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State & Union: More than 300 third-graders to receive free dictionaries Olean Times HeraldThursday, March 31, 2022
How Putin's picture in a fictitious dictionary challenges all of us - Baptist News Global - Dictionary
Do you remember your child’s pictorial dictionary? The very first ones contain images of people, places or things that can be named: girl, father, doctor, astronaut, church, mountain, house, playground, ball, hat, Teddy bear, night light. Picture dictionaries for older children show people or animals engaged in more complex or abstract actions: teaching, helping, greeting, celebrating, shopping, playing, feeding, defending.
Dictionaries like these were helpful as my wife and I began to learn the indigenous language we would need to be effective cross-cultural missionaries. First, pictures of objects and the Indonesian vocabulary words that named them — family, son, clinic, fruit stand, pedicab, currency. And later, action scenes of Indonesian individuals and families, even animals indigenous to the islands like the Sumatran tiger, Komodo Dragon or Cockatoo, engaged in commonplace activities.
Robert Sellers
Yet, there is another way in which picture dictionaries have been used in everyday parlance to “define” persons, places or things. For example, someone might suggest that if you turn to “traffic jam” in a picture dictionary there will be a photo of 12 lanes of Jakarta traffic hopelessly snarled at a congested intersection. Or that you might look up “sanctuary” and find a picture of a cabin beside a lake in a mountain forest. Or, that you could understand “self-sacrifice” by the portrayal of Mother Teresa’s embracing a diseased beggar in a Calcutta gutter.
Like other dictionaries, those that rely upon pictures may helpfully offer related words to explore. Those seeking to understand “traffic jam” may be directed also to terms like “congestion,” “gridlock,” logjam,” bottleneck” or “rush-hour” where pictures of Jakarta’s traffic may also define those words. Similarly, people who search for “sanctuary” may be directed as well to “hideaway,” “refuge,” “haven,” “retreat” or “shelter” that might also be represented by the tranquil and inviting scene at the mountain lake house. Likewise, a search for “self-sacrifice” might lead one additionally to words like “benevolence,” “altruism,” “selflessness,” “generosity” or “kindness,” where Mother Teresa is the face of these associated personal qualities.
Of course, Jakarta traffic is not the only way pictorially to define “traffic jam,” nor is a mountain cabin the only — or even the most common — way to represent “sanctuary,” just as Mother Teresa is only one among many whose images might characterize “self-sacrifice.” These are, instead, very precise, personal choices that a picture dictionary’s editor might make to give visual meaning to these terms.
If you look up ‘evil’ in the dictionary …
So, allow me to argue that a precise definition of a familiar and over-used concept is a well-recognized current image. That is, if you look up “evil” in the pictorial dictionary, there you would find a photograph of Vladimir Putin.
- His military build-up of more than 150,000 troops, along with tanks, missile launchers, planes, bombs, armored troop carriers, medical teams and supplies on the borders surrounding Ukraine, a non-aggressive and independent country, was evil.
- His deceptive use of trumped-up and false flag charges against Ukraine in order to validate his ordering Russian forces to cross into a sovereign foreign nation to act as supposed “peacekeepers” was evil.
- His unilateral declaration of war against a neighboring country he perceived to be weaker and which he believed would submit to his aggression without a fight was evil.
- His condition for stopping the violence — that Ukraine not join NATO — was a demand he had no authority to make, yet was justified in his tyrant’s mind and was therefore evil.
- His sending ordinary Russian citizen soldiers as cannon fodder in a war they did not understand or support is evil.
- His arrest of Russian civilians who protested the war at home, accompanied by police intimidation and the use of clubs, rubber bullets and compression bombs, is evil.
- His establishment of safe corridors for civilian flight but then ordering troops to fire on fleeing families caught unprotected out on the open ground is evil.
- His attacks that have caused some 10 million refugees to flee are evil.
- His terrorization, indiscriminate murder and even direct targeting of children that has displaced 4.3 million, half of all the children in Ukraine, is evil.
- His barbaric behavior that ignored the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians trapped in cities like Mariupol without electricity, food or water is evil.
- His indiscriminate destruction of whole cities, their infrastructure, historical buildings and treasured government, cultural and religious sites is evil.
- His genocidal attacks upon and destruction of universities, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, maternity wards, nurseries, apartment buildings, theaters, gymnasiums and other civilian places of refuge is evil.
- His refusal to be swayed by public opinion from his own country and around the world, or to be touched by pleas for the sanity to end to senseless and criminal conflict is evil.
Indeed, if you look up “evil” in the pictorial dictionary, that complex philosophical, psychological and sociological reality is defined by a picture of Putin.
