Metaglossia: The Translation World

“The fabric of memory is reinforced by stories, rent by silences.” In Anthills of the Savannah, Chinua Achebe memorably reminds us of the importance of stories. An elderly character in the novel meditates on the crucial place stories occupy in the matrix of society. “It is the story…that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence. The story is our escort; without it, we are blind. Does the blind man own his escort? No, neither do we the story; rather it is the story that owns us and directs us. It is the thing that makes us different from cattle; it is the mark on the face that sets one people apart from their neighbors,” says the elder.

I have often argued that a major part of Nigeria’s malaise lies in the indifference of too many Nigerians to memory. In the absence of memory, a people cannot know – to use an Igbo proverb Achebe was rather fond of – where the rain began to beat them. We live in a country where most of the central players in the defining event of our history – the Biafran War – never seemed to reckon that it was important to leave intimate accounts of the tragedy as they saw it. This lacuna has left a country that gropes and fumbles, uninstructed by any sense of what led to a war in which more than two million people, most of them children, perished.

Let’s then pause to applaud Mrs. Ejike for the guile and wile she used to ensure that her husband stayed on the task of writing his memoir until completion. She deserves considerable credit for the glorious, rich and complex narrative that her husband, Professor Chiweyite Ejike, has produced. In fact, if everybody here were my friend – and therefore knew of my habit of calling it as I see it – I would simply have said, “Go, get a copy of the book, read it, be educated by it, be enlarged and be entertained.”

Let me sketch out a case why readers should invest time in reading this rich-veined account by Ejike, a man who may be unassuming but who has lived a remarkable life, a life accentuated by ordeals mastered, opportunities seized, challenges dominated, trials surmounted, and promises redeemed.

One of the greatest bequests of this book is the amazing breadth of its subject matter. To look at the contents page is enough to figure out that Aguowulu has broad ambitions. Even so, the book’s table of contents does not come close to revealing the wide range of the memoir. In fact, it is wrong to characterize the book merely as a memoir. It is that, but it is much more. It is a book of cultural excavation, vast historical knowledge, and a compendium of the author’s accomplished life. It combines personal anecdotes with recollections of some of the epochal events that have shaped, and continue to shape, Nigerian politics and academia. It is a book concerned, in one breath, with the cultural practices, history, legends and idioms of Aguobu-Owa, the locale of the author’s birth, and, on the other hand, a grasp of world historical events, including the tensions and dramas provoked by the forces of British colonialism.

Aguowulu is one of the most penetrating and impressive analyses of Igbo cultural mores that I have ever read. Ejike is that rare intellectual, a man whose depth of knowledge as a scientist is matched by his uncommon insight into the social and cultural forces transforming his society. And he is able to demonstrate how those forces, and the transformations they have wrought, have left our society enervated, confounded and confused.

Ejike’s sensibility is that of a modern man, but one who realises that cultural self-knowledge is key to his society’s organic development. Early in the book, he articulates the four essential planks of social ethos in his natal community. I’d suggest that the nodes he identifies, namely rationality, humility, even-handedness, and objectivity, apply – with varying degrees of variation – to much of Igboland.

For me, the presence of such gems in Professor Ejike’s book is a great boon. And the book teems with proverbs, folklore, legends, and a genealogical account of his kingly ancestry. Besides, the book contains magnificent and illuminating passages that vivify the philosophical harvests and cultural institutions of his people. Always, whether he is explicating the Ozo title or the patterns of social and gender classification in his community, one has the sneaking suspicion that his findings have wider applicability within the broader Igbo collectivity.

The more personal aspects of the book are equally memorable. These sections detail, among other subjects, Ejike’s development within a large family of sixty-plus children and twenty-two wives, his educational odysseys, his sojourn abroad, his experiences as a suitor, husband and father, the trials and travails of the Biafra War days, his triumphs over adversities, and his working life, the most productive of his years spent as an academic or academic administrator. In a narrative that is at once expansive and attentive to detail, I found myself moved, in particular, by four different sectors.

The first is in the author’s clearly affectionate portrait of his father, a man who held the office of king at a time of momentous change – specifically, in the years when the British held sway over Nigeria. The author’s remarkable father, Chief Ozo Ejike, was an early advocate of education, a man who, at every opportunity, championed the acquisition of knowledge, convinced that this was the recipe for the African’s ultimate liberation. The second area I found spellbinding is the author’s narration of his and his family’s frequently harrowing experience of the Biafran War. In retelling the events of the war, Ejike offers his reader several intimate portraits that, one, lend a human face to the drama of the war and, two, demonstrate the resiliency of the human spirit in the face of colossal tragedy. The third lies in the author’s reminiscences about social relations in years gone by. His description of the indissoluble bond of friendship between his father and the near-legendary Chief Onyeama of Eke struck a chord in me. Chief Onyeama’s tragic end, before the very eyes of Chief Ozo Ejike, is told with great feeling and telling restraint. Then there is – the fourth facet – the author’s loving portraiture of his inner life and the lives of members of his family. Here, he uses a few broad strokes to convey the dimensionality of each subject, himself included. As a man, a husband and a father, I was deeply touched by the author’s homage to his wife – a kind of extended love letter, really – as well as his account of the accident that left his first daughter, Nne-emelie (Nene), paraplegic. In her father’s writing, Nene’s indomitable spirit comes alive. It is a spirit that pushed the gravely wounded young woman to achieve high academic goals and to attain her dreams to be an architect. Nene’s inner strength also enabled her to surpass her doctors’ best projections for post-accident rehabilitation.

I have refrained from summarizing any account of the numerous gripping adventures that have marked the author’s life, in his hometown, other parts of Nigeria, or abroad. Each reader deserves to encounter the rich vignettes in the book with the freshness of revelation and the attendant stimulation that they offer. But here’s my promise: there is enough material in the pages of this book to rival the delights in a fictive thriller, enough history to keep aficionados of history riveted, and enough cultural insight to reward anybody who feels a profound sense of loss about the dramatic and continuing erosion of Igbo cultural awareness.

I envy Professor Ejike his facility for recollection. I often marveled that one man could have had such an exciting and layered life, and even more that he could have remembered so many details in their dramatic particularity. It is nothing short of the gift of a genius.

Let me end by commenting on the author’s style. Professor Ejike is fond of his name, Aguowulu. Reading the book, I was convinced that the man has been appropriately named. His life has been as regal, powerful, dramatic, significant and variegated as the leopard’s. But there’s more than a hint of the leopard too in the way he has written this book. The narrative exudes an exuberance and confidence, a dazzling power and momentum, a nimbleness and versatility that bring to mind the genteel grace, muscularity and domineering strength that define a leopard. We are fortunate that a man of such impressive intellect, such humility, such an undying spirit and such profound generosity is among us. We are even more fortunate that he has taken the time to limn his incredible life – which, more than his life, is actually a chronicle of a distant and besieged past that is all but vanished as well as a more recent past whose profound lessons some of us seem intent on ignoring.

I celebrate Chiweyite Ejike the man. And I highly (repeat, highly) recommend the book to you.

Ryder System is partnering with the telephone language interpretation service Language Select to provide support for more than 200 different languages for the company’s pre-owned vehicle customers.

Customers calling Ryder will bring a Language Select interpreter on the line. The customer’s needs will be translated to the Ryder sales representative and the appropriate pre-owned vehicle information will be translated back to the customer.

The service is available during the operating hours of Ryder’s Used Truck Centers. Ryder’s pre-owned vehicle customer line can be reached at 1-800-USED-TRK.

“Language should not be a barrier to ensuring we provide the best pre-owned vehicle solution to our diverse base of customers across the globe,” said Eugene Tagney, vice president of asset management and vehicle sales at Ryder.

