently learning, French. 

Estrada, who also took French and learned it during her high school career, claims “Spanish and French connected more for me than English and French. Whatever I didn’t understand in French, I tried making sense of it in Spanish first and then in French. Interestingly enough, it improved my learning skills.”

I relate to her experience, especially when speaking French. My pronunciation is more advanced, my listening skills improve at a much faster rate, and spelling (especially the accents) is easier since I’m used to seeing them in Portuguese. 

In Rosario’s experience, she states, “When you are traveling the world it can open your senses to the people, cultures, and foods in different forms than a person who may only be able to speak one language. This world is about the human experience, so naturally, the more knowledge and resources you have at your will the more you can swim and experience an array of adventures.”

Madame Cook, an interviewee, and the French teacher at LHS believes, “Becoming bilingual improves one’s overall cognitive abilities, as it requires a lot of healthy work for the brain. It also helps you to see your first language in a new way, and broadens your perspective of other cultures.”

I can use Portuguese and English to help others in translation, many times I find people who don’t speak English and need directions, or occasionally I will translate to the Americans who visit me at church. It’s a great feeling to know you’ve helped people while also learning and improving yourself. Not to mention the benefits of being put into higher positions in life.

Estrada attests, “There are days where I have to translate for this lady at church who only speaks English. If you think about it, the vocabulary necessary to translate the message the pastor gives is different from the basic English… this only enhances my ability to switch between basic vocabulary to more complex vocabulary.”

Madame Cook has her own reasons why speaking two languages can be beneficial, “When I was working for the summer at Disney World in Florida, I got to work at a more desirable location sometimes, the Ticket and Transportation Center (as opposed to just stamping tickets at the Magic Kingdom front gate), since I could communicate with tourists in another language to direct them where they needed to go.”

Overall, being bilingual has brought many challenges to my life, but it only made me stronger. I am elated to have grown up with such amazing opportunities. Without it, my life experience would be significantly different. The people I consider my closest friends and family would change, I probably would never have come to Ludlow Public Schools, searching for a place where teachers could help me with my struggles in academics, I probably wouldn’t be learning French either (not as well at least). This skill I have acquired and practiced over the years has benefited me immensely allowing me to be good at problem-solving, cognitive skills, memory, social skills, and so much more! 

As we move towards an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to understand more languages becomes essential, making bilingualism not only an interesting personal asset but a societal imperative."

#metaglossia_mundus

By Dianna Cline / June 2, 2024

"Are you using an Android device and in need of a multi-language keyboard? Whether you are learning a new language or frequently communicate with people who speak different languages, having a keyboard that supports multiple languages can greatly enhance your Android experience. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing a multi-language keyboard on your Android device, allowing you to type in different languages effortlessly.

How to Install Multi-Language Keyboard on Android

If you’re wondering how to install a multi-language keyboard on Android, follow these simple steps:

1. Open the Google Play Store: Locate and open the Google Play Store app on your Android device.
2. Search for a multi-language keyboard: In the search bar at the top of the screen, enter keywords like “multi-language keyboard” or the name of a specific keyboard you prefer.
3. Choose a keyboard: Browse the list of available keyboards and select the one that suits your needs. Some popular options include Google Keyboard (Gboard), SwiftKey, or Multiling O Keyboard.
4. Tap “Install”: Once you find the keyboard you want, tap on “Install” to begin the installation process.
5. Grant necessary permissions: After the keyboard is downloaded, you may be prompted to grant certain permissions. Read through them and tap “Accept” if you are comfortable with the requested access.
6. Set the keyboard as default: After the installation is complete, go to your device’s settings and select “Language & input” or a similar option. Under “Keyboard & input methods,” choose the newly installed keyboard and set it as the default input method.
7. Add languages: Open the keyboard settings and look for an option to add languages. Select the languages you want to use, and the keyboard will automatically switch between them as needed. Some keyboards may require you to download language packs separately.
8. Enjoy typing in multiple languages: You’re all set! You can now start typing in different languages using the newly installed multi-language keyboard.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can I switch between languages while typing?

Yes, with a multi-language keyboard installed, you can easily switch between languages by selecting the desired language from the keyboard.

2. Do I need an internet connection for the multi-language keyboard to work?

No, the multi-language keyboard works offline and does not require an internet connection for basic functionality.

3. Can I customize the layout of the keyboard?

Yes, many multi-language keyboards offer customization options such as choosing different themes, layouts, and colors to suit your preference.

4. Can I add additional dictionaries to the keyboard?

Yes, some keyboards allow you to install additional dictionaries to improve language suggestions and autocorrect features.

5. How do I switch back to my previous keyboard?

You can switch back to your previous keyboard by going to your device’s settings, selecting “Language & input,” and choosing your previous keyboard as the default input method.

6. Can I use swipe typing with a multi-language keyboard?

Yes, many multi-language keyboards support swipe typing, allowing you to glide your finger across the keyboard to form words.

7. Can I install multiple multi-language keyboards at the same time?

Yes, you can have multiple multi-language keyboards installed on your Android device and switch between them depending on your preference.

8. Does a multi-language keyboard support emoji and GIFs?

Yes, multi-language keyboards typically include emoji and GIF support to enhance your messaging experience.

9. How can I update the multi-language keyboard?

To update a multi-language keyboard, open the Google Play Store, go to “My apps & games,” and select the keyboard app you want to update. Tap “Update” if an update is available.

10. Will installing a multi-language keyboard slow down my device?

Properly developed multi-language keyboards should not significantly slow down your device, especially if you’re using a modern Android device.

11. Can I type in different scripts, like Cyrillic or Devanagari?

Yes, multi-language keyboards often support various scripts, allowing you to type in different alphabets or writing systems.

12. Are multi-language keyboards available for iOS devices?

Yes, there are also multi-language keyboards available for iOS devices, although the installation process may vary slightly from Android."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Qui sont les interprètes du Parlement européen ?

Publié le : 27/05/2024 - 17:05

Écouter - 29:00

Qui sont les interprètes du Parlement européen ? Comment sont-ils recrutés ? Comment travaillent-ils ?

 

- Vincent Capet, chef de l'Unité de la Programmation du service interprétation.

- Dounya François, interprète dans la cabine française. 

Et la chronique Ailleurs avec Landry Nguetsa, directeur artistique de Emintha (pour École Mobile INternationale des THéâtres d’Afrique) qui nous parlera de son projet.

