Psychometricians: What They Are and What They Do
What is a Psychometrician? A psychometrician is someone who practices the science of educational and psychological measurement, or in other words, testing. Psychometricians measure the validity, reliability, and fairness of an exam program, and are an integral part in the process of creating valid and reliable language tests. They may be involved in all aspects […]
Interview with Translator Aaron Maddox: Paths to Success in Translation Part II
This week’s Paths to Success in Translation post is an interview with translator Aaron Maddox. Aaron translates from German and Spanish into English, and is also often engaged to proofread translations in any combination of those three languages. He also has a passion for the delightful, yet less practical Bavarian and Catalan. Over the past […]
Paths to Success in Translation: Interview with Translator Mary Maloof-Fleck
Since last year, all of us at Beyond Words have worked hard to provide a fun and useful resource for language lovers and professionals. In between the fun language articles, we occasionally offer advice on how to become a professional translator, and we try to deliver some context on the history of translation, as well […]
Web 2.0: The Millionth Word?
With Web 2.0 making its debut as the millionth word in the English language this past month (according to the Global Language Monitor) we have been introduced to a new interpretation of what we can classify as an English word. What counts towards this million-word marker to begin with, given the many slang words that […]
Baby Sign Language
Like many people, I’ve put in a good amount of time watching internet clips of cute babies/kittens/puppies/parrots/etc on YouTube. While the videos range from ridiculous to fairly amusing, I recently found myself totally captivated by a video featuring a baby who uses sign language. What at first glance appeared to be yet another cute baby […]
How NOT to Flirt in German: The Return of the Poly-flirt
Welcome to the second installment of the Poly-flirt. Now that we’ve wet your appetite with ten hilarious French pick-up lines, here are a few pick-up lines you should never use auf Deutsch. I had the privilege last year of spending some time in Germany, touring the sites, somewhat vigorously sampling the beer and food, meeting […]
10 Quotes about Translation: Great Writers on the Art of Translation
Translation is a fine art of maintaining the character of the original language and giving it new life in a fresh language. Many writers have expressed their opinions on the art of translation, and many great writers were, themselves, translators who provided professional translation services. There doesn’t seem to be much consensus amongst the great […]
Language and Culture Book Recommendation:The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
In the years that I’ve worked at ALTA, I’ve read a lot of literature about test design, validation techniques, and testing standards. Most of this literature comes in the form of dry, statistic-laden academic materials (apologies to all who enjoy statistic-laden academic materials), but one resource in particular stood out as informative as well as […]
The Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation
The translation profession would not be what it is today were it not for people like Alicia Gordon. The Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation has been established in memory of the translator, whose work ranged from technical to literary translation, with a specialty niche in the music and film business. As a […]
Don’t Miss The Keirin ~ Saturday May 9th!
ALTA Language Services is a proud sponsor of the 2009 East Point Track Club. The team will be bringing the hammer down at Dick lane Velodrome’s first Pro Race Series of the season on Saturday, May 9th. The Keirin is presented by No Brakes & Kazane. If you’ve never witnessed track racing here in Atlanta, […]