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Charles Tiayon
March 7, 2023 9:57 PM
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The machine-learning system ChatGPT has a remarkable capacity to generate sophisticated and intelligible text, with far-reaching implications for research development and dissemination (see Nature 614, 214–216 (2023); Eva A. M. van Dis et al. Nature 614, 224–226; 2023). However, current debate over the technology focuses on users’ experiences in English. I asked ChatGPT a set of neuroscience questions in English; when I asked for answers to the same set in French and Arabic, the results were surprising.
Researchers across Africa, Asia and the Middle East are building their own language models designed for local tongues, cultural nuance and digital independence
"In a high-stakes artificial intelligence race between the United States and China, an equally transformative movement is taking shape elsewhere. From Cape Town to Bangalore, from Cairo to Riyadh, researchers, engineers and public institutions are building homegrown AI systems, models that speak not just in local languages, but with regional insight and cultural depth.
The dominant narrative in AI, particularly since the early 2020s, has focused on a handful of US-based companies like OpenAI with GPT, Google with Gemini, Meta’s LLaMa, Anthropic’s Claude. They vie to build ever larger and more capable models. Earlier in 2025, China’s DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup, added a new twist by releasing large language models (LLMs) that rival their American counterparts, with a smaller computational demand. But increasingly, researchers across the Global South are challenging the notion that technological leadership in AI is the exclusive domain of these two superpowers.
Instead, scientists and institutions in countries like India, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are rethinking the very premise of generative AI. Their focus is not on scaling up, but on scaling right, building models that work for local users, in their languages, and within their social and economic realities.
“How do we make sure that the entire planet benefits from AI?” asks Benjamin Rosman, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and a lead developer of InkubaLM, a generative model trained on five African languages. “I want more and more voices to be in the conversation”.
Beyond English, beyond Silicon Valley
Large language models work by training on massive troves of online text. While the latest versions of GPT, Gemini or LLaMa boast multilingual capabilities, the overwhelming presence of English-language material and Western cultural contexts in these datasets skews their outputs. For speakers of Hindi, Arabic, Swahili, Xhosa and countless other languages, that means AI systems may not only stumble over grammar and syntax, they can also miss the point entirely.
“In Indian languages, large models trained on English data just don’t perform well,” says Janki Nawale, a linguist at AI4Bharat, a lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. “There are cultural nuances, dialectal variations, and even non-standard scripts that make translation and understanding difficult.” Nawale’s team builds supervised datasets and evaluation benchmarks for what specialists call “low resource” languages, those that lack robust digital corpora for machine learning.
It’s not just a question of grammar or vocabulary. “The meaning often lies in the implication,” says Vukosi Marivate, a professor of computer science at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. “In isiXhosa, the words are one thing but what’s being implied is what really matters.” Marivate co-leads Masakhane NLP, a pan-African collective of AI researchers that recently developed AFROBENCH, a rigorous benchmark for evaluating how well large language models perform on 64 African languages across 15 tasks. The results, published in a preprint in March, revealed major gaps in performance between English and nearly all African languages, especially with open-source models.
Similar concerns arise in the Arabic-speaking world. “If English dominates the training process, the answers will be filtered through a Western lens rather than an Arab one,” says Mekki Habib, a robotics professor at the American University in Cairo. A 2024 preprint from the Tunisian AI firm Clusterlab finds that many multilingual models fail to capture Arabic’s syntactic complexity or cultural frames of reference, particularly in dialect-rich contexts.
Governments step in
For many countries in the Global South, the stakes are geopolitical as well as linguistic. Dependence on Western or Chinese AI infrastructure could mean diminished sovereignty over information, technology, and even national narratives. In response, governments are pouring resources into creating their own models.
Saudi Arabia’s national AI authority, SDAIA, has built ‘ALLaM,’ an Arabic-first model based on Meta’s LLaMa-2, enriched with more than 540 billion Arabic tokens. The United Arab Emirates has backed several initiatives, including ‘Jais,’ an open-source Arabic-English model built by MBZUAI in collaboration with US chipmaker Cerebras Systems and the Abu Dhabi firm Inception. Another UAE-backed project, Noor, focuses on educational and Islamic applications.
In Qatar, researchers at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and the Qatar Computing Research Institute, have developed the Fanar platform and its LLMs Fanar Star and Fanar Prime. Trained on a trillion tokens of Arabic, English, and code, Fanar’s tokenization approach is specifically engineered to reflect Arabic’s rich morphology and syntax.
India has emerged as a major hub for AI localization. In 2024, the government launched BharatGen, a public-private initiative funded with 235 crore (€26 million) initiative aimed at building foundation models attuned to India’s vast linguistic and cultural diversity. The project is led by the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay and also involves its sister organizations in Hyderabad, Mandi, Kanpur, Indore, and Madras. The programme’s first product, e-vikrAI, can generate product descriptions and pricing suggestions from images in various Indic languages. Startups like Ola-backed Krutrim and CoRover’s BharatGPT have jumped in, while Google’s Indian lab unveiled MuRIL, a language model trained exclusively on Indian languages. The Indian governments’ AI Mission has received more than180 proposals from local researchers and startups to build national-scale AI infrastructure and large language models, and the Bengaluru-based company, AI Sarvam, has been selected to build India’s first ‘sovereign’ LLM, expected to be fluent in various Indian languages.
In Africa, much of the energy comes from the ground up. Masakhane NLP and Deep Learning Indaba, a pan-African academic movement, have created a decentralized research culture across the continent. One notable offshoot, Johannesburg-based Lelapa AI, launched InkubaLM in September 2024. It’s a ‘small language model’ (SLM) focused on five African languages with broad reach: Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, isiZulu and isiXhosa.
“With only 0.4 billion parameters, it performs comparably to much larger models,” says Rosman. The model’s compact size and efficiency are designed to meet Africa’s infrastructure constraints while serving real-world applications. Another African model is UlizaLlama, a 7-billion parameter model developed by the Kenyan foundation Jacaranda Health, to support new and expectant mothers with AI-driven support in Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Xhosa, and Zulu.
India’s research scene is similarly vibrant. The AI4Bharat laboratory at IIT Madras has just released IndicTrans2, that supports translation across all 22 scheduled Indian languages. Sarvam AI, another startup, released its first LLM last year to support 10 major Indian languages. And KissanAI, co-founded by Pratik Desai, develops generative AI tools to deliver agricultural advice to farmers in their native languages.
The data dilemma
Yet building LLMs for underrepresented languages poses enormous challenges. Chief among them is data scarcity. “Even Hindi datasets are tiny compared to English,” says Tapas Kumar Mishra, a professor at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela in eastern India. “So, training models from scratch is unlikely to match English-based models in performance.”
Rosman agrees. “The big-data paradigm doesn’t work for African languages. We simply don’t have the volume.” His team is pioneering alternative approaches like the Esethu Framework, a protocol for ethically collecting speech datasets from native speakers and redistributing revenue back to further development of AI tools for under-resourced languages. The project’s pilot used read speech from isiXhosa speakers, complete with metadata, to build voice-based applications.
In Arab nations, similar work is underway. Clusterlab’s 101 Billion Arabic Words Dataset is the largest of its kind, meticulously extracted and cleaned from the web to support Arabic-first model training.
The cost of staying local
But for all the innovation, practical obstacles remain. “The return on investment is low,” says KissanAI’s Desai. “The market for regional language models is big, but those with purchasing power still work in English.” And while Western tech companies attract the best minds globally, including many Indian and African scientists, researchers at home often face limited funding, patchy computing infrastructure, and unclear legal frameworks around data and privacy.
“There’s still a lack of sustainable funding, a shortage of specialists, and insufficient integration with educational or public systems,” warns Habib, the Cairo-based professor. “All of this has to change.”
A different vision for AI
Despite the hurdles, what’s emerging is a distinct vision for AI in the Global South – one that favours practical impact over prestige, and community ownership over corporate secrecy.
“There’s more emphasis here on solving real problems for real people,” says Nawale of AI4Bharat. Rather than chasing benchmark scores, researchers are aiming for relevance: tools for farmers, students, and small business owners.
And openness matters. “Some companies claim to be open-source, but they only release the model weights, not the data,” Marivate says. “With InkubaLM, we release both. We want others to build on what we’ve done, to do it better.”
In a global contest often measured in teraflops and tokens, these efforts may seem modest. But for the billions who speak the world’s less-resourced languages, they represent a future in which AI doesn’t just speak to them, but with them."
Sibusiso Biyela, Amr Rageh and Shakoor Rather
20 May 2025
https://www.natureasia.com/en/nmiddleeast/article/10.1038/nmiddleeast.2025.65
#metaglossia_mundus
"Microsoft Rewards is planning to pay people to use Bing instead of its competitors, Furtune.com reports.
People with a Microsoft account can sign up for the rewards program, which gives users points when they search on Bing or purchase an item in the Microsoft Store.
Points can later be reimbursed for items.
According to Wired, Google still has a stronghold on the search engine market with close to 86% of all usage. Bing is in second place with about 10%.
The rewards program, according to report, will have different levels. Level 1 members will be able to earn points for 10 searches a day, and Level 2 users can earn points for 50 searches per day. The number of searches used are refreshed each day..."
https://businessamlive.com/microsoft-sets-to-pay-you-for-using-bing-search-engine-instead-of-google/
#metaglossia_mundus
MICA’s new School of Applied Creativity aims to teach what AI can’t — emotion, context and cultural intelligence, says CEO Jaya Deshmukh
"...If AI is capable of writing scripts, designing logos, editing videos, generating music, and planning campaigns, what should a creative school focus on teaching? And more importantly, what essential skills should a creative professional acquire?...
MICA, formerly known as the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, long recognised as India’s premier institute for strategic marketing and communication, has joined the conversation with a twist. It has launched the School of Applied Creativity, imagination-focused school for the AI era, aimed not at coders or animators, but at future storytellers, thinkers, creators and cultural strategists.
Deshmukh, CEO of MICA, said the school was set up in response to a fundamental and pressing question: “What will it take to thrive creatively in a world where machines can do almost everything?”
“We’re moving from the Information Age to the Imagination Age,” she adds. “AI gives you instant access to knowledge, but it lacks context, emotion, culture. That’s where human creativity still matters — and that’s what we aim to cultivate.”
MICA’s leap from communication to imagination
The School of Applied Creativity is set to begin its first academic year in July 2026, with an expected batch size of 80–100 students. It will offer:
A redesigned one-year CCC (Crafting Creative Communication) programme.
A new two-year PG programme in Media, Entertainment & Content, with modules in experience design, talent management, and digital storytelling.
These programmes aim to go beyond skill-building by fostering creative thinking...
How does MICA’s school stand out?
With the government pushing initiatives like IICT and global tech collaborations on the rise, where does MICA fit in?
In contrast to IICT’s technically focused, production-driven methodology, MICA’s new school presents itself as a hub for applied creativity — a setting where “thinking” comes before action.
“We’re not competing with institutes teaching tools. Our aim is to nurture creators who ask better questions, not just execute faster solutions,” said Deshmukh....
Admissions will be through MICAT, the institute’s long-standing creativity and aptitude-based test... The school said it welcomes applicants from diverse academic backgrounds, not just design, media or communication streams.
“Imagination doesn’t require a prior degree,” Deshmukh said.
Details around the fee structure are still being finalised, but the institute indicates that scholarships and funding options will be available.
Is there a market for creative thinking?
The decision to open the school comes at a time when traditional higher education faces significant challenges, particularly in creative disciplines where AI is swiftly taking over execution-level tasks. In such a landscape, differentiation can come from originality rather than mere output...
https://www.afaqs.com/news/advertising/ai-can-do-it-all-but-human-creativity-still-matters-mica-ceo-9517363
#metaglossia_mundus
"Surtitling performances – providing live translations projected above the stage – ensures that all audiences can enjoy the shows, a cornerstone of its cultural policy. First appearing in the 1980s, surtitles were initially used in opera.
The Avignon Festival has consistently demonstrated its commitment to linguistic diversity, annually featuring a guest language and welcoming many international artists to the stages of the Cité des Papes. Surtitling performances – providing live translations projected above the stage – ensures that all audiences can enjoy the shows, a cornerstone of its cultural policy. First appearing in the 1980s, surtitles were initially used in opera.
Introduced in Avignon under the creative direction of Olivier Py (2013-2022), surtitling became standard practice with the arrival of his successor, Tiago Rodrigues, who has championed ever-greater linguistic diversity. With a multilingual program, performances in foreign languages – and in French – are surtitled. In 2023, the festival created a dedicated position to "oversee the surtitling process from start to finish," explained Clara Moulin-Tyrode, deputy production director of the festival.
While companies presenting work at the festival are asked to provide their own surtitling solutions, the festival itself allocates "€60,000 to €70,000" to supplement these efforts. The process is coordinated with other venues on tour. France's national performing arts agency (ONDA) and France's international cultural agency offer their support, while partnerships are formed with specialized organizations such as Panthéa, a leading European surtitling company for live performance..."
The challenge of surtitling at the Avignon Festival
4 hours ago — Surtitling
By Calypso Joyeux
20 July 2025 https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/07/20/the-challenge-of-surtitling-at-the-avignon-festival_6743560_30.html
#metaglossia_mundus
"Frontiers in Psychology
Sec. Psychology of Language
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1618531
This article is part of the Research Topic
Rethinking the Embodiment of Language: Challenges and Future Horizons
View all 3 articles
Embodied Empathy in Translation Studies: Enhancing Global Readers' Cognitive and Emotional Engagement with Translations of Traditional Chinese Medicine Terminology Provisionally accepted
Tong Zhou*Jinghui Wang
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
The embodied nature of language comprehension has gained increasing theoretical and empirical support in the fields of linguistics, cognitive science and psycholinguistics (Gallese, 2018;Shtyrov et al., 2023;Garello et al., 2024;Visani et al., 2025). Embodied language comprehension theory holds that language is not a mere abstract symbol system, but is deeply rooted in the sensorimotor and affective experiences of individuals (Niedenthal, 2007;Zwaan & Taylor, 2006). As Gibbs (2006) points out, whereas traditional beliefs tend to view meaning as an abstract entity divorced from bodily experience, embodiment theory emphasizes that the process of language comprehension is frequently accompanied by a bodily simulation of the motor, perceptual, and affective states embedded in linguistic content (Barsalou, 1999;Gallese & Lakoff, 2005;Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002;Hauk et al., 2004). Embodiment is particularly crucial in cross-cultural contexts, as language is not only a medium for information transfer, but also a carrier of cultural and experiential worldviews.Within this theoretical framework, cross-cultural discourse provides unique challenges and opportunities for embodied language processing research. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) discourse is a typical example of this, with a language system that highly integrates bodily metaphors, physiological imagery, and culturally embedded affective models Pritzker & Hui, 2014;Unschuld, 2012;Wang & Chen, 2023). While conveying medical knowledge, TCM expressions encode an embodied worldview that intertwines physical health and emotional states (Tiquia, 2011). As TCM does not dichotomize mind and body, but views emotions as a unity of physicality and experience, its texts provide rich resources for exploring how readers mobilize embodied meanings in cross-cultural contexts.Several international organizations have played a pivotal role in the process of standardizing TCM terminology by issuing translation guidelines and reference documents. The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS) have developed translation frameworks for core TCM terminology (Han et al., 2025). Nevertheless, despite relatively coordinated efforts, inconsistencies in terminology translation still exist and a universally recognized uniform standard has not yet been formed (Zhou et al., 2023). Inconsistency in the use of terminology hinders the reader's understanding of the translated text and his or her effective grasp of the cultural meaning and deeper connotations carried by TCM terminology (Ye & Zhang, 2017). In addition to the problem of terminological inconsistency, the presentation of the translation itself constitutes another obstacle. Many TCM terms tend to be overly abstract and academic in the English translation process, thus weakening their embodied and experiential dimensions. For global readers, whose bodily experiences and cultural frameworks often differ from those of TCM contexts, understanding such expressions requires linguistic decoding along with the simulation of unfamiliar bodily states and emotional experiences. Nevertheless, the disconnection between language, culture, and bodily experience often hinders the successful realization of this simulation process (Beard, 2001;Overgaard, 2017;Rizzolatti & Sinigaglia, 2020).Against the above background, this paper proposes the concept of embodied empathy as an innovative theoretical perspective for exploring the reception effect of cross-cultural translation. Specifically, this paper explores how translators can, through linguistic choices in translating TCM texts, stimulate readers' sensory arousal and emotional resonance, thus engaging their embodied cognitive resources.The target readership of this paper is a global audience of non-Chinese-speaking backgrounds who are exposed to TCM mainly through translations and lack direct experience and familiarity with its linguistic, cultural and embodied underpinnings. A group of particular interest is the general public readers, those who are more inclined to connect emotionally with the vivid and experiential dimensions of the language than the professional TCM practitioners who value terminological equivalence and clinical precision. Accordingly, the embodied empathy framework and translation strategies proposed in this paper are primarily intended for intercultural communication and public engagement contexts, rather than for clinical, regulatory, or professional translation purposes. While this paper principally develops a conceptual framework and proposes translation strategies based on theoretical analysis, it does not include empirical validation of the embodied empathy model. The aim is to offer a hypothesisgenerating perspective on how embodied mechanisms may inform TCM translation. Future research is needed to empirically examine the effectiveness of these strategies, for example, through reader response studies, cognitive-affective testing, or neurocognitive experiments.
