Metaglossia: The Translation World

‘Sorry, I didn’t get that’: AI misunderstands some people’s words more than others

By Roberto Rey Agudo,Dartmouth CollegeJan 27, 2  025

(THE CONVERSATION) The idea of a humanlike artificial intelligence assistant that you can speak with has been alive in many people’s imaginations since the release of “Her,” Spike Jonze’s 2013 film about a man who falls in love with a Siri-like AI named Samantha. Over the course of the film, the protagonist grapples with the ways in which Samantha, real as she may seem, is not and never will be human.

Twelve years on, this is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and digital assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa help people get driving directions, make grocery lists, and plenty else. But just like Samantha, automatic speech recognition systems still cannot do everything that a human listener can.

You have probably had the frustrating experience of calling your bank or utility company and needing to repeat yourself so that the digital customer service bot on the other line can understand you. Maybe you’ve dictated a note on your phone, only to spend time editing garbled words.

Linguistics and computer science researchers have shown that these systems work worse for some people than for others. They tend to make more errors if you have a non-native or a regional accent, are Black, speak in African American Vernacular English, code-switch, if you are a woman, are old, are too young or have a speech impediment.

Tin ear

Unlike you or me, automatic speech recognition systems are not what researchers call “sympathetic listeners.” Instead of trying to understand you by taking in other useful clues like intonation or facial gestures, they simply give up. Or they take a probabilistic guess, a move that can sometimes result in an error.

As companies and public agencies increasingly adopt automatic speech recognition tools in order to cut costs, people have little choice but to interact with them. But the more that these systems come into use in critical fields, ranging from emergency first responders and health care to education and law enforcement, the more likely there will be grave consequences when they fail to recognize what people say.

Imagine sometime in the near future you’ve been hurt in a car crash. You dial 911 to call for help, but instead of being connected to a human dispatcher, you get a bot that’s designed to weed out nonemergency calls. It takes you several rounds to be understood, wasting time and raising your anxiety level at the worst moment.

What causes this kind of error to occur? Some of the inequalities that result from these systems are baked into the reams of linguistic data that developers use to build large language models. Developers train artificial intelligence systems to understand and mimic human language by feeding them vast quantities of text and audio files containing real human speech. But whose speech are they feeding them?

If a system scores high accuracy rates when speaking with affluent white Americans in their mid-30s, it is reasonable to guess that it was trained using plenty of audio recordings of people who fit this profile.

With rigorous data collection from a diverse range of sources, AI developers could reduce these errors. But to build AI systems that can understand the infinite variations in human speech arising from things like gender, age, race, first vs. second language, socioeconomic status, ability and plenty else, requires significant resources and time.

‘Proper’ English

For people who do not speak English – which is to say, most people around the world – the challenges are even greater. Most of the world’s largest generative AI systems were built in English, and they work far better in English than in any other language. On paper, AI has lots of civic potential for translation and increasing people’s access to information in different languages, but for now, most languages have a smaller digital footprint, making it difficult for them to power large language models.

Even within languages well-served by large language models, like English and Spanish, your experience varies depending on which dialect of the language you speak.

Right now, most speech recognition systems and generative AI chatbots reflect the linguistic biases of the datasets they are trained on. They echo prescriptive, sometimes prejudiced notions of “correctness” in speech.

In fact, AI has been proved to “flatten” linguistic diversity. There are now AI startup companies that offer to erase the accents of their users, drawing on the assumption that their primary clientele would be customer service providers with call centers in foreign countries like India or the Philippines. The offering perpetuates the notion that some accents are less valid than others.

Human connection

AI will presumably get better at processing language, accounting for variables like accents, code-switching and the like. In the U.S., public services are obligated under federal law to guarantee equitable access to services regardless of what language a person speaks. But it is not clear whether that alone will be enough incentive for the tech industry to move toward eliminating linguistic inequities.

Many people might prefer to talk to a real person when asking questions about a bill or medical issue, or at least to have the ability to opt out of interacting with automated systems when seeking key services. That is not to say that miscommunication never happens in interpersonal communication, but when you speak to a real person, they are primed to be a sympathetic listener.

With AI, at least for now, it either works or it doesn’t. If the system can process what you say, you are good to go. If it cannot, the onus is on you to make yourself understood.

"The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded Pelham resident YZ Chin a grant of $20,000 on Jan. 14 to support her work translating “This Timeworn Land” by Lu Zi Shu.

She is a translator of literature written in the Mahua language. Some of her translations include works by Lu Zi Shu and King Ban Hui. Chin is also the author of two novels, “Edge Case” and “Though I Get Home.” “Edge Case” was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice as well as an NPR Books We Love selection in 2021.

Since Chin is both a translator and a writer, she said she’s found it interesting to learn how these artistic forms inform and influence each other. “I just want to be part of this human conversation that has been going on a long, long time that’s in the form of literature,” Chin said. “Writing is a way of participating in this conversation, and translating is another, where I represent a work of art and introduce another way of seeing it into the conversation.”

Childhood struggles made stories a big draw for her. “I was often bullied when I was younger, so books became an escape for me,” she said. In addition, her upbringing in Taiping, Malaysia, allowed Chin to appreciate and love literature.

She moved to Pelham from Long Island in 2022. “I was drawn to Pelham because of its open space with lots of trees,” she said.

In college at Northwestern University, Chin received her first grant to translate a short story collection by King Ban Hui, “which I had no success with because I had no idea what I was doing,” she said. “Now I am translating his novel for a major publisher as well as many of my other literary heroes, writers I first loved and read when I was a teenager.”

Currently, Chin is working on “This Timeworn Land,” the translation project for which she won the NEA grant. “I am only about twenty percent done with this project,” she said. “So far, it is a very compelling emotional piece with a large cast of characters, which is definitely one of the challenges of translating this work. It is also set near where I grew up in Taiping, so it is fun for me to translate.”

Chin said that she is able to preserve the nuances of a work of literature and present it to an English speaking audience by “capturing the vibes and the effects versus trying to translate down to the nitty-gritties.” For example, she would consider changing an original joke into something that works in English. “The point is to recreate the effect, which is to make the reader laugh.”

The translations and her own writing have deep personal meaning, but she hopes that readers will be compelled by her messy yet vulnerable storytelling: “I think my journey has reinforced time and again to me that purity is an illusion and that hybridity helps us approach our lives in healthier, more meaningful ways.”

"Master of Arts in Conference Interpreting Programme
1. Introduction
This revised professional interpreter training programme culminates in the award of a Master of Arts Degree in Conference Interpreting. Since its inception in August 2012, the programme has remained an initiative that falls in line with the University’s strategic plan: “the preparation of students for active and productive citizenship”. It is clearly one of the “value-adding initiatives that can be sold to its stakeholders”. In terms of value addition, the programme will build upon and diversify the competencies acquired by graduates of the BA Translation programme being run by the Departments of French and Modern Languages, University of Ghana, and by other local and foreign institutions. Graduates of the programme in Interpretation will come out as professionals actively covering international conferences within Ghana and abroad and will therefore play a significant role as productive citizens of this country. The stakeholders will not only be candidates or students of the programme, but also prospective employers who will readily buy the skills and expertise acquired by the graduates.

2. Rationale for Revising the Programme
Three years after launching and implementing the conference interpreter training programme at the University of Ghana, it became necessary to evaluate the programme content and outcomes in order to adapt the said content to the key training objectives while remedying the weaknesses and building on the strengths. This evaluation process looks back at the ground covered and forward to the ultimate programme objectives. It clearly establishes the need to revise the programme structure as well as the content of some courses while adding a few in order to make the training more complete and relevant to market conditions, and thus more beneficial to the stakeholders.

3. Mission, Aims, and Objectives
The mission of the School of Languages is, among others, to “transform and professionalise human resource practices, develop consumer focus and third party linkages”, while that of the University is “to develop world-class human resource and capabilities to meet national development needs and global challenges through quality teaching, learning, research and knowledge dissemination”. In line with these missions, the revised programme seeks to train students to interpret at conferences, meetings and other forms of interaction requiring the intermediation of a bilingual or multilingual language expert to facilitate communication. The mission, aims and objectives of the revised programme, therefore, is to endow students, who upon graduation will have the requisite skills to undertake interpretation assignments in the various modes: sight translation, consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.

This revised training programme in Interpreting essentially covers consecutive and simultaneous interpretation, focusing both on the theory and practice. Students are expected to know and value theories and principles underlying the conveyance of meaning without distortion from one language to another. They are further expected to be familiar with a broad range of literature on both the theory and practice of consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.

By the end of the revised programme, students are expected to have acquired sufficient practical skills to allow them to do a consecutive interpretation of up to 10 minutes and a simultaneous interpretation of up to 30 minutes in real life working conditions. These practical skills include note taking of speeches to be delivered in the consecutive mode and the ability to do a simultaneous interpretation of a speaker while also reading from the prepared text in the booth. Students will have developed their ability to divide their attention between listening to the source speech and interpreting into the target language to such an extent that the practice appears effortless and their speech is delivered as naturally as the original. The source language may be language B or C to be interpreted into A or A to be interpreted into B.

4. Career Paths
Ghana is a hub for international activities and conferences. Multilingual meetings, seminars, congresses are regularly organised by sub-regional, regional and international public and private organisations, including a vast array of NGOs. The country being surrounded on all terrestrial fronts by francophone countries, and in view of the fact that most funding agencies have a preference for funding cross-border programmes, it regularly hosts such forums requiring interpretation services. Graduates of the Interpretation programme will therefore have many work opportunities in Ghana and beyond.

5. Admission Requirements
A good first degree (at least Second Class Lower) or its equivalent in any subject.
Proficiency in all working languages, especially in the A language.
Successful completion of an aptitude test and an interview.
6. Programme Structure
6. NEW PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
Core Course Work (Semester I) 16 Credits
Core Course Work (Semester 2) 16 Credits
Core Course Work (Semester 3) 16 Credits
Three of five Elective Courses in the Programme 9 Credits
Internship Placement/Academic Exchange (Semester 4) 10 Credits
Minimum credits for graduation: 67 Credits

Semester 1 (Year 1)
Course Code Course Title Credits
CINT 631 Theory and Practice of Interpretation I 4
CINT 633 Consecutive Interpretation I into Working Language A 4
CINT 635 Consecutive Interpretation II into Working Language B 4
CINT 637 Oral Expression 4
CINT 639 Area Studies I and Terminology Management 3 (Elective)
Semester 2 (Year 1)
Course Code Course Title Credits
CINT 632 Consecutive Interpretation III into Working Language A 4
CINT 634 Consecutive Interpretation IV into Working Language B 4
CINT 636 Introduction to Simultaneous Interpretation 4
CINT 638 Sight Translation 4
CINT 626 English Language in Communication 3 (Elective)
CINT 642 Area Studies II and Terminology Management 3 (Elective)
SEMESTER 2 (Year 1)
Course Code Course Title Credits
CINT 632 Consecutive interpretation III into Working Language A 4
CINT 634 Consecutive interpretation IV into Working Language B 4
CINT 636 Introduction to Simultaneous Interpretation 4
CINT 638 Sight Translation 4
CINT 626 English Language in Communication 3 (Elective)
CINT 642 Area Studies II and Terminology Management 3 (Elective)
Total Credits for Semester 2: 16-22

SEMESTER 3 (Year 2)
Course Code Course Title Credits
CINT 641 Simultaneous interpretation into working Language A 4
CINT 643 Simultaneous interpretation into working Language B 4
CINT 645 Advanced Consecutive into Working Language A 4
CINT 647 Professional Practice 4
CINT 649 African geopolitics and global institutions 3 (Elective)
CINT 651 Area Studies III and Terminology Management 3 (Elective)
Total Credits for Semester 3: 16-22

SEMESTER 4 (Year 2)
Total Credits for Semester 4: 10

Course Code Course Title Credits
CINT 652 Internship placement / Academic exchange 10
Click here to see Course Descriptions

7. Requirements for Progression
In order to assess if students have acquired the required skills to proceed from the first to the second year of the M.A. CINT programme, students will be required to sit and pass practical exams in the core interpretation courses that form the basis for the second year courses. Students who fail TWO of these core courses may proceed to the second year, but shall be required to re-sit the exam (before graduating). Students who fail MORE THAN TWO core courses in the first year shall have to repeat the failed courses and shall not immediately proceed to the second year.

