Metaglossia: The Translation World

"“It's a complete retranslation. It's not a revision of the old version,” Wilson told The Associated Press during a recent Zoom interview from her home in Philadelphia, where she is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. “I'm about halfway through.”

Regarded as the first major English-language translation of Homer’s epic by a woman, her book was already a bestseller and a culture-wars flashpoint before the release of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation. But she says her translation methods have become more sophisticated and that enough time has passed for her to see some flaws in her work — as an example, she overused the word “slave” when ancient Greek had different terms for different categories of enslaved people. The new edition will be longer, she says, and will better reflect the differing social worlds of Homer’s poem.

Fiction writers and poets, from Henry James to Walt Whitman, have revised and reissued early works. But translators rarely start over on a full-length text — especially not within a decade of the original work's completion, and not when the translation has had the success of Wilson's “Odyssey.”

“I can’t really come up with a previous example of this situation,” says Kate Deimling, who oversees the literary division of the American Translators Association. “It’s not unheard of for translators to go back and make some corrections or edits in subsequent editions, but that’s not the same as a retranslation.”

Asked how her publisher responded, Wilson says her decision was “very controversial.” She says she’s “very much aware” that having two recent editions by the same translator would be a challenge for teachers, and hopes they won’t “curse” her name. Her editor at Liveright Publishing, Peter Simon, said in a statement that since she “has poured so much of her life and scholarship into ‘The Odyssey’ ... her new approach is bound to be thrilling.”

Fame was of prime importance to the ancient Greeks, and Wilson is the rare classical scholar who has firsthand knowledge of a public life. Wilson's 2017 translation was praised by many critics for making “The Odyssey” feel more modern and accessible, but also faced criticism online for making the story “woke.” Her “Odyssey” has now sold more than a million copies, and Wilson has again become a reason to argue.

Nolan had cited her translation and its opening sentence, “Tell me about a complicated man,” as inspiration for his epic film. Wilson, who says she will “probably” leave the line unchanged in the next edition, did not return his admiration. In interviews with the AP and other media outlets, and in an assessment for the London Review of Books, she called the movie grandiose and superficial, and at times incoherent.

Her reaction to the film has been extensively — even obsessively — defended and denounced, including by Joyce Carol Oates, who faulted her “haughty superiority.” Nolan has yet to respond directly, although, while being interviewed by podcaster Zhong Shu, he did speak out against “amateur criticism” for lacking the cinematic background essential for understanding the language of movies.

Wilson's current prominence aligns with the release of her new collection of essays, conceived well before Nolan's movie came out: “Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea,” a book that arrives Tuesday with blurbs from Salman Rushdie and “Song of Achilles” novelist Madeline Miller. It features a long section on translating “The Odyssey,” with tough assessments of modern editions by Daniel Mendelsohn and the late Robert Fagles. Other chapters take on the “slut-shaming” of Helen of Troy, offer tribute to the Roman poet Catullus and point to how some of the most famous words ever spoken by Robert F. Kennedy — his quoting Aeschylus in the aftermath of the Rev. Martin Luther King's assassination — echoed author Edith Hamilton's mistranslation.

During her interview, Wilson also discussed her feelings about celebrity, her disdain for Rick Riordan's “Percy Jackson” books (Riordan, through a spokesperson at Penguin Random House, declined to comment) and her renewed appreciation for Stoic philosophy."

https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/wireStory/emily-wilsons-odyssey-cultural-flashpoint-now-shes-retranslating-136024176
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"August 27, 2026

The Vatican's Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments finalized Aug. 4 English and Spanish translations of the Mass "for the care of creation," a new set of prayers and texts the Vatican added to the Roman Missal in June 2025.

The completion of the translations proved providential for the Seattle Archdiocese, which plans to use the new texts (known as a formulary) at a Mass Sept. 2 celebrated by Archbishop Paul Etienne at St. James Cathedral to open its celebration of the Season of Creation. The monthlong period of prayer and actions for God's creation runs from Sept. 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.

Related: What is the Season of Creation?
"The timing is ideal to be able to celebrate it when it's new and fresh and just start a new tradition, I guess, to do this each year," said Corinna Laughlin, the cathedral's pastoral assistant for liturgy and consultant for the archdiocese's liturgy office.

The Mass for creation joins 17 other "civil needs" formularies in the Roman Missal, among others for particular needs and other circumstances. Several touch on environment-related themes, such as times of harvest and famine along with prayers for good weather.

Vatican officials said its development was in response to requests for a liturgical means to celebrate the messages of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home." In that papal teaching document, Francis bemoaned the numerous ecological threats facing the planet, including climate change and biodiversity loss, and called on Christians to act.

Tim Hansen carries a statue of an angel retrieved from the debris as his wife, Shelly, and Nancy Fuller survey their destroyed home in Spokane, Wash., Aug. 3, 2026, after a wildfire swept through the neighborhood. (OSV News/Reuters/David Ryder)

"At this time it is evident that the work of creation is seriously threatened because of the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods God has endowed to our care," Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the divine worship dicastery, wrote in the decree issuing the new formulary.

The first iteration of the Mass for creation was celebrated in July 2025 by Leo at the Borgo Laudato Si' ecology project in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome. He is set to do so again on Sept. 1. But before it could be used in most churches in the U.S., it first needed to be translated from Latin.

Along with the exemplar originale Latin text, the Vatican released working translations to assist national bishops' conferences in preparing them for use in their native languages. The English translation was led by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, which includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In June, the U.S. bishops' unanimously approved the translation, which were then sent back to Rome for final confirmation.

A similar process unfolded for the Spanish translation, which was undertaken through a collaboration by the U.S. bishops' conference and the Mexican Episcopal Conference.

Fr. Dustin Dought, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Divine Worship, said the procedure for approving adaptations of liturgical texts was outlined in Francis' 2017 motu proprio ("on his own initiative") Magnum Principium. That document gave bishop conferences responsibility for translating into local languages.

"His insight there was that the conference of bishops is closest to the culture and language that it serves," Dought said.

The new formulary will be included in future editions of the Catholic Lectionary for Mass. In the meantime, the U.S. bishops' conference has posted translations for both the English and Spanish versions of the Mass for the care of creation on its website, as well as bulletin inserts.

Along with creation-themed prayers, the formulary suggests readings for the Liturgy of the Word, including passages from Matthew's Gospel where Jesus calms the sea and where he instructs his disciples to learn from the birds in the air and flowers in the field to trust in God's providence.

Before the Mass for creation was issued, some Catholic churches prepared ecological liturgies at various times, even at the occasion of the first Earth Day in 1970. The practice has grown in the past decade, including with "Green Masses," following Francis' invitation for Catholics to join fellow Christians in marking the Season of Creation.

Having a Mass for the care of creation formally added to the Roman Missal is a major step, said Jesuit Fr. James Hug, who for years has developed liturgical resources for the Season of Creation.

"It's official, and that makes it legitimate to use," he said, calling the prayers "lovely" and affirming the Christian mission to care for the world God has created.

That stamp of approval from the Vatican is important, Hug added, for many priests who may have been hesitant to use other creation-centered liturgical resources in the past, whether ones he prepared or from groups like the Catholic Climate Covenant or Laudato Si' Movement.

"It says that this is the concern of the whole church," Laughlin said. "This isn't just a thing we pray about but a really important universal concern."

At Seattle's St. James Cathedral, the new formulary will be used at the Mass with the archbishop as well as a weekend Mass later in the month. Other parishes have also expressed an interest in planning their own liturgies for creation.

Related: The new Mass 'for the care of creation' is a mixed bag
Dought said his office has received many inquiries about when the Mass for the care of creation would be available.

Preparations are already in the works in at least a half-dozen dioceses to celebrate the Mass for the care of creation. That includes the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese, where Archbishop Bernard Hebda will be the lead celebrant Sept. 6 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Lake St Croix Beach, situated along the St. Croix River in Minnesota.

School Sister of Notre Dame Kathleen Storms, who too for decades has developed creation prayer services, is eagerly anticipating the first use of the new formulary in the Twin Cities region.

Sr. Kathleen Storms shows tomatoes grown in a raised garden bed made by her brother with recycled cedar planks at her apartment in West St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 17, 2022. (CNS/The Catholic Spirit/Dave Hrbacek)

"Even with everything we've seen just this summer — with the fires and the floods and the huge hurricanes and all of the rest — sometimes there is no connection between what's going on there and what the church teaches about care for creation," she said.

