Are humans the only beings on the planet that use language to communicate?
"Burg Giebichenstein
Kunsthochschule Halle
“Language can only deal meaningfully with a special, restricted segment of reality. The rest, and it is presumably the much larger part, is silence.” George Steiner
Are humans the only beings on the planet that use language to communicate? Can we decipher the nonhuman world around us without harnessing it to our own socialization, syntax, and lexicon? Is interspecies communication even possible? Translation has been described as a precondition that underlies all (human) cultural transactions upon which communication is based. It also is inherently political and stands at the forefront of so many of today’s questions around identity, gender, post-colonial criticism, feminist critique, machine translation and canon creation, yet its connection within the context of the nonhuman turn, interspecies communication, and eco-criticism has not yet been fully explored.
Whether we are talking about classic linguistic and literary translation, or any number of related fields including: language and literature, cultural studies, performance, visual and media arts—the core question that translators and theorists of translation have been debating about for centuries remains the same: is it possible to translate without interpreting? Is linguistic and cultural equivalence even possible? These questions become all the more urgent in the limit-case of interspecies communication. Can we apply empathic modes of translation to nonhuman articulations, wherein translation involves a form of metamorphosis, not of text, but of the translator. As such, translators are something of a hybrid species with one foot in each culture and language, and whose very existence revolves around traveling between worlds. Translators have something of a mythical being about them, akin to a chameleon or centaur. In this course, we will not be engaging in a scientific exploration of interspecies communication, but examining theories around empathic translation-- a process that sees translation not merely as the transformation of a text, but of the translator themself.
Emerging and classical theories of translation can offer a paradigm for engaging with plant and animal articulation, not language as such, but different forms of articulation perceived through the senses, one in which our hearing and seeing,“once intertwined and attentive to the calls and cries of animals, all but disappeared with the invention of the alphabet, retreating into a kind of silence.”
In David Abram's words: “By giving primacy to perception we can see the natural world, not as inert and passive, but as dynamic and participatory. The winds, rivers and birds speak in their own way (if we listen), the sounds of nature not only have informed indigenous languages, but language in general--humans are but one being intertwined with other beings and ‘presences.’ This perspective sees the landscape as a sensuous field, and human perception as but one point of view that is in reciprocity, in expressive communication, with other points of view and ways of being.”
How can theories of translation help us make sense of this new view of a world teeming with language and sentience? What theories abound in reference to multiplicity of “language,” even as Walter Benjamin would argue for a “universal (human) language.” What practical tools does translation studies offer, and what bridges can it forge between the disciplines? The first half of the seminar focuses on key theoretical concepts relevant to the history and practice of translation. In the second half, students will engage in translation experiments that intersect with their own artistic/design practice. A final project should be considered a first draft of something that could develop later into a larger project.
The course will be taught in English and German.
This seminar is ideally suited to students interested in: Literature, Translation Theory / Translation / Cultural Studies / Critical Theory, Creative Writing/ Post-humanism, Trans-humanism, Eco-criticism, the More-than-Human Turn.
"New Zealand tightens English language rules, expands investor visa options Mid-skilled work visa changes ensure workers can communicate effectively, understand workplace rights, and engage in the community.
Investor migrants can allocate up to 20% of their investment up to NZ$1 million to philanthropic gifts, with the rest in higher-growth assets. WELLINGTON: New Zealand will tighten English language rules for mid-skilled work visa applicants while expanding philanthropy options for investor migrants, immigration minister Erica Stanford said on Monday. The changes, effective from June 1, cover the Accredited Employer Work Visa and the Active Investor Plus Visa Growth category. The government is also preparing to introduce two new skilled residence pathways in August.
English language requirements under the Accredited Employer Work Visa will extend to skill level 3 roles such as hospitality and trades, aligning them with the existing standard already applied to skill levels 4 and 5.
“Being able to communicate in basic, everyday English ensures that workers understand their rights and engage effectively at work and in the community while they are here,” Sanford said in a statement.
Global Workforce Seasonal Visa and Peak Seasonal Visa applications are not subject to the English language requirement, which also does not apply to job change applications.
Help researchers get more information about our profession Are you a freelance translator? Your experience matters. An international research team is conducting a study on the working lives of translators, including work satisfaction, work-life balance, technology, and industry changes affecting our profession. The survey takes only 10–15 minutes to complete, is fully anonymous, and your participation can help contribute to a better understanding of translators’ working conditions worldwide.
Dear CATI and ATA Colleagues, We are an international research group based at Kansai University (Japan), University of Portsmouth (UK), University of Surrey (UK), and Dublin City University (Ireland). We are conducting a research study to measure the quality of the working lives of translators, particularly the effects of technologies and other recent changes in the translation industry. Our final aim is to understand the factors that are affecting the working lives of translators and how they can lead to an improvement in working conditions. The survey was conducted in the UK in 2024 and we would like to expand the scope of the study to the US. The UK report is available here. https://www.iti.org.uk/resource/twrqol-iti-final-report.html If you are a professional freelance translator (whether part-time or full-time), your perspective would be extremely valuable. If you are interested, you are invited to complete an online questionnaire that will take approximately 10–15 minutes. The questions will ask you your opinions about different aspects of your working life as a translator, such as working conditions, work satisfaction, work-life balance, and translation technologies. No personal or sensitive questions are included; all responses will remain anonymous and confidential. You can take the survey using a PC, tablet, or cellphone. You can access the survey here: Take the survey or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser
This survey is conducted by the Translator WRQoL Research Team. Prof. Akiko Sakamoto, Kansai University, Japan (Lead researcher) Dr Darren Van Laar, University of Portsmouth, UK Dr Joss Moorkens, Dublin City University, Ireland Dr Félix do Carmo, University of Surrey, UK
If you have any questions about this survey before you start, please contact akiko-s@kansai-u.ac.jp .
If you know of other translators who meet the criteria and might be interested, please feel free to share this invitation with them. Thank you.
CATI is a regional Chapter of the American Translators Association" https://catiweb.org/3278-2/ #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
AI Mode's multilingual models have made it easier to expand across countries and languages
"Reid said AI Mode's multilingual model architecture has made it easier to expand across countries and languages. She said Google uses existing Search ranking work to help ground AI Mode responses based on location. The interview restated the I/O keynote announcements without rollout timelines. In a post-keynote interview, Google's Liz Reid told NDTV that AI Mode's multilingual models have made it easier to expand across countries and languages.
Google’s Liz Reid told NDTV that expanding AI Mode across countries and languages has been easier than with earlier features.
Reid, VP and Head of Search, made the comments in a post-keynote interview at Google I/O. The interview covered the same announcements from the keynote, including information agents and the redesigned Search box.
Faster Expansion Across Languages Reid said previous Search features sometimes took “months or even years” to bring to all countries and languages. She said AI Mode shortened that process.
She told NDTV that AI Mode reached “many, many countries, in many, many languages” within a few months.
Reid attributed the speed to the models themselves, saying the technology is more multilingual by design. She didn’t provide specific timelines or comparison data for previous feature rollouts.
Location-Aware Grounding Reid also described how AI Mode adjusts responses based on where someone searches. She said Google uses its existing web ranking systems to help ground AI Mode responses. The system considers which content may be more useful for a user’s location.
She didn’t provide examples of how this works. Google has localized traditional Search results by location for years.
How This Fits Reid’s Recent Comments The NDTV interview continues Reid’s broader public messaging that AI can expand how people use Search. She told NDTV the technology lets people “ask the questions they really want” and access information across languages.
Reid called AI Search “expansionary” in an blog post. She made similar points in a Wall Street Journal interview. She repeated them on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast in April. Those appearances haven’t offered independently verifiable traffic data for the claims cited in this article.
Why This Matters Reid’s comments suggest AI Mode changes may reach markets outside the U.S. within months rather than years. Google announced at I/O that AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users globally.
Looking Ahead Google hasn’t published a country-by-country rollout timeline for the AI Mode features announced at I/O 2026. Reid’s comments suggest the company expects faster expansion, but no benchmarks were shared.
For a broader look at what I/O means for SEO, see our analysis of the real risks." Matt G. Southern
"Deadline: 23-Sep-2026 The European Commission’s Horizon Europe call supports research and innovation projects that promote multilingualism, protect linguistic heritage, and preserve endangered and marginalised languages across Europe. With €11.5 million in funding, it focuses on language documentation, multilingual education, digital inclusion, and community-based approaches to sustaining linguistic diversity and intergenerational transmission.
What is this EU Multilingualism Initiative? This funding opportunity is part of the Horizon Europe launched by the European Commission.
It supports research and innovation projects aimed at strengthening linguistic diversity and protecting Europe’s endangered and minority languages.
Purpose of the Programme The programme aims to:
Promote multilingualism across Europe Protect endangered and marginalised languages Strengthen linguistic heritage preservation Improve multilingual education systems Enhance digital language inclusion Support intergenerational language transmission Map and document linguistic diversity Highlight cultural and wellbeing benefits of language diversity Key Focus Areas Language preservation and documentation Mapping linguistic diversity across Europe Documenting endangered languages Preserving oral traditions and storytelling Recording cultural and linguistic heritage Multilingual education and inclusion Strengthening multilingual learning systems Supporting language learning in schools and communities Enhancing access to multilingual education resources Promoting inclusive language policies Digital and technological inclusion Digital tools for language preservation AI and data-driven language documentation Expanding digital access for minority languages Supporting multilingual digital environments Cultural and community engagement Community-based language preservation initiatives Intergenerational language transmission Oral heritage, music, and storytelling traditions Gender and cultural dimensions of language use Research and interdisciplinary collaboration Linguistics and heritage studies Media, theatre, and literary studies Migration and socio-economic research Cultural and museum studies Funding Details Total funding available: €11,500,000 Funding type: Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) Focus: Research, innovation, documentation, and policy-relevant outputs." Who can apply? Any legal entity globally, including universities, NGOs, and international organisations What types of languages are included? Endangered, marginalised, minority, and regional languages in Europe What are key activities funded? Language mapping, documentation, digital tools, and education initiatives Is community involvement required? Yes Projects must include cultural and community-based approaches... 👇🏿 https://www2.fundsforngos.org/arts-culture-2/call-for-proposals-safeguarding-linguistic-diversity-grant/amp/ #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Interpreters Unlimited (IU), a leading national provider of language services, has announced the launch of a new suite of AI powered assistants designed to streamline communication, simplify workflows, and enhance the overall experience for both customers and linguists.