8. Requirements for Graduation
Students are required to:
i. Pass ALL core courses;
ii. Pass THREE out of the FIVE electives in the programme;
iii. Pass the experiential learning provided through internship placement or Academic Exchange.
They shall therefore obtain a minimum of sixty-seven (67) credits to qualify for graduation.

 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING LIST FOR ALL COURSES
A. Journals
Across Languages and Cultures: A Multidisciplinary Journal for Translation and Interpreting Studies. d'Interprètes et de Traducteurs de l'Université de Paris.
Forum: International Journal of Interpretation and Translation. Volume 2, No 1, April 2004. Interpreting
Meta
Parallèles: Cahiers de l´École de Traduction et d´Interprétation
Pharmaterm: Bulletin terminologique de l’industrie pharmaceutique
Point Com : Bulletin en ligne de l'Association des Anciens Élèves de l'École Supérieure
The Interpreter’s Newsletter
Turjuman: Revue de traduction et d'interprétation.

B. Internet Sources http://www.emcinterpreting.org Site for European Master’s in Conference Interpreting http://www.emcinterpreting.org/pedagogical.php http://www.emcinterpreting.org/resources/conferences.php
http://interpreters.free.fr Information on the teaching of Interpretation
http://www.aiic.net Official website of the International Association of Conference Interpreters http://live.eti.unige.ch http://www.newspapers.com

. PROGRAMME APPRAISAL AND MONITORING

The programme will be appraised and monitored in line with the University’s Course assessment strategy and indicators. Students’ Course assessment forms will be used in addition to other recommended tools.

. FINAL EXAMINATION

At the final examination, students must pass both consecutive and simultaneous interpretation into both their A and B languages. Candidates who offer an A-B-C combination must pass both consecutive and simultaneous interpretation from both their B and C languages into A as well as consecutive interpretation from A into B.
In order to be awarded the degree, candidates will be required to pass each section of the exams at one and the same session.
Examinations shall comprise of speeches on a variety of subjects, delivered orally (not read) by professional interpreters or other individuals with experience in public speaking. Such speeches shall be prepared to a standard similar to what is required for international meetings with interpretation. Speeches for consecutive interpretation shall last no less than 5 minutes each and no more than 7, while speeches for simultaneous interpretation shall last no less than 8 minutes and no more than 10 minutes.

Candidates will be assessed on the mastery of their target language(s), comprehension of their source language(s) and on their interpreting skills. They must demonstrate sufficient competence to be able to be part of a team of professional conference interpreters.

. FACULTY

There is a core faculty (full time and part time lecturers) in the employment of the University. For other core courses in interpretation, the programme benefits from guest professional trainers, who are staff members from Language Departments in International Organisations, particularly the European Commission. These professionals also participate in the selection of candidates and in the conduct of examinations, at no cost to the University. In addition to the regular Faculty, other professional interpreters are made available, under a partnership arrangement with the European Commission, to provide face-to-face and distance tuition, as and when required.

https://www.ug.edu.gh/french.ug/overview-ma-conference-interpreting

"...Five authors and four translators will be residents at the Sofia Literature and Translation House in 2025, the organizers announced.

A resident at Sofia Literature and Translation House will be Natalia Matolinets, a novelist and short stories writer from Lviv, Ukraine.

Anna Matilda Brück is a Finnish writer, producer and journalist.

Andreas Tretner, a German translator and recipient of numerous awards, translates prose and poetry from Bulgarian, Russian and Czech into German.

Monika Herceg is a Croatian poet, editor and playwright. Her works have been translated into twenty languages.

Bojan Babić is a Serbian writer from Belgrade. His works address pressing social issues.

Georgia Spadoni is a translator from Jesi, Italy. Giorgia has made a name for herself with her translation of "Circo Bulgaria" by Deyan Enev, which won her the Polski Kot Award 2024 for Best Translation from a Slavic language.

Marco Vidal González (Spain) is a graduate in Slavic Philology from the University of Granada.

Marija Andrijašević is a Croatian writer from Split, a recipient of multiple literary awards. During her stay in Sofia in November, she will focus on writing her new novel.

Yana Ellis is a translator from Bulgarian and German into English, editor and modern foreign languages teacher. She holds an MA in Translation from the University of Bristol..."

https://bnr.bg/en/post/102108013/five-authors-and-four-translators-will-be-residents-at-the-sofia-literature-and-translation-house-in-2025

Babies are like little detectives, constantly piecing together clues about the world around them. If you’ve ever noticed your baby staring at you while you talk, it’s because they’re picking up on more than just sounds – they’re learning how those sounds are made.

Our recent study, published in Developmental Science, shows this amazing process starts as early as four months old, shaking up the old belief that babies learn these patterns only after tuning in to their native language between 6 and 12 months of age.

It also gives us an earlier window to help children who might be at risk of speech or language delays.

Sorting through a buffet of sounds
By their first birthday, babies are already fine-tuning their ears to the sounds of their native language in a process called perceptual attunement. Think of it like their brain sorting through a buffet of sounds to focus on the ones that matter most.

But in their first six months, babies can tell apart sounds from languages they’ve never even heard. For example, they might distinguish certain Hindi contrasts that are challenging for adult English speakers or identify unique tones in Mandarin, even if they’re growing up in an English-speaking household.

This incredible ability doesn’t last forever. Between six and 12 months, babies start narrowing their focus to the sounds they hear most often. For vowels, this fine-tuning kicks in at around six months while consonants follow at closer to ten months.

Think of it as babies zooming in on the sounds that matter, such as the difference between the “r” and “l” in English, while losing sensitivity to sounds they don’t hear regularly.

Until now, researchers thought this narrowing process was needed for babies to start learning more complex language skills, such as figuring out that the “b” in “bin” and the “d” in “din” differ because one is made with the lips and the other with the tongue tip.

But our study found babies as young as four months are already learning how sounds are physically made, long before this narrowing begins.

Father holding his baby in his lap, surrounded by toys.
In their first six months, babies can tell apart sounds from languages they’ve never even heard. Mila Supinskaya Glashchenko/Shutterstock
Learning mini-languages
Here’s an example to picture this. Imagine you’re listening to someone speak a language you don’t know. Even if you don’t understand the words, you might notice how their lips or tongue move to make sounds. Four-month-old babies can do this too.

To demonstrate this, we conducted an experiment with 34 babies, aged four to six months, whose parents had provided consent to participate. We created a “match-the-pattern” game using two made up mini-languages.

One language had words with lip sounds like “b” and “v”, while the other used tongue-tip sounds like “d” and “z”. Each word, like “bivawo” or “dizalo”, was paired with a cartoon image – a jellyfish for lip words and a crab for tongue-tip words. A recording of a word was played at the same time its paired image was shown.

Why cartoons? Because babies can’t exactly tell us what they’re thinking, but they can form associations in their brains. These images helped us see if the babies could link each mini-language to the correct picture.

After the babies learned these mini-languages and their picture pairings, we mixed things up...

Connecting the dots
In simple terms, this means four-month-old babies can connect the dots between sound and sight. This early ability to spot patterns in how sounds are made is the foundation for learning language later on. It’s like their brains are already laying the groundwork for saying their first words.

This discovery changes what we thought we knew about babies’ early language learning. It suggests babies start figuring out patterns at four months, well before they begin perceptually attuning to the sounds of their native language between six and 12 months.

That opens up exciting new possibilities for helping children who might struggle with speech or language. If we can help earlier, we might make a big difference.

These findings raise several interesting questions. For example, can babies learn other differences such as voicing – whether a sound is made with a buzzing vibration, like the difference between “b” (buzzing) and “p” (no buzzing) – as early as four months? How does growing up in a bilingual home affect this ability? Could babies use this skill to learn patterns in entirely new languages?

By exploring these questions, we’ll keep uncovering the amazing ways babies’ brains set the stage for learning one of the most complex human skills: language.
https://theconversation.com/babies-as-young-as-4-months-can-tell-how-the-sounds-of-different-languages-are-made-new-research-248225

City Hall, NY – Today, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Members, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), and community partners announced the launch of New York City’s first-ever Community Interpreter Bank and the Protect NYC Families initiative on the steps of City Hall. 

The NYC Community Interpreter Bank centralizes interpretation services available to immigrants across the five boroughs and will recruit, train, and dispatch interpreters to City-funded legal service providers, community navigation sites, and City Council offices. Interpreters fluent in the most commonly requested languages will help ensure that every immigrant in the city can access services and information in their preferred language. In Fiscal Year 2025, the Council allocated $1.4 million to initiate the Community Interpreter Bank. 

Through the Protect NYC Families initiative, the Council allocated over $2 million in funding to over 60 nonprofit organizations to provide more support for increased legal services, rapid response efforts, helplines, and critical community trainings. This new funding will allow providers to expand their capacity and respond to evolving challenges facing New York City’s immigrant communities. This funding comes as nonprofit providers continue to face overwhelming demand for services given escalating federal immigration enforcement and abrupt policy shifts. A list of organizations receiving funding can be found here in Chart 19. 

Photos can be found here, and the livestream of the press conference can be viewed here. 

“New York City is a proud city of immigrants, and we must support our city’s families from attacks by the Trump administration,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “The Council is proud to allocate more than $2 million in emergency funding for our Protect NYC Families Initiative, which will provide flexible funding for dozens of non-profit organizations that serve immigrant New Yorkers. We are also proud to celebrate the Council’s investments to create the city’s first Community Interpreter Bank, which will help ensure that services are available in the languages that residents speak. I thank my Council colleagues, the New York Immigration Coalition, and the many partner organizations whose work is critical to protecting and strengthening our city.”

 “Language interpretation services are a vital pillar of a healthy, thriving, and diverse New York City, for both new and long-term immigrants navigating complex systems in an unfamiliar language. The NYC Community Interpreter Bank ensures these individuals can access critical services in their preferred language while also creating a direct pipeline to employment for New Yorkers trained in interpretation,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition. “We are deeply grateful to the New York City Council and our partners for their vision and investment, recognizing the vital role of language access in fostering a more inclusive city.” 

A pivotal component of the Language Justice Collaborative’s “Language Access Workforce Initiative,” the NYC Community Interpreter Bank will create sustainable pathways for community members to gain certification and employment as interpreters to provide essential language services to limited English proficient (LEP) New Yorkers. The LJC is led by the NYIC, African Communities Together (ACT), Asian American Federation (AAF), Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP), and Masa. 

The second of its kind in the country, and the first in the state, the NYC Community Interpreter Bank will recruit interpreters from all over the city including from other worker-owned language cooperatives and interpreters who have completed CUNY Hostos interpreter certification courses. Eligible interpreters will either be contracted with one of the co-ops and certified by their cooperative or have completed Hostos Community College’s first-ever Community Interpreter Certification course. These interpreters will work as independent contractors, delivering vital language services across the city. 

Recognizing the diverse and growing immigrant population in New York City, the City Council allocated funding through the Language Access Workforce Initiative to establish the NYC Community Interpreter Bank in FY 2025. The investment acknowledges the vital role of language access in fostering a more inclusive city and addressing the unique challenges faced by asylum seekers arriving in unprecedented numbers. For more information on the Language Access Workforce Initiative and the NYC Community Interpreter Bank, visit www.languagejustice.nyc 

“The New York City Community Interpreter Bank will greatly expand language access to our vibrant immigrant communities, enabling people to more easily receive legal services from city-funded partners, receive translation services at community navigation sites, and get support from local City Council offices,” said Council Member Alexa Aviles, Chair of the Committee on Immigration. “Not only will translation services now be dispatched to meet people on site, this program will open up new job opportunities to multilingual New Yorkers. This, alongside the roughly $2 million in new funding that the Council is distributing across immigration service providers to expand their programs, will equip our immigrant neighbors with greater resources during a terrifying political moment. At a time when our communities are expressing need, the Council is being responsive in distributing funds to vulnerable community members. I’m proud to stand alongside immigration advocates in implementing these new initiatives. Together, we are re-affirming our status as a sanctuary city and protecting the millions of immigrants that make our city whole.” 

