When I was 15 years old and learning to drive, I was given access to a pick-up truck with manual transmission. But my attempts at shifting gear were so disastrous that I was soon relegated to sharing my mother’s automatic minivan. About a year later, I overheard a conversation about the inner workings of a […]
There are thousands of words and expressions that, for linguistic or cultural reasons, don’t have an exact equivalent in other languages. When translating, we must use our imagination and our linguistic abilities to incorporate them into the target text in the most natural way possible. In an earlier post in our collection of linguistic curiosities, […]
There probably isn’t a better representation of American culture than its most popular sport: football. And every year, millions of people gather to watch its culmination: the Super Bowl. This is probably the biggest sporting event in the U.S., not only due to the game itself, but also for what it represents in terms of advertising and musical […]
So, let’s pick it up directly where we left off: “The Diagram for Consciousness” The diagram (simplified to fit the purposes of our analogy) consists of a three step pyramid: At its base, the creator sets Memory as the first step to attaining true consciousness. Memory is indeed the first factor needed both to learn […]
Imagine this situation: a diner arrives at a restaurant. Upon being seated, the waiter asks him what he wants to eat. To the waiter’s surprise, the diner looks at the menu and says: “I want the chicken with orange sauce and the arugula, tomato and brie salad, but instead of chicken I want it to […]
Think of the things in your life that you really cherish. And by things I mean actual objects: your key chain, your favorite gadget, your tennis racquet, maybe a childhood keepsake, a book you’ve read many times, or something you brought back from a trip abroad. Do any of these hold a special meaning? Do […]
In biology, there is a well-known movement towards preventing the disappearance of animal species that inhabit planet Earth. In the science of language, there seems to be a similar effort, though with its own peculiarities and conclusions. Some argue that the loss of language, just like the loss of species, is simply a fact […]
We all have the need to communicate. It is an intrinsic part of our human condition. Whenever we want to relate to someone else, or to another group, we often dig into the bag of humor, whether it is to make ourselves likable, or simply because we know that laughter is one of the best […]
A translator’s work often goes unnoticed, to such an extent that the phrase “A good translation seems as though it were an originally written text” has become commonplace. However, the work of the translator is of paramount importance to all of us, despite the fact that we rarely reflect on it. A translator’s job […]