The newly introduced IU AI Assistants bring intelligent, real-time support directly into the hands of users through a simple, conversational interface, making it easier than ever to access critical information, manage appointments, and navigate the platform without friction. At the heart of the launch are two primary tools, the Client AI Assistant, built for customers, and the Linguist AI Assistant, designed specifically for interpreters and translators.
For organizations and individuals relying on language services, time and clarity are critical. The Client AI Assistant allows users to instantly retrieve important appointment details, ask platform related questions, and get guided support 24/7 without having to search through multiple pages or wait for assistance.
Using natural language, customers can ask questions such as, “Show my upcoming events,” “Give me upcoming events in California,” or “How do I reset my password” etc. The assistant then delivers clear, relevant answers in real time, pulling directly from system data and trusted knowledge sources.
For interpreters and translators, the Linguist AI Assistant introduces a faster, more intuitive way to manage daily workflows. From viewing and accepting assignments to submitting timesheets and accessing event details, linguists can now handle essential tasks through a single conversational interface. Key capabilities include viewing upcoming, ongoing, and past assignments, accessing detailed event information (date, time, location, language), accepting assignments directly through the assistant, completing and submitting timesheets, payment related questions etc.
Both the Client and Linguist AI Assistants operate through two intuitive modes. Appointment Mode, which provides real-time access to event and scheduling information, and General Mode, which answers common questions and provides platform guidance. This dual-mode approach ensures users can quickly get the information they need, whether it’s related to a specific assignment or general support.
Users can access the AI Assistants in the main navigation menu of interpreters.com and creating a secure account with an email and password, ensuring a personalized and protected experience.
“The goal was simple,” said Interpreters Unlimited CEO Shamus Sayed. “We wanted to remove friction, so whether you’re a customer needing quick answers or a linguist managing your schedule, everything is easier, faster, and more intuitive.”
In addition to customer and linguist tools, IU has also developed an internal AI Assistant for staff, designed to enhance day-to-day operations for the IU team, improving response times, and increasing overall efficiency across the organization.
With the launch of these AI Assistants, Interpreters Unlimited continues to expand its investment in technology, combining human expertise with intelligent tools to better serve a diverse and multilingual world. As demand for fast, accessible communication grows across industries, IU’s latest innovation reflects a broader shift toward smarter, more responsive language solutions. Try the IU AI Assistants today at interpreters.com.
"Google has announced sweeping changes to its Search engine, introducing a redesigned AI-powered Search experience, new autonomous “Search agents” and tools capable of building interactive apps and dashboards directly inside Search, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
At the center of the changes is a new AI-driven Search box that Google described as the biggest upgrade to Search in more than 25 years. The redesigned interface allows users to submit longer and more detailed questions using text, images, videos, files and even Chrome tabs.
The company said the new system is designed to better understand user intent and provide AI-generated suggestions that go beyond traditional autocomplete. Users will still receive standard Search results alongside AI generated responses.
Google is also making conversational Search more prominent. Users can now continue asking follow-up questions directly from AI Overviews, with Search retaining context throughout the interaction.
The company said AI Mode, introduced a year ago, has surpassed one billion monthly users, while AI-related queries have more than doubled each quarter since launch.
Google is also introducing what it calls “Search agents,” AI systems designed to monitor information continuously in the background. The agents will scan websites, news, social media and live data sources to provide updates tailored to user requests.
The feature is aimed at tasks such as tracking apartment listings, monitoring product releases or following sports news. Information agents will first launch this summer for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
Search is also expanding its automated booking features. Users will be able to search for local services or experiences using detailed requests, such as finding a karaoke venue or arranging appointments. For some services, including home repair, beauty and pet care, Google said Search will be able to contact businesses on a user’s behalf. Those features are expected to roll out in the United States this summer.
Another major addition is the integration of Google’s “Antigravity” technology and Gemini 3.5 Flash AI model into Search. Google said Search will be capable of generating custom visual interfaces, simulations, tables and interactive tools in real time in response to user questions.
The company also plans to let users create personalized dashboards and mini apps directly within Search for ongoing tasks such as fitness tracking, wedding planning or moving homes. These capabilities will initially be available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the United States in the coming months.
Google further announced an expansion of its “Personal Intelligence” features to nearly 200 countries and territories in 98 languages. Users will be able to connect services such as Gmail, Google Photos and eventually Google Calendar to provide Search with more personalized context. Google said the feature will remain optional and under user control.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Google unveiled AI-focused Googlebook laptop line."
St. Augustine: Pentecost reverses chaos of Babel, unites Church under the Holy Spirit On the solemnity of Pentecost, St. Augustine reminds us to reflect on the the necessity of a globally unified Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
"Trending News St. Augustine: Pentecost reverses chaos of Babel, unites Church under the Holy SpiritWas Tom Bombadil God in Disguise?How Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence on Pentecost
HomeArticleSt. Augustine: Pentecost reverses chaos of Babel, unites Church under the Holy Spirit
The oldest surviving fresco of St. Augustine dating from the sixth century and preserved in St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome. | Credit: http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=3553, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
On the solemnity of Pentecost, St. Augustine reminds us to reflect on the the necessity of a globally unified Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
By Tyler Arnold, May 24, 2026 – EWTN News
On May 24, Catholics around the world celebrate the solemnity of Pentecost — the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Christ who gathered in Jerusalem 50 days after his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
At Pentecost, there “appeared to them tongues as of fire … and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues.” The gift of tongues allowed them to speak and for every person gathered to hear them “in his own native language.”
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” St. Peter said in Acts 2:38-39. “For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”
Pentecost is considered the birth of the Church, and the gift of tongues allowed Christians to embark on their mission to convert all nations by removing the impediment of language barriers united under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
St. Augustine of Hippo — the fourth- to fifth-century bishop, theologian, and philosopher — wrote about the solemnity in sermons in the late 300s and early 400s. He contrasted the gift of tongues with the chaos established in Genesis 11 when God punished humanity with separate languages for trying to construct the Tower of Babel to reach heaven.
In Sermon 271, Augustine explains that after the Flood, “the ungodly pride of men built a high tower against the Lord, and the human race was deservedly divided by languages, so that each nation would speak its own language and thus not be understood by the others.”
Augustine contrasts the pride of humanity in Genesis with “the devout humility of the faithful” who gathered together 50 days after the resurrection of Christ. At Pentecost, that humility prompted God to instill the gift of tongues to bring unity to the Church despite “the variety of their different languages,” he writes.
With this gift, the theologian explains, “the scattered members of the human race, as of one body, might be attached to their one head, Christ, and so reunited, and fused together into the unity of the holy body by the fire of love.”
“Whoever received the Holy Spirit, even as one person, started speaking all languages,” he writes. “So too now the unity itself is speaking all languages throughout all nations; and it is by being established in this unity that you have the Holy Spirit; you that do not break away in any schism from the Church of Christ which speaks all languages.”
In Sermon 267, Augustine writes that at the Pentecost, “the Church was then in one house.” He adds: “That small church spoke in the languages of all nations” and 400 years later, “this great Church now speaks in the languages of all nations from the rising of the sun to its setting.”
The growth of the Church over those four centuries, Augustine writes, is a fulfillment of God’s promise to reach across nations and languages: “You were promised to yourself: but promised in few, fulfilled in many. The Holy Spirit is the soul of the body of the Church.”
In Sermon 268, Augustine expands on how the Pentecost points to the necessity of unity in the Church under the Holy Spirit, writing that it showed “the unity of the Church in the tongues of all nations” in a small room following Christ’s resurrection. Now we see “the unity of the Catholic Church, spread throughout the whole world.”
“The duties of the members are distributed, but one spirit contains all,” he continues. “Many commands are given, many things are done: One commands, one is served. That is our spirit, that is, our soul, to our members; this is the Holy Spirit to the members of Christ, to the body of Christ, which is the Church.”
Augustine is one of the Church’s greatest theologians and philosophers. He strongly influenced the Catholic understanding of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit more specifically, with writings such as “On the Trinity.”
Pope Leo XIV, the first Augustinian pope, discussed Augustine’s writings about Pentecost in a homily on Sept. 1, 2025, telling his Augustinian brothers: “You are members of the body of Christ, who speaks all languages.”
“If not all those of the world, certainly all those that God knows to be necessary for the fulfillment of the good that, in his provident wisdom, he entrusts to you,” Leo said. “Live these days, therefore, in a sincere effort to communicate and to understand, and do so as a generous response to the great and unique gift of light and grace that the Father of heaven gives you by summoning you here, specifically you, for the good of all.”
"MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WFRV) – An airport in Wisconsin is now the first in the state to offer free access to an American Sign Language interpreting service.
Officials state that Aira ASL is a service that helps bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing, allowing travelers to connect on-demand with a professional ASL interpreter. Access to this service is now reportedly available for free at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
At MKE, we’re always on the lookout for the latest technology to make travel more accessible and welcoming for everyone. This addition ensures that all our travelers have the support they need for a smooth and enjoyable experience. Free services like Aira ASL are just another reason for Milwaukee travelers of all abilities to fly from our hometown Airport.
