Metaglossia: The Translation World

"A South Korean woman learns a tribal language and translates the Bible for a remote Indonesian village

Date 08/29/2024

Hosted By Travis K. Kircher

Myo-Sook Sohn holding a Central Auyu BiblePhoto by Jack Gandy of Mission Aviation Fellowship

 

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Thursday, August 29th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: reading God’s word for the first time.

WORLD Reporter Travis Kircher comes now with a story of how one woman invested more than 20 years of her life to make that happen for others.

AUDIO: [Drums and chanting]

TRAVIS KIRCHER: In the village of Kotiak, on the south coast of the Indonesian island of Papua, a celebration is taking place. It’s May and the villagers have come together to mark an important event. Mission Aviation Fellowship pilot Jack Gandy captured this audio.

JACK GANDY: The first day, there was, I mean, just dancing. Drums, people in traditional dress.

The villagers are celebrating the dedication of the Central Auyu Bible – the first Bible translated into their native language.

GANDY: We’d flown in the Bibles, I think, the week before. It was basically three or four flights, full of Bibles.

The woman responsible for the translation isn’t from Papua. She was born more than 4,000 miles away in South Korea.

SOHN: I was born in non-Christian family.

Myo-Sook Sohn was born in the city of Miryang in 1964 to a family of Bhuddists. When she was a little girl, she visited a local church at Christmas to get a present. There, she learned about Christ.

SOHN: So, one Sunday service, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. At the age of 10.

Her family wasn’t pleased with her decision.

SOHN: When I became a Christian, my parents did not allow me to go to the church service. But I pray to God by myself.

She later moved to an apartment in the town of Daegu. Her landlord was a Christian and took her to a local church. After hearing a missionary speak at a special service, she felt called to the mission field.

SOHN: At that time, it looks like very good to do the missionary job. Because Jesus loves us. And also Jesus wanted us to deliver his message.

She soon became involved with a South Korea-based ministry: Global Bible Translators. She says God directed her to translate the Bible into the Central Auyu language, a language spoken by only about 15,000 people.

But first, she had to learn the language. She moved to Papua to live with the people and engaged them in simple daily conversations.

SOHN: My goal was to practice languages with 10 people every day.

As time passed she saw how desperately they needed a Bible in their own language. The Central Auyu people had pastors, but they didn’t always get things right. She said a pastor using an Indonesian Bible to preach from Acts 5 inadvertently mangled the story of Ananius and Sapphira. Instead of teaching that the couple died because they lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit, he told his congregation they perished because they sold their land to outsiders.

SOHN: So don’t sell land to outsiders! That was the sermon! [LAUGHS]

Even worse, some of the tribal Christians were still clinging to their animistic spiritual beliefs. When one indigenous translator working with Sohn died of illness, some of the villagers blamed her. Gandy says that’s a common response.

GANDY: Whenever someone becomes unexpectedly ill, it must be witchcraft. And so they go find someone who is a witch or something like that – usually a woman, right? – and they kill her.

Sohn says that nearly happened.

SOHN: One person came to my house to kill me, but villagers stopped him. So he didn’t come down to my house.

At the time, Sohn and her staff had been working on a translation of Ephesians chapter six, the chapter about waging spiritual warfare against powers and principalities. At times, she says she had to fight her own spiritual battle, often against discouragement.

SOHN: And God always answered me and guided me, encouraged me. I think my relationship with God made me overcome all those difficulties and the struggles and other things.

AUDIO: [Tribal singing]

It all paid off in May when the MAF planes filled with Bibles began arriving in the village. Admittedly it was not the whole Bible. Sohn and her team managed to translate the entire New Testament and two books of the Old Testament. But it was all in the Central Auyu language. Sohn was there for the celebration.

SOHN: [LAUGHS] People were so much excited! I never imagine they were excited like that!

Four pigs were slaughtered for the occasion.

SOHN: That means a big feast! A big party and a big feast! [LAUGHS]

Gandy says the villagers surrounded Sohn and sang a tribal song about how the Lord had called a woman all the way from Korea to bring the Bible to a tribe most people don’t even know exists.

GANDY: But the Lord does. The Lord knows and the Lord cares for each one of these people. And I think it’s a testament to His care for all these people that he doesn’t want that one should perish.

For now, Sohn says she still has a lot of work to do training ministers to devour the feast of God’s Word.

SOHN: Pray that they will read the translated Bible every day and practice the Word of God in their daily life.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher."

#metaglossia_mundus

Freelance linguists are facing job insecurity due to advancements in "AI translation. A new report highlights the challenges faced by these professionals. However, Spanish researchers are optimistic about potential new opportunities.

A new survey has reiterated what many working in the freelance translation industry have feared

Half of all freelance linguists have considered abandoning their profession due to the rapid advancements in AI translation tools, according to a report conducted by industry news outlet Slator.

The findings paints a stark picture of the challenges faced by these professionals as they grapple with the growing capabilities of machine translation. However, researchers in Spain are seeing a silver lining in all of this upheaval.

AI’s Impact on the Language Industry: Linguists Adapt or Exit

While AI continues to disrupt numerous sectors, freelance translators appear particularly vulnerable. The survey findings suggest that many are struggling to compete with increasingly sophisticated AI models, leading to a widespread sense of uncertainty about their future prospects. However, this report also highlights a silver lining, suggesting that freelance linguists can leverage their unique skills and linguistic talents in alternative roles, such as language consultants, data annotators, and cultural mediators.

The survey by Slator paints a vivid picture of the shifting landscape for language professionals in the age of AI. With traditional translation and interpretation tasks facing decreasing demand, linguists are finding themselves at a crossroads – adapt or consider a career change.

The survey, which polled 260 linguists, revealed that more than half of freelance translators experienced a decline in requests for their services over the past year. AI was cited as the primary culprit behind this trend, with the majority believing the impact will intensify over the next five years. The data further showed one in five freelance translators and interpreters are actively seeking new jobs.

While the demand for traditional linguistic services is dwindling, new opportunities are emerging. AI-related tasks such as prompting, terminology management, and data annotation for training LLMs are increasingly sought after. To stay relevant, linguists are upskilling; a third have acquired new AI skills in the past year, and nearly half have expanded their subject matter expertise.

However, the transition isn’t seamless. Over 50% of freelance translators and interpreters have contemplated a career switch, either within or outside the language industry. Those specialising in Professional Services, Technology, and Life Sciences seem particularly inclined towards exploring alternative career paths.

Today, the post-editing of machine translations is the second-most sought-after skill among language service providers and is the task with the greatest growth potential.

European Language Industry Survey

New research says AI can empower translators

A groundbreaking report from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), reveals a transformative shift in the translation industry. Far from replacing human translators, AI is emerging as a powerful tool, enhancing efficiency and productivity.

The study explores the evolving relationship between human translators and AI, showcasing how machine translation, once seen as a threat, is now being embraced as an invaluable asset. AI is proving particularly helpful in streamlining repetitive tasks, allowing translators to focus on the more nuanced aspects of their work.

Today, the post-editing of machine translations is the second-most sought-after skill among language service providers and is the task with the greatest growth potential, according to the European Language Industry Survey. 

We have concluded that there is no direct relationship between what automated quality assessment metrics say and the actual post-editing effort involved,” said Oliver. “We therefore felt that there was a need to add a further step to the quality assessment system.

UOC report researchers

The UOC report said, “Translators edit unprocessed machine translations, correcting texts produced by artificial intelligence. This brings with it many advantages for human translators, but also significant problems if the quality of the machine translation is poor. This is why the ability to objectively assess the quality of machine translation tools is essential for the sector.”

Two researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Antoni Oliver, member of the Interinstitutional Research Group in Linguistic Applications (GRIAL-UOC), coordinator of the TAN-IBE project and member of the UOC’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and Sergi Álvarez-Vidal, a fellow GRIAL-UOC researcher, have developed a new method for assessing work by AI to improve translators’ work, boosting their capabilities with the potential of machine translation, and enhancing the quality of the end result for all users.

“We have concluded that there is no direct relationship between what automated quality assessment metrics say and the actual post-editing effort involved,” said Oliver. “We therefore felt that there was a need to add a further step to the quality assessment system.”

New post-editing software for translators

The researchers suggest complementing automated assessment systems with another programme that helps evaluate the actual effort put into post-editing. This will allow companies to choose an AI tool that actually increases the efficiency of the translation process.

“We have added a further step: translators translate a sample of the machine translation with a special programme we have developed. This allows us to gather a range of data and decide whether the effort made by the translators is less than that with other systems,” explains Álvarez-Vidal. “If it is less, it means that this machine translation tool works for the translation company’s workflow.”

Machine translation is a common tool in the translation industry, but human review remains essential. Post-editors refine machine output by making corrections, amendments, or even rejecting it entirely.

Oliver highlights the central question, “Who’s truly in charge here: the human post-editor or the AI system?”

The researchers stress that machine translation quality directly affects post-editors. Higher-quality machine translations make post-editing faster and easier, while lower-quality machine translations increase the risk of errors slipping through and raise the time and cost of post-editing. Oliver succinctly states, “Quality in machine translation is crucial for effective post-editing.”

The report highlights several key benefits of this human-AI collaboration:

• Increased Productivity: AI can rapidly translate large volumes of text, significantly reducing turnaround times.
• Improved Accuracy: Machine translation algorithms are constantly learning and improving, leading to more accurate translations.
• Enhanced Consistency: AI can ensure consistent terminology and style throughout a document.

However, AI is not a panacea. Human translators remain essential for complex texts requiring cultural sensitivity and in-depth understanding of specialised fields.

The UOC report paints an optimistic picture of the future of translation. AI is revolutionising the industry, empowering translators to work smarter, not harder.

If you are a translator, do you agree with the findings of the two reports? Share your professional thoughts in our comments section."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.freelanceinformer.com/news/freelance-translators-face-existential-crisis-amid-ai-boom-should-they-adapt-or-make-a-career-change/

 

Thursday, August 29 2024 For Immediate Release: August 29, 2024

Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400

Portantino IEP Translation Bill Passes Senate Floor, Heads to Governor

Sacramento, California – Senate Bill 445, authored by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Burbank), passed the Senate floor today. The measure is headed to the Governor’s desk and if signed, would address language barriers in the Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Many parents don’t speak English but yet have students who require IEPs. Some schools take as long as a year to properly translate them, shortchanging an entire year of education for our students. SB 445 presents a timeline for translating foundational documents so parents can advocate for their children.  

“SB 445 is a path forward for parents to be able to understand their child’s IEP and be involved in their child’s academic life,” stated Senator Portantino. “Language barriers for children who face challenges is a hurdle we need to overcome. We should be doing everything we can, as early as possible in a child’s academic life, to provide the services necessary for each child to reach their potential and achieve success. Though I had hoped to move the needle further, I am heartened by this incremental step forward.”