Storms hopes the new Mass for creation will lead more priests to uplift Catholic social teaching on creation and to preach on environmental concerns. How and when a formulary is used is mostly left to the discretion of the pastor, who weighs it against other feast days and holy dates on the liturgical calendar.

Catholics who have been eagerly anticipating the new formulary see in it the potential to expand awareness of Laudato Si' and other church teachings on creation, as well as cultivate the ecological conversion both Leo and Francis have said is essential to spur the level of collective action needed to address crises like climate change and deforestation.

"The liturgy does something that a lecture can't do. The liturgy does something that a catechism can't do," Dought said.

Laughlin, the liturgical consultant in the Seattle Archdiocese, turned to the church adage "Lex orandi, lex credendi" — how we pray expresses what we believe.

"What we lift up at Mass really shapes our understanding of what church teaching is, even without going to other documents. ... It tells us this is part of what we believe. This is significant enough and substantial enough that this is part of the Mass, which is source and summit.

"So I think planting the seeds there will make a difference, because obviously we need to be praying about this.""
https://www.ncronline.org/news/mass-care-creation-ready-us-churches-after-vatican-finalizes-translations
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

As AI does more of our thinking, how much of ourselves do we surrender along the way?

"

 

Cognitive Selfhood and the Last Human Right

As AI takes on more thinking, what happens to the self doing the thinking?

Updated August 26, 2026

 Reviewed by Davia Sills

 

Key points

AI is changing how we think and how we experience ourselves.

Cognitive selfhood means remaining meaningfully present in our own thinking.

Every human right begins with a self that is there to hold it.

 

Over 100 years ago, Auguste Deter sat across from the physician Alois Alzheimer, struggling to answer simple questions about her life. Her memory was failing, along with other elements of cognition that most of us take for granted. At one point, she offered a remarkable description of what was happening to her: “I have, so to speak, lost myself.”

 

Her words are powerful and resonant. She didn’t simply say that she had lost her memory or couldn’t remember. She said she had lost herself. Alzheimer’s disease is much more complicated than memory loss, but her words point toward something we almost intuitively understand. Cognition isn’t simply something the self possesses; it’s part of how the self is constructed and experienced.

 

We tend to think of cognition in functional and rather practical terms. We remember, reason, judge, imagine, and decide. When these capacities begin to fail in dementia, something deeper may change along with them. People with dementia can certainly retain important aspects of identity and agency even with significant cognitive decline. But Deter’s observation raises a fundamental question.

 

How much of who we are is connected to the thinking we do?

 

Artificial intelligence approaches that question from a very different direction. With Alzheimer’s disease, cognition can be involuntarily diminished. With AI, cognition can be expanded while portions of the cognitive work are voluntarily handed somewhere else. The machine becomes a cognitive alternative that remembers, writes, analyzes, and participates in decisions that were once the domain of our human brains.

 

AI’s output can be extraordinary, yet our own participation in producing that output becomes smaller.

 

This is the emerging issue of cognitive surrender. The concern isn’t that AI makes us less intelligent or somehow diminishes our humanity. AI can be an extraordinary cognitive partner, and many use it that way every day.

 

But its growing role in our thinking raises another question about what I would call cognitive selfhood.

 

Cognitive selfhood is our meaningful participation in the thinking through which we experience and become ourselves. It doesn’t require that every thought originate independently inside our heads—that was never true. Teachers, books, conversations, and culture have always shaped our thinking. But I believe that AI introduces something different in degree and perhaps eventually in kind. It can enter the production of an idea before that idea has fully formed within us. It can complete the argument, suggest the judgment, and sometimes provide the thought itself.

 

This creates a curious inversion. In dementia, cognitive capacity can decline, and the experience of self can become disrupted along with it. With AI, our cognitive capacity can increase dramatically even as our participation in that cognition decreases. We may know more and reason more effectively while becoming less certain about where our own cognition ends and another intelligence begins.

 

This is where the idea of a human right becomes relevant, although perhaps in a more fundamental sense than we typically use the term. And to be clear, I’m not arguing for another item in a legal or political catalog of rights. I’m thinking about something that comes before the catalog itself. As AI becomes increasingly capable of participating in our thinking, there may be something fundamental worth preserving.

 

We must preserve our participation in the cognitive processes that help constitute who we are.

 

Auguste Deter’s words came from the tragedy of a disease that was taking something from her. AI presents almost the opposite circumstance. We are gaining extraordinary cognitive capability, often willingly and enthusiastically. Yet her words offer a strangely relevant and important warning. If cognition is deeply connected to selfhood, the question isn’t simply how much thinking a machine can do for us. It’s how much of our own thinking we need to retain to remain meaningfully ourselves.

 

 

Why 'Relational Foreclosure' Matters in the Age of AI

After all, every other human right assumes there is a self there to hold it. And that makes cognitive selfhood something more fundamental than another right on the list. It may be the last human right because, without it, the others begin to lose their meaning."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-digital-self/202608/cognitive-selfhood-the-last-human-right

#metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

"Intron Voice AI a déployé Sahara v2.5, une plateforme d’intelligence artificielle vocale capable de prendre en charge 63 langues africaines. Le système intègre le tout premier modèle de reconnaissance automatique de la parole (ASR) trilingue du continent, traitant simultanément le kinyarwanda, l’anglais et le français. Cette mise à jour logicielle majeure permet de gérer de manière fluide le « code-switching » (mélange de langues) sur 12 paires de langues différentes, ouvrant la voie à des applications de synthèse vocale parfaitement adaptées aux usages locaux..."
https://afriqueitnews.com/intelligence-artificielle-ia/ia-vocale-intron-brise-la-barriere-de-la-langue-avec-sahara-v2-5/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"The Ministry of Culture is launching a call for proposals under the 2027 Programme for the Translation and Publication of National Literature Abroad, funded from the state budget. Foreign publishers interested in participating may submit their applications until 26 October 2026.

Under the Programme, translation and publishing projects featuring works by authors who are citizens of the Republic of Moldova may receive funding. Works written in Romanian are eligible, while, in the case of national minorities in the Republic of Moldova, works written in their respective languages may also be considered.

Priority will be given to contemporary literature and to works by authors who have received the European Union Prize for Literature, the National Prize of the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Culture Prize, awards granted by the Writers’ Union of Romania and the Writers’ Union of Moldova, as well as awards presented by cultural journals in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

Foreign publishers may select works by Moldovan authors both from the Indicative List of Works by Moldovan Authors Recommended for Translation Abroad, published in the electronic catalogue of the Ministry of Culture, and from books published in Romanian, at their own discretion.

The following book categories are eligible for funding: fiction, including prose, poetry and drama; non-fiction, including reportage, memoirs, diaries, biographies and autobiographies, and essays; history books, particularly those addressing the history of Bessarabia; albums; books for children and young adults; graphic novels and comics; as well as anthologies of poetry, prose and drama.

Both printed books and e-books are eligible for funding. The maximum amount of funding available for a translation project is MDL 300,000. An eligible publisher may receive funding only once during a budgetary year, and a project may include no more than five book titles.

The funding application must include:

the funding application/standard application form, in accordance with the Regulation;
a copy of the letter of intent concluded with the copyright holder;
a copy of the letter of intent concluded with the translator;
the translator’s CV;
a copy of the certificate of registration or other documents confirming the applicant’s legal status;
a report on the applicant’s publications over the past two years;
the applicant’s editorial plan for the following year;
the project’s financial calculation sheet/budget;
a declaration on the applicant’s own financial contribution, amounting to at least 30% of the project’s total budget;
a strategy for the translation, publication, distribution and promotion of the translated and published works abroad.
Applications may be submitted in hard copy to the Ministry of Culture, 21 Nicolae Iorga Street, MD-2012, Chișinău, or electronically to cancelaria@mc.gov.md .

The application must be prepared in Times New Roman, size 12, in PDF format, and all documents must be included in a single archive file.

Projects that do not meet the participation requirements will not be considered.

The Regulation on the mechanism for financing the translation and publication of national literature abroad from the state budget is available here.

For further information regarding the submission of applications and the participation requirements, please contact the responsible representative by telephone at 022 823 825 or by email at olga.zimbriean@mc.gov.md ."
https://mc.gov.md/ro/content/ministry-culture-launches-call-proposals-2027-programme-translation-and-publication-national
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

The program has more than 50 languages in its database and will allow officers to interact with the public in the language of their choice.
"Winnipeg police adding AI translation tool to body-worn cameras
Program has dozens of languages in database, officers hope it will improve communication with public

Karen Pauls · CBC News · Posted: Aug 26, 2026 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 26

Winnipeg police are adding an artificial intelligence translation tool to the body-worn cameras officers are currently testing.