MKE is now said to be the first airport in Wisconsin to offer free access to this service. Airport officials add that the service can be used for a variety of situations, from help at the baggage check to getting information about flight statuses and ordering food in the terminal. The service is also said to be usable before a flight’s take off for real-time interpreting about any emergency instructions or pre-flight announcements.
Access to this free service comes after MKE became the first airport in either the State of Wisconsin or Illinois to offer free access in 2018 to Aira Explorer, an app to connect those who are blind or have low vision with trained visual interpreters.
Being able to communicate efficiently and independently while travelling makes a huge difference. Aira ASL is the perfect tool for this because it is on-demand and available whenever a communication barrier presents itself. We are proud to grow our partnership with Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport as they expand the ways travelers can get the information they need.
"CALLING ALL LOCAL FREELANCE COMMUNITY INTERPRETERS NEAR OLDHAM (UK)!
THG Fluently is currently recruiting for face-to-face interpreters to support NHS assignments.
If you are a fluent speaker of another language, have experience of interpreting, and are based in or near Oldham (UK), we would love to hear from you!
We are particularly keen to hear from speakers of :
" 'This Is Qatar' encyclopedia now in 12 new languages.
Originally available in English, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Italian, the Ministry has worked in cooperation with several embassies in the country to make it available in Urdu, Hindi, German, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Filipino, and Korean.
At the opening of the 35th edition of the Doha International Book Fair on May 14, the Ministry of Culture had announced that 'This Is Qatar' was this year's guest of honor.
In this regard, Director of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Culture, Nasser Al Maliki said that 'This Is Qatar' is a cultural project that introduces the State of Qatar to the world in a comprehensive manner, reflecting its history, cultural identity, and developmental and humanitarian achievements.
Being a soft power tool to strengthen Qatar's cultural presence globally, the encyclopedia offers a modern knowledge-based discourse that addresses peoples in their own languages, Al Maliki said.
Through 'This Is Qatar', the Ministry of Culture seeks to promote cultural dialogue and openness, while also showcasing Qatar as a country where authenticity and modernity blend, he added, stemming from the Ministry's conviction in culture's role as a bridge among nations and peoples.
The Director of the Department of International Cooperation said that launching the encyclopedia in multiple new languages comes as part of the Ministry of Culture's commitment to delivering Qatari cultural content to the widest possible range of communities and cultures around the world, thereby strengthening the country's presence on the international cultural scene.
Combining both national and international dimensions, 'This Is Qatar' encapsulates Qatari identity and preserves the country's cultural memory, Al Maliki said, while targeting international audiences by means of translation into multiple languages, making it an effective tool for introducing Qatar culturally.
The Department of International Cooperation is working to employ the encyclopedia in the framework of cultural diplomacy, reaching out to embassies and international cultural and academic institutions for 'This Is Qatar' to increasingly feature in exhibitions, events, and joint cultural programs, he said.
Along with forging partnerships with universities, research centers, and international libraries to make Qatari cultural content accessible to researchers and those interested in Arab and Gulf cultural affairs, added Al Maliki.
The Director of the Department of International Cooperation pointed to the goal of increasing the encyclopedia's distribution through embassies, cultural attaches, and Qatari cultural centers abroad, to reach a broader audience and enhance the country's cultural image internationally.
'This Is Qatar' is a cultural investment in soft power, presenting the Qatari narrative to the world, he said, underscoring that a country's image is no longer shaped solely through politics or economics, but also through its ability to present its identity, values, and culture in a compelling and relatable way.
The encyclopedia's significance lies in introducing foreign readers to Qatar beyond stereotypes, thereby promoting a genuine and balanced understanding of the country, Al Maliki said.
Making 'This Is Qatar' available in multiple languages reflects the Ministry's belief in the importance of communicating with peoples in their own languages and cultures, giving the project an important diplomatic and cultural dimension and making it a tool for cultural dialogue between Qatar and the world, he added.
The Director of the Department of International Cooperation said that 'This Is Qatar' will feature at international book fairs, academic programs, intellectual forums, and university libraries as a cultural reference presenting Qatar in a contemporary and accurate manner, in addition to being a cultural medium adopted
by Qatari embassies and cultural centers abroad.
Maliki said that 'This Is Qatar' embodies the Ministry's vision of "Heritage, Influence, and Legacy," through investing in Qatari heritage to create a cultural and intellectual influence that reaches across the world."
Curtin launches Kayan Ethnographic Online Dictionary to preserve indigenous heritage
"MIRI (May 22): Curtin University Malaysia has launched the Kayan Ethnographic Online Dictionary, a first-of-its-kind digital repository hailed by scholars and community leaders as a landmark effort in preserving Sarawak’s indigenous heritage.
More than a collection of words, the resource documents the living essence of one of Borneo’s most culturally rich yet increasingly endangered languages, capturing its traditions, worldview, and oral history.
The dictionary was launched at the university’s auditorium here by Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala, who described the initiative as vital to safeguarding Sarawak’s multicultural identity.
The Mulu assemblyman said language was not merely a means of communication but the ‘soul’ of a community, carrying its history, values, oral traditions, and identity.
“The Kayan language is integral to Sarawak’s multicultural and multilingual richness, and preserving it means safeguarding the identity and diversity of the state itself,” he said.
He added that Sarawak’s development should not only be measured through infrastructure and economic growth, but also by how well its cultural heritage, traditions, and indigenous knowledge are safeguarded for future generations.
The project is the brainchild of Dr Roselind Wan, a Kayan researcher and Academic Skills Advisor at Curtin Malaysia.
Developed through years of fieldwork with elders and community knowledge holders, the initiative received support from the Endangered Language Fund following concerns over the Kayan language’s endangered status, as classified by Ethnologue.
Curtin Malaysia deputy pro vice-chancellor Prof Tuong-Thuy Vu described the dictionary as more than a digital platform.
“It is a living repository of language, culture, memory, and tradition — a bridge connecting generations and ensuring that the voices, expressions, and wisdom of the Kayan people continue to endure in the modern world,” he said.
What distinguishes the dictionary is its ethnographic approach, where every word is placed within its cultural, ecological, and historical context rather than presented as a bare definition.
Roselind cited the Kayan word ‘penganen’, meaning python or large snake, as an example.
“Within the Kayan worldview, the word reflects the interconnected relationship between humans, animals, and the forest ecosystem.
“An ethnographic approach allows us to see that language is not documented in isolation, but in close connection with its cultural context,” she said.
“In many cases, a single word in Kayan is not just a linguistic item, but also carries cultural meaning, social practice, and historical knowledge.”
Community knowledge formed the foundation of the project, with contributions from Kayan elders and oral tradition custodians, including former paramount chief ex-Temenggong Pahang Deng, Jok Ngo, Connie Layun, Urai Anyi, and Luhong Ngau.
Roselind said their contributions preserved not only vocabulary, but also the wisdom, memories, and lived experiences embedded within the language.
Tuong said Curtin Malaysia’s role extended beyond academia to supporting cultural sustainability, indigenous scholarship, and community empowerment.
The launch also unveiled a dedicated YouTube channel for the project, while a Kayan language website is currently in development to broaden access for educators, researchers, diaspora communities, and the wider public.
Gerawat commended the digital initiatives as proof that technology, when used purposefully, could become a powerful tool for cultural preservation.
Roselind expressed hope that the project would inspire similar efforts among the Kelabit, Kenyah, Berawan, Tring, Jatti Miriek, Lun Bawang, and other Sarawak communities.
“When we record the Kayan language, we are not just saving words—we are preserving knowledge for the next generation, so that what we have today is not lost tomorrow,” she said.
The event was attended by members of the Kayan and Kenyah Councils of Elders, community leaders, academics, senior university officials, and members of the media.
Proceedings opened with a traditional ‘tekna’ singing performance and cultural dance presentation, reflecting the heritage the dictionary aims to preserve."
"LINGUA Africa Open Call for Inclusive AI Language Projects Across Africa, thousands of languages remain underrepresented in modern AI systems. When languages are not well represented in datasets, models, and tools, communities face barriers to accessing education, healthcare information, public services, financial inclusion, and other opportunities increasingly shaped by digital technologies.
To help address this gap, Microsoft AI for Good Lab, the Gates Foundation, the Masakhane African Languages Hub, and Google.org are joining forces to launch LINGUA Africa, an open call designed to strengthen the language foundations needed for inclusive AI in Africa.
“LINGUA Africa seeks to encourage bold and innovative thinking by breaking down barriers that have long held back AI progress across the continent—vital access to data, computational power, and technical assistance. With these resources unlocked, I am truly excited to witness the transformative innovations that will emerge from this initiative.”
— Howard Lakougna, Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation Our commitment LINGUA Africa builds on lessons from LINGUA Europe, which supported open datasets and evaluation resources for underrepresented European languages. For Africa, we are taking that approach a step further by prioritizing projects that connect open language resources to real-world use cases and community outcomes.
This is in partnership with Masakhane African Languages hub, who have been stewarding the African NLP ecosystem grounded in community.
“The future of AI must be shaped by the people it serves. This opportunity provides much needed resourcing in the form of funding and compute to enable African led AI solutions with a lasting impact on enabling access to relevant tools for day to day needs.”
— Chenai Chair, Director of Masakhane African Languages Hub
"AI only delivers value when people can actually use it, and language is the bridge. For example, in agriculture, farmers increasingly rely on digital advisory services for crop management and market information. If that guidance isn’t available in a language they understand, it fails to translate into action. This applies across sectors, from healthcare to education. LINGUA Africa is an important step toward grounding innovation in real-world impact by supporting community-led efforts and enabling people to act on critical information in their own languages.”