The IEP process can be overwhelming and intimating for parents and guardians who are not familiar with the process or terminology - especially, if that person’s native language is not English. Local education agencies (LEAs) are required to provide translated copies of the IEP, if requested. The problem occurs when the LEA does not provide the translated IEP in a timely manner or when the IEP has not been translated accurately.  

“We thank Senator Portantino for his leadership and commitment to this issue,” stated Joanna French, Senior Director of Research and Policy Strategies for Innovate Public Schools. “SB 445 represents a step forward in legislation that prioritizes students with learning differences and their families. Equitable and timely access to translated documents for families during the IEP process is essential to student success and meaningful family engagement. We hope that by passing this bill and ensuring the statewide IEP template is translated and disseminated to districts, we will reduce the delays far too many families experience in getting IEPs translated into their home language.”

SB 445 would require the forthcoming statewide IEP template that is being developed by the California Collaborative for Excellence in Education be translated into the top 10 most commonly spoken languages used across the state, aside from English, and to make those templates available on its website by January 1, 2027, or no later than 18 months after the template is digitally posted.

“Senator Portantino has been a steadfast advocate for students with disabilities during his time in the Legislature. School districts will be able to use this tool to translate IEP documents for parents with Limited English Proficiency more efficiently,” said Gregory Cramer, Senior Legislative Advocate with Disability Rights California (DRC).

“We are hopeful this is the start of ensuring timely IEP translation and full parent participation in the special education process regardless of language or background, which is vital to achieve the free and appropriate public education that all students deserve,” added Allegra Cira Fischer, DRC Senior Policy Attorney. "

#metaglossia_mundus

• By Greta Terfruchte
 
• September 5, 2024

Oriette D'Angelo and Lupita Eyde-Tucker, author and translator team for D'Angelo's Homeland of Swarms

Award-winning Venezuelan poet Oriette D’Angelo and award-winning poet and translator Lupita Eyde-Tucker will visit Illinois State University on Thursday, September 19, to discuss D’Angelo’s poetry collection Homeland of Swarms (co•im•press, 2024) followed by a bilingual reading from the book.

Translated from the Spanish by Eyde-Tucker, Homeland of Swarms is D’Angelo’s debut collection in English. The author and translator team will take part in Pub.Unit Presents, an event series hosted by the Publications Unit in the Department of English that is centered on embracing the interdisciplinary English studies model of the English department by bringing in writers who are also editors, and who often embody additional literary and educational roles.

The event will be held on Thursday, September 19, at University Galleries. At 4 p.m., there will be a public conversation and question-and-answer session, in which D’Angelo and Eyde-Tucker will discuss the book, poetry, their respective roles as writer and translator, and the sociopolitical exigencies of Venezuela in addition to their shared experiences as editors and educators, specifically D’Angelo’s role as founder of an independent digital literary magazine and Eyde-Tucker’s as a Bread Loaf translation scholar.

The second half of the event will be a bilingual reading from Homeland of Swarms. Books will be available to purchase at the event, or may be purchased from the publisher. Both events are free and open to the public.

“In this urgent collection, at once political and highly personal, D’Angelo brings together body and country: her own female body and her Venezuelan homeland under the abusive yoke of men like Hugo Chavez.”

–Geoffrey Brock

About Homeland of Swarms

Homeland of Swarms by Oriette D’Angelo, translated from the Spanish by Lupita Eyde-Tucker

At once image-rich, lyrical, and searingly sociopolitical, Homeland of Swarms (Cardiopatías) is Venezuelan poet Oriette D’Angelo’s debut poetry collection in English, translated from the Spanish by Lupita Eyde-Tucker. In her unrelenting, charged poetry, D’Angelo reveals how the diseases and dis-eases of a fraught state infect not only the body politic but also the individual bodies of the citizenry. While the book weaves a tapestry of pain caused by the ills of corruption, scarcity, crime, inflation, and poverty in contemporary Venezuela, it also ponders how individuals can confound societal cancers or wage a worthy struggle against the afflictions—both real and metaphorical—that emanate from the heart of a country to infect, affect, and scar the populace. And yet, Homeland of Swarms imbues the struggle with a sense of hope and an abiding will to survive despite the odds. Eyde-Tucker specifically sought politically motivated poetry from underrepresented countries like Venezuela, and she renders D’Angelo’s poetry into English with poise and panache. Time and again, Homeland of Swarms blends memory and imagery to draw us into the exigencies and emergencies of contemporary Venezuela and transform us, for, according to D’Angelo, “This book was born from the need to name the pain and the disease from the outside, assuming that the weight of our context affects our bodies.”

About the Author

Oriette D’Angelo

Oriette D’Angelo is an award-winning Venezuelan poet currently living in Iowa City, where she is a Ph.D. candidate in Spanish Literature at the University of Iowa. She is the author of four poetry collections, including En mi boca se abrirá la noche (Libero Editorial, 2023) and Cardiopatías (Monte Ávila Editores, 2016). Homeland of Swarms (co•im•press, 2024), is her debut English collection of poetry, a translation of Cardiopatías. Cardiopatías won a first book prize in Venezuela from Monte Avila Editores. She compiled the book Amanecimos sobre la palabra (Team Poetero Ediciones, 2017) about young Venezuelan poets. She is also the founder and director of the digital Spanish language literary magazine Digo.palabra.txt. In 2022 she was the recipient of the Stephen Lynn Smith Memorial Scholarship for Social Justice from University of Iowa. She has an MA in Digital Media from DePaul University as well as an MFA in Spanish Creative Writing from the University of Iowa.

About the Translator

Lupita Eyde-Tucker

Lupita Eyde-Tucker is an award-winning poet and translator. Although born in New Jersey, she was raised in Ecuador, where she took an interest in Spanish language poetry. She is the winner of the 2021 Unbound Emerging Poet Prize and her poetry collection “Eucalyptus” was named a finalist for the Andres Montoya Prize from Letras Latinas. Her work has appeared in Women’s Voices for Change, Yemassee, Rattle, and American Life in Poetry among other publications. Her translations of Oriette D’Angelo have appeared in journals such as Nashville Review, Columbia Review, Asymptote, the Los Angeles Review, Circumference, and the Arkansas International, which nominated her translation “Knee on Dirt” for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. She holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of Florida and has served as a staff scholar at Bread Loaf Translators Conference since 2021.

The event is sponsored by the Harold K. Sage Foundation; the Illinois State University Foundation Fund; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the Publications Unit in the Department of English.

For additional information, contact Holms Troelstrup, assistant director of the Publications Unit, at jhtroel@IllinoisState.edu or (309) 438-3025. Follow the Publications Unit on Twitter @PubUnit_ISU and on Instagram @PubUnit.

By Immigration Prof

"A report (Held Incommunicado: The Failed Promise of Language Access in Immigration Detention) of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigrant Justice Clinic concludes that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not providing sufficient translation services to detainees in its facilities.  Andrea Castillo for the Los Angeles Times discusses the report.   Detainees' main complaints included being unable to ask for medical care and having to rely on other detainees for the translation of sensitive documents.  

The punch line of the report:

"Together, these data paint a clear—and troubling—picture of language access in 125 immigration detention centers that collectively hold approximately 95% of the people that ICE detains.16 Specifically, the data show a nationwide pattern of ICE failing to meet its language access obligations under its own rules and federal law. This report also sheds new light on the  wide-ranging harms and often life-altering consequences of this failure for the [Limited English Proficient (LEP)] people that ICE detains. And, while this report does not cover other aspects of language access in immigration detention or with respect to other agencies involved in the immigration legal system, its findings suggest the need for closer examination of the government’s compliance with its language access obligations in these contexts as well.

The findings in this report are critical, both due to the importance of language access to LEP individuals’ fundamental needs and rights and because the very nature of ICE’s language access failures makes it effectively impossible for detained LEP
individuals to raise, challenge, or remedy these problems on their own. As such, this report concludes with recommendations for the federal government and other actors to respond to the urgent problems that this study reveals."

KJ"

#metaglossia_mundus: https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2024/09/report-held-incommunicado-the-failed-promise-of-language-access-in-immigration-detention.html

 

"With the school year now in full swing, your kids might be coming home from school saying words like "rizz" and "Ohio." We called in the experts to explain what these words mean.

By: Kristen Mirand

Posted 11:30 AM, Sep 05, 2024

and last updated 2:16 PM, Sep 05, 2024

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — With the school year now in full swing, your kids might be coming home from school saying words like "rizz" and "Ohio."

If you already know those words, consider yourself ahead of the game. Words like "bussin'" and "skibidi" are slang from Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Anyone born roughly between 1995 and 2010 is considered to be Gen Z, while anyone born roughly between 2010 and 2024 is considered to be a part of Gen Alpha.

So I called the experts to explain some of this slang.WKBW

Rizz

Additionally, Meriam-Webster describes rizz as meaning romantic appeal or charm.

Ohio

According to a recent article from Forbes, Ohio is used to describe something as weird or bizarre.

Skibidi

Skibidi can also be used interchangeably, according to Mashable, so it can mean "good" or "bad." In this case, skibidi is used to describe something as bad.

 

Mewing

Mewing is a technique where you flatten your tongue on the roof of your mouth in order to "define your jawline.""

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/that-kid-has-a-lot-of-rizz-western-new-york-gen-z-and-gen-alpha-kids-translate-slang-you-need-to-know

 

"Andrea Castillo - Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Sep 5, 2024

LOS ANGELES — A Spanish-speaking detainee at California's McFarland immigrant detention facility was struggling in May 2023 to tell a doctor, in broken English, that he sometimes bled from his rectum.

Without calling for an interpreter or ensuring his patient understood what he was about to do, the doctor proceeded with a rectal exam that shocked and traumatized the man, he recalled in an interview with The Times.

"I was so embarrassed, powerless," the man said, adding that he never received a diagnosis or follow-up from the doctor. "I feel it was abuse because he didn't explain anything. I don't understand much English."

 

The man was eventually transferred to another facility, where a different doctor explained through a Spanish interpreter exactly what she would do during the exam.

His experience was one of many language-access failures documented in a report published Thursday that concluded the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was failing to provide adequate translation services mandated by federal law and its own rules.

The report, conducted by the immigration clinic at the Cardozo School of Law in New York, surveyed more than 200 detainees and legal service providers across the country, and reviewed more than 800 complaints from 2016 to 2022 about language-access issues. The information was provided by the Department of Homeland Security in response to federal records requests.

Most survey respondents reported never receiving language assistance at a law library and having to rely on other detainees to help translate sensitive documents.

Detainees complained of being unable to lodge requests for medical care because facility staff spoke only English, resorting to hand gestures to communicate crucial medical information. Some said they languished in pain until they were deported because they couldn't communicate a need for care.

