Beyond Words - Language Blog
Recent Blog Posts
Can Untranslatable Words Make Us Happier?
May 4, 2016
The idea of untranslatability is captivating for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the chance to try on another culture’s way of experiencing the world. As the popular anecdote goes, how does an Eskimo or Inuit look at snow, when there are dozens of words to […]
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Paths to Success in Medical Interpretation: An Interview with Professional Interpreter and Breaking Boundaries in Healthcare Instructor, Stephanie Wiley
April 5, 2016
Stephanie Wiley is a professional interpreter and instructor for the Breaking Boundaries in Healthcare® course. Stephanie was kind to sit down with us and share some of her insight on medical interpretation and tips to being a successful medical interpreter. How did you first become interested in medical interpretation? I […]
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7 Questions to a Linguist: William Labov and the False Idols of Language
March 11, 2016
In today’s 7 Questions to a Linguist, we hear from a towering figure in the field of linguistics, Dr. William Labov. Labov’s scholarly work over the past 50 years has garnered him the moniker “father of sociolinguistics”, and it is with a rigorous quantitative approach to the study of language […]
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7 Questions to a Linguist: Bernard Comrie Explores World Languages to Answer the Unanswerable
March 8, 2016
In today’s 7 Questions to a Linguist, we look at the juncture of human history and language development with Dr. Bernard Comrie. Dr. Comrie served 17 years as the head of the Department of Linguistics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and currently holds the position of Distinguished […]
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The Most Amusing Surnames in the World
February 26, 2016
The article you are reading started out with a narrow focus: Slavic surnames in life and literature. The Russian language provides such a wealth of linguistic diversity and flexibility that even something as practical as a last name can be both whimsical and laden with meaning at the same time. […]
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7 Questions to a Linguist: Scott McGinnis
February 12, 2016
For this edition of 7 Questions to a Linguist, ALTA Language Services interviewed Scott McGinnis, Academic Advisor for the Defense Language Institute, Washington, D.C. branch, and Coordinator of the federal government’s Interagency Language Roundtable. In addition to lending his language skills to support U.S. security, Dr. McGinnis has served as […]
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Laughs in Translation: New Web Series Looks for the Funny in Every Country
February 3, 2016
Don’t let the name fool you — the new web series from comedian Brooks Wheelan is not about how one country’s comedy can be localized to suit another’s tastes. Instead, the globetrotting host – whose credits include a successful 2015 comedy album and a fleeting one-season stint on Saturday Night […]
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Translation Tip of the Week: Create a Glossary
January 20, 2016
In this new series, ALTA Language Services will be sharing tips, tricks, and translation best practices. These industry insights are especially helpful for companies and individuals who work with translation agencies on a regular basis, or are in the market for complex translation services. In today’s post, we look at […]
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7 Questions to a Linguist: University of Cambridge Professor Henriëtte Hendriks on Language Acquisition
January 14, 2016
As a specialist in language acquisition, Dr. Henriëtte Hendriks is as much a professor as she is a practitioner. The Head of Cambridge University’s Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Dr. Hendriks researches the complex interactions between culture, cognition, and the way we learn languages. As a speaker of 6 […]
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Did a Bad Translation Influence the Bombing of Hiroshima?
December 10, 2015
Inaccurate and culturally uninformed translations have been known to cause problems, but here is a case from the annals of history that, if true, shows the consequences can be catastrophic. A recent article by historian Sam Yamashita of Pomona College suggests that a bad translation by the Japanese War Ministry […]
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