Ryder’s pre-owned vehicle inventory includes commercial and heavy duty vehicles including tractors, trailers, straight trucks, panel and cube vans, refrigerated trucks and stake trucks. The company sells more than 17,000 vehicles a year from its network of 59 used truck centers across North America.

For more information click here.

Anyone writing critically about the Bible — scriptures revered and followed by millions of believers worldwide — would do well to brace himself or herself for pushback from those believers, as well as scholars who view the Bible as God's word.

As reported here in June, 75 percent of Americans believe the Bible is "somehow connected to God," according to a Gallup poll, while 28 percent believe it is the "actual word of God."

Kurt Eichenwald, a Vanity Fair magazine contributing editor whose reporting specialties include health care, finance and child pornography, got a dose of blowback for his pre-Christmas story on the Bible on the cover of Newsweek, which is owned by a media firm connected to a controversial Christian group.

"No television preacher has ever read the Bible. Neither has any evangelical politician. Neither has the pope. Neither have I. And neither have you," Eichenwald wrote. "At best, we’ve all read a bad translation — a translation of translations of translations of hand-copied copies of copies of copies of copies, and on and on, hundreds of times."

Eichenwald asserted the article "is not intended to advance a particular theology or debate the existence of God. Rather, it is designed to shine a light on a book that has been abused by people who claim to revere it but don’t read it, in the process creating misery for others."

The article brought strong words from Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who called Eichenwald's work "a hit-piece that lacks any journalistic balance or credibility. His only sources cited within the article are from severe critics of evangelical Christianity, and he does not even represent some of them accurately."

While Eichenwald wrote that his conclusions were "based in large part on the works of scores of theologians and scholars, some of which dates back centuries," Mohler noted the writer quoted only three modern scholars in the story, none of whom represented traditional viewpoints: Bart D. Ehrman, whom Eichenwald calls "a groundbreaking biblical scholar and professor" at the University of North Carolina; Jason David BeDuhn, a professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University; and Richard Elliott Friedman, a Jewish Studies professor at the University of Georgia.

Others have come to Eichenwald's defense. Daily Kos blogger Fokozatos Siker, praised the veteran reporter as "one of my favorite journalists because he is one of these rare types in the MSM (mainstream media) who is willing to go after bad people tooth and nail. Usually it's about politics, but today it is about fundamentalist Christians."

Of the Newsweek piece, Siker added, "this article took my breath away at how aggressive it is."

And Hemant Mehta, the Patheos.com "Friendly Atheist" blogger, applauded Eichenwald's piece for telling "us something we’ve known for a long time: Many Christians will distort the Bible to say whatever they want it to say."

But Daniel B. Wallace, a professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, a major evangelical institution, criticized Eichenwald's reliance on certain sources. "Time and time again the author presents his arguments as though they were facts. Any serious disagreements with his reasoning are quietly ignored as though they did not exist," Wallace wrote. "Eichenwald is in need of a healthy dose of epistemic humility as well as a good research assistant who can do some fact-checking before the author embarrasses himself further in print."

And seminary president Mohler offers a blunt assessment of the story's impact on Newsweek, and not on Bible believers. He said Eichenwald's article "is exactly what happens when a writer fueled by open antipathy to evangelical Christianity tries to throw every argument he can think of against the Bible and its authority (T)his article is likely to do far more damage to Newsweek in its sad new reality."

Newsweek, one of America's pioneering newsweeklies, has faced financial difficulty over the past 10 years and only last year restarted a print edition after dropping it at the end of 2012, the BBC noted. The publication is owned by IBT Media, a company with "significant ties to David Jang, the Korean pastor hailed by some of his followers as a messianic figure, a 'Second Coming Christ,'" according to Christianity Today magazine.

Email: mkellner@deseretnews.com Twitter: @Mark_Kellner

Washington — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on December 29 announced the award of its flagship education project in Ghana -- Partnership for Education: Learning -- to the international human development organization FHI 360.

Through the Learning project, the American people are investing $71 million to support Ghana's educational institutions over five years in order to improve, expand and sustain learning outcomes for at least 2.8 million primary students nationwide, USAID said in a news release.

The project will focus on children in kindergarten through grade three. In partnership with the project's main implementing partner, Ghana Education Service, FHI 360 will lead a consortium composed of the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation; the Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration; the Olinga Foundation for Human Development; and the British Council.

The Learning project is part of the USAID Partnership for Education parent project, which supports early-grade reading and literacy improvement activities implemented by the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service. Learning will support the Ghana Education Service's nationwide efforts, with additional support to high-performing and transitioning districts throughout Ghana.

Learning seeks to strengthen the capacities of the people and institutions in Ghana's education sector to develop teaching excellence in early-grade reading; support education systems to improve reading outcomes; and engage communities to promote reading. The Learning project also includes a small component to identify approaches to improve early-grade math skills.

The USAID Partnership for Education parent project is the U.S. government's direct contribution to Ghana's 2010-2020 Education Sector Plan and its implementation. It comprises a group of distinct but complementary projects aimed at improving child literacy and numeracy, as well as basic education systems. As a component of the Partnership for Education, Learning aligns with and aims to meet Ghana's basic education-sector priorities, improve reading skills among primary-grade children, and reach global education targets of increasing primary learning and mastery of basic literacy and numeracy skills by grade three.

TESTING AND EVALUATION

A sister project, Partnership for Education: Testing, awarded to Research Triangle Institute in December 2012, is a four-year, $9 million project that focuses on strengthening student assessment design, administration and dissemination, including the National Education Assessment and the newly introduced Early Grade Reading Assessment and Early Grade Math Assessment.

Partnership for Education: Evaluating Systems, awarded to Social Impact in September 2014, is a five-year, $12 million project supporting the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service and other local partner organizations to develop a systematic and coordinated monitoring and evaluation system that directly links to implementation of Ghana's Education Strategic Plan.

Taken together, these projects work in support of the Ghanaian Ministry of Education's priority of improving learning outcomes, especially reading.

If schools taught sign language, deaf people would be less isolated. Photograph: Getty Images/Altrendo
I am 17 and have recently started a campaign, Let Sign Shine, aimed at ending the isolation of the deaf in society. My aim is to get sign language taught in schools, with the same respect and importance as languages such as French and Spanish. I have started a paper and online petition to get sign language into schools and have 3,600 signatures since beginning the campaign six months ago.

My goal is to reach 10,000 signatories, so that it has a chance of being discussed in parliament. This is something that concerns me a great deal because my 11-year-old sister Laura is unable to speak: she is deaf and has verbal dyspraxia. Her only means of communication is through sign language.

Even going shopping is a major difficulty for her without the ability to talk to a cashier or sales assistant. The simple tasks of life, including going to the doctor and answering the door become impossible with this massive communication barrier.

Sign language was made an official language in 2003 but still is not taught in the majority of schools. Our society would benefit greatly if it was. It would enable a large group of people to be included in everyday life.

A bond between the deaf and hearing would be created. The mental wellbeing of the deaf would also improve, with fewer people feeling isolated. The hearing would find fulfilment in the knowledge they have gained.   

