The Story of Olé
In a recent lecture, author Elizabeth Gilbert discusses the history of the concept of creative genius. She takes her audience on a trip across several continents and reaches back to antiquity to explain the major shift that took place during the renaissance, when artists were first referred to as geniuses. Before the modern humanist era, […]
A Space Between Souls: Aviya Kushner on Literary Translation
The Wilson Quarterly recently featured Aviya Kushner’s article on American culture, bilingual writers, and the importance of literary translation. Here is a quote from the article, entitled McCulture: There are bilingual writers who feel a special freedom in English: a rebirth, they say, without the weight of culture or history, the taste of prayer or […]
Ya Like Dags: A Note on Pavee Language
By Wesley Cook Long before it was brought to pop-culture attention by Brad Pitt’s performance in the 2000 Guy Ritchie movie Snatch, the Pikey language was an established part of the English lexicon. Pikey is actually a pejorative term that refers to a group of people who call themselves Pavees. Pavees, also called Travellers, live […]
Salman Rushdie to Speak at Emory on the Subject of Adaptation
Salman Rushdie will offer a lecture at Emory University’s Glenn Memorial Auditorium on Sunday, February 22nd. The subject of the lecture will be Adaptation, or how art is translated from one form to another. Tickets are only 10 dollars (5 for students), and Rushdie, who is currently Emory’s Writer in Residence, is always warm, engaging, […]
Does Fairness Translate?: An Economist and a Linguist Delve into the Cross-Cultural Variations of What We Consider Fair
Recently, a debate has surfaced that combines the efforts of Economists and Linguists. At the center of the discussion is the etymology, meaning, and translatability of the English word Fairness. The crux of the argument was presented by the American economist Bart Wilson in a piece he published this week in The Atlantic’s Brave New […]
Etymology of Inauguration
The word inauguration can be traced back to the early Roman Republic (510 BC – 27 BC). In the early Roman Republic, all major decisions, such as when to go to war, and who to appoint to positions of power were decided upon by Augurs. In Rome, an augur was considered to be a divine […]
IMIA Publishes Guide for Medical Translation
The International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) was founded in 1986 and is the largest medical interpreting organization in the United States. The objective of the IMIA Guide on Medical Translation is to provide an easy to use set of translation guidelines for those in the medical field. The guide was written by 18 year veteran […]
From Dream to Reality: MLK Translation Challenge
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States adds a historically resounding element to this year’s Martin Luther King Day celebration. King was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia at a time when the South, and the Nation as a whole, suffered greatly from the violence and oppression […]
American Dialect Society Names ‘Bailout’ Word of the Year for 2008
Founded in 1889, the American Dialect Society is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it. ADS members are linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, historians, grammarians, academics, editors, writers, and independent scholars in the fields of English, foreign languages, […]
The Most Beautiful Words in English
In collaboration with Lauren, Jocelyn, Maria, and Tatyana. What we consider beautiful is subjective, but there are some English words that language lovers have reached a kind of consensus on regarding beauty. A unique combination of vowel and consonant sounds, coupled with a nuanced or associative meaning of a word, can create an aesthetically satisfying […]