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Scooped by
Charles Tiayon
September 12, 2024 11:15 PM
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By: El-Hussein A.Y. Aly Brill, 2023. 209 pp. $129.03. The Qur’an has primarily reached the anglophone West through translations by Indian Muslims in the first half of the twentieth century. Aly’s engaging book fascinatingly reviews their achievements, the wider social and political context that shaped them, and their enduring influence to this day. He contends that these translations need to be understood as products of their context, and especially their attempt to accommodate Islam with modernity. At a time when Middle East Muslim authorities discouraged translations of the Qur’an, conditions in India favored translations. The East India Company Act of 1813 lifted the ban on Christian missions, which brought English-language materials with them. This challenge alerted Indian Muslims to the need also to engage in apologetics in English. Further, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Raj opened the civil service to Indians with a proficiency in English. This led to the rise of a modern English-speaking Muslim intellectual class, many of whom, like Yusuf Ali, had studied in Britain. They were acutely conscious of Islam’s weakened condition and the challenge that modernity presented to the Qur’an. Aly focuses on four such challenges: unscientific elements (such as jinn), the doctrine of jihad, Muslim supremacism, and the status of women. Most interestingly, Aly discusses in detail the choices of translation to answer these challenges. Translators presented the Qur’an as consistent with science; as a religion of peace, insisting that jihad means “struggle” and that military jihad is only defensive; as universal, for all nations, softening verses pointing to Muslim superiority; and as respectful of women, downplaying the ill-treatment of women (most famously, Yusuf Ali added the word “lightly” to Sura 4:34, the wife beating verse). Aly clearly agrees with those Indian translators, to the point that his partisanship sometimes shines through, as when he calls Sura 4:34 “ambiguous” even though the Arabic is very clear: it just says “hit her.” Qur’an Translation as a Modern Phenomenon shows how profoundly the pioneering work of Indian translators has underpinned and empowered Islamic da‘wa (mission) in the West. The many Western converts to Islam, won over by a message of tolerance and universal peace, are testimony to the Indian translators’ remarkable success, despite the many divergences of their translations from the pre-modern Islamic understanding. A theologian, human rights activist and Anglican pastor, Rev. Mark Durie has published on linguistics, Christian-Muslim relations, the Qur’an, the Islamic Sharia and religious freedom. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the Australian National University and a Th.D. from the Australian College of Theology. Durie, who has addressed the Middle East Forum, has held visiting appointments at the University of Leiden, MIT, UCLA and Stanford, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1992, and was awarded an Australian Centennial Medal in 2001. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre of the Melbourne School of Theology, and Founding Director of the Institute for Spiritual Awareness. Follow Mark Durie on Twitter @markdurie
Researchers across Africa, Asia and the Middle East are building their own language models designed for local tongues, cultural nuance and digital independence
"In a high-stakes artificial intelligence race between the United States and China, an equally transformative movement is taking shape elsewhere. From Cape Town to Bangalore, from Cairo to Riyadh, researchers, engineers and public institutions are building homegrown AI systems, models that speak not just in local languages, but with regional insight and cultural depth.
The dominant narrative in AI, particularly since the early 2020s, has focused on a handful of US-based companies like OpenAI with GPT, Google with Gemini, Meta’s LLaMa, Anthropic’s Claude. They vie to build ever larger and more capable models. Earlier in 2025, China’s DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup, added a new twist by releasing large language models (LLMs) that rival their American counterparts, with a smaller computational demand. But increasingly, researchers across the Global South are challenging the notion that technological leadership in AI is the exclusive domain of these two superpowers.
Instead, scientists and institutions in countries like India, South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are rethinking the very premise of generative AI. Their focus is not on scaling up, but on scaling right, building models that work for local users, in their languages, and within their social and economic realities.
“How do we make sure that the entire planet benefits from AI?” asks Benjamin Rosman, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and a lead developer of InkubaLM, a generative model trained on five African languages. “I want more and more voices to be in the conversation”.
Beyond English, beyond Silicon Valley
Large language models work by training on massive troves of online text. While the latest versions of GPT, Gemini or LLaMa boast multilingual capabilities, the overwhelming presence of English-language material and Western cultural contexts in these datasets skews their outputs. For speakers of Hindi, Arabic, Swahili, Xhosa and countless other languages, that means AI systems may not only stumble over grammar and syntax, they can also miss the point entirely.
“In Indian languages, large models trained on English data just don’t perform well,” says Janki Nawale, a linguist at AI4Bharat, a lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. “There are cultural nuances, dialectal variations, and even non-standard scripts that make translation and understanding difficult.” Nawale’s team builds supervised datasets and evaluation benchmarks for what specialists call “low resource” languages, those that lack robust digital corpora for machine learning.
It’s not just a question of grammar or vocabulary. “The meaning often lies in the implication,” says Vukosi Marivate, a professor of computer science at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. “In isiXhosa, the words are one thing but what’s being implied is what really matters.” Marivate co-leads Masakhane NLP, a pan-African collective of AI researchers that recently developed AFROBENCH, a rigorous benchmark for evaluating how well large language models perform on 64 African languages across 15 tasks. The results, published in a preprint in March, revealed major gaps in performance between English and nearly all African languages, especially with open-source models.
Similar concerns arise in the Arabic-speaking world. “If English dominates the training process, the answers will be filtered through a Western lens rather than an Arab one,” says Mekki Habib, a robotics professor at the American University in Cairo. A 2024 preprint from the Tunisian AI firm Clusterlab finds that many multilingual models fail to capture Arabic’s syntactic complexity or cultural frames of reference, particularly in dialect-rich contexts.
Governments step in
For many countries in the Global South, the stakes are geopolitical as well as linguistic. Dependence on Western or Chinese AI infrastructure could mean diminished sovereignty over information, technology, and even national narratives. In response, governments are pouring resources into creating their own models.
Saudi Arabia’s national AI authority, SDAIA, has built ‘ALLaM,’ an Arabic-first model based on Meta’s LLaMa-2, enriched with more than 540 billion Arabic tokens. The United Arab Emirates has backed several initiatives, including ‘Jais,’ an open-source Arabic-English model built by MBZUAI in collaboration with US chipmaker Cerebras Systems and the Abu Dhabi firm Inception. Another UAE-backed project, Noor, focuses on educational and Islamic applications.
In Qatar, researchers at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and the Qatar Computing Research Institute, have developed the Fanar platform and its LLMs Fanar Star and Fanar Prime. Trained on a trillion tokens of Arabic, English, and code, Fanar’s tokenization approach is specifically engineered to reflect Arabic’s rich morphology and syntax.
India has emerged as a major hub for AI localization. In 2024, the government launched BharatGen, a public-private initiative funded with 235 crore (€26 million) initiative aimed at building foundation models attuned to India’s vast linguistic and cultural diversity. The project is led by the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay and also involves its sister organizations in Hyderabad, Mandi, Kanpur, Indore, and Madras. The programme’s first product, e-vikrAI, can generate product descriptions and pricing suggestions from images in various Indic languages. Startups like Ola-backed Krutrim and CoRover’s BharatGPT have jumped in, while Google’s Indian lab unveiled MuRIL, a language model trained exclusively on Indian languages. The Indian governments’ AI Mission has received more than180 proposals from local researchers and startups to build national-scale AI infrastructure and large language models, and the Bengaluru-based company, AI Sarvam, has been selected to build India’s first ‘sovereign’ LLM, expected to be fluent in various Indian languages.
In Africa, much of the energy comes from the ground up. Masakhane NLP and Deep Learning Indaba, a pan-African academic movement, have created a decentralized research culture across the continent. One notable offshoot, Johannesburg-based Lelapa AI, launched InkubaLM in September 2024. It’s a ‘small language model’ (SLM) focused on five African languages with broad reach: Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, isiZulu and isiXhosa.
“With only 0.4 billion parameters, it performs comparably to much larger models,” says Rosman. The model’s compact size and efficiency are designed to meet Africa’s infrastructure constraints while serving real-world applications. Another African model is UlizaLlama, a 7-billion parameter model developed by the Kenyan foundation Jacaranda Health, to support new and expectant mothers with AI-driven support in Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Xhosa, and Zulu.
India’s research scene is similarly vibrant. The AI4Bharat laboratory at IIT Madras has just released IndicTrans2, that supports translation across all 22 scheduled Indian languages. Sarvam AI, another startup, released its first LLM last year to support 10 major Indian languages. And KissanAI, co-founded by Pratik Desai, develops generative AI tools to deliver agricultural advice to farmers in their native languages.
The data dilemma
Yet building LLMs for underrepresented languages poses enormous challenges. Chief among them is data scarcity. “Even Hindi datasets are tiny compared to English,” says Tapas Kumar Mishra, a professor at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela in eastern India. “So, training models from scratch is unlikely to match English-based models in performance.”
Rosman agrees. “The big-data paradigm doesn’t work for African languages. We simply don’t have the volume.” His team is pioneering alternative approaches like the Esethu Framework, a protocol for ethically collecting speech datasets from native speakers and redistributing revenue back to further development of AI tools for under-resourced languages. The project’s pilot used read speech from isiXhosa speakers, complete with metadata, to build voice-based applications.
In Arab nations, similar work is underway. Clusterlab’s 101 Billion Arabic Words Dataset is the largest of its kind, meticulously extracted and cleaned from the web to support Arabic-first model training.
The cost of staying local
But for all the innovation, practical obstacles remain. “The return on investment is low,” says KissanAI’s Desai. “The market for regional language models is big, but those with purchasing power still work in English.” And while Western tech companies attract the best minds globally, including many Indian and African scientists, researchers at home often face limited funding, patchy computing infrastructure, and unclear legal frameworks around data and privacy.
“There’s still a lack of sustainable funding, a shortage of specialists, and insufficient integration with educational or public systems,” warns Habib, the Cairo-based professor. “All of this has to change.”
A different vision for AI
Despite the hurdles, what’s emerging is a distinct vision for AI in the Global South – one that favours practical impact over prestige, and community ownership over corporate secrecy.
“There’s more emphasis here on solving real problems for real people,” says Nawale of AI4Bharat. Rather than chasing benchmark scores, researchers are aiming for relevance: tools for farmers, students, and small business owners.
And openness matters. “Some companies claim to be open-source, but they only release the model weights, not the data,” Marivate says. “With InkubaLM, we release both. We want others to build on what we’ve done, to do it better.”
In a global contest often measured in teraflops and tokens, these efforts may seem modest. But for the billions who speak the world’s less-resourced languages, they represent a future in which AI doesn’t just speak to them, but with them."
Sibusiso Biyela, Amr Rageh and Shakoor Rather
20 May 2025
https://www.natureasia.com/en/nmiddleeast/article/10.1038/nmiddleeast.2025.65
#metaglossia_mundus
"Overcoming accent bias in the global workplace
08 Jul 2025, 08:00 AM IST
Somak Ghoshal
A recent US workplace incident of accent bias against an Indian professional highlights the urgent need for businesses to prioritise inclusive communication
Excellence in verbal communication lies in your ability to convey ideas, thoughts and passion.
Gift this article
Last week a 32-year-old Indian man working in the US posted on social media platform Reddit about an incident of harassment he had faced at work. Although by no means uniquely awful, it quickly hit a nerve and went viral.
“Today, during a meeting, I asked a team member (about 55 years old) for a project update as part of my regular responsibilities. He told me to stop speaking in meetings because he couldn’t understand my accent," he wrote. Sharing that he “felt dismissed and insulted" by the comment, he threw out an open question to fellow Reddit users. “How do you deal with something like this professionally without letting it damage your confidence or your contributions?""
https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/accent-bias-global-workplace-communication-skills-diversity/amp-11751825730418.html
#metaglossia_mundus
Indigenous leaders in the Northern Territory are are fighting to keep their clan dialects from disappearing.
"The fight to save Indigenous languages from extinction
PROGRAM:
AM
Duration: 3 minutes 17 seconds3m 17s
Presented by
Tilda Colling
Indigenous leaders in the Northern Territory are are fighting to keep their clan dialects from disappearing.
A 2019 survey by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies found that only 12 out of 250 Indigenous languages around before colonisation are still being passed onto younger generations.
In recent years, dozens of communities have worked hard to stop the further extinction.
More Information
Featured:
Renfred Manmurulu, Mawng speaker
Lauren Reed, Language director, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Rarritjuwuy Melanie Hedman, Dhangu speaker
Credits
Tilda Colling, Author
Image Details
Renfred Manmurulu is a Mawng speaker from South Golburn Island.(ABC News: Pete Garnish)"
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/am/the-fight-to-save-indigenous-languages-from-extinction/105505754
#metaglossia_mundus
The federal agency had made all access-to-information records available on the web until the languages watchdog said it was breaking rules.