I urge head teachers, governors and all others in the education system to get schools teaching sign language. I hope there is enough support for this idea to change society and end the isolation encountered by people like my sister Laura. The Let Sign Shine petition is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/letsignshine.co.uk.
Jade Chapman
Dereham, Norfolk

LAHORE  - Nazaria Pakistan Trust Vice President Dr Rafique Ahmad observed that the Quaid-e-Azam had categorically stated the state language for Pakistan would be Urdu, and up until the Ayub regime, the state proceedings were conducted in Urdu.
He was addressing "Nifaaz-i-Urdu Conference" which was held at the Aiwan-i-Karkunan-i- Tehreek-i-Pakistan under the aegis of the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust in collaboration with 'Pakistan Qaumi Zubaan Tehreek'.
The speakers included Gen (r) Hameed Gull, Oriya Maqbool Jan, Dr Waseem Akhtar, Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Dr Shareef Nizami, Absar Abdul Ali, Dr Ajmal Niazi, Dr Mukhtaar Azmi, Shahid Rasheed, Abdul Rehman Makki, Dr Mujahid Mansoori, Col (r) ZI Farrukh, and Hannan Abbasi. The proceedings of the event were conducted by Aziz Zafar Azad.
Dr Rafique said that the objective of the 'Pakistan Qaumi Zubaan Tehreek' is in complete harmony with that of the Nazaria-i- Pakistan Trust which sees the enforcement of Urdu as a source of stability, unity and solidarity. As a medium of instruction, it can stop the fragmentation of our society and bolster love and affinity throughout the nation, he added. Fortunately, we have an ideal constitution, the implementation of which can do away with all our problems. Urdu, he said, must be enforced forthwith in judiciary, legislative and executive, which would facilitate the communication between these institutions and the members of the public.
Hameed Gull (former ISI DG) said that Urdu was one of the greatest languages being spoken in the world. He said it was need of the state to own its national language. He said that much focus was made on English that remained useless.
PTI Punjab President Ejaz Ahmad Ch said that Urdu deserved its position as the father of the nation Quaid-i-Azam had said. Orya Maqbool Jan said that the entire history would fail to present an example that a single nation had made progress adopting others languagages. The need, he said, was to convert the new nation to national language.
Dr Waseem Akhtar said that English language gained unconstitutional position in this country that was damaging. Dr Mujahid Mansoori said that Urdu was the best language for mass communication. He said that Islam, Two Nation theory and Urdu were the factors that made creation of Pakistan a fact.  
The other speakers also enumerated the benefits and advantages that the enforcement of the Urdu language in all the departments of life could bring. It would ward off the danger of provincialism.
'It would make the communication of ideas, among the masses easy and thereby bring about much needed national solidarity, they added.
They further said using English as a medium of instruction necessitates learning by rote, keeping the young ones deprived of the access to the true spirit of knowledge. Urdu was the language that disseminated the massages of Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-i- Azam among the Muslims of the sub-continent, inspiring them to rise for independence and filling their hearts with hope, enthusiasm and ambition, they added. Urdu was nurtured by millions of the Indian Muslims.
“No nation with a foreign language as the medium of instruction has ever been able to register any progress since the dawn of civilization,” they observed. A resolution, 'demanding the enforcement of Urdu in all the departments of life was also carried at the conclusion of the event.

China is learning a costly lesson for the casual use of the English by many of its companies.

Beyond confusing public directories and hilarious — or sickening — translations of restaurant menus, the lack of accuracy in business documents has become the latest stumbling block to the sales of China's high-speed trains — something that Chinese are most proud of and are eager to sell around the world.

The Chinese-language press reported yesterday that some of the English terms for China's high-speed trains for export are not standardized, a result that may have arisen from the competition between two high-speed train producers in the country, which are about to merge.

"Professionals who understand railways are rarely experts in foreign languages. On the other hand, language masters rarely have railway knowledge," said Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University who specializes in China's railway system, adding that it is hard for railway professionals to have a thorough understanding in foreign languages.

China's top leaders have been promoting the country's high-speed railways to overseas markets, and Chinese enterprises have been selected to build several high-speed lines overseas, including between Belgrade, Serbia and Budapest, Hungary, and a new route linking Mombasa and Nairobi in Kenya.

However, companies have complained to the media, saying that they lost bids because of poor translations.

Zhang Minyu, vice-general manager of overseas market from CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., told China Economic Weekly that the company was once "one step away from winning a bid in north Europe in 2012" but finally lost the opportunity because of an error in the translation of the construction plan.

"The company's CEO said 'yes' but the plan was overturned by technology experts for mistranslation in our construction plan," Zhang told the magazine as saying.

Ma Huijuan, a professor specializing in interpretation at Beijing Foreign Studies University, also noticed the shortage of professional interpreters.

"English interpretation requires unique and professional training ... Someone who can speak and write in English doesn't necessarily know translation," Ma said, adding that it is even more difficult in business.

"English majors may know the language but they still face challenges when they meet terms and specific formats. Technology majors may be worse. They may look in a dictionary and do the translation word by word," Ma said, adding that China has begun to focus on nurturing more professional interpreters with diverse backgrounds, stimulated by hosting the Beijing Olympic Games.

In 2008, Beijing Foreign Studies University enrolled only four students in its masters degree in translation and interpretation, but that skyrocketed to nearly 60 this year.

The number of universities with qualifications to offer the program has increased to 150.

However, that does not fill the talent shortage.

"Some graduates are not in the interpretation business. Some choose to be editors and publishers, and some choose to work in banks," Ma said. "In addition, though many interpretation graduates have been trained, high-end interpreters specializing in specific fields are still in short supply."

WASHINGTON: Aiming to expand its operation in India, a US radio ministry has announced to develop its radio programming in the Telugu language.


The Tide global radio ministry, which produces radio programs that tell people about Jesus in their mother tongues, currently operates in seven languages in India - Kurukh, Santali, Odiya, Kui, Hindi, Ho and Bengali.


Programming in Telugu language is likely to be introduced by 2015 as part of The Tide's Vision 2015 to develop radio programs in 15 new languages.


The Tide global radio ministry, which produces radio programs that tell people about Jesus in their mother tongues, currently operates in seven languages in India - Kurukh, Santali, Odiya, Kui, Hindi, Ho and Bengali.


"Programming is also in development in the Telugu language in India," a media release said. "When we launched Vision 2015, the Tide had programs in 14 languages," Tide Director Don Shenk said. "Today, that number is 20, with several more on the immediate horizon," he added.


New languages already added as part of the vision include the Ibibio, Anaang, Tiv and Nupe languages in Nigeria; the Tharu language in Nepal, and the Dzongkha language in Bhutan.


Read More: 90 Percent Of Political Funding Comes From Corporates and These Big Brands Poised To Come Back Strong Next Year

Source: PTI

The Government of Canada is providing the UNAAQ Cultural Society with $80,300 in funding through the Aboriginal Languages Initiative to develop, publish and distribute two books in Inuktitut for students in grades 4 to 12.

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, Minister for the Arctic Council and Member of Parliament (Nunavut), made this announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

Quick Facts

• The project will produce a 48-page Inuktitut-language book about constellations and cosmology targeted to students in grades 4 to 8 and a 60-page book on the lore and folktales about the Little People targeted to students in grades 6 to 12.

• Up to 10 young people will be trained to interview and film Kivalliq Elders who have knowledge of constellations or folktales. Language specialists will transcribe each interview and edit the texts for the books.

• Five hundred copies of each book will be distributed to schools, early childhood education facilities, and the community library in Nunavut. They will also be available on the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society website.

• The Aboriginal Languages Initiative supports community-based language projects that contribute to the revitalization and preservation of Aboriginal languages.

Quotes

"Our Government is committed to supporting the revitalization and preservation of Aboriginal cultures and languages as living elements of Canadian society. They are an integral part of our country's identity. I commend the UNAAQ Cultural Society for taking on the important role of intergenerational language transmission."

-The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

"Through this investment, our Government is supporting new generations of Nunavummiut with educational resources that will enhance learning opportunities about Inuit culture and history in our traditional language. I am pleased with the work of the UNAAQ Cultural Society and the focus of this project on sharing the wisdom of Kivalliq Elders with students today and in the future."

-The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, Minister for the Arctic Council and Member of Parliament (Nunavut)

"On behalf of the students and institutions that will benefit from this project, we are grateful to Canadian Heritage for helping us develop educational resources that promote Nunavut perspectives and history. The government's funding will provide Inuktitut reading materials for youth, based on the knowledge shared by Nunavummiut Elders."