The program has more than 50 languages in its database and will allow officers to interact with the public in the language of their choice.

"If an officer should come across somebody and not even recognize the language that they're speaking, they simply have to push one small button, and the device will hear and recognize that language and then translate it to English," said George Labossière, deputy chief of operations with the Winnipeg Police Service.

"The officer can then answer back in English — or French, if they're French-speaking. And it'll translate into the language of that individual they're dealing with."

The police service has not yet activated the translation feature. About 40 officers are currently using the cameras as a pilot project, and they're being trained on the new translation program. The service hopes to launch it by Friday.

Labossière hopes the tool will help improve communication with the public.

"I think it will provide many people … the opportunity to express themselves in their home native language," he said. "And the reason I think that's important is because when you're dealing with [an] emergency situation, the emotions are high. It might be difficult to articulate what you want to say. To let them say it in their native tongue is so much easier."

A Toronto Police Service officer demonstrates body-worn cameras made by Axon Enterprise, Inc. They have become mandatory for police services across Canada, and some are now incorporating AI translation programs. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Michael Weinrath, professor emeritus at the University of Winnipeg's criminal justice department, said the technology could help police with de-escalation.

"There's some potential to eliminate serious incidents and perhaps even deaths in some situations," he said.

Weinrath said AI translation could also assist police investigations, as long as the information is carefully verified.

40 police officers in Winnipeg to start wearing body cams

Calgary police body cams to translate dozens of languages using AI

That could be particularly important in the moments immediately after an incident, when someone's recollection of events is more accurate, he said.

Testing so far has produced translation accuracy rates in the low-to-mid 90 per cent range, but Labossière said officers will still be expected to verify important information. The Calgary Police Service also launched the program earlier this year.

"Winnipeg, Canada [have] become increasingly diverse," Weinrath said. "It seems like a slam dunk that you would be able to improve your communication with citizens through the use of this technology."

Critics of the use of AI by police say the public has a right to know when technology such as this is being used.

"We're moving into an era where technology and surveillance is occurring in ways that legislators, courts and others never contemplated," said Shakir Rahim, director of the criminal justice program for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

"When these new technologies are being deployed, it's critically important that they're evaluated for Charter compliance, and also that the public knows what is going on, and so can provide input into their rollout."

Shakir Rahim, a lawyer working with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, worries there's not enough oversight and accountability over the use of artificial intelligence by police. (Sarah MacMillan/CBC)
The Winnipeg Police Service has set up an AI committee with experts from the University of Manitoba who are providing advice and oversight, Labossière said.

"When it comes to serving the needs of the public, I think it's important that we do use these tools, but not in a way to infringe on people's rights and privacies," he said.

For example, the service is taking steps to protect the video captured by the cameras. It's using AI to automatically redact sensitive information captured on screens.

"If I happen to be talking to you and your cellphone's out, and my camera picks it up, it won't have that information on your phone for others to see," Labossière said.

The same technology can cover information displayed on computers and tablets — something Labossière says is particularly important when officers are working in hospitals, workplaces or other settings where sensitive information might be visible.

Video recordings are stored securely on cloud technology, and access is restricted, although they can be provided to the Crown through disclosure.

The service's body-camera pilot is scheduled to run until late December. Winnipeggers will have a chance to weigh in on the cameras next month, when the police service opens a survey.

"It gives the public an opportunity to voice any concerns they might have or give us any feedback … that they may want to share with police about privacy and their rights," Labossière said."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/artificial-intelligence-translation-police-cameras-9.7320248
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Romm’s book translates fragments from ancient Greek literature and sorts them into themes about life lessons on love, politics, and more. Romm’s translation is the first time they have been translated into English

"Romm’s book, which was reviewed earlier this year in the Wall Street Journal, translates fragments from ancient Greek literature and sorts them into themes about life lessons on love, politics, and more. These fragments come from the writings of Stobaeus, a fifth-century man who compiled lines from Classical writing to instruct his son; Romm’s translation is the first time they have been translated into English. “There is hardly anything more powerful or more beautiful than a great line,” writes Dustin Bass for the Epoch Times. “Romm’s new book gifts the reader these textual forms in all their beauty and wisdom.”

Romm, whose previous books have been reviewed in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, also recently reviewed Alexander: God, King, Man by Edmund Richardson for the Times Literary Supplement. He teaches in Bard’s Classical Studies Program, which seeks to understand the languages, literatures, histories, and visual and material cultures of the premodern Mediterranean world. The program approaches these ancient societies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including linguistics, art history, archaeology, anthropology, and philosophy, while also considering the long and complex legacies of ancient Greece and Rome in art, language, politics, and culture from antiquity to the present day.

Post Date: 08-26-2026
https://www.bard.edu/news/professor-james-romms-translation-of-greek-fragments-reviewed-in-the-epoch-times-2026-08-26
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus

Provide financial assistance to professional publishers that want to translate eligible works originally published in German-speaking countries into another language

"Deadline: 15-Sep-2026
The Goethe-Institut Translation Funding Programme supports professional publishers worldwide in translating contemporary German-language literature and selected non-fiction into other languages. Grants typically cover 40–60% of eligible translation costs, up to €8,000 per book, helping German-language authors reach international readers...
The programme provides financial assistance to professional publishers that want to translate eligible works originally published in German-speaking countries into another language.

The initiative is particularly interested in contemporary German-language authors and works from regions or languages where German literature has previously received limited translation exposure..."
https://www2.fundsforngos.org/individuals/request-for-applications-translation-funding-programme/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"La Corée du Sud a approuvé un prêt concessionnel de 170 millions de dollars pour  financer la création en Tanzanie d’un institut consacré à l’intelligence artificielle et aux  technologies numériques. L’établissement doit proposer des formations en IA, robotique, analyse de données et Internet des objets, avec un campus, des laboratoires et des infrastructures numériques dédiés.
Le financement provient de l’EDCF, le fonds sud-coréen de coopération économique avec les pays en développement. Le projet s’inscrit dans la stratégie sud-coréenne K-AI Package, dévoilée en juillet, qui associe développement des compétences, infrastructures numériques, centres de données et solutions d’intelligence artificielle dans les pays partenaires.

Pour la Tanzanie, l’intérêt est de disposer d’une infrastructure de formation spécialisée alors que les compétences constituent l’un des principaux freins au développement des usages avancés de l’IA sur le continent. L’institut doit également contribuer à structurer un écosystème local autour de technologies encore peu maîtrisées à grande échelle, notamment la robotique et l’analyse de données.

L’opération révèle aussi une évolution de la coopération  technologique entre la Corée du Sud et l’Afrique. Séoul ne cherche plus seulement à exporter des équipements ou des services : avec le K-AI Package, il propose un modèle combinant financement, infrastructures, formation et technologies sud-coréennes. La Tanzanie constitue ainsi l’un des premiers terrains d’application de cette stratégie africaine."
https://afriqueitnews.com/intelligence-artificielle-ia/seoul-investit-170-millions-dans-formation-lia-tanzanie/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"En Afrique, les modèles chinois bousculent les géants américains de l’IA
Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi ou GLM gagnent du terrain auprès des entreprises africaines. Moins chers, souvent téléchargeables et parfois meilleurs sur les langues locales, ils offrent une alternative aux outils américains. Sans pour autant mettre fin aux dépendances technologiques du continent...."

Clea Broadhurst
26/08/2026

https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20260826-en-afrique-les-mod%C3%A8les-chinois-bousculent-les-g%C3%A9ants-am%C3%A9ricains-de-l-ia
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Bien loin l’époque où on pouvait lire, jusque sur les murs des écoles, cette directive académique : « Il est interdit de parler flamand » !
Formation au flamand occidental accessible à tous : étudiants, salariés et amateurs de cette langue...

"À partir du 28 septembre, le Centre de langues de l’Université de Lille proposera une formation au flamand occidental. Elle est accessible à tous : étudiants, salariés et amateurs de cette langue...

Elle semble bien loin l’époque où on pouvait lire, jusque sur les murs des écoles, cette directive académique : « Il est interdit de parler flamand »..."
Par Ghislain Duhot (Correspondant Local de Presse)
Publié: 20 Août 2026
https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1730367/article/2026-08-20/partir-de-septembre-le-flamand-sera-enseigne-l-universite-de-lille
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus

 

Google is reportedly testing a new ‘Listening area’ mode for Google Live Translate on Android XR, something that sounds like a headlining feature for the company’s upcoming fleet of smart glasses.