Who Should Apply The open call will invite proposals from nonprofits, universities, research institutes, social enterprises, cultural organizations, startups, and consortia working in the public interest. We strongly encourage collaborative proposals that bring together complementary organizations and capabilities, particularly where partnerships can deepen community engagement, cross-domain expertise, and pathways to impact.
Applications are open to organizations both based in Africa and outside Africa, provided they demonstrate meaningful partnership with Africa-based institutions, communities, or implementers where relevant.
Selected projects will be eligible for funding support, Azure compute credits and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) credits, in-kind technical collaboration from Microsoft AI for Good Lab, and additional collaboration opportunities through the broader LINGUA Africa ecosystem.
We welcome proposals focused on the following:
Data creation: projects primarily focused on building, curating, documenting, translating, validating, or licensing datasets and language resources. Suggested support: up to $50K in cash and up to $50K in compute credits. Model or tool development: projects primarily focused on creating or adapting models, benchmarks, tooling, or technical infrastructure for African languages. Suggested support: up to $100K in cash and up to $100K in compute credits. Sectoral applications: projects focused on deploying or piloting language technologies in a real-world setting with a credible pathway to measurable social or economic impact across different sectors. Suggested support: up to $250K in cash and up to $400K in compute credits. Proposals spanning multiple activities may still apply, but they should be submitted under the category that best reflects the primary objective and main use of requested funds. The ranges above are intended as guidance rather than rigid ceilings; exceptional requests may be considered with strong justification.
Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate strong community engagement, cross-institutional collaborations, and a credible path to impact in areas such as agriculture and food security, education, healthcare and public health, financial inclusion, and government or civic services. We are especially interested in proposals that show not only what will be built, but who will benefit, how the resources will be used, and why the work matters for speakers of underrepresented African languages. All supported projects will be expected to contribute openly licensed resources, with documentation and governance that enable reuse in research, open models, and practical applications. Our aim is to help ensure that African languages are not treated as an afterthought in the AI era, but as essential parts of a more inclusive digital future.
Submit application Application Deadline: 15 June 2026 We are grateful to the researchers, practitioners, community leaders, and partner organizations already helping shape this initiative. By investing upstream in data, evaluation, and applied language innovation, LINGUA Africa aims to expand data access, strengthen local capacity, and support African languages to drive impact on the ground." #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Un médecin décroche le Comar d’Or 2026 en langue française pour son premier roman "Sangoma le guérisseur"
TUNIS,24 mai (TAP)- Le palmarès de la 30e édition des Prix littéraires Comar d’Or, distinctions annuelles consacrées à la production romanesque tunisienne en langues arabe et française, a été dévoilé lors d'une cérémonie officielle organisée à la grande salle du Théâtre de l'Opéra, à la Cité de la Culture de Tunis.
L'écrivain et médecin Hichem Ben Azouz a remporté la distinction suprême en langue française pour son premier roman "Sangoma le guérisseur" (éditions Hikayet), aux côtés de l'auteur arabophone Nasr Belhaj Bettaieb, primé pour son œuvre "Saif Assaouane" (éditions Khraief).
Cette 30e édition anniversaire, marquant les trente ans d'existence de ces prix créés en 1997 par COMAR Assurances (Compagnie Méditerranéenne d’Assurances et de Réassurances), a été caractérisée par un volume inédit d'œuvres en compétition et une revalorisation des dotations financières. Le Prix Comar d'Or, dont la dotation est passée de 10 000 à 15 000 dinars, récompense les deux romans majeurs de l'année.
Les Prix Spéciaux du Jury, revalorisés à 7 000 dinars pour distinguer l'originalité d'une œuvre, ont été attribués à Hella Feki pour "Une reine sans Royaume" (éditions JC Lattès) en langue française, et à Fahmi Al-Balti pour "Dam Saye'e" (éditions Kabsa) en langue arabe.
Les Prix Découverte, dotés de 3 000 dinars pour encourager les auteurs prometteurs, reviennent quant à eux à Sofiene Ben M'rad pour "Tunis Arkana" (éditions SIKELLI) pour le volet francophone, et à Najoua Kadri pour "Al Majda" (éditions Arkadia) pour le volet arabophone.
Pour évaluer les ouvrages, deux comités distincts ont mené les délibérations. Le jury de langue arabe était composé de Mohamed El Qadhi, Naziha Khlifi, Saadia Ben Salem, Toufik Aloui et Neila Jalled. Le jury de langue française réunissait quant à lui Ridha Kefi, Issam Marzouki, Amina Chnik, Mokhtar Sahnoun et Azza Filali.
La soirée officielle de remise des prix s'est intégrée dans un programme débuté à 19h00, comprenant une exposition documentaire rétrospective sur les œuvres lauréates depuis 1997, une introduction musicale, ainsi qu'une série d'hommages officiels. Ces distinctions ont honoré les personnalités ayant contribué à la création des Comar d'Or ainsi que six lauréats emblématiques des éditions précédentes : Rachid Ben Jemia, Hatem Bourial, Chokri Mabkhout, Hédi Timoumi, Yamen Manaï et Faouzia Zouari.
L'événement s'est conclu par un concert de l'Orchestre Symphonique de Carthage sous la direction de Hafedh Makni, faisant suite à une rencontre thématique organisée la veille à la salle des Jeunes Créateurs sur le rayonnement international du roman tunisien.
Sur le plan statistique, la session 2026 enregistre un record historique de participation avec 92 romans candidats, dont 59 œuvres en lice en langue arabe et 33 en langue française, contre 13 au total lors de la première édition. Les romans participant à cette édition ont été écrits par des auteurs de nationalité tunisienne et publiés en Tunisie ou à l’étranger entre le 1er avril 2025 et le 31 mars 2026.
"Let’s start with some low-hanging fruit. When, in Henry V, the king inspires his army before Agincourt, the Danish translator – here, Niels Brunse – can hope for a relatively easy win: ‘Vi fa, vi muntre fa, vi flok af brodre.’ Or, in the classic Schlegel-Tieck version of Macbeth, now rooted in German literature, the cursed usurper finds that tomorrow and tomorrow ‘Kriecht so mit kleinem Schritt von Tag zu Tag’. Linguistic kinship, comparable speech rhythms, shared verse forms: sometimes the happy not-so-few, the global band of brothers (and sisters) who translate Shakespeare out of English, face a stiff but still feasible task.
Even in familiar languages, though, pitfalls await in every line. Surely, Richard III’s opening soliloquy will slip smoothly into French? Well, now: ‘Maintenant’ sounds a draggy word to launch a torrid play. Enter Jean-Michel Déprats, raiding an older French word hoard: ‘Ores voici l’hiver de notre déplaisir’. Lear’s bleak quintuple ‘Never’ could easily become the Spanish ‘Jamás’, except that the syllabic stress would shift. So Vicente Molina Foix pivots, and retains those trochees of sheer despair: ‘Núnca, núnca, núnca, núnca, núnca.’ Besides, the natural pick may not quite work. A dozen eminent Spanish translators have Hamlet ponder ‘Ser o no ser’; not one of them has the Prince consider the (obvious) ‘pregunta’. Instead, ‘enigma, problema, dilema, duda’, even ‘cuestión’.
What about The Merchant of Venice in Japanese? Macbeth in Swahili? Othello in Azeri? Romeo and Juliet in Thai? A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Hindi? Or Julius Caesar in Latin – where ‘Et tu, Brute’ becomes, thanks to the Victorian scholar Henry Denison, the (probably more authentic) Greek ‘Kai su, teknon’: you too, son? Daniel Hahn’s funny, learned and invigorating book about translations of Shakespeare scours the planet and beyond for its evidence. We even hear about a translation of Much Ado About Nothing into Klingon. Endlessly erudite, never pedantic, the author dives deep into Shakespeare’s reinvention not just in neighbour languages but those where few or no basic markers – pronouns, syntax, grammar, word order, punctuation – have close parallels in English.
Shakespeare can do ‘wondrous things with a monosyllable’, for sure, but many languages don’t feature that lexical concision. In Greek, the only one in a core list of 100 everyday words that might fit is the borrowed ‘keik’ (say it). Still, there’s plenty of gain as well as loss. Agglutinative tongues can roll entire Shakespearean phrases into a single word. The murderer Macbeth may say that ‘I have done the deed’; in Swahili he simply has to growl ‘Nimelifanya’. Orsino in Twelfth Night demands ‘Give me some music’; but in Georgian one word could suffice: ‘Momasmeninet’.
Puns, wordplay, tongue-twisters, verbal gags – they are never ‘untranslatable’ (Hahn scorns the notion), but invitations to seek ‘not exactitude of meaning but equivalence of effect’. Portia in The Merchant of Venice wants to be ‘light’ in the sense of radiant, not flighty: in Sho Kawai’s Japanese, she can be bright (‘akarui’) but not weightless (‘karui’). As Hahn puts it: Chapeau! The Greek play literally known as ‘Love’s Barren Struggles’ may seem to have missed a trick in its transition until you realise that (thanks, Errikos Belies) it’s ‘Agápis Agónas Ágonos’.
When Lear ambiguously mourns that ‘my poor fool is hanged’ (the Fool himself, or Cordelia?), Brunse’s Danish can seize on its single-letter gap between ‘little fool’ and ‘little darling’: ‘lille nar/lille nor’. One scene in The Merry Wives of Windsor riffs on rude schoolboy twists on Latin phrases; in French, Déprats and Jean-Pierre Richard ‘made a list of all the Latin words that made them giggle at school’ and ran riot with them. As Hahn says, translators should be ‘faithful to the laugh’.