-Neil Christopher, Executive Director, UNAAQ Cultural Society

By Christopher Farai Charamba
In spite of how one may feel towards how the lady assaulted by the touts was dressed, it is necessary for all Zimbabweans to condemn such oppression and persecution.

"Language carries culture and culture carries ... the entire body of values by which we perceive ourselves and our place in the world." These are the words of Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

A cultural debate has arisen in the wake of the recent stripping of a lady by kombi touts.

Her offence? Wearing what they deemed to be an inappropriately short skirt.

The video of the incident went viral on social media and has since received mixed reaction from the public.

Regardless of the reasons the touts and their advocates may put forward, their actions were illegal and a gross violation of the woman's rights and dignity.

The argument that those in favour of this level of abuse raise is that her dressing was indecent and goes against the moral fibre and cultural practices of Zimbabwe.

In short, it is unZimbabwean to wear such revealing clothing.

At this juncture let me state how illogical I find it to further undress a person who you accuse of indecent exposure.

Would the solution not be to cover her up not strip her down?

But let me not digress. The dispute here is culture and what constitutes Zimbabwean culture.

Certainly not the conservative Western style clothing revered by the transport facilitators in our nation's capital right? Another pertinent question to pose is who exactly are the custodians of our culture?

Ngugi propounds that language carries culture. Therefore, working with this premise, it is within language that we are to find Zimbabwean cul- ture.

A relatively simple deed if our Constitution had not enshrined Zimbabwe with 16 official languages.

If I am permitted to humour you dear readers and take all 16 languages found in Article 6 of our supreme law, then Zimbabwean culture would be an amalgamation of all of these. I highly doubt even the most learned of our citizens is well versed in all 16 of these and can thus speak unequivocally for our nation's culture.

Forgetting the politically correct idealism of the Constitution, let us strip away the Chewa, Chibarwe, Koisan, Nambya, Shangani, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa and remain with English, Shona (Kalanga and Ndau included here) and Ndebele.

Following in line with Ngugi-losophy, Zimbabwean culture should thus form from an embodiment of these three languages. A difficult feat as all three languages contain within them different cultural elements that may not necessary coincide with the next. It might be more prudent to assess the different cultures and search for common themes and values that all Zimbabweans can relate to.

What we must all accept is that culture is a dynamic force, what was culturally acceptable in pre-colonial times might no longer be practised today.

Even certain traditions such as lobola have adapted to modern times and have taken a rather lucrative appeal.



Though that is a discussion for another time. The point being made is that nothing remains the same and we must adapt to cultural changes.

The Shona language itself has gone through changes in the last century.

What is "common" Shona today is a result of work done by Prof. C.M. Doke who standardised Shona orthography in 1931 to what became known as Union Shona.

This standardisation was heavily influenced by Christian missionaries in Rhodesia at the time who would then translate the Bible into this Union Shona.

The need for standardisation drew from the fact that Shona contains five different dialects, Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore and thus the missionaries had difficulties in compiling one translation for the bible. Doke's Shona orthography was drawn from two of the five dialects, Zezuru and Karanga.



The politics of language made it such that when Rev Louw later translated the Bible into this new Union Shona it was done on the basis of Christian values neglecting the cultural implications of certain words.

Other words also took on a different meaning with varied cultural implications. As Lovemore Togarasei points out, translating the word "banqueting" to the Shona "bira" had the effect of equating the cultural practice of a bira to a sin.

"To control a people's culture is to control their tools of self-definition in relationship to others." More words and wisdom from our favourite Kenyan author Ngugi. It is important for Zimbabweans to control our culture and define our principles and values according to what we believe and not what is imposed on us.

What is important for us to realise is that culture is not only about the practices but should be more about the principles. As a nation we need to identify which principles we can collectively subscribe to and incorporate these values into our daily lives. It should thus be the duty of every citizen in their personal capacity to be a custodian of the principles and values of Zimbabwe.



Unfortunately, we do not live in a utopia and we are all different. A plethora of influences contribute to cultural changes every day. What is needed in Zimbabwe is for us to be tolerant of the beliefs and practices of all members of our country as our Constitution instructs us to.

US former President John F. Kennedy once said "Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. "

In spite of how one may feel towards how the lady assaulted by the touts was dressed, it is necessary for all Zimbabweans to condemn such oppression and persecution.

The core principle that we need as a nation is respect. Regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, age or political affiliation, we must respect each other and our beliefs. A national culture based on respect is the pre-eminent way for us to build a harmonious and progressive state.

As a student of the language, I believe we’re living in a golden age for stock phrases, cliches and buzzwords — lifeless, pre-packaged English, which I have mastered, if you catch my drift.

Let me make myself clear. This is not your father’s set of annoying expressions, although, in the final analysis, it is what it is. Just sayin’.

First, let’s drill down to the historical roots of the problem. Quite frankly, people have been getting their cliche on since Stonehenge, the prehistoric world’s most buzz-worthy public works buy-in, officially known as “No Big Stones Left Behind.”

At first, the chronically disadvantaged Stonehenge community went all negative and dismissed the idea of arranging ginormous stones in a circle as a non-starter. As a result, the entire rock collection was thrown under the bus.

Truth be told, this damaged the Stonehenge brand, not to mention the bus axle. Talk about a buzzkill. It was almost as if these people had been living in a cave or under one of those rocks.

Then a light bulb went off among the Stonehenge chattering classes. This changed the culture, and within a matter of centuries, the project morphed into a no-brainer, although, to be perfectly honest, it would have blown their minds to learn that Stonehenge would go viral and be on every German tourist’s bucket list.

Thomas Jefferson has ownership over the next great leap forward. The big reveal came in a newly discovered text. Declaration of Independence 2.0 begins: “So, when in the course of human events it becomes all good going forward to man up over Britain fatigue ...”

Then Lincoln upped the ante at Gettysburg: “Back in the day, our fathers went all in and brought forth on this continent ...”

Now, 100 years later, the use of canned phrases from hell on steroids has reached epic, if not epidemic proportions, let alone toxic levels. It increases exponentially 24/7 as more and more people drink the Kool-Aid.

Most blameworthy are the s-o-o-o overemployed TV pundits. Buzzword-istas, if you will. It freaks me out to hear them contaminate the language — literally. They talk about ground games, game-changers and doubling down. Are they auditioning to be sports analysts?

Or opticians? Politicians are scolded for “bad optics.” Do they need glasses? Better lighting? No. These super-hip talking heads are saying in their own iconic way that something looks bad. Totally. Wait, let me walk that back a bit — I mean “absolutely.”

At the end of the day, formulaic language keeps those of us in the know on the same page. But what about the less fortunate 99 percent? What do they bring to the table? Diddly squat.

In actual fact, the buzzword-challenged must play catch-up. Which goes to an entirely different narrative.

Look, I’m raising troubling questions and opening a rare window on trite language for the shrinking middle class and the disenfranchised.

We all want a diverse society with a level playing field, though I worry that the playing field will be littered with glass from that shattered glass ceiling.

It’s all about speaking truth to power, and I can do this only if I stick to my talking points, even as I sense you’re wandering off into la-la land. If you think this paradigm shift has taken English to the next level, you couldn’t be any more wrong. Am I making sense?

No? OK, I get it, believe me, I get it. I feel you. If anyone has been bent out of shape by this column, I’m sorry. I’ve been indulging in hackneyed language porn. My bad. I take full responsibility. Mistakes have been made ... by my staff.

I’m willing to pivot and be at the epicenter of the solution. I don’t want to kick the can down the road because I’m not sure the can would pass the sniff test after rolling through all that muck.

