#linguistic diversity challenge: the region edition

[petra-legal-translation]

Best Business Translation Services: Expand Your Global Reach

We all are interconnected and expanding your business globally is more achievable than ever. However, one of the key challenges businesses face when entering new markets is overcoming language barriers. This is where the best business translation services come into play, ensuring your message is accurately conveyed across different languages and cultures.

Why You Need Business Translation Services

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful business operation. When expanding into international markets, it's crucial to convey your brand's message, values, and information accurately. Miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings, damaged reputation, and lost opportunities. Professional business translation services help mitigate these risks by providing accurate and culturally appropriate translations.

What to Look for in a Business Translation Agency

Choosing the right business translation agency is essential for your global success. Here are some factors to consider:

Expertise and Experience:

Look for a company with extensive experience in your industry. An agency familiar with the specific terminology and nuances of your field will provide more accurate translations.

Quality Assurance:

Ensure the agency has a rigorous quality assurance process. This includes multiple rounds of editing and proofreading to eliminate errors.

Cultural Competence:

A good translation goes beyond literal word-for-word conversion. It should consider cultural differences and ensure the message is appropriate for the target audience.

Technical Capabilities:

For businesses dealing with technical documents, it's important to choose a translation service that can handle complex and specialized content.

Customer Service:

Reliable customer support and communication are crucial. The agency should be responsive to your needs and provide updates throughout the translation process.

Top Business Translation Services Provider In Dubai

Dubai is a major hub for international business, making business translation services in Dubai essential for companies operating in the region. The city's diverse population and strategic location make it a prime destination for global expansion. Whether you need legal document translation, marketing material localization, or technical content translation, there are several reputable agencies in Dubai that can meet your needs.

Leading Business Translation Companies in Dubai

Dubai Translation Services:

Known for their professionalism and accuracy, they offer a wide range of translation services tailored to the needs of businesses in Dubai.

Langpros:

Specializing in legal and financial translations, Langpros has a team of certified translators who ensure your documents are translated with precision.

Petra Legal Translation:

They provide high-quality legal translation services, crucial for businesses dealing with contracts and legal documents in multiple languages.

The Role of Business Translation Professionals

Business translation professionals play a vital role in ensuring your global communications are clear and effective. These experts have a deep understanding of both the source and target languages, as well as the cultural nuances that impact how messages are received. Their expertise helps avoid misunderstandings and ensures your brand's message is consistent across different markets.

Qualities of Effective Business Translation Professionals

Linguistic Expertise: Mastery of both the source and target languages.

Subject Matter Knowledge: Familiarity with the industry-specific terminology and concepts.

Cultural Awareness: Understanding of cultural differences that affect communication.

Attention to Detail: Commitment to accuracy and quality in every translation.

Conclusion

Expanding your business globally requires clear and effective communication across different languages and cultures. The best business translation services provide the expertise and support needed to convey your message accurately and appropriately. By choosing the right business translation agency, leveraging the skills of business translation professionals, and utilizing comprehensive corporate translation services, you can overcome language barriers and achieve success in international markets. Whether you're looking for business translation in Dubai or anywhere else in the world, investing in professional translation services is a crucial step toward global growth.

[mayuresh782]

Unlocking Opportunities with Kannada Translation Services

In an increasingly interconnected world, the demand for translation services has surged, reflecting the need for effective communication across diverse linguistic landscapes. Among the plethora of languages, Kannada holds a significant place as one of the major languages spoken in India, particularly in the state of Karnataka. To cater to this growing demand, professional Kannada translation services have emerged as a pivotal resource for businesses and individuals seeking to bridge language barriers.

Understanding the Importance of Kannada Translation

Kannada, with its rich literary heritage and cultural nuances, presents unique challenges and opportunities in translation. Whether you're a business looking to penetrate the regional market or an individual seeking to communicate effectively with Kannada speakers, the importance of accurate translation cannot be overstated. Mistranslations can lead to misunderstandings, misinformation, and lost opportunities, making it imperative to engage professional services that appreciate the subtleties of the language.

What Professional Kannada Translation Services Offer

Engaging a reputable Kannada translation service provider, such as those highlighted on PECTranslation, ensures several advantages:

Cultural Sensitivity: Professional translators are not just linguists; they are cultural ambassadors who understand the socio-cultural context of the language. This ensures that translations resonate with the target audience, reflecting local idioms and expressions.

Domain Expertise: Different industries have specific terminologies and jargon. A professional service will usually have translators specializing in various sectors, such as legal, medical, technical, and marketing, ensuring that the translated content is both accurate and relevant.

Quality Assurance: Established translation services typically implement a rigorous quality assurance process. This includes proofreading and editing by native speakers, which minimizes the potential for errors and ensures a high standard of quality.

Timely Delivery: In today's fast-paced business environment, time is of the essence. Professional translation services are equipped to handle large volumes of work and meet tight deadlines, allowing clients to release their content on schedule.

Confidentiality: With sensitive documents, confidentiality is paramount. Reputable translation services uphold strict privacy policies, ensuring that your information remains secure throughout the translation process.

Applications of Kannada Translation Services

The applicability of Kannada translation services is extensive. From translating marketing materials, legal documents, and medical reports to localizing websites and software, these services facilitate communication in a way that is not only linguistic but also cultural. Businesses aiming to expand their reach in Karnataka can use Kannada translations for advertisements, product descriptions, and customer support, enhancing their engagement with local consumers.

Conclusion

As businesses and individuals seek to navigate the complexities of globalization, professional Kannada translation services emerge as an invaluable ally. By ensuring clear communication and cultural relevance, these services unlock opportunities for growth and connection in one of India's most vibrant linguistic communities. Investing in quality Kannada translation services is not just about translating words; it’s about building meaningful relationships that transcend geographical and linguistic barriers.

For more information on Kannada translation services, visit PECTranslation to explore how your communication can reach its fullest potential.

[devnagri]

Breaking Language Barriers: The Power of Website Translators

In an interconnected world where digital communication knows no boundaries, breaking language barriers has become more critical than ever. As businesses and individuals strive to reach a global audience, the need for effective communication across languages has led to the rise of innovative tools and technologies. The website translator is one such tool that plays a pivotal role in bridging linguistic gaps.

The Globalization Imperative

In the era of globalization, businesses are expanding their reach beyond borders, targeting diverse markets with unique linguistic backgrounds. As a result, the ability to communicate in multiple languages has become a competitive advantage. A website, serving as the digital storefront for many businesses, must be accessible to a global audience. This is where website translators come into play, offering a seamless solution to cater to the linguistic diversity of online users.

What is a Website Translator?

A website translator is a tool or solution designed to automatically translate the content of a website from one language to another. These translators utilize advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence to analyze and interpret text, providing users with a translated version of the content in real time. This dynamic approach allows websites to offer a multilingual experience, breaking down language barriers and making information accessible to a broader audience.

Benefits of Website Translators

Global Reach: The most apparent benefit of website translators is the ability to expand your audience globally. By offering content in multiple languages, businesses can connect with users from different regions, increasing their reach and potential customer base.

Enhanced User Experience: A user-friendly website caters to the preferences and needs of its visitors. A website translator enhances the user experience by allowing individuals to consume content in their preferred language, creating a more personalized and engaging interaction.

SEO Advantages: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of online visibility. Website translators contribute to SEO efforts by making content accessible to a wider range of search queries in various languages. This can positively impact search engine rankings and increase organic traffic.

Cultural Sensitivity: Effective communication goes beyond literal translation. Website translators often take cultural nuances into account, ensuring that the translated content resonates appropriately with the target audience, thus fostering a sense of cultural sensitivity.

Cost-Effective Globalization: Traditionally, translating content has been a time-consuming and costly process. Website translators offer a cost-effective alternative, automating the translation process and significantly reducing the time and resources required for language localization.

Challenges and Considerations

While website translators bring immense value, it's essential to be mindful of potential challenges:

Accuracy Concerns: Automated translation may not always capture the subtleties and nuances of language accurately. Businesses should review and edit machine-generated translations to ensure accuracy and maintain the intended message.

Cultural Adaptation: Understanding cultural differences is crucial for effective communication. A one-size-fits-all approach may not suit certain markets, necessitating manual intervention to adapt content culturally.

Security and Privacy: Some website translators may involve sending data to external servers for processing, raising concerns about security and privacy. Businesses should choose reputable translation solutions that prioritize data protection.

Choosing the Right Website Translator

Selecting the right website translator is crucial for a successful multilingual strategy. Consider the following factors:

Accuracy and Quality: Look for a translator that provides accurate and high-quality translations. Some services offer human-reviewed machine translations for improved precision.

Language Support: Ensure that the translator supports the languages relevant to your target audience. A diverse language portfolio is essential for effective global communication.

User-Friendly Integration: Choose a translator that seamlessly integrates with your website's design and functionality. A user-friendly integration ensures a smooth experience for both website administrators and visitors.