Legal service providers reported having clients whose medical conditions worsened because of delayed treatment caused by the lack of a suitable interpreter.

"The very nature of ICE's language access failures makes it effectively impossible for detained individuals (who are not fluent in English) to raise, challenge, or remedy these problems on their own," the report states.

 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for comment.

The report's authors said the Biden administration's new asylum rules — which seek to expedite the process — make adequate language access all the more crucial.

Unlike criminal defendants, detained immigrants generally have no right to government-appointed counsel. Because of that, language access in detention facility law libraries is essential for non-English speakers "to even understand the charges against them, much less prepare any sort of legal defense to deportation," the report states.

Internal policies at Immigration and Customs Enforcement require detention facilities to provide detainees with interpretation for medical care and law libraries, as well as translation of written forms.

 

In a 2020 report, Matthew Albence, then a senior official at ICE, wrote that the agency had done "excellent work" in providing detainees with "meaningful access to programs and activities in a language they can understand."

But during a review last year, Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties said it had received 208 allegations related to language access during the last five years, opened 116 complaint investigations and issued 118 recommendations to immigration officials regarding those violations.

The problem of language access has worsened as migrants attempt to cross the border from an ever-growing diversity of countries.

Last year ICE detained migrants from 170 countries, speaking dozens of different languages, including less common ones indigenous to regions in Latin America and West Africa

One man who speaks Soninke, a West African language, told the report's authors that he didn't know why he was detained at a facility in Pennsylvania — or that it was related to an immigration case — because all his documents were in English and no one at the facility understood him or provided interpretation.

Jennifer Norris, managing attorney at Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles, said she has seen the issue permeate all steps of the legal process, from finding a lawyer to challenging arguments by the federal government in immigration court.

She said cases can stall and immigrants remain detained as immigration authorities attempt to find an appropriate interpreter.

Norris said her client Vrej, a 52-year-old Armenian speaker from Iran, was denied immigration relief during his initial court hearing, held before she began representing him. Reading the hearing transcript, she realized Vrej had been given an Armenian interpreter from Armenia who didn't understand his dialect.

Again and again, the transcript states "Untranslated" for Vrej's responses. Eventually, the interpreter spoke up.

"Your honor, this is the interpreter. I — I have a feeling that, uh, the respondent is not 100-percent understanding me," the interpreter said, according to the transcript.

Vrej, who has been detained for nearly two years, appealed his denial and is now awaiting another trial.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.gazettextra.com/news/nation_world/study-ice-fails-to-provide-detainees-with-language-interpretation-required-by-its-own-rules/article_749b3155-b812-58f0-96ad-469304c042b6.html

 

"The American Literary Translators Association has announced the longlists for the 2024 National Translation Awards for poetry and prose.

Sep 05, 2024

The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) has announced the longlists for the 2024 National Translation Awards for poetry and prose. The shortlists will be announced on October 10 and winners on October 26, at ALTA's annual conference. The winning translators will receive a $4,000 purse. 

This year’s prose judges are Philip Boehm, Shelley Fairweather-Vega, Will Forrester, Joon-Li Kim, and poupeh missaghi. This year’s judges for poetry are Kazim Ali, Ronnie Apter, and Mary Jo Bang.

The 2024 National Translation Award in Prose Longlist (in alphabetical order by title):

The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers' Guild 
By Mathias Énard
Translated from French by Frank Wynne
New Directions (US), Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK)

By the Rivers of Babylon 
By Antonio Lobo Antunes
Translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
Yale University Press

Cold Nights of Childhood 
By Tezer Özlü
Translated from Turkish by Maureen Freely
Transit Books

The End of August 
By Yu Miri
Translated from Japanese by Morgan Giles
Riverhead Books (US), Tilted Axis Press (UK)

The Hunger of Women 
By Marosia Castaldi
Translated from Italian by Jamie Richards
And Other Stories

Kairos 
by Jenny Erpenbeck
translated from German by Michael Hoffman
New Directions (US), Granta Books (UK)

The Liar 
By Martin A. Hansen
Translated from Danish by Paul Larkin
New York Review Books

Not Even the Dead 
By Juan Gómez Bárcena
Translated from Spanish by Katie Whittemore
Open Letter Books

This is Not Miami 
By Fernanda Melchor
Translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes
New Directions (US), Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK)

Traces of Enayat 
By Iman Mersal,
Translated from Arabic by Robin Moger
And Other Stories (UK), Transit Books (US)

Whale 
By Cheon Myeong-kwan
Translated from Korean by Chi-Young Kim
Archipelago Books (US), Europa Editions (UK)

The World at My Back 
By Thomas Melle
Translated from German by Luise von Flotow
Biblioasis

 

The 2024 National Translation Award in Poetry Longlist (in alphabetical order by title):

And the Street 
By Pierre Alferi
Translated from French by Cole Swensen
Green Linden Press

Bathhouse and Other Tanka 
By Tatsuhiko Ishii
Translated from Japanese by Hiroaki Sato
New Directions

Central American Book of the Dead 
By Balam Rodrigo
Translated from Spanish by Dan Bellm
FlowerSong Press

Delicates 
By Wendy Guerra
Translated from Spanish by Nancy Naomi Carlson and Esperanza Hope Snyder
Seagull Books

The Dragonfly 
By Amelia Roselli
Translated from Italian by Roberta Antognini and Deborah Woodard
Entre Ríos Books

A Friend’s Kitchen 
By Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi
Translated from Arabic by Bryar Bajalan with the poet Shook
The Poetry Translation Centre

The Iliad 
By Homer
Translated from Ancient Greek by Emily Wilson
W. W. Norton & Company

Landless Boys 
By Jerzy Jarniewicz
Translated from Polish by Piotr Florczyk
MadHat Press

Ovid’s Metamorphoses
By Ovid
Translated from Latin by C. Luke Soucy
University of California Press

The Roof of the Whale Poems
By Juan Calzadilla
Translated from Spanish by Katherine M. Hedeen and Olivia Lott
University of Wisconsin Press

Shining Sheep 
By Ulrike Almut Sandig
Translated from German by Karen Leeder
Seagull Books

Winter King 
By Ostap Slyvynsky
Translated from Ukrainian by Vitaly Chernetsky and Iryna Shuvalova
Lost Horse Press"

#metaglossia_mundus

"Read for Life gets grants for bilingual books

Kids can learn to read via native language

By JEANNIE WILEY WOLF
jeanniewolf@thecourier.com

Sep 07, 2024 7:00 AM

FINDLAY — Read for Life is now able to give students the opportunity to hear books being read in both English and their native language.

Coordinator Kristy Szkudlarek said adults in the program are able to check out books and hear them read at home. If they have children, they can then read them the books.

“I think it helps especially hearing the language, hearing English, and then understanding it," she said. "And it’s a great plus that it’s also in their language so they can understand it and put their words to our words.”

She said the organization received a $4,935 Hancock Reads grant from the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation to create the talking book collection. Language Lizard and VOX books are both included, she said. These have attached devices that readers can press to play the story as often as they like. A few of the books can also be read using a phone, she said.

In addition to English, available languages include Arabic, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian and Ukrainian. They were selected, according to Szkudlarek, because people who speak these languages are students in the program.

The books have been circulating for the past month or two.

Two additional grants — a $9,000 Dollar General Adult Literacy Grant and a $16,345 Community Foundation grant — provided Intercambio Confidence and Connections workbooks for the Language for Life class and the organizations outreach partners, Szkudlarek said.

“We have such a huge population of folks wanting to learn English and to read and write, we have literacy outreach partners in various locations around Findlay," she said. "So the library trains the tutors and then the locations have a class once a week.”

Some of these classes include Haitian-Creole focused at Mission Possible and Spanish at Gateway Church, Church of the Living God and St. Andrew's United Methodist Church.

The workbooks were developed to offer practical English language acquisition for adults, and each lesson includes listening activities, vocabulary words and images, pronunciation activities, grammar practice and real-life conversations.

“If a partner organization says we have five new students, I have books to give them,” she said.

A box goes along with the books and may include items such as play money to practice making change, dice for learning numbers, and pretend fruits and vegetables.

“These are lessons in the very first book,” said Szkudlarek. “All of these things go with that very first book so the tutors can actually show them and it’s not just pictures.”

The items are already in use at some of the locations, she said. There is no cost to the students to attend these classes.

“They can go through one book and go to the next book and the next book and the next book,” she said.

Since some of the students are not able to attend class at its given time, tutors work with them.

"There’s a need and people are seeing that there’s a need,” she said. “And if you have one hour a week, that’s all it takes really.”

Szkudlarek is a certified trainer and provides instruction to the tutors. The next Read for Life tutor training session will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday in the Lindamood Room at the library. Lunch is provided.

If a volunteer is interested in working one-on-one with a partner organization, they can make an appointment with Szkudlarek, who will take them through a condensed training specific to the curriculum being used.

“But I’m always needing more tutors to help with the students that can’t come to these classes or are working on their high school equivalency or they’re just learning to read and don’t fit into the English as a Second Language classes,” she said. "There are all different types of needs."

September and January seem to be the busiest months for the program, she said.

"I don’t know if it's summer is over and they all come back or it's a New Year’s resolution to do this kind of thing. So I’m hoping for a good crowd,” said Szkudlarek.

“Grants are amazing to keep the program moving forward,” she added. “But the volunteer effort is really what we need now.”

Read for Life has provided adult literacy education in the community for over 35 years. The past 11 of those have been under the umbrella of the library. Read for Life recently moved into the former circulation workroom near the front door there.

To register for tutor training, send an email to Szkudlarek at readforlife@findlaylibrary.org"

#metaglossia_mundus

https://thecourier.com/news/539432/kids-can-learn-to-read-via-native-language/

"Just as God speaks my language, He also speaks to others — to the Romani people, to the poor, to those who don’t know him yet.

By Bob Burckle, Op-ed contributor Friday, September 06, 2024

 

Have you heard from God lately? Do you know that God speaks to you in your own language? In working with the former communist bloc countries of Eastern Europe for the last six decades to get local Bible translations into the hands of every person, we’ve witnessed a profound revelation among people who had never had Bibles before. The revelation that each of these transformed souls is hit with is: “God loves me. He sees me and loves me.”

The gypsies of Eastern Europe

This year, EEM partnered with Hungarian Gypsy Missions International and a Slovakian preacher who has worked diligently over the last 15 years to create the first-ever Bible translation for the local Romani dialect. While the term “Gypsy” is considered derogatory in the West, it is often used descriptively by this regional people group. 

For the last 1,000 years, the Romani people have been widely oppressed and treated with extreme contempt in Europe. They have faced social ostracization, persecution, violence, murder and even sterilization. The widespread neglect, avoidance and mistreatment of the Romani continues today, reinforcing the idea that they are unwanted and forgotten.