"Spears: How official languages absurdity shuts down information at the NCC
The federal agency had, laudably, made all access-to-information documents available on the web — until the languages watchdog said it was breaking the rules. Now we'll all be in the dark even more about government policies.
Author of the article: By Tom Spears
Published Jul 07, 2025
I enjoy filing access to information requests to federal government departments, because they take me far from the well-trodden paths of public meetings and agendas. There are always surprises. I like surprises.
Access to information is simple: Pay $5 and fill out a form asking a government department about the topic you are interested in, and that department’s information office is supposed to give it to you within 30 days — longer if staff have to consult outside their department. This “ATI” mechanism gives the public details that news releases and government talking points don’t cover, so we all glean a better understanding of how and why governments do things.
But access to information is bogging down. I recently waited for five-and-a-half years for information about a single federal news release.
I have waited more than a year for a privacy request (similar to access to information) asking what information a federal department has collected about me personally.
Every reporter encounters this kind of frustration.
However, one federal standout offers prompt and cheerful access-to-information service, along with helpful advice on how to phrase a request to streamline things. It’s the National Capital Commission. I’ve dealt with them for years.
Through access to information, I’ve received photos from inside 24 Sussex Drive after it was gutted; details on the extensive upgrade of Rideau Cottage as it became the prime minister’s new home; an outline of how the pandemic/lockdown drove up construction costs; details on the $735,000 kitchen reno at Harrington Lake. All promptly, which is good, since the public is entitled to know these things.
But NCC has a new problem. It took the laudable initiative to make its own access service better for the public, and has been slapped down through an arcane and stupid recommendation about the use of official languages.
NCC pulls freedom-of-information records from website after language watchdog says they must be in French and English
Canada's culture of secrecy is hurting everyone
The issue: The NCC decided to do what no other federal department has done. Whenever one person filed an access to information request, the NCC started putting the documents it released online, so everyone could see them.
As a result of this, in the past few years I discovered useful documents on repairing official residences, Winterlude, the Tulip Festival, Gatineau Park, the Ottawa River and its shores, and more. This was an information gift.
Until the Commissioner of Official Languages learned of it and said: You’re posting documents on a government website (many of them just short notes, emails and small procedural stuff) and they’re in only one language. Can’t do that.
Unable to translate tens of thousands of pages into both languages when the original documents and records were only in one, the NCC had to take down the whole section of its website that offered these records to the public.
So, what is it that so urgently needs translation? The NCC handles more than 100 access requests a year, often numbering hundreds of pages apiece. Here’s an example. I asked about fixing the roof of the official residence at Harrington Lake and got back 256 pages with a lot like this one:
“Any membrane placed on the existing wood plank sheathing or on any material directly attached to the existing wood plank sheathing shall feature vapour permeability properties to allow for any moisture within the existing roof assembly to be released to the exterior.”
There follows some discussion of roof membrane options (FT synthetics, hydra breathable; or Titanium PSU self-adhered underlayment, high temp).
Also insulation: BP Esgard resistance roof insulator, an inch thick in a rigid wood fibre panel, or Gutex Multitherm 40 mm wood fibre board.
Do we really need that sort of thing translated? And remember, this is a document that I alone asked for, so it’s not clear who the translation job would be serving. (On the plus side, I could learn a lot of French vocabulary about roofing.)
Of course NCC documents come in many forms. Some look like this expense spreadsheet for Rideau Cottage: “STY pest control as per quote dated March 11, 2022 240.00.”
There are also vast numbers of emails in which employee A asks employee B whether her team is free to meet on Thursday.
The public service is an email-generating machine, pages and pages, mostly informal notes in one language only.
The new ruling is that the Canadian public needs all this — including the dross — in both official languages if it’s going to be made available on a website. Failing that, public access must be shut down. Which it now has been.
Wrong approach.
My house is 100 years old. No level floors or square angles are left, and it will never be perfect. But I don’t tear it down and pretend this is an improvement. You don’t destroy something for being imperfect — except that the government of Canada has now done so.
This means the public can’t see useful federal documents because no one has translated into both languages “Gutex Multitherm 40 mm” or “Titanium PSU self-adhered underlayment.” For a one-time, non-controversial roof repair.
Official Languages, shame on you.
Governments talk a lot about initiatives. The NCC actually showed initiative and paid the price. And so have we taxpayers, who should be getting more information from government, not less.
Tom Spears is a longtime Ottawa news reporter with an interest in science and nature"
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/official-languages-absurdity-ncc
#metaglossia_mundus
Evaluating a Large Language Model in Translating Patient Instructions to Spanish Using a Standardized Framework
JAMA Pediatr Published Online: July 7, 2025 doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1729
Key PointsQuestion Can a large language model (GPT-4o) translate personalized patient instructions into Spanish at a quality comparable to that of professional human translators? Findings In this cross-sectional study of patient instructions derived from real pediatric patient encounters, GPT-4o generated Spanish translations with quality comparable to those performed by professional human translators as evaluated using a standardized framework. Meaning While human review of large language model translations for clinical use remains essential, these findings suggest that GPT-4o could reduce the translation workload for Spanish, potentially freeing resources to support languages of lesser diffusion. Importance Patients and caregivers who use languages other than English in the US encounter barriers to accessing language-concordant written instructions after clinical visits. Large language models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o, may improve access to translated patient materials; however, rigorous evaluation is needed to ensure clinical standards are met. Objective To determine whether GPT-4o can generate high-quality Spanish translations of personalized patient instructions comparable to those performed by professional human translators. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study compared LLM translations to professional human translations using equivalence testing. The personalized pediatric instructions used were derived from real clinical encounters at a large US academic medical center and translated between January 2023 and December 2023. Patient instructions in English were translated into Spanish by GPT-4o and professional human translators. The source English texts were translated using GPT-4o on August 2, 2024. Both sets of translations were evaluated by 3 independent professional medical translators. Exposure Patient instructions were translated using GPT-4o with an engineered prompt, and these translations were compared with those produced by professional human translators. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was translation quality, assessed using the Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM) framework to generate an overall MQM score (rated on a 0-100 scale). Secondary outcomes included a general preference rating and error rates for types of translation errors. Results This study included 20 source files of pediatric patient instructions. Equivalence testing showed no significant difference in translation quality between GPT-4o and human translations, with a mean difference of 1.6 points (90% CI, 0.7-2.5), falling within a predefined equivalence margin of plus or minus 5 MQM points. The LLM yielded fewer mistranslation errors, and a mean (SE) of 52% (6%) of professional translator ratings preferred the LLM translations. Conclusions and Relevance In this cross-sectional study, GPT-4o generated Spanish translations of pediatric patient instructions that were comparable in quality to those by professional human translators as evaluated using a standardized framework. While human review of LLM translation remains essential in health care, these findings suggest that GPT-4o could reduce the translation workload for Spanish, potentially freeing resources to support languages of lesser diffusion.
FIFA is providing American Sign Language interpreters at FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ matches to help deaf fans understand announcements, music and in-game atmosphere. The initiative is part of several accessibility services provided at the tournament.
"FIFA wants to ensure that all fans have an excellent experience at the tournament
The initiative is part of several accessibility services provided at the FIFA Club World Cup, aligned with FIFA's ongoing focus on social responsibility and inclusivity
"Imagine if this whole event (were) silent. It wouldn’t be so much fun, right?” said Ariel Agramonte during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ match between Palmeiras and Chelsea FC at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. “So, for the fact that the deaf have accessibility to what’s going on and the thrill and the energy that’s here - it’s awesome.”
Agramonte is one of the American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters that FIFA is providing at some games during the tournament so that deaf fans can share in the excitement, noise and passion of a football match.
Andrea Kemp, from the Georgia Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said it was “really great” that FIFA had provided access. “If we do attend – deaf people, any other people from marginalised communities – we really want to be involved. We want to be immersed in the game,” she said.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ comes to life for deaf fans
7 Jul 2025
A common misconception about deaf people at sports events is that they are not missing out on anything because the action is taking place on the pitch – whereas, in fact, they are not having the same experience as other fans. "The hand gestures and just letting them know what’s going on around; the announcements, the goals, the excitement, the drums, the chanting, all of that; we’re able to get that across to them through their visual language," said Agramonte, explaining how the fans benefit from interpretation.
The ASL initiative is part of FIFA’s mission to make sure that all fans – including those with disabilities – have an excellent experience at the tournament.
HUMAN RIGHTS & ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
FIFA brings accessible experiences for all fans to enjoy inaugural Club World Cup
“People with disabilities want to show up, they want to participate, they want to be involved with FIFA. It’s exciting for them,” said FIFA Accessibility Coordinator Natalie Gross following the meeting between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Bayern München in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “Just because you can’t see or hear something doesn’t mean that you can’t be involved in what’s going on. Like, there are other senses and there are other ways; people just need access.
“So what we’re trying to do here at FIFA is provide that access, so that we’re not just having people show up to a live sports event, but we’re really creating an experience, you know, a memorable moment that will stay with people for the rest of their lives.”
ASL is a complete, natural language that has the same linguistic properties as spoken languages, with grammar that differs from English. It is expressed by movements of the hands and face and is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing, as well as some hearing people.
The ASL interpreters translate everything within the stadium, including announcements and even the lyrics of any musical performances during halftime.
"[The interpreters] get really into it. It's actually such an experience. If you've never seen an ASL performance, I highly recommend it, because it is the most enjoyable thing to watch," said Gross. "They are basically making sure that the deaf attendee isn't missing out on anything being said while they're enjoying themselves within the match."
Brendan Quigley was one of the fans to benefit from the experience. “(It’s) really good. It’s very entertaining. It’s really nice to have people that understand football as much [as] me,” he said.
ASL interpretation is being provided at five matches during the course of the tournament – at Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and the final in New York New Jersey. The initiative is one of many provided by FIFA for fans at the FIFA Club World Cup, which has also featured audio-descriptive commentary for games, tactile broadcast boards, sensory kits and more as part of FIFA's ongoing focus on social responsibility and inclusivity.
SOCIAL IMPACT
Blind and low-vision FIFA Club World Cup™ fans given immersive experience
“It’s very nice to have this opportunity, these options so that we can enjoy the game just as anybody else could,” said Kemp. "There’s music, there’s the game, concerts; whatever events happen, as long as there’s access, like there is now at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, then we can come. Soccer is such an inclusive sport that it’s great that this is being offered to improve the inclusivity of who can be involved.”"
https://inside.fifa.com/news/american-sign-language-asl-interpreters-club-world-cup
#metaglossia_mundus
"Why English doesn’t use accents
And why French is full of them
COLIN GORRIE
JUN 18, 2025
The cold of the stone floor in the scriptorium creeps up through Godwin’s boots. He pays it no mind. Before him lies a copy of the Chronicle, just arrived from the old capital of Winchester. In it is written the history of the English people. His people.
Today, his job is to make another copy. No difficult task for Godwin, or any monk.
But Abbot Robert will want to inspect the work before vespers. Abbot Robert. A Norman. Last week, the abbot pointed at Godwin’s lettering and called it “crude.” The word still stings.
Godwin’s quill forms the letters scip. The passage is about a foul fleet of ships: the raiding parties of Danes that had harried the coast, whom the great King Alfred eventually brought to heel. If only England had a king like that today.
Godwin stares at the word. Scip. It’s the right word, the right spelling. The ‘sc’ makes the same sound that the Normans spell ‘sh.’ But Robert won’t see it that way. For him, this will be nothing but Saxon stubbornness.
Godwin takes up his knife. The steel edge scrapes away the ink, taking a thin layer of the vellum with it. He smooths the spot and writes the word again, this time as he knows Robert will want it: ship. An English word, somehow made foreign.
He works on, his hand steady. He reaches a later entry: the arrival of a new queen. Pride or the devil takes hold of his soul, and he writes cwen. He thinks with a smile of Edith, the last English queen, a woman of his grandfather's time.
Then the smile vanishes. There are no more English queens or kings. Only Normans.
He scrapes the vellum clean again and writes it like a Norman would: queen. He writes the ‘e’ twice so the Normans know to drag out the sound. The ink settles, black and final.
He looks at the two words. Ship. Queen. This is writing that even a Norman abbot will find acceptable. Good work, he’ll surely say. But Godwin isn’t so sure. He dips his quill again into the ink and continues to rewrite the past.
You're reading The Dead Language Society. I'm Colin Gorrie, linguist, ancient language teacher, and your guide through the history of the English language and its relatives.
.....
Blaming the French (again)
Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 57
Our fictional monk Godwin lived in the wake of the single most significant event in the history of the English language: the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Before the Conquest, English — albeit an old form of English — was the language of power and government in England. After the Conquest, French took its place for centuries.