Google has always said it’s bringing real-time translations to its Android XR, so no surprise there, as the company promises its slate of smart glasses will serve up both translated audio matching the tone and pitch of the speaker’s voice as well as the ability to translate text from things like menus and signs.

Now, digging into the 10.32.66 version of the Google Translate app, Android Authority has discovered Google Live Translate is reportedly being developed to offer two distinct listening modes: ‘Front only’, which translates speech directly in front of the wearer for one-on-one conversations, and ‘Surrounding area’, which translates speech throughout the nearby area, potentially using the glasses’ full microphone array.

Granted, the feature was found in apk code, which means there’s no guarantee it will ship. It does however seem to fit into Google’s broader effort to expand Android XR ahead of upcoming smart glasses, which thus far include a variety of frames shipping this fall from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. Additionally, frames from Gucci parent company Kering are also reportedly in development.

Considering Google’s strength in live translation, it’s a good bet the company will be looking to pack in every bit of functionality as it seeks to compete with Meta’s fleet of smart glasses, which also feature a live translation feature.

Notably, live translation on Meta’s smart glasses is more akin to the ‘Front only’ one-on-one interactions described above, which work by serving up translated speech to the user through the glasses’ open-ear speakers as the other participant can see translated transcript on a user’s smartphone."

Google Reportedly Working on New Live Translation Feature for Android XR | Road to VR
Scott Hayden
August 26, 2026 https://roadtovr.com/google-live-translation-android-xr-feature/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

ENCO to Feature Captioning, Translation, AI Tools at IBC2026
The company will also demo its automation and virtual production offerings

"ENCO will demonstrate five areas at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam: captioning, translation, AI production tools, automation and virtual production.
At the forthcoming IBC Show in Amsterdam, ENCO will unveil its latest products that it said help media organizations achieve more with fewer resources.

The company is highlighting five areas: captioning, translation, AI production tools, automation and virtual production.

September’s show will mark the European debut of ENCO’s enSpeak real-time voice solution. It will also showcase new AI tools for TV and radio, while its Qimera Virtual Production offering will make its IBC debut.

“Together, ENCO’s IBC showcase reflects an expanding technology ecosystem designed to make sophisticated broadcast workflows easier to deploy, operate and scale,” a release said.

For captioning, ENCO will demonstrate its enCaption suite, with an emphasis on its enCaption Sierra platform.

Sierra offers on-premises and cloud deployment with improvements in language support and accuracy, the company said. ENCO will also demonstrate its Raptor cloud captioning encoder, which the company said is designed for IP and cloud-based broadcast setups.

ENCO will also feature its enTranslate, which takes live captions and turns them into multilingual text translations. Its enSpeak, meanwhile, offers low-latency voice translation that the company describes as natural sounding.

The company will also preview an AI-based video solution that identifies and extracts segments from long-form programming for repurposing across digital and social media platforms. It will also feature SPECai, its AI-based radio advertising platform for producing commercials, designed to assist in meetings with potential advertising buyers.

It will also demonstrate aiTrack, its cloud-based platform for generating, localizing and scheduling AI-based audio content for radio.

ENCO will also return to IBC with its DAD radio automation system, along with its VDESK system for visual radio and video production applications."
By Nick Langan ⋅
August 25, 2026
https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/products/enco-to-feature-captioning-translation-ai-tools-at-ibc2026
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Inside Cal Poly Humboldt’s Center for Translation & Interpretation
When families... hear their first language spoken clearly and confidently, the impact is immediate. What might otherwise feel inaccessible becomes welcoming and personal
...
"Launched in 2019, the Center operates at the intersection of experiential learning for students, community service, and institutional transformation. Its work includes live interpretation at major University events like fall and spring commencement, translation of essential materials, and hands-on student learning embedded in real-world contexts.

Partnership is central to the Center’s approach. It collaborates closely with Cal Poly Humboldt’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI), as well as community organizations and events like El Centro del Pueblo and the Latino Film Festival. These collaborations highlight the Center’s purpose to serve students and families in meaningful, culturally responsive ways and elevate Cal Poly Humboldt's commitments as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Latinx students make up approximately 30% of the student body.

The Center has recently finished an ambitious new project translating fact sheets into Spanish for all 87 of the University’s academic programs. These materials, often a first point of contact for prospective students and their families, play a crucial role in college access. By making them available in Spanish, the Center is helping more families engage with academic offerings, understand pathways, and support their students’ decisions.

“Language isn’t something students should feel they have to leave behind when they come to University,” says Center Director Agustín Amaro. “Maintaining and developing their first language is a strength that connects them to their communities, families, and futures. Our goal is to create spaces where that knowledge is valued and cultivated.”

That philosophy shapes the Center’s role in teaching and learning. Housed within the Department of Applied Humanities, the Center is closely integrated into the curriculum. Students engage with foundational principles of translation and interpretation like accuracy, ethics, and cultural nuance, and then apply those skills in real-world settings.

This experiential approach will expand further with the launch of a new minor in Spanish Healthcare Interpretation - the first of its kind in the CSU system. The Center will play a key role in that program, helping prepare students to work in medical and clinical settings where clear, accurate communication can directly impact care and outcomes. As demand grows for trained interpreters in healthcare, the program positions students for meaningful careers while addressing a critical statewide need.

The Center’s influence extends well beyond campus. It regularly provides pro bono translation and interpretation services to local organizations, including the Humboldt County Office of Education, the City of Arcata, and the City of Eureka. These partnerships reinforce the University’s role as a regional resource, supporting communication and access in public institutions that serve diverse communities."
Aug 25, 2026
CAHSS

https://now.humboldt.edu/news/bridging-languages-expanding-access-inside-cal-poly-humboldts-center-translation
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

Translation is a mutation of language, but not direct replication; something happens in the process that shifts the direction of the ideas

"Along with her novels, Vlady Kociancich worked on a translation of Joseph Conrad’s The End of the Tether, which according to her obituary by Daniel Gigena in La Nación, “había sido muy elogiada” (was highly praised). This translation is present in The Eighth Wonder, explicitly given that the narrator is working on a translation of this book, as well as in more hidden forms.

Alberto Paradella, the lawyer-turned-writer-turned-translator-turned-journalist-turned-scriptwriter at one point refers to the journey between the Spanish and English versions of the text he is working on as a “double itinerary”; the metaphor of the journey as a bidirectional translation, where the very process of moving alters the elements in movement, carries through the book in many ways. In the novel, Paradella cannot seem to finish the translation, due to distractions, heartbreaks, travels, and misplacements of the manuscript. In “real life,” Kociancich did finish the translation, which she worked on at the same time as she wrote The Eighth Wonder, and which was published as Con la soga al cuello by Emecé in an edition with a noose on the cover, later reprinted in an edition by Hyspamérica together with Sergio Pitol’s translation of El corazón de las tinieblas (Heart of Darkness) and a prologue by Jorge Luis Borges.

There are multiple Spanish translations of The End of the Tether—En las últimas, Situación límite, El cabo de la cuerda—but Kociancich’s title Con la soga al cuello, which can be more literally translated as With the Rope Around the Neck, is my favorite. It slightly shifts Conrad’s title, just as Borges’ title Otra vuelta de tuerca (Another Turn of the Screw) gave a further swivel to the novella by Henry James.

Which makes me think: maybe Paradella did finish his translation. The entirety of The Eighth Wonder could be read as Kociancich’s translation of Conrad’s The End of the Tether taken to its extreme, where the translator has entered so deeply into the book that what she translates are not just words, phrases, and ideas, but scenes and atmospheres, so that the book journeys from the colonial world of Singapore to the contemporary world of Buenos Aires. This is something different from “rewriting,” The dizzying movements in The End of the Tether across land and sea, from the English boardinghouse to the Malaysian coastline, with stops at temporary ports and the only home one’s boat, are mirrored in the Argentine travel journalist’s movements from Villa del Parque to the Berlin metropolis, passing through airports with only books and dreams as one’s home. Transition and movement become the only constant, until it becomes impossible to return or even locate home.

There is disquiet in the absorption that translation requires, the way the self enters another world at the possible expense of the current one.

An endless journey, a trip one cannot escape, which might be a synonym for nightmare...

Language travels and shifts through time just like the characters in the book. And for those attentive to them, these shifts can be as world-configuring as external events..."

Via Seven Stories Press
Jessica Sequeira
August 26, 2026

https://lithub.com/translation-as-a-journey-jessica-sequeira-on-vlady-kociancichs-the-eighth-wonder/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"How AI is Turning Accessibility into a Customer Experience Advantage
26 August 2026 
Sarah Backhouse

For years, organisations have expected people to learn their language. Whether it’s council terminology, healthcare jargon, financial services language, or internal company labels, users are expected to know what they’re looking for before they start searching.

