Beyond Words - Language Blog
Recent Blog Posts
The Languages of Taiwan: Past, Present, and Future
November 16, 2017
In published reports from recent years, the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) compiled the results of the first stage of a three-year study into the languages of Austronesia. Focusing on five languages used in Taiwan – a state with 14 officially recognized indigenous groups – the study illustrated a lamentably […]
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Getting Your (Interpreter) Foot in the Door
November 2, 2017
Are you interested in becoming a medical interpreter? Sign up Now and get started. A common question from untrained interpreters is: “If I take a medical interpreter training course, can I get hired at a hospital?” The simple answer to this question is yes, but there’s a lot more to […]
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It’s Hard to Tie My Shoes
September 27, 2017
Today I worked with a patient that I’ve seen a thousand times. As a Spanish interpreter, I work with the same patients a few times a week in the emergency room for dialysis. Many of these patients have no health insurance. No documents. Not enough resources to pay the astronomical […]
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Translation Tip of the Week: Supply Great Content
September 12, 2017
So you’ve done the research to find the best translation agency for your business and have just signed off on that first project? Now is the perfect time to start laying the foundation for a productive relationship that delivers high-quality documents, on time and within the budget. This process begins […]
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Etymology of the Cosmos
August 25, 2017
The cosmos that surrounds our planet is a vast playground of knowledge – for astronomers, for physicists, for theologians, and even for experienced linguists. Below you will find the word origins of some of the most mesmerizing celestial bodies found in outer space. Cosmos: In usage since ancient times, this […]
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How I Learned the Word Careless
August 16, 2017
Are you interested in becoming a medical interpreter? Sign up Now and get started. The word for liver in Spanish is always “hígado.” It’s comforting to go into an interpreting scenario with a head full of medical vocabulary in two languages. After a few months of working at a hospital, […]
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Vicarious Trauma: A Lesson in Empathy
July 20, 2017
Are you interested in becoming a medical interpreter? Sign up Now and get started. I worked as a medical interpreter at a level one trauma hospital for three years. In the beginning, the work felt frenetic and gratifying and new every day. But after a year or so, I started […]
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15 Foreign Language Resource Centers
June 29, 2017
In 1990, the U.S. Department of Education embarked on a mission to fund the nation’s most promising foreign language institutions. Known as Title VI Language Resource Centers (LRCs), these groups are housed within universities across the nation and share the aim of developing resources and opportunities for teachers, instructors, and […]
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A Brief History of Sign Language Interpretation
June 14, 2017
While ad hoc versions of sign language have existed throughout the course of human civilization, it was not until the 17th century that the Western world saw a systematic study of the teaching and learning of sign language. In 1620, a Spanish priest by the name of Juan Pablo Bonet […]
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Etymology of Ten U.S. Cities
May 25, 2017
Read on to find out the fascinating and unexpected etymologies of ten of our country’s largest cities. Albuquerque: Named for its founder, Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque, the original word is derived from the Latin albus, meaning “white”, and quercus, meaning “oak.” Atlanta: Having undergone numerous name-changes […]
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