But there are related words and synonyms that might be suggested by the pictorial dictionary to provide further examination of the concept of evil. A prompt to turn to the words “criminality,” “immorality,” “narcissism,” “insecurity,” “sociopathy,” “wickedness” and “diabolical actions” might lead the dictionary user, precisely and specifically, to additional pictures of Putin. He acts as an immoral criminal, whose narcissism hides his insecurity and an anti-social personality disorder that leads him to make wicked and even satanic choices.
Biden’s outrage
For these reasons, President Biden was moved to express his moral outrage, so that — standing in Warsaw, Poland, almost in plain sight of the gaunt and frightened victims of Putin’s inhumanity — he said: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!” Biden is acknowledged, by colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have known him for years in the U.S. Senate, to be a very empathetic man. He deeply felt the tragic consequences of Putin’s actions when he observed thousands of the most vulnerable refugee victims at the Polish border.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle on March 26, 2022, in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)
A code of ethics Biden has honed during more than 50 years of public service unfortunately misled him to express his private opinion, forgetting for the moment that he speaks publicly as the leader of the free world. Despite the ways critics, apologists and pundits will interpret the president’s remark, it is interesting that his perception of what is morally right and his personal desire to be a good person seem to stand in stark contrast to Putin’s evil.
If you look up ‘goodness’ in the dictionary …
Dictionaries frequently list antonyms that help to clarify a definition by contrasting the term in question with a diametrically opposed notion. It is this aspect of my exploration of a fictitious pictorial dictionary that intrigues me the most. For example, perhaps the entry for “evil” might suggest that its antonym is “goodness.” Sample sentences might be offered: After the coup, the military-controlled regime established an atmosphere of evil. Contrary to predictions by the opposing political party, the new administration demonstrated multiple evidences of goodness.
Numerous nouns that are related to the broad meanings of “goodness” come to mind. I think immediately of “compassion,” “humility,” “kindness,” “selflessness,” “care,” “morality” and “humane actions.” One’s moral compass leads him or her to act compassionately, kindly and selflessly, responding humbly toward others out of a sense of care and genuine humanity.
But here is the interesting question to which this exercise exploring fictitious pictorial dictionary entries guides me: Whose likeness will be used in the pictorial dictionary to define “goodness”?
If Vladimir Putin is the very image of evil, who will be the picture of goodness? Will the idea be defined by a collective such as the people of multiple faiths? Or will the word be portrayed by Christians of many theological persuasions, or by the universal church? Could the concept be represented by American evangelicals? Or by the members of my church? Or by the name of a person whose faith shapes her or his character?
Someone might suggest that if you want to understand “evil,” look up the word in the pictorial dictionary and there you will find Putin’s photo.
But could they also say, if you want to understand “goodness,” look up the word in the pictorial dictionary and there you will find my photo?
That question truly captivates and challenges me.
Rob Sellers is professor of theology and missions emeritus at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas. He is a past chair of the board of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. He and his wife, Janie, served a quarter century as missionary teachers in Indonesia. They have two children and five grandchildren.
Related articles:
Let’s be clear: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not about the rapture and Russia in biblical prophecy | Analysis by Rodney Kennedy
How to pray for Vladimir Putin | Opinion by Bob Browning
Putin is no Antichrist; he’s worse than that | Analysis by Rodney Kennedy
As a pastor serves bread to the elderly in Ukraine, he prays to retain his humanity
Indie Presses Publishing Works in Translation in The United States - Book Riot - Translation
“Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally.” —Italo Calvino
Translations matter because they remind us of shared values among different cultures, revitalize our own languages, and help us grow by breaking stereotypes we may have accepted unintentionally. It is in literature where we have opportunities to imagine what it is to live other lives. And it is often in translated works where we learn to drop the expectation that writers from non-dominant countries (literary or politically) write only to bring representation to their culture. Instead, translations show us that we have many of the same concerns, loves, and experiences across borders.
Growing up in Mexico, I admired and loved literary translators. It was thanks to them that some of the books that shaped me were available to me. Looking back, I cannot imagine my childhood without the characters who lived in worlds far away from mine, and who, had it not been for a translator, would only speak in languages I could not understand.
Traditional publishing houses bring us classics from around the world, but independent presses are the ones bringing attention to new original talent. The opportunity to read works by contemporary international writers is mostly possible these days thanks to a growing movement by independent presses who facilitate the traveling of works from countries far and close.
Archipelago Books
A press I have admired for many years is Archipelago Books. Their books are carefully put together, inside and out. Having a book by Archipelago Books in one’s hand, one knows it is special. Their titles represent a philosophy based on an appreciation of “Artistic exchange between cultures [as] a crucial aspect of global understanding [because] literature can act as a catalyst to dissolve stereotypes and to reveal a common humanity between people of different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds.”