If This Be Magic is both enormous fun and an intellectual treat. Hahn could have trawled translation history (Dutch gained The Taming of the Shrew as early as 1654, Gujarati the same problematic piece in 1852) and delivered a very interesting study that nonetheless kept readers at a distance. Rather, this accomplished and versatile translator in his own right (Portuguese, Spanish, French) has found a smarter way. Exchanges with colleagues anchor a witty and spirited dive into Shakespearean translation topics ranging from metres to genders, names to accents and commas (inflexible in German) to puns. It succeeds as a workshop, a masterclass and a practical taster, as Hahn makes us spot verbal shapes, sequences and patterns even in the lines of non-Latin scripts, from Thai to Korean. Chapeau, too, to Canongate’s typesetters for their virtuoso performance.
What about Macbeth in Swahili? Othello in Azeri? Romeo and Juliet in Thai?
‘Nobody reads more closely than a translator’, and this celebration of their art also illuminates the texts that they transform. Shakespeare’s words present translators with a ‘multi-dimensional choice’, but theatre doesn’t live by words alone. Hahn acclaims and analyses translations that convey the full package – ‘meaning and music and detailed dramatic effect’. When Lady Macbeth asks her indecisive spouse ‘Are you a man?’, the withering resonance of that ‘man’ is, we learn, notoriously tough to transmit. Kudos to Te Haumihiata Mason, translating into te reo Maori, for her ‘He raho ranei ou?’ ‘So have you got balls, or what?’
It is the close-up, fine-grained case studies – with a bravura chapter devoted to one scene in Twelfth Night – that make this polyglot panorama so special. Yet Hahn (whose Brazilian great-grandfather translated Hamlet into Portuguese) widens his focus with essays on Shakespearean music and art, the making of literary canons and the ominous ascent of AI translation – ‘a handy tool for humans, not a bargain substitute for them’. He even examines various schemes to translate Shakespeare into English, from fixes snuck in by directors in order to sidestep obscurities to the dismal efforts to ‘simplify’ or ‘modernise’ his language. One supposedly up-to-date Hamlet has the Prince ponder: ‘To live or not to live. That is the issue.’
The research questions guiding this project are: (1) Does a multimodal translation module have an impact on the development of students’ Critical Language Awareness (CLA)? If so, how? (2) Do students’ translation competences evolve throughout the module? If so, how? (3) Are there changes in students’ attitudes toward linguistic varieties and their own linguistic identities?
"Even though research on Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) has increased the use of more critical pedagogies (Beaudrie & Wilson, 2021; Leeman & Serafini, 2016), there is still very limited empirical evidence on how functionalist translation can be used as a critical tool to develop heritage learners’ (HL) Critical Language Awareness (CLA). Most of the existing studies have focused on lexical acquisition, without exploring how translation, from a functional and multimodal perspective, can develop critical reflection on linguistic ideologies, power structures, and identity.This study seeks to address this gap by analyzing the impact of a pedagogical intervention in an SHL course at the University of Arizona. The proposed module is based on a functionalist approach to translation (Nord, 1997) within a multiliteracies framework (New London Group, 1996; Kalantzis & Cope, 2005, 2010), using CLA lenses for both instruction and analysis. A mixed sequential design (Creswell & Creswell, 2018) was used to collect data. The study gathers both quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaires, interviews, translation tasks, critical reflection activities, and classroom observations. Thirty-four students participated: 23 were assigned to the experimental group, which completed the translation module, and 11 to the control group, which followed the regular course sequence. The research questions guiding this project are: (1) Does a multimodal translation module have an impact on the development of students’ Critical Language Awareness (CLA)? If so, how? (2) Do students’ translation competences evolve throughout the module? If so, how? (3) Are there changes in students’ attitudes toward linguistic varieties and their own linguistic identities? The aim is to investigate the effects of this module on students’ CLA and translation competence. In doing so, the study contributes to the advancement of empirical research in heritage language pedagogy and translation studies, providing evidence of how translation can be meaningfully integrated into SHL curricula as both a linguistic and sociopolitical practice. The results show significant improvements in the development of CLA and in the strategic subcompetence of translation competence in the experimental group. Participants in this group progressed from translations focused on linguistic equivalence to more contextualized productions oriented toward audience and translation purpose. Also, positive changes were observed in attitudes toward linguistic diversity and Spanglish, whereas the control group showed no significant transformations." https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/680256 #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"A comprehensive look at lesser-taught languages (LTLs) in multilingual education, seeking to broaden existing notions of minority languages and elucidate key issues and challenges specific to them in educational settings.
The volume is organized around different sections, structural characteristics, and the implications for teaching, methodological considerations, issues around language and identity, and language policy and planning. Case studies from a range of settings are considered, including formal and informal educational contexts, community literacy activities, and out-of-school language classes. In so doing, the book seeks both to bring a critical perspective at the historical and epistemological foundations underpinning existing research and innovative insights into important connected themes for future study.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars in multilingualism, language education, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and language policy.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Framing Lesser-Taught Languages in Contemporary Multilingual Contexts
SERAPHIN KAMDEM AND GILLES FORLOT
PART I: Variation
1 Minority Language Instructors as Agents of Standardization: Confronting Variation during the Introduction of Picard in Schools
JENNIFER COX
2 Teaching for Variation in a Sacred Language: Beyond Pluricentricity in Dakota/Lakota Language Revitalization
ANKE AL-BATAINEH
3 The Place of Variation in Maya as a Second Language Classes: A Comparative Analysis between Merida (Mexico) and Paris (France)
MARGARITA VALDOVINOS
PART II: Learning & Teaching
4 Analysing Secondary Students’ Note-Taking in Basque: Implications for Immersion Education
ROBERTO ARIAS-HERMOSO, ENERITZ GARRO LARRAÑAGA, AND AINARA IMAZ AGIRRE
5 Language Ideologies and Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Reading Education in Philippine Classrooms
JACKSON G. ORLANDA AND PORTIA P. PADILLA
6 Longitudinal Relationship between Vocabulary and Word Reading Fluency in Multilingual Kapampangan-Filipino-English Speakers
PORTIA PADILLA AND ALEXANDRA GOTTARDO
PART III: Language and Educational Policies
7 The Teaching of Mə̀dʉ̂mbɑ̀, Nda’nda’, and Yemba in Secondary Schools of the West Region of Cameroon: Assessing the Challenges and Issues Faced in Teaching Lesser-Taught Languages
HUGUES CARLOS GUECHE FOTSO
8 Creating Equitable Hybrid Interaction Spaces to Revive Okpella, a Nigerian Language
ABDULMALIK YUSUF OFEMILE
9 Nigeria’s Indigenous Languages and the National Policy on Education: The Case of Efik in Primary Schools in Calabar Metropolis
EYO MENSAH AND UCHENNA AJAKE
10 Spanish as a Lesser-Taught Language in Los Angeles: Family Socialization, Educational Discontinuity, and Bilingual Agency in a Contact Zone
"DeepL lance sa traduction vocale en temps réel pour vos réunions
DeepL lance une suite complète de traduction vocale en temps réel pour les réunions, appels et conversations de groupe, accompagnée d'une API ouverte aux développeurs externes.
DeepL a bâti sa réputation sur la qualité de sa traduction de texte. Ce mercredi, l'entreprise allemande franchit une étape différente en lançant une suite complète de traduction voix-à-voix en temps réel. Les entreprises multilingues constituent la cible principale. Une API ouverte aux développeurs externes accompagne le lancement.
Réunions, appels, conversations de groupe : ce que la suite vocale de DeepL permet objectivement La suite couvre trois usages distincts. Pour les réunions en ligne, DeepL propose des modules complémentaires pour Zoom et Microsoft Teams. Les participants peuvent ainsi entendre une traduction en temps réel pendant que les autres s'expriment dans leur langue, ou suivre une transcription traduite à l'écran. Ce programme est actuellement en accès anticipé, avec une liste d'attente ouverte aux organisations intéressées.
Le deuxième usage cible les conversations mobiles et web, en présentiel ou à distance. Le troisième s'adresse aux sessions de groupe en entreprise, comme les formations ou les ateliers. Les participants rejoignent via un QR code et reçoivent une traduction dans leur langue. La suite intègre par ailleurs un système d'apprentissage du vocabulaire personnalisé, couvrant les termes métier spécifiques, les noms d'entreprises et les noms propres. Au total, DeepL Voice prend en charge plus de 40 langues, dont les 24 langues officielles de l'Union européenne.
Au-delà des intégrations prêtes à l'emploi, DeepL lance une API permettant à des développeurs et des entreprises tiers de créer des solutions sur mesure. Les centres d'appels multilingues constituent l'exemple le plus direct. «Après tant d'années en traduction textuelle, la voix était une étape naturelle», a déclaré Jarek Kutylowski, PDG de DeepL, selon TechCrunch. Le dirigeant souligne que la traduction vocale répond aux difficultés des organisations à recruter des agents qualifiés dans certaines langues, souvent rares et coûteux.
Cette ouverture traduit une ambition de positionnement à long terme. DeepL contrôle l'intégralité de sa chaîne technique vocale. Le système actuel convertit la parole en texte, applique la traduction, puis reconvertit en voix. L'entreprise vise toutefois un modèle bout-en-bout qui supprimera cette étape intermédiaire. Dans des évaluations indépendantes menées par Slator, 96 % des linguistes ont préféré DeepL Voice aux solutions natives de Google, Microsoft et Zoom, citant une meilleure fluidité et une précision contextuelle supérieure.
2026 World Cup will include sign language interpretation broadcasts for every match... "The FIFA has announced that the 2026 World Cup will include sign language interpretation broadcasts for every match, marking a major expansion of accessibility services for fans with disabilities.
In a statement published on its website on Friday, FIFA said the initiative is designed to ensure that all supporters, whether in stadiums or watching remotely, can fully experience matches.