But the God of the universe has not forsaken these precious people. He loves them, sees them and has a purpose for them.

This was revealed in one of the Romani communities visited by EEM this year, when they were able to read the Word of God for the first time in their own heart language. Men were emotional, holding up their Bibles in church, outpouring their hearts to God and to one another. Everyone was sharing about the things they were finally getting to learn for the very first time. One woman, with tears in her eyes, said this:

“I just realized ... and it’s so humbling ... I just realized that God speaks our language.”

In essence, what she was saying is that “God loves us — that He would stoop so low to speak our language.” It’s beautiful and tragic to hear. Just as Jesus died for you and me, He also gave his life for these beautiful people, tossed aside by the world, misunderstood, devalued and abused.

What an incredible revelation. We know that the Word of God is incomparable. It is alive, divinely inspired and sharper than any double-edged sword. It is utterly transformative. Perhaps this most-powerful piece of literature is one that, at times, we take for granted. Afterall, we have the Bible in our language, in our homes, on our phones and in every pew at church. We in the West are certainly not starved for the Word of God. Yet, there are many throughout the world who are. 

“So will my message be that goes out of my mouth — it won’t return to me empty. Instead, it will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).  

Bibles in the language that speak to our heart

Like this woman and her people, we wouldn’t know the fullness of God’s heart for us if we weren’t able to read His Word in our own “heart language.” This is why it’s crucial that every soul has a Bible in their native tongue. This is why we must continue on in the Great Commission, namely through sharing the Gospel message found in God’s Word. This is why our ministry slogan is, “The Bible. We Want Everyone to Get it!” We don’t just want everyone to have it; we want everyone to get it. Get it into their hands, get it into their minds, and get it into their heart so that they can understand God’s purpose through it and therefore know their true identity in Christ. 

What can we take away from this?

• Value the Bible. This holy, transformative text we behold is a precious gift, especially in the hands of people who have never before heard the Good News, as well as for those most persecuted for following Christ. Let us imagine if we were in these people’s shoes of never having had the Bible in our language or living in constant fear of being persecuted for harboring its message of hope. If this was us, the Bible would be our truest, most valuable treasure, and we would treat it as such.
• Pray for the Romani people that they would receive the Word of God, be transformed by its message and step into the Great Commission alongside us. Pray that Jesus would have His way among them, showing them how valued, loved and seen they are — despite the false narratives reinforced by the culture that surrounds them.
• Help spread the Word of God. We all bring something to the table, whether through evangelism, language skill sets, giving or teaching. Each of these roles, alongside countless others, presents opportunities to help share the Word of God with unreached people groups around the world. If you are bilingual, you have the opportunity to translate in mission work. If you are called to give to missions, consider giving to a ministry that works toward crafting accurate Bible translations and distribution, a cause that will not return void. Likewise, if you are compelled to the international mission field yourself, you can hand-deliver the Good News to those who have never received it.

Just as God speaks my language, He also speaks to others — to the Romani people, to the poor, to those who don’t know him yet. He speaks our language and loves each of us deeply — a truth so powerful and moving, that we couldn’t possibly keep it to ourselves.

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).

 

Bob Burckle is President of EEM (Eastern European Mission), which has been providing Bibles and Bible-based materials to the people of Eastern Europe since 1961, now reaching 32 countries in 25 languages. EEM distributed 1.95 million books in 2022 – all free of charge. See more at www.eem.org"

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/what-it-means-to-say-god-speaks-our-language.html\

"Literature that expands the borders of what ‘international’ can mean

Books by Louise Erdrich, Jesmyn Ward and others have interrogated the boundaries meant to contain us.

By Anton Hur

September 7, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. EDT

The National Book Awards will celebrate its 75th anniversary at this year’s ceremony, on Nov. 20. To mark the occasion, The Washington Post has collaborated with the administrator and presenter of the awards, the National Book Foundation, to commission a series of essays by National Book Award-honored authors who consider (and reconsider), decade by decade, the books that were recognized and those that were overlooked; the preoccupations of authors, readers and the publishing industry through time; the power and subjectivity of judges and of awards; and the lasting importance of books to our culture, from the 1950s to the present day. In this last essay in the series, Anton Hur — a finalist for the National Book Award in 2023, for his translation of Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny” — looks back at the 2010s.

 

As a non-American, I didn’t know I was even eligible for a National Book Award until I was nominated for one last year. I assumed that any award with “national” in its name was another parochial American institution that would probably have nothing to do with me, like how Bong Joon-ho, director of “Parasite,” once described the Academy Awards as a “very local” film festival. Another well-known honor, the Pulitzer Prize, extended eligibility from U.S. citizens to permanent residents only beginning this year — which still excludes me from contention.

 

In fact, translated literature as a category for the National Book Awards reappeared only in 2018, after an astounding 35-year hiatus, a resurrection that I daresay was mindful of the spectacular success of the International Booker Prize. That honor had also been revamped, in 2016, to its current format, in which prizes are split 50/50 between author and translator, neither of whom are required to have anything to do with the United Kingdom (where the award is based) on their passports. Better slightly late than never — or is it? The International Booker is one thing, but why should a national literary prize award the literature of other nations?

Well, in a nutshell, because nation-states are bogus, especially when it comes to literature. Even the winners of the National Book Awards, especially during the 2010s, have such an internationalist streak that it quickly becomes clear how impossible it is to talk about the nation without talking about the inter-nation. Phil Klay’s “Redeployment,” winner for fiction in 2014, is clearly a book about America and Americans, but it needs the setting of the Iraq War to achieve its power. “The Friend,” by Sigrid Nunez (fiction winner in 2018), uses the narrow canvas of middle-class academics living in New York but includes a plethora of international cultural references, such as Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” (check out the recent translation by 2022 finalist Damion Searls) and Kornél Mundruczó’s film “White God.”

 

The works that fascinate me most among the fiction winners from that decade, however, offer the internationalist perspectives of “nations” within America, such as the Ojibwe reservation in “The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich (2012 winner), and the disenfranchised Black communities in Jesmyn Ward’s “Salvage the Bones” (2011) and “Sing, Unburied, Sing” (2017), an impressive double win for Ward. This more expansive understanding of what “international” could mean is not without its problems, as it otherizes what might rightfully and simply be called American — but this conversation itself seems appropriately American to me.

 

Several winners in the nonfiction category also interrogated the boundaries of what it means to be American. “The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America” (2013), by George Packer, presents portraits of individual Americans almost as if writing for an international audience — or even aliens from space — to explain what this country is. “Between the World and Me” (2015), by Ta-Nehisi Coates; “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” (2016), by Ibram X. Kendi; “The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke” (2018), by Jeffrey C. Stewart; “The Yellow House” (2019), by Sarah M. Broom — all these books deal with the experiences of racialized people in America through different lenses, though perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the Black experience, this nation within the nation, is the lens through which America comes into sharpest focus.

 

It is illustrative that “Trust Exercise,” by Susan Choi (2019 winner for fiction), a novel featuring a high school theater class, is set in a space that is marginal to the performing arts world. It shows how generative the tension between the center and the margin, or the familiar and unfamiliar, truly is for artists of all kinds.

What’s immediately salient to me as a translator is that a translator-poet, Arthur Sze, won the award for poetry in 2019 — a feat thrillingly repeated twice in our current decade, by Don Mee Choi for “DMZ Colony” (2020) and John Keene for “Punks: New & Selected Poems” (2022). Apparently, before the translated literature category was revived, poetry was where the translators hung out (other nominated translator-poets in the 2010s included Forrest Gander, Ilya Kaminsky, Ariana Reines, Mark Strand, Jane Hirshfield and Rowan Ricardo Phillips). Translator-writers are quite common in Korea, and they are thankfully becoming ever more common in America. For example, Jennifer Croft, a judge this year in the translated literature category (previously nominated for her translations of “Flights” and “The Books of Jacob,” novels by Olga Tokarczuk), recently published her own novel (“The Extinction of Irena Rey”), and the chair of last year’s judges, Jeremy Tiang, won the Singapore Literature Prize for his novel “State of Emergency.”

 

But why have a translated literature category at all? Neil Clarke, the editor of the science fiction magazine Clarkesworld, had the same thought; he has argued against creating a translation category at the Hugo Awards, claiming that it would serve to further marginalize translated literature. A quick glance at the history of nominees for best novel at the Hugos reveals that a translation has been a finalist only twice, and for the same team: the redoubtable Cixin Liu, author of “The Three-Body Problem,” and his translator Ken Liu. As someone who reads translations primarily and prodigiously, you can’t make me take Clarke’s fears of “further” marginalization seriously. And it has to be said that this also applies to the National Book Awards, which simply stopped taking translated literature into consideration for more than three decades. (In writing this article, I was asked to consider what works may have been overlooked by the awards during the 2010s and, well, imagine me madly gesticulating at all the works in translation published in the eligibility periods between 2009 and 2017.)

To have a translated literature category is to acknowledge and honor the influence that international literature has had on American letters and American life. It declares to the world that the United States is a part of the global literary sphere, that it will make a place for us as we have made a place for it. In other words — and I say this with great affection for my American peers — it makes you look less like cultural imperialists.

 

In 2018, the revived award was given to Margaret Mitsutani’s translation of “The Emissary,” by Yoko Tawada, a novelist who writes in both Japanese and German — name a more internationalist author! Demographic analyses of nominees tend to focus on race and gender, but in translated literature we look at languages: The 20 nominated authors since the award returned represent 12 languages, with three times the number of nominees from Norway than from the entire continent of Africa. It is also illuminating, if unsurprising, to look at the lists of nominated translators. Seven of the 10 translators on the 2019 longlist were women — translators tend to be women, as is the case in most underpaid professions. A translator of color has never won the International Booker Prize, and only a handful have been finalists for either that award or the National Book Award (four each). Perhaps this is less an oversight than a sadly accurate reflection of our industry as a whole. Translation, like most of Anglophonic publishing, is White-dominated, and we still have a long way to go.

Anton Hur is a literary translator and the author of the novel “Toward Eternity.” He was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for his translation of Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny” and is a judge for the 2025 International Booker Prize."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/09/07/national-book-awards-2010s/

 

"Study: ICE fails to provide detainees with language interpretation required by its own rules

By Andrea CastilloStaff Writer 

Sept. 5, 2024 3 AM PT

WASHINGTON —  

A Spanish-speaking detainee at California’s McFarland immigrant detention facility was struggling in May 2023 to tell a doctor, in broken English, that he sometimes bled from his rectum.

Without calling for an interpreter or ensuring his patient understood what he was about to do, the doctor proceeded with a rectal exam that shocked and traumatized the man, he recalled in an interview with The Times.