Par :Pascal ParadouSuivre"

#metaglossia_mundus

"Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies MA

Develop high-level interpreting and translation skills on this challenging course, where you’ll use state-of-the-art technology to gain the knowledge base and practical skills to succeed in the language services industry.

You’ll gain essential skills in interpreting, analysis, active listening and note-taking, then build on this foundation by practising specialised consecutive and simultaneous interpreting in our conference interpreting facilities. At the same time, you’ll deepen your understanding of translation theory and practice. You can also choose from optional modules informed by the leading research of our staff such as genre analysis, corpus linguistics, computer-assisted translation and machine translation.

As a programme included in the AIIC Interpreting Schools & Programmes Directory, the Leeds interpreting programme follows best practices that are recommended by AIIC (the International Association of Conference Interpreters). The University of Leeds is also a partner university of the Directorate-Generale for Interpretation of both the European Parliament and the European Commission. We enjoy close ties with international organisations including the UN.

 

Intakes

• SEP

 

Application Processing Time in Days: 30

Application Process

Visa Process

20 Days

 

 

Minimum English Language Requirements

  English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90) Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90 Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86 Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83 Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79 Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73 Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65 Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58 Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50 Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43 Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36 Extremely Limited < 4 < 31

< 93

 

"

#metaglossia_mundus

parBastien Pietronave publié le 1 juin 2024 à 17 h 28 min

"Du 6 au 9 juin, la Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire (BNU) de Strasbourg accueillera des dizaines de traducteurs et traductrices, d’écrivain(e)s et de musicien(ne)s pour quatre journées exceptionnelles consacrées à la traduction littéraire. Rencontres, lectures musicales, questionnements sur des sujets comme l’IA, joutes verbales ou hommages : les Bibliothèques idéales nous invitent à nous questionner sur un art et un métier aux enjeux bien plus larges qu’il n’y parait. 

Traduire, c’est bien plus que transposer une langue à une autre. C’est aussi choisir, défendre ses idées et ses interprétations, pour les proposer aux lecteurs/rices.

Traduire, c’est aussi peut-être renoncer, simplifier, et risquer de perdre quelque chose en route ? Comment passe-t-on d’un univers mental à un autre ? Un dialogue est-il possible avec les intelligences artificielles (IA) ?

Ce sont ces questions, entre autres, qui serviront de terreau aux Journées européennes de la traduction organisées dans le cadre du contrat triennal « Strasbourg, capitale européenne ».

Il faut plus d’une langue pour dire le monde !

Au cours de ces quatre journées, des auteur(e)s, des producteurs/rices, des artistes et des traducteurs/rices de renoms défendront l’idée qu’il faut plus d’une langue pour dire le monde.

Puisque la parole leur est trop rarement donnée, ces moments (environ 50 minutes chacun) seront l’occasion de mieux comprendre ce qui se passe dans l’esprit de celles et ceux qui nous donnent à lire.

Pour ouvrir le bal, le jeudi 6 juin, c’est Josée Kamoun, la grande traductrice de Philip Roth, George Orwell, ou Richard Ford (rien que ça) qui nous délivrera certaines des clés de son métier – qui lui colle à la peau depuis 40 ans.

Le lendemain, le vendredi 7, ce sont Olivier Mannoni et Valérie Zenatti qui nous parleront de l’importance de la traduction dans nos sociétés, et de l’engagement politique qu’il y a derrière.

Le même jour, les traductrices Justine Coquel et Jenny Bussek, mais aussi le traducteur Christophe Lucchese, nous proposeront une joute de traduction à partir d’un extrait de Müll, un roman de l’auteur autrichien Wolf Haas.

Lors d’une rencontre qui aura également lieu le vendredi 7, l’autrice Peggy Rolland et Olivier Mannoni évoqueront la possibilité (ou non), d’un dialogue entre l’intelligence artificielle et les traducteurs/rices. Un sujet on ne peut plus d’actualité.

Ce soir-là, on profitera également d’un grand hommage littéraire et musical (sous la forme d’un concert) au génie de Paul Auster et de Leonard Cohen avec Pierre Furlan, Nicolas Richard et Mathieu Saïkaly.

Le 8 juin, nouvelle rencontre. Cette fois-ci avec Jörn Cambreleng, traducteur au théâtre, et Ryoko Sekiguchi, poétesse et traductrice japonaise, qui se demanderont ce que l’on traduit réellement lorsque l’on transpose un livre d’une langue à une autre. Il et elle se demanderont également quel est le sens des mots, et quels sont les effets qu’ils produisent sur les lecteurs et lectrices. 

Le samedi 8, le très prolifique André Markowicz, qui a traduit toute l’œuvre de Dostoïevski, nous parlera de l’art de la perte, des mots et de la substance que l’on ne peut pas retranscrire.

Le dimanche 9 juin, les Strasbourgeois Régis Quatresous, traducteur de Kafka, et Dominique Defert, traducteur de Dan Brown ou Stephen King, nous parleront de l’immense tâche qui incombe aux traducteurs des monstres sacrés de la littérature.

Ce jour-là, les curieux et les curieuses pourront également assister à une conférence-concert sur le thème « Faut-il être fou pour traduire L’opéra de quat’sous ? »

Ces rendez-vous, et bien plus encore, seront pour une fois l’occasion de plonger dans le grand monde de la littérature par le prisme de celles et ceux qui la traduise.

Bien sûr, comme toujours avec les Bibliothèques idéales, ces moments sont 100% gratuits, et l’entrée est libre et sans réservation !"

#metaglossia_mundus

"Barbra Streisand se raconte avec coquetterie mais sans fard dans cette autobiographie indispensable pour tout fan.

Par  Rémy Batteault 1 juin 2024

Mais qu’est-ce qu’elle en a de choses à raconter ! Et qu’est-ce que l’on est content de les découvrir ! Certes, le poids du livre, au sens propre, double la lecture d’un exercice de musculation non négligeable : plus de mille pages ont été nécessaires à Miss Streisand pour revenir en détail sur ses innombrables souvenirs.