It was but a temporary replacement: English eventually re-established itself in the halls of power, thanks to the gradual loss of English territory in France and the birth of a new English identity during the Renaissance. But the period of French dominance left its mark on all aspects of the language, from vocabulary to pronunciation. And, as Godwin found to his chagrin, it had a revolutionary impact on English spelling.
In fact, this early French influence over English, which arose from the Norman Conquest, is the beginning of the reason why English is written without accent marks (é, à, ç, etc.), or, as linguists call them, diacritics, today.
Let’s keep calling them diacritics, since accent can mean so many things, from different regional ways of speaking to where in a word you place the emphasis.
It may surprise you to read that English is written without diacritics due to French influence. After all, French is written with plenty of diacritics: écouter ‘listen’, à ‘to’, château ‘castle’, Noël ‘Christmas’, Français ‘French’.
But the French that the Normans brought to England was not French as it’s spoken and written today: it was a different, older form of the language — and one written very differently from the French you would find in a livre today.
One big difference between the French of 1066 and the French of 2025 is in the use of diacritics. Diacritics only became a part of standard French writing much, much later than the time of the Norman Conquest. So the French brought over by the Normans was written without them. And when these scribes took up the task of writing English, they carried over their French habits of writing.
Why are diacritics used?
A scholar in his study with figures with masks, possibly an allegory (1627), Willem van der Vliet
These scribal habits did include the use of diacritics, but only for the purposes of abbreviating certain common combinations.
After all, parchment is expensive, and you don’t want to waste any space. But crucially, scribes did not use diacritics for the main reason we use them today: to show that a letter is not pronounced how you would otherwise expect it to sound. For example, the cedilla (¸) is written under a c in French to show that that c is pronounced as an ‘s’ rather than a ‘k’, as in Français ‘French’ or leçon ‘lesson’.1
The use of diacritics arises out of a mismatch between an alphabet and the language it’s being used to write: if an alphabet were well adapted to a language, it would have letters for all the language’s sounds. But this is rarely the case: alphabets are usually chosen for historical and cultural reasons. For example, English is written in the Latin alphabet because England was converted to Christianity by the Roman church. French is written in the Latin alphabet because the language itself descends from Latin, after having undergone many changes.
In both French and English, the Latin alphabet’s limited set of letters was insufficient to write all of the sounds needed in the language. For example, Latin had no th sound, as in faith. But Old French did have such a sound: since it was made in the same region of the mouth as the t sound (with the tip of the tongue), French scribes used the combination th to write it. The t told you what basic kind of sound it was, and the h told you that it was a different sound than the one you expected. So for these French scribes, adding another letter solved exactly the same problem that later French spelling used diacritics for.
This was the French habit that the Normans brought to England: the use of extra letters to spell sounds that the alphabet didn’t have special letters for. This is why English has combinations like sh, th, ee, oo, ou that each make only a single sound.2
Writing in the Renaissance spirit
A scholar in his study, Thomas Wijck (1616–1677)
The writing practices we have been talking about developed during a time when all writing was done by hand, by a relatively small group of people, dispersed over a wide area. This small group of scribes was, in turn, writing for a relatively small audience: literacy was not widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages. It was an artisan craft.
As a result of these circumstances, things like spelling practices varied from one place to another, and one scribe to another. The same word could even be written on the same page in multiple ways.
All this began to change in the 15th century, however, with the introduction of the printing press, which allowed, for the first time, the mass production of writing. This coincided in France and England with the intellectual movement that we call the Renaissance: an attempt to revive the ideals and spirit of the classical world.
This spirit of the Renaissance meant not only a renewed interest in the Latin language and its literature, but also an attempt to “refine” the spoken languages to the level of sophistication (as they saw it) of Latin. The inconsistency of the medieval scribe seemed like a relic of the past to be jettisoned: a language’s spelling should be rational.
In England, the path to standardization was more complex. The era saw a wave of radical reform proposals from humanist scholars. Figures like Sir Thomas Smith and John Hart, for example, devised comprehensive phonetic alphabets that included new letters and even diacritics to mark long vowels.
Ultimately, however, these ambitious projects failed. England lacked a central authority, such as a royal academy, with the power to enforce such a dramatic break with tradition. So the reforms that succeeded in England were conservative, pushed by printers who chose to regularize the messy but familiar system they had inherited from those Norman scribes many centuries ago.
Where do diacritics come from?
François Ier, roi de France (1527–1530), Jean Clouet
In France, the course of history ran differently: the need for consistency brought on by the introduction of the printing press gave birth to diacritics.
The first diacritic to be used widely in French is the acute accent (´), which is used exclusively on the letter e: é. Its function is to distinguish between two different sounds spelled e: the sound of je ‘I’ (close to the unaccented a’s in the English word banana) and the sound of pré ‘meadow’ (close-ish to the English pray).3
The acute accent was introduced into French by the printer and humanist Geoffroy Tory in 15294 in his book Champ fleury, a combination of humanist allegory and typographical manual, which aimed to “decorate and illuminate our French language.”5
The shape of the acute accent was a direct product of the spirit of the Renaissance: Tory drew his inspiration from the editions published by the Italian humanist and printer Aldus Manutius, who had pioneered the printing of Ancient Greek texts using the system of accents developed for that language in the Roman period. One of these was the acute accent (Greek ὀξεῖα ‘acute, sharp’): in adapting this classical model for the needs of French, Tory (in his mind) elevated the vernacular language to the same level of sophistication as Latin and Greek.
Tory also introduced another familiar French diacritic: the cedilla (¸), found only on the letter c: ç. As I mentioned briefly earlier, the cedilla has the function of ensuring that a c can be pronounced like an s, despite coming before an a, o, or, u: for example, Français ‘French’, garçon ‘boy’, reçu ‘received’, pronounced with s-sounds rather than k-sounds.
The cedilla wasn’t originally French, however, or even Greek: it was a Spanish innovation dating back to the days of the Visigoths. It was originally a z, written first after a c, and eventually with the c stacked on top of it: Ꝣ.6 The name cedilla just means ‘little z’ — ceda is Old Spanish for ‘z’, the letter called zeta in today’s Spanish.
In Old Spanish, the c with cedilla wrote the sound ts, found in Old Spanish, e.g. çielo ‘heaven’, lança ‘lance’. Due to later changes in Spanish, this sound disappeared, being replaced in most of Spain with the th-sound and elsewhere with the s-sound. As the sound disappeared, so did the need to write it differently: today, these words are written with c (before i, e) or z (before a, o, u): cielo, lanza. The cedilla had been used sporadically in French manuscripts since the 13th century: Tory’s innovation was to print it, and to do so systematically.
Tory’s reforms took root because he wasn't just a local printer: he was, as of 1530, the imprimeur du roi, the official printer to King Francis I. This royal patronage gave his proposals immense prestige. Later, this top-down approach to language was formalized with the creation of the Académie française (French Academy), which officially adopted and standardized the use of accents in its 1740 dictionary, cementing their place in the language. It was a break with the earlier French tradition which had taken root in England: that new sounds would be written with extra letters.
This is the great paradox of French reform. The introduction of an entirely new mark was a radical innovation. Yet it often served a conservative goal: to preserve a word's traditional, etymological spelling while also acknowledging a shift in pronunciation. Rather than rewriting a word traditionally spelled Francais with an s to indicate how the c should be pronounced, the addition of the cedilla diacritic kept the traditional spelling largely intact, but for a little squiggle or mark here or there.
French would come to adopt other diacritics too, including the circumflex (ˆ), as in forêt ‘forest’, which marks a vanished consonant, and the diaeresis (¨), as in maïs ‘corn’, which marks a break between two syllables. These diacritics have interesting stories as well, which I’ll tell you another day.
But what they all have in common is that they were creations of the Renaissance, and very typical ones at that: like many of the products of that era, French diacritics combined classical inspiration (e.g., taking cues from the Greek accent system) with the modern impulse to systematize and rationalize. The result was the French system of spelling we know today: full of diacritic marks.
In England, on the other hand, what the Renaissance systematized was the status quo: the basic spelling patterns of English laid down by Norman scribes in the 11th century, which used combinations of letters to express different sounds.
In a way, it’s a shame, because English could really use some disambiguating marks between words like wind (the noun) and wind (the verb), lead (the noun) and lead (the verb). But situations like these are surprisingly few in English: English manages to soldier on without diacritics because we have found those Norman scribal practices sufficient.
The combinations of letters that so vexed our poor monk Godwin came to define English spelling. And it created a historical irony: when this very French custom of writing new sounds by adding extra letters became entrenched, it made English resistant to diacritics, one of the things that makes French so recognizably French today.
1
Another, less common, reason to use diacritics is to distinguish between two words that would otherwise be written identically. The French use of the grave accent (`) in à ‘to’ is an example of this use: otherwise, it would be written the same as a ‘has’. Similarly, où ‘where’ has an accent, while ou ‘or’ does not.
2
If you don’t believe me that these combinations each make a single sound, try saying only the first or last letter of, say, sh or th and see what sound it makes.
3
IPA [ə] and [e], respectively.
4
Some sources credit Tory with the inspiration only, and Tory’s friend Robert Estienne with the introduction of the acute accent in 1530.
5
“décorer et enluminer notre langue française”
6
The variant of z used was a tailed z: ʒ.
https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/why-english-doesnt-use-accents
#metaglossia_mundus
Celebrating the adoption of Kiswahili day, commemorated on 7 July.
"World Kiswahili Language Day, celebrated on 7 July each year, honours Kiswahili as one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and the world, with over 200 million speakers. It is a vital tool of communication and integration across East, Central, and Southern Africa, and serves as an official language of the African Union (AU), SADC, and the EAC. Kiswahili is more than a language—it is a vessel of African identity, unity, and culture. From its role in liberation movements, including those led by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, to its modern use in education, diplomacy, and media, Kiswahili continues to foster regional cohesion and global cultural understanding.
Recognized by UNESCO as the first African language to be honored with its own international day, Kiswahili embodies the power of multilingualism to promote diversity, tolerance, and sustainable development. As a bridge between communities and civilizations, it plays a critical role in quality education, cultural preservation, and socio-economic progress. More than just a means of communication, Kiswahili is a carrier of identity, values, and a worldview, representing the rich cultural tapestry of the African continent.
In acknowledgment of its growing global significance, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/78/312, further affirming the importance of Kiswahili in fostering solidarity, peace, and pan-African unity. "
Kiswahili Language Day | United Nations https://share.google/1OmVYJsoosEg3aRHT
#metaglossia_mundus: A very happy World Kiswahili language Day to all lovers of Africa! May this Day be the beginning of true international recognition for each of the well over 2000 languages of Africa!
"Translation Skills Program Puts Students on Unique Career Track
Santa Barbara High’s Translation & Interpretation Pathway is only one of its kind in the state
ED ZUCHELLI FOR SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
July 6, 2025 | 9:04 am
Students in Santa Barbara High School’s Translation & Interpretation Pathway graduated with professional certificates that qualify them to enter the growing field of interpretation and translation.
Santa Barbara High School students graduated with professional certificates for work in the fields of translation and interpretation. (Courtesy photo)
The Career Technical Education (CTE) program celebrates the bilingual assets of Santa Barbara’s many native Spanish speakers and empowers students to transform their language skills into viable career opportunities, the school said.
Santa Barbara High School’s Translation & Interpretation Pathway, led by teacher Alison Mendoza, is the first and only high school CTE pathway of its kind in California.
“Developing this pathway has been a career highlight,” Mendoza said. “By committing to offering a Translation & Interpretation program, we have reimagined Spanish course offerings and connected language learning to the world that surrounds students in a new way.
“Students receive Language Other Than English (UC A-G) credit for participating and put their language abilities into practice,” she said. “Watching this year’s cohort leave their high school experience with various college options, a tangible career possibility, a deeper sense of who they are, and pride in their linguistic backgrounds aligns with why I wanted to become a teacher.
“The collaboration with our local community partners, the district LAU team, and higher education gives students opportunities that they often hadn’t imagined yet.”
This year, the program expanded its offerings to include the Community Interpreter course and certificate. To earn this industry-recognized credential, students completed a rigorous 40-hour training led by Sofia Rubalcava of Santa Barbara Unified School District’s Language Access Unit.
Programs like this are designed to strengthen the connection between classroom learning and real-world careers by integrating industry training, all while allowing students to embrace and connect with their home languages and cultures, the district said.
“This expansion of the Translation & Interpretation Pathway is a testament to our commitment to providing students with tangible skills that directly lead to meaningful careers,” said Superintendent Hilda Maldonado.
“By empowering our bilingual students with professional certificates, we are not only opening doors to vital professions but also reinforcing the value of their linguistic and cultural heritage within our community and beyond,” she said.
“It is a testament to the resiliency of our teachers and staff,” she said. “They started this even though we were in a pandemic. At SB Unified, we are resilient, strong and bold.”