Customization Options: Opt for a translator that allows customization of translations to align with your brand voice and tone. The ability to manually edit translations is valuable for maintaining authenticity.

Conclusion

In a world where diversity is celebrated, embracing linguistic differences is not just a choice but a necessity. Website translators empower businesses to communicate effectively with a global audience, fostering connections that transcend borders. While challenges exist, the benefits of breaking language barriers through innovative translation technologies outweigh the drawbacks. As we continue to navigate the digital landscape, the role of website translators remains pivotal in creating a more inclusive and connected online world.

Source: Breaking Language Barriers: The Power of Website Translators

[translationwala]

English to Assamese Translation – Preserving Identity and Fostering Understanding

Language is the vessel that carries the essence of culture, history, and identity. As the world grows more interconnected, the need for effective communication between diverse linguistic communities becomes increasingly crucial. One such bridge that facilitates this exchange is English to Assamese Translation.

Assamese, an Indo-Aryan language, is primarily spoken in the Indian state of Assam and neighboring regions. It holds deep cultural significance and boasts a rich literary tradition that dates back centuries. English, on the other hand, is a global lingua franca, connecting people from different corners of the world. The process of translation between these two languages not only enables effective communication but also plays a pivotal role in preserving Assamese culture and heritage.

Preserving Assamese Identity:

Language is a window to the soul of a community, reflecting its beliefs, customs, and worldview. English to Assamese translation serves as a guardian, ensuring that the nuances and beauty of the Assamese language are not lost or diluted over time. Through translation, ancient folklore, traditional wisdom, and historical records find new life, passing on the essence of Assamese identity to future generations.

Reviving Traditional Literature:

Assamese literature has a long and illustrious history, boasting celebrated poets, writers, and playwrights. However, much of this treasure trove of knowledge remains inaccessible to non-Assamese speakers. Translation opens the doors to this world of literary excellence, allowing English readers to explore and appreciate the depth of Assamese literature.

Fostering Cross-Cultural Understanding:

Translation is a potent tool in fostering mutual understanding and respect between different cultures. It enables English speakers to grasp the unique worldview and traditions of the Assamese people. Moreover, it encourages Assamese speakers to engage with global ideas, literature, and advancements, enriching their own perspectives.

Bridging the Language Divide:

In a rapidly evolving world, the significance of English as a global language cannot be overstated. It is the language of science, technology, and diplomacy. English to Assamese Translation ensures that Assamese speakers can access the wealth of knowledge and information available in English. It bridges the language divide and empowers individuals to participate in the global discourse.

Challenges in Translation:

Translating between English and Assamese is a nuanced and delicate task. Assamese, like many Indian languages, is highly inflected and context-dependent. It possesses a unique script and cultural references that demand careful consideration during the translation process. Translators must strike a balance between staying faithful to the source text and making the content relatable to the target audience.

Enhancing Economic Opportunities:

Assam's geographical location as a gateway to Northeast India has made it an essential player in the region's economic development. Assamese translation plays a role in empowering the local workforce, as it enables individuals to access skill development resources, educational material, and business opportunities in their native language.

The Role of Technology:

Advancements in technology have revolutionized the translation industry. Automated translation tools can aid in basic translations, but human expertise remains essential in tackling the intricacies of language and culture. Hybrid approaches that combine machine translation with human editing have emerged, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the translation process.

Conclusion:

English to Assamese Translation is not just about converting words; it is about fostering a deeper appreciation for culture, literature, and ideas. It helps preserve the richness of the Assamese language and enables seamless communication between diverse communities. As we celebrate the beauty of languages and their ability to bring people together, let us recognize the profound impact of translation in shaping a more connected and harmonious world.

Source: https://wordpress.com/post/translationwala.wordpress.com/90

[premiumlinguisticservices1]

The Quirky World of Translating Cultural Expressions

Idioms are colorful phrases that give a language flavor and character. They are strongly ingrained in culture and represent a community's distinct ideas, habits, and experiences. However, translating idioms is difficult since their meanings are frequently metaphorical and do not translate word for word. In this essay, we will dig into the intriguing realm of idioms and the complexities of translating unique cultural phrases while preserving their essence and linguistic appeal.

The Cultural Significance of Idioms:

Idioms are linguistic pearls that capture a community's cultural heritage and beliefs. They express common experiences, beliefs, and knowledge, providing insights into a culture's history, customs, and collective psyche. Idioms frequently draw on well-known symbols, analogies, or historical allusions that have strong significance within a particular cultural context.

Figurative Language and Literal Translation:

One of the most difficult aspects of interpreting idioms is their metaphorical character. Idioms are difficult to interpret word for word because they rely on metaphorical or symbolic connotations. Literal translations frequently result in misunderstanding or loss of meaning. Translators for translation company birmingham must use innovative ways to convey the metaphorical core of idioms while ensuring that the intended message is understood by the target audience.

Cultural Adaptation and Contextualization:

Idiom translation necessitates a thorough awareness of the cultural subtleties connected with them. Translators must evaluate the idiom's cultural background and identify analogous terms or cultural references in the target language that convey the same idea. Translators retain the integrity of idioms while assuring intelligibility and cultural relevance by adapting them to the target culture.

Preserving Humor and Wit:

Many idioms are laced with humor, wit, or wordplay that add an extra layer of charm to their meaning. Translators face the challenge of preserving the comedic effect and linguistic playfulness when translating idioms. They must explore creative solutions such as finding equivalent humorous expressions, using puns or wordplay, or employing idiomatic expressions in the target language to maintain the humor of the original idiom.

Exploring Variations and Equivalents:

Idioms often vary across languages, even if they convey similar concepts. Translators must be aware of regional variations and select equivalents that resonate with the target audience while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original idiom. Cultural consultation and collaboration with native speakers are invaluable in ensuring accurate and culturally appropriate translations of idioms.

Translating Untranslatable Idioms:

Some idioms are so firmly embedded in their cultural roots that straight translation is impossible. In such circumstances, translators must adjust or include explanatory footnotes or comments in order to express the spirit of the phrase. While it may disrupt the flow of the text, these additional resources provide readers with the background they need to understand the idiom's intended meaning.

Navigating Linguistic and Conceptual Differences:

Some idioms are so deeply ingrained in their cultural contexts that direct translation is difficult. Translators must edit or provide explanatory footnotes or comments in such cases to reflect the intent of the sentence. While it may interrupt the flow of the text, these additional resources give readers the context they need to comprehend the idiom's intended meaning.

Preserving Cultural Diversity and Communication:

Translating idioms is not only about language; it is about preserving cultural diversity and facilitating cross-cultural communication. By accurately translating idioms, translators enable individuals from different linguistic backgrounds to understand and appreciate the cultural richness and nuances embedded within these expressions. It fosters intercultural understanding and opens doors to shared experiences and knowledge.

Conclusion:

Idiom translation is an enthralling voyage into the quirky and vivid world of language and culture. It is necessary for translators to manage idioms' metaphorical, hilarious, and context-specific character while retaining their core and cultural significance. Translators use their skills to maintain cultural variety, encourage intercultural dialogue, and guarantee that idiomatic idioms continue to enhance our language tapestry.

[imtryingtolearngerman]

The linguistic diversity challenge

South America and the Caribbean

-Old Tupi/ Nheengatu

The challenge 

1. What is the language known as to linguists, and by the speakers themselves? It’s known as old Tupi, classical Tupi and simply Tupi. In Portuguese it can also be spelled as Tupí. In Tupi it’s known as abáñeenga, meaning human language, ñeendyba, meaning common language, and ñeengatú. I’ll talk more about the term Nheengatu, how it can also be spelled, in the next topics. In Brazil the language can also be referred as Língua Geral Amazônica.

2. Where is the language spoken? It is now considered an extinct language. The Modern Tupí, also known as Nheengatu is spoken by some indigenous groups in the state of Amazonas in Brazil. It is considered an official language in the municipality of São Gabriel de Cachoeira in the state of Amazonas.  It is also spoken in parts of Colombia and Venezuela.

São Gabriel de Cachoeira in red and the state of Amazonas in red in the smaller map

3. How many speakers does the language have? As I mentioned the language is extinct, but Nheengatu is still spoken by around 19,000 native speakers. 

4. What are some of the languages relatives and is it part of a contact area? The indigenous languages of Brazil can be divided in two main branches: Tupi and Macro-Jê. Not all indigenous languages fit in these branches though. In the tupi branch there is the Tupi-guarani family, in which the old Tupi language in included. Some languages of the Tupi-guarani family are: Tapirapé, Wayampi, Kamayurá, Guarani and Xetá.

5. Is the language written? If it is, with what script? Originally the language is not written, but nowadays it can be written with the Latin alphabet (you know, the abc).

6. What is the language like grammatically? Keep in mind that it’s an extinct language and it had to be reconstructed, so some elements were probably lost. Tupi was an agglutinative language, meaning it’s possible to form new words by putting together morphemes (morphemes are not the same as a word, but the bits that form a word, like prefixes and suffixes). Japanese is also considered an agglutinative language but English is not.