Le style parlé adopté par l’auteure colle parfaitement à cette autobiographie et ne décontenancera pas le fan. En effet, c’est le même qu’elle adopte lorsqu’en concert, elle régale l’assistance d’anecdotes entre deux chansons. Alerte, s’autorisant des digressions chronologiques, se remettant parfois en cause (« Qu’est-ce que je devais être agaçante ! »), ce long témoignage est comme une suite de confidences qu’une amie vous ferait. Autant dire que la lecture en est rendue agréable et que les pages défilent sans que l’on s’en rende compte.
De son enfance et la mort prématurée de son père comme traumatisme qui irriguera toute sa vie jusqu’à aujourd’hui, Barbra Streisand passe au crible son parcours, en pimentant toujours son récit par un humour irrésistible. Le lecteur comprend, chapitre après chapitre, son obstination à être la meilleure, les aspirations qui se dessinent au fil des expériences à vouloir réaliser des films. Son ascension est relatée avec soin jusqu’à ses premiers pas à Broadway. Elle ne fait pas l’impasse sur ses amours (elle aurait presque pu devenir la belle-mère de Justin Trudeau ; elle dresse par ailleurs un portrait peu flatteur de Sydney Chaplin, son partenaire à Broadway dans Funny Girl), ni sur ses combats, et se dévoile tout en conservant ce voile de pudeur qui fait sa force.

Se plonger dans ce livre, c’est l’assurance de revivre aux côtés de la star les moments clefs de sa carrière, vus ici par un autre prisme que celui que la presse a bien voulu utiliser, et c’est avoir la confirmation, si besoin était, que cette femme qui croyait en ses rêves et a tout fait pour qu’ils se réalisent a marqué son époque et servi de modèle a bien des artistes."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Une nouvelle traduction par la poétesse locale

Publié le 01/06/2024

Allègre. Nouvelle traduction de Lorca par la poétesse d’Allègre, Monique-Marie Ihry.

Monique-Marie Ihry, habitante d’Allègre, est une poétesse reconnue, elle qui a déjà été récompensée par plusieurs grands prix de poésie, dont le Grand Prix des poètes lorrains ou le prix Jean-Cocteau, pour ne citer qu’eux.

Après avoir publié la traduction en français de l’ouvrage Le divan du Tamarit de Federico García Lorca (1989-1936), elle a traduit et publié un autre recueil du même auteur intitulé Sonnets de l’amour obscur .

L’ouvrage est composé de 11 sonnets écrits entre 1935 et 1936. En 1968, l’intellectuel chilien Pablo Neruda écrira au sujet de ces poèmes qu’ils « sont d’une ineffable beauté ».

L’édition de cet ouvrage entend rendre hommage à ce grand poète espagnol dont l’œuvre avortée, mais conséquente, figure au Panthéon des plus illustres poètes. En effet, Federico García Lorca a été torturé en 1936 de façon ignoble, principalement pour son homosexualité. Il fut exécuté peu de temps après le commencement de la Guerre civile espagnole. Il n’avait que 38 ans.

Cap de l’Étang Éditions, maison d’édition basée à Allègre, publie cet ouvrage avec le concours de la Fondation Lorca de Grenade. À noter que ce livre contient des images des dessins exécutés par Federico García Lorca fournis en exclusivité pour les éditions Cap de l’Étang par la fondation.

Pratique. S onnets de l’amour obscur/Sonetos del amor oscuro , de Federico García Lorca, traduction en français de Monique-Marie Ihry. Renseignements au 06.08.75.61.08 et sur www.capdeletang.com."

#metaglossia_mundus

"A study co-authored by a Northeastern University researcher has found that hiring senior staff who are comfortable in more than one culture to conduct international negotiations can help "supercharge" the result for businesses.

by Patrick Daly, Northeastern University

Biculturals can influence business negotiations and "help their firms outperform others," according to Northeastern co-authored research. 

A study co-authored by a Northeastern University researcher has found that hiring senior staff who are comfortable in more than one culture to conduct international negotiations can help "supercharge" the result for businesses.

 

Research conducted by Priyan Khakhar, head of international business at Northeastern University in London, and others found that people deemed to be "biculturals" appeared to have an advantage when it comes to bridging divides between two different cultures.

Khakhar and his colleagues—Hussain Gulzar Ramma from the University of Adelaide in Australia and Vijay Pereira from the NEOMA Business School in Reims, France—define biculturals as people who "have internalized two or more cultures"

The findings were featured last month in the European Business Review, a periodical aimed at global leaders and others in business.

The study, "Biculturals in international business negotiations: moving away from the single culture paradigm," published in the Journal of Organizational Change Management, explored how biculturals "possess higher cultural intelligence than monocultural individuals." It found that their cultural knowledge and the way they hold multi-identities can influence business negotiations and "help their firms outperform others."

 

Khakhar said they picked 35 bicultural senior managers in Lebanon to interview because the Middle East country has witnessed regular patterns of migration and return over the past five decades due to instability, including a civil war between 1975 and 1990, and the 2006 war with Israel.

In addition to Lebanon, the participants had experience of cultures in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Australia, Canada, Armenia and Brazil.

After using artificial intelligence to pick out themes from the interviews, Khakhar said the researchers found biculturals had the ability to be "one person, two personalities," with those interviewed often suggesting they could tap into a different part of their personality when speaking another language.

This shifting identity and ability to blend cultures, according to Khakhar's article in The European Business Review, is a "beneficial superpower" that can "help create understanding and synergy between parties with different cultural backgrounds."

A second finding was the ability of those immersed in several cultures to switch between different ways of thinking.

"When it comes to international cross-cultural communication, there is always room for miscommunication because we don't understand customs or the nuances sometimes," Khakhar told Northeastern Global News.

"So there is a bridge-building capacity that these biculturals have. And, as a result, their adaptability was higher."

The research thirdly found, the assistant professor said, that biculturals were innovative thinkers, creative and more resistant to going along with so-called "groupthink."

The professor's analysis also found that such people had the ability to immerse themselves into major global corporations with greater ease than someone from a single culture.

Khakhar, who previously lived and taught in Beirut, argues that employing a bicultural person can have benefits in some business situations.

Being able to make bonds across different cultures can "nudge the negotiation towards a certain party, even if in an implicit way," the assistant professor said.

Khakhar said, "In terms of building bridges, there are implicit connections that [biculturals] make with the language, the linguistics and understanding nuances."

He suggested that a corporate U.S. company might find that a Japanese employee who has studied and lived in America might prove a "good negotiator" to strike deals with a Tokyo firm as their dual experience could help create a mutual rapport.

But Khakhar said there were two sides to the argument and that context would be key when making hiring decisions.

