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‘Perseverance’ named Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year The IndependentThursday, November 18, 2021
Dictionary Delinquent: a vintage year for 'worsened words' - The Irish Times - Dictionary
A surprise contender for word of the year, at least according to recent correspondence on the letters page of the London Times, is “egregious”. One writer nominated it on the grounds that it seemed to have become indispensable to opinion pieces in that newspaper. Another agreed, while arguing that its relevance to our times also included the fact that it now means the opposite of what it once did.
“Egregious” is invariably pejorative these days, used to describe people or things that are outstandingly bad. But in earlier times it meant merely outstanding, and was more typically a compliment. In its Latin origins, via the phrase “e grege”, it referred to something “out of the flock”. Hence its use in one of Horace’s Odes to praise the great Roman general Regulus as “egregious exsul”.
That’s an oxymoron, meaning glorious exile. The “glorious” was sincere, however. Regulus was revered in Rome for his stoic heroism and had earned the compliment the hard way. Taken prisoner by the Carthaginians in 250BC, he was tortured to death by having his eyelids either “amputated” or “stapled open”, so that, when exposed to direct sunlight, he first went blind and then died from lack of sleep.
In modern Rome, and Italy in general, the word’s positive sense still lingers via the formal address Egregio Signore (meaning Dear Sir, more or less).
But in English, egregious has gone down in the world.
Its pastoral origins still lurked in the first edition of the classic Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1926), except that instead of evoking excellence in sheep, that dictionary’s examples included “the egregious Jones”, which as Fowler explained, now meant that Jones was a “notorious ass”.
What happened to egregious in English is an example of something the same book called “worsened words”: the tendency of once-prestigious words to acquire negative connotations over time.
“Prestigious”, funnily enough, is an example of the rarer opposite tendency. That used to mean “deceptive, illusory, in the manner of a conjuror’s trick”. But as the 20th century progressed, it evolved to what it means now. In the process, crucially, it retained the posh French pronunciation, if not without difficulty. “Prestige” threatened for a time to go the same way as “vestige”, but has somehow held on to its Parisian accent.
More often than not in English, words go from having positive connotations to negative ones, sometimes gradually, sometimes not. Egregious has a slow descent. “Appeasement”, which used to mean pleasure or satisfaction until Joseph Chamberlain made it a foreign policy, had a more sudden one.
Of currently prestigious words, I predict that “iconic” and “passionate” will eventually be used everywhere with scorn. They already are in this column. I have had to lift my unilateral ban on iconic, temporarily, just to discuss it here. But my friends in public relations tell me that clients still insist on seeing it in press releases.
The value of such investment in words may go up and down, however, and down is more likely. I foresee that in dictionaries of the near-future, iconic will mean “something of purported high value, which is in reality mediocre or worse”.
I also foresee the other favourite of the corporate world, “passionate”, joining it on lexicographical Skid Row. In the ubiquitous phrase “we’re passionate about” (food, the environment, fungal toenail treatment, etc), the p-word will in time come to mean something like “we’re paid to do this and have to sound enthusiastic about it, but as soon as we get a better offer, we’re out of here”.
Returning to word-of-the-year contenders, another Times reader’s nomination was “sleaze”, egregious examples of which have dominated British politics lately. And that’s an interesting one too, because its current meaning would have been unknown to the original Fowler and only in more recent editions of the dictionary has it been added to the “worsened words” list.
There was a time, not long ago, when “sleazy” was used mainly about textiles. It meant they were flimsy, so you can see the logic behind the word’s fall into disrepute. As recently as 1990, a report in this newspaper referred to “sleazy material”. No, the material in question had not been banned by the State censor. It was mentioned by Irish Times fashion correspondent Gabrielle Williams in her account of the National College of Art and Design’s annual fashion show, and referred only to a dress made from chenille.
Memsource Launches Flat Fee Machine Translation Add-On - Slator - Translation
Prague, Czech Republic: November 18th, 2021 – Memsource, the AI-powered translation management system, has launched a subscription-based model for machine translation (MT) with the Memsource Translate Add-on. For a flat fee, users will receive unlimited machine translation for post-editing from leading MT providers, together with advanced MT management features.
The new pricing model allows users to make their MT spending more predictable by replacing the pay-as-you-go model with a fixed monthly payment. Subscribers get access to four MT engines: Amazon Translate, Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, and Tencent TranSmart. Users can enable multiple or all engines, and rely on the integrated MT Autoselect feature to choose the optimal provider for their content. More engines are expected to be added in the coming months.
“Our new Add-on allows our customers to stop thinking about MT in terms of characters, and instead focus on its potential to transform their workflows. The fixed pricing helps create predictable budgets for our customers and removes the hassle of purchasing characters as they translate” said Dalibor Frívaldský, Memsource’s Chief Innovation Officer.
The launch of the new pricing model also expands Memsource Translate’s existing MT management features. In addition to MT Autoselect, MT Quality Estimation, and MT Profiles, users will now be able to customize the performance of their engines with integrated MT Glossaries.
