Metaglossia: The Translation World

Google has added 10 new languages to its Google Translate service, increasing the total number of languages supported to 90. These 10 new languages will allow more than 200 million additional peopl...

La 5e journée régionale sur les migrants s'est tenue, hier, à Brest, avec les équipes de Rennes. Des solutions sont imaginées pour contrer la principale barrière lors de la prise en charge, celle de la langue.

En matière d'accueil des migrants, le Réseau Louis Guilloux de Rennes a une longue expérience. Avant la décision du préfet de Région de répartir sur la Bretagne les migrants, ceux-ci restaient près de l'Ofpra (Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides).

De 100 à 400 consultations

« Aujourd'hui, il y a environ 2.000 migrants à Rennes et 2.500 sur toute la Bretagne », dit le Dr Jean-Marc Chapplain, président du Réseau Louis Guilloux qui était, hier, à Brest pour la 5e journée régionale sur les migrants qui a réuni 250 participants. Depuis 2011, le Finistère observe une augmentation de l'arrivée de migrants en grande précarité dans les grandes villes. « À Brest, ils représentent 80 % des patients du centre accueil précarité du CHRU et 42 % des personnes accueillies au point H, dispensaire de soins gratuits, contre 17 % en 2008. Nous sommes passés d'une centaine à plus de 400 consultants migrants au point H. Rennes peut nous apporter des solutions face à cette évolution qui nécessite une adaptation des professionnels du champ médico-social », dit le Dr Catherine Jézéquel, médecin du Point H et du centre accueil précarité du CHRU. Le principal écueil lors d'un entretien ou d'une consultation médicale avec un migrant est celui de la langue. Les équipes rennaises avaient imaginé des pictogrammes, des dessins qui permettent de communiquer et qui ont été repris par les Brestois. « Nous avons aussi développé un pôle d'interprétariat. Nous avons 17 interprètes pour 15 langues différentes, de l'albanais au tchétchène en passant par le mongol ou l'ingala (Congo). Tous ont été formés au secret professionnel et aux terminologies administratives et médicales », ajoute le Dr Jean-Marc Chapplain.



Deux interprètes formés à Rennes sont actuellement en activité sur Brest pour le russe et l'albanais. « Cela couvre 50 % de nos besoins en interprétariat, mais pour les autres langues, il faut recourir parfois aux sites internet de traduction, qui ne sont pas parfaits mais c'est mieux que rien, ou sur rendez-vous, appeler par téléphone un interprète de Rennes », dit le Dr Catherine Jézéquel.

Pas d'enfant interprète

En revanche, il est impensable de faire appel aux enfants qui, une fois qu'ils sont scolarisés, apprennent très vite le français. « Ce n'est pas souhaitable de leur faire jouer un rôle d'interprète, il y a une inversion des rôles, et c'est parfois impossible, face à des questions trop intimes comme le recours à l'IVG ». Parmi les migrants, on trouve 40 % de familles et de plus en plus de femmes seules. Les migrants sont à 60 % originaires des pays de l'Est, à 22 % de l'Afrique subsaharienne et à 7 % du Maghreb.
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This is a question we often hear from our clients. Recently we produced two video trailers for mobile games. The trailers were in the same style – epic battles, swords, Viking knights – but there was one big difference. One trailer had voiceove...

Company Description:

Bristol Community College is a comprehensive, public community college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), offering degree and certificate programs that give our students the skills they need to transition successfully to the workforce, to a four-year institution or promote individual opportunity. As one of fifteen Massachusetts community colleges, BCC offers a wide range of educational programs and community services. It develops and presents programs for the entire community, from children to senior citizens, and it is well known for its friendly atmosphere and a faculty that cares about its students. We serve more than 11,987 students at campuses in Fall River, New Bedford, Attleboro, Taunton, and online. The Workforce Education Institute develops active partnerships with business and industry, preK-12, colleges and universities, and social service agencies to maintain relevance and effectiveness of all credit and noncredit programming. The College enrolls over 18,667 students a year in community services program, in workforce development, adult literacy, personal enrichment, and our Kids College program. We value and respect diversity within Bristol Community College and the world while preparing well-rounded learners for employment and for life. BCC is a signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and as such is actively committed to sustainability throughout all areas of the College.

Job Description:

STATEMENT OF DUTIES: Interprets/transliterates spoken English language into ASL (or other manual sign system, if requested) and likewise interprets/transliterates ASL (or other manual sign system) into spoken English to facilitate communication among D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students/faculty, hearing faculty/staff/students, and other members of the college community. Secondary duties include accepting requests for access accommodations and assisting with scheduling interpreters and C-Printers across all campuses.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:  Dean Disability Services and Student Engagement