“Today, we’re taking steps to advance true language justice across the five boroughs with the launch of the first Community Interpreter Bank in New York City, an initiative that I’ve championed since my early days as an elected official,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “New York City is the most linguistically diverse city in the world, but for too long, we’ve relied on outsourcing translation and interpretation services, a model that has failed to meet the needs of our immigrant communities. Every New Yorker, regardless of the language they speak, deserves to be heard, understood, and included. This initiative will help transition our City’s lagging language infrastructure to a community-driven, comprehensive approach to language access. I’m especially excited to see the rollout of this program in immigrant neighborhoods like Kensington’s Little Bangladesh, where I grew up and now represent and the need for language access resources is particularly urgent.” 

“Immigrants have shaped New York City into a global beacon of hope and opportunity over the last 400 years and the City Council is committed to honoring that legacy,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “Deepened investments in immigration-related legal services ensures that every New Yorker, regardless of status, feels supported and protected as they navigate the court system. Our city will come together to defend our neighbors and challenge federal policies that restrict asylum or expand expedited removal.” 

“As we all know, this is a time of growing uncertainty and fear for many immigrant families,” said Council Member Sandra Ung. “With deportations on the rise and ever-changing immigration policies, it has never been more important to ensure that our communities have access to the resources and protections they need. No one should have to live in fear because they don’t have access to information or services in their own language. No family should be forced to face deportation proceedings without the legal representation they deserve. These initiatives represent the very best of what we stand for as a city, and the New York City Council is committed to supporting the community organizations working tirelessly to provide these essential services.” 

“New York City is a city of immigrants,” said Council Member Keith Powers. “This is a city where people travel from faraway places to pursue their dreams, where neighbors come from different countries, have different life experiences and speak different languages. That diversity is what makes New York so special; we learn from each other and create a rich cultural fabric by living side by side. Today the Council is amplifying that diversity and uplifting our immigrant communities, which is especially important in a time when so many of our neighbors are fearful of the rhetoric in our country. New York will always be a home for them, and we are committing to that again today.”

 “As a body, The City Council has stood firm in its support of our immigrant communities across the five boroughs,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson. “While legislation and advocacy are vital in improving the lives of millions of New Yorkers, these budget initiatives will deliver tangible change and work to protect some of our most vulnerable populations. Information is currency, and we must do everything we can to ensure every New Yorker has full access to available resources and services—including in the languages they speak. New York has always been a city for all, and I commend Speaker Adams, Deputy Speaker Ayala, and Council Member Aviles for standing firm for a more inclusive NYC.”

“At this critical juncture, there is an increased need for legal services and information dissemination as ICE spreads fear in our communities,” said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa. “Over a third of New Yorkers are immigrants, and it is our responsibility to invest in their safety. Through the Protect NYC Families initiative, the Council provides support to community organizations that have already been on the front lines fending for families against immoral policies such as NMIC in District 10. We will continue to denounce illegal and immoral acts pushed by the Trump agenda because New York City doesn’t bend to bullies.”

“Language accessibility is vital for the immigrant community, especially in these challenging times,” said Arlette Cepeda, Deputy Director, La Colmena. “Initiatives like the interpreter banks, led by immigrants themselves, are crucial. It’s not just about breaking language barriers; it’s about ensuring cultural competency as well. This initiative embodies that mission, with immigrants leading the way in interpretation because they understand firsthand the significance of this work.” 

“The Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP) is proud to be a part of the transformative Language Justice Collaborative,” said Elsie Saint Louis, CEO, Haitian Americans United for Progress. “Creating a Haitian language services worker cooperative empowers our community by combining economic opportunity with cultural preservation. This initiative ensures that Haitian Creole speakers can access essential services in their native language while contributing to a more inclusive and equitable New York City.”  

“It is an honor to be partnered with NYIC and all the member organizations of the Language Justice Collaborative, as this historic Community Interpreter Bank is launched in New York City,” said Camille Mackler, Executive Director, Immigrant-ARC. “Language access plays a vital role in enabling our immigrant community members to access effective legal representation and access to justice. We at I-ARC are grateful for the opportunity to further the organization’s mission as the interpreter bank initiative will allow those in our legal services provider network to access trained and certified interpreters in a wide array of languages which will be essential in the days ahead.” 

“Since its founding, Mixteca has been committed to breaking down language barriers for immigrant communities, particularly for indigenous language speakers who often face unique challenges accessing critical services,” said Lorena Kourousias, Executive Director, Mixteca Organization, Inc. “The launch of the NYC Community Interpreter Bank is a pivotal step toward ensuring that all New Yorkers, regardless of their native language, can navigate city systems with dignity and ease. We are proud to support this initiative and continue our advocacy for language access and cultural inclusion.” 

“Language access is not just a convenience—it’s a lifeline,” said Ahyoung Kim, Director of Economic Empowerment, Asian American Federation. “With 43% of Asian New Yorkers being limited English proficient, language access is the biggest challenge and barrier our communities face when using essential city services. The NYC Community Interpreter Bank is a transformative step in making sure that every New Yorker can access the resources they need, no matter what languages they speak. AAF welcomes the launch of this project, and is proud to be working with our partners on this critical effort to build a worker-owned cooperative for Asian language interpreters.”

“New York City’s beautiful diversity has been stifled by the significant barriers to language access, particularly for our communities who speak Languages of Limited Diffusion (LLDs),” said Maimouna Dieye, Program Manager, African Communities Together. “The NYC Community Interpreter Bank is a huge leap forward in our collective work to build a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient community here in New York City. African Communities Together looks forward to continuing to work closely with the city and partners to push forward more equitable solutions to language inaccessibility. 

“As we talk about language access, the City Council’s investment of $2M for the Protecting NYC Families Funding Initiative will be critical in equipping 60 community-based organizations to provide rapid response services to immigrant New Yorkers in various languages. For Asian New Yorkers, nearly half of whom have limited English proficiency, having access to accurate information, resources, and trainings in their native language will provide them with more choice and safety.

Maimouna Dieye continued, “Thank you to City Council leadership for this important investment. It’s a critical step in the right direction, and we urge City Council leadership to significantly expand funding to properly strengthen immigrant-serving organizations to build up their rapid response services so we can provide greater protections for all vulnerable immigrant New Yorkers.” 

“In just nine short days since the Inauguration, we have witnessed a relentless wave of executive actions aimed at mass deportations, retribution, and the destabilization of the rule of law,” said McGregor Smyth, Executive Director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “The human cost to immigrant New Yorkers will be devastating. Community-based organizations, nonprofits, faith institutions, and businesses serving or employing immigrants will form a crucial shield. However, these entities will also become direct targets of federal agencies conducting raids, suppressing advocacy, and cutting essential services to immigrants. With the leadership and expanded support from our allies in the City Council, nonprofit partners, and member law firms, NYLPI will provide urgent legal counsel to immigrant New Yorkers and establish a resource center and defense network for nonprofits, healthcare providers, and other entities serving or employing immigrant New Yorkers.” 

Same product, different name... From Walkers and Lay's to Lynx and Axe, what names do you know these famous brands by?

Why these 14 famous brands have multiple names

Anna Tobin

18 September 2024 10
Same product, different name

Some of the world's largest companies often rename their products to appeal to different markets, avoid conflicts, and even prevent awkward language mix-ups.

Burger King doesn't rule everywhere

While fast food joint Burger King is a staple of many towns and cities, not all of its restaurants go by that name.

If you're in Australia and fancy a Whopper, you'll have to head to a Hungry Jack's to get one. It shouldn't be too hard to find though – after all, the two companies have pretty similar burger-themed logos...

Burger King is Hungry Jack's Down Under

When Burger King entered the Australian market in 1971, another company was already using the name, meaning Burger King had to choose a different brand identity.

The business opted for Hungry Jack's and there are now more than 440 outlets Down Under. The now-iconic Aussie brand operates in every state and Hungry Jack's is the second-largest Burger King franchise in the world.

Don't always look for the KFC sign

Kentucky Fried Chicken is known as KFC all around the world. However, if you're looking to tuck into a bucket of the Colonel’s Original Recipe chicken in Quebec, Canada you'll need to keep your eyes peeled for a different set of initials.

In the Canadian capital, the chicken chain goes by the name Poulet Frit Kentucky, or PFK. The Colonel still rules the roost on the logo though.

KFC is Poulet Frit Kentucky in Quebec

The reason for the name change? The Office Québécois de la Langue Française, which is the Quebec government's language watchdog, insists that commercial brand names displayed in Quebec must include an element of French.

That explains why Kentucky Fried Chicken is known by its direct French translation, although rest assured the menu is still pure KFC.

Lay's chips or Walkers crisps?

American visitors to the UK won't find a packet of Lay's chips for love nor money – if they're looking for them under the brand name Lay's, that is.

In the UK they're sold under the brand name Walkers, with Brits referring to them as "crisps" rather than "chips", and the company's Leicester HQ reportedly produces more than 11 million packets every single day.

Brits say Walkers, Americans say Lay's

PepsiCo, the owner of Frito-Lay which manufactures Lay's chips, acquired British snack brand Walkers Crisps back in 1989.

PepsiCo is said to have considered renaming Walkers to Lay's but ultimately decided that such a radical change would damage consumer loyalty in the UK.

It's all in a letter for TJ Maxx

It might be known as TJ Maxx across the United States but in the UK, Europe, and Australia, the fashion and lifestyle discount store is better known as TK Maxx.

The logo is largely unchanged, however, and if you walk into a TK Maxx or TJ Maxx anywhere in the world, you'll struggle to tell the difference.

It's TK Maxx in the UK, Europe, and Australia

When TJX, the parent company of TJ Maxx, looked at expanding into the UK, it found that there was a retailer with a similar name already operating there: TJ Hughes.

As a result, TJX decided to switch its "J" for a "K", and TK Maxx was born. When the company expanded into mainland Europe and Australia, it opted to roll out the TK Maxx brand there too.

Axe got the axe in some countries

Men all around the world reach for Axe products when it comes to their personal grooming. However, the Unilever brand is not known under its Axe moniker in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and China.

Instead, if you're looking to purchase Axe products in these territories, you'll need to keep your eyes peeled for Lynx.

Lynx takes the place of Axe in certain places

Unilever first launched the Axe brand of male grooming products in France in 1983. However, trademark issues led Unilever to rename the brand to Lynx in the UK and other parts of the world. The names are still similar, kind of; both are single syllable and retain an "X", which wasn't an accident.

The product formulations are the same, with the famous "Lynx effect" perhaps sounding slightly more palatable than "the Axe effect"...

Rice Krispies swap their krispies for bubbles in Oz

Kellogg's popular breakfast cereal Rice Krispies has been known as Rice Bubbles in Australia and New Zealand since its launch in Australasia in the early 1930s.

Regardless of what you call it, the crisped rice cereal retains that all-important snap, crackle, and pop wherever you eat it – after all, the cereal is exactly the same the world over.

Look out for Rice Bubbles on Australian supermarket shelves

Of course, ardent fans know that Rice Krispies aren't just for breakfast. The cereal has long been used in recipes too: in the UK, kids love tucking into Rice Krispie treats, while their Australian counterparts adore Rice Bubble slices.

The reason for the cereal's name change is not known but, as in most instances, it's likely to have been the result of trademark issues.

The 3 Musketeers bar has a British alias...

You won't find a 3 Musketeers bar on supermarket shelves in the UK – but if you know what to look for, you'll find the exact same chocolate bar in the guise of a Milky Way.

Unlike many other renamed products, however, the Milky Way bar wrapper looks completely different to that of a 3 Musketeers bar.

But a Milky Way bar isn't called that in the US

To pull sugar-craving consumers into a galaxy of confusion, a Milky Way bar in America is what the Brits call a Mars bar.

And speaking of space-named chocolate bars, that brings us neatly on to...

Don't expect a bar of chocolate when you ask for Dove in the UK

Galaxy! Or Dove, as it's known in the US.

However, ask for some Dove in the UK or Ireland and you're more likely to be handed a bottle of shower gel or a bar of soap; after all, the personal care brand that goes by the same name is a staple in European households.