He continued, "I'm not saying bicultural individuals are going to be Superman or Superwoman in negotiations by the virtue of their upbringing, background or ethnic mixes.

"There are also studies out there that show that if biculturalism is not navigated well, it can lead to psychological effects, such as confusion—it can lead to things like paralysis in decision-making.

"So when it comes to selecting managers, obviously their culture is not the only criteria of hiring. It is about the overall blend.

"But if there was that competence there—they call it bicultural integration competence and there is a scale that measures it—then that would be a plus.

"They have the ability to successfully navigate two or three cultures when not everyone can."

More information: Priyan Khakhar et al, Biculturals in international business negotiations: moving away from the single culture paradigm, Journal of Organizational Change Management (2023). DOI: 10.1108/JOCM-04-2022-0110

Provided by Northeastern University 

This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu."

#metaglossia_mundus

"SIS online programs professor and intercultural consultant Melissa Hahn joins Big World to discuss the importance of fostering strong interpersonal relationships in the global workforce. Hahn is the author of a recent book titled, Forging Bonds in a Global Workforce: Build Rapport, Camaraderie, and Optimal Performance No Matter the Time Zone.

Hahn, who teaches intercultural communication, begins our conversation by sharing her inspiration for writing this book with her colleague, Brandeis University professor Andy Molinsky (1:47). She also describes, in broad strokes, the approach her book lays out for building more authentic cross-cultural relationships in the workplace (2:37).

Why is it important to build cross-cultural relationships in business settings (6:46)? Does the United States’ approach and framework for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives translate to a global context (12:00)? Hahn answers these questions and ends our discussion by offering practical advice for anyone wanting to form more authentic intercultural relationships (14:44).

In the “Take 5” segment (9:54) of this episode, Hahn answers this question: What are five tools to help build cross-cultural relationships? "

#metaglossia_mundus

"The Academy of Interpretation Launches Annual Scholarship Program to Support Future Language Interpreters and Translators

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Academy of Interpretation 

May 30, 2024, 08:30 ET

TYSONS, Va., May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Interpretation (AOI) is excited to announce the launch of its Annual Scholarship Program. The AOI has been a leading organization dedicated to advancing the language services industry through education and professional development. This scholarship is designed to support the next generation of language interpreters and translators in government, healthcare, legal, and educational settings.

"We are a nation of immigrants, and our industry provides us with a unique opportunity to help facilitate communication between two parties that wouldn't understand each other without bridging that gap in communication," said Sameh Abdelkader, Director of Education at the AOI. "The AOI is proud to be an organization performing these services that offer direct benefits to our community and industry."

The AOI's Annual Scholarship offers two $500 rewards to a college or university undergraduate or graduate student who understands the importance of providing interpretation services and is passionate about giving back to their community. The scholarship seeks strong individuals whose career goals include helping bridge gaps in communication through language translation or interpreting.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Be enrolled in an accredited trade school, college, or university.
• Submit an unofficial transcript to ensure enrollment at the institution.
• Have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and be in good academic standing.
• Submit a resume.
• Be a student pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a language, linguistics, communications, education, legal, or medical field of study.

Application Requirements:
Applicants must write an essay (5,000 characters max) on the following topic:

Share why you are passionate about the role that interpreters and translators play in society. Discuss your career goals and how the scholarship can help you achieve them. Explain how being bilingual has impacted you and how you would use the scholarship to help the community. The essay must be original, and any application with plagiarized content will be disqualified.

This scholarship program has encouraged other Language Services Providers (LSPs) to invest in future interpreters. The AOI has already recruited one local provider, Liberty Language Services, who will offer a similar scholarship program, demonstrating the collaborative effort to support aspiring language professionals.

"Our goal is to identify and support talented individuals who are dedicated to bridging communication gaps and making a positive impact in their communities," added Mr. Abdelkader. "We are excited to help other Language Service Providers expand the reach and impact of their scholarship programs."

For more information about the AOI Annual Scholarship Program and how to apply, please visit https://www.academyofinterpretation.com/student-scholarship.

For media inquiries, please contact:
marketing@academyofinterpretation.com
(703) 650-9815

About the Academy of Interpretation (AOI):
The Academy of Interpretation (AOI) aims to professionalize and maintain quality standards in the language services industry via proper credentialing, education, and experience, as well as expand accessibility to interpreting training courses, workshops, and language testing.

About Liberty Language Services:
Liberty Language Services is a respected language service provider committed to promoting effective communication and supporting the growth of language professionals. Through their scholarship program, Liberty aims to empower students and contribute to the development and future of the language services industry.

SOURCE Academy of Interpretation"

#metaglossia_mundus

"Simplified French, an open door to a grammatical and orthographic Tower of Babel in the French-speaking world

Mayıs 30, 20240

It is a truism to say that language constitutes a minefield in Quebec. Not only is it politically, demographically and culturally, but also linguistically. For a long time, it was fashionable to promote the greatest mastery of it while deploring the poor state of written French in Quebec, particularly among students. However, little by little, a current of thought has developed and legitimized, in competition with this discourse considered to be outdated, which turns every reason for grievances like a glove: if written French is so deplorable, it is largely because it is too complicated and, moreover, it is complicated for nothing. Failing to master certain rules, considered obsolete and even harmful, it would be a question of reforming French. That is to say, to simplify it.

We also regularly see all kinds of pleas in favor of this solution which seems more and more self-evident.

Thus, on the first page of Duty on May 18 and 19, Caroline Montpetit informed us that a research group, EROFA (Studies for the rationalization of French spelling today), recently proposed to Acfas a series of measures to simplify French written with a view to making it more accessible. However, the arguments used are often shaky, containing imprecisions, tendentious half-truths and specious reasoning.

Counter-arguments

One of the arguments used consists of comparing French to other languages ​​to show its Byzantine and “elitist” character. However, this received idea deserves some counter-arguments. I will just list five here.

A first measure would consist of eliminating any redoubling of consonants. However, it is present in many languages, whether in English (wedding), in Spanish (action) or in German (mutter). Repetition is therefore in no way a particularity of French and does not make it more difficult to master than any other language derived from Latin or Germanic.

A second proposal is to remove certain letters, such as h and y. So, rather than “man”, we should write om, reducing spelling to a simple phonetic transcription. However, the letter h exists in the main languages ​​of European origin and, what is more, is not more pronounced in Spanish (man) than in French. According to the same logic, we should ban the series of letters “water” and simply replace it with an o.