Recent research in cognitive linguistics and neuroscience emphasizes that language comprehension is not based on purely abstract symbolic representations, but is deeply rooted in sensorimotor and affective systems. Pulvermüller (2018) introduces the concept of Action Perception Circuits (APCs), suggesting that language representations and bodily experiences are integrated at the neural level through such networks and this is supported by Hauk et al. (2004), who show that reading action verbs activates motor cortical areas associated with the corresponding body parts, revealing the somatotopic organization of semantic meaning. Gallese and Cuccio (2015) build on the theory of embodied simulation by suggesting that language comprehension involves mirroring mechanisms, that is, the simulation of bodily movements and emotional states through pre-reflective neural processes. Their notion of "paradigmatic knowledge" highlights that language users mobilize internalized motor patterns when comprehending linguistic meaning, even in the absence of actual movement. From an enactivist perspective, van Elk et al. (2010) argue that comprehension is not based on representational cognitive structures, but rather is generated dynamically through embodied interactions with the environment, focusing more on procedural than declarative knowledge.Even in the comprehension of abstract concepts, embodiment still plays an important role. Borghi et al. (2017) propose a "multiple representation view", which integrates sensorimotor simulation with metaphorical, emotional and social contexts. Overall, these perspectives collectively point to a dynamic view of language comprehension as an emotionally and perceptually based, socially embedded, and interactively generated process, a cognitive schema that also provides theoretical underpinnings for the notion of embodied empathy in translation (Zwaan et al., 2002;Glenberg, 1997;Kaschak et al., 2005;Shiang et al., 2024;Kiefer & Pulvermüller, 2012).
Within an embodied cognition framework, empathy is increasingly viewed as a sensorimotor-affective process that integrates perspective-taking and emotional resonance. Recent research in psychology and psychotherapy suggests that empathy is a multidimensional construct, comprising cognitive and affective components that are interrelated yet remain relatively independent. (Gladstein, 1983;Goldstein & Michaels, 1985;Hoffman, 1977;Strayer, 1987;Basch, 1983;Bohart & Greenberg, 1997).In this context, cognitive empathy refers to an individual's ability to adopt or infer another's perspectives, thoughts, and affective states; whereas affective empathy involves affective resonance or direct experience of another's emotions (Gladstein, 1983). This dual model lays the groundwork for more embodied empathy research, which seeks to integrate the two empathic mechanisms through a sensorimotor and affective simulation lens.Simulation theory suggests that empathy arises from the internal reproduction of another person's state, and that its neural mechanisms are mediated primarily by the mirror neuron system (Gallese, 2003). In his model of "shared multimodal space", Gallese (2003) states that observing another person's actions or emotions activates the observer's own neural circuits, which resonate at the body level. At the level of language comprehension, Gallese and Cuccio (2015) further propose a tripartite model, in which bodily action, affective states, and linguistic structures work together to shape the process of comprehension. The reader generates analogical empathy through sensory movements and affective activation in reading, and enters the linguistic world through a perceptual experience. This view is echoed in the psychological and psychotherapeutic traditions. Rogers (1980) emphasizes that empathy encompasses cognitive insight as well as affective attunement, allowing one to experience another person's world as if it were one's own. Barrett-Lennard (1993) points out that the validity of such affective resonance depends on its successful intersubjective communication. In clinical practice, Cooper (2001) identifies three forms of embodied empathy: allowing the body's resonance to unfold naturally, interpreting bodily cues, and maintaining awareness of one's own embodied state. Nonetheless, he also cautions that empathy is always proximate, and that its alignment is fleeting but influential.Viewed collectively, these perspectives underscore the multidimensional nature of empathy, in which bodily simulation, emotional resonance, perspective taking and intersubjective communication are intertwined. In language comprehension and translation, particularly with culturally embodied texts like TCM, embodied empathy bridges the gap between semantic access and affective simulation, enabling meaning to emerge through cognitive understanding and affective engagement.
Integrating insights from embodied language comprehension and empathy theory, this paper proposes a novel theoretical framework, embodied empathy, for translation studies, shedding light on how experiential meaning can be conveyed across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Embodied empathy, as conceptualized in this paper, refers to the target reader's capacity to simulate the bodily sensations, emotional state and cultural logic embedded in the source language expression. Its realization depends on the translator's effective mobilization of the reader's sensorimotor system and emotional schema by the translated text, so that the comprehension process transcends the purely cognitive level and finally achieves an embodied experience of meaning. Operationally, this concept can be indicated by the degree to which a translation evokes sensory imagery, emotional resonance, and culturally grounded associations in the reader's experience. Such effects may be preliminarily assessed through reader-response studies, experiential feedback, or cognitive-affective measures that examine whether the translation stimulates embodied simulation beyond mere semantic comprehension.Within this framework, the success of translation depends not only on semantic equivalence, but also on experiential equivalence as reflected in the reader's embodied engagement with the source text (Alexieva, 2018). A number of central questions need to be carefully considered in the translation process: Can readers from global biomedical backgrounds simulate the bodily-emotional states when reading TCM translations? Are their pre-existing embodied experiences sufficient to support the corresponding emotional resonance? If not, how can the translator intervene to bridge this experiential gap? In this sense, the translator functions as an intertextual interpreter and a cross-modal mediator bridging embodied worlds. His or her task is to reconstruct a perceptual-affective ecosystem in the target language, so that it retains the physiological realism, sensory vividness and emotional tension of the source text. This requirement is particularly paramount in the translation of TCM, because the bodily processes described in TCM are deeply rooted in cosmological and cultural metaphors that often lack direct counterparts in global epistemologies.To operationalize the theoretical framework, this paper defines three interrelated dimensions: sensorimotor simulation, affective resonance and cultural mapping. These three dimensions work synergistically to facilitate readers' cognitive understanding of the translated content as well as their deeper engagement at the physical and emotional levels. In highly culturally saturated domains such as TCM, embodied empathy provides a crucial theoretical reference for assessing whether translations are able to achieve a balance between semantic equivalence and experiential depth.Sensorimotor simulation refers to the ability of readers to simulate bodily actions or perceptual experiences (e.g., movement, temperature, texture, etc.) on a mental level during language comprehension. This simulation does not involve actual bodily movements, but is achieved by the activation of the corresponding sensorimotor pathways in the brain (Pulvermüller, 2018;Hauk et al., 2004). For instance, when a reader reads the expression "a chilling gust of wind", the reader not only grasps the semantic content of "cold", but may also internally recreate the tactile sensation of the cold wind on the skin. If the translation does not sufficiently evoke similar sensory associations in the target readers, the embodied experience may only be partially activated, even if the semantic rendering is equivalent.Affective resonance enables readers to emotionally attune to the tone of a text, comprehend its affective connotations, and ultimately experience the emotional state evoked by the language (Gallese, 2003;Rogers, 1980;Cooper, 2001). For example, the expression "a fire rising in the chest with nowhere to escape" not barely conveys the abstract emotional concept of anger, but also evokes an embodied emotional intensity that allows the reader to feel the agitation rising within. Translations that effectively convey emotional content and stimulate readers' emotional involvement are more likely to generate deeper empathy among the readers of the translated language.Cultural mapping is defined as the ability of readers to project and interpret culture-specific physical and emotional metaphors within their own conceptual framework. This process determines whether the translation can effectively fit into the reader's cultural-cognitive schema, thus enabling the resonance of meaning and experience (Borghi et al., 2017). In TCM, for example, expressions such as "ascending of liver qi pattern" (World Health Organization, 2022) draw upon cosmological and metaphorical systems rooted in Yin-yang and Five-elements theory. Here, the term "liver" is not merely an anatomical reference, but a culturally coded symbol of emotional regulation and systemic flow.Translators need to consider how to reconstruct these embodied metaphors so that target readers can build conceptual bridges to the source culture's embodied worldview.Though sensorimotor simulation, affective resonance, and cultural mapping can be analytically distinguished as three operational dimensions, they function interactively in actual discourse processing. Embodied empathy is not a simple sum of these components, but an emergent phenomenon arising from their dynamic and mutually reinforcing interplay. As such, embodied empathy serves as a conceptual bridge linking the embodied-cognitive mechanisms of language comprehension with the cross-cultural dynamics of translation reception. It foregrounds the affective and perceptual fidelity of translation, inviting target readers to intellectually comprehend and emotionally engage with the embodied meanings of the text. Such a perspective pushes translation studies towards a more integrated mode of understanding, in which language, body and culture are seen as an inseparable organic whole in the process of meaning construction.
On the basis of the theoretical model of embodied empathy, this paper further outlines three main types of challenges in cross-cultural translation, corresponding to the aforementioned operational dimensions: sensorimotor simulation, affective resonance, and cultural mapping. These challenges are particularly prominent in the translation of TCM, as the language is highly intertwined with bodily experience, emotional logic, and cosmological worldview (Hsiao et al., 2008). It should be emphasized that these three types of challenges are not independent of each other, but often show complex interactions and overlapping relationships in the actual translation process.
The first challenge lies in that the translation may only partially activate the target reader's sensorimotor system, which can lead to a reduced sense of bodily vividness compared to the original. TCM language frequently encodes embodied states, such as cold, heat, pressure, and flow, through rich, image-based metaphors. Yet in translation, conceptual clarity often takes precedence over sensory immediacy, and the translators often render vivid, somatically charged language into abstract biomedical terms (Ye & Zhang, 2017). As sensorimotor grounding is central to embodied comprehension (Pulvermüller, 2018), any loss in sensory imagery can limit the reader's cognitiveaffective immersion in the translated text.For example, the expression 寒湿困脾证 (hán shī kùn pí zhèng), standardized as "cold dampness affecting the spleen pattern" in the WHO's 2022 terminology guideline, exemplifies a significant case of sensorimotor attenuation in translation (World Health Organization, 2022). In the source term, 寒 (hán, "cold") and 湿 (shī, "dampness") are not abstract meteorological descriptors but directly invoke tactile and thermal experiences: cold connotes chill, stiffness, and contraction; damp suggests heaviness, stickiness, and stagnation. The character 困 (kùn, "affect") further reinforces this embodied image by implying functional sluggishness and visceral inertia, capturing a bodily state of internal blockage.However, the English translation, while semantically equivalent, tends to render these vividly embodied sensations in more technical biomedical terms. The structure "cold dampness affecting the spleen pattern" adopts a clinical and formulaic register, which may reduce the tactile immediacy and perceptual intensity present in the original. In particular, the somatic weight of 困 (kùn, "affect"), a key experiential cue, becomes less salient, potentially leading to a flattened sensorimotor profile.This example highlights a central concern in the embodied empathy framework: when the translation has limited capacity to activate the target reader's sensorimotor system, the resulting text may remain intelligible but offer reduced experiential engagement. Such attenuation undermines the capacity of translation to convey the perceptual and bodily dimensions essential to embodied understanding.
A second challenge involves the disruption of emotional resonance in translation. Numerous TCM expressions convey emotional experience through embodied metaphors that reflect intertwined physiological and affective states, such as frustration, repressed anger, or anxiety (Brehaut et al., 2007).However, when these expressions are rendered into emotionally neutral or clinically detached formulations, the original affective intensity is significantly diminished. As a result, the target-language reader may cognitively grasp the semantic content but is unlikely to engage emotionally with the experience described. As empathy theory suggests (Gallese, 2003;Rogers, 1980), affective resonance is not merely ornamental; it constitutes a foundational mechanism for empathic understanding. When the emotional tenor of the original is flattened, the pathways for embodied empathy are obstructed, limiting the translation's capacity to foster experiential engagement.The expression 肝火上炎证 (gān huǒ shàng yán zhèng), translated by the World Health Organization in 2022 as "upward flaming of liver fire pattern," exemplifies a highly embodied and emotionally charged linguistic construct in TCM. It encapsulates a deep entwinement of somatic perception, emotional experience, and culturally embedded metaphor. In TCM discourse, the liver is not merely a physiological organ but a symbolic and functional center of emotional regulation, particularly associated with the emotion of anger. The canonical principle of the liver reflects this culturally coded mind-body integration, where internal emotional turbulence directly affects physiological processes.The term 火(huǒ, "fire") functions dually as a pathological agent and a metaphorical representation of affective arousal, signaling sensations of heat, agitation, and impulsivity. Meanwhile, 上炎 (shàng yán, "upward flaming") introduces directional and kinetic imagery, simulating an embodied experience of internal energy surging upward during emotional outbursts.By contrast, the standardized English translation, "upward flaming of liver fire pattern", as adopted in WHO guidelines, while terminologically equivalent, tends to attenuate the affective intensity conveyed in the original. Although flaming nominally retains the imagery of fire, its metaphorical resonance in English appears relatively diffuse and may not strongly evoke stable emotional associations. The phrase "liver fire pattern" adopts a clinicalized structure that places emphasis on biomedical taxonomy, which may limit the experiential richness embedded in the source term. Consequently, the translated expression functions more as a diagnostic label, with reduced physiological and emotional immediacy compared to the original. The dynamic force, directional intensity, and emotional agitation present in the Chinese expression are correspondingly diminished. When affective schemas related to anger or heat are not fully engaged, the potential for activating embodied empathy becomes considerably constrained.This case illustrates the challenge of affective disconnection, as articulated in the proposed theoretical framework. Despite semantic equivalence, the translation may only partially elicit embodied emotional engagement, leaving readers intellectually informed while generating attenuated affective resonance. As a consequence, the mechanism of embodied empathy remains less fully activated.
The third challenge stems from fundamental differences between the cultural models of body and health embedded in TCM and those assumed by global biomedical readers. Unlike the Western anatomical framework, TCM conceptualizes organs such as the liver and spleen as part of a dynamic system governed by qi and yin-yang balance (Runhu, 2015;Zhao et al., 2023). These expressions are rooted in cosmological and metaphorical assumptions that lack direct counterparts in Western epistemologies. Consequently, even precise lexical renderings may fall short in eliciting embodied understanding if the reader lacks the necessary cultural-cognitive schema, ultimately disturbing the alignment between language, body, and worldview.Consider the term 命门之水 (mìng mén zhī shuǐ), rendered in the WHO terminology guidelines (2022) as "the water of the gate of life". This expression exemplifies a culturally and somatically embedded TCM construct whose meaning extends far beyond its surface lexicon. According to the interpretations provided by both classical texts and contemporary scholarship, 命门 (mìng mén, "gate of life") denotes not merely an anatomical site located between the kidneys, but rather serves as a vital energetic hub associated with reproductive function, metabolic regulation, and life force (Li, 2005;Meng, 2006;Chen & Zheng, 2013). 水(shuǐ, "water") refers to stored yin essence, conceptually balancing the yang fire, and representing inner cooling, moistening, and sustaining forces. From the perspective of embodied cognition, the phrase encodes sensations of thermal regulation and vital flow, reflecting a worldview in which physiological and cosmological orders are intertwined.While the WHO translation maintains a close literal correspondence, it may not fully convey the cultural and embodied dimensions embedded in the original. In English, "gate of life" does not readily evoke a familiar reference to an organ or energy center, which may render the term less accessible or metaphorically resonant. Similarly, the term "water" has limited affinity with the concepts of "yin vitality" and "essence" in TCM concepts. Despite the lexical equivalence of this translation, its ability to activate the cultural-bodily schema of the target readers is relatively limited, and the concept may remain abstract, making it difficult to realize the in-depth communication of embodied experience.This case exemplifies the challenge of cultural incommensurability in translation, where the worldview encoded in the source language terminology is difficult to map perceptually or emotionally onto the target language culture. The result constitutes a state of semantic suspension: although the translation achieves equivalence at the lexical level, it may not comprehensively stimulate embodied or affective experiences, thereby limiting the possibility of deeper intercultural understanding.Taken together, the three types of challenges, namely sensorimotor attenuation, affective disconnection and cultural incommensurability, constitute the most prominent embodied barriers in cross-cultural translation of TCM. As a typological framework, it reveals the key disruptions in embodied empathy and provides a diagnostic tool for assessing whether the translation goes beyond basic semantic equivalence and realizes a higher level of translation adequacy.