All verbs are in the present tense and are not conjugated for tense or mode, only for person. The gender of words were marked by adjectives. The nouns can be separated in higher that describes things related to human beings or spirits and lower nouns that describe animals and inanimate objects. To show this differences prefixes were attached to the words. Tupi used the subject-object-verb order.

7. What is the language like phonologically?

Nheengatu

And here a comparison between Nheengatu and Old Tupi

The personal pronouns I, you (s.), he she, we (exclusive and inclusive), you (pl.), they.

8. What  you choose the language? I chose this language because of it’s importance to Brazilian history, culture and language. It influenced Brazilian Portuguese and some of the words we use currently come from Tupi. 

[kemetic-dreams]

Sekhukhune I[a] [b](Matsebe; circa 1814 – 13 August 1882) was the paramount King of the Marota, more commonly known as the Bapedi, from 21 September 1861 until his assassination on 13 August 1882 by his rival and half-brother, Mampuru II. As the Pedi paramount leader he was faced with political challenges from boer settlers, the independent South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek), the British Empire, and considerable social change caused by Christian missionaries.

Sekhukhune was the son of Sekwati I, and succeeded him upon his death in 20 September 1861 after forcibly taking the throne from his half-brother and the heir apparent Mampuru II. His other known siblings were; Legolwana, Johannes Dinkwanyane, and Kgoloko. Sekhukhune married Legoadi IV in 1862, and lived at a mountain, now known as Thaba Leolo or Leolo Mountains which he fortified. To strengthen his kingdom and to guard against European colonisation, he had his young subjects work in white mines and on farms so that their salaries could be used to buy guns from the Portuguese in Delagoa Bay, as well as livestock.

Sekhukhune fought two notable wars. The first war was successfully fought in 1876, against the ZAR and their Swazi allies. The second war, against the British and Swazi in 1879 in what became known as the Sekhukhune Wars, was less successful.

Sekhukhune was detained in Pretoria until 1881. After a return to his kingdom, he was fatally stabbed by an assassin in 1882, at Manoge. The assassins are presumed to have been sent by his brother and competitor, Mampuru II.

The Pedi /pɛdi/ or Bapedi /bæˈpɛdi/ (also known as the Northern Sotho or Basotho ba Leboa and the Marota or Bamaroteng) – are a southern African ethnic group that speak Pedi or Sepedi, a dialect belonging to the Sotho-Tswana enthnolinguistic group. Northern Sotho is a term used to refer to one of South Africa's 11 official languages. Northern Sotho or Sesotho sa Leboa consist of 30 dialects, of which Pedi is one of them.

Some clans in tribes that speak variations of Northern Sotho can be traced back to the Kalanga-Tswana-Sotho group originating from earlier states such as Great Zimbabwe and Butua

The Pedi were the first of Sotho-Tswana peoples to be called Basotho, the name is derived from Swazi word uku shunta which referred to their clothing style, the Pedi took the name with pride and other similar groups began to refer to themselves as Sothos

Proto-Sotho people migrated south from the great lake region in east Africa making their way along with modern-day western Zimbabwe through successive waves spanning 5 centuries with the last group of Sotho speakers, the Hurutse, settling in the region west of Gauteng around 16th century. It is from this group that the Pedi/Maroteng originated from the Tswana speaking Kgatla offshoot. In about 1650 they settled in the area to the south of the Steelpoort River where over several generations, linguistic and cultural homogeneity developed to a certain degree. Only in the last half of the 18th century did they broaden their influence over the region, establishing the Pedi paramountcy by bringing smaller neighboring chiefdoms under their control.

During migrations in and around this area, groups of people from diverse origins began to concentrate around dikgoro or ruling nuclear groups. They identified themselves through symbolic allegiances to totemic animals such as tau (lion), kolobe (pig) and kwena (crocodile).

The Marota Empire/ Pedi Kingdom[edit]

The Pedi polity under King Thulare (c. 1780-1820) was made up of land that stretched from present-day Rustenburg to the lowveld in the west and as far south as the Vaal river.[9] Pedi power was undermined during the Mfecane, by Ndwandwe invaders from the south-east. A period of dislocation followed, after which the polity was re-stabilized under Thulare's son Sekwati.

Sekwati succeeded Thulare as paramount chief of the Pedi in the northern Transvaal (Limpopo) and was frequently in conflict with the Matabele under Mzilikazi, and plundered by the Zulu and the Swazi. Sekwati has also engaged in numerous negotiations and struggles for control over land and labor with the Afrikaans-speaking farmers (Boers) who had since settled in the region.

These disputes over land occurred after the founding of Ohrigstad in 1845, but after the town was incorporated into the Transvaal Republic in 1857 and the Republic of Lydenburg was formed, an agreement was reached that the Steelpoort River was the border between the Pedi and the Republic. The Pedi were well equipped to defend themselves though, as Sekwati and his heir, Sekhukhune I were able to procure firearms, mostly through migrant labor to the Kimberley diamond fields and as far as Port Elizabeth. The Pedi paramountcy's power was also cemented by the fact that chiefs of subordinate villages, or kgoro, take their principal wives from the ruling house. This system of cousin marriage resulted in the perpetuation of marriage links between the ruling house and the subordinate groups, and involved the payment of inflated bogadi or bridewealth, mostly in the form of cattle, to the Maroteng house.

[womenintranslation]

Q&A with Candice Whitney and Barbara Ofosu-Somuah, editors/translators of “Future. il domani narrato dalle voci di oggi,” edited by Igiaba Scego

A few weeks ago we announced on the WiT Tumblr an upcoming program at Casa Italiana NYU, “Stories Without Borders: A Conversation with Igiaba Scego,” hosted by Candice Whitney and Stefano Albertini, which you can watch here on YouTube. In an engaging and wide-ranging conversation, Scego talked about Italy’s colonial past in Africa, racial politics and systemic racism in Italy, the need for diversity in Italian publishing, and her reactions to the killing of George Floyd. Scego also discussed her reasons for editing the groundbreaking anthology of writings by AfroItalian women, Future. il domani narrato dalle voci di oggi [Futures. Tomorrow Narrated by the Voices of Today], published in 2019, which co-host Candice Whitney is currently translating with Barbara Ofosu-Somuah. (Candice is on the left and Barbara on the right in the photo above.) I followed up with Candice after watching the event to inquire about the Future anthology and about the translation project (which is currently seeking a publisher). Over several emails in July she and Barbara shared with me more details about the anthology and its writers, their personal encounters with Italy and the Italian language, and their commitment to creating a space for AfroItalian women writers in the English-language literary world.—Margaret

How did the Future anthology originate?

Candice Whitney and Barbara Ofosu-Somuah: Igiaba Scego, historian, journalist, fiction writer, and activist, wanted to create a text that acknowledges the future of Italy. The nation’s colonial legacy has shaped its national identity, citizenship laws, and how it relates to Blackness. For example, immigrants and their children, regardless of if they are born and/or raised in the country, are still othered as foreigners due to lack of citizenship reform.

A small publishing house in Florence, Italy, effequ, reached out to Scego to curate an anthology about migration. She had already edited and worked on influential anthologies related to migration, such as Italiani senza vocazione (Edizioni Cadmo, 2005). Ubah Cristina Ali Farrah, whose literary work connects the present day to the experiences of Somali relatives who moved to Italy, is an example of an artist that Scego collaborated with and admires. However, Scego wanted to pursue a different focus for effequ.

Reflecting on the double-consciousness of her life, specifically experiencing migration through the memory of her parents and living in Italy, Scego wanted to read and share perspectives of women similar yet different from her. The concept of Future was born from this idea. She chose to incorporate perspectives from writers of different generations, and from large and small cities across the nation.These authors write across genres. With this anthology, Scego highlights the diversity of the African diaspora in Italy. Contributors have backgrounds from Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Rwanda, Tunisia, Haiti, and more.

While working on the anthology, Scego noticed the shared anger and exhaustion that AfroItalian women face due to systematic racism and discrimination. As such, in the introduction of Future, Scego describes the book as Italy’s contemporary J’accuse (signaling Émile Zola’s open letter to the president of the French Republic), as it “publicly denounces power and injustice.” More about the anthology can be found in a CUNYTV news segment, featuring interviews and readings by contributors Marie Moïse, Angelica Pesarini, and Camilla Hawthorne, hosted by the Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College. The recording of Stories without Borders: A Conversation with Igiaba Scego, hosted by Casa Italiana of NYU, also focuses on Future and Scego’s other works like Beyond Babylon (trans. Aaron Robertson) and La linea del colore (The Color Line).  (This response paraphrases Scego's answer to a similar question during Casa Italiana's virtual event, Stories without Borders).

What were the Fulbright projects that took you to Italy?

Barbara: I began studying Italian at Middlebury College, as a way of connecting with my cousins who were born and raised in the Veneto region. Italy was the only place my cousins had ever lived. Yet, because of their Blackness, they were always treated as outsiders. Learning the language helped me dive deeper into their experiences.