The Spring 2022 catalog includes distant transit, a poetry collection by Maja Haderlap, translated from the German by Tess Lewis; the novel Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness, translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton; Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu, translated from the Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato; A Postcard for Annie by Ida Jessen, translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken; and Whale by Myeong-kwan Cheon, translated from the Korean by Chi-Young Kim. So far, Archipelago Books has published close to 200 books from more than 35 languages to “increase cross-pollination between readers, writers, thinkers, and educators across borders.”
Elsewhere Editions
Elsewhere Editions is Archipelago Books’ international children’s imprint “devoted to translating imaginative works of children’s literature from all corners of the world.” Elsewhere books aim to cultivate an appreciation for many cultures in young readers. Their titles show the careful consideration of children as serious readers whose understanding of the world has the power to transform it.
The spring 2022 catalog includes Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye by Claude Ponti, translated from the French by Alyson Waters & Margot Kerlidou. Previous books published by Elsewhere Editions include translations from the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, and Chinese. Their forthcoming title, What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking by Tina Oziewicz is illustrated by Aleksandra Zajaç, and translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft.
Veliz Books
Back in 2015, during the first three years of its life, I helped co-found the indie press Veliz Books with poet and translator Laura Cesarco Eglin. “Veliz” is an out-of-use word in Spanish that means suitcase. I remember my grandmother getting her velices ready to go places. Much like the gifts my grandmother would bring back from her travels for friends and family, I imagined the press bringing to the U.S. the work of authors that had not crossed the border yet. Our objective was to share the work of emerging writers from the U.S. and Latin America, the latter in bilingual editions. Since then, the press has grown to include translations from Portuguese and Galician, and it has a new imprint, Toad Press International chapbook series, which publishes chapbook-length translations of poetry and prose. Their latest book in translation is The Face of the Quartzes by Chus Pato, translated from the Galician by Erín Moure. In it, Pato “creates a manual for living that is one with birds, with animals, with peaks and trains and lighthouses, and with women who undertake journeys toward life (the improper) and spring (renewal).”
Deep Vellum
Every book I have read by Deep Vellum has altered how I think of the world. Deep Vellum was founded in 2013 “with the mission to bring the world into conversation through literature.” In their first five years, Deep Vellum published 90 works in translation by international writers. These days, it has expanded its operations to encompass five publishing imprints and to publish English-original books.
Its 2021 catalog includes Radna Fabias’s Habitus, translated by David Colmer, a poetic perspective on the Black Lives Matter era by a Black Dutch poet originally from Curaçao. Palestine +100 gathers writers of the global Palestinian diaspora. Sara Goudarzi’s The Almond in the Apricot and Dalia Azim’s Country of Origin offer two profoundly affecting debut novels of the global diasporic and immigrant story. Also in 2021, Deep Vellum published Sergio Pitol’s first novel to ever appear in English, The Love Parade, translated by George Henson. Deep Vellum’s books are more than a window to other worlds, they are statements rooted in social justice. The voices of international writers Deep Vellum is bringing to the U.S. are powerful, beautiful, and not to be missed.
Alliteration Publishing
Alliteration Publishing is a new project born in Miami Beach that “invites us to construct and traverse bridges of meaning, acceptance, and understanding.” Their mission is to publish work that “echo loud and soft, with confidence and fragility…” The editorial team of Alliteration Publishing brings together creators, writers, and editors from Miami, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Caracas, and Barcelona. The titles include translations not only to English but from Spanish to Italian with bilingual editions that include the original work and the translation. 2021 titles include Annapurna: The Empirical Mountain (Fables of a Quasi-Metaphysical Civil Servant) by Igor Barreto, translated from the Spanish by Rowena Hill. Zoocosis by Manuel Llorens is one of their titles translated from the Spanish to Italian by Silvio Mignano.
Transit Books
Transit Books, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit publisher of international and American literature, based in Oakland, California. Their publications are “committed to the discovery and promotion of enduring works that carry readers across borders and communities.” This press focuses is on literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, essay, “and prose that falls somewhere in between.” In 2020, Transit Books introduced Undelivered Lectures, a narrative nonfiction series featuring book-length essays by international and American writers. “We want to provide an outlet for discursive prose of exceptional literary and cultural value that’s more lasting than a magazine piece but less substantial than a 300-page hardback,” said Transit publisher Adam Levy. Their titles include books translated from the Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Portuguese. One of their recent titles, Migratory Birds by Mariana Oliver, translated from the Spanish by Julia Sanches, is a 2022 finalist for the PEN America Translation Prize.
Enchanted Lion Books
Enchanted Lion Books is an independent company that publishes books for children based in Brooklyn, New York. They have published books from authors and illustrators in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, and the U.S. The intention behind their books is to connect young readers to the “wonderfully diverse modes of expression that exist in the world, so that in the end they will feel that the whole world — with all of its wonderful, surprising and very real similarities and differences — is their home.”