That being said, let me end this very unique cautionary tale by pushing the envelope outside the box toward an exit strategy. I am cautiously — no, make that guardedly — optimistic.

Bottom line: What has been one of the great all-time languages is fast becoming an unmitigated disaster. So let’s start speaking English again, not in pre-packaged phrases but with the richness that comes from creating fresh combinations of words.

I mean I hope that’s your take-away. Seriously.

Reg Henry is off today.


Peter Leo of Squirrel Hill, a retired Post-Gazette columnist and occasional Portfolio contributor, can be reached at peterleo11@comcast.net.

Translator Speak and Translate Is An Interpreter for 100 Languages
December 31, 2014 in Travel

[prMac.com] Cupertino, California - People who want to communicate easily and effectively while traveling in a foreign country can now head to the App Store or Google Play, and download Pavel Donov's extraordinary new no-cost app Translator Speak and Translate. Translator Speak and Translate essentially turns an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into a simultaneous interpreter. It's built with a unique algorithm that uses Google and Microsoft's translations services to detect any of 100 foreign languages, and convert the dialogue into a user's preferred language. This all happens automatically, which means that users don't have to click anything.

What's more, users without an Internet connection can save key phrases (e.g. "please take me to the airport" and so on) and access them offline, much like a personalized dictionary or phrasebook. At the same time, thanks to its voice playback/repeat function, Translator Speak and Translate works as a valuable language learning tool to help users improve their pronunciation, competence and confidence in another language. They can also adjust the quality of the recording for maximum comprehension, and see how much time is left in a recording.

Other unique Translator Speak and Translate features include:
* Multiple operation modes
* Simple and intuitive navigation
* Helpful pop-up tips
* Ability to filter and sort phrases by language pairs and categories (Basics, Business, Bank, Communication, Food/Drinks, Hotel, Help and Health)
* A visual display of the supported mechanisms (e.g. voice input, "text to speech") for each language
* The option to save history on exit
* The ability to adjust the recording quality
* The option to manually set the language for each phrase

"While traveling can be fun and exciting, trying to communicate without knowing the local language can be frustrating, stressful and sometimes even dangerous," commented Pavel Donov. "And that's where Translator Speak and Translate is the ideal solution! Now, anyone can have a simultaneous interpreter on their device anytime, and anywhere. It's also perfect for learning a new language, and is like having one's own, private language tutor!"

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
* Requires iOS 7.0 or later
* 9.5 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Translator Speak and Translate 3.0.3, the no-cost app that turns mobile devices into a simultaneous language interpreter for 100 languages, is available worldwide through the App Store in the Travel category. There is also an Android version available on Google Play.

Translator Speak and Translate 3.0.3
More Info
Download from iTunes
Download from Google Play
Blip Video (Demo)
App Icon
Pavel Donov is a talented programmer with over 6 years experiences in software development. With previous knowledge of digital signal processing, Pavel Donov also has a deep understanding of voice processing which is the background of Translator Speak and Translate for iOS and Android. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2014 Pavel Donov. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

###

Mark Johnson
Media Director
1-408-757-0156
United States

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.
LEARNING English will make you rich, and learning Arabic will make you holy. No one ever says these things out loud in Pakistan, but their premises undergird many decisions. They dominate the thinking of parents braving long lines outside the compounds of English-medium schools during admissions season. They inspire other, newer educational institutions to advertise that they teach both Arabic and English to their students — a winning recipe for the next generation ie, holiness and wealth.

Unsurprisingly, then, many regional languages in Pakistan are dying a slow and silent death. According to one report, one-fifth of the 30 regional languages spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are in danger of extinction, with only a handful of some hundred people left to speak them. The languages gasping for life include Ushojo, Gawro, Gawarbati, Badeshi and several others.

According to Fakhruddin Akhundzada, a Pakistani linguist, Yidhga, a language of Chitral, is one of those recently placed on the endangered languages list by the United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organisation. Also comatose and nearly dead is Ushojo, another language from the same area, which numbers only about 200 people among its speakers.

In Pakistan, the promotion of a language has often been equivocated with the political dominance of one or the other group.
Kalashi, the language of the once celebrated and now often persecuted Kalash tribe, is faring little better. Only a few thousand people speak it any more and of those the vast majority is in their seventies. It is quite likely that when they die, the language will die with them.

Research shows that language extinction usually comes along with economic prosperity. A study published in the British Journal of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B makes the claim that as nations develop, a single language comes to dominate the country’s political and educational spheres and people face the onerous choice of either adopting that language or being left out in the cold, economically and politically. The rise in GDP was also seen as directly correlated with the loss of language diversity in a region.

Neither of these claims makes much sense in Pakistan; the areas around Chitral and Kalash do not seem to have experienced any vast or sudden economic development or significant rise in income per capita. Their languages nevertheless are dying.

One of the reasons may be that Pakistan’s own identity crises have always been closely tied to issues of linguistic identity. In many cases, the supremacy of a language or its promotion has been equivocated with the political dominance of one or the other group. These ideas are being tested today by two developments. First, the emergence of transnational Islamism as an antidote to the confusions of post-coloniality (who were we before the British came and how can we return to that pristine place?) has equalled the ascendance of Arabic.

In learning that language, many believe, the misconstructions of a faith understood second-hand with the losses of translation can be avoided. The consequence will be Arabised Pakistanis whose Islam would be as authentic as that of the Arab forebears (fictitious or actual) whom they are so wont to connect themselves to. To learn Arabic, as per this argument, is to solve everything, a goal lovely enough to merit the sacrifice of many languages.

The imperialism of Arabic, of course, would not exist were it not for the pre-existing anointment of English. In the darkness of the colonial age, the subcontinent’s Muslims realised there was little hope of throwing off the yoke of Empire without mastering English. Perhaps the problem began then or perhaps it did not; with the continued ascendance of English as the global language, perhaps the ontology of the issue, its vexing origins, do not much matter.

Nor would the issue have been as knotty if, after the hackles of Partition had divided up the subcontinent, a single successor could have been agreed upon. Urdu was only perfunctorily crowned, and its crowning brought on ethnic war: with linguistic diversity attached to ethnic diversity, it was perhaps inevitable.

And so it happens that even as Pakistan is refused the prosperity that accompanies the loss of language diversity, it is nevertheless losing the variety of languages that it once enjoyed.

It need not, of course, be so. In a recent article, Ross Perlin, who studies language diversity, gives the example of the Basque language movement. In Spain, Basque speakers were persecuted under the fascist regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. They did not allow it to defeat them or eradicate their language. By the time the 1960s came around, the language had become a groundswell, complete with secret schools, do it yourself language learning programmes, cultural festivals and ultimately recognition from the Spanish government itself.

The endurance of Basque is a lesson to all: its speakers face the same pro-English pressures that globalisation places on the rest of the world. Its speakers received little help from government institutions. It endured because the people who spoke it saw its utility beyond simply the pragmatics of better jobs in higher places or faraway cities.

At the heart of the language issue is the premise that the ascendance of one or another language means the sacrifice of another. There are good reasons to learn English and Arabic, venerable ones that make sense in terms of economics, a deeper understanding of faith, the accessibility of a global realm of research and knowledge. This should not demote the less spoken, the ancient, the foregone.

The preservation of language should not pivot on Darwinian scales that sentence the remote to obscurity and extinction. For the picture of the future is, after all, imprinted in the understanding of the past. A lost language hence represents the loss of what was before, an absence that inevitably taints all that comes after.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.

rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2014

Pop-up advertisements are commonplace in the virtual world and there are many users of websites and mobile-based applications who find these advertisements too annoying and boring. Language learners may find it quite difficult to focus their complete attention on learning because of third-party advertisements. "Fun Easy Learn", a global leader in developing user-friendly language learning apps, recently added an option to Learn English 6000 Words (one of their most successful products) for their users to get rid of all sorts of advertisements. As a result, they can learn without getting disrupted by ads. The developers have claimed that users can now unlock all levels of the language learning app by paying a small price.