The governing body said the move reflects its commitment to inclusion, adding that the World Cup should be accessible to “all fans, including those with disabilities and their families and friends.”
FIFA noted that the new system goes beyond traditional interpretation, with sign language commentary capturing live match action as well as emotional and environmental cues such as crowd reactions, referee whistles and stadium atmosphere.
According to FIFA, interpreters will provide region-specific sign language coverage, including American Sign Language for matches in the United States and Canada, and Mexican Sign Language for games in Mexico.
During the knockout stages, American Sign Language will be used for most matches, while Mexican Sign Language will be applied to selected fixtures involving Spanish-speaking teams.
The organisation also said fans will be able to access the service through the official World Cup app by selecting accessibility settings and activating a dedicated sign language broadcast feed.
The announcement follows earlier accessibility measures introduced at the 2025 Club World Cup, including sensory bags and audio-descriptive commentary services.
FIFA said the enhanced package is part of its long-term effort to make global football more inclusive and improve the match-day experience for all supporters." FIFA Introduces Sign Language Broadcasts and Expanded Accessibility Features for 2026 World Cup - Nigeria Info FM https://share.google/66dMR2rZSrgoWJZAn #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Ask AI or just Google it? Google makes a big change to a little search box NPR | By John Ruwitch Published May 22, 2026 at 12:05 Google chief executive Sundar Pichai speaks during the tech titan's annual I/O developers conference on May 14, 2024, in Mountain View, California. Google on Tuesday said it would introduce AI-generated answers to online queries made by users in the United States, in one of the biggest updates to its search engine in 25 years. The search giant is updating its famously minimalist homepage. But what looks like a tiny design change is a very big deal. Stay up to date with our Up First newsletter sent every weekday morning. The company this week announced significant changes to its search box — that austere, single-line input field on its homepage that has been the world's most popular entry point into the web for around two-and-a-half decades.
The new version looks similar to the old one-line text box, but it's dynamic, expanding with longer queries. Users can also drop videos, pictures and files into it for what Google calls "multimodal" search.
Behind the scenes, a bigger shift is under way. Google is merging artificial intelligence and traditional web search in a move that Liz Reid, who oversees search at Google, said brings "the best of web and the best of AI together."
Critics say folding AI deeper into search risks further muddying the waters around the provenance of information gleaned from the web, and could take agency away from users. A chatbot is likely to return a summary with only a few links to further information, unlike a web search that returns many pages of links.
But the shift is, in some ways, not surprising, given Silicon Valley's hard pivot toward AI, with Google and others investing billions in the technology and refocusing corporate strategies around it.
For about a year, Google has put "AI Overviews" — short summaries — at the top of some search results. "What we've seen with AI Overviews is that people don't want either just an AI or the web. They want a mix of both," said Reid.
She said she's noticed that users have started to ask longer questions, with more natural language, rather than fragments or key words. "They're asking the question that they really have," Reid said.
For Google, that potentially unlocks new understandings of user intentions. "If you start using more natural language, if you're having a conversation, when you've shifted from researching into buying, you've sort of indicated that. And so we can put better ads because we understand what that is," Reid said.
Google is also introducing agentic functionality to search, so that users can ask it to do tasks over time — like search for theater tickets at regular intervals, or send shoppers a notification when something goes on sale, or conduct a weekly scan of the internet for local events.
Carolina Milanesi, an independent technology analyst, said Google is trying to make its cash cow business — search — richer and more personalized, and it will make shopping easier. But there is a risk that users may have fewer choices about what to click.
"Right now it's: I ask a question, I get a bunch of answers and I feel that I'm in control as to which answer I take, or if I'm looking for something, which product I'm going to end up buying. That is going to be less so going forward," she said.
Milanesi envisions AI-enabled search and agents proposing products to consumers — perhaps even those they have requested — but with less clarity or choice around where it's coming from.
"If you're going to say: 'I want a pair of Jordans, go find them,' you're not necessarily sure what steps have been taken and whether the AI has used a source or a store that was paid for and therefore came up in the search results," she said, "or if AI actually went and did their due diligence and picked the best for me as a customer."
Sarah T. Roberts, director of the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at UCLA, said the algorithmic underpinnings of Google's web search results have long been "by design, inscrutable to end users" and there's more to it than simply the best of the web floating to the top of any given search. Adding AI will only make the system more opaque, she said.
"What's happening now with AI is that that complexity that already existed will be further obfuscated and even more difficult to unpack," she said.
She noted episodes where Google's AI has provided bad results, including advising putting glue in pizza and eating rocks. "Those gaffes shouldn't be forgotten as Google makes this transition," she said.
And critics say that driving more Google users from web searches to interacting with AI will exacerbate the risks of the so-called "Google Zero" scenario, where the growth of AI queries kills off web search and suffocates the internet click economy as we know it. That includes online shops, web advertisers and news organizations that all depend on referred traffic from Google.
"Translator Beware: On the Myth of the Finicky English Reader Anton Hur Discusses the Future of Literary Translation
When I started my career as a professional literary translator, I began coming up against a mysterious “English reader” whom academics and editors kept referring to when they looked over my work, leaving comments like, “the English reader will find this line awkward” or “I understand, but we need to make things more accessible to the English reader” and so on.
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This was very puzzling; I am an English reader, I’ve been reading English the whole of my reading life. I have a master’s degree in Victorian poetry from a prestigious university and worked professionally for years in literary translation, which means, frankly, I tend to be more normative in my English usage, if anything. Look at this paragraph, for example; I sound practically archaic.
But I kept coming up against this hypothetical English reader, and not just in terms of language. When acquiring editors invoked the English reader, they would say things like, “English readers won’t go for that sort of thing” or “English readers don’t like short story collections.”
But who was this English reader, and why did he hold so much sway over my practice? He (he seems to be a he) is actually a minority in the reading world, but everyone in publishing defers to him. Women read more than men, and translated fiction outsells English fiction in the UK, but the Mythical English Reader won’t read women writers or non- European translations (which begs the question: Then why should I care about him?!). He is incredibly finicky, in a way that suggests people have been indulging him all his life instead of challenging him or encouraging him to try new and different things. What he likes seems to be other white men and whatever other white men produce; if he reads translated literature, he might read an obscure dead white male from Germany or Italy, or even some author from a non-European country if at least the translator is white. He likes very few things and hates an awful lot of others.
He likes very few things and hates an awful lot of others.
Over the years, I would constantly be nudged or told outright to write like “the English reader,” to think like “the English reader,” to like the things he likes and disdain the things he disdains, to make the world comfortable for him, my sentences and content easier for him. And soon, this constant presence of outside voices seeped into my inside voice until I found myself automatically trying to fit into the Mythical English Reader’s ideas of what my work should look like.
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It was a long time before I realized that the problem wasn’t my flawless English or the amazing books I tended to pick to translate; saying, “the English reader won’t like this,” really just meant, “You’re not white.” Proper English wasn’t proper because it followed a set of rules per se, proper English was proper because that was the way white people spoke, and whatever I said was incorrect by default until it was approved by a white person. While this revelation came as something of a shock, perhaps it isn’t so surprising to you.
If you’re a person of color reading this essay in English right now, chances are you grew up under the pervasive and ubiquitous gaze of the Mythical English Reader and understand it very well. I didn’t grow up like that, or at least, not to any meaningful extent. I grew up mostly in Korea, have lived my entire adult life so far in Korea, and even when I wasn’t living in Korea, I was mostly living in Asia. Throughout my life I couldn’t care less what white people thought because white people had nothing to do with the grades I got in school, what my clients paid me, the men I dated, or what I thought of myself. Then I fell into this “literary translator” job and suddenly I had to figure out exactly what white people thought—and fast.
They are truly a different people from us Koreans. First of all, as far as I can tell, “white people” seem to be a colonial invention, an identity that almost only appears when they go up against brown-skinned people in their conquests and exploitation. In America, while there are still people there who talk about being Italian or Irish etc., white people are for the most part a very distinctive and cohesive monolith who are mostly defined by the fact that they are Not Brown. It was historically important that they were white because being not-white meant being a target of Indigenous genocide, a slave in the chattel slavery system, or a second-class brown person who was treated differently from a white person who does the same job and pays the same taxes and dues.
I say “historical,” but all the above systems continue to be perpetuated in America in some form today (for example, just look at who does most of the forced labor in the US prison-industrial complex). Whiteness craves power and money and is unwilling to concede that power and money to non-whites. Sometimes, it will throw a bone to a few brown people when it looks like they’re going to stage a revolution—aficionados refer to this as “tokenism”—but for the most part, whiteness will bend over backwards trying to keep people of color in line.
Given that such white supremacy still exists in the Anglosphere, of course it would exist in the world of letters as well.The Mythical English Reader is, therefore, not a form of benign snobbery (if snobbery can ever be benign) but serves as a superego of whiteness, policing all literature so that it continues to affirm the superiority and cultural capital of whiteness, because in the end, cultural capital leads to actual capital, and the goal is to keep the money within the family.
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An Asian American writing instructor once warned me that the Anglophonic literary world used phrases like “the beauty of the language” as a reactionary code for excluding writers of color from the center of the establishment. I wondered what he was talking about at the time, but understood well enough as I entered the industry and kept on encountering weird situations where “beautiful language” honors were conferred on some truly mediocre white writing that followed the style of the status quo—which is a kind of flat and overly “clear” pseudo-Hemingway pastiche of workshop-ready minimalism—while anything else was branded as “bad writing” or “awkward.”
They are the white gaze manifested into flesh.
Note the mention of Hemingway here (talk about a white person going up against brown skinned people in his conquests and exploitations). Hemingway, because of his privileged-expat life among brown people, was the whitest of all white authors, the god of all Mythical English Readers, and this is why his DNA runs so deep in American letters today.
