Intending to represent the diverse and sophisticated vernacular of the present generation, Oxford English Dictionary has added several new words to their pages include rizz, gyatt, mew, and, of course, skibidi toilet.
“To be honest, we’re just trying to sell dictionaries,” said dictionary editor Allison Smythe from her Oxford University office. “We’ll basically put anything in there as long it was a slang for at least a month or two.”
Smythe says the crew at Oxford doesn’t actually know how to define these words, exactly, but says it doesn’t really matter since they can just get the definitions off the Internet anyway.
“If you want to know what these words mean, just ask your grandkids,” said Smythe. “You might be in for a pleasant surprise.”
Meanwhile, Oxford has removed “acrimony,” “ostentatious,” “capricious,” and “anomaly,” since they were just too big and no one was using them anymore.
The patriotic poetry of Gennady Rakitin has won him quite a following in Russia over the past year. His odes to Vladimir Putin and emotive verses in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine drew appreciation on social media and even the occasional honourable mention in Russian poetry prizes.
But Rakitin’s admirers did not realise one thing: the 18 poems published under his name were in fact Russian translations of Nazi verses penned in the 1930s and 1940s.
One, called Leader, and published with a photograph of Putin, was originally called Führer and written by the Nazi-supporting writer Eberhard Möller in the late 1930s. Another, an ode to Nazi stormtroopers, was translated into Russian and repurposed as a tribute to fighters from the Wagner paramilitary group.
Rakitin does not exist. He was invented by a group of anonymous pranksters, who wanted to demonstrate that “Z propaganda”, named after the Z symbol of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the dominant force in the Russian cultural scene, has more than a faint echo of fascism.
“We read collections of Z poetry and saw straight-up nazism there. We suspected that they probably wrote exactly the same things in Nazi Germany, and we turned out to be right,” said the group behind the project, in written responses to questions from the Guardian. They said they wanted to remain anonymous for reasons of safety.
The authors said that almost all the Nazi poems they discovered fit the current Russian context perfectly, except for a few obvious anachronisms. References to Germany were changed to Russia, but otherwise the poems were published in exact translations.
“Politically, this shows that the ideas of Nazi Germany are close to the ideas of modern Russia, even as Russia claims it is fighting nazism. Culturally, it shows that there is no renaissance of Russian culture, as the authorities claim, but only its degradation,” said the authors.
Two published photographs of Rakitin, showing him with a creased brow, silvery hair and a wispy goatee, were generated by artificial intelligence, said the authors. This did not stop numerous Russian politicians becoming friends with the account on VKontakte, a Russian social network.
The Russian journalist Andrei Zakharov, who was the first to reveal publicly that Rakitin was a fake persona, counted that nearly 100 Russian MPs followed the account on VKontakte, as well as about 30 senators and several well-known pro-war cultural figures.
Many poems were copied from Rakitin’s VKontakte page and shared by other pro-war accounts, suggesting their tone and message chimes with the current ultra-patriotic mood promoted by Russian authorities. Last month, one of the poems reached the semi-final of a poetry competition organised by a branch of a Russian writers’ union on the subject of “war and defenders of the Motherland”.
The people behind the Rakitin account said the plan had always been to come clean at a certain point, as a way of demonstrating to supporters of Putin and the war the unsavoury nature of their driving ideology. Explaining why they ended the charade now, they said: “We are tired. It was morally exhausting to endlessly be in the gloominess of Russian Z world.”
The final poem on Rakitin’s page, published in recent days, is the only one that is not a translated Nazi-era text: “Gennady long mocked / Z poems on his feed / In the end, his message was / Fuck the war”.
The Japan-exclusive Ancient Roman - Power of the Dark Side is frequently cited online as the worst role-playing game ever released for the original PlayStation. However, that hasn't stopped a small team of fan translators/hackers from developing an English localization patch for it, which will reportedly be launching soon.
Originally developed by Nihon Systems, Ancient Roman - Power of the Dark Side is a turn-based RPG featuring a mixture of 3D polygonal characters and pre-rendered backgrounds similar to other more successful games like Final Fantasy VII. It hit Japanese store shelves in 1998 and immediately scored a bunch of low reviews from publications like Famitsu, Dengeki PlayStation, and Softbank's The PlayStation magazine because of its poor graphics and sound quality. Then, in the following decades, it later became something of a meme online, thanks to the rise of the internet and coverage by Japanese YouTubers.
With all of this in mind, you may be wondering why someone would want to go to the effort of translating it into English. Well, to answer that, Time Extension reached out to SnowyAria, the lead translator on this project.
In reply, she told us: "Back in around 2015, I was looking for JP-only games to translate for YouTube. I found Ancient Roman on a website, with only a single comment saying something to the effect of "Don't play this awful pile of garbage, you're just wasting your time go play a good game like Final Fantasy VII instead." Needless to say, I grabbed the game immediately to try out.
This leads to musical cacophony ranging from 'passable Fire Alarm Suite in D Minor' to 'the composer was trapped in a claw machine.'
"Love at first sight may be a bit strong, but Ancient Roman is such a mismatched, glued-together husk of a game vaguely in the shape of an RPG that it's endearing. Normally kusoge (awful games) have a couple things they do well, but fail to really bring it all together. Ancient Roman is one of the few where they just did *everything* wrong."