English is regarded by many as one of the most difficult languages to master. Fun Easy Learn offers a wide range of language learning apps among which Learn English 6000 Words is one of the most downloaded products. The developers have mentioned in a recently published official press release that users can now unlock all levels of the application by paying a one-time subscription fee. Alternatively, they can also play the game and gather 1000 flowers to unlock all levels.

"English is one of the most challenging languages. However, our language learning app makes it really easy to grasp the meanings of different words as we have illustrated every word and followed a rather scientific method to teaching the language. Users may take delight in the fact that all levels of the language learning app can now be instantly unlocked," said the chief software developer of Fun Easy Learn.

About the Company

Fun Easy Learn is a great company which makes cutting-edge software products that aid in language learning.

For more information about the company, visit http://www.funeasylearn.com/

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Fun-Easy-Learn/Learn-English-6000-Words/prweb12416622.htm

Ryder System Inc. ( R ) - one of the world's largest providers of integrated logistics and transportation solutions - recently teamed up with Language Select - a telephone interpretation service provider - to offer improved communications service to its pre-owned vehicle customers in more than 200 languages.


Notably, Ryder is the first commercial fleet management company to launch such a service. Customers can select a language of their choice by simply calling Ryder's customer care unit. The queries will be answered in the language chosen. However, the customers can avail the service only during operating hours.



Ryder reported mixed third-quarter 2014 results where the bottom line was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but the top line missed the same. Despite the top-line miss, bottom line went up 5% year over year mainly buoyed by higher commercial rental revenues, increased full service lease revenues and new business wins along with volume expansion in Supply Chain Solutions. The company also raised its earnings per share guidance for 2014.

In Oct 2014, Ryder inked a full-service lease agreement for 25 CNG tractors with Northeast Foods, a baking company and food distributor. In November, Ryder signed a deal with Mansfield Clean Energy Partners for providing natural gas vehicle solutions to bulk fuel haulers. In December, Ryder and Slay Transportation Company entered a full-service lease agreement for 142 vehicles. Ryder's efforts toward deploying a fuel-efficient fleet will help strengthen its foothold in the rapidly growing market of environment-friendly vehicles.

Hence, we believe Ryder's series of contract wins, coupled with a favorable lease rate environment, will deliver strong results for the company going forward. Moreover, strategic acquisitions and increased investments in vehicles provide long-term growth potential for Ryder.

Ryder currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks to Consider

Other stocks worth investing in this sector include The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. ( GBX ), Trinity Industries Inc. ( TRN ) and FreightCar America Inc. ( RAIL ). The Greenbrier Companies has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while the other two have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Every third client requesting localizations from us at Alconost asks a very basic, but very important, question: “And what other languages do you recommend translating my game/app/site into?”

To answer this question at least for developers of mobile games, we researched sales figures for mobile games on Google Play and the App Store in different countries. We were so surprised by the results that we made an entire video:



In this article, you’ll find more information about the top 10 languages for localizing mobile games.



Let’s start with the behemoths:

Japan – the biggest source of game sales on both Google Play and the App Store. So while Japanese buying preferences can seem unusual to outsiders, localizing your game and promoting in Japan can bring fantastic results.

U.S. — no surprises here. English is a “must” for any game that is sold internationally.

Korea is ahead of even the U.S. in Android game sales.

For perspective: Just three countries – Japan, the U.S. and Korea – account for 75% of game sales on Google Play!

China is present only in the App Store for now but iOS sales have been impressive indeed. Google recently announced its return to the Chinese mobile app market and it will be interesting to see the numbers for Google Play in China a year from now.

Germany and France look small compared to the others, but for developers in North America and Western Europe, understanding French and German tastes is usually easier than Korean or Japanese ones. And who knows – maybe your game will strike a chord and be a massive hit in Germany or France?

Don’t forget about Taiwan, which despite its small size is number 10 on the list. Did you know that Taiwan uses Traditional Chinese, which is very different from the Simplified Chinese used on the Chinese mainland? A person from Taiwan is lucky to understand even half of something written in Simplified Chinese!

If your localization budget allows it, you might also consider markets that do not make the top 10 but show good growth in mobile sales: Russia, Latin America (Spanish) and Brazil.

So here is our list of the top 10 languages you should consider when localizing your mobile game:
Japanese
English
Korean
Simplified Chinese
German
French
Traditional Chinese
Russian
Spanish
Brazilian Portuguese
Data courtesy of App Annie.

P.S. We made this video in our free time because it seemed neat. We like to make videos “just for fun”: check out our video about $100 as seen by modern artists and video infographic about the cost of adding a second to site loading times. If you have interesting, unusual or unique data or ideas that could help us to make another video, let us know!



About the Author(s)


Started out as a localization project manager at Alconost translation agency, and then performed various marketing and business development activities as well as co-founded and built the video production company Alconost Video (http://alconost.com/video). Currently, the COO of Alconost (http://alconost.com)

The language-education company Rosetta Stone says 2015 will bring a technological tipping point in online language study, with more people for the first time taking courses on mobile devices than on desktop or laptop computers. It also foresees an evolving U.S. relationship with Cuba leading to greater demand for Spanish-language study and a rise to 40% in bilingualism among big-league baseball players.

Rosetta Stone RST, -3.95%  CEO Steve Swad said in a company news release that, while the 22-year-old company’s past decade has been highlighted by rapid and remarkable shifts in language trends, the coming years will be at least as extraordinary — marked by such factors as further globalization in business and education, changing demographics, the emergence of new mobile technologies, and further social-media adoption.

By 2020, according to Rosetta Stone forecasts, Spanish will be spoken by more than 40 million people in the U.S., with interest in Cuba — and diplomacy, more broadly — foreseen contributing to a “considerable uptick” in Spanish study during the term of the next U.S. president.

English, meanwhile, is anticipated by Rosetta Stone to become one of the top five languages being studied by non-native speakers in the U.S. by the year 2020, with a rise in the number of American homes where a language other than English is spoken to 65 million by the end of 2015.

Mandarin (identified in Rosetta Stone statistics as “Chinese/Mandarin”) is foreseen climbing past Japanese and Russian to join Spanish, German, Italian and French as the top five languages being studied in 2015 by Americans.

If you are someone who enjoys customizing their lock screen wallpaper on a Windows Phone device, you likely use Live Lock Themes. This app has received a new update today, bumping the version number to 2.1, adding a few new features and improvements with it.

This app works in conjunction with Microsoft's own Live Lock Screen (Beta) app, which lets you use various templates and photos as your own unique lock screen. In this newest update, Live Lock Themes has added the possibility to create your unique lock screen with your own picture, added new templates and pictures, and added new language support for Hindi and Vietnamese.

You can grab the updated app via the download link below. Share your unique lock screen in the comments!

Download Link: 

DOHA: Indian Arabic teachers and scholars, especially those associated with universities, have made invaluable contributions to the Arabic language and literature, said Mazin Al Masoudi, in-charge, League of Arab States Mission in India recently.

“Arabic teachers and scholars in India have made significant and unforgettable contributions to Arabic language and literature, and they are continuing to serve for the development of the Arabic language in the country,” said Al Masoudi speaking at a symposium at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), one of India’s most premier institutes of higher education.

Al Masoudi said: “Arab League is ready to support the promotion of the Arabic language, literature and culture in India through all possible means. We have a collection of over 50,000 books in our library, and we welcome all those who want to avail these resources.”