The Translation & Interpretation Pathway equips students with foundational skills in translation and interpretation, emphasizing cultural competence, ethics, and the importance of language access in diverse community settings.
Students apply their learning through real-world experiences, serving their local community, and engaging with professionals currently working in the fields of court, medical, and community interpreting.
This year alone, students in the pathway have interpreted the daily morning announcements at their school; created student-friendly translations with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; volunteered at the Unity Shoppe; established internship opportunities with the Santa Barbara County Courthouse; and provided key support to parents and the community at the Know Your Rights event alongside the Language Access Unit team.
Jose Navarrete, a court interpreter at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, is one of numerous professionals who supports the program.
Underscoring the need to inspire a new generation of interpreters, Navarrete said, “You need to bring up a whole new generation of interpreters. Approximately 35% of interpreters in the state are 65 years old or older. So they’re going to retire pretty soon. We’re going to need a new generation.”
The program’s impact is evident in the students themselves. Rubiell Angel Fernandez, a graduating pathway senior, said, “I’ve had Ms. Mendoza all four years of high school. It really means a lot, seeing how much the program and the pathway have grown throughout the years.”
“It’s a rigorous program, but even still, it’s served us well, it’s going to give us options for the future,” said student Jay Valencia.
“This expansion solidifies Santa Barbara High School’s Translation & Interpretation Pathway as a national model for preparing bilingual students for in-demand careers while fostering cultural understanding and community engagement,” the school said."
https://www.noozhawk.com/translation-skills-program-puts-students-on-unique-career-track/
#metaglossia_mundus
"Ni la loi ni la force n’imposent une langue. Une langue s’impose d’elle-même par son usage [Par Sayon Mara]
Mediaguinee Juil 5, 2025
Contrairement à ce que certains guinéens pensent, il n’existe aucune loi au Sénégal, au Mali ayant imposé les langues Wolof et Bambara aux autres communautés.
En effet, représentant respectivement 43% et 35%, les Wolofs et les Bambaras constituent les groupes ethniques les plus importants au Sénégal et au Mali. C’est pourquoi justement ils se sont imposés aux autres. Sinon, au Mali, outre le bambara (Bamanankan), il existe d’autres langues nationales officielles, à savoir le Bomu, le Bozo, le Dogon (Dogo-so, Dogo-kan), le Peul (Fulfulde ou Pulaar), le Soninké (Soninkaxanne), le Songhaï, le Sénoufo-mamara (Minianka), le Syenara (Sénoufo), le Touareg (Tamalayt), le Hassanya, le Khassonké et le Malinké (Maninkakan). Au Sénégal, en plus du Wolof, le Diola, le Malinké, le Pular, le Sérère et le Soninké.
Ceux qui pensent que le projet de nouvelle Constitution, en son article 5, devrait impérativement imposer une langue nationale comme, soutiennent-ils, au Mali et au Sénégal, doivent davantage s’informer, car ces deux pays voisins n’ont reconnu une langue comme langue nationale officielle mais plutôt plusieurs comme langues nationales. En d’autres termes, ils doivent comprendre que la meilleure manière de promouvoir les langues, c’est de les laisser compétir entre elles car, imposer une langue n’est pas une politique linguistique recommandée."
https://mediaguinee.com/2025/07/ni-la-loi-ni-la-force-nimposent-une-langue-une-langue-simpose-delle-meme-par-son-usage-par-sayon-mara/
#metaglossia_mundus
La littérature vietnamienne trouve son chemin à l'international
Pour que la littérature vietnamienne soit diffusée sur la scène internationale, de nombreux facteurs doivent être pris en compte par les éditeurs, les maisons d'édition, les traducteurs et les auteurs eux-mêmes.
Báo Tuổi Trẻ
05/07/2025
L'écrivain Nguyen Khac Ngan Vi était l'un des intervenants d'un séminaire littéraire dans le cadre d'un programme d'écriture à Shanghai l'année dernière - Photo : NVCC
L'écrivain Nguyen Nhat Anh a eu de nombreux livres protégés par le droit d'auteur et publiés dans de nombreuses langues différentes.
Lors d'un échange, il a révélé que ses œuvres ont été traduites dans d'autres langues grâce à des éditeurs ou traducteurs internationaux qui l'ont contacté pour coopérer. Avec « Je vois des fleurs jaunes sur l'herbe verte » , la maison d'édition Tre a pris l'initiative.
Selon lui, pour avoir l'opportunité d'atteindre les lecteurs du monde entier, les éditeurs de livres nationaux doivent être déterminés et faire des efforts pour trouver des opportunités.
Livres sélectionnés pour la traduction en fonction des intérêts personnels
Président du Conseil de littérature de traduction (Association des écrivains de Ho Chi Minh-Ville), Hien Nguyen a traduit des nouvelles de nombreux écrivains et poètes vietnamiens tels que Nguyen Huy Thiep, Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Le Minh Khue, Nguyen Quang Thieu, Trinh Bich Ngan... et elles ont été sélectionnées pour être publiées par des revues littéraires coréennes.
Mme Hien a déclaré à Tuoi Tre : « La littérature vietnamienne est introduite en Corée principalement grâce aux relations établies par des traducteurs coréens qui étudient la littérature vietnamienne tels que le professeur Bae Yang Soo, le professeur Ahn Kyung Hwan, le professeur Jeon Hye Kyung, les traducteurs Ha Jae Hong et Kim Joo Yeong...
Un traducteur coréen m'a confié un jour que, comme les traducteurs sont motivés par eux-mêmes et n'ont pratiquement aucun soutien du Vietnam ou de la Corée, les œuvres qu'ils choisissent de traduire principalement d'intérêts personnels ou de la relation entre le traducteur et l'auteur, ce qui rend très difficile la recherche d'un éditeur pour une publication officielle.
Traduction chinoise de « Passing Through the Clouds and Hanoi People », une histoire sur la nourriture et la boisson dans le passé - Photo : Maison d'édition
Lors de la 31e Foire internationale du livre de Pékin qui s'est tenue récemment en Chine, le directeur de Chibooks, Nguyen Le Chi, et des unités d'édition d'autres pays d'Asie du Sud-Est tels que la Thaïlande, le Laos, le Myanmar, le Cambodge... ont signé le projet de traduction de la littérature d'Asie du Sud-Est avec le représentant de l'édition chinoise, la maison d'édition Ly Giang (province du Guangxi).
Les œuvres littéraires des pays signataires seront sélectionnées et traduites en chinois par les maisons d'édition signataires.
Il s'agit du premier projet visant à introduire des livres de littérature vietnamienne sur un marché d'un milliard de personnes.
Le projet a débuté avec deux livres , Passing Through the Clouds (Do Quang Tuan Hoang) et Hanoiens, Stories of Eating and Drinking in the Past (Vu The Long).
L'investissement de Chibooks dans la promotion des livres vietnamiens à l'étranger est entièrement autofinancé par l'entreprise, il reste donc limité. Nous n'avons pas les moyens de traduire une série d'ouvrages satisfaisants comme le font d'autres pays.
« Sans traductions dans des langues populaires telles que l'anglais, le chinois, etc., il est très difficile de convaincre les partenaires d'édition étrangers de coopération », a déclaré Mme Chi.
Pour nouveau, si l'on écrit bien, « la chance viendra ». Sinon, tous les efforts seront vains. Mais pour qu'un livre atteigne ses lecteurs, il faut encore une stratégie, des contacts avec des éditeurs et des intermédiaires dévoués.
Auteur Nguyen Ngoc Thuan
Connaître des langues étrangères pour acquérir de l'expérience
L'écrivain Nguyen Ngoc Thuan a confié et Tuoi Tre que ses œuvres sont souvent traduites directement du vietnamien. La traduction hongroise du livre « Les yeux juste fermés, la fenêtre juste ouverte », publié en 2020 dans Európa, a été traduite en anglais.
Ou János, un célèbre écrivain, poète et dramaturge hongrois qui a traduit Les yeux fermés, la fenêtre ouverte , a déclaré qu'il était tombé sur le livre dans la bibliothèque d'un Hôtel d'une ville du centre du Vietnam :
Traduction hongroise du livre Les yeux ouverts, la fenêtre fermée
« Pendant des semaines, je n'ai rien lu, j'ai juste parcouru quelques livres de voyage sans vie.
J'ai commencé à avoir l'impression que je dérivais moi aussi dans un pays spécial, mais avec une humeur désespérée, j'ai commencé à lire ce roman.
Je l'ai lu d'un bout à l'autre.
« Les efforts de la maison d'édition Tre pour présenter le livre Ouvrez la fenêtre, les yeux fermés dans les salons internationaux du livre ne sont pas minces.
La traduction du livre en suédois lui a permis de remporter le prix Peter Pan en Suède en 2008.
L'écrivain Ho Anh Thai est également un pont important, ce que très peu d'éditeurs vietnamiens peuvent faire.
« Grâce à ses efforts, de nombreux écrivains vietnamiens ont fait connaître leurs livres à l'étranger », a déclaré M. Thuan.
En tant que première écrivaine vietnamienne à participer au programme d'écriture de l'Association des écrivains de Shanghai, Nguyen Khac Ngan Vi a déclaré que cela lui avait ouvert des opportunités de contacter les principaux éditeurs de Shanghai en particulier et de Chine en général.
Ngan Vi vient de signer un contrat avec la maison d'édition littéraire de Shanghai pour la publication du livre Van Sac Hu Vo , dont la sortie en Chine est prévue cette année. Son master à l'université Fudan et sa maîtrise du chinois ont été d'un grand secours pour Ngan Vi lors de sa participation au programme d'écriture et pour trouver des opportunités.
Elle espère que la génération de jeunes écrivains vietnamiens de sa génération trouvera davantage d'opportunités de sortir et d'interagir, comme des programmes de résidence, des camps d'écriture, des salons du livre, des échanges culturels... Ngan Vi partage que la littérature vietnamienne n'est pas une littérature forte qui oblige les étrangers à lui donner la priorité pour l'écouter.
Elle a déclaré : « Le secteur de l'édition vietnamienne devrait adopter une stratégie marketing plus flexible. Pour réussir, nous devons disposer d'une bonne traduction. Nous, les écrivains, ne sommes pas qualifiés pour agir de manière proactive, mais dépendons des politiques publiques et des investissements des maisons d'édition et des éditeurs. Et surtout, les écrivains doivent conserver une attitude professionnelle. »
Version anglaise de deux livres : Sitting on a Tree Crying et Wishing You a Good Day - Photo : Publishing House
Au cours de ses 25 années de travail dans l'édition et de ses efforts pour introduire des livres culturels vietnamiens à l'échelle internationale, Mme Le Chi a confié franchement qu'il ya très peu d'éditeurs étrangers qui ont une demande pour des livres vietnamiens.
Elle a déclaré que la plus grande difficulté pour une unité qui propose des livres à vendre est le budget limité pour traduire le manuscrit."
https://www.vietnam.vn/fr/van-chuong-viet-tim-duong-ra-quoc-te
#metaglossia_mundus
The death of Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in May 2025 raises the question of his influence in French-speaking Africa: how is this important author seen by African authors?
"What is the role of Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o in French-speaking Africa?
The writer placed his mother tongue on equal footing with other languages
Written (Français) by
Filip Noubel
Written (Français) by
Jean Sovon
Translated (English) by
Rebecca Cluett
Original posted 18 June 2025
Translation posted 6 July 2025
In light of the death of Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o on May 28, 2025, many literary fans are reflecting on his influence in French-speaking Africa. How is this author, who wrote first in English and then Kikuyu, his maternal language, regarded by those African authors who write in French?
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was born in 1983 in a Kenya that was still under British colonial rule. He studied English and then began a threefold career as a writer, a university researcher, and a journalist, which took him to Uganda and then to London.
Toward the end of the 1970s, he started to write in Kikuyu, his mother tongue, and abandoned English for his prose through the 1980s. Exiled in London and then California, he continued to produce many essays and plays. He made the decision to return to Kenya with his wife in 2004 but the couple were attacked in their apartment, during which his wife raped and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's face burned. He died in the United States on May 28, 2025.
In his country, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is an important icon of Kenyan literature. Global Voices interviewed Kenyan poet Njeri Wangarĩ, a Kikuyu language activist, via email on what this author represents for her:
Translation Original Quote
I have a deep reverence for him for making and sticking to this choice in language. This is mainly because I speak the same language and therefore, when reading his work, nothing is lost in translation. Within the literary and cultural world, many admire him for taking such a strong stand in advocating for African Languages. To this day, he remains one of the few (if not the only) widely renowned African writers to place African languages on an equal pedestal to the global languages.
When my three children were young, I once again turned to Ngugi's writing for inspiration. Reading to them his children's series Njamba nene, was as much a cathartic experience for me as it was a magical journey for them to a land where buses had wings.