Dove chocolate bars are still available to buy in the UK and Ireland – they just go by the name of Galaxy.

Dove is Galaxy in Britain

Dove and Galaxy both started off as independent confectionery companies. Dove Candies & Ice Cream was Chicago-born in the 1950s, while Galaxy was a UK firm that first launched its sweet treats in the 1960s.

Global confectioner Mars Inc. acquired both brands and their product lines were slowly unified.

Although the design of both products' packaging is now almost identical, Brits still opted to stick with the familiar Galaxy brand name.

Good Humor causes brain-freeze overseas

If you find yourself craving an ice cream in the United States and Canada, you can expect to be greeted with a choice of Good Humor frozen treats.

Outside of North America, however, it's a whole different story. Unilever, the brand's parent company, has a host of regional names for its ice cream products, although that distinctive swirly heart logo is the same wherever you are in the world.

The ice cream that goes by many names

The Unilever division that looks after ice cream is called Heartbrand, and its products go by a variety of brand names depending on where you are in the world.

If you're looking for a Heartbrand ice cream in the UK, look for the name Wall's; in Australia and New Zealand, it's called Streets. In India, however, it's Kwality Wall's, while in Ecuador you'll need to ask for a scoop of Pingüino.

Vaseline has a Spanish alias
The petroleum jelly and other related skincare products in the Vaseline portfolio go by a different moniker in most of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world.

In Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Uruguay, for example, the brand is better known as Vasenol.

Reach for a pot of Vasenol in Spanish-speaking nations
Vaseline is the generic name for petroleum jelly in the majority of countries. However, as you can see, the packaging design is pretty much identical, whatever you call it.

Is it Olay or Olaz?
The Olay skincare brand originated in South Africa and was purchased by Procter & Gamble in 1985, with the goal of turning it international.

The aim was achieved but in order to succeed in certain territories, a name change was required.

Olaz is Olay in German
Initially, Procter & Gamble branded its newly-acquired Olay products as Oil of Ulay in the UK and Ireland, Oil of Olaz across mainland Europe, and Oil of Ulan in Australia.

Fast-forward to today and the "Oil of" part of the name has been dropped, with the brand identity standardised across most territories to simply Olay. In German-speaking countries, the brand is called Olaz.

You can't order a Diet Coke everywhere

Fancy a Diet Coke? You can't ask for it by that name in every country around the world.

"Diet" isn't the global go-to term to describe a product that's low in calories. In some territories, for example, you'll have to order a Coca-Cola Light if you want the low-cal option.

Different name, still the real thing

Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders, Brits, and the Irish all call it Diet Coke. Australians use the slightly longer name of Diet Coca-Cola.

However, the refreshing drink is known as Coca-Cola Light across mainland Europe, Malaysia, and Mexico, while in Sweden it's referred to as Light Coca-Cola.

The logo and branding are the same worldwide, however, so it's easy to spot the distinctive silver cans wherever you are.

Yoghurt but not as you know it

Danone yoghurt originated in Barcelona, Spain in 1919. In the early 1940s, the founder's son spotted an advertisement for a yoghurt factory that was up for sale in New York City.

In a bid to take the business international, he bought it, naming the new division Dannon Milk Products.

Dannon remains a US institution

It's thought the Dannon name was chosen for the US market as Americans found it hard to pronounce "Danone" correctly; according to reports, the name was frequently mispronounced as "Dan One".

Nowadays, however, the name Dannon is so closely associated with Danone's products in America that a name change is unlikely.

Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese gets renamed in Canada

Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese Dinner, or Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese as it's affectionately known, has been a household staple in America since its introduction in 1937.

Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese is also popular in Australia. Just across the American border in Canada, however, Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese has always been known more simply as Kraft Dinner.

Kraft Dinner becomes KD

More recently, Canadians took it upon themselves to personalise their Kraft's Mac 'N' Cheese further. With "Kraft Dinner" seemingly too much of a mouthful, they abbreviated the dish to just "KD".

The nickname is so well known that in 2015, Kraft's Canadian division decided to officially adopt it as the product's new name.

"Pour être distribué en Ukraine, l’album « Astérix le Gaulois » va être traduit par une étudiante ukrainienne à Paris, Anna-Maria Balandina, 18 ans seulement

Astérix et Obélix continuent de s’internationaliser. Un album de leurs aventures va en effet être traduit pour la première fois en ukrainien, 120e langue dans laquelle paraissent les Gaulois amateurs de potion magique, a annoncé mercredi l’éditeur de la célèbre bande dessinée.

« Avec cet ajout, Astérix reste la bande dessinée la plus traduite dans le monde avec désormais 120 langues et dialectes au compteur », ont indiqué les éditions Albert René.

Un hommage aux racines ukrainiennes de Goscinny
L’album choisi est tout simplement le premier, Astérix le Gaulois, de 1961. Il paraîtra chez Pinzel, éditeur ukrainien qui a également traduit Tintin. Et La traductrice est une étudiante ukrainienne à Paris, Anna-Maria Balandina, 18 ans seulement, lectrice d’Astérix depuis l’enfance.

« Nous rendons ainsi hommage aux racines ukrainiennes de René Goscinny, co-créateur d’Astérix avec Albert Uderzo », a affirmé le directeur général des éditions Albert René, Céleste Surugue. Le scénariste d’Astérix est issu d’une famille juive ashkénaze, celle de sa mère venant de l’actuelle Ukraine, tandis que celle de son père est de Varsovie en Pologne.

Le latin déjà au compteur
Parmi les 120 langues d’Astérix, on trouve bien entendu les plus parlées au monde, mais aussi le latin et des langues régionales, de France et d’ailleurs. Plus du quart de ces langues proviennent ainsi de pays germanophones, depuis l’alémanique jusqu’au viennois, en passant par le francique mosellan ou le sarrois."

https://www.20minutes.fr/arts-stars/culture/4136226-20250130-bande-dessinee-asterix-traduit-ukrainien-120e-langue-buveur-potion-magique
#metaglossia_mundus

"La suppression de l'alphabet cyrillique des espaces publics et des bâtiments au Kosovo est devenue plus fréquente au cours des deux dernières années. Ce phénomène, comme le dit le commissaire aux langues Slaviša Mladenović, ne concerne pas seulement l'alphabet, mais représente également un problème culturel et identitaire pour l'ensemble de la communauté serbe.

L'Association des journalistes de Serbie a discuté avec lui de la compétence du bureau du commissaire, de l'application de la loi sur l'usage des langues, ainsi que des plaintes concernant les violations de cette loi et a engagé des poursuites.

Les deux dernières années ont vu la suppression de l'alphabet cyrillique des espaces publics et des bâtiments au Kosovo et l'accent mis sur l'alphabet latin. Comment évaluez-vous actuellement la position de la langue serbe et de l’alphabet cyrillique au Kosovo ?

La position de la langue serbe et de l’alphabet cyrillique est actuellement problématique, car l’alphabet cyrillique est de plus en plus marginalisé dans l’espace public par les institutions du Kosovo. Ćirilica fait partie intégrante du patrimoine culturel serbe et sa préservation n'est pas seulement une question de droits du peuple, mais aussi de richesse et de diversité.

Je considère ce qui se passe actuellement comme dévastateur, et le silence et l'inactivité des représentants des institutions pour défendre l'alphabet cyrillique sont particulièrement dévastateurs pour moi, car cette défense ne doit pas se réduire au commissaire aux langues ou au déclaration d’un parti politique, mais cette lutte doit être plus active et engagée.

Que dit à ce sujet la loi sur l’usage de la langue ?

La loi sur l'usage de la langue ne garantit pas clairement l'usage de l'alphabet cyrillique. Il indique qu’il fait référence à la langue et à l’écriture serbes.

En raison de son imprécision, cette loi laisse une liberté d'interprétation à quiconque l'aurait violée au cours des deux dernières années. D’un autre côté, connaissant la doctrine juridique des institutions du Kosovo, ma position est que la loi ne définit pas l’alphabet latin comme une écriture serbe. De cette façon, ceux qui utilisent l’alphabet latin deviennent des contrevenants à la Loi.

En cas de violation de la loi, quelles sont les sanctions ?

Les sanctions sont prévues par l'établissement administratif du ministère de l'Administration publique, qui n'existe plus, mais a été intégré au ministère de l'Intérieur. Ces sanctions devraient être mises en œuvre par le ministère de l'Intérieur sur notre recommandation. Cela complique la possibilité de sanctions, car ceux qui enfreignent la loi devraient se punir sur notre recommandation.

Les sanctions sont certainement symboliques et je crois que ceux qui suppriment l'alphabet cyrillique paieraient volontiers une amende pour prouver leur « patriotisme » et lutteraient contre l'alphabet cyrillique.

Y a-t-il eu des consultations avec le bureau du commissaire lorsque les panneaux cyrilliques ont été retirés ?

Ce n'est pas le cas. Le plus souvent, nous n’apprenons de telles actions que par les médias ou après une sortie sur le terrain. En particulier, je pense que le remplacement des planches nous a pris au dépourvu.

La réaction était déjà trop tardive au moment où les panneaux étaient déjà installés. Le plus souvent, le Commissariat est contacté par des institutions telles que l'Agence d'enregistrement. Il existe également des organismes qui font vraiment leur travail et, si nécessaire, nous consultent avant d'adopter un nouveau document ou formulaire.

Il existe de nombreuses autres organisations et institutions qui mettent spontanément en œuvre une activité, sans plan ni consultation. Et puis ils déclarent qu’ils ont commis une erreur, mais que cette erreur est irréparable, car il n’y a plus d’argent dans le budget pour reprendre ces activités.

Et lorsque l'une de ces activités a été réalisée, c'est-à-dire lorsque les cartes topographiques ont été retirées, un autre problème s'est posé. L’inscription en serbe est écrite dans une police plus petite.

Les panneaux à l'entrée des villes sont au début, du moins en ce qui concerne les polices, ils étaient corrects. Le nom a d’abord été écrit en albanais, puis en serbe. Après cela, si je ne me trompe pas, des panneaux ont été placés indiquant "Bienvenue à Zvečan", où l'inscription en serbe a également été réduite à un autre endroit.

Bien entendu, nous avons réagi dans les deux cas. Nous avons envoyé une recommandation au ministère des Infrastructures et notre réaction est tout à fait claire. Dans ces cas, l'article de la Constitution traitant des questions communautaires est violé, qui stipule que les noms des colonies doivent être écrits dans les langues officielles dans un ordre qui respecte la composition ethnique de la population de cette colonie. J'ai paraphrasé la position de la Constitution, mais elle est très claire.

La première inscription doit être dans la langue de la communauté qui constitue la population majoritaire.

Et en tenant compte de tout cela, comment compareriez-vous la position de l'alphabet cyrillique et le respect de la loi sur l'usage des langues aujourd'hui par rapport aux années précédentes ?

Je ne comparerais pas la position de l'alphabet cyrillique, mais l'attitude des institutions du Kosovo à l'égard de l'alphabet cyrillique.

La position des institutions a toujours été claire et je ne pense pas qu'elle ait changé. La tendance à supprimer l’alphabet cyrillique est une constante. D’un autre côté, l’alphabet cyrillique en tant que tel ne devrait pas dépendre de l’attitude des institutions du Kosovo, mais de ceux d’entre nous qui utilisent l’alphabet cyrillique.

Je pense que nous devons investir davantage dans sa défense, car nous connaissons l’attitude de ceux qui voudraient supprimer l’alphabet cyrillique.

Et quel est le rôle du Commissariat dans la promotion de l'alphabet cyrillique ?

Nous ne sommes pas un institut de protection des langues, ni un promoteur de l'alphabet cyrillique ou latin. Le mandat du bureau est avant tout une langue en administration.

Et nous réagissons bien sûr à chaque fois que des cas comme ceux dont nous avons parlé surviennent. Il s'agit de panneaux placés par le ministère de l'Infrastructure ou de panneaux sur les institutions serbes qui ont été démontés dans le Nord. Bien sûr, nous réagissons à cela par le biais de nos fonctions officielles, c'est notre travail, mais nous nous occupons avant tout de l'usage de la langue dans les institutions. Et il s’agit dans une plus large mesure de processus administratifs, et dans une moindre mesure de processus comme la protection de l’alphabet cyrillique.