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Interpret/transliterate D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students’ classes, events, lectures, student organization sessions, college productions, field visits, tests, tutoring sessions, and related appointments.
Interpret/transliterate D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing staff/faculty’s classes, events, lectures, meetings, trainings, office hours, tutoring sessions, and contractually-related appointments.
Provide information and orientation to D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students/faculty/staff in emergency situations.
Work closely with the D/deaf Services Coordinator and Professional Staff in Disability Services to provide appropriate accommodations and resources for D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students.
Receive requests for access and schedule ongoing interpreter/C-Print coverage for D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students/staff/faculty across all campuses and locations.
Assist the D/deaf Services Coordinator in recruiting freelance interpreters/C-Printers and ensuring consistent and reliable interpreting/C-Print coverage for D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students/staff/faculty, as needed.
Maintain electronic records and schedules for interpreter/C-Printer coverage, as required.
Assist D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students and campus staff in developing the necessary skills to become appropriate consumers of interpreting and/or C-Print services.
Assist in planning and/or presenting professional development opportunities for D/deaf and hearing faculty and staff in collaboration with ODS, Human Resources and the Lash Center for Teaching and Learning.
Work effectively and collaboratively in teams with other ASL interpreters/transliterators/C-Printers to prepare for assignments.
Participate in mentoring current freelance interpreters/C-Printers, as needed.
Maintain Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) certification by: maintaining RID membership; meeting RID Continuing Education Unit requirements; and following the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct and industry best practices.
Attend and participate in ODS team meetings; D/deaf Services staff meetings; Student Services Division Meetings; Professional Staff meetings; campus-wide committee meetings (Committee A and/or B); and other opportunities, as assigned.
Translate videos and documents into ASL (or another manual sign system).
Advocate for access, universal design, diversity and multiculturalism on campus.
Perform other administrative duties and walk-in/sub interpreter/transliterator coverage within ODS and on campus.
Requirements:

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s Degree in ASL/English Interpretation, Deaf Education, Deaf Studies, Interpreter Education, Communications, Linguistics, Communication Disorders, Special Education or related field; graduate from an accredited Interpreter Training Program (ITP) or documented professional development equivalent to an ITP education; current RID National Interpreter Certification (NIC) and/or CI/CT; demonstrated proficiency in ASL and transliteration; demonstrated ability to interpret college level language and process highly-contextual material while meeting the access needs of D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students/staff/faculty; demonstrated competency in spoken and written English skills; ability to hear and discriminate oral material in a range of acoustic settings and the ability to speak and enunciate understandably in a range of settings; knowledge of Deaf Culture and the varying psycho-social impacts of hearing loss on identity; awareness of Disability Law; accessibility mandates; and accommodations in higher education; minimum of two to three years’ experience working in a college or university setting, or ability to demonstrate the necessary skills to interpret/transliterate at a post-secondary level; experience developing and presenting professional development opportunities for colleagues in higher education; working knowledge of Microsoft Office and related scheduling software; knowledge of technologies to provide speech to text in classroom and proficiency in C-Print or willingness to learn; and knowledge of and adherence to NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct; experience mentoring young interpreters/transliterators.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Master’s Degree in ASL/English Interpretation, Deaf Education, Deaf Studies, Interpreter Education, Communications, Linguistics, Communication Disorders, Special Education or related field; and the understanding of the mission of the community college and commitment to cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity as an important element in the development of the educated person.

Additional Information:

POSITION STATUS: This is a 12-month, non-unit position with benefits. The work week will consist of a consistent 37.5 hours each week, and hours may be scheduled in the evenings and weekends at multiple campuses/satellites, depending on D/deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students/staff/faculty needs per semester. When classes are in session, no more than 30 hours will be hands-up time each week.

SALARY: Commensurate with qualifications and experience.

STARTING DATE: Spring 2015

Application Instructions:

Screening will begin with resumes received by December 20, 2014 and will continue until the position is filled. Please send a cover letter, resume, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three references with your online submission. Candidates who are selected for an interview will be expected to demonstrate interpreting/transliterating and/or C-Print proficiency as part of the interview process and will be asked to provide official transcripts. Only on-line applications will be considered.

Bristol Community College is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Bristol Community College changes the world by changing lives, learner by learner.

Application Information
Contact: Bristol Community College
Online App. Form: http://bristolcc.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=55569
More Information on Bristol Community College
Institutional Profile
Current openings for Bristol Community College on HigherEdJobs.
Bristol Community College's Main Web site

Rwanda : L’État attaqué en justice au sujet de la langue française
décembre 11, 2014 - Culture - Tagged: anglais, français, Frank Habineza, GDPR, kinyarwanda, Rwanda - no comments
Le GDPR, un parti d’opposition rwandais, a porté plainte contre l’État, estimant que la mise à l’écart de la langue française par le gouvernement va à l’encontre de la Constitution et risque de désavantager la population francophone.

En effet, le français est de moins en moins utilisé au Rwanda. Ainsi, les nouveaux billets sont désormais imprimés en anglais et en kinyarwanda, de même que les documents officiels. Pour le Parti vert démocratique du Rwanda (GDPR), cette situation est un non respect de la Constitution, en l’occurrence son article 5 consacré aux langues officielles du pays. « Cet article consacre le français comme langue officielle du pays, au même titre que le kinyarwanda et l’anglais », rappelle Frank Habineza, leader du parti.

Selon lui, de nombreux Rwandais ont reçu une éducation en français, et par conséquent ne pourront pas jouir des mêmes droits que les autres citoyens, si cette langue disparaît du pays. Aussi, le GDPR a-t-il jugé nécessaire de « déposer un dossier à la Cour suprême pour qu’elle demande aux institutions de l’État de respecter la Constitution ».