One Day by Lee Juck and illustrated by Kim Seung-youn, translated by Asuka Minamoto, Lee Juck, and Dianne Chung, was one of World Literature Today’s 100 Notable Translations of 2021. One of Enchanted Lion Books’ forthcoming titles includes the fully illustrated selection of Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda in a Spanish-English bilingual edition, which will include 70 questions of the original 320.
We are fortunate to live in a time when there are many indie presses publishing work in translation in the U.S. who are dedicated to expanding how we communicate. When I read a book in translation, I find myself pausing more, taking more time to visualize scenes that would be unusual where I am. Entering a work in translation as an adult feels very close to the feeling of going to imaginary places as a child. Translators bridge experiences and create lines of understanding where otherwise there would be silence or mistrust.
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Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Request for Proposal: Translation and Transcription Services (India) - ReliefWeb - Translation
Request for Proposal: Translation and Transcription Services (India)
March 2022
Who We Are
Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows, TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives.
We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.
Our reach is 20 million and counting. And we’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning and her livelihood.
Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.
That’s the Girl Effect.
Girl Effect in India
Chhaa Jaa (Go Forth and Shine) – a powerful youth brand co-designed with girls in India
In June 2019, Girl Effect launched Chhaa Jaa (छा जा) – an online youth brand inspiring, entertaining and empowering girls with the right skills and confidence to navigate adolescence, from accessing information about sexual and reproductive health to preparing them to enter the workforce.
Chhaa Jaa’s product portfolio is aimed at girls aged 16-22, across urban and peri-urban centres in the Hindi speaking belt of India comprising 11 states and union territories, and accessible online via mobile –
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Digital media content that girls can access on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram is both entertaining and informative. Characters and storylines have been developed with girls and are designed to reflect their lives and the challenges they might face;
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An online, moderated peer-to-peer community (Bak Bak Gang) that acts as a safe space for girls 16 and above years of age to discuss sexual and reproductive health concerns, interact closely with Chhaa Jaa’s content, explore the themes and topics that are relevant for them, and apply what they’ve learnt to their own lives;
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A chatbot (Bol Behen) that offers a private way for girls to ask questions about the themes and topics raised by Chhaa Jaa content and safely get information.
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A website (www.chhaajaa.com ) that is being built into a youth-friendly service directory for easy access to services and products – both online and offline – to help girls improve their sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental wellbeing (MW) and economic empowerment (EE) from getting the right information about their bodies, booking doctor consultations, accessing online skilling courses, opening up on their mental wellbeing and career guidance, to name a few.
Creating a new normal where girls are empowered to write their own story
Through Chhaa Jaa, we want to create a generation of girls in India who can take control of their future, to find meaningful work, and manage their sexual and reproductive lives health. This way, not only will they fulfil their potential, but help others do the same and become contributors to the development of the Indian economy.
TEGA
Adolescent girls are one of the hardest groups to reach in society. The challenges they face are often under-reported or described on their behalf. Without including their perspective, solutions designed to support them aren’t as effective as they could be.
Co-created with girls, TEGA (Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors) is Girl Effect's mobile-based research tool that allows girls to collect real-time insights into the lives of their peers. This unique approach unlocks the open and honest conversations that might otherwise be lost or not included in traditional research.
TEGA networks have gathered data from girls and communities on nutrition, economic empowerment, health and wellbeing, vaccines, mobile access, social media and education. This girl-talk method is beneficial when researching sensitive topics like HIV or sexual health.
TEGA exists to ensure girl insights are incorporated in every step of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Girl Effect’s internal programmes. In the context of this TOR, the scope of research is related to Chhaa Jaa’s ongoing programmatic work. In addition, TEGA also conducts research for external mission-aligned partners (example of a project undertaken for Vodafone Foundation here)
TEGA in India
Girl Effect Enterprises India is looking to find an India- based translations partner to conduct English to Hindi and Hindi to English audio-visual and text translations and transcriptions.
Our existing TEGA networks conduct regular research gathering audio-visual data, which will need to be translated. Our network in Jaipur has 11 TEGA researchers, and our network in Bihar has 7 TEGA researchers. These researchers will conduct at least 4 large research projects in a year (60- 150 respondents in each project and approximately 11 audiovisual questions in each survey and some quantitative data. In addition, the networks often conduct a few smaller projects during the year.
The translations partner is required to recruit translators fluent in translations and transcriptions from Hindi to English and English to Hindi. They will be provided with an online platform where they can listen to audio files and transcribe and translate the content into English. They may also be required to translate zoom video interviews, audio recordings and survey questionnaires outside this platform.
Translators must have their computers/laptops with Google Chrome, headphones and a mouse. This will be a temporary position and will only be required during/after research, and therefore an ability to contract freelancers as the need arises is desired.
