Once You Learn a Language, Do You Ever F...

Many people who studied a foreign language in school don’t continue to practice it after they graduate. The conventional wisdom is that if you don’t speak a language, you will forget it rather quickly. As my Spanish teacher used to say: “Use it or lose it.”  But is that really the case? The...

Translator Collapses at UN General Assem...

New York is currently holding the UN General Assembly. It has been reported that a translator who works directly for the Libyan leader, Moamer Gaddafi collapsed during Gaddafi’s 75 minute marathon speech. The translator was struggling with the torrent of words. The interpreter eventually came to the...

International Translation Day...

International Translation day is celebrated every year on the 30th September. The 30th September is the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered the patron saint of translators, interpreters and librarians. The day celebrates and promotes translation as an essential activity in contemporary...

Bremen, Germany Hosts World’s Firs...

Bremen, Germany is holding a “Festival of Languages” which started on the 18th September. The festival celebrates all of the world’s 6,500 languages. According to this article it is the first of its kind in the world and will last 21 days. So, what does one do at a “Festival of Languages?”...

Talk like a Pirate Day...

Avast! Ahoy there all ye heartie land lubbers, swashbucklers and buccaneers! It be International Talk like a Pirate Day on the ‘morrow. Shiver me timbers! Gaarrrrr! Tomorrow (19th Sept) is talk like a pirate day. This is a world wide event which is very popular in the USA. Check out talklikeapirate.com...

Lost In Translation: French Panic On Pla...

French passengers on board an Aer Lingus Dublin to Paris flight had a fright when the captain made a routine announcement earlier this week. On the 4th August the A320 Airbus flight took off with around 70 people on board many of whom were French. Twenty minutes into the flight after leaving Dublin,...

Israel to Remove Languages Other Than He...

In a move that may cause confusion among travellers and will surely cause discomfort among some of its Arab citizens, Israel’s minister of transport, Yisrael Katz, has declared that the country will get new road signs-in Hebrew only. Right now, road signs are trilingual, with the names of cities,...

Talking Business: How to Avoid a Transla...

Some phrases just don’t translate-especially when you are relying on a computer to do the heavy lifting. The International Trade website has published a list of English business phrases that don’t translate well, and it illustrates this point beautifully. Take, for example, the common English...

NYC French Language Bookstore Set to Clo...

Librarie de France bookstore in New York City which specialises in French Language books looks set to close after being in business for 74 years. Librarie de France has said it is being forced to close because of the high rental costs that threatened to triple to $1 million a year. According to store...

Nine Year Old Girl Achieves Sign Languag...

Tayla Reynold’s mum is hearing impaired and it can be difficult for her to keep up with her girls. 9 year old Tayla has taken it upon herself to improve their communication by doing a sign language qualification. Tayla is now officially the youngest person in Britain to complete the Level 1 British...