Netizens of the web, gather 'round, for we have a challenge for you: to banish 'Chinglish' from the Chinese city of Shenzhen. 'Chinglish,' the term given to Chinese-to-English mistranslations often seen on street signs or menus, are popular on the Internet and with English tourists and expats in China. However, the city of Shenzhen is looking to put a stop to it by crowd sourcing efforts to have their signs properly translated.
Linguists of the world, rejoice, for today is International Translation Day. We encourage you to commemorate this day by celebrating the art of your profession and the beauty of language, and, of course, by continuing the fantastic work that you do.
When you are nearing 90, will you still have the miraculous glint that you see in the piercing blue eyes of war hero John Bosley and will you be able to mesmerise an audience as you recount events from long ago with precise detail? The warmth in his voice; the articulate use of words; and the modesty intersected by humour and a smile that is childlike in its innocence disguise the horrors that John witnessed sixty nine years ago.
A literary translator's work is never done, with new classic literature translations appearing every week. Literary translators are often found behind the scenes, working to translate stories for a demanding audience, or for the pleasure of the challenge. Here are four new incredible literature translations of books you likely grew up reading:
British online fashion retailer ASOS is having a week to celebrate. Yesterday it was singled out by Tech City chief executive Joanna Shields at the annual Institute of Directors conference for being "an innovative British company with open platforms". Then, this morning, Reuters reported that the retailer had eclipsed fiscal fourth quarter profit expectations, with a 47 per cent increase in overall retail sales.
Travel writer, journalist and close friend of Today Translations Jonathan Bastable has recently released his first novel. Devil's Acre: A Russian Novel has just been published on Kindle and tells the story of love, suppression and forbidden architecture in Soviet Russia. Devil's Acre is set in Moscow in 1982. Vadim, a young man from Leningrad, is headed to the capital to begin his journalism studies at MGU, Moscow State University.
Translators are a waste of space. Shocking statement, isn't it? One Norwegian linguist has used this line to spark a conversation after creating the following video and showcasing it on YouTube.
Travelling abroad often requires research into where to stay, what to eat, and the best sights to see. However, few … Read More
Brand names around the world come embedded with deep meanings and connotations, but nowhere is this more true than in China. Western brands looking to export abroad must translate and localise to a Chinese brand name, or they risk losing out on a growing market. But it's not as straightforward as you might think: do you translate the phonetic sounds, the name, the meaning, or create something new altogether?
Language is malleable and meanings of words change all the time. However, it is rare for a word to completely deviate away from its original meaning, as was noticed week. The term 'literally' no longer means 'literally' - literally! The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) included the erroneous use of the term to its lexicon back in September 2011, though it went unnoticed until last week, defining that it can be 'used for emphasis rather than being actually true'.
