News Site for Linguists, Interpreters, Translators, Teachers, Translation Project Managers, Students
Portuguese spelling reform begins in Brazil
/img_tUc6hEhxRkN2X10bCyuv_0.jpgLisbon, Portugal (Global Voices): Described by Brazilian poet Olavo Bilac as ?the last flower of Latium, wild and beautiful?, the Portuguese language is about to change. As of 1st January 2009, the reform of its spelling begins to be implemented in Brazil over a four year adaptation period until the new rules are completely enforced. The same rules will eventually be implemented in Portugal, where the changes will be phased during the next six years, and also in the other 6 countries where Portuguese is an official language. For more information, please visit: globalvoicesonline.org/2009/01/01/lusosphere-reform-in-portuguese-language-not-welcomed/
Text Messaging May Save Languages That Could Otherwise Fade
/img_WholCLEJFJf1QmyBJGMK_0.jpgNew York, USA (WSJ): Companies that develop predictive text say they have created cellphone software for fewer than 80 of the world's 6,912 languages cataloged by SIL International, a Dallas organization that works to preserve languages. One key to using the languages is the availability of a technology called predictive text, which reduces the number of key taps necessary to create a word when using a limited keypad. Market research shows that text messaging soars after predictive text becomes available. For more information, please visit: online.wsj.com/article/SB123085399947547573.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Group Fights to Reinvigorate Braille Use
/img_WholCLEJFJf1QmyBJGMK_0.jpgFlorida, USA (Tampa Tribune): Audio books and software that converts speech to text and vice-versa bring the written word to light for visually impaired people. But those who never learn to read and write using Braille might be missing something. To illustrate the relevance of the time-honored, raised-dot system, the National Federation of the Blind will launch a yearlong Braille Literacy campaign Sunday, the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth. For more information, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/12/30/3881828.htm
Preserving native languages in India
/img_WholCLEJFJf1QmyBJGMK_0.jpgNew Delhi, India (Times of India): Many people are now trying to keep their native language alive, some of them so little known that their existence may be unheard of outside the group of speakers. When the recent International Film Festival of India in Goa featured Yarwng, a movie in Tripura's Kokborok language, information & broadcasting minister Anand Sharma is said to have admitted that he didn't know such a language exists. Hundreds of languages are in a similar state the world over. Reports from UNESCO say over 50% of some 6,700 languages spoken today are in danger of disappearing. Experts estimate that 96% of the world's languages are spoken by 4% of the population, and one language disappears on average every two weeks. For more information, please visit: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Wide_Angle/Talking_native/articleshow/3902221.cms
Germany: Move to make German "official" language
/img_WholCLEJFJf1QmyBJGMK_0.jpgBerlin, Germany (Deutsche Welle): If he were alive today, US humorist Mark Twain might have been mightily amused at efforts by Chancellor Angela Merkel's party to have the German language officially enshrined in Germany's constitution. Twain never ceased to poke fun at "Die Deutsche Sprache" after struggling to master the language during a visit to Heidelberg in the 19th century. For more information, please visit: www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3897524,00.html
Australia: Lost In Translation ? Issues In US/Australian Contracts
/img_WholCLEJFJf1QmyBJGMK_0.jpgSydney, Australia (Mondaq): Considering the US is a common law jurisdiction, and English is the native language, it is interesting to note how different US law and practice, including contracts law, can be from ours. Young players in this area are often lulled into a false sense of cultural security until they learn the hard way that the law, and indeed the languages of these two jurisdictions, are still very different, and likely to remain so. For more information, please visit: www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=72000
Yahoo! News Search Results for language
Yahoo! News Search Results for language
Ohio needs more English-language teachers, study says (The Cleveland Plain De...
From 1995 to 2005, the number of so-called English-language learners in Ohio jumped more than 60 percent, to 27,616, according to a study released today by Education Week magazine. The study said the increase was part of a nationwide surge that saw totals triple in some states, primarily in the Southeast.
