There are three teaching methods that dominate the business of language instruction: the Direct Method, the Grammar-Translation Method, and the Audio-Lingual Method. Deciding which is the best method is difficult because each has strengths and weaknesses, and the nature of...
Among the ten films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, one prompted a lot of discussion amongst language professionals: James Cameron’s Avatar, which features the fictional language, Na’vi. In honor of the linguistic work in Avatar, Beyond Words has compiled...
It is estimated that over 50 million people in the U.S. speak two or more languages. The majority of multilingual residents in the U.S. live in cities, and, as language professionals, we were curious which cities in the U.S. are...
The 2010 Technology Entertainment Design conference wrapped up on February 13, in Long Beach, California, and the new talks are just now making it online. If you’re not familiar with the conferences, they started in 1984, and showcase some of...
Since the earthquake in Haiti, thousands of medical workers, translators, and interpreters have organized for specialized relief efforts. Translators Without Borders will soon offer a medical triage dictionary for use with Haitian Creole, and ALTA has enlisted our resources to...
For Beyond Words readers who know ALTA primarily as a translation company, it may come as a surprise to learn that we are national leaders in the Language Testing sector. Since ALTA does not develop academic language tests (like the...
The 82nd annual Oscar Awards are coming up, and while most people have their eyes on the Best Picture or Best Actor/Actress nominations, I’ve got my eyes on the Best Foreign Language film list. As usual, five feature length films...
2009 proved to be a successful year for ALTA despite the economic conditions. In the Translation Services division, we managed thousands of projects that ranged widely in language combinations, scale, and complexity. As we noted in last year’s post, 10...
When news of J.D. Salinger’s death was reported late Wednesday afternoon, I was surprised, but then not. Despite being one of the most recognized American authors of the twentieth century, Salinger was also one of the most reclusive. After being...
The boundaries between formal and informal language are often blurry. Misunderstandings can arise when a language student or interpreter does not choose correctly when speaking a language that distinguishes between formal and informal personal pronouns. One runs a risk of...
Interested in our language services? Complete the form or call us during business hours (9 AM to 6:00 PM ET) at 800.895.8210.
Δ
View our test prep materials or FAQ’s for common questions about taking a test.