From the perspective of embodied empathy, translation is not merely a matter of semantic transfer, but a reconstructive act that seeks to preserve and reawaken the source text's perceptual, somatic, and affective dimensions (Robinson, 2014;Chávez, 2009). In response to the preceding analysis of the three embodiment-based challenges, the following section introduces three corresponding translation strategies developed in this paper to address each of these barriers. This paper primarily develops its strategies for intercultural communication targeting non-specialist global readers, aiming to enhance experiential engagement and cultural resonance. While the framework may offer insights for professional translation practice, its main focus is not on terminological adaptation for clinical or regulatory purposes.
To mitigate the effects of sensorimotor attenuation, this paper introduces the strategy of sensory activation. This approach emphasizes the restoration of perceptual immediacy and bodily vividness in translation by foregrounding sensory metaphors, tactile descriptors, and experiential analogies. Instead of relying solely on technical formulations, the translator can reconstruct the source text's somatic imagery, which helps re-engage the reader's sensorimotor pathways and strengthen embodied empathy.In this paper, the standardized WHO translation of 寒湿困脾证 (hán shī kùn pí zhèng) as "cold dampness affecting the spleen pattern" is rendered as "a condition of internal heaviness and chill that obstructs the spleen's activity", which exemplifies the sensory activation strategy within the embodied empathy framework. Compared to more abstract biomedical formulations, this rendering appears to offer greater potential for sensorimotor simulation, as it seeks to preserve the tactile and kinesthetic dimensions embedded in the source term. The phrase "internal heaviness and chill" evokes direct bodily imagery, allowing target readers to mentally simulate sensations of cold, weight, and stagnation. Additionally, the verb "obstructs" introduces a dynamic element of physiological resistance, reflecting the somatic inertia implied by 困(kùn, "obstruct"). Hence, this translation facilitates an embodied mode of comprehension, reinforcing the experiential and empathetic connection between reader and text.Rather than focusing solely on semantic equivalence, this strategy aims to enhance sensory immediacy and bodily vividness by reintroducing concrete perceptual cues and kinetic imagery, elements that may be attenuated in the process of terminological standardization. In counteracting the abstraction typical of biomedical renderings, the approach enables readers to simulate the somatic experiences encoded in the source term. This, in turn, enhances the translation's potential to evoke embodied empathy and maintain the perceptual-affective integrity of the original TCM expression.
In light of the affective disconnection challenge translations, this paper advances the strategy of affective reenactment, which aims to reactivate the emotional dynamics embedded in the source text by reconstructing its affective imagery and emotional trajectory. The goal is to preserve the perceptualaffective interplay encoded in TCM terminology while enhancing the experiential depth and empathetic efficacy of cross-cultural translations.When the source term contains implicit emotional triggers, such as anger or worry, but the target language lacks corresponding body-emotion mappings, translators may render the causal logic of emotional arousal more explicit. This can guide target readers in understanding the affective motivations underlying physiological expressions. Additionally, affective reenactment involves amplifying and concretizing the somatic imagery, directionality, and dynamic movement inherent in the original expression, while favoring emotionally potent and kinetically charged verbs over neutral technical formulations, thereby enhancing embodied expressivity.An illustrative example is the WHO's standardized translation of 肝火上炎证 (gān huǒ shàng yán zhèng) as "upward flaming of liver fire pattern". While this version maintains terminological equivalence, it may somewhat reduce the emotional intensity conveyed in the original. In contrast, the alternative translation proposed in this paper, "a surge of blazing heat rising from the liver in response to unexpressed anger", demonstrates the affective reenactment strategy. It retains the thermal and directional aspects of 上炎 (shàng yán, "upward flaming"), explicitly articulating the underlying emotional causality linked to anger ("in response to unexpressed anger"). The word "surge" evokes a sudden, forceful upward motion, and the adjective "blazing" triggers vivid somatic sensations, jointly enriching the embodied dimension of the expression.Through the reconstruction of the connection between emotion, body, and cultural metaphor, this approach engages the reader's affective repertoires. Instead of leaving the reader emotionally detached, the translation activates the internal dynamics of emotional tension embedded in the source, reviving its expressive force. In this way, affective reenactment acts both as a remedy for potential emotional flattening and a channel for restoring the experiential depth essential to embodied empathy.
Anchored in the theoretical framework of embodied empathy, cultural grounding seeks to bridge the interpretive gap caused by the target culture's lack of embodied background knowledge. It does so through a dual mechanism: explicitation and the construction of cultural-bodily schemas. Cultural grounding aims, for one thing, to help target-language readers establish cognitive footholds within their own cultural frameworks, and for another, to re-embody abstract or symbolically dense TCM expressions in ways that evoke sensory and cultural associations.More specifically, when source-language terms lack perceptible cultural or bodily referents in the target culture and may not readily engage readers' sensorimotor or conceptual schemas, translators are encouraged to actively reconstruct an embodied understanding. This may involve cultural explanation, analogical reasoning based on bodily functions, or symbolic cues, allowing readers to simulate the philosophical and physiological worldview embedded in the source expression through their own experiential frameworks.To implement the cultural grounding strategy, this paper proposes a composite approach termed cultural-embodied explication, which integrates several complementary methods. First, embodied explicitation involves articulating the bodily sensations, energetic processes, or physiological mechanisms implied in the source term by using lexicon rich in perceptual or functional resonance, such as flow, pressure, essence, or surge, to enhance the somatic vividness of the translation. Second, cultural mapping compensation addresses the absence of equivalent philosophical or somatic frameworks in the target culture by introducing analogous concepts (e.g., energy flow, yin-yang balance, meditative vitality) that provide accessible interpretive bridges. Third, metaphorical analogy and contextual elaboration entail supplementing the translation with metaphorical parallels or brief contextual explanations to reconstruct the cultural and embodied meanings underlying the original expression.This paper proposes a revised translation of 命门之水 (mìng mén zhī shuǐ) as "the yin essence stored at the life-gate, a vital reservoir of cooling energy that balances the body's inner fire". Unlike the WHO's literal translation "the water of the gate of life", which maintains lexical equivalence but may not comprehensively engage the target reader's cultural-bodily schema, the revised version employs the strategy of cultural grounding through culturally and somatically enriched explication. Specifically, the term "yin essence" explicitly introduces the somatic and cosmological dimension of 水 (shuǐ, "water"), which in TCM refers not to physical water but to an abstract, nourishing, cooling substance essential for sustaining life. The phrase "stored at the life-gate" locates 命门 (mìng mén) as a symbolic and functional center rather than an anatomical site, while the elaboration "a vital reservoir of cooling energy that balances the body's inner fire" draws on familiar metaphors of energy balance and inner equilibrium to evoke the yin-yang dynamic. This contextual elaboration helps readers simulate the embodied sensations of thermal regulation and energetic flow, making the expression experientially intelligible. Instead of merely conveying lexical meaning, the translation incorporates embodied explicitation (e.g., "yin essence", "cooling energy"), cultural mapping compensation (e.g., analogies to energy centers or balance models in holistic health), and contextual elaboration to anchor the source term in culturally resonant schemas. This multidimensional approach helps to restore the vividness and philosophical depth of the terminology, thereby eliminating the semantic suspension and reactivating the interpretative channels necessary for the realization of embodied empathy and cross-cultural understanding.To summarize, the three proposed strategies of sensory activation, affective reenactment and cultural grounding constitute an organic theoretical framework for addressing the challenges of embodiment in TCM translation. These approaches emphasizes sensory immediacy, emotional resonance and culturally embedded bodily schema, transcending the singular pursuit of semantic equivalence. Such a shift transforms translation into a medium of cross-cultural embodiment, enabling readers to intellectually comprehend and viscerally engage with the conceptual and philosophical logic of TCM.
Embodied Empathy Framework in TCM Translation: Theoretical Contributions, Practical Implications, and Scope LimitationsThe theoretical innovation of this paper lies in extending the concept of embodiment from cognitive linguistics into the field of translation studies, with a particular focus on the cross-cultural translation of TCM terminology. Centered on the tripartite coupling of language, body, and culture, the proposed framework of embodied empathy in translation offers an operational model that moves beyond conventional applications of embodiment, typically limited to everyday verbs or sensory expressions, and demonstrates its relevance in highly abstract and culturally embedded professional discourse. While sharing the common objective of enhancing the accuracy and effectiveness of TCM translation, this paper seeks to contribute to ongoing efforts by identifying specific areas where embodied mechanisms may enrich cross-cultural comprehensibility. This paper fills a critical gap in current translation studies by uncovering the somatic schema and experiential underpinnings embedded in even the most technical TCM terminology, which in turn opens up a novel pathway for reconstructing experiential depth and emotional expressivity in cross-cultural medical discourse.The findings of this paper resonate with and extend several key arguments in the field of TCM translation. Notably, Li's (1996Li's ( , 2008) ) advocacy of the principle of ethnic specificity underscores the epistemological incommensurability between Chinese and Western medical paradigms, emphasizing the importance of preserving the culturally embedded worldview of TCM terminology. The analysis in this paper echoes the above viewpoints, pointing out that embodied empathy helps translators retain the emotional and bodily dimensions of culturally specific terms in the translation process, thus reinforcing their unique conceptual identities in the target language. Meanwhile, the cultural schema theory mentioned by Zhou and Wang (2013) is further substantiated in this paper. By highlighting the role of body simulation in translation reception, this paper presents the dynamic activation mechanism of cultural knowledge in the process of cross-cultural comprehension from a sensorimotor perspective. Moreover, the reader-oriented approach proposed in this paper complements the emphasis on translators' cognitive differences discussed by Li and Sang (2023), by focusing on how linguistic strategies can help non-Chinese readers simulate unfamiliar embodied experiences. In line with the concept of Yu et al. (2022) of the balanced application of foreignization and domestication strategies, the embodied empathy framework proposed in this paper provides a hybrid path of cultural specificity and acceptability for translation practice. Finally, this paper also responds to Xie's (2000) call for greater international collaboration in the standardization of TCM terminology, providing a new theoretical perspective for Chinese and global readers to reach a shared experiential understanding through translation.Although the translation strategies proposed in this paper may appear to diverge from established professional norms, or even conflict with, the standardization principles advocated in the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Chinese Medicine (2022), they nonetheless offer significant theoretical and practical value. A close analysis of the handbook's structure reveals a multilayered presentation of terms. The "English term" column usually adopts highly abstract and academic expressions, which often lack embodied resonance and are less likely to stimulate the sensory engagement of the target language readers. In contrast, the "Synonyms" column tends to adopt more vivid expressions with sensory imagery, dynamic metaphors, and affective undertones, reflecting the intention to retain the dimension of embodied meaning in the translation process. Taking "伤寒类病, shāng hán lèi bìng" as an example, the "English term" column translates it as "cold damage", which is semantically close to the literal meaning, but may not fully capture the cultural specificity or experiential immediacy associated with the term in TCM contexts, especially in reference to the core embodied experience of acute febrile illnesses induced by exogenous cold pathogens. In contrast, the translations provided in the "Synonyms" column, such as "exogenous febrile disorders" and "cold injury", are more effective in activating readers' cultural schemas and bodily imaginations. Among them, "exogenous febrile disorders" highlights the characteristics of acute fever in exogenous diseases, while "cold injury" draws on people's more intuitive associations of cold as a cause of illness. Similarly, "胃火证, wèi huǒ zhèng" is expanded to "stomach heat exuberance pattern" and "excess stomach heat pattern" in the "Synonyms" column, which more concretely portray the physical characteristics of internal heat exuberance.The above examples reveal a potential compensatory mechanism commonly observed in terminology systems such as those of WHO, ISO, and WFCMS, which attempt to balance the expressive tensions of embodied language with the technical demands of terminological standardization. Specifically, compilers often include complementary expressions in the "Synonyms" column to enhance both conceptual clarity and perceptual accessibility. This practice suggests that translating TCM's highly symbolic and experiential lexicon requires more than rigid adherence to standard equivalence; it calls for a flexible approach that negotiates between embodied empathy and regulatory consistency. A notable example of this balancing act is the WHO's standardized term 峻下逐水药 (jùn xià zhú shuǐ yào), rendered as "drastic water-expelling medicines". Here, "drastic" aptly conveys the forceful purgative effect, while "water-expelling" specifies its function. Yet from the perspective of embodied empathy, this translation remains relatively clinical, potentially falling short of evoking the visceral intensity and dynamic bodily impact, a concept traditionally linked to powerful, aggressive purgation. This example illustrates a partially successful integration of standardization with experiential resonance, while also highlighting opportunities for further enriching TCM translations through the enhancement of sensory and affective dimensions.Though this paper constructs a theoretical framework for the translation of TCM terminology based on embodied empathy and proposes three corresponding strategies, several limitations remain and warrant further discussion. To begin with, the number of TCM terms analyzed is relatively small, focusing chiefly on a few representative diagnostic expressions. As such, the findings may not fully capture the overall complexity of the TCM terminological system. However, given that the primary objective of this paper is to propose and preliminarily validate the applicability of embodied empathy theory in the context of TCM translation, the use of illustrative cases serves to clearly demonstrate the translation challenges and responsive strategies associated with embodied dimensions. Additionally, TCM comprises a wide range of text types, including classical theoretical texts, clinical guidelines, pharmacopeias, and popular science materials, each with distinct communicative functions and embodied representational features, as well as differing audience expectations (Luo & Deng, 2017). This paper has not yet explored how these variations may necessitate differentiated translation strategies, which will be addressed in future research.Lastly, this paper principally focuses on intercultural communication targeting general, non-specialist readers, with an emphasis on fostering experiential resonance and perceptual engagement in translation. It does not directly address issues related to terminological adaptation or clinical applicability within professional medical contexts. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that the practical demands of standardization, especially in clinical or regulatory environments, require translators to carefully navigate the balance between preserving embodied meaning and ensuring terminological consistency.In such contexts, translators may adopt a layered approach: maintaining standardized terminology for core diagnostic or regulatory expressions, while enriching surrounding explanatory content or supplementary materials with embodied, culturally resonant language. This dual strategy allows for both compliance with professional norms and the retention of experiential depth. Introducing embodiment as a complementary evaluative dimension thus enhances existing translation paradigms centered on semantic equivalence and standardization, while also offering insights into the communicative transition between expert discourse and public understanding.
This paper has proposed an embodied empathy-oriented framework for the cross-cultural translation of TCM terminology, addressing three core challenges: sensorimotor attenuation, affective disconnection, and cultural incommensurability. In response, it introduces three targeted translation strategies, sensory activation, affective reenactment, and cultural grounding, each designed to retain the perceptual, emotional, and culturally situated dimensions of TCM discourse. These strategies aim to move beyond semantic equivalence, advocating for a translation approach that reactivates the embodied experiences encoded in the source text. The restoration of somatic imagery, emotional intensity, and culturally resonant schemas enables the model to foster deeper experiential engagement and improve the target reader's empathetic and cognitive access to TCM concepts.While this approach may depart from the terminological standardization logic emphasized in institutional guidelines such as the WHO 2022 manual, it reveals the interpretive and experiential gaps that can arise from overly abstract or clinical renderings. In this light, this paper offers both a theoretical extension of embodiment theory into the field of translation studies and a practical response to the growing need for culturally sensitive, experientially rich translations in global TCM communication.It argues for a more dynamic balance between professionalization and perception, between standardization and resonance, providing a foundation upon which future interdisciplinary and readeroriented research may continue to build.Although limited in scope and reader context, the findings highlight the importance of balancing technical consistency with embodied intelligibility. Building on this paper, future research may proceed along several fruitful lines. First, empirical validation is needed to assess the effectiveness of embodied empathy in translation reception. This could involve reader response studies, eye-tracking methodologies, or sensory perception experiments to examine how different translation strategies impact cognitive and affective engagement. Moreover, comparative studies across languages and cultures could investigate the diversity of bodily metaphors and perceptual schemas, contributing to a more inclusive and empirically grounded model of linguistic embodiment."
