Language focus

Technical translation is not a fixed art – it must continually evolve to keep pace with new words coming into common usage in all the languages of the world. However, these in turn can be difficult to predict, and researchers are now working to better understand which words make it into the mainstream, and which…

Translation agencies don’t just work with new documents – we are sometimes asked to translate older texts too, and that raises its own questions. For instance, if a document is fairly old, there is the issue of whether the translation should use language that was common at the time it was originally written, or that…

Translation companies like The Translation People might be specialists at what we do, but it still helps when the two languages being used share structural similarities. Any similarity between grammar and sentence structure makes our job easier – and can allow translation companies to more accurately convey the original meaning of the text in the…

The UNESCO World Atlas of endangered languages currently lists more than 3,000 languages. There are many reasons a language can become extinct. Extinction is usually attributed to military, economic, religious, cultural or educational suppression; globalization also contributes to the neglect of minority languages. Linguists have struggled to preserve and revitalize endangered languages for many years…

Did you know that there is no international sign language? As with spoken language there are regional differences in gestures. They are fully-fledged languages recognized as separate with independent grammars and individual gestures. Worldwide, there are approximately 200 different sign languages. British and American signers do, for example, find it very difficult to understand each…

Accurate translation between languages can often be challenging, due to the need to use precise translations of each word, while still conveying the intended overall meaning of any given section of text. Emotion may not always be an issue in translation – but what if there is a need to come up with an accurate…

The European Day of Languages is celebrated on 26th September, and at The Translation People we are very pleased that a whole day has been dedicated to the linguistic diversity within Europe. This Wednesday, various events will be held all over Europe for professionals as well as for the general public. Go speak-dating in Prague,…

Modern-day translation services often work with languages that are not only geographically close to one another, but also similar in many of the words that they use. For instance, the word ‘wheel’ in English translates as ‘wiel’ in Dutch, while in French, Spanish and Portuguese it is ‘roue’, ‘rueda’ and ‘roda’ respectively. This similarity between…