Websites are typically structured around departments and processes, rather than the way people naturally think.

Most people arrive at a website with a question, not a category. They don’t know which department owns the answer or the organisation’s terminology. They simply want information quickly and easily, using their own words. Yet many digital experiences still place the burden on the user. If they get the wrong search term, they need to navigate multiple pages, try different phrases, or abandon their search altogether.

As digital becomes the primary channel for customer interaction, the gap is becoming costly and hard to ignore.

Expectations have shifted too. Conversational AI has conditioned people to expect digital experiences to work in the same way they communicate. They want to ask questions naturally, use voice input, and receive direct answers. They don’t need to understand how an organisation is structured behind the scenes.

This shift presents a significant opportunity, particularly when it comes to accessibility and digital inclusion.

Moving beyond compliance

Accessibility has traditionally been viewed as a compliance issue. Organisations have rightly invested significant effort in meeting standards and making digital services available to as many people as possible. That work remains important, but it has a ceiling. Today, accessibility is becoming part of the overall experience people have with an organisation. A service can meet every technical standard and still be practically unusable, because the terminology is opaque, the journey is convoluted, or the search requires insider knowledge to operate.

Digital inclusion addresses what compliance misses. A non-English speaker, someone who finds typing difficult, a user unfamiliar with industry jargon, or someone lacking confidence to navigate complex digital journeys.

Different scenarios, with the same results. People cannot find what they need, and organisations fail to serve them effectively.

Why AI changes the conversation

Much of the discussion around AI focuses on productivity gains, automation, and efficiency.

Less discussed is AI’s potential to make information genuinely accessible to more people. Instead of expecting users to think like organisations, organisations can use AI to start responding to the way people naturally communicate. Someone can ask a question in their own language and receive a relevant answer without having to understand the structure sitting behind the website.

Conversational search, natural language processing, voice interaction, and real-time translation allow users to engage with digital services in a way that feels natural to them, rather than a list of links that assumes they already know where to look.

Traditional keyword search relied on users to guess the right phrase, understand organisational structure, and refine their searches until they find something that works.

AI-powered search, on the other hand, interprets intent and context. The practical difference is significant. Instead of asking people to search across multiple pages or systems, AI can bring trusted information together and present a single, relevant answer.

Digital inclusion by design

The organisations getting this right treat digital inclusion as a foundational design decision rather than a retrofit. That means considering there is no single user journey that works for everyone and building accordingly.

For example, in organisations serving increasingly diverse communities and customer bases, language can be as much of a barrier as accessibility. AI-powered experiences can reduce that barrier by allowing people to ask questions in their preferred language and receive answers they understand.

Voice interaction is another way of improving inclusion, with improvements rarely confined to the group they were designed for. It helps users with physical difficulties such as visual impairments, as well as busy people on mobile phones or with literacy or learning difficulties. Another group to benefit is the elderly, or those less confident with digital devices, as they often find speaking a request quicker than typing. Meanwhile, real-time translation supports non-native speakers but also improves access for international customers. Conversational search helps users unfamiliar with jargon, whilst creating a faster experience for everyone else.

This is why digital inclusion should no longer be viewed as a niche concern. For many industries, including the public sector, accessibility has become a legal requirement, with guidelines becoming more prominent in others. Ultimately, it is becoming central to the way organisations design modern customer experiences, whilst also helping them make better use of their resources.

As Simon Fletcher, Chief Executive at Lichfield District Council, explains, “By introducing AI-driven search, we’re able to deliver tailored, accurate answers, making it easier for residents to get the help they need, quickly and efficiently.

“Our key aim is to ensure those customers who are happy to self-serve can find what they need quickly and remain online, without the need to phone us, leaving us more time to provide tailored support to customers who need extra help.”

Designing around people, not processes

The next step for customer service organisations: make digital services work better for the people using them. Reducing friction and lowering the barrier to finding information means a more effective experience for a broader population, not just those with accessibility needs.

In a world where customer experience and digital inclusion are becoming increasingly connected, AI offers organisations the opportunity to rethink how people access information and services. Those that use it to make interactions simpler, more intuitive, and more inclusive are likely to see the greatest value.

fend, explain, and scale. That’s how you move faster – without compromising what matters most.

 

 

Over 600 organisations in financial services, insurance, local government and healthcare use Netcall’s Liberty platform to make life easier for the people they serve.

Liberty Converse is the next-generation, AI-powered contact centre solution that redefines how businesses engage with their customers. The cloud-native platform extends its robust contact centre software capabilities to harness the power of intelligent process automation and rapid application development, setting Netcall apart in the competitive landscape.

Liberty Converse is part of Netcall’s Liberty platform which provides cut-through process automation and communications solutions, helping organisations to achieve their business goals faster in a rapidly changing world. Liberty offers user-friendly, AI-driven tools to create business applications that automate processes, streamline workflows and enhance both customer and employee experiences."
https://contact-centres.com/how-ai-is-turning-accessibility-into-a-customer-experience-advantage/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"VerbumSDK On-Prem / Edge - OneMeta's translation and transcription architecture can now be trained on a client's own data and run entirely within a client's own infrastructure: private servers, air-gapped environments, or edge and desktop devices

Market size: The global sovereign AI market is projected to grow from $40.0 billion in 2025 to $148.0 billion by 2032, a 20.6% compound annual growth rate, according to MarketsandMarkets (August 2026)

Fastest-growing segment: MarketsandMarkets identifies on-premises AI infrastructure as the fastest-growing deployment mode within that market

Enterprises are already moving: According to Broadcom's Private Cloud Outlook 2026, a global survey of 1,800 senior IT leaders, the share of enterprises using public cloud as their primary environment for production AI fell from 56% to 41% in a single year, while 56% now run or plan to run production AI on private infrastructure

Primary buyers: Healthcare, finance, government, and other organizations with strict data-security or compliance requirements

Why This Matters

Enterprises have reached a turning point in how they deploy AI. According to Broadcom's 2026 survey of senior IT leaders, more than half of enterprises now run or plan to run production AI inference on private infrastructure rather than the public cloud - a reversal from near-parity just a year earlier. Independent analysts at MarketsandMarkets project the sovereign AI market will more than triple by 2032, and identify on-premises infrastructure as growing faster than any other deployment model within it.

The reasons are consistent across industries: enterprises want the benefits of real-time AI without giving up control of their data, their models, or their compliance posture. For OneMeta's own client base - regulated organizations in healthcare, finance, and government - this has meant asking a direct question: can real-time translation run without any conversation ever leaving the building.

OneMeta's answer is architectural, not just operational. The same translation and transcription technology the Company runs in the cloud can now be trained on a client's own data and operated entirely within a client's own environment - a private data center, a fully air-gapped server with no internet connection, or a desktop or edge device.

Leadership Commentary

"Our clients and their clients have been asking us to bring our tech stack and CX inside their own walls," said Saul Leal, Founder and CEO of OneMeta. "That's a substantially different problem. Nevertheless, we now deploy in the cloud or on-premises. Allowing the model itself to be trained on a client's own data and operated entirely within an environment they control, from end to end. The market data backs up what we're already hearing directly from clients: enterprises are prioritizing to have full control over their own data, as they move towards real time AI deployments. And, we built OneMeta to carry those objectives as a turn key vertical solution."

"Clients are increasingly asking: do we have the option to run the Verbum platform entirely inside our own walls," said Tim Fisher, Senior Vice President of Sales at OneMeta." Doing so it's becoming a strategic differentiator. Now our clients don't have to sacrifice accuracy and speed for control - and that shift, with a promising ROI trajectory, is opening doors for OneMeta that simply didn't exist a year ago."

Availability

VerbumSDK On-Prem / Edge is available now to enterprise and government clients.

About OneMeta Inc.

OneMeta is the real-time understanding company™. Its Verbum technologies deliver secure, real-time translation, transcription, and interpretation across 140+ languages. OneMeta's mission is to create a more understanding world.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding product availability, client demand, third-party market projections, and anticipated business impact. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, including third-party research the Company believes to be reliable but has not independently verified, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to market adoption, competitive developments, the Company's ability to execute its product roadmap, and general economic and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them except as required by law. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements and should review the risk factors described in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

Media Contact: PR@onemeta.ai

Investor Contact: investors@onemeta.ai

#

OneMeta Inc.: We create a more understanding world™.