Combien de plaintes avez-vous reçues pour violation de la loi sur l’usage de la langue depuis le début de l’année ?

Depuis le début de l'année, je pense que nous avons reçu une quarantaine de plaintes. La plupart de ces plaintes sont résolues rapidement.

Après contact avec l’institution qui viole la loi, le problème est généralement résolu. Il existe cependant des problèmes que nous gardons encore en suspens, comme par exemple les panneaux de signalisation. Même là, certains cas ont été résolus. Disons, dans la municipalité de Štrpce, sur plainte du président de la municipalité lui-même.

Certains sont en train d'être résolus à Lipljan, suite à l'appel de l'avocate Jovana Filipović.

Combien de procédures ont été engagées ?

Chaque plainte initie une procédure, mais certaines plaintes sont regroupées par thèmes. Par exemple, nous avons reçu, je crois, quatre ou cinq plaintes concernant la signalisation routière. C'est un sujet pour nous.

Au cours de la conversation, certains cas de violations de la loi sur l'usage de la langue ont été mentionnés. Combien d’institutions respectent la loi sur l’usage de la langue ?

Très peu, vraiment. Chaque année, d'une manière ou d'une autre, nous essayons de souligner le succès de ces institutions à travers certaines activités telles que la remise de prix. Et il y a le plus souvent les communes de Štrpce et Gračanica. Il existe quelques autres municipalités à majorité albanaise, qui s'en sortent généralement bien.

Il existe également des institutions centrales qui mettent mieux en œuvre la loi sur l'usage des langues. Nous n’avons rencontré aucun cas de mise en œuvre idéale de la loi sur l’usage de la langue dans aucune institution.

Sur quoi d'autre faut-il attirer l'attention du public en cas de violations de la loi sur l'usage de la langue ?

Le public serbe doit également savoir que les représentants serbes sont peut-être également responsables de la position de la langue serbe et de l'alphabet cyrillique - par leur incapacité à agir sur les positions pour lesquelles ils se sont présentés et se sont battus avec passion. À partir de ces positions, ils n'ont jamais pris position sur la violation du droit d'utiliser la langue serbe, sauf dans certaines annonces.

Je pense qu'aucun de ceux qui violent nos droits n'a lu ces annonces. Pour protéger le droit d’utiliser la langue serbe, un engagement quotidien est nécessaire. Notre propre responsabilité est également très importante.

Il est naïf de dire : « Nous avons un mandataire, il va résoudre le problème ». Malheureusement, ce n’est pas ainsi que le problème est résolu."

The Polish Book Institute’s Found in Translation Award recognizes translators that built a bridge between Polish writers and English-speaking audiences to increase the international value of the Polish literary language.

Found in Translation Awards

English translations of foreign literature drive commercial success, amass international attention from literary communities, and serve as the launching off point for an author’s career.  The Polish Book Institute’s Found in Translation Award recognizes translators that built a bridge between Polish writers and English-speaking audiences to increase the international value of the Polish literary language. With nominations open until the end of January, this is a promising awards season for translations published during the 2024 year.

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Photo: Found in Translations Awards

Polish Book Institute

The Polish Book Institute seeks to promote Polish literature abroad, so translators feel emboldened to translate classic and contemporary works from Polish authors. In tandem with this objective, the institute works to shift the publishing perspective that foreign books are costly and do not provide as much of a return on their investment than authors from the English-speaking world. While the institute provides grants that cover significant financial costs embedded in publishing, they also finance sample translations to increase the frequency with which publishers are brought translations of Polish literature. The Polish Book Institute estimates that their financial support has made 3000 translations of Polish books available abroad to amplify these stories and humbly grow acclaim for Polish authors.

When the publishing process is said and done, the institute hosts the Found in Translation Awards to honor the best translation of Polish literature into English for the past calendar year. Founded in 2008, these awards provide recognition for the translator’s work in bringing Polish literature to a larger English-speaking audience as well as mentorship and financial support for future endeavors. This kind of support is vital for translators if they are to continue addressing the need for translations of Polish literature to increase its presence on best-seller lists. Though the award is not limited to classic or contemporary literature, many of the recipients won for translations of older source material.

Twice a Winner

Bill Johnston received the Found in Translation Award twice, once in 2008 and another in 2016 for his translation of poems by Tadeusz Różewicz and Twelve Stations by Tomasz Różycki respectively. Interestingly, Różewicz and Różycki did not lack literary translations of their work. By taking on the challenge of translating two beloved and immensely popular works, Johnston is aptly rewarded with both the Found in Translation Award and international recognition for his contributions to expanding the reach Polish literature has. With this observation, it becomes clear that the Found in Translation Award rewards translators based on new and innovative contributions to Polish literature, regardless of the existing translations of the original material. Johnston’s career highlights one of the many nuances that comes with translating, marketing, and publishing Polish literature to English-speaking audiences. Though Różewicz and Różycki have already been translated, translations are not static. Each subsequent translation injects new life and passion to the original, demonstrating the importance of exposure and endurance of these classics to global audiences. While the focal point of these two titles attracts American publishers due to its World War II subject matter, the British market favors Polish prose. In translating Różewicz’s poems and Różycki’s Twelve Stations, Johnston captured the interest of two distinct markets that rarely intersect in their publishing interests.

Haven’t I Seen You Before?

The decision-makers behind the Found in Translation Awards do not shy away from recognizing previous winners for future awards. Bill Johnston, Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Jennifer Croft, and Anna Zaranko have received the award twice for different titles. 2024’s recipient is a new face to the Found in Translation Award; Alissa Valles is a Dutch translator London-educated in Slavonic and East European Studies. Her translation of Firebird by Zuzanna Ginczanka combines uncollected poems and the entire contents of her book, On Centaurs. Similarly, the subject matter is oriented in the Holocaust and World War II yet its prose intentionally challenges audiences to confront their biases, a timely translation to captivate new audiences.

The nominations are open for the Found in Translation Awards until the end of January where candidates are nominated by a natural or legal Polish person. While the awards have recognized new translators, this year’s recipient could be a face from the circle of previous winners. While the awards promote new translations of Polish literature, many of the awarded translations are works from celebrated Polish writers, not new contemporary writers trying to breakthrough into the literary scene. Regardless, the Polish Book Institute celebrates translators at every stage of their career which makes its championship for translation of Polish literature even more enduring. The Polish Book Institute’s Found in Translation Award highlights the importance of publishing translations of classic and contemporary literature to increase the international value of the Polish language. This incentive and other Polish Book Institute programs make it possible for Polish books to reach global audiences and best-seller lists.

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References

• Alissa Valles. (n.d.). The Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/alissa-valles


• SAMPLE TRANSLATIONS ©POLAND. (n.d.). https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/grants,3,programs-of-the-book-institute,2,sample-translations-%C2%A9poland,16.html


• The ©Poland Translation programme. (n.d.). https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/grants,3,programs-of-the-book-institute,2,the-%C2%A9poland-translation-programme,15.html


• Mission. (n.d.). https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/about-us-contact,11,mission,41.html


• Reports. (n.d.). https://instytutksiazki.pl/en/polish-book-market,7,reports,18,polish-book-market-2024,52.html

Standard rates of diversification predict there should be many unrelated Indigenous languages on the mainland. But this is not the case.

New evidence confirms our Indigenous languages have a common source, but how they spread remains a mystery

Published: January 29, 2025 9.20pm SAST

 Mark Harvey, University of Newcastle, Robert Mailhammer, Western Sydney University

 

https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-confirms-our-indigenous-languages-have-a-common-source-but-how-they-spread-remains-a-mystery-242576

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Have you ever wondered how Australia’s many Indigenous languages relate to one another and how far back the connections go?

The Australian continent has been settled by Indigenous people for at least 50,000 years, but just how old are the languages spoken today and where did they originate? Our research provides some answers to these questions – and the answers throw up new and interesting puzzles.

There is a long-standing proposal that all the Indigenous languages of continental Australia come from one language, called Proto-Australian. This hypothesis is based on observations, going back to the 19th century, that many Indigenous languages show similarities in grammar and vocabulary.

However, without proper testing, it is not possible to know whether these similarities are best explained as inheritances from a single ancestor language or in some other way, such as borrowing, which would not require a single ancestor language.

Our recent research – the first evaluation of the Proto-Australian hypothesis – shows it is supported. Proto-Australian was most likely spoken about 6,000 years ago in the Top End of the Northern Territory. When it spread across mainland Australia it displaced all the other languages spoken before.

One big question is how this spread took place. Language spread is usually associated with population movements or economic and technological change. But there is no clear evidence for population movement or economic and technological change in the past 10,000 years.

This suggests we need to develop new models of how language spreads, and of Australian prehistory.

Language families

Relationships between languages are established by finding similar or shared words. Languages that share similar forms are members of a language family; languages that do not share those forms are not part of that family.

Language families can be grouped into hierarchies of mother and daughter language families. Within Australia, Proto-Pama-Nyungan (PPN), one of the daughter families of Proto-Australian is much more widespread than the others. It occupies 90% of the continent, the lighter area on Map 1.

 

Map 1. Author provided (no reuse)

The other daughter languages of Proto-Australian are called Non-Pama-Nyungan (NPN). Some of these form small families. Others, with no close relatives, are isolates, the white areas on Map 2.

 

Map 2. Author provided (no reuse)

The area with the most isolates has the greatest diversity. Within Australia, that area is the Top End. As a general principle, the area with the greatest diversity is the most likely homeland for a proto-language. Therefore, the Top End is the most likely homeland for Proto-Australian.

Though there is considerable diversity, we find similar words across both Proto-Pama-Nyungan and Non-Pama-Nyungan. In Proto-Pama-Nyungan, for example, the word for hand is marla. In Non-Pama-Nyungan languages, we find several variations:

Amurdak: mara

Bardi: marla

Gajirrabeng: marla

Ganggalida: marl

Gija: marla

Gooniyandi: marla

Kayardild: marl

Lardil: marl

Ngandi: mar

Nyulnyul: marl

Yawuru: marla

Finding similarities does not provide exact timelines for when the proto-language was spoken as a single language, but there are no reliable examples dating back more than 10,000 years.

Diversification is an inherent feature of language. With sufficient time all similarities will be lost. Given that the continent has been continuously occupied for at least 50,000 years, the prediction is that there would be many unrelated languages across Australia.

This prediction is borne out in two critical cases: Tasmania, which separated from the mainland 14,000 years ago, and the Tiwi Islands, which separated 6,000 years ago, thereby preventing language spread to either of these islands after these dates.

Neither the Tasmanian nor Tiwi languages are related to the mainland languages. This accords with the prediction from standard rates of language diversification that similarities should be lost.

Standard rates of diversification predict there should be many unrelated languages on the mainland. But this is not the case. This means that Proto-Australian must have spread continent-wide after the separation of the Tiwi Islands.

 

Mavis Kerinaiua puts up referendum posters in Wurrumiyanga on Bathurst Island last September. Neither the Tiwi or Tasmanian languages are related to the mainland languages. Neve Brissenden/AAP

A big question

Why and how one language spread with such a success is a big question. Accompanying language spread, there would usually be evidence of social change. This social change might be population increase or movement; it might be economic or technological change. But there is no direct evidence for this.

Hypotheses about population movements can be evaluated against genetic studies, while hypotheses about population increase or economic and technological change can be evaluated against the archaeological record.

There is considerable variation in the genetics literature, but no suggestion of significant changes in the last 10,000 years.

One theory is that there was a single founding population, which differentiated between 33,000 and 10,000 years ago, with gene flow from the north-east to much of the rest of the continent during the last 10,000 years.

Another theory proposes a founding group at 50,000 years ago, which spread rapidly to all coastal areas by 45,000 years ago. This rapid spread was followed by ongoing in-situ diversification, with no evidence for significant population movements.

Yet another theory proposes divergence 26,000-35,000 years ago, with little evidence of migration.

There are also differing interpretations of the archaeological record. Variation in climate may have had effects on population levels, with significant increases during the last 10,000 years. But while the evidence supports significant fluctuations in land use over the last 10,000 years in various regions, it has also been argued that the evidence does not generally support either synchronised continent-wide fluctuations or unidirectional change.