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1618531/abstract
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"Alexander Dolitsky: Why cross-cultural literacy matters more than ever
By SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR,
Cross–cultural communication requires a knowledge of how culturally different people groups communicate with each other. Studying other languages helps us understand what people and societies have in common, and it has profound implications in developing a critical awareness of social relationships. Indeed, understanding these relationships and the way other cultures function is the groundwork of successful business, foreign affairs, and interpersonal relationships.
Elements of language are culturally relevant and should be considered. There are, however, several challenges that come with language socialization. Sometimes people can over-generalize or label cultures with stereotypical and subjective characterizations. For instance, one may stereotype by saying that Americans eat hamburgers and French fries in the McDonald’s restaurant daily, and Russians eat borshch (beet and cabbage soup) for breakfast and drink vodka before bedtime. Both stereotypes are far from the truth.
With increasing international trade and travels, it is unavoidable that different cultures will meet, conflict, cooperate and blend together. People from different cultures often find it difficult to communicate, not only due to language barriers but also because of different culture, styles, customs, and traditions. These differences contribute to some of the biggest challenges of effective cross–cultural communication.
Cultures provide people with ways of thinking, seeing, hearing, behaving, understanding and interpreting the world. Thus, the same words or gestures can mean very different things to people from different cultures—even when they speak the same language (e.g., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa and the United States).
The quote “Two nations divided by a common language,” often attributed to George Bernard Shaw, highlights the differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural nuances that can exist between speakers of the same language. When languages are different, however, and translation is needed just to communicate, the potential for misunderstandings significantly increases.
From the mid–1980s to early–2000s, I was an unofficial Russian translator in Alaska for the US and State of Alaska governments, as well as for various public institutions and private individuals. The most challenging aspect of the translation was relaying specific terminology, such as that used by the US Coast Guard, medical professionals, political protocols and verbiage and, especially, jokes and humorous expressions. Often, I had to provide cultural and historic backgrounds before translating a joke.
Ones, a member of the Russian delegation, in an informal setting over dinner, told a joke to his Alaskan counterparts:
“Archaeologists found an ancient sarcophagus in Egypt with human–made artifacts and skeletal remains. Experts around the world thoroughly investigated this finding to identify the person buried in the sarcophagus but had no success. So, they invited a KGB agent (Soviet Committee for State Security) Major Ivan Ivanov to investigate this matter. Major Ivanov spent nearly three hours in solitude with the skeleton and, finally, with a confidence in his voice, reported to the archaeologists that the remains and skeleton belong to the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses the Second. Archaeologists were impressed by this quick revelation and asked Ivanov, “How certain are you of this remarkable conclusion?” Then Ivanov replied with a great pride, ‘After three hours of the bulldozer interrogation, the skeleton itself revealed to me his identity!’”
The Russian jokester was a large, broad-shouldered man, his voice deep and curt. No one among the Alaskan delegation laughed after hearing the joke. They sat still at the table, holding crystal shots of vodka, and just stared with alarm at the joke-teller.
I had to provide the Alaskans with some background about the notorious brutality of the Soviet KGB. Unfortunately, in the process of explaining the joke, the humor disappeared.
In teaching Russian language at the University of Alaska Southeast for 16 years, my very first message to students was to emphasize that a language must always be understood and learned in a cultural context. As an example, I shared with them a personal and rather humorous story of my early arrival to the United States in Philadelphia during the winter of 1978.
In the early years of my immigration, I watched a lot of TV to learn English, American traditions and lifestyles. Many advertisements described food items and dishes, including various salads, using the word “delicious.”
It was a new experience for me because there were no TV ads for commercial products in the former Soviet Union due to a lack of commercial competition. The government controlled standardized prices for commercial products throughout the entire country.
So, I understood the word “delicious” as a name of the salad (a noun) rather than the quality of the salad (an adjective). In fact, food dishes have a particular name in Russia — Chicken Kiev, Salad Stolichniy (salad capital), Borshch (beet and cabbage soup), Beef Stroganoff (meat stew), Blini (Russian for pancakes), etc.
Later that year, my uncle from Canada, accompanied by his wife and daughter, visited me in Philadelphia. As a welcome greeting to America, they invited me to a fancy restaurant downtown. When the waiter asked for my order, I requested a steak, shot of vodka and “delicious” salad, hoping my order would match the “delicious” salad that I had seen on TV.
The puzzled waiter leaned slightly and whispered to me, “Sir, all our food is delicious.” Then, I clarified to the waiter, “I want a delicious salad.” The confused waiter served me a cabbage with mustard.
So, that evening in the fancy restaurant, I enjoyed a delicious steak and stuffed myself with a cut-in-half cabbage with mustard. This was a prime lesson in cross-cultural miscommunication.
Indeed, the demographics and cultural complexity of our nation changes rapidly. It is only a matter of time before ethnic minorities in our country take a lead in shaping the cultural and ethnic landscape of our nation and, eventually, become a significant ethnic majority. These demographic and cultural changes are unavoidable. However, our society should learn to make inclusive and, yet, conservative cross–cultural adjustments without undermining the fundamental core of American Judeo–Christian religious, cultural and moral values."
https://www.newsbreak.com/must-read-alaska-560697/4119970336659-alexander-dolitsky-why-cross-cultural-literacy-matters-more-than-ever
#metaglossia_mundus
"Localization Translation Tools Market to Grow at 9.8% CAGR with Innovations from Lokalise MotionPoint GlobalLink Weglot RWG Phrase Transifex and Alconost
07-20-2025 05:29 AM CET | Advertising, Media Consulting, Marketing Research
Press release from: STATS N DATA
Localization Translation Tools Market
The Localization Translation Tools market is experiencing unprecedented growth as businesses increasingly recognize the importance of reaching diverse audiences across the globe. With the rapid expansion of global commerce and the digital economy, the demand for effective Localization Translation Tools has surged. These tools encompass a wide range of applications, including Translation Management Systems (TMS), Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools, and Globalization Management Systems (GMS), which facilitate the accurate and efficient translation of content in multiple languages.
In recent years, several catalysts have fueled the growth of this market. Technological breakthroughs, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, have revolutionized the way translations are performed. AI-powered Localization Tools, such as Neural Machine Translation (NMT) Software, have greatly enhanced translation accuracy and speed, making it easier for companies to localize their content. Additionally, strategic partnerships between technology providers and language service providers (LSPs) have expanded the capabilities and reach of localization solutions.
As businesses navigate the complexities of globalization, actionable insights are crucial for executives, investors, and decision-makers. Understanding the dynamics of the Localization Software Market, including emerging trends and potential challenges, will enable organizations to make informed decisions that drive growth and enhance customer engagement.
You can access a sample PDF report here: https://www.statsndata.org/download-sample.php?id=82498
The Localization Translation Tools market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing globalization of businesses and the rising demand for multilingual content across various sectors. As organizations expand their reach into international markets, the need for efficient and effective translation solutions becomes paramount.
This market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% from 2025 to 2032, reflecting a robust trend toward the adoption of advanced localization technologies. Factors contributing to this growth include the acceleration of digital transformation, the proliferation of e-commerce, and the necessity for businesses to communicate with diverse customer bases in their native languages.
Additionally, the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning is enhancing the capabilities of localization tools, allowing for more accurate and contextually relevant translations. As companies increasingly prioritize customer experience and engagement, the demand for high-quality localization services becomes critical.
By 2032, the Localization Translation Tools market is expected to surpass a valuation of several billion dollars, underscoring its vital role in facilitating effective communication in an interconnected world. The integration of innovative features such as real-time translation, collaboration tools, and automated workflows further supports the market's expansion, enabling organizations to streamline their localization processes and achieve faster time-to-market for their products and services.
Overall, the Localization Translation Tools market is poised for dynamic growth, driven by technological advancements and the increasing importance of cultural adaptation in global business strategies.
Several key drivers are shaping the Localization Translation Tools market. One of the foremost is the growing emphasis on sustainability. Companies are now more conscious of their environmental impact and are seeking tools that not only facilitate localization but also promote sustainable practices. Digitization is another significant driver, as businesses increasingly move towards digital platforms that necessitate quick and efficient localization to cater to global audiences.
Shifting consumer expectations are also transforming the landscape. Today's consumers demand personalized experiences in their native languages, prompting businesses to invest in high-quality Localization Translation Tools. The integration of AI into localization processes has further accelerated this trend, with solutions like Workflow Automation for Localization and Real-time Collaboration Translation Tools becoming essential in meeting consumer demands.
Emerging technologies, such as predictive analytics and big data analytics for localization, are providing businesses with deeper insights into market trends and consumer preferences. Organizations are leveraging these insights to enhance their Localization Quality Assurance (QA) Tools, ensuring that translations are not only accurate but also contextually relevant.
Market Segmentation
The Localization Translation Tools market can be segmented based on type and application, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of its various components.
Segment by Type:
• Translation Management System (TMS): These platforms streamline the localization process by managing translation projects, workflows, and resources, enabling efficient collaboration among teams.
• Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools: These tools assist translators by providing translation memory (TM) and terminology management capabilities, enhancing consistency and speed in translations.
Segment by Application:
• Website Localization: Adapting websites to meet the language and cultural preferences of local audiences.
• Software Localization: Customizing software applications to ensure usability and functionality in different languages and regions.
• Business Localization: Tailoring business communications and documentation for international markets.
• Game Localization: Modifying video games to resonate with local cultures and languages.
• Others: This category includes various specialized localization applications, such as multimedia localization, e-learning localization, and legal localization tools.
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Competitive Landscape
The Localization Translation Tools market is characterized by a competitive landscape featuring several key players that are driving innovation and offering diverse solutions to meet the needs of businesses. Prominent companies include:
• Lokalise: Known for its user-friendly cloud-based localization platform, Lokalise focuses on workflow automation and real-time collaboration, making it a popular choice for agile localization.
• MotionPoint: Specializing in website localization, MotionPoint uses AI-driven solutions to help businesses expand their online presence in multiple languages effectively.
• GlobalLink: A comprehensive localization solution, GlobalLink offers a suite of tools for managing translation projects and integrating with various content management systems (CMS).
• Weglot: Weglot provides a seamless website localization solution that allows businesses to translate and manage their content in multiple languages effortlessly.
• RWG: RWG focuses on providing customized localization solutions and has developed partnerships with various technology providers to enhance its offerings.
• Phrase: Known for its API-first localization platform, Phrase enables businesses to integrate localization seamlessly into their development workflows.
• Transifex: This platform offers cloud-based localization solutions that cater to software, mobile apps, and multimedia content, ensuring rapid translations.
• Alconost: Alconost specializes in game localization and provides tailored solutions for developers looking to reach global audiences.
• Unbabel: Unbabel combines AI and human translation to deliver high-quality translations for customer support and business communications.
• Gridly: Gridly offers a unique approach to localization through its spreadsheet-like interface, allowing for easy management of translation projects.
• memoQ: A robust CAT tool, memoQ provides advanced features for translation memory, terminology management, and QA, making it a favorite among professional translators.
• LingoHub: LingoHub focuses on collaborative localization, offering tools for teams to work together efficiently on translation projects.
• OneSky: OneSky provides an all-in-one localization platform that caters to developers, marketers, and translators, facilitating quick and effective localization.
• Wordbee: Wordbee offers a comprehensive suite of localization tools, including project management and translation memory capabilities.
• Alocai: Alocai focuses on AI-powered localization solutions, enabling businesses to automate and enhance their translation processes.
• SandVox: SandVox provides specialized tools for website localization, ensuring that businesses can effectively reach international audiences.
Each of these players is actively launching new products, expanding their services, or forming strategic partnerships to enhance their market position and address evolving customer needs.
Localization Translation Tools Market: Transforming Challenges into Triumphs
In the fast-paced world of global commerce, a leading player in the localization translation tools market faced a daunting challenge that threatened to disrupt its operations and erode its competitive advantage. As businesses increasingly expanded their reach into diverse international markets, the demand for swift and accurate translation services surged. However, the key player found itself grappling with an outdated translation workflow that was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. With languages evolving and cultural nuances becoming increasingly complex, their existing processes struggled to keep pace, leading to delays in product launches and customer dissatisfaction. The pressure mounted as competitors began to leverage more advanced technologies, leaving the key player at a critical crossroads where the need for innovation became imperative to survive and thrive.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the key player turned to comprehensive data analysis to uncover insights that would illuminate a path forward. STATS N DATA, a leader in market analysis and strategic consulting, stepped in to dissect the existing workflows and pinpoint inefficiencies. Through a meticulous examination of data patterns and user feedback, they developed a ground-breaking strategy that would revolutionize the player's approach to localization. This strategy included the integration of advanced machine translation technologies, enhanced collaboration tools for linguists, and the implementation of a continuous feedback loop that captured customer insights in real-time. By advocating for a more agile and collaborative translation process, STATS N DATA empowered the key player to embrace innovation while maintaining the human touch that is often essential in localization.
The results of this transformative strategy were nothing short of remarkable. Within just a few months of implementation, the key player reported a significant increase in market share, reclaiming its position as a leader in the localization translation tools market. The efficiency of the translation process improved dramatically, with project turnaround times decreasing by nearly 40%. This newfound agility allowed the company to launch products in new markets faster than ever before, ultimately leading to a staggering 25% increase in revenue year-over-year. Moreover, customer satisfaction scores soared as clients praised the accuracy and cultural relevance of the translations. The key player not only navigated its way through a potential crisis but emerged stronger and more competitive, illustrating the profound impact that strategic data-driven decisions can have in the localization translation tools market.
The Localization Translation Tools market presents numerous opportunities for growth, particularly in untapped niches and evolving buyer personas. As globalization continues to expand, businesses are seeking comprehensive localization solutions that cater to specific industries, such as legal, medical, and marketing localization. By identifying these niches, companies can offer customized Localization Solutions that meet the unique needs of different sectors.
However, challenges remain, including regulatory hurdles that complicate localization efforts in certain regions. Businesses must navigate varying language regulations and compliance requirements, which can pose significant obstacles. Additionally, supply-chain gaps, particularly in the availability of skilled translators, can hinder effective localization. To address these challenges, organizations need to invest in training and development programs for translators and explore innovative solutions such as Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) Tools to improve efficiency.
Technological Advancements
Technological advancements are reshaping the Localization Translation Tools market, driving innovation and enhancing capabilities. AI technologies play a pivotal role in this transformation. AI-powered Localization Tools streamline translation processes, reduce turnaround times, and improve accuracy. Digital twins and virtual reality applications are emerging as valuable tools for localization, particularly in industries like gaming and e-learning.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is also influencing localization strategies, as smart devices and wearables require tailored content for diverse users. Additionally, blockchain technology is gaining traction in the localization space, offering secure and transparent solutions for managing translation workflows and ensuring data integrity.
As these technologies continue to evolve, they will further enhance the capabilities of Localization Translation Tools, enabling businesses to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global marketplace.
Research Methodology and Insights
At STATS N DATA, our research methodology combines top-down and bottom-up approaches to provide robust insights into the Localization Translation Tools market. We employ primary data collection methods, including surveys and interviews with industry experts, alongside secondary data analysis of market trends and developments.
Our multi-layer triangulation process ensures that our insights are reliable and comprehensive. By synthesizing data from various sources, we deliver actionable intelligence that empowers businesses to make informed decisions in the Localization Software Market.
In conclusion, the Localization Translation Tools market is poised for significant growth, driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer expectations, and the increasing importance of effective localization strategies. As organizations continue to prioritize global engagement, the demand for high-quality Localization Translation Tools will only increase, offering ample opportunities for innovation and development in this dynamic landscape.
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Q: What are the best localization translation tools?