Glossaries, sometimes referred to as custom terminology or custom vocabulary, are a collection of words and phrases with a preferred translation, functioning similarly to a term base. When attached to MT engines, glossaries help users improve the quality of the MT output by ensuring that the MT engines correctly apply company-specific terminology. Before a source text is translated by an MT engine, it will compare the attached glossary file to the source text to identify terms that have a preferred translation and apply those. So instead of translating a product name like “Memsource Translate” into “Memsource Übersetzen”, it will correctly preserve the product name “Memsource Translate” as defined in the glossary.
“With MT Glossaries, we expect our customers to reduce the error rate for company-specific terminology by 80%” said Jan Hofmeister, Product Manager at Memsource.
Previously, to use glossaries, users had to upload and manage them outside Memsource with each individual MT provider. Full integration in Memsource Translate makes it easy to manage and use glossaries without having to leave your translation management system. Your custom terminology can be uploaded, edited, and deployed across multiple engines directly from the TMS.
Dalibor Frívaldský said: “MT Glossaries are part of our wider effort to make machine translation as accessible and effective for our users as possible. The addition of this much-requested feature will give users more control over the deployment of their terminology, ultimately increasing quality and reducing post-editing effort. We hope in the near future to further build on this with other innovative features ”
To learn more about Memsource Translate’s new pricing plan and improved features, join our webinar schedule for November 30th 2021.
Find out more about Memsource Translate at memsource.com/translate
About Memsource
Memsource helps global companies translate efficiently. Ranked as the most viable Translation Management System by CSA Research in 2019, Memsource supports 500+ languages, 50+ file types, and 30+ machine translation engines. Memsource enables its customers to increase translation quality while reducing costs using its patented, state-of-the-art AI technology. With a team of over 1200 people in offices across Europe, US and Japan, Memsource serves thousands of global customers, including leading brands such as Uber, Zendesk, Supercell and Vistaprint. Further information is available at www.memsource.com. Follow Memsource on Twitter @Memsource.
Press Enquiries:
Dan Žďárek, Product Marketing Manager at Memsource
dan.zdarek@memsource.com
Translation for Freedom | College of Humanities & Fine Arts - UMass News and Media Relations - Translation
“Translation is a gateway to countless experiences: artistic, educational, political, and more,” says Aviva Palencia ’22.
Palencia is pursuing a double major in Spanish and linguistics with a certificate in translation and interpreting studies. Last summer, she had a special opportunity to put her studies to work by translating into Spanish the materials for an exhibition, We Are For Freedoms, at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA).
The translation project, a first for the campus, was a collaboration between UMCA and the UMass Translation Center. The exhibition consists of a collection of posters from local and regional artists expressing their interpretations of freedom. It’s part of a public program series in partnership with For Freedoms, a national nonprofit arts organization that works to increase creative civic engagement, discourse, and action.
Amanda Herman, education coordinator at UMCA, says that the Spanish translation is an integral part of the museum’s goal of welcoming those who may have felt excluded from museums in the past. “We Are For Freedoms centers on catalyzing conversations, increasing civic participation, and exploring the limits and possibilities of our freedoms—so it is the perfect exhibition to start offering translated material,” she says. “And we're thrilled that the work was completed by two talented UMass students!”
Palencia (above right) worked with Maria Camilla Vera Arias (above left), a PhD candidate in the Spanish and Portuguese program on the literature track focused on Translation Studies and Latin American literature. “As an international student, it means a lot to me to see the museum and the university acknowledge that this is a diverse community where not everybody speaks the same language,” says Vera Arias, who is a poet, journalist, and educator. “Translating the contents of an art exhibition allows me to explore different realms of writing, creating, and working with languages. I just love the way I get to play with language when I translate.”
“Maria and Camilla were my dream team,” says Regina Galasso, associate professor, Spanish and Portuguese studies, and director of the Translation Center. “There’s a widespread misconception that all bilinguals can translate well. And for many, technology has made it seem that translation is fast, easy, and if not free, cheap. However, a quality translation requires creativity, experience, knowledge, a variety of skills, planning, and time. This collaboration is a great example of the incredible resources and people at UMass Amherst.”
"Translating the contents of an art exhibition allows me to explore different realms of writing, creating, and working with languages. I just love the way I get to play with language when I translate."
–Maria Camilla Vera Arias
As the translation team researched word choice, debated meaning, and iterated on their translations of the Spanish labels and interpretive text, Palencia was inspired by the powerful content of the art. While working on the project, she says, “I was able to help amplify expressions of frustration, calls to action, and celebrations of the history of communities around me during a year of utter social isolation.”
We Are For Freedoms will be exhibited at UMCA until the end of the fall semester. See samples of the artwork below, or view the exhibition website and the Spanish text.
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Launch Digital Ute Language Dictionary - PRNewswire - Dictionary
The Ute Language digital dictionary is the latest resource for speakers and learners of the Ute Language. Time is critical for this Indigenous community as they fight to reinvigorate the next generation of learners. It is estimated that today there are a little over 110 fluent Ute Mountain Ute speakers. The Ute Mountain Ute digital dictionary will be free for learners to access on the web or to download the app on both iOS and Android devices. The release event will honor those involved in the process of creating this new language learning resource and all of the knowledge they contributed. Attendees of the release event will get an interactive tutorial demonstrating how the learning software works.