Studying in Italy my junior year sparked new questions about Blackness and sharpened my attention to how transnational contexts inflect the experience of Blackness. In Florence, I met and connected with many young people who, like my cousins, existed between Italian and Outsider – never quite considered Italian because of their Blackness. Meeting them pushed me to begin questioning what Blackness means across geographies and relationships.

So I returned to Italy in 2016 as a Fulbright Researcher to examine the complex interplay of education, citizenship, and identity for first and second-generation immigrant youth. I explored how school teachers create teaching practices that are responsive to these youths’ cultural and linguistic assets. I observed that, despite best intentions, teachers' relationships with Black students often reproduced antagonistic dynamics that led to those students, more than any other racialized group, being labeled as badly behaved or academically deficient. I joined various discussions held by Black Italians. I listened as they unpacked the reality of concurrently embodying Blackness and Italianness in a culture that perceives this duality as incompatible, an “irreconcilable paradox” as framed by Italian scholar Angelica Pesarini.

Candice: At Mount Holyoke College, I enrolled in Italian language courses to understand political commentaries about black communities during the immigration crisis. Through my majors Anthropology and Italian, I broadened my knowledge of analyzing culture and positionality with an intersectional approach to inform my research projects about the politics of Blackness, entrepreneurship, and institutions in Italy. I went to Italy for the first time as a year-long study abroad student in Bologna. My senior thesis analyzed my ethnographic research in that city and argued that Italian immigration laws negatively impact employment prospects for West African merchantmen, regardless of their legal status. Those laws also marginalize and racialize their bodies through biopolitics and biopower. I remained curious about the experiences of businesswomen of African descent and decided to apply for a Fulbright.

As a Fulbright Student Researcher in 2016-17, I researched how Italy’s racial and political history impacts the reception and promotion of businesses owned by African women and descendants in northern Italy. The women I spoke with had businesses in the hospitality, beauty, and e-commerce industries. They either moved to Italy as adults and had been living in the nation for years, or they were born and/or raised there as children and have been there their whole lives. They did not describe themselves as outsiders, even though the nation continues to view and treat them through immigration and exclusive citizenship laws shaped by the nation's colonial past. However, national organizations and political commentators see them as people who will save the country from a slow economy. This is usually juxtaposed with bodies that are considered illegitimate or a threat to the nation, often Black and Brown people of migratory backgrounds who do precarious labor to feed and sustain the needs of the population. I admire how these women challenge the boundaries of entrepreneurship and cultural production in Italy, considering the racist and neoliberal anxieties that impact their projects’ creation and perception.

Like Barbara, I also spoke with activists and changemakers about racial politics and notions of privilege. I was curious about the similarities between my experiences as an African American woman and those of Black Italians and the differences and ways that I may benefit from certain situations due to my Americanness. Tina Campt coined the concept of "intercultural address,” or how we see the commonalities and similarities between African American and Black European experiences through references to the hegemonic black American cultural capital across the globe. This notion significantly impacted my research and the articles I wrote during my Fulbright and currently shapes how I approach translation and promoting AfroItalian women’s voices.

Candice, you talked about doing a review of Future for The Dreaming Machine and mentioned that Pina, the editor, gave you the idea to translate one of its texts-- is that what made you think of doing the entire anthology?

Candice: As we spoke about writing a review in English for the book, Pina also gave me the idea to translate one of its stories. I thought it was a great idea to accompany the review.

I don’t remember the exact moment I decided to translate the anthology, but I do remember planning to do it as we got closer to the event at the Calandra Italian American Institute in February. I shared the idea with Marie Moïse, Angelica Pesarini, and Camilla Hawthorne as we prepared for the live event. It came up during the conversation on the importance of Black translators translating the works of Black authors. Barbara, who also has experience in translation and was also at the live event, shared her enthusiasm, and we decided to collaborate on it.

Barbara, what drew you to this project?  

Barbara: I came to this project initially through Candice and then fully committed to it after reading the stories myself and hearing Marie Moïse, Angelica Pesarini, and Camilla Hawthorne, three contributors to the anthology speak at the Calandra Italian American Institute of the City University of New York.

In my various experiences living and studying in Italy, I was always acutely aware of my AfroItalian friends and colleagues’ liminal positionality. Because of my own identity as a Ghanaian American, and my background studying Black transnationalism, I empathize with aspects of their struggle. Nonetheless, I found that I did not always have the full scope of language to explain their specific positionality within the global Black diaspora to my non-Italian friends and colleagues. Translating Future is an opportunity to have these AfroItalian women speak for themselves on the world stage. In my role as a translator, my purpose is to create space for the anthology writers to grapple with and make meaning about their lives and have them be reachable to an English-speaking audience. These stories, which run the gamut of engaging Blackness in many forms is a relational process that I, as the translator, help bring forth.

Candice, you mentioned Tina Campt and her "concept of ‘intercultural address’ or the ways that we see the commonalities and similarities between African American and Black European experiences.” I'm wondering how that has affected your translation strategies in the anthology. And the opposite: are there examples of any differences you've struggled with in the translation?

Candice: Definitely. I think about power as an African American within the African diaspora, specifically amongst African descendants in Europe, and that discourses about race or systemic inequalities can be directly or indirectly about the United States. I try to reflect and act on how I may be contributing to perpetuating a hegemony of Americanness within the diaspora, so I think that one way to try and destabilize that is starting with myself.

As for strategies, Barbara has helped me with this as we work on the translation. One thing is using the word “folks” when perhaps a better word is “people.” I think “folk” is typical, maybe even expected, in American English vernacular, and the word “people” is clearer to all audiences.

Another example is translating racial slurs, which exist in the anthology. Misogynoir is not something that cannot be easily translated from one language to another, without considering the historical trauma those words come from. That’s something I am grappling with.

Like Barbara, I empathize with the struggles that AfroItalian women face. As I translate, I am learning a lot and hugely appreciate these women for sharing their stories. I hope that future readers will experience the same admiration that Barbara and I feel for them and their work.

How many authors are in the anthology?

Candice: Eleven authors contributed stories. The preface and postface were written by two academics, Dr. Camilla Hawthorne, from the U.S. and Prisca Augustoni, from Brazil. Igiaba Scego wrote the introduction.

We both appreciate that the anthology connects the experiences and struggles of AfroItalian women to others in the diaspora, such as Brazil. That type of trans-diasporic dialogue is essential and demonstrates that these histories and futures don't occur in a vacuum, or should only be compared to what occurs in the US.  

Do you expect you'll be able to collaborate with the authors as you work on the translation?

Candice: Yes! Thankfully, Barbara and I already had connections with the contributors, either first degree or more. We plan to involve them in the process as we want to make sure that their words are reflected accurately and justly to English-speaking audiences.

Do you have any favorite texts among them?  

Barbara:  I can’t shake the stories by Marie Moïse or Angelica Pesarini.

Candice: I enjoyed all of them. In addition to the stories by Marie Moïse and Angelica Pesarini, "And Yet There Was Still a Smell of Rain" by Alesa Herero and "The Marathon Continues" by Addes Tesfamariam resonated with me.

[linguisten]

Westphalian

Linguistic Diversity Challenge — Regional Edition Post # 10 / 12: Western Eurasia (Europe, the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Levant, etc.)

What is the language known as to linguists, and by the speakers themselves? endonym: Westfäölsk, Westfäälsch Platt; exonyms: Westfälisch, Westphalian, Westphalien, Westfaals

Where is the language spoken? Westphalia region of Northwest Germany

How many speakers does the language have? Speaker numbers are difficult to come by. Most speakers nowadays are heritage speakers at best, they may be close to 2 million people. True Westphalian is currently spoken mostly by elderly people. The majority of the Westphalian population speak instead a local variety of standard German with a Westphalian accent. One of the reasons for the diminishing use of Westphalian is the rigorous enforcement of German-only policies in traditionally Low German-speaking areas during the 18th century. Westphalian, and Low German in general, unlike many of the High German dialects, were too distant from standard German to be considered dialects and were therefore not tolerated and efforts were made to stamp it out. Nevertheless, the Westphalian dialect of German includes some words that originate from the dying Westphalian language, which are otherwise unintelligible for other German speakers from outside Westphalia. Examples include Pölter [ˈpœltɐ], "pajamas", Plörre [ˈplœʁə] "dirty liquid", and Mötke [ˈmœtkə] "mud, dirt".

What are some of the languages relatives and is it part of a contact area? Indo-European  >> Germanic >> Northwest Germanic >> West Germanic >> North Sea Germanic >> Altsächsisch >> Middle-Modern Low German >> Low German >> West Low German >> Westphalic neighbors are Dutch dialects, Eastphalian, and Middle German dialects

Is the language written? If it is, with what script? Latin script with umlaut signs; used in official documents from 9th through 19th centuries; nowadays rarely written

What is the language like grammatically? Westphalian is in some respects more conservative than Middle or High German dialects, e.g. in still distinguishing dative and accusative plural forms of pronouns (us, usik : uns ‘us’; ju, juwik : euch ‘you’) or the occasional reflex of diminutive suffixes not found elsewhere in (West) Germanic. 