The new web sex language of Brits (The Times of India)
LONDON: ONS with BPO? Required MBA? Well, these are not job advertisements, but short forms of a new web sex language that Britons are increasingly using to set their nights afire.
Despite statewide education successes, Central Jersey schools work to close l...
Students in New Jersey schools have a better chance for success in life than students in most states throughout the country, but English-language learners continue to lag behind their native-English-speaking peers, according to a national study released Wednesday.
Radio Pakistan sees Punjabi language being erased in India (New Kerala)
Abohar Jan.7 : Even since the partition of the sub-continent and the migration of a large number of Punjabi refugees from Pakistan to India, the Punjabi language and cuisine has become popular all over the country.
Alaska sees decline in English-language learning students (Fairbanks Daily Ne...
FAIRBANKS ? The number of English-language learning students in the nation rose from 3.2 million during the 1995-1996 school year to 5.1 million in the 2005-2006 school year.
Texas Earns "C" In Teaching English Language Learners (KERA North Texas)
A national education study gives Texas the grade of "C+" when it comes to educating students who are English language learners. KERA's Bill Zeeble has more.
$199 Sign Language Translator...OK, Video Dictionary [PMPs] (Gizmodo)
The Sign Language Translator's name may be a tad misleading (it doesn't actually translate anything), but as a pocket ASL video dictionary, it's a neat enough idea. Featuring a 3,500 word dictionary...
Byki Language Software Launched for iPhone and iPod Touch (SYS-CON Media)
Transparent Language announced the release of its new Byki language-learning application for the iPhoneand iPod touch. Byki for iPhone and iPod touch sells for $9.99 per language ? with an early-bird price of only $7.99 during the first 30 days of availability for each language. It currently comes in French and Spanish, with more languages ? such as German, Italian, Japanese, and others ? in the ...
Murder trial in sign language (Lancaster Online)
While the Lancaster County judge and attorneys are focused on the legal aspects of a homicide case this week, another group of people in the same courtroom is concentrating just as hard on every word they say.Four sign language interpreters surround the defense table as they, in turn, make sure that...
Byki Language Software, Used by Millions, Launched for iPhone and iPod Touch ...
Transparent Language today announced the release of its new Byki? language-learning application for the iPhone?and iPod® touch. Available for download at http://www.byki.com/iphone/iphone.html , Byki for iPhone and iPod touch sells for $9.99 per language? with an early-bird price of only $7.99 during the first 30 days of availability for each language. It currently comes in French and ...
BBC News Search: language
BBC News Search: language
Country profile: Belgium
Key facts, figures and dates
Language fear over schools merger
There are concerns that a possible merger of secondary schools could affect Welsh medium education.
Study shows 'plant communication'
Plants communicate with bees in a colourful language humans cannot perceive, Cambridge University scientists say.
Speech call for stroke survivors
Stroke charities and speech therapists call on the Scottish Government to provide more speech and language therapy for stroke survivors.
Brazil embraces spelling reforms
Changes designed to standardise Portuguese spelling take effect in Brazil but other nations are yet to act on the controversial reforms.
The truth and nothing but...
It's all very well to search for hard-and-fast truths but is it possible in a world filled with ambiguity, asks Laurie Taylor, in his weekly column for the Magazine.
War of words over Colombia poll
Colombia's language tsar is brought in as politicians wrangle over whether President Alvaro Uribe can seek a third term.
December's practice News Day
Schools across the UK took part in a practice News Day on 11 December 2008 in preparation for the UK-wide event in March.
Boost for speech and language
Plans to improve services for children with speech and language problems are welcomed by parents and therapists.
Sudan statues show ancient script
Three ancient statues, engraved with a little-understood sub-Saharan language, are unearthed in Sudan.
Mid East press glee at shoe throw
Newspapers across the Middle East express delight at the hurling of shoes at George Bush by an Iraqi journalist.
Helping the web to understand
When computers can understand how humans speak, the web will be much more useful, say those working on the semantic web.
World famous. Within your own borders
Forget proud traditions and cultural exports - a nation's identity is bolstered if Americans know about it. Just ask the Canadians, says Clive James.
