It’s hard to believe that 2009 is half through! Fortunately, it’s been a busy year at ALTA, and while we’ve been delivering on interesting language testing and translation projects, we always find time to dedicate to Beyond Words posts. Here are a few articles from the past six months that might have slipped your radar, but that should prove to be fun and interesting reads:
Language and Culture Book Recommendation
In this article, Danielle offers a review of Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. With this book, Fadiman explores the cultural and language struggles of a Hmong family in California. The title refers to the Hmong translation for an epileptic seizure.
Egregious English: 20 Commonly Misused Words and Phrases
This Language List takes a humorous look at Family Guy’s baby Stewie’s invective against improper use of English words and phrases.
5 More Difficult Words to Translate
The wild success of Maria’s original 10 Most Difficult Words to Translate article prompted us to amend the list with five more interesting words and their meanings.
English Pronunciation Lesson: A Telephone Conversation
Many English learners find it difficult to be understood over the phone because of issues with pronunciation. We created this resource with mp3 recordings so you can read and hear examples of phrases commonly used during telephone conversation.
The Etymology of Heavy Metal
We’re not talking about chemistry terms here. Beyond Words contributor, Chris, rocks out this word origin article. He was probably wearing a cutoff Maiden shirt when he wrote it.
Interpreting Book Recommendation
The first public, international use of simultaneous interpreting was at the Nurenberg trials after the Second World War. Jocelyn reviews the book, The Origins of Simultaneous Interpretation: The Nuremburg Trial by Fracesca Gaiba.
The Etymology of Olé
This article was inspired by a wonderful TedTalk. The Spanish word Olé has a fascinating history that goes back to the traditions of the Northern Africans who ruled Spain for over 700 years.
Hope you enjoy the reading, and have a wonderful July 4th!