OneMeta, Verbum, VerbumSuite, VerbumSDK, and "We create a more understanding world" are each trademarks of OneMeta Inc. All other trademarks, if any, are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE: OneMeta AI"
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/onemeta-launches-verbumsdk-for-secure-real-time-translation-and-t-1211628
#metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus

"Fourteen Mother Goose nursery rhymes at Storybook Land in Wylie Park have been translated into American Sign Language and Braille..."

By Shannon Marvel   

August 24, 2026

https://aberdeeninsider.com/storybook-land-nursery-rhymes-translated-in-braille-american-sign-language/

#metaglossia 

#metaglossia_mundus 

 

"Deaf interpreters translate hours of Netflix content into ASL because closed captioning isn’t a fix
Former San Diego and Alpine resident, Scott Keller, is one of the certified Deaf interpreters who worked on the project between SignUp Media, an entertainment company focused on accessibility for the Deaf community, and Netflix

Scott Keller, a Certified Deaf Interpreter, is seen here translating the children’s program “Llama Llama.” (Photo courtesy of SignUp Media)

Any time his children want to watch a movie, Scott Keller stands next to the television in the family room to translate what they’re watching into American Sign Language.

“I have the subtitles on for myself to understand, and I sign the content real-time. My children get the benefit of the movie’s content in American Sign Language and English, simultaneously,” he said via email. “Deaf people are naturally bilingual, and I know that what I am doing for my children, not many other children have the same opportunity.”

Keller is a Certified Deaf Interpreter through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, a nationwide licensing body. He, his wife, and their three children (a fourth is on the way) are all deaf, and his kids attend the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. His work includes translating entertainment content into ASL through SignUp Media, an entertainment company focused on accessibility for the Deaf community. They have a global network of hundreds of Deaf interpreters who translate hundreds of hours of content into multiple sign languages. Recently, Keller was among a number of interpreters involved in SignUp Media’s partnership with Netflix to do this work on dozens of the streaming platform’s original programming for kids and families, and licensed titles, available through SignUp. The ASL translations by the interpreters is overlaid directly onto the streaming content, and viewers can resize or reposition it next to the video as they wish. Titles include “Pokemon Horizons,” “The Magic School Bus Rides Again,” “Cocomelon,” and “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85,” and interpreters are all Deaf and native signers, and were matched by language, character, and lived experience—a Cuban Deaf interpreter worked on “Vivo,” while an Asian Deaf interpreter worked on “Wish Dragon,” keeping the translations culturally relevant and accurate.

Keller, who lived in San Diego and Alpine before moving to Austin, Texas, in 2023, previously worked at Deaf Community Services of San Diego. He’s currently working toward a Ph.D. from the University of San Diego in leadership and organizational management, with plans to establish a nonprofit advocacy center.

“As a disabled individual, specifically with my Deafness, I constantly have to prove myself. To represent myself and my community well, I feel that a doctoral degree in the area I have a passion for will be able to shine a light to my community,” he says. “I chose organizational management because my passion has always been helping others in my community and the nonprofit field opens doors to that.”

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity. )

Q: You’re one of the Deaf interpreters in SignUp’s partnership with Netflix to translate dozens of children’s programs to American Sign Language. Which programs did you translate and how long did it take you to complete the translations?

A: I have done “Hotel Transylvania 3,” “Train Dreams,” “Frankenstein” (Guillermo Del Toro’s version), among others. The time it takes me to translate the content is equivalent to the duration of the film. If the film is 60 minutes long, I translate 60 minutes of content in real time. Although, there are more hours invested in the project such as prep time (watching the film beforehand, especially if it’s the type of film to win an Oscar), my home studio setup and break down (I have my studio set up in the kids’ playroom, so you can imagine the extra time it takes me to clear out their mess every time). I have post-production time that includes ensuring the data I record gets transferred to the laptop and then to the cloud. I would say anywhere from 60 to 90 more minutes extra, on top of the duration of the film.

Q: Walk us through your process for this kind of ASL translation work. How did you prepare and execute this project? What were some of the challenges, or tricky spots?

A: When I am assigned a project, I can choose to take or pass on it. While I have yet to pass on a project, I will review the content and see if it’s something I need to research, perhaps specific jargon that will require more time translating. Then, I set up the studio when my kids go to bed, and I begin translating in real time with my camera recording myself, and my laptop running the content. The challenges vary; sometimes it’s the content, sometimes it’s the mess my kids leave, and sometimes I’m just really tired! I would say the challenges are in translating characters. I mean, I’m an individual translating the entire movie’s content that could range anywhere from two, to five, to maybe 10 different characters. Sometimes more than several characters are displayed on the same screen, and it gets hard to differentiate between which character is speaking a message. I address this by shifting my shoulders to the left and the right, matching the position of characters on the screen. If one character is on the left, and another character is on the right, I will translate while leaning to the left and then to the right. In a perfect world, I would like to see one interpreter for each character! That would be amazing.

Q: Are you comfortable talking a bit about your background and how you became deaf?

A: Absolutely! I was born proudly genetically Deaf! Deafness spans four generations in my family, and that equates to about 100 years. My children are the fifth in the generation, being naturally, genetically Deaf. We carry the gene Connexin 26, which is known to cause deafness. Connexin 26 is a protein produced by the GJB2 gene. Variants in GJB2 are among the most common genetic causes of congenital, nonsyndromic, sensorineural hearing loss. Although, this is not the case for many other Deaf kids; research has it that between 90% to 95% of Deaf kids are born to hearing families, which means they are the only family member that’s Deaf and, more often than not, the only person left out linguistically and culturally. My family has no issues with communication as each member is Deaf.

Q: How has your lived experience shaped your approach to this work?

A: My mother used to do this for me when I was growing up. She did not have the same educational opportunities as I did, but she made sure that her kids would get better access. She would attempt to translate what she knew when watching TV/movies, and as little kids, that was enough. While growing up, my mother would fight for our accessibility rights at school, after school, even at the doctor’s office. She would not give up until each of us had equal access. I think that played a big role in the reason why I continue to do community work, and ensuring accessibility is not an afterthought for the Deaf community.

Q: Can you talk about what’s missing from closed captioning, and why it’s not the fix that other people might assume it would be?

A: With subtitles and closed captioning, a lot of things get missed. Sometimes, it’s a technical glitch, sometimes it’s a grammar error, and most of the time it is simply a written representation of the spoken words. To accurately understand the captions, it takes understanding the spoken word, understanding the innuendos, tone, rhythm, sarcasm, and a lot of other things that are hidden in the message. Basically, captioning provides access to words, while interpreting provides access to the message’s linguistic, cultural, emotional, and contextual meaning.

Q: What’s most exciting or gratifying for you about this project, and having these programs include ASL now?

A: I’m excited and grateful that Netflix is on board, because I think each title in Netflix’s database should be accessible in American Sign Language, or at least just those titles that already offer subtitles in other languages. American Sign Language is often overlooked, missed, or simply never accounted for. To include ASL, it takes extra time in locating the right talent (interpreters, actors, performers, what have you) and it takes technical time (recording, editing, set up/break down, uploading, etc.). Although we live in a tech-paced environment in America, and it’s 2026, I think it’s time that movies and TV shows are automatically accessible..."
By Lisa Deaderick | lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com
PUBLISHED: August 16, 2026
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/08/16/deaf-interpreters-translate-hours-of-netflix-content-into-asl-because-closed-captioning-isnt-a-fix/
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Academic quest brings new, full translation of ancient classic to English-speaking world

Remco Breuker, a professor of Korean Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, holds his book "Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea" at Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, Seoul, July 28. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

A few decades ago, Korean studies was often treated as an afterthought and viewed as a sub-discipline to Chinese and Japanese studies. Today, a landmark complete English translation of one of Korea’s most important medieval texts is proving how dynamic and indispensable Korean history is to the global literary landscape.

At the heart of this milestone is Remco Breuker, a professor of Korean Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a leading European authority on pre-modern Korean history. He, together with two other scholars — one of whom was his own teacher — to translate "Samguk Yusa," also known in English as "Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms."

Published by the University of Hawaii Press, his translation is titled "Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea." The 570-page work is the first complete and fully annotated English translation of the 13th-century classic.

Compiled primarily by the Buddhist monk Iryeon during the late Goryeo period, "Samguk Yusa" is a collection of forktalkes and legends of the Three Kingdoms period and before.

The newly released volume stands as the fruit of over six decades of dedication spanning three generations of Dutch scholars. The pioneering project was initiated at Leiden University decades ago by Frits Vos (1918–2000), who helped lay the groundwork for Korean studies in Europe.