The choice of language
As a fiction writer, he wrote much about colonialism and explored this topic in the still-relevant reference book “Decolonising the Mind” (1986). In this, work he deals with the question of choice of language in writing for post-colonial African authors. He speaks of the English language as a “cultural bomb” in Africa.
This question of choice of language has reverberated throughout Africa, including French-speaking countries, as noted by Réassi Ouabonzi, also known by the name Lareus Gangoueus, a Congoleseman living in Paris who facilitates the literary blog “Chez Ganngoues” as well as the collaborative platform “African Literary Chronicles.” Interviewed by email, he explains:
At the return African Presence (Présence Africaine) event in October 2019 in Paris, I was struck by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's radical statement on the theme of “Translating to Transmit” which quickly led him to ask the question of how we could define African Literature. Is it possible to envisage an African literature that is not spoken, which is not written in Indigenous languages? In the context of this encounter he addressed the recurrent objections from Africans at the limitations of writing in Kikuyu, in Shona or Lingala, in terms of the reach of literary works and the access to the rest of the world. Never one to take the easy route, he gave translators the mission of the work of translating from Swahili into French, Arabic or English but also into Lingala or Zulu.
Wangarĩ adds:
Translation Original Quote
He represents an oracle; his prophecies about what will become of our future generation if we continue to abandon our mother tongue turned me into his disciple. And with that, a responsibility to continue his work of writing and creating spaces where children and writers can share in the joy of African stories told in their language.
A pan-African writer who remains unrecognised in French
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's body of work went beyond the borders of his country of origin and the English and Kikuyu languages, as is noted in this article in the online commentary site The Conversation in May 2025:
The recognition of exceeds his pioneering role in his home country. He is particularly known for has unique telling of the everyday lives of Africans, always with a fairness and fidelity consistent with the principles of equality and social justice.
But strangely, his influence remains modest in French, as is underlined in this article from May 2025 in the online site En Attendant Nadeau:
Despite the thunder clap that was the death of this great African writer for Africa and the English-speaking world as a whole, nobody was surprised at the muted and understated media coverage in France given that the cultural institutions (media, print, festivals, public organization) have done everything they can for the past 40 years to ensure that the French-speaking public are unaware not only of the man bu also of his works. In effect, as noted by one of his translators, Jean-Pierre Orban, in a touching interview on the day of his death ‘It is uphill battle to have an piece of Ngũgĩ's work published in French.’
As is remarked by the Togolese Writer Sami Tchak, who Global Voices interviewed by email, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is often mentioned for his political message, but not always seen as a writer:
What have we read of his? Have we read his writing? In which language? and when? Here is a writerwho's fame depends much less on his work than his politics on language; writing partly in Kikiyu, his mather-tongue, rather than in English, even though European languages are the ones in which he is, in the main, read. Here is an author discussed by many, even without having read his books, because it is enough to praise his commitment to think that he has been given the tribute he deserves. Perhaps this is a problem, as it is their work that should be an author's legacy. Therefore, we should read the works of in whatever language we can, this is the only way that we can contribute to making it part of the African and global literary pantheon.
He remains hopeful that more translations will lead to greater exposure of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's body of work in Francophone countries"
https://globalvoices.org/2025/07/06/what-is-the-role-of-kenyan-writer-ngugi-wa-thiongo-in-french-speaking-africa/
#metaglossia_mundus
"The Language Faculty is promoting intelligence, not artifice
Isaac Asimov’s fantastic short story ‘The Last Question’ has always struck me as vaguely implausible, not because of its depictions of the next trillion-or-so years of human evolution and civilisation, nor because of its wonderful twist, but simply because of what the ‘last question’, the hardest problem for the story’s artificial intelligence to solve, is. Tritely put, I thought that the ‘last question’ would be that of the meaning of life. Interestingly, Asimov disagrees with me. The last question was a scientific one, rather than a more philosophical one, because the thought that the latter would be entirely outside of the purview of artificial intelligence.
But current iterations of artificial intelligence are far from the masters of logic that Asimov imagined. ChatGPT can explain, in detail, how it is possible never to lose a game of noughts and crosses but, when asked to put this into practise, it plays with about as much skill as a toddler. What they are good at is usurping creativity and human thought with thoughtless knockoffs. This is an attack which should be resisted.
With this in mind, I admit to being baffled by reactions to the change in the format of finals examinations in modern languages. That the previous format of entirely open-book examinations is not practicable in the current age of artificial intelligence is obvious. There is, unfortunately, nothing stopping a student struggling in an exam from loading up ChatGPT and using it to plan or write an essay. Software which purports to detect AI-generated writing churns out far too many false positives to be reliable. And the academic arms race promoted by examinations means that any come edge, no matter how unscrupulous, will be taken by some. To allow this to go on harms both those who cheat and those who do not. Those who choose to cheat, by shouldering their preferred large language model with as much work as they can, surrender their thoughts to the mindless convulsions of an algorithm; they fail to develop the essential skills which a degree is supposed to foster. Those who choose not to will be at an undeniable disadvantage; their grades will suffer.
This raises an obvious question. If artificial intelligence really would improve people’s performance, should we not be teaching and encouraging students to use it in a productive manner? Plausibly. As long as one is not outsourcing one’s own thoughts to an artificial intelligence I see no real argument against its use, though, given its tendency to be confidently wrong, I have little faith in its research skills.
When it comes time for exams, however, the options on the table are closed book or open book. One protects essential and important skills whilst, admittedly, underpreparing students or the age of artificial intelligence. The other allows students to ignore and underdevelop these essential skills in favour of short-term gains in their marks. People who argue that this decision fails properly to prepare students for the future overlook the timeless skills that it is designed to protect and take their rightful place at the front of the queue of people ready to be replaced by computers. They are, as Milan Kundera put it, the allies of their own gravediggers.
I assume that, in many cases, the reactions are rationalised rather than rational. It is frustrating to get half, or three quarters, of the way through your degree only then to discover that you will not be able to flick your way through your notes if you forget a source or a quotation in the exam – or to learn that you are going to have to reacquaint yourself with the technology of a bygone era: the pen. The problem comes when such frustration is reimagined to be what it is not: a genuine critique of closed book exams. That in-person exams prioritise ‘outdated’ skills like memorisation is obviously a weak argument.
Memorisation is not outdated but nor is it the most important skill being protected by in- person exams. To risk sounding like an egghead, this is a strawman. I assume that what is secretly being said is ‘memorising material is such an unnecessary drag’. I sympathise. But this is not a principled stance and it should not be allowed to masquerade as one."
Lloyd Doré-Green
6th July 2025
https://cherwell.org/2025/07/06/the-language-faculty-is-promoting-intelligence/
#metaglossia_mundus
"African stories and languages could unlock billions for the continent’s publishing industry if governments back local writers, a Unesco report has found. Africa’s book market, now worth $7 billion, could reach $18bn with more homegrown books in local languages.
Issued on: 06/07/2025 - 12:48
A new report by Unesco examines the publishing industry in Africa, and how to boost the market on the continent.
By:
Melissa Chemam
The African book industry, from authors to distributors and publishers, represents 5.4 percent of the global publishing industry, according to a new report from Unesco – which found that African literature has a growing influence around the world.
The report – which covers the 54 Unesco member states in Africa – demonstrates that this potential is largely underexploited, and examines solutions to increase publishing on the continent.
"The African Book Industry: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for Growth" reports that the continent has all the means to develop a lucrative sector that would create jobs.
There are 6,400 publishers in Africa, publishing 86,000 titles per year on average. The continent is home to 8,000 public libraries, 270 annual book festivals and fairs, and 200 professional publishing associations.
Current trends include an increase in formats such as comics and graphic novels, a new focus on publishing for children and young people, and African books being made into films.
Africa has also seen rapid growth in digital reading. "Over the past years, we've seen a big push on digital platforms, and particularly in young publishers going this way," Caroline Munier, culture programme specialist at Unesco, told RFI. "This can play a transformative role"."
https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250706-untold-stories-in-african-languages-could-turn-the-page-on-publishing-unesco
#metaglossia_mundus
"Abstract: Research suggests that the texts produced using machine translation (MT) do not fully represent the linguistic traits of the natural language. Yet, the ever-increasing quality and access to MT is resulting in its steady adoption by both language professionals and general users. According to contact linguistic theories, such adoption might result in MT-specific language traits permeating the target languages. This work takes a first step into considering the changes that a language might endure over time by observing the variation of linguistic trends along a series of MT generations. We train ten sequential engines using each to produce the target side of the training corpus of the following and calculate a number of metrics to observe linguistic diversity at a lexical, morphological, and syntactic level for a large, fixed test set. Quantitative results show an initial loss of lexical diversity, which, albeit gradually, only continues at a much slower pace in the following MT generations. In turn, structural variations and, in particular, morphological variations across generations are less marked, which might indicate a more stable behaviour regarding grammatical consistency. Overall, the resulting MT language seems increasingly homogeneous, marked by the reduced presence or disappearance of low-frequency words, and compact, with a decreasing proportion of function words relative to content words."
Nora Aranberri and Jose A. Pascual
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 June 2025
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/natural-language-processing/article/propagating-machine-translation-traits-to-predict-potential-impact-on-the-target-language/A873E9434BBA7A0A10D2AEA911D3D04F
#metaglossia_mundus
"Bilingual barrister comes to aid of 'nervous' translator in Special Criminal Court
TUE, 01 JUL, 2025 - 18:50
EOIN REYNOLDS
A bilingual barrister came to the rescue at the Special Criminal Court today when a "nervous" interpreter on his first day struggled to translate for a group of Spanish men charged with drug offences.
The three-judge court was expecting to be updated on whether a group of six men would require trial dates for allegedly conspiring to import a large quantity of drugs into Ireland.
As prosecution counsel Tessa White began to speak, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor, presiding, became concerned that the Spanish interpreter was not translating what was being said.
The judge turned to Cathal McGreal, defending, saying: "You have good Spanish, are you satisfied that what is being translated is accurate?"
"No," Mr McGreal replied.
The court gave the parties time to tell their clients what was happening. When the court resumed, Mr McGreal explained that the interpreter has worked previously in hospitals but never in a court setting. "The interpreter is perfectly capable but he got very nervous and was worried if he could continue," Mr McGreal said.
He said the interpreter would be able to translate the rest of the day's business which required nothing more than setting dates for a next appearance.
Juan Antonio Gallardo Barroso, aged 56, of no fixed address in Spain, is one of 10 men charged following the massive seizure of drugs in 2024. Picture Larry Cummins
Ms Justice O'Connor heard that two of the accused, Ali Ghasemi Mazidi, aged 50, with an address in the Netherlands, and Raul Tabares Garcia, aged 48, of Cadiz in Spain, will require trial dates. Ms White said the trial is likely to take four to six weeks.
Ms Justice O'Connor adjourned the matter to July 21, when she will set a trial date. Co-defendants Sean Curran, aged 37, with an address at Carrickyheenan, Aughnacloy, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Juan Antonio Gallardo Barroso, aged 56, of no fixed address in Spain, Pedro Pablo Ojeda Ortega, aged 36, of Cadiz, and Angel Serran Padilla, aged 40, of Malaga will have their cases mentioned again on July 7.
In total, 10 men from Ireland, Spain, Serbia, and the Netherlands are charged with conspiring with one another to do an act in the State that constitutes a serious offence, namely the importation of controlled drugs in excess of €13,000 on dates between February 27 and March 14, 2024, both dates inclusive.
The alleged offence is contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
Gardaí arrested the ten men in March last year during operations in the villages of Tragumna and Leap near Skibbereen in west Cork, where a jeep, camper van, articulated truck, and rigid inflatable boat were seized as part of the suspected drug smuggling operation.""
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-41661713.html
#metaglossia_mundus
"...7 must-read translated Indian novels that retain their soul
7 must-read translated Indian novels that retain their soul
Let us take a look at few Indian books that have traversed linguistic boundaries without diluting their emotional and literary content.
New Delhi | Updated: July 4, 2025 14:59 IST
In India, the landscape changes every few hundred kilometres, and so does the language. A phrase uttered in one village might sound completely different a district away. At times, it’s a new dialect. At times, it is an entirely new language. Thus, in a nation woven together by its multilingualism, translation is not merely a creative decision; it’s a cultural imperative. But with each act of translation, there is a silent risk attached to it, the risk of something slipping between the cracks. It may mean losing nuance, humour, agony, the rhythm of a sentence or simply the weight of a silence.
But, as Ken Liu reminds us, “Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.” And that’s exactly why, when translation succeeds, it is rather more than ability. It is more like alchemy. Let us take a look at few Indian books that have traversed linguistic boundaries without diluting their emotional and literary content.
