The news that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, collectively known as "Kimye," have named their baby daughter North - as in North West, or "Nori" for short - may get some people thinking about sushi. Kim and a Kanye might have thought twice when naming their daughter if they knew that the name means edible seaweed in Japanese, as well as other strange things in different languages.
Wimbledon, the oldest and arguably the most prestigious tennis tournament, and one of the greatest events on London's social calendar, begins next week. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, but has its roots in France, meaning it has a very Francophone linguistic history. We've compiled a list of popular tennis terms and their origins ahead of the 127th edition of Wimbledon.
Last week we blogged about our office rule surrounding the Eurovision song contest: if your country wins, you must bring a cake into the office to celebrate. So, who took the cake in Europe's Favourite TV Show last weekend? With Denmark bagging the top prize for the third time in the country's history, we're disappointed to say that for the second year in a row, there was no cake in the Today Translations office.
Jurga Zilinskiene, IT geek and managing director of Today Translations, a leading London-based translation company, has been featured in the latest issue of the online business magazine, The Next Women. Although one of the most popular languages today isn't even spoken out loud, it is based on the English tongue and is seen on desktops and smartphones every day.
Microsoft Windows has support for over 40 languages, and you can use your Apple iOS device in 22, but China has its eyes on having its very own operating system (OS) when it announced a partnership with Ubuntu this month. The Chinese government recently announced that they would partner with the open-source OS developer to create Ubuntu Kylin, an official operating system for China.
Does the crack in the footpath around the corner or the pothole just next to your drive, well, drive you crazy? For citizens in over 200 US cities, submitting a request to their local municipal government can be done quickly, efficiently, and in their language of choice through the PublicStuff app. Having already fulfilled over 81,000 requests, PublicStuff is unique in the way it bridges communication between speakers of different languages through its One Voice instant translation technology.
Scandinavian fashion is all the rage at the moment, but have you ever been in a rage after bringing home an amazing new jumper, only to find out you don't know how to wash it? Fear not, for starting in 2014 the majority of clothing will contain material and washing instructions for all 23 languages of the EU member states. That means you'll know how to wash your clothes in Spanish, German, French, Swedish and Polish, to name but a few.
While the world eagerly waited to find out who will be the next pope, "Habemus Papam" took the news to a new level by allowing people to read and share any news article, regardless of the language or location in which it was written. The project was supported by Der Mundo, an online service that generates links which detect a reader's preferred language and automatically translates the news article into it.
When you think of translated literature, titles such as The Little Prince, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo spring to mind. If you struggle to think of any others, you're not alone. A recent report from Literature Across Frontiers called Publishing Data and Statistics on Translated Literature in the United Kingdom and Ireland reveals that approximately only 2.5 per cent of all publications and 4.5 per cent of fiction, poetry, drama (literature) are translations.
Some people claim they are slaves to fashion. Recently, Spanish fashion retailer Mango was forced to apologise after they took the saying too far by advertising "Slave style" jewellery on their website. The two bracelets and a necklace were removed after Change.org launched a petition titled "Slavery Is Not Fashion" in regards to the jewellery bearing the description "Esclave," meaning "Slave" in French.