A: The best localization translation tools vary based on specific needs and preferences, but some of the most widely recognized tools include SDL Trados Studio, memoQ, Smartling, Lokalise, and Transifex. SDL Trados Studio is favored for its advanced features and extensive translation memory capabilities, making it popular among professional translators. memoQ offers strong collaboration features and is praised for its user-friendly interface. Smartling is known for its cloud-based solution and seamless integration with various content management systems. Lokalise excels in managing translations for mobile and web applications, while Transifex is designed for developers and focuses on continuous localization. Each tool has its strengths, so the best choice depends on the specific requirements of the project.
Q: How does AI impact localization software?
A: AI significantly impacts localization software by enhancing translation quality and efficiency. Machine learning algorithms can improve machine translation (MT) results, helping to produce more fluent and contextually accurate translations. AI-driven tools can also assist in automating repetitive tasks, such as content extraction and formatting, which speeds up the localization process. Additionally, AI can analyze user data to provide insights into translation preferences and trends, enabling more tailored localization efforts. The integration of AI allows for continuous improvement of translation memories and glossaries, as the system learns from past translations and user feedback, ultimately leading to better consistency and quality.
Q: What is the role of a TMS in localization workflows?
A: A Translation Management System (TMS) plays a crucial role in localization workflows by centralizing and streamlining the translation process. It serves as a platform where project managers can upload content, assign tasks to translators, and track progress in real time. A TMS typically integrates with other tools such as CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools, machine translation engines, and content management systems, which enhances collaboration and efficiency. By organizing projects, managing resources, and facilitating communication among stakeholders, a TMS helps ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget, while maintaining high-quality standards.
Q: How can CAT tools improve translation efficiency?
A: Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools enhance translation efficiency through features such as translation memory, terminology management, and collaborative functionalities. Translation memory stores previously translated segments, allowing translators to reuse existing translations, which saves time and increases consistency. Terminology management helps ensure that specific terms are translated uniformly across projects, reducing ambiguity and errors. Many CAT tools also offer collaborative features that allow multiple translators to work on the same project simultaneously, which accelerates the translation process. Additionally, CAT tools often include quality assurance checks, which help identify and rectify errors before finalizing translations.
Q: What are the benefits of cloud-based localization platforms?
A: Cloud-based localization platforms offer numerous benefits, including accessibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Since they are hosted in the cloud, users can access them from anywhere with an internet connection, facilitating remote collaboration among teams spread across different locations. These platforms can easily scale to accommodate varying project sizes, allowing businesses to add or reduce resources as needed. Furthermore, cloud-based solutions typically require lower upfront costs since they operate on a subscription model, making them more affordable for companies of all sizes. They also often come with built-in security measures, ensuring that sensitive content is protected during the localization process.
Q: How do localization tools handle different file formats?
A: Localization tools are designed to handle a wide variety of file formats, including but not limited to XML, JSON, HTML, and various document formats such as Microsoft Word and Excel. These tools use specific import and export functions to extract translatable text from files while preserving the original formatting. Many localization platforms have built-in capabilities to manage localization for software and applications, which require specific file types for strings and resources. By supporting multiple file formats, localization tools enable teams to work efficiently with diverse content types, ensuring that all materials are localized accurately and consistently.
Q: What are the essential features of a comprehensive localization solution?
A: A comprehensive localization solution should include several essential features to effectively manage the translation process. Firstly, it should have a robust translation memory system to store and reuse previous translations, which helps maintain consistency. Secondly, strong terminology management is crucial for ensuring that specific terms are used correctly across projects. User-friendly collaboration tools are also important, allowing translators, project managers, and clients to communicate effectively. Additionally, the solution should support various file formats and integration capabilities with other systems, such as content management systems and TMS. Quality assurance features, reporting tools, and analytics are also vital for tracking progress and ensuring high translation quality.
Q: How to choose the right localization tool for an enterprise?
A: Choosing the right localization tool for an enterprise involves several steps. First, assess the specific needs of your organization, including the types of content you need to localize, the languages required, and the volume of translation work. Next, consider the features offered by various tools, such as translation memory, collaboration capabilities, and support for different file formats. Evaluate the integration capabilities with other tools your organization uses, such as content management systems and project management software. It is also important to consider user experience and the learning curve for your team. Finally, compare pricing models and ensure that the selected tool fits within your budget while meeting your localization goals.
Q: What is the cost of localization software?
A: The cost of localization software can vary widely based on the features offered, the scale of use, and the pricing model. Many localization tools operate on a subscription basis, with monthly or annual fees that can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the number of users and the level of service. Some tools may also charge based on usage, such as per word translated or per project. Enterprise-level solutions often require custom pricing based on the specific needs and scale of the organization. It is important to evaluate the total cost of ownership, which includes not just the subscription fees but also potential costs for training, support, and integration with existing systems.
Q: How do localization tools ensure quality and consistency?
A: Localization tools ensure quality and consistency through several mechanisms. Most tools include translation memory, which helps maintain consistency by allowing translators to reuse previous translations for identical or similar segments. Terminology management systems also play a key role by ensuring that specific terms are translated uniformly across different projects. Quality assurance features, such as automated checks for errors, inconsistencies, and adherence to style guides, help identify issues before finalization. Additionally, many tools facilitate peer reviews and collaboration, allowing translators to provide feedback on each other's work. By integrating these features, localization tools help uphold high standards of quality and consistency throughout the translation process.
Q: What are the latest trends in the localization translation tools market?
A: The localization translation tools market is experiencing several notable trends. One significant trend is the increasing adoption of AI and machine learning technologies, which are enhancing machine translation capabilities and automating various aspects of the localization process. Another trend is the rise of cloud-based solutions, which allow for greater flexibility, scalability, and collaborative features. Additionally, there is a growing focus on continuous localization, particularly in software development environments, where updates and new features need to be localized rapidly. The demand for localization tools that support agile methodologies is also increasing, as businesses seek to streamline their workflows. Finally, there is a heightened emphasis on user experience, with tools becoming more user-friendly and accessible to non-experts.
Q: How does machine translation integrate with localization tools?
A: Machine translation (MT) integrates with localization tools through built-in engines or API connections, allowing for automated translation of content as part of the localization workflow. Many localization platforms offer options to use various MT engines, such as Google Translate or Microsoft Translator, to generate initial translations. These translations can then be refined by human translators, who can leverage translation memory and terminology management features to improve accuracy and consistency. The integration of MT helps speed up the localization process, particularly for large volumes of content, while still allowing for human oversight to ensure quality. This hybrid approach is becoming increasingly common in modern localization strategies.
Q: What are the challenges in the localization software market?
A: The localization software market faces several challenges. One major challenge is the need for tools that can handle the increasing complexity of global content, including varied languages, cultural nuances, and different file formats. Additionally, ensuring quality and consistency across translations remains a persistent issue, particularly as the demand for rapid localization grows. Another challenge is the integration of new technologies, such as AI and machine learning, which require ongoing development and adaptation. Furthermore, many organizations still face internal resistance to adopting new localization tools or processes, often due to a lack of understanding of their benefits. Finally, maintaining data security and compliance with various regulations poses additional challenges for localization software providers.
Q: How do localization tools support agile development?
A: Localization tools support agile development by enabling continuous localization practices that align with the iterative nature of agile methodologies. They allow for quick updates and translations of new features or content, which is essential for maintaining pace with rapid development cycles. Many localization platforms offer integration with version control systems and development environments, facilitating seamless updates and localization of content as it changes. Collaboration features enable cross-functional teams, including developers, designers, and translators, to work together efficiently. Additionally, the use of translation memory and automated workflows helps streamline the localization process, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring timely delivery of localized content.
Q: What are the key drivers for growth in the localization market?
A: Key drivers for growth in the localization market include the increasing globalization of businesses and the rising demand for localized content across various industries. As companies expand into new markets, they require localization solutions to adapt their products and communications to different languages and cultures. The growth of digital content, particularly in e-commerce, software, and media, further fuels the demand for localization services. Technological advancements, such as AI and machine learning, are also driving growth by improving the efficiency and quality of localization processes. Furthermore, the shift towards remote work and global collaboration has increased the need for cloud-based localization solutions, contributing to market expansion.
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https://www.openpr.com/news/4110740/localization-translation-tools-market-to-grow-at-9-8-cagr-with
#metaglossia_mundus
"The DWP has allocated more than £500,000 for translation services during the current year. The details emerged following an inquiry from Reform UK MP Lee Anderson regarding the Government's expenditure on services this year.
In a written parliamentary question, he specifically requested information about the DWP's spending on translating documents into languages beyond English and other native UK languages, and how much had been spent each year from 2023 onwards.
The MP also requested details about which languages the department had commissioned translations for. DWP minister Andrew Western provided the response. His figures revealed that the DWP has expended £546,323.38 on translation services during the current year to date.
The previous year saw the department spend a total of £882,118 for these services, while 2023's total expenditure reached £707,777.12. Mr Western also shared details of which languages the department had provided translation services into.
These include:
Oromo ( Afan)
Urdu
Pakistani Punjabi
Kinyarwanda
Castilian
Greek
Romanian
Bengali
Pashtu
Swedish
Lithuanian
German
Tamil
Gujarati
Spanish
Georgian
Danish
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Tagalog (Filipino)
Thai
Italian
Kazakh
Norwegian
Hungarian
Welsh
Flemish
French
Somali
Tigrinya
Malay (Malaysian)
Arabic
Braille (Unified English)
Estonian
Traditional Chinese
Japanese
Sinhalese
Farsi (Persian)
Slovenian
Latvian (Lettish)
Spanish (LatAm)
Vietnamese
Dari
Serbian
Danish
English (Easy Read)
Tanzanian Swahili
BSL (British Sign Language)
Amharic
Bahasa Indonesia
Ukrainian
Croatian
Korean
Catalan
Galician
Finnish
Kurdish / Kurdish Sorani
Kurdish Kurmanji
Norwegian
Turkish
Bosnian
Macedonian
Nepali
Uzbek
Russian
Dutch
Maltese
Hebrew
Portuguese
Polish
Czech
Albanian
Bulgarian
Hindi
Simplified Chinese
Slovak
Icelandic
Indian Punjabi
Sindhi.
Former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe previously asked in Parliament whether the DWP might adopt a policy of not offering translation and interpretation services for speakers of non-UK languages when accessing its services. Mr Western also responded to outline the Government's position on this matter, providing his response in May of this year.
He said: "DWP has a statutory duty to provide language services to its customers in line with the Equality Act. The aim of the service is to provide spoken and written translation services for staff and customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or do not speak English as a first language in order to access DWP services.""
Nicholas Dawson
13:33, 19 Jul 2025
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/dwp-spent-21million-translating-documents-32093747
#metaglossia_mundus
"Promotion du multilinguisme aux Nations Unies : Le Vietnam contribue avec la traduction du Pacte pour l'avenir
19/07/2025 11:38
Lors de l’événement "Le multilinguisme en action" tenu le 18 juillet au siège des Nations Unies à New York, l’ambassadeur Dô Viêt Hung, chef de la Mission permanente du Vietnam auprès des Nations Unies, a remis la version vietnamienne du "Pacte pour l’Avenir" (Pact for the Future) au président de la 79e session de l’Assemblée générale, Philemon Yang.
New York (VNA) – Lors de l’événement "Le multilinguisme en action" tenu le 18 juillet au siège des Nations Unies à New York, l’ambassadeur Dô Viêt Hung, chef de la Mission permanente du Vietnam auprès des Nations Unies, a remis la version vietnamienne du "Pacte pour l’Avenir" (Pact for the Future) au président de la 79e session de l’Assemblée générale, Philemon Yang.
Adopté par les dirigeants mondiaux lors du Sommet pour l’Avenir en septembre 2024, le "Pacte pour l’Avenir" définit une vision commune et des orientations de coopération dans des domaines clés afin d’accélérer la réalisation des Objectifs de développement durable (ODD), de renforcer le système multilatéral et de promouvoir le rôle et l'efficacité de la plus grande organisation multilatérale de la planète.
Philemon Yang a salué l'engagement des pays ayant contribué à traduire le document dans 33 langues, en plus des six langues officielles des Nations Unies, permettant ainsi à plus de 3,5 milliards de personnes à travers le monde, dont les locuteurs vietnamiens, d’y accéder.
Il a souligné que le multilinguisme est une priorité de la 79e session, essentielle pour rendre l’action onusienne plus inclusive. La traduction vietnamienne est désormais disponible sur le site officiel des Nations Unies à l’adresse https://www.un.org/pga/79/multilingualism-in-action-translations-of-the-pact-for-the-future-in-global-languages-2
Auparavant, après avoir présenté ses lettres de créances, l'ambassadeur Dô Hung Viêt a rencontré du 4 au 17 juillet plusieurs hauts responsables onusiens, notamment la secrétaire générale adjointe Amina J. Mohammed ; la secrétaire générale adjointe chargée des stratégies et politiques de gestion et de la conformité, Catherine Pollard ; la secrétaire générale adjointe aux affaires légales, Elinor Hammarskjold ; la secrétaire générale adjointe et secrétaire exécutive de la Commission économique et sociale des Nations Unies pour l’Asie et le Pacifique (CESAP), Armida Alisjahbana.
Lors de ces rencontres, le diplomate vietnamien a réaffirmé l'engagement fort du Vietnam envers le multilatéralisme et l'agenda des Nations Unies, notamment les initiatives visant à promouvoir la paix, le développement durable et une réponse efficace aux défis mondiaux. -VNA
https://fr.vietnamplus.vn/promotion-du-multilinguisme-aux-nations-unies-le-vietnam-contribue-avec-la-traduction-du-pacte-pour-lavenir-post248292.vnp
#metaglossia_mundus
UK’s Power Vocabulary tool powers language learning in India through stories
PTIUpdated: July 19, 2025 15:33 IST London, Jul 19 (PTI) An innovative English learning tool devised by a UK-based Indian-origin edtech entrepreneur using classic stories is now being used by children in India to help enhance literacy outcomes and bridge gaps in speech.
Power Vocabulary, conceptualised by Champs Learning founder Nishikant Kothikar, was originally designed for the England school curriculum but has proved very effective in India, where English proficiency is seen as vital for academic success and competitive exams.
“The majority of people use the same 500 words, so our children tend to follow what they hear. The only way to expand your vocabulary is by reading. The more you read, the wider the scope, the better your language skills become,” said Kothikar.
Learning from his own educational experiences, the edtech expert was inspired to create Power Vocabulary to help pupils move beyond rote memorisation to a more engaging learning method by associating words with images and stories.
The module claims to be unlike conventional vocabulary apps or rote word lists because it is story-driven and visual-based.
Power Vocabulary functions by offering words selected from classic children’s literature, visual imagery for strong word associations, audio pronunciation guides with easy phonetic cues and a structured weekly learning model aligned with book-based modules.
Children who use the online tool engage with eight classic books across eight modules, reinforced by weekly videos placing vocabulary in story context.
This multi-sensory approach enhances memory retention, making language learning fun, intuitive, and lasting. Its simplicity and use of children’s adventure stories are said to captivate learners and motivate continued reading.
Building on its initial success, Power Vocabulary is being scaled independently through ITTRP Pvt Ltd – a multinational technology partner with offices in the UK, US and India.
“Users maximise learning by completing exercises each week and taking assessments after five weeks. Motivated learners are encouraged to create their own sentences using new words to deepen understanding,” said Champs Learning, which is designed to offer structured academic support in Maths, English, Science, and Reasoning for primary and secondary students across the UK and India. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
"In the words of South African political firebrand Julius Malema, “They don’t have borders in Europe, but when it comes to us, they say no, you must have borders.” These powerful words cut deep into the very soul of Africa’s post-colonial condition, a condition where artificial lines drawn by Euro...
MyJoyOnline
Published: Jul 18, 2025
In the words of South African political firebrand Julius Malema, “They don’t have borders in Europe, but when it comes to us, they say no, you must have borders.”
These powerful words cut deep into the very soul of Africa’s post-colonial condition, a condition where artificial lines drawn by European rulers at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 continue to fragment and weaken the continent.
The division of Africa is not an accidental relic of history, it is a strategic construct. A divided Africa fuels Europe’s dominance and impedes Africa’s capacity to chart its destiny. In contrast, a united Africa, a United States of Africa, could rebalance global power through its immense human capital, strategic geography, and vast mineral wealth.