The translations partner will be responsible for the quality of translations and transcriptions and will need to maintain strict quality standards. Since we are working with adolescent girls and young women, it is a crucial requirement that translations use colloquial language rather than overly formal Hindi or English.
The Scope:
The translator will undertake the following duties and responsibilities and will be expected to;
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Translate and submit the translation in the prescribed format ;
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Proofread and editing
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Share draft translation with GEEI; Incorporate suggested changes to the translation.
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All texts, including texts contained in figures, boxes, captions, sources and covers, requires translation and proofreading.
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Ensure high quality and accuracy of the entire document before submitting it to the user department
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Ensure accuracy of the terms and terminology used in the documents
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Ensure that the translation is written with style, correct grammar and spelling, and Complete the work within the agreed timeline and submit the final translation in soft copy
Deliverables:
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Ensure that the translated text is technically, linguistically and grammatically correct, error-free and it should meet high-quality standards, and would not need further editing after completion of translation.
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Professional translation from/to English and Indian languages
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Provide accurate and timely translation to the satisfaction of GEEI standards.
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The maximum percentage margin of errors per page should not exceed three errors.
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The translated materials should be provided to GEEI after completing the required services in the prescribed format.
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All transcriptions must be verbatim, and transcribers must not summarise or paraphrase the responses given through the audio/video files.
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Maintain open communication lines with Girl Effect Global and Girl Effect India
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The translation shall be done within the stipulated deadlines in the work order.
Expected Commitment:
We would like the consultant to start as soon as possible, but the frequency of need and contract length can be finalised in discussion with the selected consultant/s.
Location: Flexible in India but must be conducive to working with teams based in Mumbai & Delhi.
Intended Timeframe:
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Terms of reference published: Friday 25th March
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Deadline for responses: Friday 8th April
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Supplier selection, contracting and briefing: Mid April
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Project commencement: End April
Who You Are:
Skills and expertise:
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Proven skills in translation and interpretation from and into English/India and vice versa in the fields of the development sector in India.
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Effective communicator and writer with the ability to synthesize and communicate complex information in youth-friendly, fun and engaging ways.
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Excellent interpersonal communication skills and experience working in a multicultural team.
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Ability to be flexible within a fast-paced, changing environment.
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Commitment to realising the potential of girls and to the vision and values of Girl Effect.
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We strongly encourage applications from young people and/or youth organisations.
Reporting:
The Translations Partner will work closely with Girl Effect India’s TEGA Lead & Evidence Specialist in Mumbai and Delhi.
Proposal Submission:
Interested consultants are asked to submit a brief proposal ( 2-5 pages), setting out:
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Relevant experience in line with the ‘Who You Are’ section above
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Approach for undertaking this assignment, underpinned by a demonstration of value for money
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Credentials, experience, or bios of key individuals who would be involved in the engagement
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Detailed reference list indicating the scope of similar assignments, and
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A detailed budget proposal. Please provide a pricing structure for your services. Include the amount charged either:
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Per Word
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Per page
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Per audiovisual
Technical and Financial bids should be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals (in INR) will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and only for those deemed qualified and responsive proposals.
Evaluation Criteria:
The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:
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Experience in Performance of Comparable Engagements (25 points maximum) Girl Effect will assess the vendors’ relevant capabilities, including their work with past clients, their experience with nonprofits and/or international development organizations, their languages of expertise and their process for evaluating and testing Translators.
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Project Management and Quality Assurance (25 points maximum) Girl Effect will assess how efficiently and effectively the vendor moves from an initial assignment to a completed product. The evaluation will consider the vendor’s ability to process materials from different geographies in India. Girl Effect will evaluate the vendor’s ability to deliver a quality product consistent with the organization’s brand.
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Customer Service and Assistance (20 points maximum) Girl Effect will evaluate vendors’ ability to meet GEEI’s translation needs. This will consider the experience of the vendor’s team lead, feedback mechanisms and global reach of the vendor.
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Pricing (30 points maximum) Value for money/proposed budget breakdown
GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.
Equal Opportunities:
Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.
We are committed to building an organization that truly represents the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy services of organizations and individuals with deep understanding and experience of our programming markets and with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.
Safeguarding:
You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organisational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary found at https://ift.tt/3AW1h0m. We have zero-tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries, and staff.
Tax:
Applicants are advised to ensure that they clearly understand their tax position regarding provisions of their local jurisdiction tax legislation when developing their proposals.
Disclaimer:
GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.
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Derek Coleman: From words to war, then back to words - Huntington Herald Dispatch - Dictionary
Thanks to applications such as spell checker and thesaurus, I don’t have to consult a dictionary very often when I’m writing these days. I still have several of them adorning my bookshelves though — “Black’s Legal Dictionary,” a couple of medical dictionaries, Webster’s and the all-important “Oxford English Dictionary,” sit side by side and I do consult them occasionally; after all, an author who writes crime novels has to try to get his facts right.