“I was so embarrassed, powerless,” the man said, adding that he never received a diagnosis or follow-up from the doctor. “I feel it was abuse because he didn’t explain anything. I don’t understand much English.”

 

Andrea Castillo

Andrea Castillo covers immigration. Before joining the Los Angeles Times, she covered immigrant, ethnic and LGBTQ+ communities for the Fresno Bee. She got her start at the Oregonian in Portland. A native of Seattle, she’s been making her way down the West Coast since her graduation from Washington State University.ns about pending cases"

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-09-05/study-border-agency-ice-fails-to-give-detainees-language-access-required-under-its-own-rules

 

"September 7, 2024Busines Newswire

The world is becoming more connected than ever, and with this increasing global interaction comes the need for seamless communication across language barriers. Whether it’s businesses expanding into new markets, travelers seeking assistance abroad, or people connecting on social media, language translation plays a vital role. Traditionally, human translators have handled most of this work, but Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how we think about and approach translation.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into the future of AI Translation and explore what to expect in the coming years. From advanced language models to voice cloning and lip-syncing, AI is transforming communication on a global scale.

1. How AI Translation Works Today

Before we dive into what’s next, let’s first look at how AI Translation functions today. AI Translation is powered by machine learning algorithms, which are trained on vast datasets of text and language. Neural networks, such as those used in Google’s Google Translate or OpenAI’s GPT models, process this data to understand and generate translations.

Right now, the accuracy of AI Translation has improved significantly in recent years, thanks to innovations in Natural Language Processing (NLP). However, there are still challenges when it comes to translating nuanced or context-sensitive content, like idiomatic expressions, cultural references, or jargon.

Despite these challenges, AI Translation is already a game-changer for businesses, governments, and individuals alike. Companies like Duzo AI are leading the charge with advanced tools for breaking down language barriers and helping content creators reach audiences worldwide.

2. What the Future Holds for AI Translation

The future of AI Translation is filled with exciting potential. As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, we can expect several key developments:

Greater Accuracy and Contextual Understanding

One of the biggest hurdles for AI Translation has been capturing context and nuance. AI often struggles with slang, idioms, or phrases that don’t directly translate word-for-word. However, advancements in deep learning will allow AI models to better grasp the context and cultural significance of phrases, making translations more accurate and natural.

In the future, we can expect AI to not just translate literal meanings, but also understand tone, emotion, and cultural subtleties, making translations more human-like and less robotic. This will help bridge the gap between human and AI translators, enhancing the efficiency and quality of translations.

Real-Time Voice Translation

Imagine traveling to a foreign country and having real-time conversations in a language you don’t speak. With advances in AI Translation, this scenario is not far-fetched. Real-time translation is already available to some extent through tools like Google’s Pixel Buds or Microsoft Translator, but the future promises even more seamless and accurate real-time voice translation.

AI is rapidly improving in terms of recognizing accents, dialects, and various speech patterns, allowing for more effective voice-to-voice translations. This will help people communicate more naturally in person, without the need for a third-party translator or app.

Voice cloning, which allows AI to replicate your voice while translating your speech into another language, is another development on the horizon. This can be extremely beneficial in industries like entertainment or customer service, where maintaining the speaker’s voice adds a personal touch.

3. AI Translation and the Business World

The implications of AI Translation in the business world are profound. Companies are increasingly going global, and with that comes the need to communicate with customers, partners, and employees in different languages. AI Translation is helping businesses break into new markets without the costs and delays associated with hiring human translators for every task.

Multilingual Customer Support

One of the most significant advantages of AI Translation for businesses is in customer support. AI-powered chatbots can communicate with customers in multiple languages, offering instant solutions to queries without the need for human intervention. This not only reduces costs but also ensures 24/7 support for customers across the globe.

Businesses can also leverage AI Translation to localize their websites, apps, and marketing materials, making it easier to connect with international audiences. By creating content that speaks directly to users in their native language, companies can build stronger customer relationships and increase their market share.

Efficient Content Localization

In today’s digital world, content is king. Whether it’s blogs, social media posts, product descriptions, or training manuals, businesses need to create content that resonates with a global audience. AI Translation is making it easier for companies to localize their content quickly and cost-effectively.

Platforms like Duzo AI are already offering tools that provide natural translations, voice cloning, lip-syncing, script editing, and subtitle generation. These innovations will allow businesses to create localized content in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods, helping them stay ahead of the competition.

4. Challenges AI Translation Must Overcome

While the future of AI Translation is promising, it’s important to acknowledge some of the challenges that still need to be addressed.

Accuracy in Specialized Fields

AI Translation has made incredible strides in general translation, but when it comes to highly specialized industries—like law, medicine, or engineering—there’s still a long way to go. These fields require not only a deep understanding of language but also domain-specific knowledge. For instance, legal terminology in one language might not have an equivalent in another, or medical phrases might carry different connotations depending on the region.

Human translators often bring this kind of specialized knowledge to the table, and while AI is learning, it may take some time before it reaches the level of expertise required for highly technical or niche translations.

Ethical Concerns and Data Privacy

As AI Translation continues to improve, ethical concerns around privacy and data security will become increasingly important. AI models need access to vast amounts of data to train and improve, and this data often includes sensitive or confidential information.

Ensuring that these translation tools protect user data will be critical as businesses and individuals begin to rely more heavily on AI for translations. Companies offering AI Translation services will need to be transparent about how they handle and secure this information.

5. How AI Translation Will Impact Global Communication

As AI Translation becomes more widespread, it will have a profound impact on global communication. The ability to easily converse with people from different cultures and languages will foster greater understanding and collaboration on an international scale. In the future, language may no longer be a barrier to innovation, education, and diplomacy.

AI-powered tools like those provided by Duzo AI will play a significant role in this transformation. By offering natural translations, voice cloning, lip-syncing, script editing, and subtitle generation, Duzo AI helps individuals and businesses alike break down language barriers and connect with global audiences. With companies like Duzo AI at the forefront of innovation, we can expect the future of AI Translation to be one of seamless, natural, and human-like communication.

6. Conclusion: A Bright Future for AI Translation

The future of AI Translation is filled with potential, from increased accuracy and real-time voice translation to its profound impact on global business and communication. While there are still challenges to overcome, such as maintaining accuracy in specialized fields and addressing ethical concerns, the advancements we’ve already seen are just the beginning.

As AI continues to evolve, we can expect more personalized and contextually aware translations, making it easier for people to communicate across borders. And with platforms like Duzo AI leading the charge, the future of translation will be more natural and accessible than ever.

Ready to take your content worldwide? Break language barriers with Duzo AI’s cutting-edge translation, voice cloning, and subtitle tools. Expand your reach and ensure your message is understood by audiences everywhere. Visit Duzo AI today to see how their innovative solutions can help you communicate naturally, no matter the language.

In this blog, we explored the exciting developments in AI Translation and how they will shape the future of communication. Companies like Duzo AI are paving the way for natural, seamless translation that can take your content to a global audience. With AI Translation becoming more human-like and accessible, the future of global communication looks incredibly promising."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://ipsnews.net/business/2024/09/07/the-future-of-ai-translation-what-to-expect/

 

"Prof Nogwaja Zulu gives an insightful lesson about cross-language usage in some South African languages.

Monday, September 9 2024

Heritage Month: Exploring the shared roots of our mother tongues

Prof Nogwaja Zulu gives an insightful lesson about cross-language usage in some South African languages.

September 7, 2024

 Nhlanhla Hlatshwayo  

IN honour of Heritage Month, Caxton Local Media had the privilege to learn from Prof Nogwaja Zulu from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s College of Humanities, School of Arts, African Languages. Prof Zulu shared insightful perspectives on the rich diversity of South African languages, revealing the fascinating history and shared roots that have shaped our linguistic landscape.

Prof Zulu writes: 

It is common in South Africa to find a number of words with similar meanings and sounds being used in several languages, for example, one finds common words in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and other languages. That linguistic process is known as cross-language word usage. Cross-language word usage happens because of the interaction in language contact, that is, when two languages meet for the first time. In Africa, cross-language interaction happened when European languages came into contact with third-world countries during the period of missionaries, of intercontinental trade, such as the Indian-Dutch interaction, and later, on a massive scale during the colonisation period. 

Another process of cross-language word usage happens as a result of language co-existence. In South Africa, African languages have a long history of living together in the southern region of Africa.

 

As a result of a long co-existence, there has been borrowing and interchange of language items, resulting in cognates – words with the same spelling and meaning in different languages. An example is the word, ‘mona’, for jealousy, which is in Nguni languages such as isiZulu and isiXhosa. But that word is also used in the Sotho language group. Some cognate words are more common in language affinities, such as Nguni (isiZulu, isiXhosa and isiNdebele) and Sotho (Sesotho, Setswana and Sepedi) language groups because of a long co-existence.

Let us examine the following loan words (words from a donor language to a recipient language):

English-isiZulu kitchen words:

porridge – phalishi
spoon – sipuni
dish – ndishi

pot – bhodo/bhodwe
bottle – bhodlela

These words are for items that came with European missionaries during the first language encounter with Africans. The isiZulu word for spoon is khezo, but that meaning is getting lost to the generation born after 1994. To them, sipuni is the original word for spoon. Many loans seem to be naturalised in recipient languages, such as the Afrikaans word pap being used as papa in Nguni and Sotho language groups. IsiZulu sometimes uses phalishi for porridge, but that meaning has shifted to ‘soft porridge’. Also, the English and Afrikaans words ‘cat’ and kat, are naturalised in Nguni and Sotho language groups as kati and katse, respectively. In isiZulu, a cat is mangobe, and in Sesotho, it is mosiya.

The influence of the various missionary languages is now almost untraceable when it comes to naming items of first language contact, for example in Sotho languages, where the missionaries were from France, the Sesotho word for sweets, dipongpong (singular: pongpong), is no longer recognised as the French load word, bonbon.

New words

New loan words come with new inventions in technology, and they are Africanized into the morphology (word structure) of various African languages. The word ‘phone’ (verb) – fona is Africanised in all the African languages of South Africa, for example in the following:

Ngizofona in isiZulu
Ke tla fona in Sesotho
Ndizofona in isiXhosa.

We find a similar pattern with the current technology terminology: television, computer, delete, click, save, inbox, etc.

In conclusion, we can say that because of the long history of co-existence among the languages of South Africa, a healthy interaction of the languages of the country exists."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.citizen.co.za/north-glen-news/news-headlines/local-news/2024/09/07/heritage-month-exploring-the-shared-roots-of-our-mother-tongues/

 

WASHINGTON — "Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.

Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.

So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn’t need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.

 

Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won’t need as many employees — and will slash some jobs — if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It’s still hiring aggressively.