The one example of a continent-wide change that offered an economic advantage was the introduction of the dingo 4,000-8,000 years ago. But it is very unlikely that one economic change would lead to continent-wide language replacement. Further, dingoes are native to the Tiwi Islands, suggesting that the spread of the dingo does not correlate with the spread of Proto-Australian.

 

Dingoes on K'gari. PR HANDOUT/AAP

A final puzzle is that language spread does not automatically lead to a total eclipse of pre-existing languages. In Europe, where Indo-European languages spread through trade and military might, some languages from before that time are still around – Basque and Sámi, for example. There are also traces of older languages in words and place names.

But in mainland Australia, there are only languages that are daughter languages of Proto-Australian. That is quite unusual. Therefore, we have a good question, but no good answers, which means our models need revision.

Le premier bloc de ce programme est imposé à tous les étudiants qui s’y inscrivent pour la première fois. Une fois que l’étudiant a franchi ce premier cap, il définit lui-même la suite du parcours en agençant les unités d’enseignement obligatoires et optionnelles du programme.

Détails:

Programme de bachelier en traduction et interprétation

 Horaire de jour  180 crédits  3 années
 Niveau 6 du Cadre de certification européen (EQF)  Référentiel de compétences
 Stage : non  Travail de fin de cycle : non  Séjour d'échange : oui 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qu'est-ce que la traduction et l'interprétation ?

La traduction est la transposition d’un texte écrit dans une langue de départ, appelée la langue source, vers une autre langue, la langue cible.

Les contenus à traduire peuvent être, par exemple :

• des textes techniques ou scientifiques comme un mode d’emploi, une notice pharmaceutique ou un brevet,


• des textes artistiques comme un roman, un scénario ou les sous-titres d’un film,


• des textes de communication comme une annonce publicitaire ou un communiqué de presse,


• des textes juridiques comme un contrat ou le jugement rendu par un tribunal.

L’interprétation est la restitution orale de ce qui a été dit par un intervenant dans une autre langue. En raison du cadre dans lequel elle se pratique, l’interprétation de conférence se distingue de l’interprétation communautaire.

L’interprétation de conférence comprend :

• L’interprétation simultanée est l’interprétation d’un discours à mesure qu’il se déroule : l’interprète, en cabine, traduit en même temps que l’orateur parle, et le public dans la salle l’entend grâce à des écouteurs.


• L’interprétation consécutive est l’interprétation d’un discours, segment par segment, l’interprète intervenant immédiatement après l’orateur, sans équipement technique. L’interprète retransmet l’intervention aux participants en s’appuyant sur des notes prises selon une technique personnelle.

L’interprétation communautaire est l’interprétation d’entretiens entre un groupe restreint d’orateurs/de participants, l’interprète intervenant après chaque prise de parole de l’un des interlocuteurs. Ce type d’interprétation se pratique dans un contexte plus ou moins confidentiel, des réunions internes ou des négociations discrètes, par exemple.

 

 

Structure

 

Depuis septembre 2014, un nouveau décret définit le paysage de l’enseignement supérieur et modifie l’organisation académique des études.

Premier cycle : Bachelier - 180 crédits

Le programme d’études de bachelier (ou premier cycle) comporte des unités d’enseignement, obligatoires ou optionnelles, correspondant à un total de 180 crédits. Il est présenté en blocs annuels de 60 crédits.

Le premier bloc de ce programme est imposé à tous les étudiants qui s’y inscrivent pour la première fois. Une fois que l’étudiant a franchi ce premier cap, il définit lui-même la suite du parcours en agençant les unités d’enseignement obligatoires et optionnelles du programme. Il doit choisir un ensemble cohérent d’unités d’enseignement validé par les autorités académiques. Certaines unités d’enseignement doivent être acquises préalablement (prérequis), d’autres doivent être suivies en parallèle (corequis).

Le grade de bachelier universitaire est un grade de transition. Il donne accès aux masters.

Le programme de bachelier en traduction et interprétation est construit sur trois piliers :

• les unités d’enseignement en langue française : la traduction et l’interprétation s’effectuent le plus souvent de la langue étrangère vers le français, langue maternelle. Ce travail exige donc une maîtrise parfaite du français.


• les unités d’enseignement en langues étrangères : l’objectif est d’acquérir une connaissance très poussée d’au moins deux autres langues que la langue française.


• les unités d’enseignement de formation générale : le métier de traducteur/ interprète exige une culture générale solide, de niveau universitaire, afin de pouvoir traduire correctement des textes (conférences, débats...) spécialisés.

Université panafricaine (UPA): Appel à candidatures aux postes de professeurs vacataires - Cursus: Gouvernance et intégration régionale (Yaoundé) et Traduction, interprétation, langues transfrontalières et communication interculturelle (Buéa)

"...L'Université panafricaine, Institut de gouvernance, sciences humaines et sociales lance par la présente un appel à candidature pour les professeurs vacataires en vue de l'enseignement/recherche aux niveaux Master et Doctorat en Gouvernance et intégration régionale (centre de Yaoundé) et Traduction, interprétation, langues transfrontalières et communication interculturelle (Centre de Buea) pour le compte de l'année académique 2025/2026..."
>>>
https://pau-au.africa/news-events/news/news-detail?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=473&cHash=10bf423fa316fb2b89ef7b2bb6e0f42e

#metaglossia_mundus

The podcast below begins with a brief clip of the celebrated Israeli writer S.Y. Agnon reading one of his stories. In the conversation that follows, Curt Leviant—a novelist, translator of Hebrew and Yiddish fiction, and professor—tells the story behind that recording to Jeffrey Saks, and describes his own encounters with Agnon, his friendship with the great Yiddish novelist Chaim Grade, his approach to translation, and much else. (Audio, 1 hour.)

Apply for the 2025 Literary Translator-in-Residence Fellowship at the University of Galway. Focus on translating contemporary Irish literature. Applications are due by 30th January 2025.

"The Emily Anderson Centre for Translation Research and Practice at the University of Galway, in partnership with Literature Ireland, is offering a Literary Translator-in-Residence Fellowship for 2025.

This five-week fellowship is open to literary translators working on contemporary Irish literature in Irish or English, translating into any European language. The residency includes travel to Ireland, accommodation in Galway, and a per diem.

Fellows will have access to University library resources, interact with academic staff, and engage with the university community.

Applicants should submit a translation proposal, CV, publishing contract, and sample of the translation-in-progress by 6 PM (UTC) on 30th January 2025. The residency will begin in Spring 2025.

See link below for further details."

https://journalofmusic.com/listing/27-01-25/2025-literary-translator-residence
#metaglossia_mundus

Concours de traduction « Prix lycéen de la traduction francophone 2025 »
La traduction : un peu, beaucoup, passionnément...
"L’École de traducteurs et d’interprètes de Beyrouth et l’Institut français du Liban organisent la 8e édition du concours de traduction « Prix lycéen de la traduction francophone 2025 », adressé exclusivement aux élèves de première et de terminale (âge : 16 ans minimum en juin 2025) des établissements labellisés des réseaux CELF, CELFA et LFE.

Ce concours de traduction de l’arabe vers le français ou du français vers l’arabe aura lieu le jeudi 6 février 2025 de 16 h 30 à 18 h 30 à l’ETIB (CSH-Beyrouth), dans les Campus régionaux de l’USJ à Saïda, Tripoli et Zahlé ainsi que dans l’une des antennes de l’Institut français du Liban à Jounieh et Deir El Qamar.

L’inscription au concours est obligatoire et s’effectue en ligne dans Google Chrome sur ce lien. (https://forms.office.com/r/UtMsk2huuR)

Consultez les Conditions de participation. PLTF_2025 - Conditions de participation.docx

Dernier délai d’inscription : 28 janvier 2025 à midi.

Prix

Un séjour linguistique et culturel en France en juillet 2025 offert aux deux lauréats : le garçon et la fille qui proposeront la meilleure traduction.
Les lauréat.e.s du 2e au 4e prix recevront des lots de valeur.
Les lauréat.e.s et les finalistes recevront une attestation ainsi qu’un abonnement d’un an à la médiathèque de l’antenne de l’IFL la proche de leur lieu de résidence."

https://www.usj.edu.lb/news.php?id=15646

"“It is essential to embrace the need for three languages: a regional language, a career language, and one’s mother tongue, especially to thrive in a metro city. This equips individuals with the tools to connect with their roots while also preparing them for global opportunities.” Mukunda’s comments come at a time when debates over language policies in India remain contentious. His remarks aimed to balance linguistic pride with pragmatism, stressing that embracing multiple languages can strengthen the cultural and professional fabric of the nation..."

Read more at:
https://organiser.org/2025/01/28/275525/bharat/reapproach-the-three-language-formula-mother-regional-career-language-rss-saha-sarakaryavah-mukunda-cr/
#metaglossia_mundus: Cf. Tadadjeu's "extensive trilingualism" model.

"Can a computer learn a language the way a child does? A study published in Computational Linguistics by professors Katrien Beuls (University of Namur) and Paul Van Eecke (AI Lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) sheds new light on this question.

"Children learn their native language by communicating with the people around them in their environment. As they play and experiment with language, they attempt to interpret the intentions of their conversation partners. In this way, they gradually learn to understand and use linguistic constructions. This process, in which language is acquired through interaction and meaningful context, is at the core of human language acquisition," says Beuls.

"The current generation of large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, learns language in a very different way," adds Van Eecke.

"By observing vast amounts of text and identifying which words frequently appear together, they generate texts that are often indistinguishable from human writing. This results in models that are extremely powerful in many forms of text generation—such as summarizing, translating, or answering questions—but that also exhibit inherent limitations.

"They are susceptible to hallucinations and biases, often struggle with human reasoning, and require enormous amounts of data and energy to build and operate."

The researchers propose an alternative model in which artificial agents learn language as humans do—by engaging in meaningful communicative interactions within their environment. Through a series of experiments, they demonstrate how these agents develop linguistic constructions that are directly linked to their surroundings and sensory perceptions. This leads to language models that:

Are less prone to hallucinations and biases, as their language comprehension is grounded in direct interaction with the world.
Use data and energy more efficiently, resulting in a smaller ecological footprint.
Are more deeply rooted in meaning and intention, enabling them to understand language and context in a more human-like manner.
"Integrating communicative and situated interactions into AI models is a crucial step in developing the next generation of language models. This research offers a promising path toward language technologies that more closely resemble how humans understand and use language," the researchers conclude."

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-fundamental-ai-language-result-effective.html
#metaglossia_mundus

"27 January 2025: PEN International’s Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee (TLRC) is thrilled to announce the 5th Indigenous and Minoritised Languages Video Poems Marathon, running from 21 February 2025 (International Mother Language Day) to 21 March 2025 (World Poetry Day).

 

This initiative celebrates the diversity of linguistic communities and literary works that are often overlooked. Every new poem created in a minoritised language revitalises that language and empowers its artists. By sharing these poems alongside others in similar linguistic situations, we contribute to a global tapestry of voices, strengthening cultures too often deprived of visibility.

 

Over the past four years, we have collected more than 200 poems in around 140 languages worldwide. Now, it’s your turn to join this vibrant movement!

 

How to Participate

 

Poem Requirements:

 

Read or recite by the author only in the original language.

 

Recorded horizontally (panoramic mode).

 

Duration: 30 seconds to 1 minute (maximum 1.5 minutes).

 

No editing or post-production – just the poet and the poem.

 

Ensure clear audio to highlight the beauty of the language.

 

Text Requirements:

 

Submit the poem text with translations (ideally side-by-side).

 

If the poem isn’t in the Latin alphabet, include a transcription.

 

Add a brief context about the language (250 characters).

 

Technical Specifications:

 

Video resolution: 1920 x 1080.

 

Send the original files via platforms like Drive, WeTransfer, or Dropbox to pen.tlrc@gmail.com.

 

The deadline is 14 February 2025, but we encourage you to contact PEN International TLRC as soon as possible.

 

Can Centres in Non-Minoritised Languages Participate?