My favorite dictionary is the Oxford. It gives me words, their meanings and histories, that I’ve never, ever dreamed of, and that warrants an article by itself, but this piece isn’t about a book, interesting as the history of that publication is. Instead, it’s about a man, an American, although there is a strong connection between the book and the man.
The man’s name was William Chester Minor, and he was the son of Eastman Strong Minor and Lucy Bailey. His parents belonged to the Congregational Church in New England, and they were working as missionaries in Ceylon — now Sri Lanka — when he was born on June 22, 1834. Minor had several siblings and his half-brother, Thomas T. Minor, later became mayor of Seattle, Washington.
When William was 14, he was sent home to the United States to go to school and to live with relatives in New Haven, Connecticut. While there he attended the New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute, later renamed the Russel Military Academy, where he studied to enter college and attended daily drills dressed in cadet uniform. From there he applied to Yale and was accepted at their School of Medicine. In order to support himself while he studied, he returned to Russel Military Academy to work as an instructor as well as taking on work helping to compile the projected 1864 Revision of “Webster’s Dictionary.”
William specialized in comparative anatomy while he was at Yale and finally graduated in 1863 with a medical degree. From there, he joined Knight General Hospital in New Haven, but the Civil War was raging and his experience at Russel Military Academy was calling him so, later that year, he volunteered to join the Union Army as a surgeon.
Minor was posted to the 2nd Division Hospital at Alexandria, Virginia, and it is said he saw service at the Battle of the Wilderness, a confrontation that generated numerous horrendous casualties. This may not be true because the battle was fought on May 5 to 7, 1864, and he is not recorded as reporting to the military hospital until May 17 of that year. Of course, he may still have treated wounded from the battle and he did serve through to the end of the war before being posted to Governor’s Island in New York City.
Here he was promoted to captain, but it was while he was in New York that Minor began to behave strangely. He started to have delusions and took to spending all his off-duty time in the city’s red-light district, consorting with prostitutes. His condition deteriorated until, in 1867, to curb his behavior, the army transferred him away from temptation to Fort Barrancas in the Florida Panhandle. The move did no good; he became paranoid, accusing fellow officers of conspiring against him and developing a belief that he was being pursued by an Irish secret society. Eventually, in 1868, he challenged a fellow officer to a duel, was examined by a panel of doctors and was then transferred to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. This was a mental hospital and Minor was admitted voluntarily as a patient.
Hospitalization didn’t work. After 18 months, Minor’s condition hadn’t improved and may even have gotten worse. In 1871, he was discharged from the hospital and from the army, who granted him a pension as it was thought his condition was due to his war experiences. After discharge, at the suggestion of his family, he decided to cross the Atlantic to England.
By 1872, he was living in Tenison Street in the London district of Lambeth. He was living on his US Army pension and had once again taken to consorting with prostitutes but was still convinced that he was the target of the Irish secret society and that they had followed him from America.
Matters came to a head in the early morning of Feb. 17, 1872. William Minor happened to meet George Merrett, a brewery worker who he didn’t know, on the street and shot him three times before attacking him with a Bowie knife.
A nearby policeman arrested Minor, who didn’t resist, and he was charged with murder. Several people gave evidence at the trial as to Minor’s mental state. It appeared that he believed that during the civil war he had been ordered to brand an Irish soldier on the face with the letter “D”, for deserter, and that the Irish had been pursuing him ever since. He was convinced that invisible men entered his room at night, tried to poison him and forced him to commit illicit acts.
The court was convinced, and the verdict was “not guilty by reason of insanity.” Minor was sentenced to be detained in a hospital for the insane “Until her majesty’s pleasure be known.”
The Broadmoor Institute for the Criminally Insane isn’t like a normal prison. Minor’s accommodation was quite comfortable. The US Consul sent him clothing, food and drawing materials, he had a good income from his pension and began collecting antiquarian books.
As part of his book collecting, Minor corresponded with London booksellers and through them heard about an appeal for volunteers to help contribute to the new “Oxford English Dictionary.” He had done something similar in his youth for Webster’s and so he volunteered. For the next 20 years he worked on the dictionary, sending in no less than 12,000 quotes in just two years. In the end James Murray, the compiler of the first Oxford, said of William Minor, “So enormous have been Dr. Minor’s contributions during the past 17 or 18 years, that we could easily illustrate the last four centuries from his quotations alone.”
Murray campaigned for Minor’s release but his condition had become worse and he had mutilated himself. Despite this he was released in 1910 and he was deported back to the USA. Here, he was immediately admitted to an asylum where he lived out the remaining ten years of his life.