 

The experience at Alorica — and at other companies, including furniture retailer IKEA — suggests that AI may not prove to be the job killer that many people fear. Instead, the technology might turn out to be more like breakthroughs of the past — the steam engine, electricity, the internet: That is, eliminate some jobs while creating others. And probably making workers more productive in general, to the eventual benefit of themselves, their employers and the economy.

Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said he thinks AI “will affect many, many jobs — maybe every job indirectly to some extent. But I don’t think it’s going to lead to, say, mass unemployment. We have seen other big technological events in our history, and those didn’t lead to a large rise in unemployment. Technology destroys but also creates. There will be new jobs that come about.’’

At its core, artificial intelligence empowers machines to perform tasks previously thought to require human intelligence. The technology has existed in early versions for decades, having emerged with a problem-solving computer program, the Logic Theorist, built in the 1950s at what’s now Carnegie Mellon University. More recently, think of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Or IBM’s chess-playing computer, Deep Blue, which managed to beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.

AI really burst into public consciousness in 2022, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the generative AI tool that can conduct conversations, write computer code, compose music, craft essays and supply endless streams of information. The arrival of generative AI has raised worries that chatbots will replace freelance writers, editors, coders, telemarketers, customer- service reps, paralegals and many more.

 

 

“AI is going to eliminate a lot of current jobs, and this is going to change the way that a lot of current jobs function,’’ Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said in a discussion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May.

Yet the widespread assumption that AI chatbots will inevitably replace service workers, the way physical robots took many factory and warehouse jobs, isn’t becoming reality in any widespread way — not yet, anyway. And maybe it never will.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers said last month that it found “little evidence that AI will negatively impact overall employment.’’ The advisers noted that history shows technology typically makes companies more productive, speeding economic growth and creating new types of jobs in unexpected ways.

They cited a study this year led by David Autor, a leading MIT economist: It concluded that 60% of the jobs Americans held in 2018 didn’t even exist in 1940, having been created by technologies that emerged only later.

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks job cuts, said it has yet to see much evidence of layoffs that can be attributed to labor-saving AI.

“I don’t think we’ve started seeing companies saying they’ve saved lots of money or cut jobs they no longer need because of this,’’ said Andy Challenger, who leads the firm’s sales team. “That may come in the future. But it hasn’t played out yet.’’

At the same time, the fear that AI poses a serious threat to some categories of jobs isn’t unfounded.

Consider Suumit Shah, an Indian entrepreneur who caused an uproar last year by boasting that he had replaced 90% of his customer support staff with a chatbot named Lina. The move at Shah’s company, Dukaan, which helps customers set up e-commerce sites, shrank the response time to an inquiry from 1 minute, 44 seconds to “instant.” It also cut the typical time needed to resolve problems from more than two hours to just over three minutes.

 

“It’s all about AI’s ability to handle complex queries with precision,’’ Shah said by email. 

The cost of providing customer support, he said, fell by 85%.

“Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely,’’ Shah posted on X.

Dukaan has expanded its use of AI to sales and analytics. The tools, Shah said, keep growing more powerful.

“It’s like upgrading from a Corolla to a Tesla,’’ he said. “What used to take hours now takes minutes. And the accuracy is on a whole new level.’’

Similarly, researchers at Harvard Business School, the German Institute for Economic Research and London’s Imperial College Business School found in a study last year that job postings for writers, coders and artists tumbled within eight months of the arrival of ChatGPT.

A 2023 study by researchers at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University concluded that telemarketers and teachers of English and foreign languages held the jobs most exposed to ChatGPT-like language models. But being exposed to AI doesn’t necessarily mean losing your job to it. AI can also do the drudge work, freeing up people to do more creative tasks.

The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, for example, introduced a customer- service chatbot in 2021 to handle simple inquiries. Instead of cutting jobs, IKEA retrained 8,500 customer- service workers to handle such tasks as advising customers on interior design and fielding complicated customer calls.

Chatbots can also be deployed to make workers more efficient, complementing their work rather than eliminating it. A study by Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University and Danielle Li and Lindsey Raymond of MIT tracked 5,200 customer-support agents at a Fortune 500 company who used a generative AI-based assistant. The AI tool provided valuable suggestions for handling customers. It also supplied links to relevant internal documents.

 

Those who used the chatbot, the study found, proved 14% more productive than colleagues who didn’t. They handled more calls and completed them faster. The biggest productivity gains — 34% — came from the leastexperienced, least-skilled workers.

At an Alorica call center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one customerservice rep had been struggling to gain access to the information she needed to quickly handle calls. After Alorica trained her to use AI tools, her “handle time’’ — how long it takes to resolve customer calls — fell in four months by an average of 14 minutes a call to just over seven minutes.

Over a period of six months, the AI tools helped one group of 850 Alorica reps reduce their average handle time to six minutes, from just over eight minutes. They can now field 10 calls an hour instead of eight — an additional 16 calls in an eight-hour day.

Alorica agents can use AI tools to quickly access information about the customers who call in — to check their order history, say, or determine whether they had called earlier and hung up in frustration.

Suppose, said Mike Clifton, Alorica’s co-CEO, a customer complains that she received the wrong product. The agent can “hit replace, and the product will be there tomorrow,” he said. “ ‘Anything else I can help you with? No?’ Click. Done. Thirty seconds in and out.’’

Now the company is beginning to use its Real-time Voice Language Translation tool, which lets customers and Alorica agents speak and hear each other in their own languages.

“It allows (Alorica reps) to handle every call they get,” said Rene Paiz, a vice president of customer service. “I don’t have to hire externally’’ just to find someone who speaks a specific language.

 

Yet Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It continues to seek hires — increasingly, those who are comfortable with new technology.

“We are still actively hiring,’’ Paiz says. “We have a lot that needs to be done out there.’’"

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.gmtoday.com/business/ai-might-not-steal-many-jobs-after-all/article_bea55d42-6d1b-11ef-bd2f-6bf522c239d5.html

 

"Research suggests that our political leanings are revealed in the way we use language.

Key points

• Studies suggest that how we talk may reveal our political leanings.
• Online hyper-partisan speech follows a specific linguistic style.
• Political partisanship in Congressional speech has dramatically increased.

Increasing political divides

Source: Larisa/Pixabay

Every election cycle, we are surrounded by highly politicized talk via ads and social media as well as from relatives, friends and neighbors. Certain behaviors have also become linked to people’s political affiliation, ranging from wearing a mask to wearing a MAGA hat. More surprising, though, is that how we talk, more than the content of what we say, can signal our political leanings.

 

Signaling left or right

One study that looked at politically based subreddits within the larger Reddit community found that people who were hyper-partisan, i.e., more extreme to the left or right in political views, used a different style of language compared to those in non-partisan political subreddits.

 

The basic premise of the study was that, when people were strongly invested in having others agree with them, they would adopt a more intimate informal linguistic style. This includes using things that are common in spontaneous spoken conversation like discourse markers (like, you know, I mean) and lots of “I” or “you” pronouns as if they were personally conversing with post readers, as well as swear words and exclamation marks.

 

When comparing posts on subreddits that were clearly left- or right-leaning compared to subreddits that were trying to encourage diverse or politically neutral views, they found that hyper-partisan subreddits indeed used more of these features, while non hyper-partisan sites tended to use less of those, but more third-person pronouns (she, he, or they), quotes, and periods.

 

Whether a site was left-leaning or right-leaning also made a difference, with left-leaning sites in particular using more swear words and “I” pronouns.

Why would we find these differences? Guided by prior studies, the researchers suggest that partisanship is usually strongly emotive and speakers who are highly politicized hope to engage those with similar views by creating a sense of closeness and community.

 

Informal language features help to establish intimacy in this way in part because they come across as more spontaneous and conversational—which is typically the channel through which we forge shared opinions.

The researchers suggest using swear words helped to convey emotional intensity and their results showed the hyper-partison sites used twice as many swear words overall. Not only did hyper-partisan subreddits use more swear words, they also tended to involve stronger ones (like fuck vs. hell) – again indicating more intense feelings toward issues or people.

 

The great divide

Not only does our degree of partisanship come out in terms of how we communicate online, but research shows that partisanship in politicians’ speech has greatly increased over the last century.

By partisan talk, I am referring to the types of short catchphrases and party talking points that have become increasingly recognized as call signs of particular political ideologies. For example, the term “climate crises” is frequently used by Democrats and “secure borders” is often mentioned by Republicans.

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In a study that used machine learning to examine common refrains like these in Congressional speeches from 1872 to 2016, researchers discovered that the computer algorithm could identify the political affiliation of the speaker with just a minute of speech. More importantly, though, up until 1994, the rate of identification was only about 55%. By 2009, it had skyrocketed to 83% party-affiliation accuracy—all based on processing one-minute samples of speech.

 

The researchers suggest this increase is tied to more sophisticated marketing and messaging around the “contract with America” that Republicans began strategically adopting in the mid 1990s. Seeing its effectiveness, Democrats soon also started hammering away at coordinated and consistent political messaging. This type of recurring, coordinated phraseology is now standard in politics, spread in large part by partisan news platforms and social media sties.

According to the authors of the study, “Democrats and Republicans now speak different languages to a far greater degree than ever before.” The big-picture result? Increased partisanship not just for politicians but for everyone—feeding right back into what is driving the partisan linguistic style evidenced on reddit.

 

Luckily, not all topics appeared to follow this track of becoming increasingly partisan as of late. While “alcohol” was found to be the subject of great political partisanship during the Prohibition era, now, at least, Democrats and Republicans are more willing to discuss their differences over a drink.

 

References

Gentzkow, M., Shapiro, J.M. and Taddy, M. (2019), Measuring Group Differences in High-Dimensional Choices: Method and Application to Congressional Speech. Econometrica, 87: 1307-1340.

Nguyen, A., Roberts, T., Anand, P., & Fox Tree, J. E. (2022). Look, Dude: How hyperpartisan and non-hyperpartisan speech differ in online commentary. Discourse & Society, 33(3), 371-390.

About the Author

Valerie Fridland, Ph.D., is a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the author of Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good and Bad English."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-wild/202409/the-politics-of-language

 

"We’re using research in the Asia-Pacific region to highlight the importance of language of instruction to the education outcomes of children.

This International Literacy Day, we’re using research in the Asia-Pacific region to highlight the importance of language of instruction to the education outcomes of children.

With more than 3,000 documented languages, the Asia-Pacific region is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world. In Papua New Guinea alone, there are 839 spoken languages – the highest number for any country in the world.

About 40% of the global population does not have access to education in a language that they speak or understand. Research within the Asia-Pacific region shows the impact that language can have on educational outcomes. Students whose mother tongue is not the same as the language of instruction face additional barriers to learning and are more likely to leave school early.