 

Yes. While this space is reserved for poets in minoritised languages, there are meaningful ways to contribute:

 

Collaborate Locally: Invite poets from minoritised or indigenous communities in your region to participate and build new relationships.

 

Translate: Help translate poems into your language or create subtitles to amplify their reach. The TLRC will add subtitles, and your Centre can use these translations in its activities.

 

For questions or further details, contact PEN International TLRC at pen.tlrc@gmail.com."

 

 

https://www.pen-international.org/news/5th-indigenous-and-minoritised-languages-videopoems-marathon

#metaglossia_munduss 

Poco a poco, a los miembros de las comunidades lingüísticas ya no les faltan iniciativas para promover las lenguas locales. Ya está disponible un diccionario ewé-francés para impulsar el aprendizaje de lenguas en África Occidental.

Más de 7,5 millones de hablantes comparten la lengua ewé en Ghana, Togo y Benín.

Escrito porJean Sovon

Traducido porGabriela García Calderón Orbe

Lee artículo en Malagasy, Français

Traducción publicada el 10/01/2025

 

Kuizian Atitso Baba, autor del diccionario Ele nam be mado Eʋəgbə. Captura de pantalla del canal de VOA Afrique en YouTube.

En África Occidental, un nuevo diccionario francés-ewe ya está disponible para facilitar e impulsar el aprendizaje de esta lengua que se habla principalmente en Togo.

La lengua ewé forma parte de la familia de lenguas nigero-congolesas, y se hable en Ghana, Togo y Benín. Tiene más de 7,5 millones de hablantes en esos tres países que comparten numerosas tradiciones culturales. En Togo, donde una proporción muy grande de la población habla ewé, la lengua tiene condición oficial de lengua nacional, inscrita en la Constitución desde 1975. Pero la integración de la lengua en el sistema educativo sigue siendo imperfecta.

Leer más: ¿Cuál es la lengua local más hablada de Togo?

El diccionario apareció en el primer semestre de 2024 con el título de Ele nam be mado Eʋəgbə (Debo expresarme en ewé, o Debo hablar ewé) y es una obra de 562 páginas que contienen 120 000 palabras y expresiones. Kuizian Atitso Baba es el autor togolés de esta gran obra lingüística que permite a toda la comunidad hablante de ewé reforzar la lectura, la escritura y la comprensión de esta lengua materna ante otras lenguas presentes en el país, como el francés.

Kuizian también quiere contribuir con una enseñanza profesional de ewé en el sector educativo de la región. Global Voices lo entrevistó por Whatsapp, y explicó el origen de esta iniciativa y reveló proyectos para reposicionar al ewé entre las lenguas locales en África.

Jean Sovon (JS): ¿Desde cuándo la lengua ewé está codificada por escrito? ¿Está activamente presente en forma escrita en la sociedad togolesa?

• Traducción

 

• Cita original

Kuizian Atitso Baba (KAB): Según la información que he recopilado, la fonética ewé la comenzaron en 1847 los comerciantes alemanes que se establecieron en Anlo, en los alrededores de la ciudad de Keta, en la región del Volta, al sur de Ghana. Pero fue en 1891 cuando los alemanes J. Knùsli, Schlegel y Westermann iniciaron el estudio y la codificación del ewé, en colaboración con los ewé de Anlo. Este trabajo condujo a la traducción de la Biblia al ewé. Desgraciadamente, desde entonces, los trabajos lexicológicos y fonológicos en ewé han quedado incompletos.

JS: ¿Cómo surgió este diccionario? ¿Es un trabajo de equipo? ¿Existían otros diccionarios monolingües o bilingües? ¿Habrá una versión en línea?

• Traducción

 

• Cita original

KAB: El punto de partida de la elaboración del diccionario francés-ewé fue la constatación de que la lengua de una comunidad es aquello con lo que se identifica. Si una lengua se estudia, se habla y se escribe, se desarrolla e integra nuevas palabras en su léxico. No es el caso del ewé, la lengua del pueblo ewé. ¿Por qué, desde los trabajos lexicológicos y lexicográficos sobre el ewé de los alemanes, la investigación lexicográfica y, sobre todo, fonética del ewé ha quedado incompleta y no se ha centrado en la técnica, la tecnología, la ciencia y la economía, palancas por excelencia del desarrollo de un país?

La elaboración del diccionario francés-ewé fue un trabajo de colaboración. Además de las personas de referencia que conocí durante mis viajes para recopilar y estudiar palabras, vocablos, términos técnicos y expresiones idiomáticas del ámbito cultural ewé, me beneficié de la estrecha colaboración del profesor Joseph Koffi Nutәƒe TSIGBE y del decano Gédéon ASI, con los que se creó el instituto ewé llamado Instituto de Investigación en Comunicación para el Desarrollo Endógeno, y de la colaboración de mi esposa Akoele Aziakor.

Mucho antes de la publicación de mi obra, ya se habían publicado diccionarios bilingües: Wörterbuch der Eẇe-Sprache: Éẇé Deutsch Eẇé Wörterbuch (Diccionario de la lengua ewé: Diccionario ewé-alemán-ewé) publicado en 1905 por D. Westermann; Dictionnaire Français-Éwé Togo publicado por K. Adzomada; Dictionnaire Éwé-Français escrito por el lingüista francés Jacques Rongier.

Hasta la fecha, no existe ningún diccionario monolingüe ewé. Y, por el momento, no hay planes para una versión en línea del diccionario francés-ewé.

Sin embargo, se está creando un sitio web para promover la lengua ewé a través del aprendizaje en línea.

Leer más: Iniciativas digitales destacan uso de lenguas nacionales en Togo

En este reportaje, Kuizian Atitso Baba habla también de la iniciativa del equipo de VOA Afrique.

JS: ¿Quiénes serán los principales usuarios de este diccionario?

• Traducción

 

• Cita original

KAB: Este diccionario francés-ewé se dirige principalmente a los altos funcionarios togoleses y a los hablantes de ewé togoleses en el extranjero. Prácticamente, no existen manuales de ewé en las librerías y bibliotecas. Los equivalentes en ewé de algunas disciplinas como filosofía, ingeniería, literatura, matemáticas, aritmética, y términos como magistrado, notario, no existen en los manuales o documentos raros. Como consecuencia, las lenguas extranjeras están alienando a los hablantes de ewé, lo que crea un abismo entre la élite de la alta administración togolesa y sus comunidades de origen, por un lado, y entre los hablantes nativos de ewé que se han establecido o han nacido en el extranjero y sus comunidades de origen, por otro.

JS: La iniciativa ha recibido apoyo de las autoridades educativas del país? ¿Cuál es la siguiente etapa?

• Traducción

 

• Cita original

KAB: La iniciativa fue recibida con satisfacción por Victoire Tomegah Dogbé, primera ministra, a quien se presentó oficialmente el libro durante una audiencia que concedió a su autor el 8 de mayo de 2024.

Los trabajos de revisión de la obra se han reanudado con vistas a la próxima publicación de una edición revisada. La edición revisada del diccionario incorporará nuevas palabras y expresiones sugeridas por los usuarios del diccionario francés-ewé. Paralelamente a la próxima edición revisada, se está trabajando en un diccionario bilingüe ewé-francés y en un diccionario monolingüe de ewé.

Leer más: Escena musical togolesa se integra a la globalización sin abandonar sus raíces

JS: ¿La lengua se mantiene entre los hablantes en el extranjero?

• Traducción

 

• Cita original

KAB: A pesar de que prácticamente no existen libros de texto en ewé, sus hablantes nativos que viven en el extranjero siguen hablando ewé, aunque no hay palabras o expresiones equivalentes a las del francés, el inglés o el alemán.

Como prolongación de su compromiso con promover la lengua ewé en todo el mundo, el autor ha asumido otra misión: publicar un manual de gramática y ortografía ewé. Esta segunda obra está destinada a facilitar el aprendizaje de la lengua ewé y su uso profesional.

La traduction, une activité à haute valeur ajoutée

Le collectif En chair et en os, défendant une traduction humaine et développant un discours technocritique sur la prétendue "traduction automatique", a lu avec attention la charte IA ("intelligence artificielle") dont s'est récemment doté Médiapart.

Le collectif salue l'effort de transparence du journal, et souligne que la charte témoigne d'une conscience des dangers (sociaux, écologiques, politiques) de l'usage de l'IA générative (IAg). Néanmoins, nous nous étonnons de la large concession exprimée dans un article de la charte, ironiquement intitulé "Donner la priorité à l'humain" : "L’IA peut toutefois être utilisée notamment pour permettre aux salarié·es de Mediapart de travailler plus efficacement (retranscription d’entretiens sonores, traduction de textes, résumés d’articles…), afin de pouvoir consacrer davantage de temps à des tâches ayant une haute valeur ajoutée."

Que les journalistes de Mediapart se consacrent à "des tâches ayant une haute valeur ajoutée" est évidemment essentiel. Mais la traduction humaine peut-elle décemment être présentée comme "à faible valeur ajoutée", quand, d'une part, elle suppose un très haut niveau de qualification et un effort permanent de formation continue, et que, d'autre part, elle seule permet d'éviter les biais "sexistes, raciaux, linguistiques, Nord/Sud, etc." dûment cités en préambule de la charte ? On rappelle en outre que, dans un monde où la traduction sera déléguée à la machine et où l'on cessera de former des traducteurices, il n'y aura plus personne pour évaluer la qualité de la traduction machine. Il est donc capital de continuer à faire appel à des traducteurices humain.es pour épauler les journalistes dans leur propre travail à haute valeur ajoutée. L'organisation sociale de la profession permet sans difficulté l'embauche rapide et efficace de personnes très qualifiées. 

L'usage de la traduction automatique n'est pas moins dramatique écologiquement et socialement que tous les autres usages de l'"IA générative", et il n'y a donc pas de raison qu'un journal conscient de ces enjeux fasse une exception pour la traduction. En outre, il est permis de se demander comment cette concession de Mediapart pour le domaine de la traduction est compatible avec les autres articles de la charte, en particulier "Ne pas nourrir l'IA aux dépens des auteur.es". Faire traduire un texte (littéraire ou pragmatique) par l'IA, c'est s'appuyer sur des données dont l'origine n'est jamais explicitée et dont l'usage contrevient très souvent au droit d'auteur. Certes, l'article précise vouloir s'appuyer sur "des outils et des modèles qui prennent en compte des questions clés telles que l’autorisation, la transparence et la juste rétribution des auteur·es." En termes clairs, cela veut dire que les modèles d'IAg susceptibles d'être utilisés par Mediapart auraient recours à la "compensation", système où les auteurices accepteraient l'exploitation de leurs œuvres en échange d'une compensation financière dont le calcul reste à déterminer, mais dont il est à craindre que, comme ce qui a eu lieu pour la musique avec les plateformes de streaming, il soit violemment inégalitaire et injuste. Aucun modèle n'a pour l'instant mis en œuvre cette compensation, et les traducteurices continuent de s'opposer massivement à sa mise en place.

Nous nous tenons à disposition de Mediapart pour en discuter : d'autres modèles sont possibles, à coûts économiques constants et aux bénéfices sociaux, énergétiques, anthropologiques évidents. 

"Cultural intelligence (CQ) and intercultural competence are increasingly recognized as essential skills in today's globalized world, particularly in educational settings. These concepts refer to the ability to understand, respect, and effectively interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Recent research has explored various methods to enhance these competencies among students, particularly through innovative educational programs and cross-cultural experiences.

Recent Research
One significant area of research focuses on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), which connects students from different countries to work on projects together. A study measuring the effectiveness of COIL found that students in the United States showed a significant increase in their intercultural competence compared to those who did not participate in such programs. This suggests that engaging in international collaboration can effectively enhance students' cultural intelligence and understanding of diverse perspectives.

Another study examined the role of communication competencies in fostering effective cross-cultural interactions. It emphasized the importance of understanding cultural differences in communication styles, which can lead to misunderstandings if not properly addressed. The research highlighted that being culture-literate can significantly improve communication efficiency, especially in contexts aligned with the United Nations' sustainable development goals.