Srinath Perur translated this book from Kannada to English in 2015. Ghachar Ghochar shows how unexpected wealth changes a family in ways people don’t notice. The story’s main character, who doesn’t have a name, lives well in Bangalore now. He sees how money breaks down his family’s sense of right and wrong. The made-up phrase “ghachar ghochar” means a mix of feelings, values, and how people connect. Shanbhag writes without extra words, and Perur keeps this style in the translation. This helps readers feel the tight calm mood of the book. The main character asks, ““When the house is on fire, do you waste time chasing rats?” In just over 100 pages, this book shows how respectability can conceal rot, cutting straight to the heart of familial dysfunction.
Against the backdrop of Partition, Tamas is a sobering portrayal of how communal violence is engineered. Translated into Hindi and published in 1974, the novel begins with the sight of a pig’s carcass hurled outside a mosque, a minor action that has disastrous fallout. Bhisham Sahni himself translated the book into English so that nothing was lost in terms of tone or emotion. Through various characters – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and colonial officials, he reveals how riots are more planned and less spontaneous. “The riots had not erupted,” he writes, “they had been ignited.” With understated prose and unflinching honesty, Tamas remains one of the most haunting literary documents of Partition.
Mother of 1084 by Mahasweta Devi
Published in 1974, With the translation into English by Samik Bandyopadhyay, the novella stands as an intimate portrait of political violence that soon casts an enormous shadow across the reader’s consciousness. Written in Bengali, it begins with Sujata, a middle-class homemaker, being asked to visit a morgue to identify her son who was murdered for being with the Naxalite movement and was given the designation, “Corpse No. 1084.” Saddened, Sujata embarks on questioning her own position and privilege; she questions inaction on her part as well as society’s gruesome acceptance of this injustice. “I gave him birth. And the state gave him death,” she says, encapsulating the novel’s emotional and political weight. The translation is stark and elegant, echoing Mahasweta Devi’s fiery critique of state repression and class apathy.
Moustache, a dark folk story set in Kerala’s backwaters first came out in Malayalam in 2013. Jayasree Kalathil translated it later. The book tells the story of a man from a lower caste who grows a moustache. This facial hair, a symbol of upper-caste male power, causes wonder, jealousy, and dread. As the moustache gets bigger – like something out of a myth – Hareesh looks at caste, manhood, and fighting back. He does this through a dreamlike tale full of rich details. Kalathil’s translation won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2020. People praised it for keeping the poetic feel and political punch of the original work. In the book, the moustache “comes to life – growing rebellion.” By doing this, it becomes a story about getting back one’s honor.
This peculiar short Bengali novella from 1993, which Arunava Sinha translated to English, features a deceased aunt who lingers in the family’s thoughts, both as a spirit and a symbol of resistance. The tale intertwines the experiences of women across three generations as they grapple with rich male dominance, and the weight of tradition. Mukhopadhyay’s writing has a whimsical touch but also contains many depths blending the with everyday gender bias and pointed social commentary. Sinha’s translation keeps the wit and closeness while bringing out its feminist undertones. “It’s not death that scares me,” says the aunt, “it’s forgetting.” It is a book that keeps reverberating after the slim volume is set down.
Published for the first time in 1889, Indulekha is regarded as the first full-fledged Malayalam novel and continues to be remarkably forward-thinking for its era. Written in the midst of British colonial times, it is a narrative of an educated, smart Nair woman who goes against the norms to exercise her right to choose. O. Chandu Menon’s incisively ironic voice and social commentary come into English translation through Anitha Devasia, whose translation maintains the Victorian-era vocabulary but brings the text to within reach of contemporary readers. The novel lightly challenges orthodoxy without discounting cultural identity. Its eponymous heroine’s announcement, “A woman with learning is feared by men who do not understand her”, rings like a call across the ages.
The Bride, written in Maithili in the 1950s, is both comical and sharp in its satirical thrust from the rural heart of Bihar. Harimohan Jha satirizes social customs of dowry, arranged marriages, and Brahmanical pride through the narrative of an overloaded scholar trying to cope with the absurdities of wedding negotiations. Translated into English by Lalit Kumar, the novel’s humor and cultural particularity survive translation without sacrificing readability. Its appeal lies in how lightly it wears its satire, never compromising humor for sermonizing. “Perhaps you know Panini’s grammar,” remarks one of them, “but unless you know how to please your wife’s father, you are lost.” This Maithili gem is gently comic, sharply observed, and deeply rooted in cultural detail.
In a land of many voices, these seven books remind us that translation is not just an act of language, but also an act of faith. When done with devotion, it enables stories to traverse not only geography but into new hearts, new readers, and new lives. Because the finest stories, wherever they start, need to be heard everywhere."
https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/7-indian-books-translation-english-10104300/
#metaglossia_mundus
"Michal Kosinski’s recent study on theory of mind (ToM) tasks given to different large language models (LLMs) (1) is fascinating and offers many insights into the continued evolution and development of LLMs.
When testing ToM in animals, much ethological research has focused on differentiating “genuine” ToM from other cognitive functions. Morgan’s Canon recommends using “lower” rather than “higher” psychological faculties to explain animal behavior where possible (2). While this “canon” may lack justification, “association-blindness” is also problematic (3).
Researchers working in developmental psychology and animal behavior have developed increasingly sophisticated methods to rule out alternative explanations (4), gradually building cumulative cases based on converging evidence (5). We suggest that the same should be done with LLMs. Kosinski considered some alternative explanations and included control trials to exclude simple heuristics (1). We suggest that this should be expanded by examining other alternatives like associative learning, which can be achieved through simple electronic circuits (6) and can be explicitly trained.
Given the sudden jump in performance in newer models, it is likely that LLMs have either been explicitly trained or engineered to solve ToM tasks, which could explain some observed differences from humans (7). Explicit training would likely result in overinferring false beliefs when a similar pattern exists. For example, stating that the container is transparent [inspired by the “goggles experiment” in ethology (8)] should not result in false beliefs while retaining a similar structure to ToM tasks. We suggest that wrongly inferring a false belief in such a scenario would be indicative of explicit training.
LLMs use mathematical representations of word vectors in a multidimensional space that include word associations and positions. Each vector is interpreted through surrounding vectors to give a broader context. Such structured composition can mimic the logic of its training data, given that logical relationships often result in specific vector patterns. LLMs are trained on texts created by humans as well as using reinforcement learning from human feedback (9). Both the training data and the feedback come from humans who possess a ToM, making it at least possible for LLMs to pass ToM tasks simply through pattern recognition.
Testing this would require ToM tasks with radically different patterns (not just novel particulars) from the ones found in the existing literature included in the training data. Alternatively, a significant improvement in ToM task performance in older models through training without model tuning (10) would indicate that patterns in the training data rather than in the model can account for task performance.
None of this implies that LLMs cannot have a genuine ToM. However, we propose that successfully solving isolated ToM tasks is insufficient evidence to indicate the presence of ToM (5). While the studies conducted by Kosinski (1) and others (7) are important and relevant, we suggest that attributing ToM to LLMs may be premature until simpler explanations can be ruled out and a cumulative case based on converging evidence can be made.
Acknowledgments
Author contributionsD.K.F.P. convened discussion group; S.K.Y.P., M.D.B., and A.H. participated in discussion group; and D.K.F.P., S.K.Y.P., M.D.B., and A.H. wrote the paper."
Competing interestsThe authors d
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2507080122
#metaglossia_mundus
According to psychologists like Steven Pinker, music is a peripheral part of our humanity. If music vanished overnight, Pinker argues, "the rest of our lifestyle would be virtually unchanged." For Nietzsche, this is a radical mistake.
"Pinker vs Nietzsche: Is music the basis of language?
Language is born out of music
4th July 2025
Kathleen Higgins | Kathleen Higgins is a professor of philosophy at Austin, Texas University. Her work focuses on continental philosophy, philosophy of the emotions, and aesthetics.
According to psychologists like Steven Pinker, music is a peripheral part of our humanity. If music vanished overnight, Pinker argues, "the rest of our lifestyle would be virtually unchanged." For Nietzsche, this is a radical mistake. In this article, Kathleen Higgins presents Nietzsche's argument for music being the foundation of language, without which our lives would not be recognizably human at all. Far from being peripheral, music is essential to our humanity. As Nietzsche wrote late in life: "Without music, life would be a mistake."
Music is a pervasive presence, not only marking special occasions like birthdays and weddings, but also serving as background for daily activities like driving, exercising, or watching a show. So prevalent is music in our ordinary routines that it is hard to imagine what our lives would be like without it.
But cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker considers music more or less dispensable. “Compared with language, vision, social reasoning, and physical know-how,” he remarks, “music could vanish from our species and the rest of our lifestyle would be virtually unchanged.” He contends that music is a “spandrel,” in the terminology of biologist Stephen Jay Gould, a by-product of the way we have evolved, but without evolutionary value itself. Pinker calls music “auditory cheesecake.” It “tickles” a number of our mental faculties, but is no more essential to human life than cheesecake is to our diet. In this respect, music is unlike language, which is an important evolutionary adaptation that aids in our survival.
___
Our ability to communicate meanings linguistically presupposes our musicality.
___
Nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche would argue that Pinker has it all wrong, particularly in his comparison of music and language. Nietzsche rejects the idea that language is more fundamental than music to the life of our species. According to him, our ability to communicate meanings linguistically presupposes our musicality. Without music, he argues, we would not have language as we know it.
The idea that music is a precondition of language may sound far-fetched, but debates about whether music or language is more fundamental have been longstanding in Western thought. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle examined the connection between music and language when they considered poetry set to music. They argued that in such settings, musical rhythms and melodies should support the texts that they accompanied. This view led late Renaissance opera composers to develop the recitative, which involved setting texts so that the music mimicked the rhythms and contours of speech. The recitative was so musically constrained that composers interspersed recitatives with arias, providing opportunities for singers to show off their virtuosity.
SUGGESTED VIEWING
Dostoevsky vs Nietzsche
With Niki Seth-Smith, Janne Teller, Oliver Ready, Kathleen Higgins
Early Christian thinkers debated whether God had endowed human beings with music as part of their nature or whether music was a later human invention. Modern thinkers disagreed on the origin of music and language and whether one preceded the other. Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought that language and music emerged from a common expressive mode—a view that in broad terms continues to have some currency. Herbert Spencer maintained that language came first, with music developing as a way of heightening emotion in speech. Charles Darwin, by contrast, contended that the melodic and rhythmic features of nonhuman animal vocalizations developed as means for attracting members of the opposite sex, suggesting that music (in some sense of the term) was prior to language."
https://iai.tv/articles/pinker-vs-nietzsche-is-music-the-basis-of-language-auid-3247
#metaglossia_mundus
"Russian companies are hiring Korean-language translators and cultural experts as thousands of North Korean laborers pour into Russia to fill construction and infrastructure jobs, the Daily Storm news outlet reported.
North Korea has emerged as one of Russia’s key allies since the invasion of Ukraine, sending thousands of troops and workers to Russia. This influx has created a demand for translators to manage the thousands of North Koreans now working in the country.
Job postings for Korean interpreters — some offering salaries as high as $4,000 per month — have appeared on major Russian job sites and niche Telegram channels in recent weeks, the Daily Storm reported.
One recent listing from Strana Development, a construction firm based in Moscow, sought an interpreter fluent in Korean with knowledge of North Korean culture and etiquette to work on a construction site in the capital.
Similar vacancies have appeared on Telegram channels for translators.
A reporter from the Daily Storm called the phone number on a post seeking a Korean language specialist for work with construction teams in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
The reporter was told that the position was intended for North Korean citizens, adding that “groups of 30 to 35 people will be arriving every seven to 10 days and will be assigned to various construction sites.”
“The main tasks are to help the workers adapt to their job sites, organize daily routines, provide safety briefings and define the scope and methods of work,” the employer added.
NEWS
North Korea Targets Russian Tourists with New Beach Resort
READ MORE
The influx of workers has prompted academic and military institutions to step in. The Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Russia’s top diplomatic training university, recently advertised a position for a Korean military translation instructor.
Applicants are required to have military experience or an advanced academic degree, with salaries ranging from 100,000 to 120,000 rubles per month ($1,000 to $1,300).
Translation services are also being sought for more formal business engagements.
The outsourcing company Excelsior recently posted an opening for an interpreter to accompany a delegation of North Korean businessmen, with duties including providing live interpretation at meetings and events.
Pavel Belenets, a representative of the Primorsky-based development firm Eskadra, said in late June that more than 150,000 North Koreans have submitted job applications to work in Russia.
He estimated that around 15,000 are currently employed, mostly in construction and restoration projects, a figure that could potentially reach 50,000 by the end of the year.