The event was organised by All India Association of Arabic Teachers and Scholars at the Centre of Arabic and African Studies (CAAS) in the School of Languages in JNU, New Delhi, to observe the World Arabic Language Day last week.

In 2010, Unesco, as part of its efforts to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity throughout the organisation, chose December 18 as the date for the Arabic language as it is the day in 1973 when the General Assembly approved Arabic as an official UN language.

The event was chaired by Egypt’s Ambassador to India, Hatim Tajuddin, and attended by about 250 distinguished guests, including teachers, scholars and senior diplomats, according to a New Delhi-based Urdu daily.

Professor S K Sopory, Vice Chancellor of JNU, said: “Such literary events and activities enhance the prestige of our university. I would like to thank Professor Mujeebur Rahman, Chairperson of CAAS, for organising the event.”

In India, Arabic as an elementary language is mainly taught in thousands of religious schools (called Madrasa, run on individual donations) that primarily teach Islamic theology. Out of these Madaris, some are well-established seminaries that offer advanced studies in Arabic language and literature. To name a few are Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema (Lucknow)’ Jamia Salafiya (Banaras); Darul Uloom Deoban, Jamia Falahul Muslimeen; Jamiatul Islaah and others.

In addition, there are also hundreds of colleges and universities across the country that offer various degree and diploma courses in Arabic language and literature.

“Many students after passing out from these Madaris go to universities such as JNU, Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia for higher studies such as masters and doctorates for better career,” said Dr Abu Saad Nadwi, a Doha-based Indian scholar who did a comparative analysis between Abu Tayyib Al Mutanabbi and Mirza Ghalib, two great poets of Arabic and Urdu literature, respectively.

Dr Saad said that many even go abroad such as Jamia Al Azhar, Oxford University and many other institutes in Egypt, Syria and Sudan to pursue advanced studies.

He added: “But such students are very few. Unfortunately the majority of students after passing out from Indian Madaris, in absence of financial support, fail to receive contemporary education. So they either end-up with very low paid jobs or look for better opportunities to Gulf countries.”

Another Delhi-based scholar, Dr Mohammad Ajmal, a guest faculty at CAAS, said: “Arabic, along with many other foreign languages, is taught in most of the Indian Universities. But unlike the embassies and cultural centres of other countries, Arab missions demonstrate lackadaisical gestures and are making very little efforts to promoting their langue and culture in India.”

He noted that like European and other West Asian countries such as Iran, Turkey and Israel, Arab world can also promote their language and culture by offering scholarships and fellowships to Indian students.

The Peninsula

Okri has lamented the narrow presentation of the continent to white European readers, but his reading should be a lot wider

Ben Okri: Mental tyranny is keeping black writers from greatness

Mental tyranny … Ben Okri. Photograph: Geraint Lewis/Rex Features
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Tuesday 30 December 2014 12.30 GMT
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In his recent Guardian essay, “A mental tyranny is keeping black writers from greatness”, Ben Okri laments the “tyranny of subject” over black and African writers, and gives instructions for achieving greatness. Black and African writers, writes Okri, must attain “mental freedom”: we must stop writing about “overwhelming subjects” such as slavery, colonialism, poverty, and war.

For Okri, mental tyranny is defined by repetition and prescription: the problem with black fiction is the repetition of overwhelming subjects, which is prescribed by the demands of a white reading public. It is odd, then, that his essay consists almost entirely of repetition and prescription. His piece immediately recalls Helon Habila’s review of NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names, published last year, also in the Guardian, in which Habila worries that African fiction is being distorted by an aesthetic of suffering. It recalls Njabulo S Ndebele’s objection to South Africa’s literature of “spectacle” in the 1980s (“Rediscovery of the Ordinary”), and Gerald Moore’s longing for more “private and particular observation” from Francophone African writers in the 1960s (“Towards Realism in French African Writing”). The charge that black and African writing is too political dismisses, with one blow, both the world we live in and the possibilities of political literature. It’s beyond depressing to hear a writer of Okri’s stature, who himself writes powerfully about overwhelming subjects, board this broken-down train.

As for the prescription: if, as Okri insists, “we must not let anyone define what we write”, why should black and African writers listen to Ben Okri? The essay’s demands and commands make it impossible to read as the expression of a quest for freedom. This being the case, I choose to focus on what does make sense in the essay, which is the inflated role of the white reading public. In order to address this subject, I must, like Okri, reduce my field of vision to a very specific section of black and African letters. I must forget the diversity of black writing; I must forget that there is writing in indigenous African languages; I must forget black and African thrillers, science fiction, and romance, and the innovative and varied work showcased by journals like Kwani?, Saraba, Chimurenga, and Jalada.

 
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Very well: for the purposes of argument, let us impoverish black fiction by assuming that it consists only of that which is successful for a white literary establishment. Having done this, it is easy to agree with the points Okri makes about the global reception of black and African literature. Certainly, there is a dominant white reader’s gaze that desires to consume black suffering. Certainly, black writers are unfairly pressured toward a single story. Certainly black fiction is often critiqued and taught stupidly, with grossly heightened attention to content at the expense of form. Certainly the dominant gaze gets confused and exhausted when faced with a writer such as Kojo Laing, Bessie Head, Alain Mabanckou or Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. These problems, however, are not the fault of black and African writers, and it is appalling that Ben Okri claims they are.

Black and African writing does need freedom. It needs freedom from the repetition of tired complaints and the issuing of dusty and ineffective prescriptions. After all, as Okri begins his essay, “Living as we do in troubling times, we look to writers to reflect the temper of the age” – and that is precisely what black and African writers are doing. Our literature doesn’t need better writers; it needs better readers.

Nearly 100 experts from 10 countries and regions spoke on conflict management and intercultural harmony in the past two days at the fourth biannual International Conference of International Communications held by Shanghai Normal University.

“Diversity and inclusion are processes and practices about differences for which workers and organizations as a whole make sense, frame and promote locale-specific and identity-consistent actions. If scholars assume that diversity involves conflict management as productive action to achieve intercultural harmony, then fresh insights might be attained,” said Patrice Buzzanell, former president of America's International Communication Association and current president of its Council of Communication Associations.

Guo-Ming Chen, president of International Association of Intercultural Communication Studies in America, said: “It is important for global citizens to understand, recognize and accept cultural differences, because the lack of cultural awareness and proper ways to address cultural differences in interaction will inevitably lead to unrealistic expectations, frustrations, conflicts and failure in establishing a positive relationship among people from different cultures.”

According to Pricilla Yong from Peiking University and Pan Xiaohui from Shenzhen University, it is crucial to examine the potential impact of social media on intercultural adaptation in order to better understand the role that new media plays in intercultural acculturation.

As Nippon Ichi never brought Makai Kingdom Portable (also known as Phantom Kingdom) to the west, fans of the game have been busy translating the Japanese version into English, and it’s now near completion.

 

Two programmers going by the names ChepChep and Ignis00 have been working from the English language version released on the PlayStation 2, adding their own re-writes in places, alongside a translator who goes by the name DurableTomb.

 

You can already download the patch for the game that adds the English translation to your PSP version of the game, but it’s not quite finished yet. At the time of writing, the entire project—all the main and bonus chapters—are 98 percent completed, so it is entirely playable in English.

 

The file is available on the GBATemp forums along with instructions on how to get it up and running. For those who don’t know, Makai Kingdom Portable is a strategy RPG originally released in Japan in 2011 with extra missions and characters not available in the PS2 version.


Read more stories about Makai Kingdom Portable & PSP on Siliconera.

What Egypt's multicultural past teaches us about Israel's present
Jacqueline Kahanoff’s novel, ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ strips ‘multiculturalism’ of its cold, academic veneer, displaying instead the reality of a Jewish, multicultural lifestyle. But the novel also directs a powerful question toward Israeli society: can the Arabs that live among us today ever live in Israel the same way Jews lived in Egypt?