It is true that the Spanish equivalent (analysis) and Italian (analisi) of the French term “analysis” does not take a y, but you should know that Italian does not include this letter (except in cases where it integrates foreign words as they are), and that Spanish includes several common words with this letter (ayer, hoy, etc.). Finally, note that English (analysis) and German (analysis) use the y like French. Should the English and German spelling also be corrected?

A third simplification of French would consist of eliminating the x to mark the plural of certain nouns and adjectives in favor of the s which has become the single rule. However, here again, it must be said that French is not the only language to have several rules for marking the plural. In Italian, where the s is not used, words ending in o generally substitute this letter with i (baby becomes toddler), those ending in a substitute the e (baby becomes toddler), and there are several particular rules constituting numerous cases of exceptions, without forgetting the invariable nature of certain words. In German, the plural is marked, depending on the ending of the words, by the letters e, er, and, en, n, s, without forgetting the simple diaeresis on a vowel (mutter becomes thus mütter) and invariable words.

Fourth, a “rationalization” of written French which does not attack the past participle agreed with the verb “avoir” would obviously lose all credibility. Its agreement with the direct complement placed before the verb has its share of detractors, including the Quebec Association of French Teachers since 2021. Unsurprisingly, we propose “to remove all agreements with the verb avoir”. This would free up no less than “80 hours spent in school teaching the complex rules of the past participle”. Do we realize that 80 hours are equivalent to two weeks of full-time study, at 40 hours each, to learn some rather basic grammar rules?

If we devote so much time to the past participle, with the mixed results that we know, one wonders if we are really dealing with a simply grammatical problem. Unless, of course, the figure of 80 hours is somewhat overestimated…

Do we know, moreover, that the same past participle with avoir must also agree in certain cases in Italian? And that, as in French, the agreement is made only if the direct complement is placed in front of the verb and, unlike French, only if this complement is a so-called atonal third person personal pronoun (lo, there, li Or THE) or the partitive pronoun born (equivalent to the French “en”)?

Finally, it is affirmed that the difficulties of French would lead to “enormous underestimated social costs” and would even cause “many social problems”, notably “discouragement, linguistic insecurity, even school dropouts”. Do we really believe that students drop out because of the particularities of written French in terms of spelling and grammar? And that English, because of its intrinsic ease, would prevent dropping out of school? In the same spirit, should algebra, essential in mathematics, chemistry and physics, be simplified to make these disciplines less anxiety-provoking and socially harmful?

This little overview of comparative linguistics is by no means exhaustive — far from it. At least it has the merit of pointing out that all languages ​​have their difficulties, which can both differ from one another and be similar. We subscribe to a simply tendentious point of view when we emphasize difficulties specific to one language while ignoring or ignoring those which exist in other languages.

The greatest caution is required when getting involved in reforming French. Rather than oversimplifying it, at the risk of transforming it into an orthographic and grammatical tower of Babel within the French-speaking world, there would be reason to question the merits of both French learning programs in the curriculum. Quebec schools as well as written and oral language teaching courses provided in the faculties of education."

#metaglossia_mundus

"A fresh translation of an Urdu novel by the late Altaf Fatima is lucid enough to be read on its own merits

The One Who Did Not Ask
By Altaf Fatima
Translated by Rukhsana Ahmad
Lightstone Publishers
ISBN: 978-969-7161-72-0
387pp.

The One Who Did Not Ask is the English translation by Rukhsana Ahmad of Altaf Fatima’s Urdu novel Dastak Na Do. Rukhsana Ahmad has written and adapted several plays for the stage and BBC, achieving distinction in both.

Dastak Na Do was serialised and televised in the early days of PTV and an abridged translation was published monthly in the Herald. Later, the novel was rendered into English as The One Who Did Not Ask and was first published by Heinemann UK in 1995. It was out of print until now, when Lightstone Publishers, rendering a great service to Pakistani Urdu writers, published it again, given the renewed interest in stories set around Partition.

In her introduction to the novel, Rukhsana Ahmad highlights that The One Who Did Not Ask appears to be an almost ingenious narrative, powered by the sheer energy of its story, with a sophisticated mastery over language, painstaking and precise characterisation and a structure which manages to hold together a vast array of characters and several complex themes, sometimes even in inherently anomalous and contradictory positions.

It is the beauty of its chaste language and the subdued lyricism of its depiction, no less than the vivid characters, which draw many readers towards the novel.

A fresh translation of an Urdu novel by the late Altaf Fatima is lucid enough to be read on its own merits

It is a story about the decade preceding Independence. It depicts a glorious past in united India and portrays Hindus and Muslim co-existing peacefully. However, only Muslims are shown as victims of violence at the time of Partition. The fear and danger are captured accurately enough, even if the horrors are counter-balanced by acts of real human kindness, like the Sikh gardener’s touching loyalty.

Altaf Fatima’s strength lies in creating strong female characters and, as the story progresses, the action expands to include more women, soaking up their resourcefulness and transforming their lives.

Gaythi in Dastak Na Do is a good example of a strong female character. In pre-Partition India, Gaythi is a little girl who befriends a Chinese Muslim boy who peddles household items on his bicycle. He looks after her when she falls from a tree and breaks her leg. She keeps seeing him despite her family’s condescending attitude towards him.

Liu Chu, whose Muslim name is Safdar Yaseen, reminds me of the eponymous character in Tagore’s ‘Kabuliwala’, who moves from Afghanistan to Bengal and befriends a little girl there.

Both the ‘Kabuliwala’ and the Chinese boy miss their own families and find some solace in the little girls who come into their lives in a distant land, thousands of miles away from home. Gaythi rides her bicycle on roads, expresses her love to a cousin without any reservations, and defends her straightforwardness when her unrequited romance becomes known to her family.

Altaf Fatima makes Gaythi leave her home when she is frowned upon by her family and becomes the target of their disdain. Gaythi fails in her exams and shows no remorse about it, by saying that it is a personal matter, and failing and passing exams doesn’t matter much to her.

It is a story about the decade preceding Independence. It depicts a glorious past in united India and portrays Hindus and Muslim co-existing peacefully. However, only Muslims are shown as victims of violence at the time of Partition. The fear and danger are captured accurately enough, even if the horrors are counter-balanced by acts of real human kindness, like Sikh gardener’s touching loyalty. Altaf Fatima’s strength lies in creating strong female characters and, as the story progresses, the action expands to include more women, soaking up their resourcefulness and transforming their lives.