It was subsequently carried forward by his student, Boudewijn Walraven, before being brought to fruition by Breuker, Walraven’s own student and academic heir.

Translating 800-year-old living classic

Unlike previous English translations, this edition was painstakingly translated in full directly from the original text, which is primarily in classical Chinese, with some elements of "hyangchal" — an archaic writing system that used Chinese characters to represent vernacular Korean. The new book has over 2,000 footnotes, reflecting modern scholarship.

"'Samguk Yusa' is written 99 percent in classical Chinese and one percent in Old Korean poems, preserved through Hanzi phonetics," Breuker, 54, said during an interview with the Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul on July 28. "Older translations were not annotated like this. More importantly, they were translations of translations. If you want to make a proper translation, it needs to be from the original."

Reflecting on his 16 years of effort to finalize and annotate the draft originally started by Vos, Professor Breuker admitted the undertaking was intricate. "Because professor Vos had translated about 90 percent of it, I initially thought we could finish in three years, but that was a miscalculation," he said. "It is personally meaningful to complete the translation, started by the mentor who opened the path for Korean studies."

Beyond its academic significance, he stressed the book remains an important work within contemporary Korean society. "It is a living text; it still matters," he observed. "Almost every year, new translations into Korean appear because people look at the text to decide what their ancestors were like and what the future should look like."

"Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea" by Remco Breuker / Korea Times by Choi Won-suk

Diversity of Goryeo and Dangun myth

Professor Breuker’s research highlights the Goryeo period's rich culture and open-mindedness.

"The interesting thing about Goryeo is that whether you talk to scholars of Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism or geomancy, each will tell you their field is the most important," Breuker explained. "All those things coexisted together in Goryeo. In Goryeo, it was seen as different choices to look at the world."

"Samguk Yusa" is also famous for containing the earlist known record of the Dangun legend, which tells the story of the founding of the mythical first Korean kingdom of Gojoseon. Dangun was the son of a heavenly figure and a bear who turned into a human woman after living in a cave while consuming only garlic and mugwort.

According to Breuker, this myth fundamentally reshaped how Koreans viewed their lineage under foreign pressure.

"By starting with the Dangun myth, you completely rewrite Korean history," Breuker noted. "Whether people actually believed Dangun had existed doesn't matter as much as the fact that now you could refer to a common ancestor — one country as the origin of all people on the peninsula."

From ancient storytelling to hallyu

Breuker sees a direct connection between Korea’s ancient storytelling traditions and the modern global wave of Korean pop culture, films, and dramas.

"For the K-pop generation, it shows you how long before BTS or 'Squid Game,' there was a long history of literature worth knowing," Breuker said. "It shows that people are people, no matter the period."

He credited Korea's intense 20th-century history as the incubator for its creative explosion, noting that once censorship lifted, artistic expression surged. He added that Korea's history as a colonized country rather than a colonial power makes its culture non-threatening and uniquely accessible worldwide.

Reflecting on the field's evolution, Breuker celebrated the shift in European academia: "Korean studies used to be the little brother of Japanese and Chinese studies. Now, people can start directly with Korean. I hope this book quenches the long-standing thirst for a deep academic understanding of 'Samguk Yusa.'""
By Park Jin-hai
Published Aug 15, 2026 7:00 am KST
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/books/20260815/dutch-scholar-completes-landmark-translation-of-samguk-yusa
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"AI is flooding the online book market with poor translations: Here’s how to spot them
AI translations push the crafted work of real translators – with qualifications, genuine language skills, experience – to the back of a very busy marketplace.
Terry Bradford, The Conversation
Aug 16, 2026 · 05:30 pm
If you’re buying literature in translation online, buyer beware. You may unknowingly be buying low-quality AI-assisted translations presented as the work of a professional.

Certain online retailers are being used to flood the book market with AI-assisted “translations”. Amazon is one such example, though the company seems to be aware of the problem and claims to be addressing it.

I’m a published translator of French and Belgian literature and I teach literary translation to MA students. So I know from experience how much time and effort go into translation. Like many translators, I’m wary of the impact of AI on translation quality, not least because AI is not ideologically neutral. This means AI translation is more likely to reproduce outdated racial stereotypes (rife in colonial-era literature, alas) rather than handle them with sensitivity.

I first became aware of the practice when I purchased a Jules Verne novel in English online. The book presents as the work of a human translator and styles itself as “for a modern readership”. Within three minutes of opening the book, I had got my money back. Why? Style-wise, there was nothing “modern” about the “translation” – the style was as archaic as the first translation in 1877. And the presentation of the text was woeful by industry standards. It was clear AI had been used, but not disclosed.

The phenomenon seems to be expanding, and it raises serious ethical concerns regarding translation as a practice.

Why does it matter?
AI translations push the crafted work of real translators – with qualifications, genuine language skills and experience – to the back of a very busy marketplace.

What galls professional translators like me is that it might take months or even years to read, research and translate just one piece of literature. The AI-assisted pulp being churned out just cannot compete with a professional, human translator in terms of quality.

Translators can do their bit by increasing their visibility. They can offer well-researched forewords, for example, that explain their strategy, illustrate their appreciation of the text and its historical context and demonstrate the value they have added as human translators. But readers will also have to learn to be canny.

Expert interpreters evaluate AI translations.

Your guide to spotting AI translations
Technology (including machine translation), copyright laws, easy online access to published “classics” (for example through Project Gutenberg) and user-friendly self-publishing platforms mean that anyone can publish and market a text as a translation. But if you’d rather not read AI translations, here are some tips and telltale signs for spotting it:

Do judge the book by its cover. The design won’t be very sophisticated or professional – probably because AI has been used for that too

The original author is a well-known name – such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, or Niccolo Machiavelli. In any case, the author will be long dead, and their work will be in the public domain. This means the work is probably available online as a cut-and-paste text, which makes it easy to snatch and run through machine translation

The title is a familiar classic, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Alternatively, the title is an obscure work, but it’ll be by a famous author (see above)

The name of the “translator” is a “ghost” on the internet – meaning there’s next to nothing online (like a bio) to back up their credentials as a translator

Usually, there is no photo of the translator

Similarly, there is often no given publisher as the work has been self-published without the expert assistance of a professional editor

The author has published an inordinate number of books since the advent of AI

The range of their work would appear to point to (questionable) mastery of several languages. Most commonly, the original works are in French, Russian, German and (Medieval) Italian

Simply click on the sample. One dead giveaway is the absence of indented paragraphs – conventional formatting and presentation are jettisoned

While you’re there, just read the sample. Does it feel like a “modern translation” to you?

Terry Bradford is Lecturer in French and Translation, University of Leeds."
https://amp.scroll.in/article/1094919/ai-is-flooding-the-online-book-market-with-poor-translations-heres-how-to-spot-them
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"The Literature Translation Institute of Korea will mark its 30th anniversary with a two-day international conference on Korean literary translation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Wednesday.

The 2026 World Congress for Korean Literary Translators and Alumni Homecoming Day will take place Aug. 28-29 at the Grand Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hotel & Residences Imperial Palace in Seoul. The event will also be livestreamed for participants unable to attend in person.

The first day's World Congress will center on the theme "Moving Together: The Future of Global Korean Literature and Cultural Translation."

Anders Karlsson, a Korean studies professor at SOAS University of London who translates Korean literature into Swedish, will deliver a keynote address, followed by four panel sessions covering literary translation aesthetics, artificial intelligence's impact on the field, translator training and the publishing industry.

The rise in global interest in Korean literature — spurred in part by novelist Han Kang's 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature — has heightened attention on translators who bring Korean-language works to international readers.

The second day, a homecoming event for graduates of LTI Korea's Translation Academy, will feature a keynote by Brother Anthony of Taize, an emeritus professor at Sogang University who has translated more than 40 volumes of Korean poetry and fiction, along with alumni career panels, mentoring sessions and public readings. Registration is free.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times."
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Aug 19, 2026 1:53 PM KST
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/lifestyle/people-events/20260819/koreas-literature-translation-institute-to-host-global-translators-conference
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#metaglossia_mundus

"Harvey taps DeepL to power legal-grade AI translation for global law firms and legal teams

DeepL supports Harvey's enterprise translation engine, powering highly secure, context-aware document translation and handling over a third of Harvey's total volume

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DeepL, a global leader in Language AI, today announces that Harvey, the leading AI platform for law firms and legal teams, has selected DeepL to power fast, accurate and secure document translation directly inside its platform. The integration reflects growing demand for specialized AI tools built to handle the complexity of legal work, where accuracy, speed, formatting, terminology and security matter.

