Happy Chinese New Year – Xin Nian Kuai Le! Gong Hey Fat Choy! To celebrate the dawning of the Year of the Horse, it’s time to read about China. The London Review Bookshop recommends an introduction to Chinese poetry, including…
Blog Archives
the ghost child
Once upon a time there was a little ghost. It lived all alone in the forest. All the other ghosts were born in the forest because they died there. They were very old or very young, and their families were…
Tagged with: Finnish, Illustration, Language, Literature, Moomins, pubilc libraries, subtitles, Terhi Ekebom, The Ghost Child
Posted in Illustration, language, literature, translation
Posted in Illustration, language, literature, translation
new year, new translation: the assassin from apricot city
What does the rest of the world look like in the eyes of the rest of the world? That’s something we can never know. But good journalism in good translation can help. It’s not a good idea to have a…
Tagged with: Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Journalism, New Year, Polish, Ryszard Kapuściński, Turkey, Witold Szabłowski
Posted in international, language, translation
Posted in international, language, translation
silent night
The first time I noticed translation was probably while singing Christmas carols. We learnt to sing Silent Night in something resembling German and Welsh at primary school, and in learning Polish I realised that the fuzzy warm sound of carols I’d heard…
Tagged with: Christmas, Christmas Carols, English, Finnish, Franz Xaver Gruber, German, Joseph Mohr, Polish, Silent Night, Welsh
Posted in Christmas, language, translation
Posted in Christmas, language, translation
O!
‘Would it be of any use, now,’ thought Alice, `to speak to this mouse? Everything is so out-of-the-way down here that I should think very likely it can talk: at any rate, there’s no harm in trying.’ So she began:…
Tagged with: advent, Alice in Wonderland, Arvo Pärt, Bible, English, German, Language, Latin, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, o antiphons, vocative
Posted in language, translation
Posted in language, translation
hobbit scripts
It is that time of year again – time for the next Hobbit movie, a chance to escape back into the magical world of Middle Earth. The first Hobbit film was too long, but it was also the first film I saw…
Tagged with: Anglo Saxon, Cirith, Elvish, Finnish, Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, Language, Literature, Lord of the Rings, Runes, Scripts, Tengwar, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Tibetan, Transliteration, Welsh, words
Posted in international, language, literature, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, translation, words
Posted in international, language, literature, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, translation, words
twist your tongue around the world
Sometimes your tongue gets in a knot and the words just don’t come out. But if you can untangle it, you will sound fluent as never before. I tell first time visitors to Finland that they can find the lift…
Tagged with: English, Finnish, Hebrew, Language, Latin, Maori, Polish, pronunciation, Tongue-twister, Welsh
Posted in international, language, translation, words
Posted in international, language, translation, words
like two berries
Idioms are great. But they don’t always translate easily. Finnish idioms differ from English ones according to the culture. In the land of forests, you don’t stand around uselessly like a lemon, but sit like a mushroom (“istua kuin tatti”), and…
stories in translation: UK children’s book week 2013
In the UK it is Children’s Book Week from 7-11 October. How many of those books are translated from other languages? Not many, unfortunately. Here are my top 3 for 2013: One of my favourites as a young child was…
Tagged with: animals, Children's Book Week 2013, Children's literature, Estonian, French, Gunilla Wolde, Irish Gaelic, Lila Prap, Mrs Pepperpot, Oksa Pollock, Pippi Longstocking, Slovene, Sue Rose, Swedish, Welsh
Posted in Children's Book Week 2013, Illustration, international, language, literature, translation
Posted in Children's Book Week 2013, Illustration, international, language, literature, translation
international translation day: beyond linguistic barriers – a united world
It’s the 22nd International Translation Day today. The Congolese member of the Federation of Interpreters and Translators chose the theme “Beyond Linguistic Barriers – A United World,” because the work of TTIs (translators, terminologists and interpreters) breaks down global barriers in…
Tagged with: Bethlehem, Bible, Greek, Hebrew, International Translation Day, Jerome, Jerusalem, Language, Septuagint, Translation, Translators Without Borders, volunteer
Posted in international, language, NGOs, translation
Posted in international, language, NGOs, translation
found in translation 