Gaythi and Safdar Liu Chu live out the drama of this separation in a microcosm which replicates the reality of the Asian continent. The brutal, stony divide of the Himalayas, which partitioned two ancient cultures as they developed along parallel lines, remains insurmountable for people in the world. In spite of their common religion, the Indian characters around Safdar cannot view him except as an alien. They are reluctant to interact with him at any other level.

The embodiment of the racial ‘others’ raises the novel from the stature of an ordinary love story to a serious and challenging examination of the nature of prejudice. It is this intuitive perception at the heart of the novel that attracted the translator, Rukhsana Ahmad to it and made the labour of translation worthwhile.

Nostalgia is a mood favoured by Urdu writers. It is integral to the Muslim consciousness. Writers have often delved into the past and bemoaned the loss of an ideal age, free of the vicious evils of the present. This is accompanied by a deep and instinctive desire for change, but within the old framework of references.

The literal meaning of translation is to carry across. When a text is translated it is carried across from one language to another. Edwin A. Cranston, who is the leading translator of classical Japanese poetry, has said that translators have duties to their authors, but they also have duties to their own powers.

It is said that the process of translation is not passive. A translator has his or her own creative impulse, and that creativity plays its role in the process. As such, a good translation is faithful to the spirit, not to the letter of the original work.

As I read the original Dastak Na Do and now the translation The One Who Did Not Ask, I must say that Rukhsana Ahmad has done a tremendous job. Her translations deliver the meaning of the original text beautifully, as well as the quality of style of the original text.

For instance, when Safdar is allowed to enter Gaythi’s bungalow and hurls his bundle on the floor and sits down, that very instance “Malan walked past him wearing a long red and black skirt, a short tight-sleeved blouse and a blue scarf. Safdar longed for a fine white bamboo screen and a brush, so he could steal all the suffering and music of this hard-working middle-aged woman’s person and capture it in bamboo sticks.”

Rukhsana Ahmad’s own views on her translation shifted it away from being simply an exercise, making it something more interactive and collaborative. She humbly accepted that she didn’t know anything about Lao-Tzu — Dastak Na Do’s theme is based on Lao-Tzu’s famous philosophy that ‘you don’t have to knock on doors to ask for good things.’ She had a friend introduce her to Lao-Tzu’s philosophy. Thus, while translating, rather than going for the literal meaning of the Urdu title, Ahmad went for the philosophy.

It’s a smoothly translated book, very easy to read. Contrary to what people think, an effortless translation requires harder work. Praise for a literary translation can hardly come much higher. But when it comes down to opinions on whether the work is a good translation or not, it will largely be up to individual readers to decide.

Literary translators have a tough job. Remaining true to the original text, while also delivering the translation with a style and flow comparable to that of the source, is not an easy job. Having said that, I must say that the book The One Who Did Not Ask is lucid enough to be read and reviewed primarily on its own merits, rather than as a translation.

The reviewer writes short fiction in Urdu and is currently working on her first novel

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, June 2nd, 2024"

#metaglossia_mundus

June 01, 2024 12:00 AM "3 top reasons to consider AI-assisted translation and interpreting solutions
Dipak Patel, CEO, GLOBO Language Solutions
Translation and interpreting solutions rise to the top when evaluating industries where artificial intelligence (AI) holds great promise. Indeed, a plethora of AI-driven services already are being relied on routinely for transcription applications, going from speech to text and summarizing the essence of a conversation, a cognitive function AI does particularly well in most cases.

However, while clinicians have used these types of linguistics capabilities for some time to quickly transcribe dictated notes, applying similar AI technology has yet to become standard practice when assisting patients with limited English proficiency (LEP).

While it is common knowledge that providers are bound by law to provide translation and interpretation services to patients in their language of choice, what does this truly look like today? Live interpreters can typically be found in hospitals, particularly the emergency room (ER), when a patient has an immediate issue. They may also be available to help with communications upon admission and discharge, either live or via phone or telehealth. However, beyond these specific touchpoints, most LEP patients are still, quite literally, on their own, whether trying to decipher a hospital menu to order a meal, or when simply asking for help. AI can and should be considered to fill obvious gaps, especially in non-emergent medical situations.

Of course, there are many arguments on why healthcare organizations are leery of AI-assisted translation and interpretation, not the least of which involves errors and bias, often due to limited historical data. However, as the industry matures and AI datasets grow and become more accurate, these issues are expected to auto self-correct.

Here are the top three reasons why healthcare leaders should evaluate and adopt AI-assisted language solutions to better serve their non-English-speaking patient population:

Cost: While it is true that AI requires greater computing power, we all know that technology ultimately makes just about anything cheaper and more cost-effective over the long term. By investing in AI-assisted translation and interpretation providers can reach more people when and where they need it in their health journey, ultimately streamlining communications, and avoiding preventable costs and overutilization of healthcare resources down the line.
Efficiency: While there is no substitute for live interpreters in emotionally charged scenarios such as delivering a complex diagnosis, today’s healthcare environment lacks adequate live resources to cover all routine patient communication needs. Leveraging AI-assisted translation and interpretation is an efficient way to support patients across all touchpoints.
Quality and engagement: Use of AI-assisted translation and interpreting services can help to improve quality and patient satisfaction survey scores. Patients and clinicians alike appreciate better communication, which builds trust and loyalty.
Along with helping to improve direct patient communications, AI is proving to be a useful tool to assist live interpreters in ways to hone their skills and presentation. For instance, as a listening ear on live interpreting sessions, AI can tip interpreters when they are speaking too quickly, or if they need to improve their tone to convey greater empathy. AI can monitor the accuracy of a live translation, ensuring that the patient receives and understands the information the clinician intends to convey.

Just as important, AI can be used to gauge the patient’s overall understanding, both from their responses and body language. While an interpreting session can be 100% accurate and match the tone of the clinician, it is entirely possible that patients may not fully understand the information, often for cultural reasons. AI can be used to assess the patient’s tone, words and facial expression, based on cultural nuances, to improve their health literacy.

These AI-assisted enhancements help to level up the quality of the interpreting experience and vastly improve patient compliance and outcomes.