Outre cet argument, M. Habineza évoque une autre conséquence de la disparition progressive du français de l’éventail linguistique du Rwanda. Selon lui, « de nombreux citoyens rwandais sont exclus du marché du travail, en raison de leur mauvaise connaissance de la langue anglais ».

Pour l’opposant rwandais, il s’agit d’un problème sérieux, qui entrave le processus de réconciliation. « Lorsque les gens se plaignent et ne peuvent pas avoir du travail, ils se sentent comme des citoyens de seconde zone », déclare-t-il, déduisant que le processus de réconciliation ne pourra pas progresser, tant que ce problème linguistique subsistera au Rwanda.

Jusqu’à présent, la Cour suprême de ce pays ne s’est pas encore prononcée sur cette plainte.

In a century characterised by increasing globalization, skilled professionals who can navigate the intricacies of interpersonal and intercultural communication are indispensable. In this programme you will aquire an advanced understanding of theories, methods and issues in communication, and learn how to manage interactions between people, organizations and cultures.

About the programme

Communication is essential to human beings. Human life and social organization depends on it. In this programme you will study all aspects of communication and acquire an advanced understanding of communication issues in various contexts and advanced knowledge about theories and methods useful in studies of communication in its context.

How do factors such as purpose, roles, medium, instrument and environment affect communication? You will study communication in classical and modern organizational theories which will increase your understanding of how different activities influence communication within an organization.

You will also study the role of communication within different professional fields and the various professional demands on written and oral communication as well as the use of pictures in communication in business life, mass media, education etc. You will learn about the communicative practice of leaders and the characteristics of successful organizing and get an enhanced comprehension of the relationship between leadership and communication with a special emphasis on the politics of everyday life in organizations.

Intercultural communication at focus

How are intercultural conflicts solved? Courses in intercultural communication will give you different perspectives of the notion of culture and cultural differences. You will acquire a deeper understanding of how and when cultural differences are relevant and when they are not. You will receive insight into important areas of interpersonal communication; bodily communication, communication dependent on basic social relations such as family and friendship as well as gender related aspects.

Communication technology as well as multi-modal communication

Different types of communication technologies will be studied, the relations between technology and communication and relations between technology, communication and social organization. You will learn about multi-modal communication, communication that uses more than one sense modality, for example the use of speech, gestures and facial expressions. We look at cultural variations in how different sense modalities are used as well as how to develop multimodal agents for communication between human and computer.

Rhetoric, practical training and degree project

In a degree project you will get the opportunity to show your ability to formulate relevant research questions, to find and evaluate information and data in an independent and critical way, and to write a scientific thesis within a given period of time.

Within the programme, you can also learn about rhetoric and argumentation and get an opportunity to practice your public speaking skills. The programme also contains practical training.

ISTANBUL — Ears straining, brows furrowed in concentration, the 20 Istanbul students listen closely to their teacher as they struggle to learn a foreign tongue which will open new opportunities. But this is not English or Germa - it is Arabic.

Arabic is one of the world's most widespread languages, spoken by more than 422 million people, most of whom live in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the United Nations.

Interest in the language has boomed recently around the world, but especially in Turkey, which is geographically close to the Arab world and currently hosts around two million Syrian people who have fled the war in their country.

An Istanbul-based international language institute, AkdemiStanbul, established in 2009, confirms the growing trend in Arabic.
The institute taught 800 people Arabic in 2011. This number more than doubled to 1,800 in 2013 and shot up to 2,750 in 2014. For the next year, they expect to have 5,000 students.

The reason for this increasing interest in Turkey varies:
"After the 9/11 attacks and the Europe [financial] crisis, Arab tourists, who were earlier going to the U.S. and Europe have turned their attention to Turkey, which is a Muslim country," says Ibrahim Helalsah, assistant professor at the foreign languages department of 29 Mayis University in Istanbul.

Turkey's economic development and its active foreign policy over the last 10 years are among the other reasons, according to academics.
"For example, some credit agencies raised credit ratings of the country to investment grade. After these kinds of developments, Arab countries started to make investments in Turkey," Helalsah says.

Foreign investment in Turkey was $14.6 billion between 1984 and 2002; the figure is now $145 billion in total since 2003, according to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

"We were passive earlier over the problems in Middle East or in neighbors. Over the last ten years, this has totally changed," says Muhammed Agirakca, general manager of AkdemiStanbul.

The Arab Spring which erupted in late 2010, as well as the current Syria and Iraq crises, have also increased the need for the language both in Turkey and globally.

"The Arab world is at the center of energy and conflicts. Even negative incidents like wars have pushed people to learn that region's culture and language," says Hasan Deger, 43, an Arabic-language teacher at Istanbul municipality's ISMEK course.
"Almost all the media organs in the world cover stories from war-torn countries in the Middle East. To be able to do that, they need employees speaking Arabic," he adds.

Agirakca also points to the media's role: "Turkey understands the importance of Arabic with the opening of (Turkish state-owned TV) TRT's Arabic channel and Anadolu Agency's Arabic desk."

He gives an example of Turkish diplomats who were kidnapped in Mosul, Iraq on June 11, to explain this need better. Forty-six Turkish nationals, including diplomats, consular officials and their families, plus three Iraqis, were freed and returned to Turkey on September 20.

"How were the diplomats freed? Through efforts of Turkey's national intelligence service. Which language did the intelligence service provide intelligence? Arabic. If they had not had any Arabic-speaking employee in the service, how would have we succeeded?"