In other words, this is one of those cases of a game so bad, it's good. So SnowyAria's plan is to make it more widely accessible to those outside of Japan, so more people can enjoy its baffling gameplay and story.
In our conversation, she went on to elaborate on some of the game's major problems, "The music doesn't work 80% of the time, since the PS1 MIDI-like music format they used mismatches all the instruments and octaves. This leads to musical cacophony ranging from 'passable Fire Alarm Suite in D Minor' to 'the composer was trapped in a claw machine.' Any time a sound effect plays, the game lags for nearly a second before playing it. We figured out this was due to every sound file being normalized to 10 full seconds long, even for a simple sword swing. This means the poor PS1 has to read 10 seconds of audio off disc, load it into RAM, play it, then (of course) immediately delete it, even if it's a common battle sound.
"As for the story itself, I don't want to spoil too much, but even the game kind of just forgets plot points half the time. The villain barely even shows up, leaving his characterization coming mostly from the external drama CD they somehow released. It's a very goofy story with a hint of good writing in a few sparse places while the rest is full of strange pacing fun times, but overall the sheer nonsense is a lot of fun. I have a lot of love for these goofs of characters, and I hope that comes across in the translation!"
As you might expect, one of the biggest obstacles to translating these kinds of game is usually getting together a team to help out. As she explains, it's typically very easy to get people to give up their time to translate a classic or a game from a series everybody loves, but convincing them to work on "awful games" is a whole different matter entirely.
Luckily, though, she was able to grab the notable hacker EsperKnight (who has previously worked on hacks for Planet Laika,Linda Cubed Again, and more) and convinced them to take a detour into "the awful game mines" to get this one into shape.
We'll keep you updated on any future news about the hack. A trailer for the English translation is expected to arrive soon.
504 English Vocabulary Dictionary offers an immersive learning experience tailored to enhance English language skills. Designed for learners seeking to expand their vocabulary, this app provides access to 504 common English words through interactive flashcards, quizzes, and listening games.
It caters to diverse learning preferences, allowing users to reinforce their knowledge in engaging ways while tracking personalized progress for continuous improvement. Ideal for students, professionals, and language enthusiasts alike, 504 English Vocabulary Dictionary fosters a supportive learning community where users can share insights and stay motivated on their language journey. Whether preparing for exams, mastering conversational English, or simply exploring new words daily, this app serves as a comprehensive resource to boost language proficiency effectively and enjoyably.
Google's inclusion of Tulu leverages advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology. (Photo: Reuters)
3 min read Last Updated : Jun 29 2024 | 10:46 PM IST
In a significant stride towards preserving and promoting regional languages, Google has added Tulu to its translation services.
Tulu joins 110 new languages on Google Translate from June 27, marking a historic moment for the millions of people who speak this language. This addition allows users to easily translate Tulu words and phrases, enhancing the accessibility and understanding of this cherished language.
The Tulu-speaking community, which has long sought greater recognition for their language, is celebrating this achievement as a major honour, especially since Tulu is not officially recognised in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
While the initial translations for Tulu on Google Translate may contain some errors, the system is expected to improve over time. Users are encouraged to provide accurate translations in the feedback section to help refine and enhance the service's accuracy.
Google's inclusion of Tulu leverages advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology. This involves a statistical-based method that relies on large amounts of data. For Tulu, approximately 2 million translated sentences, including nouns and verbs, were fed into the system, allowing the machine to learn and improve its translations progressively.
Expressing satisfaction over the new global acclaim of the Tulu language, Tharanath Gatty Kapikad, president of Karnataka State Tulu Academy, told PTI that the Tuluva people must make extensive use of this new global service and take forward the literary heritage of Tulu language.
More From This Section
He said it is natural that there could be some misgivings in translating from one language to another. In such cases, he advised the Tuluvas to use the feedback button on Google translator to correct such misgivings.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily had been a strong votary of inclusion of Tulu language into the Eighth schedule of the Constitution and had taken a delegation to meet various Central leaders to include Tulu language into the Eithth Schedule.
He expressed happiness over the new global recognition given to Tulu language by Google through creating a translation interface with other languages. That means Tulu has gained much more ground on a global scale.
Even non-Tulu speakers in Karnataka may have encountered Tulu phrases through popular Kannada movies such as 'Ulidavaru Kandanthe,' 'Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana,' and 'Kantara,' as well as the Hindi movie 'Welcome.'
Despite some initial challenges and the need for ongoing refinements, the inclusion of Tulu in Google Translate is a milestone. It paves the way for greater preservation and broader usage of the language. This global recognition not only brings pride to the Tulu-speaking community but also ensures that Tulu remains relevant and vibrant in the digital age.
Tulu has a script of its own but not popularised. The Dharmasthala Museum for art has displayed Tulu script.
Efforts are on at the national level to include Tulu into the Eighth Schedule of the constitution. Tulu is also a language of entry for TOEFL examination.
Kuppam University in Andhra Pradesh has a chair for Tulu development. Tuluva scholars like Prof. Viveka Rai, late Amrut Someshwara and late K S Haridas Bhat recognised Tulu as one of the 'Pancha Dravida Bhasha' - Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Tulu.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 "google,google logo")