NEWS
North Korea Will Send Thousands of Military Personnel to Help Rebuild Kursk Region, Shoigu Says
READ MORE
Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said last month that some 6,000 North Korean “specialists” would be deployed to the Kursk border region to help with reconstruction following Ukraine's cross-border incursion.
Similar arrangements have been discussed for war-torn areas of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, including the Donbas region.
United Nations sanctions prohibit member states from hiring North Korean workers abroad due to fears that their wages are funneled directly to the regime in Pyongyang.
Human rights groups have long documented harsh conditions for North Koreans working overseas, citing cases of surveillance, forced labor and the confiscation of salaries by the state."
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/04/russian-firms-seek-north-korean-translators-to-support-influx-of-workers-a89683
#metaglossia_mundus
"Newswire / July 3, 2025 / Propio, a leading innovator in interpreting, translation, and localization solutions, is proud to announce its acquisition of CyraCom International Inc., one of the world's largest remote interpretation providers that specializes in healthcare. This historic transaction brings together two of the largest U.S.-based Language Service Providers (LSPs), creating an unparalleled partnership capable of delivering expanded solutions, deeper expertise, and even greater resources to clients across healthcare, government, insurance, education and enterprise sectors.
"This is a transformative moment in our industry and Propio is taking the lead in it," said Marco Assis, CEO of Propio. "We are combining two trusted leaders with decades of remote-interpretation excellence. Together, we'll set an even greater standard for access, speed, and quality in language solutions."
Clients of both organizations will benefit from a seamless transition, continued support from their dedicated teams, and immediate access to enhanced technology and service options. The combined entity will allow for Propio's AI-powered automation and workflows, technology solutions, and compliance infrastructure, to drive even better outcomes for the new clients and the communities they serve.
"Language access is something both organizations are very passionate about and, together, we will be able to more effectively help our clients remove barriers to communication and care," added Assis.
The integration process is already underway, with both leadership teams working closely to ensure a smooth and transparent experience for all clients.
About Propio Language Services
Propio is an industry-leading language solutions partner that combines high-quality human expertise with advanced technology to support interpretation, translation, and localization needs across healthcare, education, legal, financial, and other industries.
To support its clients, Propio offers secure, easy-to-use tools like the Propio ONE app for interpretation, Propio Workforce OS® for resource service coordination in healthcare, and AI translation solutions to increase speed and efficiency. Powered by a network of over 20,000 linguists covering 300+ languages, Propio now works with more than 12,000 client partners worldwide.
Propio's vision is simple: to make communication easier through the use of advanced technology.
About CyraCom
CyraCom has been a leader in language services for over 30 years, specializing in over-the-phone and video interpretation. Known for its rigorous interpreter training and U.S.-based operations, CyraCom has supported clients across healthcare, legal, and public service industries.
Media Contact:
Sarah Haner, Marketing Director
communications@propio.com
SOURCE: Propio Language Services"
https://www.morningstar.com/news/accesswire/1045129msn/propio-language-services-acquires-cyracom-combining-two-of-the-worlds-largest-healthcare-interpretation-providers
#metaglossia_mundus
"Quelles initiatives pour préserver les langues en danger ?
Publié le : 03/07/2025 - 17:30
Environ 7 000 langues sont parlées dans le monde, mais celui-ci est dominé par une vingtaine de langues ! Qu'en est-il des autres ? En cette décennie des langues autochtones décidée par l'UNESCO, RFI a consacré un grand dossier aux langues en danger, conçu par Baptiste Condominas.
Combien de langues disparaissent chaque année ? Difficile à quantifier, car il est parfois impossible de savoir à quel moment le dernier locuteur d'une langue meurt.
Depuis quelques années, les chercheurs s'y intéressent, parce que lorsqu'une langue disparaît, c'est toute une culture qui disparait avec.
L'Unesco juge que si rien n'est fait, la moitié des langues pourrait disparaitre au cours de ce siècle. L'Asie-Pacifique est la première aire géographique concernée avec notamment les langues indonésiennes, ou encore les langues aborigènes en Australie. Certains pays d'Afrique comme le Cameroun, le Nigeria, l'Éthiopie ou le Soudan sont concernés.
Pourquoi chaque année, certaines langues disparaissent ? Comment protéger des langues en danger ? En quoi le changement climatique peut-il favoriser la disparition de certaines langues ? Quelles sont les conséquences de la disparition de langues chaque année ? Y a-t-il des mouvements de revendications pour la sauvegarde de ces langues ?
Certaines langues disparaissent, car certains groupes sont obligés d'abandonner leur langue ancestrale au profit d'une langue dominante. Il y a trois contextes : la colonisation européenne qui a entraîné la mort de millions d'autochtones, la formation des États-nations avec une éducation monolingue dans une langue unique et les périodes de crises comme les guerres, les épidémies. Les langues ne meurent pas, elles sont tuées.
Evangelia Adamou
Exemples avec :
Le live : une langue finno-ougrienne complexe, à déclinaisons, encore parlée en Lettonie par une vingtaine de personnes, dans un pays de 1,8 million d’habitants. Parlée autrefois par les communautés lives sur les terres de Courlande et au nord de Riga, les locuteurs sont aujourd’hui dispersés et se mobilisent pour que cette langue ne disparaisse pas. Depuis 1999, cette langue a le statut de langue indigène. Une vraie langue survivante !
Avec notre correspondante en Lettonie, Marielle Vitureau.
Le taa : une langue d'Afrique australe, parlée par environ quatre mille locuteurs au Botswana et en Namibie. Une langue «qui a le système sonore le plus complexe du monde» avec plus d'une centaine de sons qui a fasciné Ian Brennan, compositeur et producteur récompensé aux Grammy Awards en 2011 pour le meilleur album de musique du monde !
Avec notre correspondant régional, Valentin Hugues.
Le sapara : une langue indigène de l'Équateur. L'une des dernières locutrices, Mukusawa Santi Ashanga, est décédée en mars dernier à Quito. Les Saparas étaient un peuple indigène assez nombreux au XVIIè siècle puis les maladies (fièvre jaune, fièvre du caoutchouc) ont décimé une partie de la population qui est passée de 100.000 à 20.000 personnes au début du XXè siècle. Il resterait aujourd'hui quelques centaines de personnes, mais qui ne parleraient pas ou peu la langue.
Avec notre correspondant en Équateur, Eric Samson..."
https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/de-vive-s-voix/20250703-quelles-initiatives-pour-pr%C3%A9server-les-langues-en-danger
#metaglossia_mundus
"L’Académie française décerne le Grand Prix Hervé-Deluen à Souleymane Bachir Diagne
VENDREDI 4 JUILLET 2025 À 22H51
Dakar, 4 juil (APS) – L’Académie française a décerné le Grand Prix Hervé-Deluen 2025 à Souleymane Bachir Diagne, en reconnaissance de ‘’sa contribution remarquable à l’éclat de la langue et de la pensée françaises’’, ont annoncé, vendredi, les Éditions Albin Michel, éditeur du philosophe sénégalais.
‘’Nous sommes heureux d’annoncer que quatre auteurs publiés chez Albin Michel sont nommés aux prix de l’Académie française’’, a écrit la maison d’édition sur sa page Facebook.
Elle précise ensuite que Souleymane Bachir Diagne est lauréat du Grand Prix Hervé-Deluen, qui récompense ‘’toute personne ou toute institution qui contribue efficacement à la défense et à la promotion du français comme langue internationale’’.
Décernée chaque année par la fondation Hervé-Deluen depuis 2007, cette distinction est devenue le Grand Prix Hervé-Deluen en 2015.
Le lauréat reçoit une récompense de 25 000 euros, soit 16,3 millions de francs CFA.
M. Diagne, âgé de 69 ans, éminent spécialiste de l’histoire des sciences et de la philosophie islamique, a enseigné pendant plusieurs années à l’université Cheikh-Anta-Diop de Dakar (Sénégal), avant d’intégrer l’université Columbia (États-Unis d’Amérique).
Il est auteur de nombreux livres, dont un essai consacré à la traduction, ‘’De langue à langue : l’hospitalité de la traduction’’ (2022), publié chez Albin Michel.
Le poète François Cassingena-Trévedy, le scénariste et réalisateur Thierry Thomas, et l’écrivain Ruben Barrouk, tous de nationalité française, sont les autres auteurs publiés par Albin Michel et nommés aux prix de l’Académie française 2025.
M. Cassingena-Trévedy est lauréat du Grand Prix Moron. Il a été récompensé pour ‘’Paysan de Dieu’’ (2024).
Thierry Thomas est lauréat du prix Roland-de-Jouvenel, qui lui a été décerné pour le roman ‘’Feydeau s’en va’’ (2024).
Ruben Barrouk, qui est d’origine marocaine, est lauréat du prix Mottant. Il a été récompensé pour le roman ‘’Tout le bruit du Guéliz’’ (2024).
FKS/ESF "
https://aps.sn/lacademie-francaise-decerne-le-grand-prix-herve-deluen-a-souleymane-bachir-diagne/
#metaglossia_mundus
"Internet haut débit : Starlink lance ses services au Tchad avec une offre illimitée à 32 000 FCFA/mois
Le Tchad devient le 24ᵉ pays africain à accueillir Starlink, avec des forfaits inédits et compétitifs pour combler le déficit de connectivité, notamment en zone rurale.
Un kit starlink au Tchad
Le fournisseur d'accès à internet par satellite Starlink, filiale de SpaceX d'Elon Musk, a annoncé ce jeudi 3 juillet le lancement officiel de ses services au Tchad. « L'Internet haut débit de Starlink est désormais disponible au Tchad, marquant le 24 e pays, territoire ou marché en Afrique où Starlink est disponible ! », a précisé un communiqué de l’entreprise.
D’après les informations sur le site de Starlink, les utilisateurs tchadiens pourront bénéficier d'un internet haut débit avec deux offres tarifaires compétitives : un forfait de 18 000 Fcfa pour 250 Go et une offre illimitée à 32 000 Fcfa par mois.
Une stratégie de couverture et des partenariats locaux
Le déploiement de Starlink au Tchad s'inscrit dans une stratégie visant à combler le déficit de connectivité internet, particulièrement dans les zones reculées du pays. Le 13 mars 2025, le Tchad avait signé une convention de partenariat avec Starlink pour bénéficier de cette connexion à haut débit, avec l'objectif d'améliorer l'accès des citoyens à l'information publique et aux services administratifs en ligne. Ce lancement est également le fruit d'un accord stratégique signé le 5 mai 2025 entre Airtel Africa et SpaceX pour commercialiser les services Starlink sur le continent. De son côté, Moov Africa (Maroc Telecom), déjà présent via sa filiale tchadienne, l’un des leadeurs du secteur, devrait être le principal concurrent de Starlink sur ce marché.
L'arrivée officielle de Starlink promet de transformer l'accès à internet au Tchad, où la connectivité était jusqu'ici limitée dans de nombreuses zones. Le ministre tchadien des Télécommunications, Michel Boukar, avait déjà annoncé en mars dernier l'autorisation de Starlink, insistant sur l'objectif d'une meilleure couverture du territoire. Cette initiative place le Tchad comme le premier pays de la CEMAC à bénéficier officiellement des services Starlink, alors que des négociations sont toujours en cours au Cameroun, première économie de la zone. Les offres tarifaires tchadiennes sont par ailleurs plus abordables que celles pratiquées en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), où un forfait résidentiel illimité ou de 50 Go coûte environ 144 000 FC (environ 51,4 USD)"
Internet haut débit : Starlink lance ses services au Tchad avec une offre illimitée à 32 000 FCFA/mois"
Publiée jeudi 3 juillet 2025 à 17:50:26
Modifiée jeudi 3 juillet 2025 à 17:50:41
Par
Albert AMOUGOU https://share.google/RdaXUtWl5im4tXwXQ
#metaglossia_mundus
"Local languages are becoming an important tool of identity and cultural assertion due to their superior literary expressions.
As India takes confident strides, it is shedding the mantle of English language supremacy. Indian writers want the world to engage in conversations with them - in their native languages. Local languages are becoming an important tool of identity and cultural assertion due to their superior literary expressions. This shift in perspective has not come under a government scheme. Publishing industry is witnessing a churning.Indian spices
Though, Indian bibliophiles have enjoyed a globalised world view. Russian, French, German, Latin American or Japanese - the best literature of these languages has been made available in English and Hindi translations for decades.
But this has been a one-way traffic. While Indians were reading world literature; the language-literature of India was not made available to the global audience. Thereby limiting the reach of writers writing in 24 Indian languages.
While Indian writers, writing in English — Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie et. al. became global celebrities; this was not so for other Indian languages. Few writers in Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, Assamese etc. produced world-class literature yet their reach remained limited to the region.
