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Audio and Video

The Word on Movie Translations

If you grew up watching Kung Fu movies, you know about movie translation. What was probably meant to be unique and helpful for understanding a plot has turned into cult-classic sentimentality. For many people, the best thing about those films is the way in which the mouth movements and the words coming out of them are completely unaligned. It makes for a fun movie-watching experience. Not-So-Fun For Real Most of the time, you want to watch a film and understand just what is being said through the ever-helpful subtitle, or

May 18, 2017 No Comments

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Parlez-vous What?

According to World Atlas, there are 29 independent nations that use French as their official language. Though you might think that the French language is all the same everywhere you go, each region has its peculiarities. Let’s look at some differences between the way French is spoken in France and in Quebec, Canada. Though both versions of French come from the same classical French base, there are differences in grammar, slang, formality, and even vowel pronunciation. The French Canadian population tries to stay within the base of the language, “resisting

May 12, 2017 No Comments

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How Smart Are Smartphone Assistant Translations?

Smartphones have become smart, but are they smarter than you? When it comes to language interpretation, unless you are a linguistic specialist, they probably are. It’s All About The Languages Some smartphones are smarter than others when it comes to language interpretations. VOA News reports that Siri can “speak 21 languages localized for 36 countries, a very important capability.” Cortana only has “eight languages tailored for 13 countries,” but she knows quite a bit about the Mexican culture and prides herself upon it. As of right now, Alexa by Amazon

May 4, 2017 No Comments

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Are You Mad Or Just Crazy?

Many different variations of English are spoken around the world. Here we’ll consider three. GrammarCheck highlights 63 spelling and terminology differences between British and American English. Some are as simple as marvelous and marvellous; or as complex as boot and trunk. When it comes to understanding what your friends in Canada or Great Britain really mean takes a little bit of study. Three languages, multiple differences There are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences in language between American English, British English, and Canadian English. Though many things come from the British

April 27, 2017 No Comments

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When Little Words Add Up to Big Differences

Everyone just wants to be understood. From the time we’re old enough to speak, we just want someone to say, “Hey–I get it.” When it comes to the many different languages of the world, there are many interpreters who have the job of explaining to others what is being said. If you’ve ever watched a Major League Baseball game, you’ve seen the interpreters tell the reporters just what the star pitcher from the Dominican Republic is saying about the 9 shut-out innings he just threw. Every Word Spoken Did you

March 24, 2017 No Comments

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3 Korean Phrases Other Languages Need

One of the most interesting things about the vocabulary of other languages is just how much they can reveal of another culture’s thought process. Japanese vocabulary tends to spotlight the culture’s focus on honor, while French vocabulary shows just how much that nation and culture treasure love and other emotions. These cultures often have specific words to describe things that other languages might not ever think need to be summed-up in one word. Korea is no exception. The Korean language has some interesting words to describe things you never knew

March 2, 2017 No Comments

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Why Translation Choices Matter In Politics

Language is a very delicate thing in politics, but it becomes even more sensitive—and dangerous—when the language being exchanged is between two nations that don’t share the same language or culture. We saw some consequences of that late last year when then President Elect Donald Trump broke with decades of careful deference to China’s “One China” policy and took a phone call from the President of Taiwan. The reaction across the world has been one of alarm since this gesture effectively rejects the American government’s previous policy of not risking

January 26, 2017 No Comments

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3 Words With No English Equivalent

One of the interesting things about the English language is how often it adopts words from other languages and uses them the same way. Ennui, for example, is a French word that usually describes the dissatisfaction or restlessness and boredom that affluent or well off people experience when they lack challenges or meaningful tasks to complete in their lives. But for every word like ennui that actually manages to make it into general English usage, there are many words from other languages that never make the jump. Even though there

January 18, 2017 No Comments