The Colonial Legacy: Borders Born in Berlin
Africa is the only continent whose borders were drawn without the consent of its people. European powers, with rulers and compasses, partitioned entire civilizations during the Berlin Conference, creating 54 nations from what could have been one vast continental force. These borders ignored ethnic, linguistic, and cultural realities, ensuring internal strife, fragmentation, and dependence.
Europe no longer functions this way. With the creation of the European Union (EU), European countries enjoy the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. Yet, the same powers that championed unity at home, enforce division abroad, particularly in Africa. Why? Because unity in Africa threatens their interests.
How Division Makes Europe Thrive
• Raw Material Access at Minimum Cost
Africa is home to 60% of the world’s arable land, 90% of platinum group metals, 40% of global gold reserves, and vast deposits of cobalt, coltan, diamonds, and lithium. Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite being among the richest in resources, are some of the poorest in development due to persistent instability and exploitation. A fragmented Africa allows Western powers and multinational corporations to exploit resources through backdoor deals with individual governments or warlords, something that would be far more difficult in a united Africa with a centralized policy on resource extraction.
• Weapons and War: A Profitable Chaos
Division allows for regional conflicts, and where there are wars, there are weapons. The top arms exporters in the world, mostly Western nations, have consistently sold weapons to African governments and rebels alike. A united and peaceful Africa would starve the European arms industry of billions.
• Currency Control and Economic Dependency
Several African countries, particularly in West and Central Africa, still use the CFA Franc, a colonial currency controlled by the French Treasury. This means France directly benefits from monetary policies affecting African nations. A common African currency backed by mineral reserves, as Malema proposes, would be catastrophic for the euro, the dollar, and the pound, whose value depends on global resource control rather than domestic production.
Practical Examples of European Interference in African Unity
• Nkrumah’s Dream Sabotaged
Kwame Nkrumah’s vision for a United States of Africa was fiercely resisted, not just by some African leaders, but by Western nations who feared a geopolitical giant that could reject neo-colonial arrangements. Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966 with alleged support from the CIA.
• Libya and Gaddafi’s Fate
Muammar Gaddafi, a key proponent of the African Union and an advocate for an African gold-backed currency, was violently removed in 2011. Leaked emails from Hillary Clinton’s office revealed that Gaddafi’s plans to introduce a gold dinar threatened Western monetary systems, making him a target.
• France’s Role in Francophone Africa
France continues to wield economic and military influence in its former colonies, including through bases, CFA currency control, and direct intervention in elections and policy. This interference is a textbook case of neocolonialism disguised as diplomacy.
The Vision of Julius Malema: A Call for Pan-Africanism
Malema’s call for a borderless Africa echoes the dreams of Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, and PLO Lumumba. His assertion that a united Africa could collapse the dollar is not hyperbole, it is geopolitical reality. With a unified Africa:
• A continental army could protect mineral-rich regions from foreign interference.
• A common passport could unleash intra-African trade and innovation.
• A central African bank could finally leverage the continent’s $100 trillion worth of natural resources.
• A pan-African digital infrastructure could challenge Silicon Valley monopolies on data.
The Path Forward: What Must Be Done
• Economic Integration First
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) must be accelerated. Trade between African nations is under 15%, while intra-European trade is above 70%. We need unified customs and tariff systems.
• Cultural Reconnection
African unity isn’t only economic, it is spiritual and cultural. Reviving African languages, philosophies, and historical consciousness can weaken colonial mindsets that pit us against one another.
• Pan-African Education
Universities must teach Pan-African history and economics. The youth must be taught that Ghana’s fate is tied to Nigeria’s, just as South Africa’s destiny is bound to Ethiopia’s.
• Political Commitment to Confederation
Like the EU, Africa must begin as a confederation with shared sovereignty in trade, defense, and diplomacy, and gradually move toward federalism. This confederation can then become the United States of Africa, not as a dream, but as destiny.
Conclusion: One Africa or No Africa
“If we become a United States of Africa… we can collapse the dollar,” Malema boldly asserts. And he is right. The world’s balance of power is tilted because Africa is fragmented. Europe’s prosperity is a pyramid whose foundation is Africa’s division. But the time is ripe for a paradigm shift. Africa must rise. Not in isolated islands of prosperity, but as one unified continent. Not just in slogans and flags, but in shared governance, economic solidarity, and cultural pride. The formation of a United States of Africa is not merely Pan-African idealism, it is the geopolitical necessity of the 21st century.
As PLO Lumumba once said, “Africa must write its own narrative.” And that narrative begins the moment we say no to borders that were never ours and yes to unity that has always been our strength.
References
• Malema, Julius. (Various Speeches), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
• Nkrumah, Kwame. Africa Must Unite (1963)
• Clinton Emails on Libya and Gold Dinar Project (U.S. State Dept.)
• AfCFTA Reports (African Union, 2023)
• Lumumba, PLO. (2021). Pan-Africanism and the Struggle for Africa’s Unity"
https://cedirates.com/news/borders-that-bleed-us-why-a-divided-africa-sustains-europes-power-and-how-the-usa-can-shift-the-global-balance/
#metaglossia_mundus
"Nigerian scholar champions AI-Human integration for global language solutions
By Raji Rasak
Mr Nehemiah David, a Nigerian scholar and First Class Honours graduate of French Education from the University of Benin, says he is championing Artificial Intelligence (AI) human integration for global language solutions.
David disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.
According to him, he is among a growing cohort of African professionals shaping the future of translation and interpretation in a digital age.
“As AI transforms global communication, I am advocating for a model that prioritises human insight in tandem with technological advancement.
“Machines can translate the sentence but only humans can translate the soul of the message,” he said.
David said that he combined academic excellence with practical field experience.
According to him, looking ahead, he sees translation not simply as a technical service but as foundational to global cooperation.
“In the coming decade, translation won’t just support development, it will drive it.
“It will be essential infrastructure for public policy, international business, and inclusive education,” he said.
“With over a decade in language services, my contributions span translation, interpretation, and education across both national and international sectors.
“From interpreting at African Union summits and environmental policy forums to mentoring French language learners across Nigeria, my approach bridges linguistic precision with cultural understanding,” he said.
He said that his research had garnered interest from AI think tanks, language education networks, and ethics panels across Francophone West Africa.
“Translation is not merely a service; it is a responsibility.
“Done right, it fosters understanding; mishandled, it risks deepening divides,” he said.
David, however, proposed an integrated model where AI functions as a tool, but with human interpreters guiding its application.
“Citing examples from Microsoft’s multilingual meeting platforms to robotic interpreters in Japanese airports, AI should be the engine, and humans the pilot,” he said.
David encouraged adoption of blended systems that retained the speed of machines while preserving the depth of human expression.
His recommendations included national frameworks to train interpreters in AI post-editing,
“Curriculum redesign to embed AI in tertiary language programmes, and collaboration between technologists, linguists, and policy stakeholders,” he said.
He also called on the Nigerian Institute of Translators and Interpreters (NITI) to champion these reforms at scale...
Edited by Vivian Ihechu"
https://nannews.ng/2025/07/18/nigerian-scholar-champions-ai-human-integration-for-global-language-solutions/
#metaglossia_mundus
"ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEHow AI is Changing Our Understanding of Human Decision-Making
Understanding human decision-making has been a central goal in psychology for decades. Researchers have long sought to design cognitive models that explain how people think and predict their behavior. Now, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming this field. Recent breakthroughs in AI are revealing new insights into the mental processes that underlie our choices. At the center of this transformation is an innovative approach called “Centaur Mode,” where AI and human intelligence work together in ways that highlight the nature of human cognition.
The Dawn of a New Era in Cognitive Science
Centaur is a foundation AI model of human cognition that can predict and simulate human behavior with striking accuracy. The model is trained on more than ten million individual decisions made by over 60,000 participants across 160 psychological experiments. Created by researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the model is designed to bridge the gap between traditional cognitive theories and modern AI capabilities. The name “Centaur” originates from the mythological creature with a human upper body and horse-like legs. This naming reflects the model's unique ability to combine human-like decision making with the predictive power of artificial intelligence. The model can simulate human behavior in situations it has never encountered before. When researchers test it on new psychological experiments, Centaur responds in ways that mirror real human choices. This capability suggests that AI can now capture fundamental patterns in how humans make decisions across different contexts.
The Foundation: Psych-101 Dataset
The secret behind Centaur's success lies in its training data. The researchers created Psych-101, a dataset containing over 10 million individual decisions from more than 60,000 participants across 160 psychological experiments. This comprehensive collection encompasses trial-by-trial data from psychological studies, encompassing memory games, gambling tasks, and problem-solving scenarios. Each experiment was carefully transcribed into text to prepare the data. This natural language data allows researchers to process human behavioral data using large language models in a way that preserves the rich context of experimental settings. This approach enables the model to understand not only how people decide, but also the circumstances under which they make those decisions.
How Centaur Works
Centaur is built on Meta's Llama 3.1 70B language model and fine-tuned using a technique called quantized low-rank adaptation (QLoRA). This method modified only 0.15% of the base model's parameters while achieving remarkable improvements in predicting human behavior.
The training process involved showing the model complete transcripts of psychological experiments, including everything participants were told, what they saw, and what they did. The model learned to predict human choices by analyzing patterns across millions of decisions, gradually developing an understanding of human cognitive processes.
Breaking Performance Barriers
Centaur has shown an impressive performance across multiple metrics. It achieved 64% accuracy in predicting human behavior, significantly outperforming previous models that could only predict certain aspects of human behavior with much lower accuracy. In rigorous testing across 160 experiments, Centaur consistently outperformed traditional cognitive models, including established theories like Prospect Theory and reinforcement learning frameworks.
Perhaps most remarkably, Centaur demonstrated its ability to generalize beyond its training data. The model successfully predicted human behavior in experiments with modified cover stories, structural changes, and entirely new domains it had never encountered before. This generalization ability suggests that Centaur has learned fundamental principles of human cognition rather than merely memorizing specific patterns.
Key Findings
One of the most striking discoveries from Centaur research is the alignment of the model's internal representations with human neural activity. This discovery suggests that when AI learns to predict human behavior, it develops internal processes that mirror aspects of human cognition. Despite being trained only on behavioral data, Centaur showed improved ability to predict human brain activity measured through fMRI scans.
This unexpected neural alignment suggests that the model may have uncovered genuine insights into how the human brain processes information. The fact that a model trained purely on behavioral choices can predict neural responses indicates that behavior and brain activity share underlying computational principles.
This discovery suggests that human decision-making may be more predictable than previously thought. The patterns that Centaur learns from human choices reveal underlying structures in how we process information and make decisions. These patterns are observed across various types of decisions, ranging from simple memory tasks to complex problem-solving scenarios.
The research also shows that AI can capture human cognitive biases. When Centaur makes predictions, it exhibits the same systematic errors and shortcuts that humans use in decision-making. This finding suggests that these biases are not flaws in human thinking but rather integral parts of how our cognitive systems work. They represent efficient strategies that our brains use to navigate complex environments with limited resources.
The Centaur reveals that our choices are not random or purely logical. They follow patterns that can be learned and predicted, but these patterns are complex and context-dependent. Centaur demonstrates that human decision-making involves a complex interplay of cognitive processes that interact in sophisticated ways.
A New Window into Human Thinking
Traditional psychology has long sought to understand human decision-making through isolated studies and theoretical models. The Centaur approach represents a different path. By training AI on massive amounts of human behavioral data, researchers can now test theories about decision-making at unprecedented scales. When AI makes predictions about human behavior, researchers can compare these predictions with actual human choices to identify gaps in current psychological theories. This process creates a feedback loop where AI helps us understand ourselves better.
Beyond feedback, Centaur can be used for scientific discovery. The researchers demonstrated this by using the model in conjunction with language models, such as DeepSeek-R1, we can generate new hypotheses about human decision-making strategies. This approach, known as scientific regret minimization, enables researchers to identify patterns in human behavior that existing theories cannot explain.
Centaur represents a new paradigm in cognitive science, where AI models serve as both subjects of study and tools for generating new theoretical insights. The combination of large-scale behavioral data and AI's capabilities opens possibilities for discoveries that would be impossible through traditional experimental approaches alone.
Challenges and Future Directions
While the development of Centaur is a significant advancement in cognitive science, critical challenges remain. The model's predictions are based on patterns from psychological experiments, which may not fully capture the complexity of real-world decision-making. Human choices in laboratory settings may differ from those in natural environments, where the stakes are higher and contexts are more complex.
There are also questions about the generalizability of these findings across different populations and cultures. The psychological studies used to train Centaur primarily involved participants from specific demographic groups. Understanding how decision-making patterns vary across different cultures and contexts remains an active area of research.
The ethical implications of AI systems that can predict human behavior also require careful consideration. While these tools can provide valuable insights, they also raise questions about privacy and the potential for manipulation. As AI becomes better at understanding human decision-making, we need frameworks to ensure these capabilities are used responsibly.
The development of Centaur represents just the beginning of a new era in cognitive science. The researchers plan to expand the dataset to include more diverse populations, demographic information, and psychological characteristics. Future versions may incorporate multimodal data, including visual and auditory information, to capture a more complete picture of human cognition.
The success of Centaur also points toward the development of more sophisticated cognitive architectures that combine domain-specific and domain-general modules. This could lead to AI systems that not only predict human behavior but also exhibit more human-like reasoning capabilities.
The Bottom Line
Centaur represents a shift in how we the study human cognition. By combining the scale and power of modern AI with the rich tradition of psychological research, it offers new insights into human decision-making. While challenges remain, the model's success in predicting behavior across diverse domains suggests that we are entering a new era where AI and cognitive science can work together to unlock the mysteries of the human mind.
Dr. Tehseen Zia
July 18, 2025
Dr. Tehseen Zia is a Tenured Associate Professor at COMSATS University Islamabad, holding a PhD in AI from Vienna University of Technology, Austria."
https://www.unite.ai/how-ai-is-changing-our-understanding-of-human-decision-making/
#metaglossia_mundus
"Large language models function through sophisticated retrieval rather than genuine reasoning, according to research published across multiple studies in 2025.
AI head with neural networks showing difference between approximate retrieval and true reasoning capabilities
The debate surrounding artificial intelligence capabilities has intensified following key research findings published in March and April 2025. Subbarao Kambhampati, a professor at Arizona State University and former president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, has challenged prevailing assumptions about large language models through extensive technical documentation.
According to Kambhampati's research, published as Can Large Language Models Reason and Plan? in March 2025, these systems excel at what he terms "universal approximate retrieval" rather than principled reasoning. "LLMs are trained to predict the distribution of the n-th token given n-1 previous tokens," the research states, explaining that current models function as sophisticated n-gram systems trained on web-scale language corpora.
The study examined GPT-3, GPT-3.5, and GPT-4 performance across planning instances derived from International Planning Competition domains, including the well-known Blocks World environment. While GPT-4 achieved 30% empirical accuracy in Blocks World tasks—an improvement over earlier versions—this performance collapsed when researchers obfuscated action and object names. Standard artificial intelligence planners experienced no difficulty with such modifications.
Technical challenges expose fundamental limitations
Testing methodology revealed critical distinctions between pattern recognition and genuine reasoning capabilities. When researchers reduced the effectiveness of approximate retrieval through name obfuscation, model performance "plummeted precipitously," according to the findings. These results suggest that improved performance stems from enhanced retrieval over larger training corpora rather than actual planning abilities.
Yann LeCun, VP and Chief AI Scientist at Meta, supported this perspective through social media commentary on April 16, 2025. "To invent new knowledge and new artifacts, or simply to deal with new situations for which they have not been explicitly trained, AI systems need to learn mental models of the world," LeCun stated. "Manipulating our mental model of the world is what we call thinking."
The technical analysis differentiates between knowledge acquisition and reasoning application. Many research papers claiming planning abilities actually confuse general planning knowledge extraction for executable plans, according to Kambhampati's analysis. When evaluated on abstract plans such as "wedding plans" without execution requirements, these distinctions become less apparent to casual observers.
This confusion stems from the fundamental difference between declarative knowledge about planning processes and procedural capability to execute those plans. Large language models excel at retrieving and synthesizing information about planning methodologies, step sequences, and best practices from their training data. However, this knowledge extraction differs significantly from the computational reasoning required to generate executable plans that account for resource constraints, temporal dependencies, and goal interactions. The research demonstrates that when models produce planning outputs, they often rely on pattern matching from similar scenarios in their training corpus rather than systematic reasoning through problem constraints.