By Ktsiaa Alon (translated from Hebrew by Shaked Spier)

Several decades after its publication, Jacqueline Kahanoff’s great novel, “Jacob’s Ladder,” has finally been translated into Hebrew. The novel portrays a vivid picture of a Levant of multiculturalism, as Kahanoff called it in her intellectual essays.

After a delay of over 60 years, Jacqueline Kahanoff’s novel “Jacob’s Ladder” was recently published by Gamma (which is under my ownership, K.A.), in cooperation with Yad Ben Zvi publishing house. Kahanoff (1919-1979) is known among Hebrew readers for her book “Me’Mizrah Shemesh,” as well as essays collected and translated by Aharon Amir (originally published in Keshet magazine). Ronit Matalon’s book “The One Facing Us“ contains many passages from Kahanoff’s articles, while the research of Prof. David Ochana, who published the book “Between Two Worlds,” puts together many of her writings. Kahanoff never wrote in Hebrew, which means her greatest novel remains unknown to her readership. The book contains a preface by Eyal Sagi Bizawi and an epilogue by Dr. Yael Shenkar.

In this short article I will address the conditions of visibility that enable the novel’s publication, rather than its content. How does a work of literature reach “its moment?” Reach the right beat, synchronized in time and place? In his essay “The Task of the Translator,” Walter Benjamin wrote that “translations that are more than transmissions of subject matter come into being when a work, in the course of its survival, has reached the age of its fame… in them the life of the originals attains its latest, continually renewed, and most complete unfolding.”

Kahanoff’s work tells the story of a upper-class Jewish family in early 20th century Egypt through the adolescent eyes of Rachel, the oldest daughter. In her intellectual essays, Kahanoff coined the term the “Levant option” – the merging of different cultures. The novel depicts this multiculturalism in all its glory, from the monotony of everyday life to greater ideological struggles. Kahanoff accurately draws the cultural landscape in which the Egyptian Jewish elite of that time lived, leaving no aspect untouched: the everyday life of the extended family, childhood, nannies and Egyptian street life. With eyes wide open and a painful psychological sensitivity, Kahanoff digs deep into the ways colonialism itself seeped into the souls of its subjects. Although the novel was honored with a literary award in the U.S. immediately after its publication, it seems to me that now is truly the work’s moment, in 2014 Israel.

Benjamin turned the capitalist question (when does a book gets translated and published?) upside down, emphasizing the intrinsic spiritual dimension of works of literature: “Will an adequate translator ever be found among the totality of its readers? Or, more pertinently: Does its nature lend itself to translation and, therefore, in view of the significance of this form, call for it?”

“Jacob’s Ladder” was meant to be translated and published at this point of time, in an Israel that faces conflicts between the identities that construct it. It is a society beset by horrifying displays of racism, one that has yet to accept its geopolitical position in the heart of the Middle East.

In her 1966 article on Emmanuel Levinas’ “Four Talmudic Readings“ Kahanoff wrote: “The drama of our existence that now occurs does not concern the Christian-Occident world, but rather the Muslim-Orient [Mizrahi]. It seems that many Jews, including Levinas, ignore the fact that the rebirth of the state of Israel has shocked the Muslim world to the bone. Our conflict with our neighbors – if it didn’t become a quarrel – was mostly conducted with the mediation of western ideologies and terminologies that aren’t suitable for their most deep sensibilities, nor to ours.” Today, the truth behind these powerful words has been revealed.

The novel strips the term “multiculturalism” of its cold, academic veneer, and displays the real-life praxis of a Jewish multicultural lifestyle. The novel, however, can also be seen as one that directs a powerful question toward Israeli society: can the Arabs in Israel ever live the same way Jews did in Egypt?

It seems that Kahanoff gives us the key to answer this question in the book’s title. The word “ladder” comes from the bible. Biblical commentators note that the word’s meaning is closer to that of a ziggurat (an ancient structure that included a terraced step pyramid) than to the contemporary meaning of the word. Jacob’s Ladder refers to a religious construction resembling a ziggurat, which was common in the Near East and symbolized the connection between heaven and earth. Kahanoff herself is a ladder, a ziggurat – a bridge between cultures, worlds, and places. Hopefully we will know to walk safely across these bridges instead of looking away from them.

Related:
The struggle for Mizrahi recognition isn’t limited to Israel
Re-learning history: A tribute to North Africa’s Jewish artists

Dr. Ktsiaa Alon is a postdoc fellow in J. R. Elyachar Center for Studies in Sepharadi Heritage, Ben Gurion University of the Negev. This article was first published in Hebrew on Haokets.

Gazal Somaiah is all smiles these days, thanks to her recent Telugu film, The End which impressed quite a few in the film industry. "The biggest high was getting a call from director Sukumar, who spent almost three hours with our team to speak about the film in detail. It was a humbling experience that a person of his stature made the effort to praise our effort," Gazal recalls.
Prior to the film's release, the actress confesses that she had her share of doubts; however, she acknowledges, that the gamble paid off. "All of us believed in director Rahul Sankrityan's vision, but the team was new and it was a low-budget film. Thankfully, everything came together quite well. I have been flooded with messages from people and some of them even sympathised with my role because others manipulate me a lot in the film," Gazal laughs, adding, "I dubbed for myself and found it tough because you have to convey your emotion through voice, which is far more difficult than acting."

Ex-school principal translates Guru Granth Sahib in Oriya, seeks suggestions
Usmeet Kaur, Hindustan Times  Amritsar, December 28, 2014
First Published: 12:51 IST(28/12/2014) | Last Updated: 12:54 IST(28/12/2014)
Bhubaneswar-based Sadhna Patri, who has strong inclination towards Sikh culture and the Gurbani since her childhood, has translated the Guru Granth Sahib in Oriya.

For the translation project, Sadhna even gave away the post of principal at a Gangtok-based school and returned to Bhubaneshwar, where collaborated with her family friend Sakir Singh for proofreading and editing of the scripture.

On Saturday, she was in the Holy City to meet Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members to show her three-year-long translation work and to seek their suggestions.

“Translating the Guru Granth Sahib in Oriya is a huge responsibility and it is important to get it right, while staying ethically correct. I believe in following the right protocol so that no one can raise a finger at my work later. Therefore, a final nod from the Akal Takht is very important,” Sadhna told Hindustan Times here on Saturday.

“Even though I belong to a Hindu Oriya family, it doesn’t restrict me from loving other religions. The founder of the Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev (the first Sikh guru) always emphasised on humanity and preached love for all,” said Sadhna.

“The Guru Granth Sahib comprises Gurbani written by Bhagat Kabir and Bhagat Naam Dev, then how my religion can be a barrier in loving the Gurbani,” she said.

She was in Class 3 when turbaned Sikh men and Sikh women attracted her, every time she got a glance of a Sikh man or a woman her curiosity compelled her to know about them, their history and culture.

Sadhna has always been inclined towards the Gurbani, which she calls “sweet” and “soulful”.

“I started reading about the Sikh culture and the Gurbani at an early age; however, a sudden transformation occurred in 2008 when I wrote Suraj Prakash in Oriya, which includes life saga of all ten Sikh gurus and Sikh history. The work has been received well by people in Odhisa,” she recounted.

“This further encouraged me to tell the Oriya people about the teachings of this beautiful and pragmatic religion, for which Oriya translation of the granth was a must. I started in 2011,” she added.

Sadhna feels translations of the Guru Granth Sahib in various languages is a must, as confining the scripture to Punjabi will restrict its understanding among various communities of India and the world.

“Once the Guru Granth Sahib is translated in Oriya, native Oriya speakers in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh will be able to learn and understand it,” she concluded.