Like the vast majority of language websites and blogs, Beyond Words’ language content mostly consists of writing, audio, and video. Given the nature of language, the way it’s formed, and the way it’s usually expressed, this fact shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, a discussion of language can only be only enriched by the visual and documentary arts.
We decided to look at language through the lens of a less common medium: photography. By searching through The Commons on Flickr, we’re able to bring you 5 great language-related photographs in the public domain. The Commons started as a joint project by Flickr and the Library of Congress attempting to collect the world’s public photography archives in one place online. We hope you enjoy looking at these photographs!
“Work with schools : Y.M.C.A. lesson in English to foreigners…”
Date: 1920s
Source: New York Public Library
Repository: New York Public Library Archives
Link to Photograph
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Language and Culture, Uncategorized |
No Comments »
Episode 8: The Language News Report
Welcome to ALTA’s Beyond Words Podcast. Our podcasts provide listeners with the latest language news, language-related interviews, and language lessons that can be applied to real-world situations. They’re always brief, always informative, and always entertaining.
During the Language News Report, you’ll hear summaries of last week’s top language-related stories. You can listen to the podcast on our website or download it for later playback on any standard MP3 compatible device. We hope you enjoy listening!
Listen to Episode 8: The Language News Report
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Subscribe on iTunes
You can subscribe to the Beyond Words Podcast on iTunes. Every time we release a new episode, your iTunes library will automatically upload it. Just follow the link — SUBSCRIBE.
Download
To download Episode 8 for playback on any MP3 compatible device, simply right click and “save link as” or “save target as” — DOWNLOAD .
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Language and Culture, Podcast, Uncategorized |
2 Comments »
Episode 6: The Language News Report
Welcome to ALTA’s Beyond Words Podcast. Our podcasts provide listeners with the latest language news, language-related interviews, and language lessons that can be applied to real-world situations. They’re always brief, always informative, and always entertaining.
During the Language News Report, you’ll hear summaries of last week’s top language-related stories. You can listen to the podcast on our website or download it for later playback on any standard MP3 compatible device. We hope you enjoy listening!
Listen to Episode 6: The Language News Report
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Subscribe on iTunes
You can subscribe to the Beyond Words Podcast on iTunes. Every time we release a new episode, your iTunes library will automatically upload it. Just follow the link — SUBSCRIBE.
Download
To download Episode 6 for playback on any MP3 compatible device, simply right click and “save link as” or “save target as” — DOWNLOAD .
Articles in this week’s Language News Report
Calderon visit lost in translation
Chris Evans OK tests language examiners
Black city students urged to learn Russian
Armenian Council Opposes Foreign-Language Schools
Amazon Branches Out with Publishing Arm
From Milton Keynes to the Babel of Britain
Welsh assembly translation decision backed by review
State will spend thousands to aid Lakota speakers at voting booths
Researchers get $3.3 million grant to investigate language outcomes of bilingual children
Other noteworthy language-related articles
They Get to Me: A young psycholinguist confesses her strong attraction to pronouns
Ngugi’s book warns Africans to shed European culture or perish
Official Languages Act has served us well
For Iraqis, learning Hebrew is a mixed blessing
2 Manatee schools look for edge with Mandarin classes
If you’re interested in receiving a daily dose of language-related articles and media from around the web, you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
ALTA has provided language training to government agencies and corporations for 30 years. To learn more about our programs, please visit Online Language Training.
All music and sound effects were provided by The Freesound Project.
Thank you to the following people for use of their field recordings and samples:
Genghis Attenborough and Djgriffin
Posted in Language and Culture, Podcast, Uncategorized |
No Comments »
Episode 2: At the Bar, A Russian Lesson
Welcome to the second installment of ALTA’s Beyond Words Podcast. Our podcasts provide listeners with the latest language news, language-related interviews, and language lessons that can be applied to real-world situations. They’re always brief, always informative, and always entertaining.
Today’s language lesson deals with Russian phrases for ordering a drink at a bar. You can listen to the lesson on our website or download it for later playback on any standard MP3 compatible device. We hope you enjoy listening!
Listen to Episode 2: A Russian Lesson
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download
To download Episode 2 for playback on any MP3 compatible device, simply right click and “save link as” or “save target as” — DOWNLOAD .
Subscribe on iTunes
You can subscribe to the Beyond Words Podcast on iTunes. Every time we release a new episode, your iTunes library will automatically upload it. Just follow the link — SUBSCRIBE.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
ALTA has provided language training to government agencies and corporations for 30 years. To learn more about our programs, please visit Online Language Training.
All music and sound effects were provided by The Freesound Project.
Thank you to the following people for use of their field recordings and samples:
Genghis Attenborough, Djgriffin, Robinhood76, Fogma, Mich3d, Afterguard, Bauhaus2006, Tr4ck3r, and Dobroide
Posted in Language Training, Podcast, Uncategorized |
2 Comments »
Episode 1: Landing in Morocco, An Arabic Lesson
Welcome to the first installment of ALTA’s Beyond Words Podcast. Each episode will provide listeners with the latest language news, language-related interviews, or language lessons that can be applied to real-world situations. They’re always brief, always informative, and always entertaining.
Today’s language lesson deals with Arabic phrases for getting from an airport to a hotel. You can listen to the lesson on our website or download it for later playback on any standard MP3 compatible device. We hope you enjoy listening!
Listen to Episode 1
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download
To download Episode 1 for playback on any MP3 compatible device, simply right click and “save link as” or “save target as” — DOWNLOAD .
Subscribe on iTunes
You can subscribe to the Beyond Words Podcast on iTunes. Every time we release a new episode, your iTunes library will automatically upload it. Just follow the link — SUBSCRIBE.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
ALTA has provided language training to government agencies and corporations for 30 years. To learn more about our programs, please visit Online Language Training.
All music and sound effects were provided by The Freesound Project.
Thank you to the following people for use of their field recordings and samples:
Genghis Attenborough, Djgriffin, Bram, Acclivity, Corsica_S, CGEffex, Burkay, and Afterguard
My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-d1f907415ea19550131e6912f9582dbd}
Posted in Language Training, Podcast, Uncategorized |
2 Comments »
Recently, ALTA received a fax from a law firm with a request to translate an attached document. Strangely, the lawyers had received this document enclosed in an envelope with no return address, and with no English indication as to what the sender wanted done. We receive translation requests daily, but this one was quite odd. The lawyers couldn’t decipher the language that was printed on the tattered page. It was a single sheet of thick, yellowing paper, about half-filled with ornate characters that looked “maybe Arabic?” — as the lawyers wondered. But it was not Arabic.
It was not anything that we at ALTA had ever seen before. The mystery document was passed around the office and we attempted to identify the source language. A few of us offered educated guesses based on the diacritical marks and some other aspects of the script, but no one could determine the language exactly. We scanned it and sent it out to a few translators who specialize in East African, Middle Eastern, and East Asian languages. A couple of them responded with the theory that we had uncovered an example of a Manichean script that was banned centuries ago!
They were wrong. It took ALTA’s resident language sleuth and linguist, Wes Cook, to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Here is the story, in the Language Sleuth’s own words…
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Most Popular, Translation, Uncategorized |
2 Comments »