The distinction becomes particularly evident in domains requiring precise execution sequences where subgoal interactions create complex dependencies. Abstract planning scenarios like event organization or project management may appear successful when models generate reasonable-sounding step lists that human evaluators can easily correct or adapt. However, when these same models face formal planning problems with explicit preconditions, effects, and goal states, their performance deteriorates substantially. According to the research findings, this degradation occurs because executable planning requires verification of logical consistency across action sequences, a capability that extends beyond the approximate retrieval mechanisms underlying current language model architectures.
Marketing professionals encounter similar challenges when evaluating AI tools for campaign planning and optimization tasks. Systems may generate comprehensive marketing strategies that include audience segmentation, channel selection, and budget allocation recommendations based on extracted knowledge from successful campaigns in their training data. While these outputs may contain valuable insights and appear strategically sound, they often lack the precise logical reasoning necessary to ensure budget constraints are respected, timing dependencies are maintained, and conflicting objectives are properly balanced across campaign elements.Branded content marketing
LLM-Modulo framework provides alternative approach
Research teams propose the LLM-Modulo framework as a constructive application of current capabilities. This approach leverages language models' idea generation abilities while maintaining external verification systems. "The cleanest approach—one we advocate—is to let an external model-based plan verifier do the back prompting and to certify the correctness of the final solution," the research documentation explains.
This framework acknowledges models' value as knowledge sources while avoiding attribution of autonomous reasoning capabilities. Similar to historical knowledge-based AI systems, LLMs effectively replace human knowledge engineers by providing problem-specific information, albeit with relaxed correctness requirements compared to traditional approaches.
Fine-tuning experiments showed limited improvement in planning performance. Such modifications essentially convert planning tasks into memory-based approximate retrieval, functioning more like compilation from System 2 to System 1 processing rather than demonstrating actual planning capability.
Self-verification claims lack empirical support
Recent studies from Kambhampati's laboratory challenge claims about self-improvement capabilities in large language models. Research on plan verification and constraint verification indicates that self-verification performance actually worsens due to false positives and false negatives during solution evaluation.
The assumption that models excel at verification compared to generation lacks justification for LLM systems, unlike established computational complexity principles. "While for many computational tasks (e.g. those in class NP), the verification is often of lower complexity than generation, that fact doesn't seem particularly relevant for LLMs which are generating (approximately retrieving) guesses," the research explains.
Human-in-the-loop prompting presents additional complications through potential Clever Hans effects. In such scenarios, humans with knowledge of correct solutions unconsciously guide models toward accurate responses, making it difficult to attribute success to model capabilities versus human steering.
Knowledge closure limitations
The discussion extends beyond individual model limitations to broader epistemological constraints. According to Kambhampati's analysis shared on social media in April 2025, "Neither LLMs nor LRMs have the ability to go beyond the humanity's knowledge closure—which is needed for true discoveries."
Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) such as OpenAI's o1 and o3 series represent attempts to address reasoning limitations through verifier signal compilation. However, this approach essentially creates synthetic "reasoning webs" to supplement training data rather than enabling genuine knowledge discovery beyond human capabilities.
The research emphasizes that verifiers themselves remain products of human knowledge, creating inherent bounds on system capabilities. "LLMs/LRMs are great as force multipliers," Kambhampati noted. "But if you really want your AI agent to learn and go beyond the humanity's knowledge closure, you also need your agent to act in the world (not simulator), and learn from that."
Marketing implications for AI adoption
These findings carry significant implications for marketing professionals evaluating AI-powered solutions. Understanding limitations becomes crucial when assessing AI tools that claim advanced reasoning capabilities for campaign optimization and customer analysis.Branded content marketing
Recent PPC Land research indicates that marketing teams increasingly rely on AI for complex decision-making processes, from campaign optimization to customer segmentation strategies. However, the fragility revealed in reasoning studies presents concerns for applications requiring logical consistency.
Marketing analytics applications face particular challenges, as minor changes in data presentation or problem formulation could yield dramatically different insights. This undermines confidence in AI-driven marketing intelligence platforms that depend on consistent logical processing.
The research suggests marketing professionals should distinguish between scenarios requiring genuine reasoning versus those suitable for approximate retrieval and pattern recognition. Many marketing applications may benefit from standard language models rather than more expensive reasoning-enhanced alternatives.Branded content marketing
Current trends show 80% of companies have chosen to block LLM access to their websites, reflecting growing concerns about AI capabilities and limitations across industries. This statistic underscores the importance of understanding actual versus claimed AI capabilities when developing marketing technology strategies.
Technical architecture insights
Language model architecture provides additional context for understanding these limitations. Modern systems use transformer models processing text through attention mechanisms, learning patterns from vast training datasets to understand context and generate responses. The development process includes training phases, continuous improvement through techniques like Supervised Fine-Tuning and Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback, and inference phases generating outputs based on user inputs.Branded content marketing
These systems function as "giant non-veridical memories akin to an external System 1 for us all," according to the research characterization. This framing helps explain both capabilities and limitations observed across different evaluation scenarios.
Future development considerations
The research concludes that while LLMs demonstrate remarkable approximate retrieval abilities suitable for various applications, attributing reasoning or planning capabilities creates false expectations. Effective deployment requires understanding these systems as powerful idea generation tools requiring external verification rather than autonomous reasoning agents.AI for digital advertising
This perspective maintains the potential value of current technologies while establishing realistic boundaries for application development. As marketing professionals increasingly integrate AI tools into their workflows, these distinctions become essential for successful implementation and appropriate expectation management."
Luis Rijo
Jul 19, 2025
https://ppc.land/large-language-models-lack-true-reasoning-capabilities-researchers-argue/
#metaglossia_mundus
Tech giant Meta has apologized and said it has fixed an auto-translation issue that led one of its social media platforms to mistakenly announce the death of Indian politician Siddaramaiah.
By Amarachi Orie, CNN
Fri July 18, 2025
The office of Siddaramaiah, chief minister of the Indian state of Karnataka, criticized Meta's "frequently inaccurate" auto-translation tool. Aijaz Rahi/AP
CNN
—
Tech giant Meta has apologized and said it has fixed an auto-translation issue that led one of its social media platforms to mistakenly announce the death of Indian politician Siddaramaiah.
The chief minister of the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka posted on Instagram Tuesday in the local Kannada language, saying he was paying his respects to the late Indian actress B. Saroja Devi. He also paid tribute to the actress on Facebook and X.
However, Meta’s auto-translation tool inaccurately translated the Instagram post to suggest that Siddaramaiah, who uses just one name, was the one who “passed away.”
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah passed away yesterday multilingual star, senior actress B. Took darshan of Sarojadevi’s earthly body and paid his last respects,” the erroneous, garbled translation read, CNN affiliate News 18 reported.
A Meta spokesperson told news agency Press Trust of India Thursday: “We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologize that this happened.”
Politician calls for use of ‘grossly misleading’ tool to be halted
Also on Thursday, Siddaramaiah criticized the auto-translation tool as “dangerous” in posts on Facebook and X, adding that such “negligence” from tech giants “can harm public understanding & trust.”
His posts included a photo of an email his office sent to Meta (META) voicing “a serious concern” about the auto-translation tool on its platforms, “particularly Facebook and Instagram.”
The email, which had the subject line “Urgent Request to Address Faulty Auto-Translation of Kannada Content on Meta Platforms,” urged the tech company to “temporarily suspend” its auto-translation tool for content written in Kannada “until the translation accuracy is reliably improved.”
His office also requested that Meta work with Kannada language experts to improve the feature.
Kannada is the official language of Karnataka and is also spoken in bordering Indian states. Some 45 million people spoke Kannada as their first language in the early 2010s, and another 15 million spoke it as their second language, based on the latest available data...
The email from Siddaramaiah’s office calls Meta’s auto-translation from Kannada to English “frequently inaccurate and, in some cases, grossly misleading.”
“This poses a significant risk, especially when public communications, official statements, or important messages from the Chief Minister and the Government are incorrectly translated. It can lead to misinterpretation among users, many of whom may not realise that what they are reading is an automated and faulty translation rather than the original message,” it continues.
“Given the sensitivity of public communication, especially from a constitutional functionary like the Chief Minister, such misrepresentations due to flawed translation mechanisms are unacceptable,” it adds.
As of Friday, the auto-translation of Siddaramaiah’s Instagram post reads: “The multilingual star, senior actress B Sarojadevi who passed away yesterday, paid his last respects,” which still appears to be inaccurate.
CNN has reached out to Meta and the Karnataka chief minister’s office for further comment.
The incident comes months after the US tech giant apologized for a technical error that led some Instagram users to see graphic, violent videos."
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/18/tech/meta-apologizes-siddaramaiah-scli-intl
#metaglossia_mundus
"...Instauration d’une obligation de suivre des cours de français dès l’arrivée, conditions linguistiques pour l’accès à la carte de séjour pluriannuel, à la carte de résident et à l’obtention de la nationalité : la maîtrise de la langue française est désormais un moyen de réguler le droit de vivre en France.
Cependant, une récente enquête de l’INSEE montre que 52 % des personnes immigrées dont le français n’est pas la langue maternelle sont en grande difficulté à l’écrit. En 20 ans, la France a construit une véritable « politique linguistique d’immigration ».
Quels sont les principes qui sous-tendent cette politique ? Quelles sont ses limites et ses angles morts ? Comment faire mieux ? Donnons la parole à celles et ceux qui apprennent le français !
Moyens de communication
Téléphone : 04 85 46 74 30
https://www.univ-smb.fr/amphis
Horaires d'ouverture
Jeudi 4 décembre 2025 de 18h30 à 20h.
Localisation
Adresse : place Chorus rue de l'Arlequin, 74960 Cran-Gevrier, France.
Tarifs
Gratuit. Accès libre."
Conférence : Le français pour (s’)intégrer ? 20 ans de politique linguistique migratoire
Par Maude Vadot, enseignante-chercheuse, LLSETI, de l’UFR Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines
https://www.haute-savoie-tourisme.org/evenements/apprendre/conferences/7458105-conference-le-francais-pour-s-integrer-20-ans-de-politique-linguistique-migratoire
#metaglossia_mundus
"Le conseil des Affaires générale de l’Union européenne a retoqué une nouvelle fois la reconnaissance du catalan, du basque et du galicien comme langues officielles de l’UE. Plusieurs pays y restent hostiles.
C’est tout sauf une surprise. Réunis à Bruxelles ce vendredi, les ministres des affaires européennes des 27 ont encore une fois repoussé la reconnaissance comme langues officielles de l’Union Européennes le catalan, le basque et le galicien. La discussion aura d’ailleurs duré moins d’une heure, le temps d’acter les profondes divergences de vues sur ce dossier entre pays. Or le consensus était la condition nécessaire à l’organisation d’un vote.
Des pays comme l’Allemagne, l’Autriche la république tchèque, la Suède, l'Italie, la Croatie, la Finlande ou la Pologne ont, comme au mois de mai dernier, exprimé leurs réticences. Selon eux, la reconnaissance de ces trois langues pose un problème juridique car il faudrait revoir les traités. L’inquiétude est également financière même si l’Espagne a promis de prendre en charges les coûts liés à un éventuel changement de statut du basque, du catalan et du galicien. Pour le gouvernement espagnol, ces oppositions sont surtout d’ordre idéologique. Fernando Sampedro, le secrétaire d’Etat en charge de l’UE estime que les 27 "ne pourront pas esquiver la question indéfiniment".
Le Portugal, la Slovénie, le Danemark, Chypre, la Hongrie, Malte, l’Estonie, la Belgique ou l’Irlande soutiennent quant à eux la demande de l’Espagne. La France, elle, est restée un peu en retrait du débat, mais sans soutenir directement un changement de statut du catalan à Bruxelles."
Baptiste Guiet
Publié le vendredi 18 juillet 2025 à 19:05
https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/international/l-europe-repousse-encore-la-reconnaissance-officielle-de-la-langue-catalane-2482795
#metaglossia_mundus
Joining our communication-conversation this week are two young adults: Jacob Farzanmehr and Jazmin Romero. Jacob lives with Cerebral Palsy and currently attends Alan Hancock Community College. Similarly, Jazmin currently attends Mesa Community College and lives with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
"The Sapir Wharf Hypothesis is a lens through which communication scholars often observe and predict cultures‘ language and worldviews. It states that language determines a native speaker’s perception and categorization of experience. But what does this mean when it’s applied to people living with disabilities, the language we choose to communicate with, and the language others choose to describe us?
Jacob Farzanmehr
Jazmin Romero
Joining our communication-conversation this week are two young adults: Jacob Farzanmehr and Jazmin Romero. Jacob lives with Cerebral Palsy and currently attends Alan Hancock Community College. Similarly, Jazmin currently attends Mesa Community College and lives with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. As we explore their experiences as people with disabilities, we’ll compare and contr
ast how they see themselves through the lens of language—and how others see them. How do words like cripple, disabled, and handicapped differ in their minds from terms like differently-abled?
Tune in to find out! And stick around until the end to hear which terms the Pushing Limits crew are not so fond of.
This program was hosted and produced by Dominick Trevethan with editing assistance from Denny Daughters. Additional commentary provided by Eddie Ytuarte, Bonnie Elliott, Denny Daughters, Adrienne Lauby, and Jacob Lesner-Buxton."
https://kpfa.org/episode/pushing-limits-july-18-2025/
#metaglossia_mundus
“I hope that children, youth, and the rest of the population will join in so that the language doesn't disappear.”
"Meet the participants in the Catalyst Program for Digital Activism for Indigenous Languages of Guatemala! The program, coordinated by Rising Voices, brings together participants from various regions who have projects related to the use, strengthening, revitalization, and/or promotion of an Indigenous language through digital media and tools, and through processes that involve and benefit their communities.
Each participant receives a stipend, peer support, and opportunities for dialogue with people from other regions, languages, and worldviews, as well as with participants in the Mayan Languages program from Mexico and Colombia.
Rising Voices (RV): How do you like to introduce yourself?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: I'm Aury Us, and I speak Maya Uspanteko. I'm a social worker, and the training opportunities I've had with various social issues have motivated me to get involved and contribute to different spaces and processes. Since I was little, I've loved singing and have had several goals, which I've now set out to continue training in order to achieve. My Maya Uspanteko language is a legacy from my maternal grandparents, which I treasure and value. Since I was little, my mother and grandparents taught me to speak it.
RV: What would you like to share with the world about your language and territory?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: According to some research, the Uspantek language dates back more than 500 years. However, it is currently considered one of the minority Mayan languages in Guatemala, with fewer than 5,000 speakers. There are few of us speakers left because Spanish now predominates in the territory, and for this reason, our language is no longer promoted among children and youth.
The municipality is known as Uspantán, which comes from the Nahuatl term Uzpantlán. Some of its speakers call it Tz'unun Kaab’ in the Uspantek language, which translates to ‘Sweet Sparrow’ in Spanish.
Portrait of Aury Us. Photo shared with her permission.
RV: What dreams do you have for your language in the digital and non-digital world?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: I haven't lost hope that the Uspanteko language will grow and be valued by the local people. I believe it's important to take advantage of various opportunities to raise awareness and encourage people to value it. My dream is that this project will help others get involved in various initiatives for teaching and learning the language.
RV: What is your project about in this Catalyst Program?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: The K'aslemal Yolooj-Uspanteko project translates to ‘Life in the Uspantán Language’ in Spanish. It involves teaching and learning the Mayan language, which will be carried out with children from the urban and rural areas of the municipality of Uspantán, known as Tz'unun Kaab’ in our language.
The idea is to create spaces for children to record popular children's songs which are originally in Spanish, and adapt them into video format with translation into Maya Uspantán, so that they can be disseminated through social media on local websites, personal accounts, and local radio stations.
RV: Why is it important for you to create and navigate processes of using, strengthening, revitalizing, and/or promoting your language through digital media and tools?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: It is important to raise awareness about the importance of the Maya Uspantek language because, despite various events that have brought it close to extinction, our people and our language have survived for more than 500 years thanks to our ancestors passing it down from generation to generation.
I believe that teaching and learning the Uspantek language will contribute to raising awareness among both native and non-native speakers. I hope that children, youth, and the rest of the population will join in so that the language does not disappear, because it is in our hands to keep it alive.