For healthcare administrators, AI can provide invaluable insights by analyzing local and regional data on non-English-speaking populations to better understand their overall needs and challenges, including social determinants of health (SDoH). Unfortunately, a patient who does not speak or comprehend English faces numerous health disparities, such as not knowing where to go for medical treatment or being readmitted to a hospital after release because of a lack of understanding of aftercare plans.

Analyzing an organization’s proprietary interpreting and translation data can reveal valuable insights like:

Language mix and usage patterns, including why certain populations seek out specific specialties
Varying lengths of conversations based on language type
How the LEP population compares to the general English-speaking population
In the aggregate, this intelligence can support administrators as they better and more efficiently manage linguistically challenged segments of the population.

At GLOBO, we ultimately see language solutions as a communication challenge as opposed to simply translating words accurately. We believe better communication is empathic and even transcends language and cultural diversity. It is integral to every patient’s health and well-being and is essential to strategically support the roughly 10 to 15% of the population – more than 25 million Americans who speak a language other than English at home. Considering that more than 350+ languages other than English are spoken in the U.S. today, we believe that leveraging technology, including AI, isn’t just a nice “to do,” rather it is a “must-do” to improve access to care and better engage with all ethnicities.

About the author
Dipak Patel is CEO of GLOBO Language Solutions, a patient communications company. Prior to GLOBO, Patel spent 20-plus years in leadership roles at healthcare companies. A son of immigrants, he understands the significance of eliminating language barriers to improve healthcare equity.

Sponsored by
Globo logo

Want to learn more about how to effectively integrate language solutions across your patient’s health journey? At GLOBO, we understand the complexity, scale and importance of successfully managing a language support program. Request a demo here with one of our language access experts."
#metaglossia_mundus

"MLBBy Andrew Bucholtz on 05/30/2024
Wednesday night saw perhaps the most popular discussion of “mate” since Bobby Fischer took on Boris Spassky in 1972.

This time, though, it wasn’t about chess but about whether Mets reliever Jorge López told the media after the game (where he was ejected, threw his glove into the stands, and was promptly designated for assignment) that he was “on the worst team in the whole f****** MLB” or “the worst teammate in the whole f****** MLB.” That discussion has some wider impacts on how we consider language and translation in interviews.

First, here’s the clip in question from SNY’s X/Twitter. This one came without a written quote of either “team” or “teammate”:

In the clip, “worst teammate in the whole f****** MLB” does seem to be what López said. But it’s understandable how it could have been heard the other way. SNY’s Steve Gelbs shared it with the “team” transcription, as did many others (including this site). And Gelbs and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo both noted that López later confirmed he meant to criticize both the team and his actions as a teammate, so even if there was an incorrect transcription of the comments initially, the intent seemed accurate.

 

But there’s obviously a notable difference between “worst f****** team” and “worst f****** teammate” (a rare case where the important four letters aren’t about the expletive). One has López offering an extremely blunt criticism of the organization, while the other has him criticizing his own actions. And the former is far more significant, and that’s why it received a ton of media coverage. That included its plastering across the back page of The New York Post.

Around that, it’s notable that López took to Instagram to say he only said “teammate” and that the media made it worse:

Lopez then offered a fuller statement in both Spanish and English later:

Several reporters, including Abbey Mastracco of The New York Daily News, have since reported that the Mets’ decision to DFA López was not about any confusion about what he said. However, those reports have cited another media issue: López’s inaccurate portrayal to media of his meetings with team staff, where he said he had not met with manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns when he had. (The team also cited his actions on the field and his lack of remorse for them, which he was clear about in the above interview.)

A further dimension to this came Thursday with Boomer Esiason’s WFAN comments that López’s son is awaiting a transplant:

There’s a lot to consider with this story, including potential off-the-field issues López had on his mind, his overall emotional state after the ejection and at the time of the interview, the Mets’ players-only meeting before they opened the locker room to media, and the team’s decision to DFA him. But one issue here that perhaps has much wider resonance is language and interpreters. Manny Gómez, the Mets’ beat writer for the Newark-based Star-Ledger/NJ.com, had a notable thread on that:

 

 

David Samson of Meadowlark Media also went off on the lack of an interpreter in this conversation on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Thursday, saying “You cannot let López speak to the media without the translator there getting the clarification.” However, Joel Sherman of The New York Post noted, “three Mets media relations officials, including their Spanish translator, ringed the interview without stepping in.”

So, it’s worth discussing the interpreter’s role but not blaming them for not being present.

With all this, López has a partial point about the media worsening the situation. A full analysis of that clip, without any preconceived notion of what he said, does seem to support him saying “teammate” rather than “team.” And if it had been tweeted that way at first, this likely would not have blown up the way it did: “worst f****** teammate” is self-deprecating and self-critical, whereas “worst f****** team” was easy to spread, joke about, and pile on, especially considering the Mets’ history of disasters both this year and in the past.

Many would have loved it if “worst f****** team” was the actual quote, and if that had been said fully and confidently, that would have been an amazing comment from a player on an organization.

But while it’s possible to criticize the media who tweeted this quote the other way and what that led to, there’s context to that as well. Locker room interviews often come with less-than-ideal sound, including in this case. The “mate,” if that is indeed what López said, is extremely quiet and set apart from “team”; it’s entirely possible to hear that clip as “team” in good faith, especially if trying to turn around that clip quickly.

And López’s “no” when asked if he has regrets supports the idea of him bashing the organization. And the clarification he meant both the team and himself (which was important to ask for when uncertainty popped up around this) from reporters supported the initial “team” idea here. And even his Instagram clarification may have come with some hindsight, considering how this played out in the media. An overall takeaway probably supports López saying ” teammate” and not “team,” and some criticism of the media is fair. But the asked-for-and-obtained clarification Wednesday illustrates this wasn’t fully media-inserting team-bashing that López did not mean.

But Gómez’s points about interpreters and players who have English as a second language are significant, both here and more widely. Language is important, and precision in language is important. That’s especially true in an era where a notable quote often quickly runs around the world before a corrected version gets its boots on.