The institute manager also talks about a wrong perception about the language in Turkey. "When people are asked about the meaning of Arabic here in Turkey, the first thing that comes to minds of many people, is religion."

"The biggest aim of many of those, who learn Arabic is to try to understand the holy Quran, the Prophet Muhammad's sayings and Islamic culture and civilization," he adds, "but the language is not only about this."

"It is also a culture, an art and a language of literature. It is also necessary for tourism, health and security.

The students are also aware of increasing value of Arabic.

"I think Arabic has overtaken English," says 20-year-old Meral Gozitok, a first-year student at the Arabic Literature Department of the Dutch-based Islamic University of Europe.

"I prefer Arabic to even Turkish because it is a richer language compared to other languages and much more advantageous from now on than any others in terms of finding a job here in Turkey," Gozitok says, who adds that he wants to do business with Arabs after graduating.

Seyma Delioglu, 20, a student from the same university has a different reason to learn. "My aim is to understand the holy Quran in the best way and to be able to translate former scholars' books," she says.

"I may open a publishing house or work as a translator."

Tarik Ablak, 21, a student at Faculty of Theology of 29 Mayis University, says, "Almost everyone speaks English here in Turkey from now on. It is not a very important feature for a person in terms of finding a job. But if you speak Arabic, plus English, it will open many doors to you as it becomes one of the most wanted languages."

Not just students, but people from different professions are looking for ways to learn the language when they can find time.

Ilyas Sungu, 27,who has been a tourist guide for three years, is one of them.

"I actually studied public administration at Anadolu University. At that time, my sisters were working in the tourism sector. I realized that there is an increasing need for employees who speak Arabic. Then, I went to Jordan and learned Arabic in a short period of time and took a certificate to become a tourist guide for Arabs."

"We have students from every profession, including medical workers, journalists, teachers and those in tourism," Arabic teacher Deger says. "Middle-aged people were interested in Arabic earlier; now demand from young people has increased recently."

As Turkey re-engages with its Ottoman past - the current president is supporting the study of Ottoman Turkish, a language written with the Arabic alphabet - it is clear that learning patterns in Turkey are changing.

Universities to have ‘Centers for Endangered Languages’ for Preservation of Indian Languages
 12-DEC-2014
Suggested Readings: Education News, Education, UGC | SLET | CSIR | ICAR
A+A-
The University Grant Commission (UGC) is focusing on preservation of our endangered Indian languages under which it has directed the Universities to create Centre of Endangered Languages in Central Universities.
Union Human Resource Development Minister (HRD), Smriti Irani declared this in Lok Sabha while replying to a question.
Approval has been accorded to nine Central Universities for Establishment of Centers for Endangered Languages. An allocation of Rs.50.00 crore has been made for establishment of the Centres of Endangered Languages in the nine Central Universities by the UGC.
The Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India. Under this Scheme, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore works on protection, preservation and documentation of all the mother tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 people.
Under this Scheme, dictionaries and basic grammars in all the endangered languages/mother tongues are prepared in digital format. The cultural and ethno-linguistic aspects of the languages/mother tongues and indigenous knowledge system of the communities are video-graphed and stored electronically for archival and retrieval purposes.
A digital map with linguistic/cultural words with actual pronunciation for accounting variation in speech is also part of the scheme. In addition, talking dictionaries in the endangered languages/mother tongues are prepared with the help of technology.
Important points:
1. UGC guided Universities to have Centre of Endangered Languages in Central Universities.
2. Rs.50.00 crore has been allocated for this purpose by the Center.
3. Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India.

Pop star Shakira is teaching her 22-month-old son Milan seven different languages.

The 37-year-old star and her Spanish soccer ace boyfriend Gerrard Pique speak seven languages around their son so that he becomes multi-lingual, reported Contactmusic.

The 'Hips Don't Lie' hitmaker said the couple goes to great lengths to expose Milan to languages other than their native language Spanish.
 
  


"Any child can learn languages before they're three, we expose Milan to Spanish, Catalan, English, French, Germany, Russian and Chinese. Babies have an innate thirst for knowledge and enjoying learning.

"Kids are able to comprehend more than we think, it's never too early to start teaching and exposing them to books even as newborns," she said.

Shakira is pregnant with her second child.

BY SRAVANTH VERMA     8 HOURS AGO IN WORLD
New Delhi - The Government has launched a National Translation Mission (NTM) to work towards protecting vulnerable languages that may go extinct unless support is offered.
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani responded to a question in the Indian parliament about initiatives being taken in this direction. Member of Parliament (MP) Poonam Mahajan had asked about the steps being taken by the NTM since its launch in 2008 to protect the country's linguistic heritage. Irani stated that the Ministry of Human Resource Development has identified 520 highly vulnerable languages which were spoken by 10,000 people or less and during the first phase of the plan would restore 70 of these.
The government has also launched a scheme to make available classical texts in multiple Indian languages as listed in the 8th schedule of the Constitution. "The NTM has been collaborating with various state governments and private agencies in its endeavour like departments of various universities and colleges, literary societies and similar institutions and organisations," she said.
The NTM is situated in the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore and offers information on translation, creates a corpus of knowledge-based texts in Indian languages and promotes translation tools, while supporting software development for translation in Indian languages.
India has lost 220 Indian languages in the past 50 years, and even among the major languages, ancient Indian literature texts are rapidly being lost due to decay of ancient manuscripts. Irani also told Parliament that a national e-library project was on track to digitize rare manuscripts and books.