This year, International Literacy Day celebrates the theme of ‘Promoting multilingual education: literacy for mutual understanding and peace.’ Drawing on findings from ACER’s research in the Asia-Pacific region, we’re highlighting the challenges that language of instruction can have on children’s learning, and how well-planned and resourced language in education policies can make education more equitable for all.

In Southeast Asia, there are wide disparities between the numbers of students who attend primary education in their first language. For example, while 90% of students in Cambodia and Viet Nam attend primary school in their first language, only 25% in Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia do.

Initiated in 2012, the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) is a cross-national assessment program that examines the learning outcomes of Grade 5 students in Southeast Asia. SEA-PLM 2019 found that children who did not primarily use the test language at home were more likely to perform poorly.

In the Pacific, hundreds of languages exist. And while English is a common language of instruction in school, students may use different languages in the home.

The Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) aims to monitor student achievement in literacy – reading and writing – and numeracy at the end of 4 and 6 years of primary school. Undertaken in 15 countries in the Pacific Islands, PILNA collects information on reading and writing through its literacy assessment.

PILNA 2021 found that students who performed better in reading tended to use the language of assessment in more settings. This suggests that using a language in every day conversation may improve students’ reading ability.

The complex discussion between mother tongue or the adoption of a common language of instruction continues to be fiercely debated. One critical issue is the need to not place unrealistic language demands on students, many of whom already face other challenging conditions. Providing children a solid basis for language development is key to their success.

Governments in the Asia-Pacific region have approached language in education policies in a myriad of ways. They are often tasked with carefully balancing resource availability, politics and cultural expression. Language policies are often ambitious, despite the complex linguistic and resource-constrained environments.

In some countries, there is no official accommodation of a child’s mother tongue. Many other countries have bilingual or multilingual policies for the first few years of primary school. Children may initially learn in their home language and have an ‘early exit’ transition to a second language (or third) by Grade 4. Often, policies may not be implemented in practice due to societal or community pressures to use more global languages and a lack of teacher training and materials in relevant languages.

It is not easy to obtain evidence on the impact of using mother tongue language as the language of instruction on learning outcomes. However, available evidence suggests that while ‘early exit’ transition programs show early promise, outcomes are not sustained once mother tongue support stops.

Students may lack the reading proficiency in their mother tongue to support a transition to reading with comprehension in another language. Where evidence of longer-term success exists, it relies almost exclusively on ‘late exit’ transition, with mother tongue instruction continuing at least until the end of primary school. This requires significant long-term funding backed by political will, as well as an environment in which the plan may be implemented.

Students should not have to cope, at least in primary school, with so many languages. The core language of instruction should be decided early on and see children through their primary education. Building foundational language, especially spoken language skills, is key to school success.

Children who do not speak the language of instruction at home need additional support. Curriculum and teaching practices may need to be adjusted to support these children to build a solid basis for language development.

Our recent Multi-Year Teacher Development Study in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) has shown that there is a need to bridge the gap between the home and school language environments, such as through intensive support for ethnic students to build their oral language skills. This is now being implemented by the Lao PDR government.

Planning and adequate resourcing is crucial to supporting the language development of students. There is often a gap between what is best practice, and what can realistically be achieved.

Teachers must be proficient in the relevant languages of instruction and have good command of languages of their students, trained in appropriate learner-centred pedagogy and literacy development, and supported by a suitable curriculum and teaching resources. Steps should also be taken to involve community members in education.

Getting the policy settings right and providing adequate support to effectively implement these policies is vital. What our research suggests is that children are being left behind. More support is needed to ensure that all children have the best possibility for success, no matter what language they speak at home."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.acer.org/in/discover/article/understanding-challenges-with-language-of-instruction-in-multilingual-contexts

 

"L’Institut de Traduction de la Bible (ITB) et la Société Biblique Russe (SBR) ont publié le fruit de leur travail conjoint : la première édition de la traduction complète de la Bible en langue bouriate. La traduction a été soumise à une évaluation scientifique à l’Université d’État bouriate Dorji Banzarov et à l’Institut de Linguistique de l’Académie des Sciences de Russie (ASR)..."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://orthodoxie.com/la-bible-en-langue-bouriate-a-ete-publiee/

 

Long-running cable service celebrates 25th anniversary by offering new language channel that will include Wolastoqey, Mi'gmaq

Author of the article:

John Chilibeck  •  Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Published Sep 08, 2024  

#metaglossia_mundus

"Released On: 03 Sep 2024. Available for over a year

Africa is home to around one-third of the world's languages, but only a smattering of them are available online and in translation software. So when young Beninese computer scientist Bonaventure Dossou, who was fluent in French, experienced difficulties communicating with his mother, who spoke the local language Fon, he came up with an idea. Bonaventure and a friend developed a French to Fon translation app, with speech recognition functionality, using an old missionary bible and volunteer questionnaires as the source data. Although rudimentary, they put the code online as open-source to be used by others. Bonaventure has since joined with other young African computer scientists and language activists called Masakane to use this code and share knowledge to increase digital accessibility for African and other lower-resourced languages. They want to be able to communicate across the African continent using translation software, with the ultimate goal being an "African Babel Fish", a simultaneous speech-to-speech translation for African languages. James Jackson explores what role their ground-breaking software could play for societies in Africa disrupted by language barriers.

A Whistledown production for BBC World Service""

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct6x40

 

"Keep your brain young: Check out these expert-backed tips to fight brain ageing and boost mental agility at any age | Health

ByZarafshan Shiraz, New Delhi

Sep 08, 2024 11:08 AM IST

Keep your brain young: Check out these expert-backed tips to fight brain ageing and boost mental agility at any age

Like any other organ in human body, our brain also requires care and attention to stay sharp and efficient hence, engaging in habits that keep the brain active and alive is crucial for maintaining cognitive health, enhancing memory and reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. To ensure this, experts recommend adopting specific lifestyle choices that can significantly boost brain power, improve mental agility and promote long-term brain health..

 

Want a Smarter Brain?

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Srinivas M, Consultant - Neurologist at Sparsh Hospital in Yeswanthpur, shared, “Regular physical exercise, particularly aerobic activities like walking, swimming and cycling, play a vital role in keeping the brain active and healthy. Exercises that challenge coordination and balance, such as Yoga or tai chi, also enhance cognitive function. For young children, building a brain-friendly environment is essential.”

Master software project management, risk mitigation, and value enhancement with ISB's IT project management programme

 

 

He added, “Encouraging activities like puzzles, memory games and creative play stimulates brain development. Developing a habit of reading, alongside limiting screen time, is crucial. Additionally, quality sleep and proper nutrition fuel cognitive growth. These practices, when instilled early, set the foundation for a lifetime of brain health.”

Daily Habits to Boost Brain Health

According to Dr Vikram Huded, HOD and Director and Clinical Lead - Interventional Neurology at Narayana Group, five key daily habits to keep your brain active and alive, especially in your 40s and 50s are as recommended 

• First, engage in regular aerobic exercise, which boosts blood flow and promotes brain plasticity.
• Second, prioritise quality sleep to support cognitive recovery.
• Third, stimulate your mind with challenging activities like puzzles or learning new skills.
• Fourth, maintain a balanced diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3s, which support brain health.
• Finally, practice mindfulness or meditation to reduce stress and enhance mental clarity. Incorporating these habits daily can significantly improve cognitive resilience and protect against age-related decline. Even small, consistent changes can have profound long-term effects on your brain's vitality.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/habits-to-keep-brain-active-and-alive-unlock-the-secret-to-a-sharp-mind-101725772009844.html

 

"Working memory capacity (WMC) has received a great deal of attention in cognitive psychology partly because WMC correlates broadly with other abilities (e.g., reading comprehension, second-language proficiency, fluid intelligence) and thus seems to be a critical aspect of cognitive ability. However, it is still rigorously debated why such correlations occur. Some theories posit a single ability (e.g., attention control, short-term memory capacity, controlled memory search) as the primary reason behind WMC’s predictiveness, whereas others argue that WMC is predictive because it taps into multiple abilities. Here, we tested these single- and multifaceted accounts of WMC with a large-scale (N = 974) individual-differences investigation of WMC and three hypothesized mediators: attention control, primary memory, and secondary memory. We found evidence for a multifaceted account, such that no single ability could fully mediate the relation between WMC and higher order cognition (i.e., reading comprehension and fluid intelligence). Further, such an effect held regardless of whether WMC was measured via complex span or n-back..."

#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383789461_What_Makes_Working_Memory_Work_A_Multifaceted_Account_of_the_Predictive_Power_of_Working_Memory_Capacity

 

International Literacy Day 2024: Theme and What UNESCO Does for Literacy

Learn about UNESCO’s initiatives for International Literacy Day 2024 and how the organisation drives literacy programs to reduce inequality, improve education, and foster social resilience.

By Nikhil Batra

Sep 8, 2024, 09:00 IST

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International Literacy Day 2024

Every year on September 8th, the world comes together to celebrate International Literacy Day, a day dedicated to promoting the importance of literacy as a tool for empowering individuals and building more inclusive societies. Established by UNESCO in 1967, this day has grown into a global movement, drawing attention to the challenges of illiteracy and advocating for accessible education for all.

At its core, literacy refers to the ability to read, write, and comprehend information. However, in today’s world, literacy extends far beyond these basic skills. Functional literacy, for example, encompasses the ability to apply reading and writing skills to solve problems, make informed decisions, and engage meaningfully in society. 

 

Similarly, digital literacy is the capacity to use technology effectively, and it has become an essential skill for navigating the modern world, particularly in the workplace and education.

 

 

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Imagine not being able to read life-saving information. This is the harsh reality for 754 million youth & adults who lack basic literacy skills.

Ahead of #LiteracyDay, join us and take action!

📚 https://t.co/esEvS1lbOP pic.twitter.com/lAGwR53WDn

 

— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) September 7, 2024

Literacy empowers individuals by enabling them to access education, information, and employment opportunities. It serves as a foundation for lifelong learning, helping people participate more fully in their communities, improve their health outcomes, and escape poverty. For communities and nations, higher literacy rates are associated with improved economic performance, reduced inequality, and greater social cohesion.

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What is the History of International Literacy Day?

International Literacy Day (ILD) was first declared by UNESCO in 1965, and it was celebrated for the first time on September 8, 1967. The purpose behind the establishment of this day was to highlight the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights. It also aims to promote global literacy as a critical factor in improving people's lives and creating more equitable societies.

What is the Theme of International Literacy Day 2024?

The theme for International Literacy Day 2024 is “Promoting Multilingual Education: Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace.” 

This theme highlights the significance of multilingualism in education, emphasising that promoting literacy in multiple languages fosters better communication, mutual understanding, and peace across cultures. 

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The day will focus on exploring ways to incorporate multilingual approaches into literacy education, aiming to build more cohesive and inclusive communities globally.