As I said at the start of this article, I love my Oxford and, in future, when I consult it I shall think kindly about people like William Chester Minor who, despite his illness, did so much to help compile it.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Dictionary.com Announces New Words Related to Homelessness, Accessibility, Disability, Culture, the Ongoing Pandemic, Climate and the Environment, and Social Sciences - PR Newswire - Dictionary
-The dictionary's latest additions illustrate that, as the English language expands, documenting new and newly prominent words across the cultural spectrum is essential to helping people better understand a rapidly changing world
-Highlights include: forest bathing, wabi-sabi, chair yoga, hamburger menu, cottagecore, UAP, Generation A, throuple, memeify, ranked-choice voting, parklet, and metaverse
OAKLAND, Calif., March 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dictionary.com, the leading online and mobile English-language educational resource, today announced hundreds of newly added terms. Notably, their team of lexicographers updated over 2,400 entries across the dictionary, including 235 new entries, 72 new definitions in existing entries, and 1,024 revised definitions. Key themes addressed in its update reflect important topics in society and culture today, including: homelessness, accessibility, disability, the ongoing pandemic, climate and the environment, and the social sciences. These terms and definitions reflect Dictionary.com's commitment to documenting and describing an ever-evolving English language.
"Because our world is constantly changing, our language is constantly changing," said John Kelly, Senior Director of Editorial. "From Generation A to zeitgeisty, our latest update to the dictionary shows just how wide, varied, and complex these changes can be. Our work at Dictionary.com isn't just to capture these changes in language—it's to help our users make sense of them and why they matter for their lives."
Below are the highlights from the full article and list of terms, which can be accessed here: https://ift.tt/4LAOEwy.
Homelessness
Dictionary.com's newly added terms such as unsheltered, unhoused, and houseless are increasingly used in reference to people who lack stable housing. These additions follow the increase of usage among members of that community and by advocates who view those expressions as better able to convey the range of experiences that the single term homeless does not.
Accessibility
The increase in the availability of assistive technologies has brought with it an influx of terminology. Some of the newly added terms related to accessibility tech include alt text, auto caption, and live caption. While some of these terms or the technologies they refer to have familiarity, specific features of each type can differ and overlap—and capturing these distinctions and similarities is one of the challenges of defining these words.
Disability
Disabled is a comprehensive umbrella term to describe people or communities of people who live with functional limitations in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. Among the many changes made to terms used in the context of disability was the addition of an important usage note for disability itself.
Culture
The expansiveness of both mainstream culture and subcultures has led to diverse entries covering a span of topics. These include words related to leisure and wellness like forest bathing and chair yoga to internet and online life like metaverse and memeify. Other examples like Generation A, UAP, throuple, and verklempt show how words are used in a variety of contexts.
The Ongoing Pandemic
After more than two years, the long-lasting effects of COVID continue to be reflected in language. Some new terms emerged during the pandemic. In other cases, existing terms became more established in mainstream use due to the influence of COVID on so many aspects of our lives. Many of the terms are examples of the evolving language of vaccination and masking, including: vax ,vaxxer, antivax, antivaxxer, anti-mask, and anti-masker.
In some cases, the addition of terms as a result of COVID was somewhat indirect. For example, Dictionary.com added nontaster and hypogeusia, which are both used in the context of COVID's effects on smell and taste. These additions precipitated the addition of their opposites, supertaster and hypergeusia, which are not associated with COVID, but nevertheless made sense to add in tandem.
Climate and Environment
As climate changes, the overlapping contexts of science, personal behavior, politics, policy, activism, and tech innovations are sources of emerging terminology. Chief among the terms that have been added in this area is one that is now commonly used to capture the urgency of the issue of climate emergency. Dictionary.com's additions also reflect a focus on the extreme weather events driven by climate change—and the greater awareness and mainstream use of some of the technical terms used in studying and discussing them. Some of these include megadrought and mesovortex.
Additionally, the push to reduce the use of fossil fuels is often discussed in relation to the transportation industry, where many terms have emerged regarding evolving technologies: EV (electric vehicle), HEV (hybrid electric vehicle), PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), BEV (battery electric vehicle), charging station, e-bike, and micromobility.
Social Sciences
Everyday discussion of a wide range of issues features vocabulary initially used and developed by professionals and academics in fields like sociology, psychology, and race and gender studies. Many of these terms are not new but have been more recently adopted into (or are trending towards) mainstream use. Here are some of the terms being added to the dictionary for the first time or whose definitions they've updated to reflect modern senses: trigger, problematic, code-switching, translanguaging, and decolonize.
About Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com
Words define every aspect of our lives, from our ideas to our identities. We aspire to empower every person, of every background, to express themselves, make connections, and open the door to opportunity through the power and joy of language.
We are the premier destination to learn, discover, and have fun with the limitless world of words and meanings. We help you make sense of the ever-evolving English language so you can put your ideas into words—and your words into action.
