Learning a language is full of excitement, frustration and many times, embarrassment. This was perfectly illustrated to me one day when a coworker of mine, Clara, who was in the process of learning Spanish, was doing her best to make...
English speakers use the schwa all the time. It’s our most popular vowel sound, and yet we don’t have any written symbol that corresponds to it. That’s because English spelling – a topic I love to rant and rave about...
If you are fluent in more than one language, your job prospects as a translator — converting written text from one language to another — are growing at a rapid clip in the U.S. market. According to the U.S. Bureau...
In recent years, research has shown that languages like Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Turkish, and Japanese use more simple number terminology and express math concepts like fractions more clearly than English. This makes it easier for speakers of these languages to...
Can you name the English vowels? If you rolled your eyes and answered A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y, you’re on the right track, but you’re still missing nine out of fourteen correct answers, including epsilon, open o,...
When I tell people that I work in a children’s hospital, their first reaction is often, “Wow, that must be very difficult!” When I reflect and ask them in what way, typically they will mention two things: 1) medical terminology,...
Biases, opinions, and judgments surround accents. Think about the stereotypes associated with a Southern American accent. Sure, some people affiliate the twang with Southern hospitality and politeness. But according to studies, people with Southern accents are consistently rated as sounding...
The Baloch people are an ethnic group that live in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Historians believe this group originated from the southeast Caspian region. Most Baloch people speak Balochi, which is also referred to as Baluchi. This is one of...
If you look at a color spectrum, you will find the number of colors is infinite. The spectrum has no end or beginning, and there is no limit to the number of gradations that exist. When an English speaker looks...
As the coronavirus continues to make international headlines, interpreters may be weighing their own personal risks against their need – or ability – to work. Interpreters who operate as independent contractors often work in multiple settings across a variety of...
What animals make the following sounds: “oink-oink” “knor-knor” “groin-groin” “boo-boo” and “nöff-nöff”? Trick question – all these sounds are made by a pig, albeit in English, Dutch, French, Japanese, and Swedish, respectively. If you listen to a pig in Sweden...
Hospital interpreters are some of the most careful people I know when it comes to infection prevention. In the first hospital where I worked, my colleagues regularly wiped down their desks with disinfecting wipes at the end of the day....
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