It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, global communication was much more of a chore than it is today. The advent of the modern smartphone/app store has seen amazing advances in the field of translation software. While we still have some way to go before approaching sci-fi movie levels of embedded/in-ear technology, applications like Google Translate are the next best thing.

Today, the Google Translation team announced that it has added ten more languages to the Google Translate roster, bringing the tally to a truly impressive 90 supported languages. In doing so, it has provided communication services to no less than 200 million people around the globe, who speak the newly added languages:

Africa: Chichewa, Malagasy, and Sesotho, for an approximate total of 36 million people.
India/South East Asia: Malayalam, Myanmar, Sinhala, and Sundanese, for approximately 126 million people.
Central Asia: Kazakh, Tajik, and Uzbek, for approximately 40 million people.
The total actually comes to an impressive 202,000,000 people.

Durban - Language experts are calling for the government to build capacity so that official indigenous languages can be used during legal proceedings.

This comes after a senior KwaZulu-Natal judge cautioned magistrates not to conduct entire trials in any of the nine official indigenous languages because of “budgetary and administration considerations”.

Judge King Ndlovu, with Judge Philip Nkosi concurring, said the use of these languages was a “constitutional noble ideal” but there were still no proper structures to adequately transcribe court records for appeals and reviews.

Judge Ndlovu said an accused person did not have the right to have his trial conducted in a language of his choice, although he was entitled to understand the language, either directly or through interpretation.

The judge said it would be a constitutional ideal “to cherish the day that every court operated in the language predominantly used in its area”, but that ideal had proved elusive or impractical.

“To my knowledge, at the moment, there are no structures in place to attend to transcription of court records in all languages… it follows therefore that undue delays will occur which could have dire consequences for the accused.”

This was because of difficulties in articulating legal terminology, including quotes from statutes and legal precedents, into Zulu, problems with translations of court annexures and statements from police dockets and transcribing court records for reviews and appeals.

Head of the Zulu dictionary unit attached to the University of Zululand, Mpume Mbatha, said it was only fair to use an indigenous language in cases where all parties could understand and speak it fluently.

“Sometimes important information is lost in translation, resulting in the magistrate ruling differently than they would have, had all the parties understood each other,” said Mbatha.

His sentiments were echoed by Professor Sihawu Ngubane, chairman of the Academic and Non-Fiction Authors’ Association of South Africa.

“They should seek ways to make transcribing less of a burden, rather than quickly opt to use English with interpreters,” said Ngubane.

He conceded that indigenous languages lacked some of the terms used in the judiciary system, especially those in Latin.

“The University of the Witwatersrand and UKZN have bodies working on language development directories with more than 100 000 terms, some from the judiciary and science fields. Such initiatives will go a long way towards bridging the gap.”

UKZN Zulu/English translation expert Thokozani Khuzwayo said interpreters could translate judiciary transcripts even if some of the direct Zulu terms were not yet available.

“Due to the sensitivity of judiciary matters, I think it’s always best when the accused and the complainant are cross-examined in their mother tongue,” she said.

December 12, 2014

Three Central Asian languages have been included in Google's online translation system.

The U.S.-based Internet giant's office in Kazakhstan announced on December 12 that instantaneous translation from Kazakh, Tajik, and Uzbek into other languages -- and vice-versa -- is now available on computers and mobile devices.

According to a statement, users of Google Translate can help improve the quality of translations by adding their corrections and linguistic expertise online.

Google Translate now covers more than 90 languag

University of Hyderabad has invited applications for various M.Phil programs such as English, Philosophy, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu, Applied Linguistics, Translation Studies, Comparative Literature, English Language Studies, Dalit and Adivasi Studies and Translation, Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Regional Studies, Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy and Indian Diaspora for the 2015-16 session.


Eligibility
Candidates should have master's degree in the relevant subject area with at least 55% marks. Those completing their final examinations by June 2015 can also apply.


How to Apply
Candidates can apply online, please visit University of Hyderabad, official website.
Payment of application fees: Rs. 350/- in the case of general / OBC category; Rs. 150/- in the case of SC/ST/PH categories
After filling the online application form, the computer will generate application number. The candidate can pay the fees immediately using online link provided on the form. The candidate has to pay the service charges as applicable. For more details and information on how to apply, please visit their official website.


How to pay the Fees
Bank Challan: After filling the online application form the computer will generate the challan with candidate's application number and other particulars. Take a printout of the challan and pay the fees, after 24 hours and on or before 12.01.2015, in any Branch of State Bank of India. The bank will not collect any service charges from the candidate.

Online: After filling the online application form, the computer will generate application number. The candidate can pay the fees immediately using ONLINE link provided on the form. The candidate has to pay the service charges as applicable.


Important Dates
Application form has to be submitted online from 8th December, 2014 to 9th January 2015

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is continuously over a period of time, adding more and more languages to its Google Translate Tool. Recently Google added a language Burmese which is the official language of Myanmar and Malaysia. This language is known to be classical with an approx average of 38 Million speakers.

