In the latest entry of 7 Questions to a Linguist, ALTA Language Services caught up with psycholinguistics wunderkind Dr. Steven Pinker. The Harvard psychology professor, frequent TED speaker, and award-winning author staked his claim in contemporary discourse thanks to his...
In the second installment of 7 Questions to a Linguist, ALTA Language Services had the pleasure of catching up with language scholar, writer, lecturer, and broadcaster David Crystal. “Those linguistic experiences have long disappeared from my memory now, though I...
Welcome to the inaugural interview of our 7 Questions to a Linguist series! Over the next few months, we’ll be exploring some of the most fascinating, eye-opening, and unexpected insights from leading language professionals around the world. To kick things...
Michael Kandel’s humility borders on self-deprecation. The leading English-language translator of Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem sees the translator’s lot as utilitarian, unromantic, invisible. His mantra is that failure is inevitable. And yet, the scope and significance of Kandel’s...
Recently a friend brought to my attention a delightful collection of William Safire’s articles from the New York Times Magazine. Many years ago, my friend wrote Safire regarding the origins of the word “trivia”, which the celebrated journalist had mistakenly...
Our translation department and our language blog, Beyond Words, often receive questions from students and individuals interested in becoming professional translators. In the past, we’ve written articles and gathered resources about existing translation programs, scholarships, and general advice for prospective...
With the recent Sony hack making the news, it’s hard not to wonder about the safety and confidentiality of information we move across the web. As the manager of ALTA Language Services’ translation department, I interact with clients ranging from...
We’ve all had a good laugh reading translations gone disastrously wrong. Warning signs, disclaimers, and company slogans seem to be particularly susceptible to hilarious results. Because they often involve a play on words or a reference to culture-specific concepts, corporate...
Not only does every September bring with it New York Fashion Week, but the month often marks a transition in the way we dress. As the season changes and we tuck away our summer clothes in favor of fall wear,...
Shadowy figures dart around corners and disappear into the fog. Hard-boiled detectives, commissioned by untrustworthy dames in expensive furs, toss cigarettes on the rain-slicked street and skulk into the night. Film noir is a genre of bad guys and worse...
Every year brings with it an eagerly anticipated summer movie season. Whether or not you personally enjoy 2014’s crop of action, superhero, comedy, and horror films, some may one day form part of their particular genre’s canon. Caught in the...
Is your company pushing the envelope to create disruptive innovations outside the box? Have you considered how scalable your department’s synergy really is? Can your sales reps proactively leverage their resources to snatch up the lowest-hanging fruit? And is that...
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