What is the language like phonologically? Its most salient feature is its diphthongization (rising diphthongs, called “broken vowels” or “vowel breaking”). For example, speakers say ieten ([ɪɛtn̩]) instead of essen ‘to eat' or uapen ([ʊɐpn̩]) for offen ‘open’.  Its consonantism is characterized by the lack of the second Lautverschiebung (consonant shift) so that many plosives which were turned into fricatives in HIgh German remained plosives just like in their English cognates: Appel ‘apple’, to ‘to(wards)’, maken ‘to make’

What made you choose the language? It is the language of the region where I grew up, native language of most of my childhood friends and primary school teachers; I don’t speak it myself, but I understand it fairly well.  To speakers of other German dialects, it often sounds a bit rough and grumpy, boorish and archaic. I like it though. 

Resources:

https://www.ethnologue.com/language/wep

https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/west2356

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_language

https://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_gwe

http://www.language-archives.org/language/wep

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westf%C3%A4lische_Dialekte

https://www.lwl.org/komuna/pdf/mundartregionen_westfalens.pdf

https://www.lwl.org/LWL/Kultur/komuna/isa/#/10

[esglatestmarketnews]

Machine Translation Market Scenario, Strategies and Forecast Analysis Report till 2022

September 21, 2021: The global machine translation market is anticipated to reach USD 983.3 million by 2022. Increasing quantity of website content, growing requirement for cost competence in translation, and the huge quantity of language knowledge demanded exceeds the capability of human translation, which consecutively is expected to propel the machine translation industry. Globalization increases the demand to deal with the linguistic variety of local audiences and web content. The fabrication of content generated online, increasing the importance of business in budding markets, and the demand for allowing worldwide collaboration amongst employees is likely to drive machine translation industry growth over the forecast period.

Machine translation price are far inferior to that of conventional human translation. It is also rapid than human translation. It is commonly utilized for soaring volume content that would or else take gigantic resources for translation, and this is likely to fuel the machine translation industry. Accessibility of free of charge translation engines and shortage of translation accuracy is expected to restrain market expansion over the forecast period. Main restraints for the machine translation industry are a shortage of quality, demand for expert skills and editing, opposition from free translation service provider, and complexity in estimation & measurement of quality. One of the major shifts budding in the market is the incorporation of the translation procedures in the project plan.

Many enterprises with a worldwide presence does not have a devoted multilingual website for reaching out to every region. This might obstruct their growth as various users globally might be capable to understand only in their inhabitant languages. Another major challenge obstructing the expansion of the industry over the forecast period is the creative marketing materials present in the market, which a machine is not able to grasp and demands human understanding for delivering & translation the definite meaning. This comprises certain legal documents and creative marketing content.

Request a Free Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/machine-translation-mt-market/request-sample

Consumers in the electronic market demands competent translation of document in direction to haste up time to market and publication processes. An electronics enterprise demands publishing to be completed in various languages to offer press releases, user manuals, for commercial, product launches and marketing catalogs. Machine translation service providers builds up customized engines for the customer in the electronics market that are well coincided with the industry’s particular terminologies and technological descriptions. The machine translation industry finds its functions in healthcare to enhance communication demands of physicians.

On the basis of application, the market can be segregated into automotive, medical, Electronics, healthcare, electronics, information technology, and others. On the basis of technologies, the market can be segregated into RBMT, SMT and others. The SMT (statistical machine translation) uses a model to create and analyse text in the aimed language in contrast to this RBMT (rule-based machine translation) uses linguistic rules over the sourced language, to create text in the aimed language. On the basis of the geographical region, this market can be segregated into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle east and Africa. North America is expected to capture maximum revenue over the forecast period. Machine translation is very effectual way of eradicating language barriers around various regions. The main factor responsible for the expansion of the North American machine translation industry is the growing number of government initiatives and service providers in the area.

The presence of a huge quantity of service providers has assisted them to boost market expansion in the U.S. Google, Microsoft, two of the greatest technology providers are based in the North America who have made SMT (statistical machine translation) technology admired with their online engines. Increasing Globalization and requirement to deal with different cultural groups have to lead to the increased recognition of translation technology in Asia Pacific. The increasing proliferation of smartphones and growing penetration of internet are likely to fuel machine translation market expansion in Asia Pacific over the forecast period. The demand to address various cultural groups and growing globalization is expected to fuel the expansion of the machine translation system in Asia Pacific. The main challenge of this market in Asia Pacific is the need for specialist skills, shortage of quality, complexity in measurement & estimation of quality, and increasing competition from free language conversion.

Browse Full Research Report @ https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/machine-translation-mt-market

Some of the key players in the market are SYSTRAN, Lionbridge, Lighthouse IP, Lingotek, Cloudwords Inc, SDL PLC and Moravia IT. This market is less fragmented but the competition is expected to increase over the forecast period. As the need for customization and personalization of machine, translator is going to increase over the forecast period, which in return will fuel the need for innovation in this market.

Market Segment:

Machine Translation Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)

• Automotive

• Military & Defense

• Electronics

• IT

• Healthcare

• Others

Machine Translation Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)

• RBMT

• SMT

• Others

Machine Translation Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)

• North America

• Europe

• Asia Pacific

• Latin America

• MEA

Get in touch

At Million Insights, we work with the aim to reach the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Our representatives strive to understand diverse client requirements and cater to the same with the most innovative and functional solutions.

Contact Person:

Ryan Manuel

Research Support Specialist, USA

Email: ryan@millioninsights.com

[newinnovationalmarketresearch]

Machine Translation Market 2025 Report by Key Growth Drivers, Challenges, Leading Key Players Review

Machine Translation Market is anticipated to reach USD 983.3 million by 2022. Increasing quantity of website content, growing requirement for cost competence in translation, and the huge quantity of language knowledge demanded exceeds the capability of human translation, which consecutively is expected to propel the machine translation industry. Globalization increases the demand to deal with the linguistic variety of local audiences and web content. The fabrication of content generated online, increasing the importance of business in budding markets, and the demand for allowing worldwide collaboration amongst employees is likely to drive machine translation industry growth over the forecast period.

 Request a Sample PDF Copy of This Report @ https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/machine-translation-mt-market/request-sample

 Market Synopsis of Machine Translation Market:

 Machine translation price are far inferior to that of conventional human translation. It is also rapid than human translation. It is commonly utilized for soaring volume content that would or else take gigantic resources for translation, and this is likely to fuel the machine translation industry. Accessibility of free of charge translation engines and shortage of translation accuracy is expected to restrain market expansion over the forecast period. Main restraints for the machine translation industry are a shortage of quality, demand for expert skills and editing, opposition from free translation service provider, and complexity in estimation & measurement of quality. One of the major shifts budding in the market is the incorporation of the translation procedures in the project plan.

 Many enterprises with a worldwide presence does not have a devoted multilingual website for reaching out to every region. This might obstruct their growth as various users globally might be capable to understand only in their inhabitant languages. Another major challenge obstructing the expansion of the industry over the forecast period is the creative marketing materials present in the market, which a machine is not able to grasp and demands human understanding for delivering & translation the definite meaning. This comprises certain legal documents and creative marketing content

 Consumers in the electronic market demands competent translation of document in direction to haste up time to market and publication processes. An electronics enterprise demands publishing to be completed in various languages to offer press releases, user manuals, for commercial, product launches and marketing catalogs. Machine translation service providers builds up customized engines for the customer in the electronics market that are well coincided with the industry’s particular terminologies and technological descriptions. The machine translation industry finds its functions in healthcare to enhance communication demands of physicians.

 On the basis of application, the market can be segregated into automotive, medical, Electronics, healthcare, electronics, information technology, and others. On the basis of technologies, the market can be segregated into RBMT, SMT and others. The SMT (statistical machine translation) uses a model to create and analyse text in the aimed language in contrast to this RBMT (rule-based machine translation) uses linguistic rules over the sourced language, to create text in the aimed language. On the basis of the geographical region, this market can be segregated into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle east and Africa. North America is expected to capture maximum revenue over the forecast period. Machine translation is very effectual way of eradicating language barriers around various regions. The main factor responsible for the expansion of the North American machine translation industry is the growing number of government initiatives and service providers in the area.

 View Full Table of Contents of This Report @ https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/machine-translation-mt-market

 Table of Contents:-

Chapter 1 Methodology and Scope

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Machine Translation: Market Variables, Trends & Scope              

Chapter 4 Machine Translation: Product Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 5 Machine Translation: Application Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 6 Machine Translation: End-use Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 7 Machine Translation: Industrial End-use Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 8 Machine Translation: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis

Chapter 9 Competitive Landscape

Chapter 10 Machine Translation: Manufacturers Company Profiles

Get in touch

At Million Insights, we work with the aim to reach the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Our representatives strive to understand diverse client requirements and cater to the same with the most innovative and functional solutions.