UNESCO mentions: “This year, ILD will be celebrated under the theme of "Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace”. There is a pressing need to harness the transformative potential of literacy for promoting mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace.” 

“In today’s world, in which multilingualism is a common practice for many, empowering people by adopting a first language-based, multilingual approach to literacy development and education is particularly effective for its cognitive, pedagogical, and socio-economic benefits. Such an approach can help promote mutual understanding and respect, while solidifying communal identities and collective histories,” it adds.

What UNESCO Does for Literacy?

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Since 1946, UNESCO has been championing the goal of literacy for all, firmly believing that literacy is a fundamental human right and plays a vital role in empowering individuals and communities. Learning to read and write throughout life strengthens education and brings numerous social and economic advantages. Despite significant progress, 754 million adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills.

UNESCO recognises that literacy contributes to sustainable development, fosters better participation in the labour market, improves family health, reduces poverty, and expands opportunities in life. 

As the world becomes more digitised, UNESCO continues to adapt its approach to literacy, evolving the definition to include digital literacy and skills needed for modern societies.

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UNESCO International Literacy Prizes

Since 1967, UNESCO has honoured innovative and impactful literacy projects through its International Literacy Prizes. More than 512 projects from governments, non-governmental organisations, and individuals have been recognised. 

These awards promote effective literacy initiatives and encourage the development of literate societies.

The two prestigious awards currently offered are:

• UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize: Established in 1989 with support from the Republic of Korea, this prize focuses on mother language-based literacy development. Each winner receives a medal, diploma, and US$20,000.
• UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy: Launched in 2005 with support from China, this prize emphasises functional literacy, including the use of technology in education, particularly for rural adults and out-of-school youth. Winners receive a medal, diploma, and US$30,000.

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In conclusion, International Literacy Day 2024 is not just a day of celebration but a call to action. As the world faces unprecedented challenges, from climate change to economic inequality, the power of literacy to transform lives and build resilient societies has never been more important. By investing in literacy and making education more inclusive, we can equip individuals with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

 

Diane Mbombo-Tite created Akula Interpreting and Translation LLC, a network of interpreters, to help new arrivals to the U.S. access services

By Kelsey Brown,Staff WriterSep 6, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diane Mbombo-Tite, the founder and proprietor of Akula Interpreting and Translation, a company that helps refugees across the nation through a network of translators who collectively speak 150 languages, at the Blake Annex on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Albany, NY.Jim Franco/Times Union

 

 

 

Diane Mbombo-Tite speaks five languages: French, Swahili, Lingala, Tshiluba and English.

 

She dreams in French. Growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, her mother spoke to her father in Swahili and he would reply in Tshiluba. She hypothesizes that her brain was exposed to multiple languages when her mother was pregnant with her. 

“Coming from a country where there’s 300 languages, it was just common,” Mbombo-Tite said. “You learn simultaneously, just talking to your grandmother, your school people, or you go to the market. You never really sit and start learning.” 

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Though her multilingual abilities may be more common in the DRC, in the United States her skills set her apart from many. Mbombo-Tite saw an opportunity to capitalize on that after she immigrated to the U.S. almost a decade ago by eventually founding her business, Akula Interpreting and Translation LLC, a network of interpreters who collectively speak 150 languages. Her company's name means “talk” in Tshiluba (sometimes spelled Ciluba), a language spoken in Kasaï, a province in DRC.

Mbombo-Tite can’t recall a time when she didn’t have a job. As a child, her grandmother showed her how to run her own business selling sugar-coated peanuts. Children would also line up outside her house before school to buy fresh, warm doughnuts from her mom. From an early age, Mbombo-Tite observed how to run a business from the women in her family. 

She said she realized quickly that language could be key to her success. She taught herself English by flipping through her father’s English dictionaries and listening to the song “I Am Survivor” by Destiny’s Child. 

“I’d be listening to it on and on until that little thread gets broken,” Mbombo-Tite said, referring to a cassette tape. “That helped me to keep a lot of vocabulary. When you love something, you don’t even realize that you’re learning.” 

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Mbombo-Tite knew learning English would give her a competitive advantage in Kinshasa, the capital of DRC, with a population of 17 million people. With money from her first internship, Mbombo-Tite paid for formal classes to strengthen her English skills.

She eventually got her first job with the United Nations as an electoral assistant in 2004, the first time the country held democratic elections. She recalls vying for the position with another qualified candidate who had more experience, but Mbombo-Tite was told she got the job because of her ability to communicate in English. Mbombo-Tite was proud of her highly sought-after position that paid in U.S. dollars and earned her five times her previous pay, but the position was also risky. She recalls being trapped in the office while surrounded by soldiers during political unrest. After two and a half years, she found a higher-paying job with the British Embassy. Though translation was never an official responsibility, if Mbombo-Tite was in the field with a British or American citizen, she would often serve as a translator.

After increased political unrest and violence, Mbombo-Tite, who had a toddler and was pregnant at the time, felt unsafe in her home country. In March 2015, she fled to the United States to seek asylum. It was heartbreaking, Mbombo-Tite said, to leave her home country. She landed in New York in the middle of winter, dealing with the shock from the change in culture and climate. 

Mbombo-Tite also made it to Albany that year, but quickly ran out of resources and ended up homeless for a time. Though it was a challenging period, she took from it a resilience and resourcefulness that she said still impacts her business. 

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“I knew that I have little kids, and I am the one who is supposed to feed them and find a way that they can survive,” Mbombo-Tite said. “That never left my mind. I just have to think about what I’m going to do. What is the next action? This one didn’t work. What else do I need to do? That is how I’m always looking at my business.”

Through social services that help homeless families, like the HATAS Programs and Family Promise, she was able to stay afloat. Family Promise was also instrumental in accelerating Mbombo-Tite’s asylum case and connecting her with a pro bono lawyer. After about a year, asylum was granted and she was able to secure an apartment, and receive food stamps and public assistance. 

During that time, she realized how crucial communication was in navigating various systems in the United States and was inspired to start interpreting. 

“There was other immigrants in the same case as me, but they needed interpreters,” Mbombo-Tite said. “The wait is already very long, but sometimes the case gets longer when there’s no interpreters.” 

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Mbombo-Tite said it was like “déjà vu” realizing the advantage that learning English was yet again. She started volunteering with organizations like Albany's RISSE, Refugee and Immigrant Support Service of Emmaus, as a translator. She then connected with the now-defunct Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters, MAMI, where she was trained to be a medical and legal interpreter.

The organization closed in 2018 after Mbombo-Tite had been working for a year. In that time, she had an established network of clients and interpreters in the area. She knew that even though MAMI was no longer, the demand for interpretation services still existed. 

“The needs really are there,” Mbombo-Tite said. “There are people from various backgrounds. Albany is very diverse and there are also newcomers.”

She began working as a freelancer, going to individual sites and offering her services. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, she had to shift her plan. But Mbombo-Tite, who said her personal experiences have taught her to rethink and readjust, wasn’t concerned. 

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Her partner suggested that she start her own business. As an immigrant, she hadn’t considered that route. She knew running a business would be different from her past experiences in her home country. During the pandemic, she researched the legal necessities and strategies of growing a business. 

She started AKULA with 15 clients a month in August 2020. It’s grown to about 45. Her interpreters and clients are nationwide, with about 60 people on her payroll. Mbombo-Tite’s goal is to have clients in every state. She hopes to expand within the next year to have five more people locally staffed to assist with things like payroll, scheduling and dispersion of information. 

Mbombo-Tite's business acts as a connective service, pairing up clients in need of interpreting services with a skilled interpreter. If needed in person, the interpreter will accompany the client to doctor's appointments or court hearings, or they are available to assist online. Interpreters are available for a variety of needs — courts, medical, schools and social services.

In July, Mbombo-Tite created another branch of her business, a nonprofit named for her late father, PETALL, Professor Edward Tite Alliance for Language and Learning. Teaching interpreters costs $750 to $1,000 for 65 hours of training. Through the nonprofit, she hopes to gain donations to support those training costs. It's a full circle moment for Mbombo-Tite to go from being on the receiving end of social services to helping others access them. 

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While Mbombo-Tite’s job has expanded from being a sole interpreter, she still enjoys that part of the job. It’s rewarding, Mbombo-Tite said, to help someone access their civil rights. And for Mbombo-Tite, it allows her to be rooted in her culture while contributing in this country. She sees what she’s doing as a way to “preserve culture, legacy, and pass it to the next generation.”

“Being an immigrant, it’s a plus. I want to keep it as much as I can,” Mbombo-Tite said. “I want to make sure I remain myself. I’m happy to be an American but also from the Congo. It’s just a beautiful way of serving my country.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 6, 2024

Kelsey Brown

Staff Writer

"A Fundação Biblioteca Nacional anunciou lançamento de edital para apoio financeiro à tradução e à publicação de livros brasileiros no exterior.

Editoras interessadas em traduzir e publicar livros de autores brasileiros no exterior podem se candidatar até o dia 6 de outubro para obter apoio financeiro da Fundação Biblioteca Nacional.

Por Da Redação05/09/2024

São Paulo – A Fundação Biblioteca Nacional (FBN) anunciou nesta quinta-feira (5) o lançamento de edital deste ano para apoio financeiro à tradução e à publicação de livros de autores brasileiros no exterior. Editoras interessadas em concorrer podem se inscrever até o dia 6 de outubro de 2024.

De acordo com a FBN, que é vinculada ao Ministério da Cultura do Brasil, a atual edição do Programa de Apoio à Tradução e à Publicação de Autores Brasileiros no Exterior contará com recursos de R$ 1 milhão. As obras precisam ter sido publicadas em português, no Brasil, para a candidatura.

O programa já apoiou a publicação de mais de 1.200 livros brasileiros em outros países com a tradução das obras para 45 idiomas, entre eles árabe, inglês, italiano, francês, russo, espanhol, catalão, chinês, polonês, húngaro, ucraniano, eslovaco, estoniano, turco, búlgaro, grego, macedônio, sueco, dinamarquês e croata.

As editoras devem encaminhar o projeto de tradução com documentos exigidos no regulamento. Quando habilitados os projetos, elas assinam termo de compromisso e o apoio financeiro é efetivado em duas parcelas, uma na assinatura do contrato e outra em até 24 meses após a publicação da obra.

O programa

Instituído em 1991 pela política de internacionalização do livro, o programa tem  por objetivo divulgar o patrimônio literário brasileiro. Ele é uma iniciativa da Biblioteca Nacional (BN) em cooperação com a Secretaria de Formação Cultural, Livro e Leitura do Ministério da Cultura do Brasil (Sefli/MinC) e com o Instituto Guimarães Rosa, vinculado ao Ministério das Relações Exteriores do Brasil."

#metaglossia_mundus