The latest
HOMAGE’s Ryan Vesler talks Negro Leagues collection, new Rickwood Field shirts: ‘We’re all about telling under-told stories.’
Pac-12 settles defamation lawsuit from execs fired in Comcast overpayment scandal, who say they told Larry Scott of payments
Awful Announcing Podcast: The Bill Walton Tribute Show with Jason Benetti, Roxy Bernstein, and Dave Pasch
Reggie Bush’s defamation lawsuit against NCAA over 2021 spokesperson remark advances
It’s laudable when players can and want to learn a second language well enough to do interviews in it. That reduces the barrier and allows them to express exactly what they want to say. As with aggregator accounts, relaying something always comes with some change; interpreters are striving to present comments as accurately as possible, but that’s not always easy, especially considering the vast array of meanings both within one language and from one language to another. So, suppose a player does feel comfortable talking to media in a second language. In that case, that’s fantastic, and this situation should not be taken as “No player should do an interview in a second language.”
However, interpreters do often provide value in getting across players’ comments accurately, especially with players who might not be fully comfortable speaking in English. And players who choose to have their comments relayed through interpreters should not be criticized for that; Stephen A. Smith’s Shohei Ohtani comments on that front in 2021 were particularly bad (and led to him doubling down, then apologizing, but still getting suspended). Granted, Ohtani’s choice of interpreter can be criticized in retrospect, but not his decision to use one. And there have been other past criticisms of interpreters that have not held up well.

There can also be value to having an interpreter present even for an interview conducted in English. It’s possible that a player who has a first language other than English might not immediately release how something they said might be perceived. (And this is also worth discussion around the media issues the Mets did cite, the misrepresentation of his meetings with the coaching staff.) An interpreter could let the player know that and allow them to immediately clarify their meaning, avoiding situations like this one where López first clarified his remarks one way to reporters, then clarified another way later on his Instagram account and blamed the media. And if the interpreter was present here, as Sherman writes, it’s somewhat curious that they didn’t intervene to get López to clarify (but they may not have heard or realized the potential problem here, and they may have wanted to allow López to speak).

The López situation doesn’t feel like one where it’s worth intense criticism for either the player or the media. López has somewhat of a point with his criticism of the media for spreading the “team” quote, but if he didn’t mean to include criticism of the organization, he should have clarified when asked. A closer listening to the quote might have led to “teammate” spreading instead of “team,” but it’s relatively understandable how that didn’t happen, especially with López’s clarification.

But López also wouldn’t deserve to be fully raked over the coals even if he did say “team.” It might not have been the ideal comment to make on an organization, but it’s an understandable one to make in an emotional state, especially if there were off-field factors on his mind as well. While his behavior on the field and his comments off of it can both be criticized, that criticism should come with some moderation and consideration of the situation’s many facets.

The larger takeaway here is that language precision can matter a whole lot. That’s true even with only four letters like “mate.” And interpreters can have a valuable role to play in that. This situation wasn’t necessarily about the interpreter, especially with that report that the interpreter was present. But it does show some of the challenges around second-language interviews, which led to a situation where López was unhappy with how his comments were published. And it’s worth keeping those challenges in mind around future second-language interviews, with or without an interpreter present.

interpretersJorge Lopezlocker roomsmediaNew York Metssecond languagetranslation
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press."

#metaglossia_mundus

"Brava Theater, SF Salon at the Verdi Club and an open call from Dance Mission Theater

by ANDREW GILBERTMAY 30, 2024, 6:18 PMFor nearly a quarter century, San Francisco’s Center for the Art of Translation has been making a polyglot array of international literature available to English-speaking audiences. But the organization has never brought a text to life like the June 6 program at Brava Theatre. Featuring a cast of four Latina actresses, the performance manifests “Soroche,” an Andean gothic horror story written by acclaimed Ecuadoran author Mónica Ojeda. With sound design and subtle lighting, “it’s a multimedia first for us,” said Cuentero Productions’ Camilo Garzón, the Colombian-American writer, filmmaker and evening’s creative director. 

“My job was really easy, because of the translation,” Garzón said. “The dialogue and monologues are so powerful; our job is figuring out the underlying ambiance.”

He was speaking on a video conference with North Carolina-based Sarah Booker and New York City’s Noelle de la Paz, who grew up in San Francisco, co-translators of Ojeda’s tale. They’ll be on hand for an on-stage conversation after “Soroche” with Two Lines Press’s Sarah Coolidge, editor of the sold-out anthology “Through the Night Like a Snake: Latin American Horror Stories.“

 

“Soroche” follows a group of upper-class women traveling together who end up grappling with the shockwaves unleashed by a leaked sex tape. As the production’s content warning promises, the story features toxic friendship, body horror, graphic sexual content and self-harm. 

“This is not a ghost story,” Garzón said. “But, at the same time, it’s about someone feeling disembodied, and one of the actresses isn’t on stage. You only hear her disembodied voice, which gets under people’s skin.” 

A prolific novelist, poet and expert short-story writer, Ojeda is a rising star in the world of Spanish-language literature, up there with Mariana Enríquez, ”the Argentine novelist and journalist, said De la Paz. “Her prose is very poetic. She’s making this mark in Andean gothic literature, but I don’t think her first three novels are Andean gothic.”

The title, “Soroche,” is a Quechua word for altitude sickness, which is both literal and metaphoric in the story as “these women from that higher social status look down on others,” Booker said. “You see that interaction amongst the four of them. There are things that happen that are strange, weird, magical, fantastic, and you don’t know which is which.” 

While Thursday’s production is the Center for the Art of Translation’s first foray into Brava, Cuentero Productions is looking into other CAT stories that could be adapted. “This literature is so ripe for so many different things,” Garzón said.

Celebrate romance with SF Salon Music

Returning to Club Verdi on Sunday, SF Salon Music presents “Seasons of Love,” a collage of musical-theater odes to romance, including “Maria” from “West Side Story,” “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific, “What I Did For Love” from “A Chorus Line,” and “Glitter and Be Gay” from “Candide.”

Michelle Chang’s ongoing series is known for juxtaposing unexpected forms of creative expression, but this eclectic program follows a well-trodden path, woven together by well-traveled storyteller Joel ben Izzy. Performers include soprano Emily Crawford, mezzo-soprano Alyssa Vieau, tenor Seth Hanson, and bass-baritone Don Hoffman accompanied by pianist Andrew McIver.

A dance of anxiety at Dance Mission Theater

As the Nov. 5, 2024, election looms ever closer, Dance Mission Theater has put out a call for artists to participate in a 13-day performance festival/ritual/invocation for world peace. The deadline is July 1  (visit DanceMissionTheater.org or email stella@dancemission.com). Whether you’re most concerned about reproductive justice, voting rights, immigration, democracy, environmental justice, women’s rights, or world peace, Dance Mission Theater would like to hear from you. "

#metaglossia_mundus