RV: What would you say excites you about sharing this process with other Indigenous language speakers in Colombia/Guatemala?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: It's important to maintain hope in the face of various obstacles, because the universe has chosen us to be one of the seeds for our languages. Sometimes we think we don't have the capacity to leave a mark on this universe, but if we proudly value and treasure our roots and our ancestors, it will allow us to find people who will help us advance our goals, such as teaching our native language.
RV: What would you like to say to other Maya Uspanteko speakers about continuing to speak and strengthen their language?
Translation Original Quote
Aury Us: Let's not allow our language to disappear; we must strengthen it. Only then will we value the legacy and teachings left by our grandparents, and only then will we demonstrate our worth."
https://globalvoices.org/2025/07/18/childrens-songs-translated-into-maya-uspantek-aury-us-project-in-guatemala/
#metaglossia_mundus
"Translating impoliteness - literature review, translation challenges, and translation strategies in cross-cultural communication
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume 12, Article number: 1121 (2025) Cite this article
Abstract
In recent years, research integrating translation studies with impoliteness has steadily increased, significantly contributing to the interdisciplinary development of both fields. However, there remains a lack of reviews that examine how impoliteness is translated across languages and cultures, particularly from a pragmatic standpoint. This study addresses this gap by providing a focused literature review of translation studies on impoliteness, centered on current research trends, methodologies, and analytical perspectives. Twenty-one articles published between 1998 and 2023 were selected from the Scopus and Science Direct databases, focusing on translation studies and impoliteness. Analysis of these studies reveals that cultural differences represent a primary challenge when translating impoliteness. In response, strategies such as euphemism and omission are commonly adopted, often resulting in a dilution of the original pragmatic force. The findings of this study aim to guide future interdisciplinary research on translation studies and impoliteness for translators and researchers, highlighting key challenges and practical strategies in translating impoliteness across cultural boundaries."
Review
Open access
Wei Yang, Syed Nurulakla Syed Abdullah, …Mingxing Yang...
Published: 18 July 2025
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-025-05092-4
#metaglossia_mundus
"Riyad, 17 juillet 2025, SPA -- La Commission saoudienne de la littérature, de l’édition et de la traduction (LPTC) a organisé une rencontre virtuelle consacrée à la traduction juridique, soulignant son importance dans le développement des relations internationales et commerciales.
Les échanges ont mis en avant les compétences requises pour exercer cette spécialité, qui va bien au-delà de la simple traduction linguistique. Elle exige une maîtrise des concepts juridiques, des normes rigoureuses et une connaissance précise des textes législatifs, contrats et accords.
Cette rencontre s’inscrit dans une série d’initiatives destinées à renforcer le dialogue avec les professionnels du secteur et à soutenir le développement de la traduction et de l’édition en Arabie Saoudite.
-- SPA
12:05 Heure locale 09:05 GMT
0022"
https://spa.gov.sa/fr/N2362300
Kim Hye-soon a été désignée lauréate du Prix international de littérature pour la traduction allemande de son recueil « Autobiographie de la mort ».
"La poétesse Kim Hye-soon remporte le Prix international de littérature du HKW
2025-07-18 09:55:37/Update: 2025-07-18 10:54:43
La poétesse sud-coréenne Kim Hye-soon a été désignée lauréate du Prix international de littérature pour la traduction allemande de son recueil « Autobiographie de la mort ». Elle devient ainsi la première sud-Coréenne à recevoir cette récompense, décernée par la Maison des Cultures du Monde (HKW) en Allemagne.
La cérémonie de remise des prix s’est tenue jeudi. Etant donné que cette distinction est conjointement attribuée à l’auteur et au traducteur, Park Sool et Uljana Wolf, qui ont assuré la traduction de l’ouvrage du coréen vers l’allemand, ont eux aussi été couronnés.
« Autobiographie de la mort » est un recueil poétique publié en 2016. Il a été inspiré par l’effondrement de Kim dans une station de métro en 2015. Elle y évoque diverses tragédies sociales telles que l’épidémie de MERS et le naufrage du ferry Sewol, à travers 49 poèmes.
Créé en 2009, le Prix international de littérature du HKW récompense chaque année une œuvre contemporaine traduite en allemand. Le prix est doté d’un montant de 35 000 euros, dont 20 000 pour l’auteur et le reste pour le traducteur."
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=f&Seq_Code=91336
#metaglossia_mundus
"Le réseau LTT (Lexicologie, Terminologie, Traduction): Appel à projets AUF 2024-2025 : le réseau LTT met en œuvre sa feuille de route
Formations sur l'intelligence artificielle, mobilité universitaire francophone : le réseau Lexicologie, Terminologie, Traduction (LTT), lauréat de l’appel à projets AUF 2024-2025, a engagé la première phase de ses actions. Retour sur les temps forts de ce déploiement.
Le réseau LTT (Lexicologie, Terminologie, Traduction) a lancé deux chantiers majeurs de sa feuille de route :
• Un cycle de formations sur les enjeux de l’intelligence artificielle (IA)
• Un programme de coopération universitaire Nord Sud, fondé sur la mobilité étudiante.
Trois formations pour sensibiliser aux enjeux de l’IA
En partenariat avec ses laboratoires membres, le réseau LTT a proposé trois cours de sensibilisation entre avril et mai 2025, dans le cadre du Projet Réseaux AUF 2024.
En avril, DataFranca.org est intervenu sur les fondements de l’IA et ses enjeux éthiques, dans une perspective de littératie numérique.
En mai, une deuxième formation a abordé les usages professionnels des agents conversationnels, en s’intéressant aux risques cognitifs et éthiques liés à leur utilisation abusive.
Une troisième session a exploré les méthodes d’acquisition de termes spécialisés, notamment via des logiciels dédiés et ChatGPT, avec un focus sur le développement de l’esprit critique dans l’éducation.
Une coopération universitaire Nord Sud concrétisée
Parallèlement, un appel à projets internes a permis de faire émerger un partenariat entre :
• Le CERTTAL (Centre de recherche en traductologie, en terminologie arabe et en langues) de l’École de Traducteurs et d’Interprètes de Beyrouth (ETIB),
• Le centre TELL (Technologies et Environnement linguistiques) de l’Université de Mons (Belgique).
Ce partenariat a pour objectif l’élaboration d’un cours d’initiation à la linguistique computationnelle et à la pré-édition, destiné à des étudiants de niveau licence.
Une première mobilité dans le cadre de ce projet s’est tenue en juin 2025 au centre TELL de Mons. Elle illustre pleinement la mission du réseau LTT : soutenir la lexicologie, la terminologie et la traduction à travers des dynamiques de coopération et de formation, en assurant la relève scientifique francophone par une mobilité internationale solidaire.
🔗 Plus d’actualités du réseau LTT à retrouver sur son site web.
DATE DE PUBLICATION : 18/07/2025"
https://www.auf.org/nouvelles/actualites/appel-projets-auf-2024-2025-le-reseau-ltt-met-en-oeuvre-sa-feuille-de-route/
#metaglossia_mundus
This year, our free, virtual reading series gathers voices from across time zones for an international celebration!
"This August we once again celebrate Women in Translation (#WiT) Month! This reading series was initiated by blogger Meytal Radzinski in 2014 to raise awareness of translated literature by women, queer, and nonbinary authors, and promote gender and cultural diversity in literary publishing. This year, our free, virtual reading series gathers voices from across time zones for an international celebration!
Organized under the support of PEN America and the PEN America Translation Committee, these events bring together three panels of translators, joined by their authors, working in a diversity of languages. The readings will be followed by brief Q&A discussions. We hope you’ll join us for these one-of-a-kind bilingual readings!
The Women in Translation Reading Series will take place on Zoom on August 7, 14, and 21, 2025. The conversations will be moderated by Nancy Naomi Carlson, Christina Daub, and Marguerite Feitlowitz.
The August 14 session will be moderated by Marguerite Feitlowitz, with readings in Chinese (Taiwan), German, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Ukraine), and Vietnamese.
Marguerite Feitlowitz has published five volumes of translations from French and Spanish, most recently Night, by Ennio Moltedo, Pillar of Salt: An Autobiography with Nineteen Erotic Sonnets, by Salvador Novo, and plays by Griselda Gambaro. She is the author of A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture."
https://pen.org/event/women-in-translation-month-reading-series-2025-session-2/
#metaglossia_mundus
"The Translation Movement Between East and West (Arabic version)
BY VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS
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http://doi.org/10.56656/101249
SKU: 101249
Date: 2025
Edition: 1
ISBN: 9781788149198
Format: Paperback
No. of Pages: 292
Summary
From the earliest periods of recorded history until today, translation has played a crucial role in disseminating scientific knowledge. The translation movement, as we will explore in this symposium proceedings, has been a tool and a driving force in the exchange of knowledge and the development of science, enlightening us about the interconnectedness of our world.
During the medieval period, the renowned Graeco-Arabic translation movement established Arabic as the lingua franca for scientific discourse. Subsequently, Latin became the dominant lingua franca of scientific exchange throughout much of the medieval and early modern eras. In more recent times, a reverse translation movement has emerged, facilitating the translation of various European languages into Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman.
To illuminate the significant scientific exchanges and cultural fusion between East and West and to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Al-Furqān with special projects, events, and publications, we organised a one-day symposium in 2023. This milestone honoured our late Chairman, HE Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (may he rest in peace), and his vision of bridging cultures - a fundamental mission of Al-Furqān and a key reason for its establishment in London. The symposium, focusing on three major translation movements, underscored our unwavering commitment to fostering dialogue and understanding between diverse cultures through the power of translation, inspiring us all to continue this important work.
Content
From the earliest periods of recorded history until today, translation has played a crucial role in disseminating scientific knowledge. The translation movement, as we will explore in this symposium proceedings, has been a tool and a driving force in the exchange of knowledge and the development of science, enlightening us about the interconnectedness of our world.
During the medieval period, the renowned Graeco-Arabic translation movement established Arabic as the lingua franca for scientific discourse. Subsequently, Latin became the dominant lingua franca of scientific exchange throughout much of the medieval and early modern eras. In more recent times, a reverse translation movement has emerged, facilitating the translation of various European languages into Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman.
To illuminate the significant scientific exchanges and cultural fusion between East and West and to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Al-Furqān with special projects, events, and publications, we organised a one-day symposium in 2023..."
https://al-furqan.com/publication/the-translation-movement-between-east-and-west-arabic-version-9781788149198/
#metaglossia_mundus
Le livre écrit par Adolf Hitler a été publié pour la première fois il y a tout juste cent ans, le 18 juillet 1925
"Voici la folle histoire de la traduction de Mein Kampf en français, interdite par Hitler lui même
Ce vendredi, cela fait un siècle jour pour jour que le dictateur nazi Adolf Hitler a publié pour la première fois Mein Kampf, livre dans lequel il expose sa « vision du monde » et son idéologie.
Jamais interdit en France, l’ouvrage est entré dans le domaine public en 2016 et est en circulation libre dans le pays, comme partout dans le monde.
Si le livre est toujours aussi tabou aujourd’hui, c’est parce que « les ignominies antisémites qu’on y trouve sont toujours aussi révoltantes aujourd’hui qu’il y a cent ans », pointe l’historien Florent Brayard.
C’est l’un des livres les plus tabous de la période contemporaine. Mein Kampf, le livre dans lequel Adolf Hitler expose sa « vision du monde » et son idéologie empreinte de haine, de racisme, d’antisémitisme et de nationalisme, a été publié pour la première fois le 18 juillet 1925. Cent ans après, l’ouvrage suscite toujours de vives réactions et controverses, certains appelant à son retrait des rayons, d’autres soulignant son importance historique. Quoi qu’il en soit, il ne laisse pas indifférent, et heureusement.
Contrairement à la croyance répandue, Mein Kampf n’a donc jamais été interdit à la vente en France pour l’idéologie qu’il véhiculait. Jusqu’en 2016, année où il est entré dans le domaine public, une seule édition était en circulation en France : une traduction non autorisée parue en 1934 aux Nouvelles éditions latines, attaquée en justice par Hitler et les ayants droit de l’ouvrage original, le ministère des Finances bavarois. Si aucune autre édition n’a circulé, c’est donc avant tout car le ce dernier refusait toute nouvelle édition, même critique.
Un livre massivement en circulation
La seule mesure prise en France a été « l’introduction d’un avant-propos d’une dizaine de pages mettant en garde le lecteur contre les dangers de l’idéologie hitlérienne » en 1978, précise Florent Brayard, historien, directeur de recherche au CNRS, membre du Centre de recherches historiques de l’EHESS (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales). Celle-ci faisait suite à une action en justice de Serge Klarsfeld entre autres. L’ouvrage était pour le reste « vendu légalement et on pouvait le commander en librairie », poursuit-il.
Depuis 2016 et son entrée dans le domaine public, Mein Kampf a été réédité en France et est disponible sur les grandes plateformes de vente, au milieu des autres livres. Florent Brayard rappelle aussi « qu’il suffit de trois clics sur Internet pour télécharger une version PDF ». De ce fait, l’ouvrage « est massivement en circulation partout dans le monde depuis les années 1990 ».
Un livre « qui fait partie de notre passé »
C’est ce qui a conduit l’historien à participer à l’élaboration du livre Historiciser le mal (éd. Fayard, 2021), une version de Mein Kampf présentant analyse critique, mise en contexte et déconstruction ligne par ligne de l’ouvrage de Hitler. « Puisque Mein Kampf est déjà en circulation, autant faire en sorte que ce soit dans une bonne édition, c’est-à-dire une édition critique », justifie le spécialiste. Bien loin de l’édition d’origine, qui s’est vendue à plus de 12 millions d’exemplaires entre 1925 et 1945 en Allemagne.
D’autant que ce livre « est une source fondamentale pour l’Histoire, appuie Florent Brayard. Le nazisme a été la pire expérience du XXe siècle, la plus criminelle et la plus barbare, et Mein Kampf permet de mieux comprendre le mystère de l’évolution de cette société criminelle. » Insistant bien sur le fait que cet ouvrage soit « ennuyeux, raciste » et « [promeuve] une idéologie nauséabonde », l’historien rappelle qu’il « fait partie de notre passé, et on ne peut pas sélectionner ce qu’on souhaiterait mettre en avant dans notre passé, ni faire comme si Mein Kampf n’a pas existé ».
Un ouvrage « d’actualité »
Et si l’ouvrage fait toujours parler de lui, c’est parce que « les ignominies antisémites qu’on y trouve sont toujours aussi révoltantes aujourd’hui qu’il y a cent ans, pointe l’historien. Si une autre personne reprenait aujourd’hui en son nom les horreurs que Hitler peut dire sur les juifs, les Polonais, les Tsiganes etc., il serait condamné, et ce serait juste ».
Voici la folle histoire de la traduction de Mein Kampf en français, interdite par Hitler lui même
C’est pour cette raison que le livre du dictateur n’est pas près de tomber dans les oubliettes de l’Histoire : « Je pense qu’il s’écoulera encore des siècles avant qu’on oublie la Shoah, et tant qu’on se souvient de la Shoah, Mein Kampf est un livre d’actualité », prévoit Florent Brayard. Un ouvrage d’autant plus d’actualité que les manœuvres politiques en vogue actuellement dans le monde - l’historien cite notamment les Etats-Unis –, en premier lieu « l’usage massif du mensonge » et la rhétorique « de l’élection volée », sont « la preuve qu’on ne peut malheureusement pas refermer le passé et se dire qu’on s’en fiche parce que c’était il y a un siècle », avertit Florent Brayard."
Publié le 18/07/2025 à 10h32 • Mis à jour le 18/07/2025 à 10h32
Pourquoi « Mein Kampf » ne tombera pas de sitôt aux oubliettes de l’Histoire https://share.google/D8CiTDwENrGiLg69i
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"The machine-learning system ChatGPT has a remarkable capacity to generate sophisticated and intelligible text, with far-reaching implications for research development and dissemination (see Nature 614, 214–216 (2023); Eva A. M. van Dis et al. Nature 614, 224–226; 2023). However, current debate over the technology focuses on users’ experiences in English. I asked ChatGPT a set of neuroscience questions in English; when I asked for answers to the same set in French and Arabic, the results were surprising...."
#metaglossia mundus