This effort of Google will bring more users from India to its widely spread services.

“to reach our goal of 500 million Internet users by 2017 (in india) we need to make the Internet accessible to those who don’t speak English.” said by Google India MD Rajan Anandan in a press conference.

He spoke this soon after the launch of Indian Language Internet Alliance which is said to be increasing offerings for Hindi Speakers and Hindi voice search.

Google is constantly planning to add users to its giant media and trying to spread its services worldwide. The addition of Malayalam language in Google Translate is a step towards Google’s Goal.

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) showed an upsurge of 0.43% to reach at $528.34 in yesterday’s Trading Session. Its market capitalization is 360.83 Billion along with the Shares volume of 339.34 Million. Its price to earnings Ratio is 26.78.

La escuela de idiomas ABANICO, en colaboración con la revista SOL LATINO y los auspicios de la Embajada de México en Atenas y la Facultad de Filosofía y letras UNAM,  les invita a la proyección de LA SOMBRA DEL CAUDILLO: LA PELÍCULA MALDITA DEL CINE MEXICANO.   Charla (en español con traducción al griego) y proyección (en español, con resumen en griego) Hablan: Gloria Villegas Moreno Lucía Guzmán Natalia Moreleón Nikos Kokkalas Modera: Nikos Pratsinis La velada comenzará con unas palabras del Em

NO dia 18 de dezembro, a partir das 19 horas, na Fundação Cultural Badesc, em Florianópolis, Carmem Lúcia Gerlach e Márcia Regina B Moraes lançam, pela Editora Insular, a tradução Saint-Exupéry ou O Ensinamento do Deserto, de Jean Huguet.

Ter um bom aplicativo tradutor para o seu celular é fundamental em diversos momentos da sua vida.

Seja para esclarecer uma dúvida pessoal, lembrar uma palavrinha que deu branco, entender melhor o conteúdo de um texto ou música, desenvolver partes dos seus trabalhos acadêmicos, estudar ou até mesmo para viajar, os tradutores podem ser salvadores do dia.

Google Tradutor

Impossível não citar o tradutor da Google como um dos melhores do mercado atual. Alguns modelos vêm com o app nativo, outros modelos já exigem que você fala o download. Ele é gratuito, leve e muito completo. Funciona em sistema Android ou iOS. Seu suporte funciona com até 72 idiomas.

ColorDict Dictionary Wikipedia

O ColorDict Dictionary Wikipedia é um dos melhores aplicativos tradutores para celular atuais. Ele é um pouco diferente dos tradutores comuns, pois além do serviço de tradução ele oferece como enciclopédia digital – daí seu nome.

Muito parecido com um dicionário digital, ele oferece os diversos verbetes e possibilidades de tradução às palavras digitadas. Além disso, ele oferece recurso de áudio de pronúncia de algumas palavras, histórico de buscas e possibilidade de favoritar termos buscados.

A sua única desvantagem está no baixo suporte de termos em português. Porém de idioma a idioma ele supre a necessidade.

Universal Translator

O Universal Translator também funciona em Android. Ele oferece suporte para o idioma português, além de reconhecimento de voz. Algumas características que os destacam dos demais está na possibilidade do usuário compartilhar palavras ou frases traduzidas além de tradução para mensagens de texto recebidas.

Ele é extremamente prático: basta digitar a palavra, escolher o idioma que você deseja traduzir e dar o comando. Se preferir falar, basta acessar o reconhecimento de voz. Apesar de sua interface um pouco rústica, ele se destaca com um dos melhores aplicativos tradutores para celular.

ProDeaf

O ProDeaf é um tradutor diferente: ele não realiza tradução de palavras de um idioma a outro e sim tradução de palavras em português para libras – a língua dos sinais.
Através do reconhecimento de voz, o app reproduz a tradução em linguagem de sinal, através da tela do celular por um avatar. Se você preferir, poderá digitar as palavras ou realizar uma busca no dicionário.

Depois que o app realizar a tradução você poderá tentar repetir os atos ou simplesmente mostrar a imagem ao ouvinte. Ele funciona em Android.

WHILE the constitution ensures the equality of all indigenous languages, giving them the status of English and Afrikaans in court proceedings may be a distant dream.
This was apparent from a remark by a judge of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg when reviewing a magistrate’s decision in a criminal case conducted in isiZulu. The case was an automatic review of a Mahlabathini Magistrate’s Court trial in which an unrepresented man was convicted of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and sentenced to a six-month prison term, suspended.
Judge Simon Ndlovu, who heard the case on review, said it had taken too long — three months — to transcribe the record for the High Court because the proceedings were conducted in isiZulu.
However, the magistrate defended his decision to hear the case in isiZulu, saying everyone involved was Zulu speaking and the constitution called for the equality of all 11 official languages. He said the transcription took so long because the clerk of the court must have misfiled the record.
The law provides for magistrates to hear cases in any official language, and the constitutional right to a fair trial includes the right to be tried in a language the accused understands or, if not practical, to have the proceedings interpreted.
However, Judge Ndlovu said the courts lacked the infrastructure to realise the ideal of using indigenous languages. Hearing a case in English or Afrikaans was preferable to a case being delayed.
"Such outcomes would have dire and prejudicial consequences to the accused concerned."
Pan South African Language Board chairman Mbulungeni Madiba said the use of all official languages in court should be encouraged, especially in rural areas, where people were likely to speak the same language.
The Chief Magistrates Forum is to seek Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s guidance on a language policy for magistrates’ courts.
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Hilali-Khan translation does not promote hostility towards non-Muslims, says scholar
BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA
Published: 12 December 2014


Preacher Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya says it is wrong to conclude that the Hilali-Khan translation promotes hatred towards non-Muslims. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 12, 2014.
A well-known local Muslim scholar has defended the Hilali-Khan translation of the Quran, claiming it does not promote hostility towards other religions.