In the end, “awkward,” for me, always invites the question: awkward to whom? (White people.) And what makes it awkward? (A white person didn’t write it.)
I was once asked to submit to a publisher who is infamous in Koreanist circles for pairing Korean translators with white monolingual writers, as “co-translation” teams. These are setups where the Korean translator gets stuck with doing a crib translation and the white monolingual does some editing and gets credit for imbuing “artistry” (whiteness) on the work of the Korean translator, who is relegated to being a mere technician. I had just come off a similar “co-translation” where an editor was given co-translator credit despite only having been an editor of the work. It was a completely insulting process from beginning to end (interestingly, the edits flattened the prose dramatically).
I also had to practically bludgeon this editor repeatedly about getting the paperwork for my payment, which just goes to show how little they cared about my work, my time, and my rights as a translator. In cases like this, the Mythical English Reader becomes a literal English reader, a living, breathing reader who has the power to change the very words of your translation merely because they are white and you are not. They are the white gaze manifested into flesh. And in this case, they take your credit and your very real money and advance their own interests by exploiting your labor.
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Or ruining it. A literary translation school in Korea, without bothering to inform me, once replaced me with a white instructor who immediately alienated my former students by openly disparaging Korean women writers in his first session, and proceeded to destroy the workshop I had painstakingly helped to build up over the years. The fiasco left aspiring translators in Korea, most of them people of color, with one less route into the profession, further enabling white people’s social and actual capital to be kept within their possession.
Submitting my sample, I told the publisher that I was aware of his publications that engaged in this heinous practice, and that I was categorically unwilling to engage in it. He rejected the manuscript.
In recent years, I have come to the realization that if we want to change the way our translations are published, the way to do it is not only through individual action but through changing the entire landscape of publishing. The best way to help yourself is to change the system for everyone, instead of aiming to become another token for the perpetuation of whiteness. We all have limited time and energy, but there are still many ways to identify the cracks in the system that we can shove a wedge into or the points of leverage we can place a fulcrum upon, and it’s going to take all of these little efforts and opportunities combined into a movement to make changes that will truly benefit individuals.
This is your time now. You have entered the landscape. You’re the realest thing in it.
Examples of this include Indonesian author Khairani Barokka’s refusal to italicize non-English words in her writing, translator Rosalind Harvey offering free mentoring slots specifically for translators of color, and joining a translator collective or creating one yourself (you only really need three people to make a collective). I’m currently in three, and each makes a big difference to how I think about my practice.
For example, the ALTA BIPOC Caucus, founded by some talented translators whom I deeply admire, provides a treasure trove of information and connections, not to mention an easy way to give back to the BIPOC translator community in various ways. Collectives make sense for translators; our work is inherently collaborative (we deal with virtually every level of publishing, from rightsholders to editorial to publicity to readers), and the publishing world is so opaque that you need all the help you can get to pass the gatekeepers.
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Point being, we need a movement to make real changes in the landscape, and movements mean collective action, the sum of all of our individual efforts coalescing into a single, anticolonial direction.
When I’m translating, I always imagine the author across the table from me, telling me the story in Korean. I never feel alone when I translate, and by the end of the book I feel as if the author and I have been sitting and working together for a long time.It is always a shock to meet the author in person because I feel extremely close to them but they haven’t spent nearly as much time with me. It’s really the author whom I’m thinking of when I translate, and it’s really me for whom I’m translating—I am the true English reader.
So, the next time someone tries to gaslight you by asserting the authority of a mythical being over your own reading, call it out. No, you may not use that excuse, you need to come up with a real reason. No, either take ownership of your own prejudices or stay silent. This is your time now. You have entered the landscape..." Anton Hur May 18, 2026 https://lithub.com/translator-beware-on-the-myth-of-the-finicky-english-reader/ #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"Joana Urtasun '22 Publishes Translation of Poetry Collection, 'Between Fish Scales' By Carly Polistina May 18, 2026
Joana Urtasun '22 has published a translation of Between Fish Scales by Basque poet Leire Bilbao. The collection, published by World Poetry Books, marks Urtasun’s first book as a translator and Bilbao's English language debut.
Urtasun grew up between Basque and the UK, making her the perfect candidate to translate Bilbao’s work. Writer Kirmen Uribe said of the collection, “If Sharon Olds dreamed in Basque, her dreams might sound like Leire Bilbao.”
“Leire Bilbao’s poems, in Joana Urtasun’s English, are cadenced flows from a fluid economy of birth, motherhood, water and blood, of food from the oven and smells of sea," said Poet Erín Moure.
The translation and publication of Between Fish Scales was supported by the Etxepare Basque Institute, an organization dedicated to enhancing “the international presence and visibility of the Basque language and contemporary Basque creativity, to promote international cooperation and to foster exchange and communication between creators, professionals, stakeholders and public institutions.” The book also received a grant from Spain’s Ministry of Culture, through the General Directory of Books, Comics, and Reading.
According to the publisher, the poetry collection explores the depths of femininity, and, through her use of language, Bilbao can expertly, “turn a mother into a mollusk, an eye into a buoy, and a newborn into a thief in the span of a moment.”
Urtasun is a writer and translator based in New York. She received her MFA in Poetry and Literary Translation from Columbia University. Her work has appeared in The London Magazine, METAL Magazine, Berkeley Poetry Review, and Anthropocene Poetry Journal, among others, and she was a finalist in The Sewanee Review’s sixth poetry contest." https://arts.columbia.edu/news/joana-urtasun-22-publishes-translation-poetry-collection-between-fish-scales #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
Expanding the reach of global literature through translation, a grant program and a literary award are open for submissions.
"Translation is an incredibly important part of the global publishing industry. Two opportunities – a grant and an award – are currently open for submissions.
PEN Presents x SALT
PEN Presents is a grant program created by English PEN that seeks to expand the landscape of translated literature by supporting sample translations, funding the unpaid work of creating samples, and giving publishers in the UK access to titles from underrepresented languages and regions.
This year’s PEN Presents is a partnership between English PEN and the South Asian Literature in Translation project (SALT). The deadline for submissions for the next session of PEN x Salt are closing May 31, 2026.
The grant is open to translators anywhere in the world in any stage of their career who have written in any official or unofficial languages of South Asia; whose authors are citizens of a South Asian country; resident in South Asia or of south Asian heritage; and for work of any form, genre, style and era. The work must also not have an English translation published in any territory.
A shortlist of 24 applicants will receive grants of £500 to create 5,000-word sample translations of their proposed works, with a final selection of 12 samples.
In April, the last round of winners was announced.
“These projects brought together an expert panel and gave them the delightful challenge of selecting winners from numerous brilliant projects across a range of languages, many of which are hugely underrepresented in English translation,” said Preti Taneja, English PEN Translation Advisory co-chair.
“The writing we present here has great potential to open readers’ minds to the richness of South Asian storytelling, poetry and nonfiction. This is politically urgent, humanely thought-provoking, lyrical, and even profoundly humorous work. Agents and editors now have the wonderful task of taking these samples forward to full publication, and I could not be more excited to see what comes next for these works, their authors and their translators.”
For more information on the program or submission guidelines, visit the website here
Sheikh Zayed Book Award
Earlier this year, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the Arab world celebrated its 20th anniversary.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, which is organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) under the auspices of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), looks to further Arabic literature and culture around the world.
Since its founding, the award has received more than 33,000 submissions and honored 144 laureates. The Translation Grant, which was founded in 2018, has also supported the translation of over 48 titles into 12 languages.
The 21st submission cycle marks a defining milestone as the Sheikh Zayed Book Award enters its third decade and continues to play a pivotal role in advancing the global reception of Arab culture.
The Award includes ten categories, five of which are open to non-Arabic books – Arabic Culture in Other Languages; Translation; Publishing and Technology; Manuscripts, Encyclopedia, and the Lexicon; and the Cultural Personality of the Year.
“Marking twenty years of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is not only a moment to reflect on its legacy, but also an opportunity to look ahead to its next chapter. As the Award enters its third decade, we invite authors, scholars, translators and publishers from around the world to contribute to a renewed era of literary and intellectual excellence,” said His Excellency Dr Ali Bin Tamim, Secretary-General of the SZBA and Chairman of the ALC.
“Through its international reach, the Award continues to serve as a global platform for distinguished voices across generations, strengthening the presence of Arabic literature and culture on the world stage.”"
"Safety, cost and climate dominate travel planning – but research from Zurich Insurance Group suggests language quietly steers more decisions than many travelers realize.
By Ines Bourbon
Not all borders appear on maps. Some quietly shape where people choose to travel. Language is one of them.
It might happen in a train station, standing in front of a ticket machine covered in unfamiliar words. Or at a pharmacy counter, trying to explain a problem in a language that suddenly feels far more important than expected. In those moments, the reality of travel becomes clear: crossing a border is easy; navigating what comes after can be harder.
The invisible filter
When travelers plan a trip, familiar factors usually guide their decisions. Safety, cost, climate and attractions dominate the conversation. Yet communication quietly shapes those decisions as well.
According to Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), roughly one in three travelers say language and ease of communication influence where they choose to travel. The pattern appears across all markets surveyed but is most pronounced in Canada, Mexico, Singapore, the UK and the U.S. Language doesn’t rank alongside safety or cost, but its consistent presence suggests it shapes choices more than many people openly acknowledge.
Other research adds detail to the picture. A survey by language-learning platform Preply found that a similar proportion of American travelers intentionally choose destinations where English is widely spoken. The study goes further, identifying the countries Americans find most linguistically intimidating: China (37%), Japan (34%) and South Korea (23%) top the list. Separately, a global survey from Booking.com found that 44 percent of travelers say language barriers discourage them from considering certain trips altogether.