UN blacklist exposes rifts in press
The UN move against the Jamaat-ud-Dawa group highlights stark divisions in the Pakistani press.
Don't be 404, know the tech slang
One study lists the technology-driven slang entering into use, while another shows that makes for slower reading.
Lingformant
News for linguists
Implants for babies could help deaf learn to speak
Brain activity that is “scrambled” in deaf cats develops normally if they are fitted with a cochlear implant shortly after birth. The finding may explain how deaf children given implants as babies can learn to speak almost as well as hearing children. Full article: New Scientist
Research by Rice psychologist identifies area of brain key to choosing words
New research by a Rice University psychologist clearly identifies the parts of the brain involved in the process of choosing appropriate words during speech. Full article: Rice University
Monkey gossip hints at social origins of language
Women may be fed up with being stereotyped as the chattier sex, but the cliche turns out to be true - in female-centric monkey groups at least. The gossipy nature of female macaques also adds weight to the theory that human language evolved to forge social bonds. Full article: New Scientist
How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialise by going through the motio...
The old adage that we can only learn how to do something by trying it ourselves may have to be revised in the light of recent discoveries in neuroscience. It turns out that humans, primates, some birds, and possibly other higher animals have mirror neurons that fire in the same pattern whether performing or just [...]
What happens when a child acquires a new mother tongue?
Up to a third of the children adopted to Norway from abroad are having problems with language proficiency. Full article: AlphaGalileo
Babies communicate from birth
Babies are born with a strong motivation to communicate with us, to understand and to be understood, a new study from researchers at the University of Dundee has shown. Full article: University of Dundee
Orangutan?s spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of ...
In a paper published this month in Primates, an international journal of primatology that provides a forum on all aspects of primates in relation to humans and other animals, Great Ape Trust scientist Dr. Serge Wich and his colleagues provide the first-ever documentation of a primate mimicking a sound from another species without being specifically [...]
Monkey gossip hints at social origins of language
Women may be fed up with being stereotyped as the chattier sex, but the cliche turns out to be true - in female-centric monkey groups at least. The gossipy nature of female macaques also adds weight to the theory that human language evolved to forge social bonds. Full article: New Scientist
Scientists hope parrots will teach humans the secrets of language
Scientists at a Scottish university are to analyse parrots, ravens and pigeons in a bid to discover how human language evolved, it was revealed yesterday. Full article: scotsman.com
Maastricht University researchers produce ?neural fingerprint? of speech reco...
Scientists from Maastricht University have developed a method to look into the brain of a person and read out who has spoken to him or her and what was said. With the help of neuroimaging and data mining techniques the researchers mapped the brain activity associated with the recognition of speech sounds and voices. In [...]
New Insights Into Molecular Basis Of Language Development Provided By Genetic...
Scientists have identified the first gene that is associated with a common childhood language disorder, known as specific language impairment (SLI). The gene - CNTNAP2 - has also been recently implicated in autism, and could represent a crucial genetic link between the two disorders. Full article: Medical News Today
Brain sees fine line between speech and song
A sound curiosity, in which a spoken phrase seems to morph into a song when repeated, is shedding light on the difference between speech and song. Full article: New Scientist
Brain recognises verbal ?Oh-shit? wave
It seems that our brain can correct speech errors in the same way that it controls other forms of behaviour. Niels Schiller and Lesya Ganushchak, NWO researchers in Leiden, made this discovery while studying how the brain reacts to verbal errors. This research can contribute to improvements in the treatment of people who have problems [...]
Baby talk: The roots of the early vocabulary in infants? learning from speech
Although babies typically start talking around 12 months of age, their brains actually begin processing certain aspects of language much earlier, so that by the time they start talking, babies actually already know hundreds of words. While studying language acquisition in infants can be a challenging endeavor, researchers have begun to make significant progress that [...]
Baby Birds Babble
ust like human infants, baby birds also babble before mastering complex verbal communication, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and published in the journal Science. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Herz Foundation and Friends of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Full [...]
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