Stories about Language from January, 2012
Iran:American Accent for Persian Speakers
This video shares insights for Persian first-language speakers who wish to improve their pronunciation, word stress, and intonation in American English.
Bhutan: Promoting National Language
Penstar protests against the tendency of some Bhutanese newspapers to undermine Dzongkha language and suggests that the national language needs to be promoted everywhere.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Favourite Proverbs
“I consider them to be expressive and beautiful in a way that is so Caribbean”: Abeni blogs about West Indian proverbs.
Greece: Cretan Masterpiece “Erotokritos” Translated into Turkish
Stella Tsolakidou of the Greek Reporter website writes about the recent publication of the Cretan literature masterpiece “Erotokritos” in Turkish. Erotokritos is a 17th century epic romance, and has been translated by Professor Hakki Bilgehan, a Turkish microbiology professor, and published by the Foundation of Lausanne Treaty Emigrants [Turkish].
Malaysia: Ministry Blames Google Translate for Website Errors
Don’t wear “clothes that poke eye” and remember the “Mongoose fight” uniform for official functions. These are some of the funny English translation errors in the website of Malaysia’s Ministry of Defense. The errors have been removed already but not before netizens were able to discuss them thoroughly in various social networks
Ukraine: Gasprinsky Crimean Tatar Library
Back in Nov. 2011, Peace Corps volunteer Barb Wieser guest-blogged about her work at the Ismail Gasprinsky Crimean Tatar Library in Simferopol, Crimea, at Uncataloged Museum blog.
South Africa: Braille Burgers and Social Media
A fast food chain in South Africa delivered 15 burgers to organizations for the Blind: through social media, the story of those 15 burgers reached more than 800,000 people, letting them know about the restaurant's new Braille menu. What made that strong impression? The burgers’ buns had messages in Braille...
Global Voices Aymara: Experiences in Translation in 2011
Some members of the Global Voices in Aymara translation team write about their experiences in 2011, which for them reached a milestone for growth in terms of the number of translators and articles translated. It was also the year where it became an official Lingua site and first indigenous site on Global Voices.
Global Voices in French: Translators’ Choice 2011
In 2011, volunteer translators at Global Voices in French translated hundreds of articles and updates on world events and we'd like to say "'Merci!". We've asked them which translation struck them most, during this epic year. Here is the French translators' selection!
Peru: Sugar Labs Community Says Goodbye to Aymara Translator
José Henry Alanoca Laura, an Aymara translator for the open-sourced Sugar Learning Platform, has passed away. The Peruvian Sugar Labs community sends a message of condolence through the blog Somos Azúcar (“We are sugar”) [es].
Philippines: Davao Tagalog
RM Bulesco blogs about what he calls “Davao Tagalog,” a mongrel language combing Cebuano, Tagalog, and other Filipino languages that is spoken in the southern Philippine city of Davao.
Jamaica: “Official” Languages
Under the Saltire Flag is proud of the job his uncle has done as Chairman of Jamaica’s electoral committee, following the country's recent general elections, noting that he “made one unfortunate comment leading up to the elections. He said that all electoral officers should speak ONLY in English”. The blogger...