Indian spices
Not only great works of literature written in regional languages of India were not getting translated into foreign languages; almost no translation activity was taking place among the 24 literary languages recognised by Sahitya Akademi of India. This made the writers feel isolated. Even when they did get translated, the translations remained obscure, locked in some government library. Readers could not access them.
Changing the script
This scenario is changing. When Penguin India, the largest English publishing house in India, publishes an English international award-winning book; it simultaneously gets it published in Hindi translation. Almost all popular authors of English want their books to be available in Hindi. Hindi readership is, by some rough estimates, five to ten times greater than English.
"Japanese yakuza novel wins UK award for crime fiction in translation
A novel depicting yakuza gangster life by a Japanese author has won a prestigious British award for crime fiction.
The Crime Writers' Association awarded its 2025 Dagger prize for crime fiction in translation to Otani Akira's "The Night of Baba Yaga" in London on Thursday. The novel was translated by Sam Bett.
Created in 1955, the Daggers are considered one of the world's most prestigious awards for crime and thriller writing along with the Edgar Awards of the United States.
The story is about the bond between a woman known for her fighting prowess and the only daughter of the head of a Japanese yakuza group. The woman is forced to become the daughter's bodyguard.
It depicts how the two women come to trust each other against the backdrop of the criminal underworld.
The fast-paced novel makes use of graphically violent scenes and language to depict the two women in pursuit of their hopes for their lives.
The book was first published in Japan in 2020. Translated versions later hit the British, US, and South Korean markets. Some reviews described the novel as one that empowers women in a sophisticated way.
Otani, 44, is from Tokyo and was originally a scenario writer for video games. She has written novels and essays on a variety of themes, including love and families.
The Daggers' translated novel category was created in 2006. Japanese author Yuzuki Asako's Butter was also shortlisted for this year's prize.
Otani is the first Japanese Dagger winner and the second Asian, following South Korean writer Yun Ko-eun who won in 2021."
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250704_05/
#metaglossia_mundus "Japanese yakuza novel wins UK award for crime fiction in translation
A novel depicting yakuza gangster life by a Japanese author has won a prestigious British award for crime fiction.
The Crime Writers' Association awarded its 2025 Dagger prize for crime fiction in translation to Otani Akira's "The Night of Baba Yaga" in London on Thursday. The novel was translated by Sam Bett.
Created in 1955, the Daggers are considered one of the world's most prestigious awards for crime and thriller writing along with the Edgar Awards of the United States.
The story is about the bond between a woman known for her fighting prowess and the only daughter of the head of a Japanese yakuza group. The woman is forced to become the daughter's bodyguard.
It depicts how the two women come to trust each other against the backdrop of the criminal underworld.
The fast-paced novel makes use of graphically violent scenes and language to depict the two women in pursuit of their hopes for their lives.
The book was first published in Japan in 2020. Translated versions later hit the British, US, and South Korean markets. Some reviews described the novel as one that empowers women in a sophisticated way.
Otani, 44, is from Tokyo and was originally a scenario writer for video games. She has written novels and essays on a variety of themes, including love and families.
The Daggers' translated novel category was created in 2006. Japanese author Yuzuki Asako's Butter was also shortlisted for this year's prize.
Otani is the first Japanese Dagger winner and the second Asian, following South Korean writer Yun Ko-eun who won in 2021."
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250704_05/
#metaglossia_mundus
Incomes and literacy rates are growing nationwide; contributing to publishing in local languages with a rigour not known before. An estimate puts roughly 19,000 active publishers in India, mostly in Hindi and other regional languages like, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, which have had a long tradition of libraries and reading clubs. The corporate publishing houses are tapping these small publishers to capitalise on their writing traditions.
International Booker and translation
Recognition to the quotidian; the voices emanating from narrow, smaller spaces has come, by the fillip given to translation as a literary activity. The Booker International Prize 2022, received by Hindi novelist Geetanjali Shree for Ret Samadhi, translated by Daisy Rockwell and for 2024 by Banu Mushtaq’s, Heart Lamp translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, has put the status of translator at par with the author. The Booker Prize money of 50,000 pounds is divided equally between the author and the translator to acknowledge the significant contribution of translators in bringing literary works to a wider audience.
“The coming decade of world literature belongs to translators. They are getting money and recognition at par with the authors. Most literary awards are going to be based on translations which used to be a missionary work; in India translators’ names did not appear on the cover page. This is changing—the translator shares the same space as the author. The world is going to be unified by translators; they have more power now,” comments Madhav Kaushik, President, Sahitya Kala Akademi.
Indian spices
Almost all major universities are teaching comparative literature and translation, which is no more limited to the linguistics department; where the linguists debated over the nomenclature—to call it trans-literation or trans- creation. Foreign embassies are engaging translators to introduce their literature to India and vice versa.
Translation has arrived as a well-paid, well-recognised creative art.
Self- translation
While the name and money of the Booker Prize is shared with the translator, India’s only Nobel Laureate in Literature, Rabindranath Tagore, preferred to translate his own poems from original Bengali into English. His collection of poetry Geetanjali, for which he was granted the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1913, Tagore did not want to rely on others’ interpretations of his poems. He was not always satisfied with the translations done by others —as he wanted to ensure his voice and finer nuances were preserved in the English version. Though, several English writers pointed at the flaws in his translations for their Indianness—Tagore stuck to his conviction—to his uniqueness. Indian spices
Tagore was not alone. Many great authors and poets translated their own works. Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov, known for his complex and intricate characters, translated his own works from Russian into English. So did Samuel Beckett, a French Nobel Laureate, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and others. Despite the best efforts of the translator, at times the author feels, no one else can get the soul of his/her writing. Especially in the case of poetry.
In the market-driven economy of demand and supply, nuances are replaced by speed. Now, readers demand instant translations of popular books.
From creativity to AI
Several established authors are engaging in translation to enhance their understanding of creative processes of writing — of translating thoughts and emotions into a language. Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer award-winning author says, translation has transformed the way she writes; in her book Translating Myself and Others. Deepa Bhasthi, translator of Banu Mushtaq’s Kannada short story collection Heart Lamp, says, “I was very deliberate in my choice to not use italics for the Kannada, Urdu or Arabic words that remain untranslated in English.” This is reflective of a new kind of confidence in the local culture and its expressions, while engaging with a global audience.
Writers no longer want to wait for the long process of translation that takes years and, at times, decades to see the light of other languages. Vikram Sampath, a well-known published author of several research-based books in English, says he had to wait for his books to be translated into Kannada, his mother tongue, for almost 15 years. His well-researched book; Splendours of Royal Mysore, meant for Kannada readers; his two-volume authentic biography of Veer Savarkar; Tipu Sultan; The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum etc. are still not available in Kannada or Marathi languages.
Not giving up, he has started a start-up NAAV AI, that aims to get writings translated into Indian languages “to infuse frenetic speed, functionality and efficiency into the publishing industry through AI-generated translations.”
The future of the publishing world belongs to good translators — with or without AI.
By Vandana Shukla
July 3, 2025, 12:00 PM -
https://newsarenaindia.com/undefined/translation-gateway-to-global-cultural-understanding/49198
#metaglossia_mundus
"Opera browser update adds built-in translation, custom cursors, and multitasking tools
By Wayne Williams
Norwegian browser company Opera has launched a major update for its desktop browsers Opera One and Opera GX, adding a privacy-focused translation feature, improved multitasking tools, and a new level of personalization for GX users.
The update rolls out as Opera continues to try to compete with bigger players like Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox by leaning into user-driven customization and features.
SEE ALSO: How safe are your browser extensions? New free database helps you find out
Opera Translate is the highlight of the new release. Built directly into Opera One and Opera GX, the tool detects when a webpage is in a different language and instantly offers to translate it, with options for one-time or always-on translation for specific languages.
Unlike most browser translation tools, Opera Translate keeps all translation processing in-house, running through servers based in Europe and avoiding third-party data sharing. This privacy angle is a central part of Opera’s pitch, especially at a time when data handling practices are increasingly under public scrutiny.
The translation feature uses AI-enhanced technology from Lingvanex and supports over 40 languages. According to Opera, this was one of the most requested additions by its global user base. For users browsing news sites in foreign languages, shopping internationally, or researching across different regions, the feature removes a recurring problem while maintaining control over personal data.
In Opera One, the update enhances Split Screen functionality. Now integrated with Tab Islands, the browser allows users to open side-by-side views within grouped tabs, giving them more flexibility when comparing content or managing multitasking workflows. Opera also enabled toolbar access within each tab in Split Screen mode. That means tools like Bookmarks, Downloads, and the Snapshot tool remain accessible without exiting the current view. The Music Player, often used by Opera One’s productivity-focused users, also stays visible throughout Split Screen browsing.
Talking about the new feature, Tomasz Stawarz, Director of Product at Opera, said:
"The internet connects the world, but language can still be a barrier to exploring its full potential. With the introduction of Opera Translate, we're giving our users access to content and ideas from across the globe without compromising their privacy."
Opera GX Browser
Opera GX, the gaming-focused variant of the browser, is pushing even further into personalization with a new feature that lets users fully customize their mouse cursor across the browser interface.
Opera says it is the first browser to offer this level of cursor control, thanks to a collaboration with Sweezy Cursors. More than 30 cursor packs, including animated and static versions, are now available directly through the GX Store. Users don’t need to modify system settings or install extensions to apply these custom designs.
Opera says security was a key concern with this feature as many cursor customization tools from third-party extensions can introduce risks by accessing page content.
Opera GX avoids this by executing all cursor rendering locally within the browser engine, ensuring privacy and performance. The cursor customizations also extend across the entire interface, offering a consistent and immersive browsing experience. Opera says it plans to roll out branded cursor packs based on popular game IPs in the future.
The update also brings Opera GX's Tab Islands feature out of early access and into the stable release. Tab Islands are designed to make managing browser tabs easier by letting users group tabs by purpose and assign colors and names to those groups. This is especially useful for gamers who might want to separate game guides from Discord or YouTube. Whole Tab Islands can now be saved as single Speed Dials on the browser’s homepage, letting users relaunch entire research or gaming setups instantly.
Opera’s focus on built-in tools and user customization is a deliberate strategy to differentiate itself from its larger rivals. While Chrome and Edge dominate market share, Opera has found a niche with users who want a browser that feels personal and doesn’t rely heavily on third-party add-ons. It’s also targeting users who value European data privacy standards, something that becomes a clearer competitive angle with features like in-house translation.
Compared to Firefox, which is also user-focused but more barebones out of the box, Opera continues to add quality-of-life updates with a tighter integration between features. And while Chrome remains the go-to browser for the vast majority of web users, it typically lags in native customization without the use of extensions.
Users can get all of these new features by updating to the latest version of Opera One or Opera GX manually or waiting for the automatic update to arrive. Opera GX is available on both Windows and macOS, and all features, including the animated cursors and Tab Island upgrades, are live now."
https://betanews.com/2025/07/03/opera-browser-built-in-translation/
#metaglossia_mundus
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The Qur’an has primarily reached the anglophone West through translations by Indian Muslims in the first half of the twentieth century. Aly’s engaging book fascinatingly reviews their achievements, the wider social and political context that shaped them, and their enduring influence to this day. He contends that these translations need to be understood as products of their context, and especially their attempt to accommodate Islam with modernity.
At a time when Middle East Muslim authorities discouraged translations of the Qur’an, conditions in India favored translations. The East India Company Act of 1813 lifted the ban on Christian missions, which brought English-language materials with them. This challenge alerted Indian Muslims to the need also to engage in apologetics in English.
Further, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Raj opened the civil service to Indians with a proficiency in English. This led to the rise of a modern English-speaking Muslim intellectual class, many of whom, like Yusuf Ali, had studied in Britain. They were acutely conscious of Islam’s weakened condition and the challenge that modernity presented to the Qur’an. Aly focuses on four such challenges: unscientific elements (such as jinn), the doctrine of jihad, Muslim supremacism, and the status of women.
Most interestingly, Aly discusses in detail the choices of translation to answer these challenges. Translators presented the Qur’an as consistent with science; as a religion of peace, insisting that jihad means “struggle” and that military jihad is only defensive; as universal, for all nations, softening verses pointing to Muslim superiority; and as respectful of women, downplaying the ill-treatment of women (most famously, Yusuf Ali added the word “lightly” to Sura 4:34, the wife beating verse).
Aly clearly agrees with those Indian translators, to the point that his partisanship sometimes shines through, as when he calls Sura 4:34 “ambiguous” even though the Arabic is very clear: it just says “hit her.”
Qur’an Translation as a Modern Phenomenon shows how profoundly the pioneering work of Indian translators has underpinned and empowered Islamic da‘wa (mission) in the West. The many Western converts to Islam, won over by a message of tolerance and universal peace, are testimony to the Indian translators’ remarkable success, despite the many divergences of their translations from the pre-modern Islamic understanding.