[imtryingtolearngerman]

Linguistic Diversity Challenge: The Region Edition

You can see the challenge here

Day 1/12 -  South and Central Asia

Tajik:

1. What is the language known as to linguists, and by the speakers themselves? It’s known as Tajik, Tajiki and Tajiki Persian in English (tadjique in Portuguese, my native language) and забо́ни тоҷикӣ́ (zaboni tojikī),meaning Tajik language by the native speakers and форси́и тоҷикӣ́ (forsii tojikī) meaning Tajiki Persian. It’s written as تاجیکی‎ in Persian.

2. Where is the language spoken? It’s the official language of Tajikistan and it’s also spoken in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

3. How many speakers does the language have? The number varied quite a lot in different sources, but the number of speakers is around 8 million people. 

4. What are some of the languages relatives and is it part of a contact area? Tajik is an Indo-european language, being a part of of the Indo-Iranian branch of this family. It is considered a variety of Persian.

picture source

5. Is the language written? If it is, with what script? The language is written and it uses a modified version of the Cyrillic alphabet (yes, the one used in Russian language) and the Persian alphabet, also called Perso-Arabic script. An adaptation of the Latin alphabet was also used for a short period of time. 

6. What is the language like grammatically? Tajik uses the subject – object – verb order, unlike English that uses the subject – verb – object order. To make it more clear: In English we say “I watch a movie”, in a the subject – object – verb order the phrase would be “I a movie watch”. The grammar is very similar to the Persian grammar. The nouns don’t have a grammar gender (languages like German do), but they have a grammatical number. Articles (the, a, an, in English) don’t exist and the adjectives usually come after the noun, the opposite of the English language.

7. What is the language like phonologically? The language has 6 vowels and 24 consonants

In this the Cyrillic alphabet and the International Phonetic Alphabet were used to represent the vowels (the first picture) and the consonants (second picture).

8. What made you choose the language? The fact that it’s a variety of Persian written with the Cyrillic alphabet is very interesting to me. I have been interested in this language for a while and this challenge seemed like a good opportunity for me to learn more about it. Also finding a good amount of information about the language online was important too. 

Sources 1 and 2

[khalilhumam]

Is India's digital ID system, Aadhaar, a tech solution for a socio-economic problem?

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/is-indias-digital-id-system-aadhaar-a-tech-solution-for-a-socio-economic-problem/

Is India's digital ID system, Aadhaar, a tech solution for a socio-economic problem?

ID systems should allow for social inclusion and human rights

Biometric details being captured in an Aadhaar enrolment centre in Kolkata, West Bengal, India (Biswarup Ganguly, CC-BY-3.0)

This post was first published on Yoti as a part of Subhashish Panigrahi's Digital Identity Fellowship. It has been edited for Global Voices. The world's largest biometric ID system, Aadhaar, assigns Indians a 12-digit unique identity number which is tied to a range of citizen beneficiary services. The programme was meant to be a technological solution to both existing and emerging socio-economic challenges, designed to help ensure inclusion in India. In practice, however, it has done the opposite, deepening the exclusion of marginal and vulnerable communities. Aadhaar began to take shape in 2009, when the Indian National Congress (INC) was in government, but saw aggressive implementation under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), currently in office, which holds a majority at the federal level and wields strong influence in many provinces. The system has therefore been used in both federal and provincial public programmes on a massive scale, but exclusion persists. It was hoped that, after a decade of Aadhaar, issues like the country's long history of racial oppression — which existed long before British colonisation and continues long after the country became a democratic republic in 1947 — would be addressed. Instead, many marginalised communities find themselves in a multitude of troubles, unable to access basic amenities and services. Conversations with members of several such communities — as part of research conducted for the MarginalizedAadhaar project (see Field Diaries #1, #2 and #3) — indicate that the most marginalised among them have been further excluded as a result of the absolute trust in ‘tech-solutionism’ displayed by several state entities. However, the technological biases that have come out of the systemic social oppression in Indian society — especially in the context of Aadhaar — are yet to be addressed.

‘Tech-weapons of mass exclusion’

When viewed through the lenses of different demographics — social, political, economic, regional, linguistic, religious, and most importantly, access to privileges for those at the bottom of the pyramid — one can only grasp a tiny portion of what a national biometric-based identity system like Aadhaar means to citizens. By their very nature, ID systems need to allow for social inclusion and the rights of individuals to address issues across the spectrum — from widespread inequality to the nuances associated with the Adivasis, especially the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. If they do not, people with privileges but with no understanding of diversity and inclusion, end up building ‘tech-weapons of mass exclusion.’ For instance, Aadhaar has been deployed for biometric-based authentication in the distribution of food rations through the Public Distribution System (PDS), a federal government initiative that provides food and other essential commodities to those in need. The objective, of course, is to eradicate poverty, but data from the country's census showed that between 2001 and 2011, the number of people in need rose from 21 to 26.8 million, a 22.4% increase.

Contextualising tech

Technology, particularly in India, cannot be discussed without bringing up systemic racial discrimination. The country’s political power dynamics are much more racially divisive than ever before, to the point where they have now become part of the apparatus for exclusion. The caste system divides people of the Hindu faith into four major classes, of which some are considered outcasts, or ‘untouchables’. These communities are collectively known as Dalits in progressive discourses; in India's constitution, they are classified as Scheduled Castes (SC). The BJP, the ruling right-wing nationalist party dominated by “upper-caste” Hindus, has been pushing to exclude the Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi people — and several other marginalised communities — through divisive policies. From a human rights perspective, the technological implementations of these policies often translate into inherent and serious design flaws.

A Muslim woman in the state of Assam who was declared as a “Doubtful Voter” in the National Register of Citizens. (Screengrab from a video reportage by NewsClickin. CC-BY 3.0).

Access to information in native languages

Curiously, in a country where there have been no less than 402 documented internet shutdowns since the BJP came to power in 2014, the Aadhaar system relies on the internet to function. People wanting to get food rations must authenticate their identity via a fingerprint-based process, and authorities at the ration centres use an online portal to verify the information. Just as concerning is the fact that as many as 104 million Adivasis, already largely excluded because they come from low-income groups, are further sidelined because they cannot find any information about Aadhaar in their native languages. In the following video, Sora-language speaker Manjula Bhuyan from Odisha, India, highlighted the importance of accessing information about digital identity in one’s native language. Downloadable videos with captions and transcripts can be accessed here. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3CmhAAKNp8?feature=oembed&w=650&h=366]

Declared illegal citizens

The impact of this systemic bias is broad. It ranges from Dalit and Muslim schoolchildren from low-income families being denied scholarships because of Aadhaar system errors, to Muslim citizens being harassed and asked to provide proof of citizenship. Muslims in the state of Assam have been among the hardest hit — 1.9 million of them out of the state's population of 33 million were declared illegal during the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a programme designed to eliminate illegal immigrants. The video below says that the state of digital identity took a critical turn when these 1.9 million people were declared illegal. Downloadable videos with captions and transcripts can be found here. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKPuvZAxUPI?feature=oembed&w=650&h=366] The NRC exercise came to a momentary halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but new waves of terror began to unfold among those who have been declared illegal. Ashraful Hussain, an activist who works closely with many discriminated Assamese Muslims, recently noted, “Most Muslims — and even many Hindus of [West] Bengal origin — were purposely excluded in the ‘original inhabitant‘ category by the officers who were in charge of the NRC drive.”

Read More: Millions in India's north-eastern Assam state at risk of losing citizenship

The 1.9 million people whose names were left out of the list of “legal citizens” have one last option — appearing before what's known as a foreigner’s tribunal to prove their citizenship in a judicial process. Hussain fears, however, that even though these already marginalised people are becoming poorer as a result of lockdown restrictions, they will need to pay the legal costs associated with having to prove their citizenship once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted — and the exclusion goes much further. According to Hussain, “As many Muslim women are illiterate and are unable to find documents to establish their parental link, these women and their children are out of the [NRC] list.” The NRC is deeply linked with Aadhaar. As attorney Tripti Poddar explained, the collection of individuals’ biometric data happened during the NRC process. Those who made it to the NRC were issued Aadhaars; those who did not were denied. Poddar further argues that even a foreigner residing in India can receive an Aadhaar, but Indian citizens flagged by the NRC can be stripped of their constitutional rights.

Written by Subhashish Panigrahi · comments (0) Donate · Share this: twitter facebook reddit

[businessliveme]

Building New Bridges in Education

The idea of a bridge has always served as a powerful model for education. As a concept it anchors the ideals of education in something less intangible, more achievable. According to UNESCO, the role of education is twofold: to empower individuals “to become active participants in the transformation of their societies”; to enable these individuals “to live together in a world characterized by diversity and pluralism.”[1] It is in this very real sense that education functions as a bridge. By promoting certain values and attitudes it opens dialogue and fosters relationships, allowing experiences to be shared, common concerns to be communicated and mutual recognition to be reached.