Contact:
Jacquelyn Grant
The TASC Group
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Dictionary.com
The 4 Best Alternatives to Google Translate - MUO - MakeUseOf - Translation
There are many reasons that you might want to steer away from Google Translate. Sure, the translation service might be one of the most prevalent in the world, but it isn’t always the most accurate or feature-rich translation service to exist.
Or perhaps you just want to distance yourself from Google’s ecosystem, and who could blame you?
Regardless of why you may want to look for an alternative, there are so many online translation services out there that are simply not very good. Fortunately, here are four of the very best for you to consider.
First on this list comes DeepL, an online translation service that has been gaining popularity over the last couple of years.
DeepL began life as a project created by a German start-up, but has since taken off as potentially the single most accurate and reliable translation service to currently be available.
Although DeepL only supports 26 languages at the time of writing this article, the languages that it does support are done so with an incredible amount of accuracy. The key here is an AI and deep-learning centered approach to language translation as opposed to more traditional methods.
Apart from just more accurate translations than those that Google provides, DeepL also features a number of handy features that are worth noting. Though it may not be a browser tool to translate web pages, instead existing only online, it is still incredibly useful.
For example, DeepL provides multiple translations to any phrase, which might be more or less correct given the context of what you’re translating. You can rate translations on accuracy, as well as listen to them in order to get an idea as to how the translation would sound if a native speaker might say it.
If you do a lot of translating and disagree with one reoccurring phrase, you can manually override in your own personal glossary so that DeepL will always translate the text how you prefer. You can also set the tone of the translation between formal and informal, though this feature is only available for users who purchase a premium subscription.
If you want to translate whole documents, DeepL can help you with that as well, and supports PDF, DOCX, and PPTX file types for automatic translation.
Next up on this list comes Reverso, one of the longest-running competitors to Google Translate. Reverso exists as a complete language translation suite, including dictionary and grammar checking functionality, though the focus here is on its instant translation service.
As you can imagine, Reverso functions much like Google Translate does. You choose your language pairs and then type or copy out some text for the service to translate.
Reverso only supports 18 languages in its app, but diversity of translation isn’t where Reverso shines. Instead, ease of use is where Reverso dominates.
For example, if you’re translating a language such as French with plenty of accents that may be missing from your own keyboard, Reverso provides those for you to access easily at the bottom of the translation window.
If you’re unsure about getting your grammar correct, there’s a grammar checking function to make sure that you haven’t made any simple mistakes.
What’s really cool here is that Reverso includes a rephrase option that gives you a list of alternative phrases that may sound more natural than what you’ve written.
If you’re confused about the translation that Reverso has provided, then you’ll be pleased to know that it also features an automatic context dictionary that will show you instances that the translated or original phrase were used in actual texts so that you can have a better idea of the language behind the phrase.
3. Microsoft Translator
While Google Translate may be popular and useful as an online translator, there are plenty of times when you might find yourself needing translation services in your pocket. Despite many options existing for online translators you can use in the real world, Microsoft Translator excels on iOS and Android.
The app itself is largely broken up into a couple of functions. If you need to translate a phrase, you can type or paste text into the text translator, which will automatically detect your language. There are options to then have the app speak this out loud if you need it as well.
Where Microsoft Translator stands out is in its other features, however. You can use your microphone to translate your speech if you need, and can even set up the phone so that you can have a conversation entirely through the app with others in the real world.
You can do this by hitting the split option here, which will automatically translate phrases back and forth as if you were having a real conversation. Microsoft Translator can also do this automatically with its auto mode.
Furthermore, Microsoft Translator has options for an image translation service where you can take photos from your camera roll or take new ones for the app to automatically translate, and also has support for a conversation feature between people of many languages.
There’s also a phrasebook if you need help while traveling or just want to brush up.
Download: iOS | Android | Amazon (Free)
Finally, Yandex Translate makes it onto this list. If you’re looking for the translation that probably behaves the most like Google Translate does, then Yandex Translate is a great choice to do just that.
Yandex Translate’s interface is incredibly similar to Google Translate’s, so there should likely be little problems learning how to use it. You can select your languages from a drop-down menu, and with synchronized translation options for 100 languages, you’re not missing out on much here compared to Google Translate’s own range of 109.
Similarly, you can use Yandex Translate to translate entire websites if you’re browsing a website in another language, a feature that Google Translate uses to great effect but that other alternatives often overlook.
There is also support for document and image translation, so if you need to convert a PDF or DOCX file, you can easily change the whole document that way instead of having to rely on copy and paste.
Google Translate Isn’t the Only Solution
As you can see, there are plenty of alternatives to Google Translate, no matter the reason for your wanting to switch. If you’re looking for more accurate translations, more eclectic features, or more, then there are plenty of alternatives just waiting for you out there.
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