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Translator Newsletter: Translation & Humanity, Radio Ambulante, and more!

Categories: General, Translation Newsletter

gvlogo2Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you're all having a wonderful start to the week! We've got a jam-packed newsletter for you, so let's dive right in! –

Translation & Shared Humanity

Screenshot taken from www.theglobeandmail.com

Screenshot taken from www.theglobeandmail.com

How does your perception of the world change when words have unique meanings in different languages? Kim Echlin, who has been dedicated to translating Sumerian poetry, explores this topic in her most recent post for The Global and Mail entitled, “Translation from one language to another is an act of shared humanity” [1]. She says:

I like how these built-in metaphors in words shape how we perceive the world. In Ojibway, for example, the word for squirrel is ajiidamoo, which means “upside-down climber.” After I learned that word, I never again looked in the same way at squirrels scrambling around the trees.

Have you experienced this over the course of your translation careers? Tell us how your journeys through language have affected your view of the world.

Translation Talk at the GV Mini Summit!

summitGV Latin America is launching its first Mini Summit through a series of Google Hangouts and it's going to be awesome! The Mini Summit is open to the entire GV community and will cover a wide range of topics, including an entire talk dedicated solely to translation, led by yours truly & the lovely Laura Vidal. Check out the full schedule here [2] and join us!

Translating with Radio Ambulante

Screenshot taken from radioambulante.org

Screenshot taken from radioambulante.org

Radio Ambulante [3] is looking for a Spanish into English translating superstar to join their team. For those of you unfamiliar with them, “Radio Ambulante is a Spanish-language podcast that tells Latin American stories from anywhere Spanish is spoken, including the United States.” The position pays $15/hour and requires a 5-10 hour commitment per week. Learn more about this opportunity here [4]!

Drop the I-Word

Screenshot taken from www.colorlines.com

Screenshot taken from www.colorlines.com

The Drop the I-Word campaign looks to get rid of the word “illegal” when discussing immigrants and communities of color. Color Lines talks about “the dehumanizing and inaccurate aspects of the i-word” and gives “space for immigrants to tell their stories.” Learn more about them and how you can contribute here [5]!

A Guide to Endangered Languages

Screenshot taken from www.hopesandfears.com

Screenshot taken from www.hopesandfears.com

Have you ever wondered what makes languages die out and how we can save them? Can anything even be done to save them? Hopes and Fears contributor Ben Macaulay, a PhD student at the City University of New York, tackles this issue with a comprehensive guide on currently indigenous languages and what puts them at risk. Learn more and listen to audio samples here [6]!

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As always, thank you all for your hard work and dedication to GV!