Additionally, research in the context of sales has shown that cultural intelligence contributes positively to adaptive selling behaviors in cross-cultural environments. This study indicated that customer qualification skills mediate the relationship between cultural intelligence and effective selling, with gender playing a moderating role in this dynamic. This finding underscores the practical applications of cultural intelligence beyond education, extending into professional settings.

Short-term study abroad programs have also been a focus of research, with a systematic review revealing mixed outcomes regarding their effectiveness in promoting intercultural competence. While these programs are popular, the review pointed out methodological weaknesses in existing studies, suggesting a need for more robust research designs to better understand their impact.

Finally, in the hospitality industry, stakeholder perceptions of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) have been explored. This research highlighted the varying insights among faculty, students, and industry professionals regarding the attributes of ICC education. The findings suggest that there is a need for tailored curriculum development to enhance ICC knowledge and practice among students and professionals in the hospitality sector..."

https://www.nature.com/research-intelligence/cultural-intelligence-and-intercultural-competence-in-education

Amidst cultural blunders from all corners of the globe, 'CQ' is perhaps the most overlooked ingredient for global business success

"We’ve all heard stories of cringe-worthy cultural faux pas in the world of business. It could be a Western business executive who accepts a business card from a Japanese counterpart and proceeds to put it in his back pocket — an action that is seen as highly offensive in Japan. Or a male executive travelling to an Islamic country who reaches out to shake hands with a woman who is wearing a hijab — which is considered, to say the least, inappropriate.
It’s not just individual executives who are subject to such cultural errors. Large, sophisticated multinationals are not immune. In 2018, Dolce & Gabbana posted three videos on Chinese social media to promote its latest fashion show. The videos showed Asian women dressed lavishly in D&G clothing eating pizza, spaghetti and cannoli with chopsticks. At the same time, a voice could be heard mispronouncing English words in a way that mocked the Chinese way of speaking. While the ads were removed within 24 hours, the blowback was intense...
Elsewhere, Walmart has faced difficulties in its German operations. The company required its sales associates to smile at customers — a practice that had always worked well in the North American context. What they didn’t realize is that this practice makes German shoppers feel extremely uncomfortable, because in their culture, smiling at a stranger is viewed as flirting. Walmart also had to drop its famous "Give me a W" chant during morning meetings at its German operations. As one union representative put it: “People found the practice very strange. Germans just don’t behave that way.”
There are also endless examples of companies making blunders by not thinking through translations of their marketing slogans and product names across cultures. The marketing of Italian mineral water Traficante became an instant hit in the Spanish underground, as the name translates into “drug dealer.” In China, the famous KFC “Finger Lickin’ Good” campaign became “Eat Your Fingers Off.” And the American Dairy Association’s “Got Milk?” campaign translated into Spanish as, “Are You Lactating?” Perhaps most egregiously, Ford Motor Company’s “Every Car Has a High-Quality Body” campaign translated into “Every Car Has a High-Quality Corpse.”
A lack of understanding and sensitivity to cross-cultural differences have cost companies dearly, both in direct financial costs and in terms of reputational capital. And this is set to grow as cross-cultural business collaborations continue to increase...
Understanding culture has been compared to an iceberg: the majority of what constitutes a culture is located below the waterline, undetectable to the human eye. Yes, culture includes objectively observed features like food, language, dance, art, music, games and sports. But it extends far beyond observable features to include perceptions, beliefs, roles, social expectations, behaviour and values."
https://www.forbesindia.com/article/rotman/cultural-intelligence-the-skill-of-the-century/95138/1

By richard gunderman

William Tyndale’s heroic efforts to translate the Bible planted the seeds for a new age of liberty.

The year 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of perhaps the most momentous literary event in the history of the rule of law and the promotion of personal liberty. It was in the year 1525 that William Tyndale, working in the German city of Cologne, began publishing portions of his English translation of the New Testament. When we think of the origins of modern democracy, we often think of theorists such as Locke and Montesquieu and Founders such as Jefferson and Madison, but it was Tyndale’s contributions that may have done the most for self-rule, while also shaping the English language more profoundly than even William Shakespeare.

Tyndale was born in England around 1494 and studied at Oxford University, becoming fluent in eight languages, including Greek and Hebrew, over the course of his life. After additional study at Cambridge, he took a position as a tutor to a wealthy family’s offspring, a period during which he began to quarrel with members of the religious establishment. Told by one clergyman that people would be better off without God’s laws than the Pope’s, Tyndale responded, “If God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the plowboy to know more of the scriptures than you do.”

The English reformer was powerfully influenced by his German contemporary Martin Luther, who promoted what came to be called “the priesthood of all believers.” Luther argued that each person can and should encounter both God and the scriptures for himself, declaring for example that “if a group of pious laymen were taken captive and set down in a wilderness, and had among them no consecrated priest, but agreed among themselves to choose one with the office of baptizing, saying the mass, and preaching, such a man would be as truly a priest as though all bishops and popes had consecrated him.”

Such views were not favorably received by the authorities of Tyndale’s day. He sought patronage for an English translation of the Bible but was uniformly rebuffed. In England at the time, the Bible was available only in Latin, which most people could neither read nor understand. More than a century earlier, John Wycliffe and his followers had produced an inferior Bible translation from Latin, resulting in their persecution and even execution. As Tyndale’s views became more widely known, he found it necessary to depart England, eventually ending up in what is now Germany.

Beginning to publish his English New Testament in Cologne, he was betrayed to the authorities, barely escaping to Worms, where Luther had recently been condemned as a “notorious heretic.” There, in 1526, Tyndale published his complete New Testament—of which only three copies are known to have survived. He translated from Erasmus’ Greek text, and when, over the succeeding decade, he turned to the Old Testament, he used the Hebrew text, producing English versions of the Pentateuch and a number of historical books, but he did not live to complete the project.

Working next in Antwerp, Tyndale was betrayed by a fellow Oxford man who handed him over to agents of the Holy Roman Empire. He was imprisoned in the dungeon of a castle near Brussels, where he remained for 16 months. During this time, attempts were made to convince him to renounce the convictions that led him to translate the Bible into the vernacular, including the notion that each person should encounter and interpret scripture for himself, but Tyndale refused. In 1536, he was tied to a stake, strangled, and then burnt, but not before crying out in a loud voice, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”

Ironically, only a few years elapsed before multiple English translations of the Bible had been produced. When less than a century later the King James Version of the Bible, often regarded as one of the most important works in English literature, was published in 1611, it was presented as the work of a group of 47 scholars. Yet more recent scholarly comparisons of Tyndale’s translation and the King James Version reveal that between 80 and 90 percent of the latter is either identical to or only slightly modified from Tyndale’s work. Hence Tyndale is widely heralded as the “father of the English Bible.”

Tyndale’s translation and the theology behind it had a profound effect on the rule of law and the promotion of liberty.

Through his translation, Tyndale introduced many new words into the English language. These include atonement, Passover, and scapegoat. Among the phrases that Tyndale coined are the following: “It came to pass,” “Let there be light,” and “the powers that be.” Tyndale’s word choices sometimes reflect his opposition to the existing religious authorities of his day. For example, he translated ecclesia not as church but as congregation, emphasizing the people over the institution, and he translated presbyter as elder instead of priest, emphasizing wisdom and experience over clerical office.

Tyndale’s New Testaments had to be smuggled into England, often hidden in other books and bales of clothes. It was a small volume, intended to be carried unobtrusively in the pocket of a coat or even sewn into a garment. In October of 1526, the Bishop of London staged a burning of several thousand copies at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is now the site of one of the three remaining volumes. Tyndale regarded such policies as attempts to “keep the world in darkness,” so that authorities might “sit on the consciences of the people and exalt their own honor above God himself.”

Tyndale’s translation and the theology behind it had a profound effect on the rule of law and the promotion of liberty. Tyndale evinced a deep respect for the dignity and judgment of ordinary people, we who would one day become the citizens of nations such as the United States. Not only could we be trusted to interpret scripture for ourselves, he argued, but we had a religious duty to do so. The word of God itself took precedence over the pronouncements and policies of prelates, a viewpoint that undermines arbitrary authority and lays the groundwork for the primacy of written constitutions.

What mattered most were not arcane and esoteric doctrines but words that could be heard and remembered by even illiterate people. Tyndale’s efforts to sift and purify the text in this way are manifest in the remarkable simplicity of his language, which contains a striking proportion of short sentences and monosyllabic words. The Bible was not meant, he held, to reside in some remote and ornate sanctum sanctorum but in the homes and hands and on the lips of every person, just as schoolchildren today might memorize the Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address.

Like Luther’s German version, Tyndale’s English translation sowed the seeds of literacy throughout the land. If what matters most is each person’s relationship to God, and if that relationship is grounded in scripture, then each person needs direct access to the Bible. Initially, for most, this meant having the text read to them in their own tongue, but it rapidly progressed in less than a century to a society that produced both a Shakespeare and a thriving market for his works. Words define us and give our lives meaning, and no one did more than Tyndale to provide the words to English speakers.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are often called religions of the book, and Tyndale aspired to make the Bible comprehensible, memorable, and formative for every person. No one, in his view, was unworthy to know it. In fostering this conviction in the hearts of the people, Tyndale was in effect spreading seeds of revolution and preparing the populace for democratic self-rule. We the people could interpret scripture and discuss and even argue about it with one another, helping to establish lively and sometimes contentious conversations that continue to the present day.

Of course, making the Bible accessible to all comes with certain risks and costs, as well. Telling ordinary people that they are capable of self-government can lead to uprisings and even revolutions, as it did in the German states of Luther’s day and more recently in the American Revolution. Moreover, some might say that the absence of a single creed inevitably leads to theological anarchy, although the interchange of different points of view may also foster insight and creativity. Finally, once people have tasted freedom, they may become more difficult to control, yet this is exactly what lovers of liberty hope for.

Once we the people were deemed fit enough to bear the Bible, we naturally saw ourselves as fit for the ballot box, as well. Tyndale preached a message of freedom and responsibility, the absolute bedrock of self-governance. We the people became knowers and judges in our own right—not sheep to be led about as some despot deems advantageous but possessed of certain unalienable rights. Rather than cede our thinking to someone else, we can and should do so for ourselves, establishing an enduring respect for words and ideas vital to the rule of law, as well as the private conscience essential to liberty.

El papa pide combatir la "podredumbre cerebral" que causa el 'scrolling' en redes sociales

Ciudad del Vaticano, 25 ene (EFE).- El papa Francisco pidió este sábado combatir esa "podredumbre cerebral" provocada "por la adicción al scrolling (desplazamiento continuo) de los contenidos en las redes sociales", en un discurso en ocasión del Jubileo de los Comunicadores.

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Francisco había preparado este discurso en ocasión del encuentro con los comunicadores y periodistas en el aula Pablo VI, pero prefirió darlo por leído y entregarlo para su publicación e improvisar algunas palabras.

 

"Aprovechemos la oportunidad del Jubileo para renovarnos, para redescubrir esta valentía. El coraje de liberar el corazón de lo que lo corrompe. Volvamos a poner en el centro del corazón el respeto a la parte más alta y noble de nuestra humanidad, evitemos llenarlo con lo que lo pudre", escribió el papa.

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Añadió que "Las elecciones de cada uno de nosotros cuentan, por ejemplo, para expulsar esa podredumbre cerebral provocada por la adicción al scrolling (desplazamiento continuo)en las redes sociales, definida por el Diccionario Oxford como la palabra del año."

 

"¿Dónde podemos encontrar la cura para esta enfermedad sino trabajando, todos juntos, en la formación, especialmente para los jóvenes?", instó el papa.

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Por ello señaló que se necesita una "alfabetización mediática, para educarnos y educarnos en el pensamiento crítico, en la paciencia del discernimiento necesaria para el conocimiento; y promover el crecimiento personal y la participación activa de todos en el futuro de sus comunidades".

"Necesitamos empresarios valientes, ingenieros informáticos valientes, para que la belleza de la comunicación no se corrompa. Los grandes cambios no pueden ser el resultado de una multitud de mentes dormidas, sino que parten de la comunión de corazones iluminados", agregó en su discurso

 

A los comunicadores, el papa invitó a también prestar este servicio: "encontrar las palabras adecuadas para esos rayos de luz que logran tocar el corazón y hacernos ver las cosas de otra manera". EFE