Independent preacher Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya claimed that interpretations of Quranic verses in the Hilali-Khan translation are not meant to sanction the oppression of non-Muslims by Muslims.

This is since the translation preserves Quranic verses that tells Muslims to make peace with other religions and to forbid them from denigrating the beliefs of others, he said.


Fathul Bari also said references towards Jews and Christians in the translation were meant to distinguish between the beliefs of Muslims and the other two communities.

“Muslims are supposed to believe that theirs is the one true faith and that the others are not.

“But this does not give Muslims the right to oppress other faiths,” said Fathul Bari who holds a Masters degree and doctorate in studies of the Quran and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet).

He also said that interpretations in the Hilali-Khan are written based on the teachings of scholars such as Al Tabari, Al Qurtubi and ibn Kathir, who are classical authorities in the Muslim intellectual tradition.

“It is wrong to say that the Hilali-Khan translation promotes hatred towards non-Muslims. That is the wrong interpretation,” said Fathul Bari, who is also an Umno Youth exco.

He was responding to a claim by Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa of the Islamic Renaissance Front that the Hilali-Khan translation nurtured feelings of hostility towards other religions among Muslims.

The Hilali-Khan translation is the joint work of two scholars, Dr Muhammad Taqi-ud Din Al-Hilali and Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan, who inserted interpretations of the holy text according to world views that existed about 600 years ago.

To explain his point, Farouk had used an example of the Hilali-Khan interpretation of the last verse of the chapter called the Al-Fatihah, the most well-known and considered the key chapter to the Quran.

The last verse of the Al-Fatihah, a translation by Sahih International reads: “Guide us to the straight path, The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have evoked (Your) anger or of those who are astray.”

But the Hilali-Khan translation inserts these words: “Guide us to the straight path, The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favour, not of those who have evoked (Your) anger (the Jews) or of those who are astray (the Christians).”

“This basically gives the impression that the Quran denounces Jews and Christians. Obviously, this is a great untruth,” Farouk had said when presenting his views at a December 8 forum.

Fathul Bari disagreed with this reading of the Hilali-Khan interpretation.

This verse and its interpretations, he said, was meant to state that the Muslim faith was the true faith compared to the beliefs of Jews and Christians.

“It is not meant to create tension between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is the same with the Jews and Christians. They do not agree with the beliefs of Muslims.

“Christians for instance do not agree with the Muslim view of Jesus or the Prophet Isa. They say the Islamic interpretation is wrong. So why didn’t Farouk bring this up?”

Christians and Jews similarly believe that theirs was the one true faith compared to Islam and that was their right, said Fathul Bari.

“The holy books of other religions also say Islam is wrong. But we do not attack them for this because that is the right of their religion,” said Fathul Bari.

Farouk had said the Hilali-Khan translation was now one of the most widely available, in mosques, schools and English translations were given to haj pilgrims in Mecca.

A key feature of the Hilali-Khan translation is that it inserts many parentheses in the middle of the verses. These parentheses contain the author’s interpretations of what a particular word or phrase might mean.

“Instead of clarifying the text or explaining a word that cannot be easily explained in English, these comments make the text difficult to follow and often distort, rather than amplify the meaning,” said Farouk, who is also founder and director of the IRF.

Fathul Bari said Hilali-Khan uses an interpretation-based methodology when translating the Quran as opposed to a literal word-by-word translation.

“Word by word translations are not recommended by translation experts because it is difficult to get an accurate meaning for each word.

“Which is why the majority of scholars use interpretations in their translations of the Quran,” Fathul Bari said. – December 12, 2014.

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Every few weeks, another innovative new translation app is announced to help people around the world communicate. Waygo and Google’s WorldLens let you hold your smartphone up to a sign or menu and get a real-time translation. So when you are at a business lunch in China, you can figure out what the menu is about so the meeting can stay about business and not the fact that you can’t tell the pork from the turtle on the menu.

Twitter introduced Microsoft’s Bing translation engine to translate tweets with the tap of a button – but the removed it again after two months. Microsoft’s Skype Translator will be a real-time voice translator that will let you converse with someone in a completely different language.  Planning ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Japan’s NTT Docomo’s Jspeak app will release a spoken translation app to ensure smooth communication with the locals.

But there’s a big difference between basically understanding a food dish and basically understanding a business arrangement or a technical document.  In most cases, translation apps can be handy for a quick grasp of what’s going on, but not when you’re making serious business or financial decisions based on the translation.

Putting World Lens to the test

Experimenting with Worldlens on an instruction manual, we tried to translate English directions into Spanish. We came across a lot of phrases like “take to end the following procedure.” While that might be enough for consumers to muddle through a website, anyone trying to figure out how to put together a manufacturing product or implement a software program is going to have a bit more trouble.