Building the dictionary has been a process involving twenty-one Ute Mountain Ute speakers, a team of linguists, and multiple Rapid Word Collections (RWCs). RWC is a contemporary method of compiling language databases. The initial RWC was hosted in 2019, and speakers and linguists collected roughly 3,000 words for the dictionary. The second virtual RWC in January and February 2021 resulted in another 4,000 words collected. The Ute Mountain Ute digital dictionary will continue to be updated over time as additional words are gathered and verified.
The web and mobile dictionary's release comes just ahead of what the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has deemed the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, starting in January 2022. UNESCO's recognition of Indigenous Peoples' linguistic rights and the concerted efforts of Elders, like those of the Ute Mountain Ute, will hopefully create powerful momentum for the language revitalization movement.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe are the Weeminuche band of the Ute Nation. Ute Mountain Ute Reservation is a Sovereign Nation located in what is presently known as the Four Corners region of the United States. It is home to approximately 2,000 people.
The Language Conservancy (TLC) is a nonprofit organization that supports and advocates for the revitalization of Indigenous languages by developing programs, materials, and technologies in close partnership with Indigenous communities.
SOURCE The Language Conservancy
French dictionary adds non-binary pronoun, sparking anger - CNN - Dictionary
Paris, France (CNN)The decision by a major French dictionary to include a gender-inclusive pronoun in its online edition has triggered angry reactions from lawmakers and defenders of the nation's language.
French dictionary Le Robert decided to add the entry "iel" -- a combination of "il" and "elle," which means "he" and "she" in French respectively -- into the online version of its dictionary in October.
It's a "personal subject pronoun of the third person singular and plural, used to refer to a person regardless of gender," the dictionary entry reads.
Together with its plural and feminine form, called collectively as "iel, ielle, iels, ielles," this new addition to the French language has triggered strong opposition from some French politicians.
"The Petit Robert, a dictionary that we thought was a reference, has just integrated on its site the words "iel, ielle, iels, ielles," said French lawmaker François Jolivet, from French President Emmanuel Macron's party La République en Marche, in a tweet on Tuesday.
"Its authors are therefore militants of a cause that has nothing to do with France: #wokisme," Jolivet said.
His anger resonated among other French lawmakers, including the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer.
"Inclusive writing is not the future of the French language," Blanquer said in a tweet on Tuesday.
"Hence, even though our students are consolidating their fundamental knowledge, they cannot have this as a reference."
CNN has reached out to the French Academy, the governing body of the French language, for comment.
French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal reiterated the government's position "not to use inclusive writing in all official documents and administrative documents," at his weekly press conference on Wednesday.
Le Robert responded with a statement on Wednesday saying that it is simply trying to reflect recent changes in the French language that it has noticed.
It admitted that the general use of "iel" is still low, and the dictionary entry flags that the word is "rare." But the editorial committee thought it would be useful to include the entry and clarify its meanings for people so that they can decide if they want to use it or reject it.
"Le Robert's mission is to observe the evolution of a French language in movement, diverse, and to report on it," the statement said.
It also said in the statement that most of the reactions it received are positive.
The outrage came as France is growing increasingly uncomfortable with cultural influence from other nations.
This was put to the test when the French love for secularism -- known as "laïcité" in French -- was questioned by many in the United States.
These observations were made with "social science theories entirely imported from the United States," which are not compatible with the history of France, French President Emmanuel Macron said in October 2020.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Google adds documentation on translated search results and ad networks with Google Translate - Search Engine Land - Translation
Google added two new help documents to the Google Search developer area around translated search results and how to enable your ad network to work with Google Translated web pages.
Translated Google search results
The translated results help document explains how Google may automatically translate the search result snippets from the language it was written in, to the language of the Google Search results page. Google said “sometimes Google may translate the title link and snippet of a search result for results that aren’t in the language of the search query.”
Google said it does this because “a translated result is a Google Search feature that enables users to view results from other languages in their language, and can help publishers reach a larger audience.”
These translated results work for Indonesian, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu languages at the time we published this story. It should be only available on mobile devices with any browser that supports Google Search.
After the user clicks the translated search result link, Google said that “all further user interaction with the page is through Google Translate.” Google said you can opt out of this through a meta robots tag notranslate. Here are more details on opting in or out of translated results.
Ad networks with Google Translate
If Google will be automatically translating your web pages using Google Translate and you do not opt out of that behavior, you will want to make sure that if you have ads on those pages, that the ads load properly. This new help document discusses how to enable your ad network to work with translation-related Google Search features. It is a pretty technical document, so make sure to share it with your developers and engineers.
Why we care. If you prefer that Google does not translate your search result snippets, you can now opt out of it. You can even opt in, if you want Google to translate those results. Plus, if you want to ensure your ads load with Google Translate, Google now has clear documentation on how to make that work.
About The Author
Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.
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