This role of education in building bridges between people and places has particular resonance in the UAE, which is celebrating 2019 as a year of tolerance. The analogy is also at the heart of a growing demand for executive education programs in the Gulf region. For professionals seeking to gain a competitive advantage in international business, a broad knowledge base and flexible skill set is essential. In traditional management education, ‘bridge building’ has become a specialized business strategy. The globalized nature of business environments means that individuals must now be able to cross “the cultural divide” through effective, contextualized communication techniques. With the rapid developments in technology, there is also an increasing need to overcome “the digital divide” through more advanced technical knowledge.

In response to these demands, universities have had to adopt a ‘bridge building’ approach to education. Today’s complex problems require multi-faceted solutions. Multi/inter-disciplinary frameworks that allow students to supplement traditional skills with new tools have become the norm. It is in line with this model, for example, that universities are integrating digital business strategies into their established curricula.

In recent years, however, the challenges facing business professionals have become increasingly complex. The existing educational framework appears outmoded and ineffective because it no longer reflects the reality facing students in the 21st century. In August 2017, the Harvard Business Review released an issue entitled “The Truth about Globalization”, which details a retreat from a global, international outlook into localized markets and mentalities.[2] To navigate this new environment, a new set of skills is required. Basic knowledge of the global business world, an ability to bridge cultural boundaries, is no longer a sufficient response to today’s changing international climate. There is now a need for a deeper understanding of the complexities and contradictions of globalization, an awareness that bridges that bring proximity can also introduce distance and separation.

The same is true of the digital divide. The growing number of mental health complaints among students (discussed in the March edition of this magazine) suggests that the digital skills gap is more complex than first believed. Research now shows that technology and social media promote feelings of isolation and anxiety. In making the world more connected these platforms also cuts individuals adrift. As a bridge, they bring people together while also keeping them apart. Filling the digital skills gap is therefore no longer a simple question of acquiring new technical knowledge. What employers require, paradoxically, are improved social skills: versatility, social intelligence, self-awareness. With privacy concerns, data security and disinformation threats now the top corporate priorities, companies need individuals to analyze, and not just consume, technological data. Digital competences must come hand in hand with an ability to adopt a critical, disengaged position.

To respond to these issues, the education sector needs to re-think how it employs the concept of a bridge in delivering knowledge. In light of the demands now placed on professionals, the traditional inter-disciplinary approach appears limited. In practice, the convergence of multiple viewpoints can lead to a narrowing of perspectives, as each discipline becomes more rooted in a particularized area of expertise. This model connects different fields but, in doing so, it also keeps them separate. How, then, can we adapt the notion of the bridge to address these challenges?

In Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, where the motto is “a bridge between civilizations”, a new direction becomes possible. SUAD is unique in that it embodies the very ideals it represents. As a bridge between countries and cultures, it creates mobility and proximity between places and people. As a meeting point between Paris and Abu Dhabi, it connects a long-standing tradition in academic achievement with a commitment to innovation and excellence.

In SUAD, tolerance is not just an idea but an every-day reality. With a student body spanning over 80 nationalities, it is a symbol of the UAE’s commitment to diversity and inter-cultural exchange. In this very practical sense, SUAD offers a new way of defining the role of education in the 21st century. By putting principles into practice, it forces us to re-think the bridge not as something connecting separate locations, but as the point where alternative perspective are transformed into a single collective.

For these reasons, SUAD provides a hub for innovation in research and teaching practice. As a faculty member, I have spent the last two years exploring the possibilities of adapting curricula and methodology in line with a new concept of ‘bridge building’. In my research, I am developing an alternative form of disciplinary exchange that moves beyond the limitations of the traditional approach.

Rather than offer different modules in isolation (mutualisé), this new approach maximizes the potential of the classroom as a space where separate fields directly overlap (à la croisée). The idea is not just to bridge fields that remain at a distance (“inter-disciplinarity”) but to allow subjects to directly converge, in such a way that they are taught simultaneously (what I term “infra-disciplinarity”). At a practical level, traditional curricula are not simply supplemented with alternative approaches; instead, new tools and methods are acquired on the basis of pre-established knowledge.

I am currently implementing this model in an executive education program entitled “Business for English, English for Business”. Building on the ‘dual’ status of the Bachelors degree in Applied Foreign Languages, the course combines knowledge in business related subjects (Marketing, Economics, Finance, etc) with the practical application of linguistic tools. Unlike other ‘mixed majors’, however, these areas are not studied separately but simultaneously, as two distinct but inter-connected perspectives. First, traditional business knowledge is used to develop more effective communication skills; next, these models of analysis allow for a more rigorous approach to business practices and a more acute level of technological awareness. In the process of deepening their knowledge, students acquire the tools needed to confront the real problems now facing professionals.

For this digitally engaged, multi-tasking generation, the goal is not simply to look at a problem from different perspectives but to recognize how these different perspectives themselves overlap. This ability to shift quickly between alternative viewpoints creates a heightened level of critical (dis)engagement and, ultimately, a creative mindset more attune to the trends and opportunities that exist in the global economy. For this new generation of bridge builders, uncertainty becomes the source of possibility and the fear associated with risk is replaced by a courage to adapt, experiment and innovate. Only this type of entrepreneurial spirit, one that grasps the true complexities of building bridges, can rise to meet the challenges of today.

[1] http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/role-of-education/

[2] https://hbr.org/2017/07/globalization-in-the-age-of-trump

The post Building New Bridges in Education appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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Bridging the Digital Language Divide | Language News

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Bridging the Digital Language Divide | Language News

Technology and access to information are making the world a better place for many, but what good is that information if you can’t read it? Caught in the struggle between globalization and linguistic diversity, speakers of endangered and minority languages are struggling to bridge the digital language divide and reap the benefits of the Internet and all it has to offer.

Probably once a week I Google a question that seems so stupid and obvious I’m embarrassed to ask my friends.

Gems from my recent search history include “will my radiator start a fire if there’s lots of dust on it”, “how long can you leave cooked chicken in the fridge before it goes bad”, and “how to make an appointment at the Dutch immigration service“.

Thankfully, sites like Wikipedia and Quora speak my language, meet me on my own cultural terms, and offer a wealth of material to compensate for my typically Millennial lack of domestic skills or basic life knowledge.

But that’s not true for everyone.

Where you and I turn to Google for everything from voter registration information to misdiagnosing our cold symptoms for an obscure tropical disease, the hundreds of millions of people around the world who don’t speak digitally dominant languages like English, French, Chinese, or Japanese are still cut off from benefitting from the rest of the world’s knowledge.

Since the rise of the Internet throughout the early 2000s, we’ve heard more and more about the ‘digital divide‘, the technological gap between the haves and have-nots that kept people in some of the world’s poorer and more remote regions from reaping the full benefits of the 21st century’s great information democratization.

What we tend to hear about less is the language divide that coincides with it, and how we can close that divide.

Bridging the Digital Language Divide

Getting online has been shown time and time again to be one of the best ways to fight poverty across the world: it improves public health, increases educational outcomes, and equips citizens to better hold their governments accountable.

That said, you’d think the solution is simple: just wire every school in Burkina Faso with broadband and dump enough laptops over Peru and bam, no more poverty. But it turns out, lack of access to technology isn’t the only or even the biggest obstacle to getting marginalized communities across the world connected.

According to a study by GSMA, around 320 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and another 120 million in North Africa who are covered by mobile broadband don’t use it, commonly citing “lack of locally relevant content” as the main reason for their lack of Internet engagement. According to the GSMA report, this is because “content is not catering to the rich variety of cultures and languages across the continent.” In a region of the world where only 40% of people speak languages like English, French, and Portuguese that are popular on the Internet, this leaves the majority in the digital dark.

So we find ourselves in a situation in 2016 in which, despite the fact that many of the world’s poor can afford smartphones and live in areas with mobile data coverage, life-saving information is often all Greek to those who need it most.

If technology and infrastructure aren’t the solution, then what is?

Experts from across the developing world are building a consensus on bridging the divide, and it starts with personal, societal, economic, and technological investment in minority and indigenous languages.

Investing in learning and literacy in marginalized languages

The long-term solution to closing the digital language divide is investing in the learning of and literacy in the endangered, indigenous, and minority languages that most people in multicultural, multilingual countries like India, Cameroon, and Bolivia speak at home.

In Nigeria, public schools typically use only English as the medium of instruction. Despite a famously successful six-year experiment with mother-tongue instruction in Nigeria in the 1970s, government inertia and a belief that English is the most important language for the global economy have stalled any changes in education in the country whose people speak over 500 different languages in their homes and communities.

This is a challenge first and foremost because children learn best in their mother tongue. In Nigeria, this policy not only affects overall educational outcomes, but also further exacerbates the digital language divide, creating “digital ghettos” and isolating linguistic communities that are already on the margin and stand the most to gain from increased availability of information.

