You remember FUBAR, right? Who better to create new words than soldiers with their constant supply of military jargon, initialisms, and acronyms. Through films, memoirs, and stories, soldier slang often makes it into the mainstream. Without further ado, here are...
Heavy Metal started out as a simple chemistry term referring to the weight of certain metals. Somewhere along the way, Heavy Metal became far more sinister. And dark. And awesome! Here are a few tasty tidbits on the etymology of...
Word Stress is the distribution of stresses within a polysyllabic word. If you’re training to improve your English pronunciation, it is important to place the emphasis on the correct syllable. Take advantage of this free offer to recieve 9 weeks...
Oh my, indeed. Canadians have suspected for quite some time that the Grizzlies and the Polar Bears have been doin’ the dirty out on the tundra, but until now their claims have fallen on deaf and frostbitten ears. Although this...
In the desert of Mahler Gobi there lives a herd of Grass Mud Horse. Their diet consists of grass, and they’re able to adapt to harsh conditions as there is little water available in Mahler Gobi. The peaceful life of...
This morning, one of our translator friends on Twitter sent a link to this great video. It features a professional translator / singer songwriter who poured her wit and musical talent into what could be titled A Translator’s Lament. Of...
The Taipei Times reported today that officials from China’s National Museum of Prehistory issued an apology for a mistranslation in a publication on Aborigines. The book, Bridging Taiwan with Austronesia, wrongly referred to Aborigines’ facial tattoos as a symbol of...
For people who speak English as a second language, several pitfalls may stand in the way of communicating fluently with native speakers. Even with a firm grasp of English grammar and a full arsenal of vocabulary, correct native-level pronunciation remains...
Donna Parrish over at Blogos, just informed us that United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has released the most recent “Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger”. Now in its third edition, the Atlas’ release was especially poignant...
Bigfoot. The Abominable Snowman. Aliens. The Mothman. Nessie. The Jersey Devil. Chupacabra. In addition to collectively scaring the crap out of little kids and captivating audiences with campfire tales, these ghoulish entities all fall under the umbrella of a pseudo-science...
I recently read a book titled The Origins of Simultaneous Interpretation: The Nuremburg Trial that I thought I would recommend given that the pool of information regarding the history of interpreting can be somewhat limited, or difficult to find. Written...
Our friends over at Blogos just published a blog post on the film “The Linguists“. The documentary, made possible by major funding by The National Science Foundation (NSF), chronicles two ethnographers’ endeavor to record endangered languages around the world. It...
Open a newspaper, or turn on the television or news radio and you will hear the following message from our leaders and pundits: we must act now, there is no time to waste, swift and bold action is required. It...
A recent TechCrunch article penned by Leena Rao posed the common question: How does one say Vimeo in French? The translation left Rao’s readers grinning, but it was unfortunately much to Vimeo’s chagrin: Google Translate thinks ‘Vimeo’ is pronounced ‘youtube’....
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...
txteagle is an ambitious initiative that aims to empower and employ the people of least developed nations via their cell phones. By leveraging a vastly underused work force in some of the poorest parts of the world, its founder, Nathan...
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...
VALENTINE The practice of choosing a special person to be one’s valentine on February 14 began in the mid-14th century as an English and French courtly custom. Valentine cards may have originated with Saint Valentine himself, a Roman priest who...
The forbidden fruit of the biblical Garden of Eden has taken on so much significance throughout the centuries that almost all cultures have a wide variety of expressions and sayings that deal with apples. They may encourage health: An apple...
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...
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