At first glance, these numbers may seem surprising. Translation apps are widely available, English is commonly used in airports and hotels, and many destinations offer multilingual services. Yet travel rarely unfolds exactly as planned. Beyond booking flights and accommodation, travelers must navigate unfamiliar systems – reading transit maps, asking for directions or explaining a problem. When communication breaks down, even routine tasks can become stressful.
That uncertainty can influence destination choices. Travelers may gravitate toward places where communication feels easier or more predictable, particularly those who prefer structured travel experiences.
When things go wrong, words matter most
Communication becomes even more important when something goes wrong. Travel disruptions are common: flights are delayed, luggage is misplaced, connections are missed. Travelers also worry about more serious incidents, including medical emergencies, cybercrime or theft. Zurich’s Business Travel Outlook 2026 highlights how frequently disruptions occur during trips. For instance, in 2025, four in five business travelers (80 percent) experienced disruption and more than half (53 percent) encountered incidents or emergencies abroad. When unexpected situations arise, the ability to communicate clearly can make resolving problems faster and far less stressful.
This is where assistance and protection services – including travel insurance – play a practical role. Financial reimbursement is only part of the support. Travelers often rely on assistance teams and apps to guide them through unfamiliar systems and coordinate help locally. In those moments, clear communication can be just as important as the coverage itself.
Bridging the language gap
The influence of language varies across travelers. Younger travelers often lean on translation apps and navigation tools and may feel more comfortable in unfamiliar linguistic environments. Others place greater value on predictability and reassurance, particularly when they travel internationally less often.
These patterns have implications for the travel industry. Tourism boards, airlines and hospitality providers increasingly recognize that communication plays an important role in the traveler experience. Many destinations now invest in multilingual signage, translated information and digital tools designed to help international visitors navigate local infrastructure.
For instance, LVMH launched a dedicated Mandarin-speaker retail training program in New York, partnering with Parsons School of Design to prepare Chinese-American staff for its luxury stores — a direct response to the volume of Chinese tourists visiting its boutiques. In London, Harrods offers Arabic-speaking personal shoppers as part of a tailored experience for Middle Eastern clients. Japan, which welcomed a record 36.9 million tourists in 2024, has responded by rolling out multilingual signage, digital translation tools and language support across hotels, transport networks and tourist attractions.
These efforts don’t just improve convenience – they help travelers feel confident enough to explore unfamiliar places.
Yet communication challenges rarely prevent travel altogether. Millions of people visit destinations every year without speaking the local language. Tourism has always crossed linguistic and cultural boundaries. As international travel continues to grow, discussions within the industry often focus on infrastructure, connectivity and emerging destinations. But behavioral factors matter too.
Sometimes the real border is not the one you cross at the airport – it’s the moment when the words around you stop making sense."
"Legal AI is increasingly capable of producing outputs that look correct, not only linguistically, but also terminologically. Definitions align with established usage, translations follow accepted conventions and explanations reflect familiar legal structures. In cross-border work, this is often where the problem begins rather than ends.
In professional settings, correct terminology is usually taken as a reliable signal of accuracy. When a term is widely used and consistently translated, there is a natural tendency to assume that the underlying meaning travels with it. In law, that is a risky assumption. Legal concepts aren’t defined by their label alone, but also by their purpose, scope, conditions of application and, ultimately, their legal consequences.
Two concepts can align closely at the level of terminology and still diverge materially in practice, particularly across legal systems. One example is the relationship between liquidated damages in common law jurisdictions and contractual penalty clauses in many civil law systems. Translation-based systems will map one term to the other without hesitation, producing a result that reads cleanly and appears professionally sound. Yet in common law jurisdictions, liquidated damages are enforceable only if they represent a genuine pre-estimate of loss, whereas in many civil law systems, penalty clauses are generally enforceable even where they go beyond compensatory loss, subject in some cases to judicial adjustment. In other words, correct terminology is not the same as correct legal meaning, particularly where legal consequences diverge.
This would be manageable if legal terminology operated in isolation. In practice, however, it doesn’t. For a lawyer, a term carries a set of embedded assumptions about enforceability, remedies, procedural context and interpretation. When a familiar term appears, those assumptions are automatically activated. Readers fill in the gaps without necessarily realising that they are doing so.
This is where the real risk emerges. Wording may be correct but still invite the reader to apply an incorrect legal framework. The problem isn’t simply an imperfect translation. Rather, it is that the output triggers a line of reasoning that doesn’t hold in the target jurisdiction.
Errors of this kind are difficult to detect because texts look credible and precise, and follow patterns lawyers are trained to recognise. Under time pressure, or in routine workflows, it is easy for such output to pass review without deeper scrutiny.
The source of the problem sits in the data, not in how the output is reviewed. Foundation models are trained on large volumes of legal text, but not necessarily on structured representations of how legal concepts relate to one another across jurisdictions. They don’t carry explicit mappings of where concepts overlap, where they only partially align or where they lead to different legal outcomes. Faced with a gap, the model produces the most plausible approximation.
Prompting, interface design and retrieval can improve presentation and relevance, but don’t solve the problem. If a system doesn’t contain information about how two concepts differ in scope or effect, it has no basis on which to flag those differences. Output remains fluent, but the underlying legal position is incomplete.
This raises an uncomfortable point for lawyers and legaltech providers: legal AI can produce the right words and still point to the wrong answer. The closer the terminology appears to be, the easier it is to miss the gap.
Since the problem sits in the data, it has to be addressed there. Legal meaning needs to be represented explicitly, with attention to purpose, scope and legal effect, and with clear identification of where concepts don’t align cleanly. Such information doesn’t emerge automatically from large corpora. It has to be constructed, curated and maintained.
At TransLegal, we build structured, human-curated legal datasets that map concepts across jurisdictions and capture relevant distinctions directly in the data. We also use AI systems to generate additional layers of comparative legal data, with experts in the loop to review, validate and refine the output. This extensive data can then be used to help AI systems surface differences rather than smooth them away, and to give users the information they need to recognise where apparent equivalence breaks down.
As legal AI becomes more widely used in cross-border contexts, the quality of terminology will matter less than what sits behind it. Outputs can look entirely correct and still lead the user in the wrong direction. This problem sits directly in the path of cross-border legal work and is already shaping outcomes." By Michael Krallmann, CEO, TransLegal https://www.artificiallawyer.com/2026/05/20/when-legal-terminology-is-correct-but-the-answer-is-still-wrong/ #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
"What role do translators play in an increasingly globalized world threatened by authoritarianism and AI?
At the 2026 World Voices Festival, translators Michael Eskin, Annelise Finegan, Tess Lewis and former translator for the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly Abdelgabar Mohieldin gathered to discuss the cultural and political significance of their work today as well as their hopes and worries for the future of the industry.
Here are some of the reflections the experts shared throughout the panel, titled “The Changing Role of the Translator,” which translator Sandra Smith moderated.
On the Value of Translation At the beginning of the talk, Smith quoted from PEN America’s 1969 Manifesto on Translation, which states that “translation should not be a profession but an art.” “But today, in our globalized world, the translator has far more responsible goals,” she said. “We become cultural ambassadors, especially when the author is not living or, sadly, representing authors whose works are censored in their own countries.” She asked the panelists to describe the aspects of their work as translators they deemed most important.
Eskin: “Translators undoubtedly can be said to possess great power: the power to determine central aspects of an entire culture with real-life consequences, good and bad, for their members, depending on who they happen to be. One mistranslated word can be to the benefit of one person or group and the great detriment of another.”
Lewis: “There are changes in the ideological and political environment which make the role of the translator no less necessary, perhaps even more necessary. When I first started, one of my main motivations as a translator was to combat cultural provincialism. … If you don’t know the context of words, you have no way of gauging the original context that the text is operating in, and what does that mean for the reception of the text from your language?”
Mohieldin: “I developed my own cross-cultural approach to translation, seeing translation as building blocks for sustainable culture, for peace, conflict resolution, peace building, and respect for human rights.”
On the Rise of AI Smith asked the panelists to reflect on the danger that AI poses to their profession.
Finegan: “The challenge with AI translation is that it trends toward a mean, it trends toward an average. And it gets worse because studies are now showing that it is starting to make us write like that too. The only bright side is that it suddenly made translation really visible, and it raises the expectation for massive translation, that everything be available, and that’s fantastic.”
Lewis: “The danger that I find most immediately threatening … is that it will lower everyone’s expectations and standards. You can read a fabulous translation of a 500-page novel that would have taken time and cost money. Or you can just give the gist by putting the whole thing through AI. … That is my concern: our writing being flattened, our attention spans being shortened, our standards are being lowered as well as our tolerance for complexity.”
Mohieldin: “Creativity needs a human heart and human emotions and human imagination. AI is just a machine. It doesn’t have all of that.”
Eskin: “We can’t assume that translation as such generates good translators. … Just like there are not many really, really good authors among the millions who write, there also are not really many very good translators. Now, if you happen to stumble on a really good one, of course, that probably AI can’t do.”
On Their Relationships With Writers An audience member asked the translators whether writers choose their translators and what the working relationship between the two professionals looks like.
Smith: “Very often, the author has no say in who the translator would be, unless you have a relationship. So, for example, if you do one book and it’s a hit, then the publisher will normally come back. … If you’re lucky, they will come to you and ask you to do it, or if you work with a particular author, they will request you to the publisher.”
Lewis: “It’s very case-specific. Some writers absolutely trust their translators. Others really want to know [more]. … It’s as varied as the authors themselves and their egos.”" " https://pen.org/translators-value-their-profession/ #metaglossia #metaglossia_mundus
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