Instead, Nigerian public officials could look to South Africa for a better model of multilingual education that privileges both the mother tongue and the national language. There, students typically spend their first three years of school learning in their mother tongue, switching to English in the fourth grade, and educational experts are pushing for a full six years of native language education. Coupled with initiatives supporting indigenous-language media, South Africa is making strides towards bridging its own digital language divide.

Where smart language policy and innovative technology meet, we’re starting to see some of the sturdiest bridges for crossing the digital language divide.

Transparent Language and 7000 Languages

While national governments are sometimes slow in reacting to linguistic needs, partnerships between civil society organizations and private tech companies can often work quickly and innovatively to help promote native language learning and literacy and close the digital language divide.

Transparent Language donates its technology via 7000 Languages, contributing to the preservation and promotion of marginalized and under-resourced languages. One such 7000 Languages partnership is with , an organization fighting to promote Balinese, a minority language in Indonesia.

After a pilot project with 12 middle schools in the area of Den Pasar, the Balinese capital, the Department of Communication recommended that all schools in the area use the same technology to teach Balinese in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. Alongside classroom-based efforts like these, BasaBali is working to ensure that technology provides the Balinese language a “bridge to the future“:  together with a team of linguists they’ve produced the BASAbaliWiki, a Balinese-Indonesian-English online dictionary that can be edited by members of the Balinese-speaking community.

Projects like these can have great impact, but individual language learners and enthusiasts can also do their part towards bringing marginalized languages into the digital fold. Learners with an interest in development, anthropology, or language policy can also contribute towards closing the digital language divide in a few different ways:

The value in learning less commonly taught languages goes far beyond activism and preservation, but it’s an important first step in bridging the digital language divide and helping usher communities across the world into a prosperous 21st century. Take a look at the languages we offer on Transparent Language Online and start learning today!

Source

https://blogs.transparent.com/language-news/2016/10/26/bridging-the-digital-language-divide/

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WE KNOW HOW those who practice, publish, and promote literary translation think of ourselves: some incredibly tiny fraction of books published in the United States are literary translations (surely far, far less than the “three percent” statistic we often cite), and they are mostly done by small indies whose resources are dwarfed by what a major commercial publisher would spend on any mid-list American author. In spite of that, we persist, because translation is a life-enriching opportunity to enter a community of peers and realize a true literary vocation. As we never get tired of saying, translation is the closest form of reading, and it gives you all the thrills of creativity without the terror of the blank page. Not only that, but we in the translation scene are at the vanguard of those who are rejuvenating the English language and the American imagination, and our work will serve poets and politicians alike for years and years to come.

That’s a largely generalized but probably not overly cartoonish summary of prevailing sentiments in the translation community — but what does the rest of the American literary field think of translation? What do those authors who do not have any strong interest in, affinity for, or history with translation think about it as a practice, and (dare I say) an art form?

Answers of a sort are provided in Crossing Borders, a collection of essays on literary translation as well as short stories that prominently feature the practice. Let’s deal with the fiction first. Its authors range from celebrated, like Joyce Carol Oates and Lydia Davis, to the lesser known. (Notably, just one of the creative writers here is a foreigner that has been translated into English.) Although a few of these writers have translated, most of the fiction contributors have no real experience with the practice.

What emerges in the fictional contributions to Crossing Borders is a vision of the English-language translator as an individual who engages with a foreignness that is largely defined by places over which the US psyche experiences guilt. That is, by places in which we’ve fought hot wars or have damaged in our cultural battles, mostly in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. A number of these stories revolve around an interpreter who makes communication possible either with inhabitants of some vague Eastern European locations or with traumatized immigrants from these regions to the United States. Other fictional translators broker relationships between the Anglosphere and Southeast Asian nations like Cambodia that have been the field of battle in the United States’s postcolonial wars. In the stories, the translator/interpreter figures are generally of two kinds: they either facilitate communications for governmental interests abroad or they’re American loners, self-employed or finding a home of sorts in the academy.

This is all to say that the composite picture of the field that emerges in Crossing Borders is not one that I think many in literary translation would find accurate. While it is of course true that our nation’s foreign policy, past and present, often impinges on which regions of the world Americans find literarily fascinating, that dynamic is changing. Many other factors now come into play. Chief among them are the subsidies provided by foreign governments in an ever-expanding game of cultural imperialism. International literary festivals and prizes have become so powerful as to have rocketed a nation like South Korea to the center of the translation world in under a decade — with the help of the more quotidian practice of government bureaucrats arranging editor tours and doling out funds. And as the immense success of authors like the Finnish Sofi Oksanen, Norwegian Karl Ove Knausgaard, and Italian Elena Ferrante demonstrate, the forces of international media, conglomerated publishing, and national bookselling now have very much to say about what foreign people and places occupy the interest of American readers.

Nor are the book’s fictional depictions of literary translators especially flattering. The protagonists come off as sad, occasionally weird individuals without much going on, the kind of people who are incapable of understanding why they’re so socially maladroit. While it’s definitely true that translation tends to be done by those with an eccentric and independent bent to their personalities, the translators I know have a diverse array of interests and large and active social communities. They have lots of friends and professional peers, are often raising families, and would be at home among virtually any group of young professionals. I don’t see them as the awkward, isolated misfits that predominate in Crossing Borders — they’re fun-loving, charismatic, sophisticated, and plain cool. Perhaps the people we see in Crossing Borders are more typical of the translation community as it existed 30 to 40 years ago.

What of the literary textures of these stories, the way they bring to life exotic locales and languages? Tellingly, the only piece of fiction that seemed to make deep and integrated use of the particular history behind its setting was Svetlana Velmar-Janković’s “Sima Street,” which is also the only story in this collection that is translated from a foreign language into English. Joyce Carol Oates’s “The Translation” is also strong; there is a degree of emotional depth to its lead characters, and something real is at stake. But for the most part the stories here felt quite domestic — recognizably American people and arcs transplanted to a foreign location, with a little local color but not much more to set them apart.

One other exception here is Lydia Davis’s contribution, which is characteristically hybrid in its form (one could easily argue for its inclusion as an essay). Posed as a lesson in the French language, it elegantly inculcates in the reader an intense desire to know what happened to “le fermier” — we suspect it may have something to do with the text’s final words, “le meutre” (also its title). In its coy whimsicality and its subversive deployment of linguistic principles, it becomes — in just over six pages — a text that can easily support many readings and ideas. I don’t know exactly where it takes place, but it could be France (there’s something undeniably French to it), or maybe a Calvinoesque invisible France of Davis’s imagination. Similarly, Norman Lavers’s contribution — focusing on a Southeast Asian translator who is essentially rewriting Hamlet and transforming its genre in order to make it comprehensible to her culture — while perhaps not entirely successful as a story, has the benefit of entwining translation more deeply with its protagonist’s psychology and locale, while also thinking about the practice in more interesting ways.

If the fiction in Crossing Borders strikes this reader as a somewhat inaccurate representation of the discipline, the essays are pleasingly different. All written by veteran translators who are greatly esteemed in their field, they present a broad range of translation’s possibilities. The contribution of the late Chana Bloch explores the immense joys and challenges that come with rendering biblical writing, which is among the most formally difficult — and highly scrutinized — translation work available. Primo Levi’s short piece offers poetic commonplaces about the practice; although they won’t break new ground for those who know the field, they are eloquent and rousing. The essay from late Oulipian Harry Mathews strikes a defiant note by inviting translators to drag the art away from ideas of fidelity toward which a translator like Bloch strives; Mathews instead offers a vision of translation as a creative practice that hews closer to what one might call “equivalences” — something like the “translation” that happens when a book becomes a movie. And Michael Scammell’s chronicle of working with the legendarily irascible Vladimir Nabokov as a young man is a beautifully written, thickly descriptive look at the real life of a translator.

That said, there is something dated about the essays too. One can’t help but wonder what Crossing Borders might have looked like with younger, more international names gracing its table of contents. The most interesting people in translation are often young, and they aren’t all American. In recent years, many people under 40 — some even under 30 — have been directly responsible for translating, publishing, and championing authors who have taken the world’s most prestigious literary prizes. And with many of the world’s great writers now regularly touring, and living in, the United States — to say nothing of the translators who regularly spend years abroad — the world literary community is more tightly knit than ever. Any book that aspires to take stock of what is happening in translation right now should reflect these realities in its pages. A much more broadly based and up-to-date version of this collection could make a wonderful contribution to the field of literary translation. I’d love to see Crossing Borders 2.0.

¤

Veronica Scott Esposito is the author of four books, including The Doubles and The Surrender. Her writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, The White Review, and Music & Literature. She is a contributing editor with BOMB magazine, a senior editor at Two Lines Press, and edits The Quarterly Conversation, a journal of book reviews and essays.

The post All the Thrills Without the Terror: On “Crossing Borders: Stories and Essays about Translation” appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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