"Harvey customers work with complex, high-stakes documents all the time and document translation is one of our most-used workflows" said Lauren Oh, Product Manager at Harvey. "By integrating DeepL's AI document translation capabilities directly into the Harvey platform, we're giving legal teams an even faster, more seamless and reliable way to work across languages, while also making sure content stays highly precise and accurate."

Harvey serves more than 200,000 lawyers across 2,400+ organizations in 70 countries, including many of the world's largest law firms and in-house legal teams. For many of these customers, language is not just a side issue but a daily challenge. Cross-border legal work depends on translating contracts, filings, briefs, evidence, reports, and client materials quickly, accurately and reliably even when documents are long or highly complex.

With DeepL embedded directly into the Harvey platform through its translation API, customers can now upload any document, select a target language, and receive a precise, customized translation that preserves its original structure and formatting, all without ever leaving Harvey. The integration currently supports over 100 languages, and will handle over a third of Harvey's total document translation volume.

"Working with Harvey brings our specialized Language AI capabilities to even more legal teams around the world, who work across borders every day," said Jarek Kutylowski, Founder and CEO of DeepL. "Legal work usually means dealing with a lot of documentation, whether that's contracts, filings or case documents that span hundreds of pages, in dozens of different formats and unique contexts. Our platform is built for exactly this level of complexity, and Harvey choosing us for it is clear validation of DeepL's leadership in the Language AI market."

DeepL was selected as one of Harvey's AI translation vendors for its ability to preserve the structure and formatting of complex legal documents, while also delivering context-aware translations powered by specialized language models purpose-built for translation. DeepL's custom glossaries functionality and unmatched file-format support help legal teams maintain approved terminology and document integrity across languages, no matter the topic, complexity or length. The company's strong security and compliance standards, including no permanent data retention for enterprise and paid users, GDPR compliance, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 certification, and more, are also central to this work and Harvey's requirements for handling confidential and high-stakes materials.

This news builds on DeepL's broader momentum worldwide as businesses increasingly embrace Language AI as a core infrastructure for global work. DeepL's platform spans written and spoken translation, from text and documents to real-time translation for virtual meetings, in-person conversations and live events, and is used today by over 200,000 business teams and millions of individuals across nearly every industry, from legal to healthcare, manufacturing, financial services and technology. It also comes as DeepL continues to expand in the US, where nearly 50% of the Fortune 500 are users."
News provided by
DeepL

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harvey-taps-deepl-to-power-legal-grade-ai-translation-for-global-law-firms-and-legal-teams-302854446.html
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Library Celebrates America’s 250 Years Library of Congress
U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze to Launch “Words Bridging Worlds” National Tour
Release Date: 17 Aug 2026

U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze to Launch “Words Bridging Worlds” National Tour
Tour Invites Audiences to Engage More Fully with Poetry Translation

“Words Bridging Worlds,” Arthur Sze’s signature project as the nation’s 25th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry will launch in September with a national tour encouraging Americans to engage with poetry written in foreign languages.

“Words Bridging Worlds” invites anyone who has been curious about poetry from international cultures to become poetry translators. Graduate students from New York City’s Queens College MFA program in creative writing and literary translation will partner with Sze during poetry translation workshops. Sze will also hold a public reading and conversation about his signature project in each of the four cities on his tour. Sze’s events empower readers to dissolve the boundaries between reading, writing and translating poetry.

“We live in a challenging world that is increasingly interconnected,” Sze said. “Poetry is for everyone, and it bridges our differences by showing us that our experiences of what it is to be human reach across languages..."
https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/u.s.-poet-laureate-arthur-sze-to-launch--words-bridging-worlds--national-tour/s/82695209-8f36-4714-b030-8cdeeae529f1
#metaglossia
#metaglossia_mundus

"Aug 17, 2026 Research & AcademicsStudent edition
Bridging the health gap between language and culture

Good healthcare is not only about medical knowledge, but also about human connection. Understanding patients’ needs and histories goes a long way toward providing high-quality care. A new undergraduate certificate at NAU aims to give students a unique set of tools to help them succeed in the industry by bridging the gap between language and culture in healthcare.

Juliana Suby, teaching professor, and Jersus Colmenares, associate teaching professor, both in the Department of Global Languages and Cultures, have been working together to design and implement the Spanish for the Health Professions undergraduate certificate. This program is designed for students who are pursuing careers in, or are already employed in, health-related professions. It focuses on Spanish language acquisition for cross-cultural communication and emphasizes cultural and social knowledge necessary for the better development of healthcare practices.

Suby said it all started when Colmenares designed a Spanish for the Health Professions course at the 300 level that minors and majors from their department could take. They were met with overwhelming demand from students.

“We had an explosion of interest,” Suby said. “It was amazing! Almost immediately, native speakers, heritage speakers and non-native Spanish speakers were attracted to this class. It was so popular that we had a waiting list for the course.”

Colmenares taught the class on a more regular basis, and he and Suby explored the idea of expanding the curriculum into a certificate program.

“One of the defining factors that turned the abstract idea of creating this certificate into a reality was an accident that happened on Highway 180, where a little boy from a Spanish-speaking family visiting Arizona was hit by a car crossing the highway,” Suby said. “I was told that one of the first responders said that the grief and the inability to communicate with the family broke his heart. That was the tipping point for me. By then, the class was already taking off, so I told Jersus that we needed to put this idea into action.”

Hands-on training 
Colmenares, who has worked as a medical interpreter in the past and has volunteered for the city of Flagstaff, had a personal understanding of the need for Spanish speakers in healthcare and used his experience to help design the curriculum. Both he and Suby did a deep analysis, interviewed faculty members, looked at textbooks and materials and spoke to nurses, physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to get a clear idea of what students needed to learn to be successful and help their communities.  

“When patients go to a healthcare center, a doctor’s appointment or any similar scenario and see that there is a way to communicate that is more comfortable for them, they can express themselves more freely,” Colmenares said. “Addressing this gap, which is huge right now in the United States, is crucial in programs like ours. Understanding what the needs are in the labor market today can put our students at an advantage. This is a skill that will get them ahead.”

In the final class, students are required to do nine hours of volunteer work. Colmenares said it’s a chance for students to use the medical vocabulary they are learning while gaining hands-on experience.

Kai Taras, a graduate student in speech-language pathology, said this component was the one of the most rewarding aspects of the course since she had the opportunity to volunteer at Flagstaff Medical Center as a Spanish interpreter and gained invaluable hands-on experience using medical Spanish in a real clinical setting.

Natalia Canaan, a chemistry, psychology and Spanish junior, saw firsthand the impact the class had in the community as she designed a tool that will make a difference to those who struggle with the English language.

“This certificate has had a huge impact on both my career goals and the way I already serve patients as a pharmacy technician,” Canaan said. “For my final project, I created a Spanish-language pamphlet with step-by-step guidance on how to obtain medication discount cards. More than just improving my Spanish, the class really impacted the way I think about healthcare, advocacy and serving underserved communities.”

More than just language
The Spanish for the Health Professionals undergraduate certificate consists of 19 credits and begins with the introductory 101 and 102 classes. Students then take three series of three Spanish for Health Professions courses, where they get the opportunity to interview experts in different fields and learn to work with artificial intelligence by training chatbots. Colmenares said the class not only teaches students Spanish and medical terminology, but also cultural sensitivities.

“Students learn a lot about disparities and context that comes with immigration, language and cultural barriers,” Colmenares said. “This is not only about language coding or morphology, but also about understanding who the unique person is that we have in front of us and their particular needs that go beyond language but rather entail a very complex background.”

Catherine Garrido, an interdisciplinary studies, health wellness coaching and biology student who graduated this spring, said the certificate helped her home in on her passion for breaking down barriers in health care.

“This class helped me solidify my intercultural knowledge and vocabulary,” Garrido said. “I often felt that many classes I took were separate from patient interaction, but this certificate reinforced why this is such an important certificate and topic.”

To students who are interested in the Spanish for the Health Professionals undergraduate certificate, but feel intimidated by the language learning process, Larissa Axtell, a senior studying nutrition and food with a minor in Spanish, said not to worry.

“When I first heard about the certificate, I was interested but also nervous about taking the classes, but after taking them for two semesters, I can confidently say there is no reason to be,” Axtell said. “So much is covered, yet it does not feel rushed. When I started, I could hardly understand and was struggling. After working with Juliana, I feel so much more confident in my Spanish-speaking skills and in my reading and writing. I also feel more knowledgeable about the language struggle within the medical field.”"
https://in.nau.edu/news/health-language-and-culture/
#metaglossia