With all the excitement around these mobile apps – along with things like Microsoft’s “Star Trek-like” translation capabilities for Skype – it’s easy for companies to start wondering how this new technology can be applied to their businesses.

The legend of auto-translation

The fact is that these mobile apps are made for consumers and not for businesses that need to help customers use their products. If you’re localising a product for a new market, the documentation has to be translated into that country’s language. Relying on automatic technology to translate something complex like a manual for assembly-line heating equipment or a software analytics user interface can lead to a frustrating experience at best, and a lethal experience at worst.

Businesses that are expanding into new markets shouldn’t rely on prospective customers to use apps to translate collateral like brochures and technical documents and websites.

A place for translation apps

This doesn’t mean these innovative mobile technologies should be ignored altogether. An app like Waygo can be used in business meetings when a lack of understanding would otherwise hinder the progress of the client relationship.

If you’re going global the best combination might be to hand a prospect a professionally localised brochure and use Waygo or WorldLens at the meeting table. These kinds of apps can be a boon for companies that don’t have a translator or interpreter during lengthy business trips, but they should only complement the collateral that you bring on that trip, not replace it.

Ian Henderson is CTO of Rubric.

The Divine Comedy may not seem like a conventional legal thriller, but it shares with that genre a preoccupation with justice and structured systems of punishment and reward.

Justin Steinberg highlighted the previously unexamined legal aspects of Dante’s 14th-century masterpiece in Dante and the Limits of Law, published by the University of Chicago Press. On Dec. 3, the Modern Language Association awarded the book the 22nd Howard R. Marrarro Prize. The prize will be presented at the MLA’s annual conference in Vancouver in January.

In its citation, the prize selection committee described Dante and the Limits of the Law as “an original and lucid account of the legal context animating and underwriting the Commedia.”

Steinberg’s work focuses on Dante’s interest in exceptions to and limits of the law. Steinberg, professor of Italian literature in Romance Languages and Literatures, argues that Dante saw exceptions to the law as an essential aspect of medieval legal order.

Steinberg, who in 2006 won the MLA’s Aldo and Jeanne Scaglioni Publication Award for a Manuscript in Italian Literary Studies for his first book, was drawn to the topic because of present-day conversations around the limits of the law. “I was interested in seeing how questions of states of emergency, questions about torture and debates about judicial activism played out in an era without a strong state, where poetic discourse and literary imagination occupied to the place of political sovereignty,” he explained.

The active community of UChicago scholars interested in law and literature—both in the law school and in literature departments—provided important inspiration for Dante and the Limits of the Law. Their work, Steinberg said, helped him realize “this could be a rich inquiry.”

Steinberg was not the only member of the University of Chicago community honored by the MLA. Jason Grunebaum, senior lecturer in South Asian languages and civilizations, received an honorable mention for the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for an Outstanding Translation of a Literary Work for his translation of Uday Prakash’s The Girl with the Golden Parasol. The selection committee praised Grunebaum’s “thoughtfully conceived translation,” which “captures many of the tones and subtleties of the original language.”

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Justin Steinberg, Law and literature, Modern Language Association, University of Chicago Press

By: Mukul Priyadarshini
The decision to replace German with Sanskrit in the middle of the school year in Kendriya Vidyalayas was as problematic as the decision to introduce it in 2011. This is an opportune moment to analyse the government’s decision and to highlight the real issues pertaining to language that plague our education system.
Just as there is a common belief that Hindi is the national language of India, there is also a misconception about the three-language formula (TLF) being part of the Constitution. The TLF is a strategy that was formulated in the chief ministers’ conference of 1961. It was endorsed by the 1968 National Policy Resolution and the National Policy on Education, 1986. The TLF is quite flexible, as is evident from the position paper of the National Focus Group on Teaching of Indian Languages — six different models of the formula are being followed by the states. The TLF recommends that in middle schools, Hindi, English and any one of the modern Indian languages (MIL) be taught, preferably a southern language in Hindi-speaking states, and vice versa for non-Hindi-speaking states.
However, soon after its formulation, the TLF was violated in the north, where mostly Sanskrit is taught as the third language. Many elite private schools offer foreign languages such as French, Russian, Spanish and German. This extreme interpretation of the formula goes against its spirit and purpose. The 2011 MoU is also questionable. Even so, it does not justify the human resource development ministry’s decision to discontinue German in the middle of the year. It is unimaginable that the government did not have the foresight to think of the confusion this would cause. For instance, are there even enough Sanskrit teachers? And what becomes of the German teachers?
The teaching of Sanskrit in middle school is not uncontentious either. It should be pointed out that there is a difference between languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and modern Indian languages. In fact, in universities across the country, the Sanskrit department is independent, not part of the MIL department. While a 1994 Supreme Court judgment validated the teaching of Sanskrit as an MIL, it is common knowledge that students choose it, not for the love of the language, but because they get high scores. Also, there is a difference between a classical and a living language. A living language is constantly growing and changing in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, etc. It is not bound by rigid structures developed centuries ago. Many scholars, like Sheldon Pollock, have argued that Sanskrit is indeed a classical language, a “dead” language. According to the 2001 Census, 14,000 people reported Sanskrit as their mother tongue. Looking at this meagre number, one could argue for continued…