There are many terms from classic and modern SF that remain unresearched, and theHistorical Dictionary of Science Fictionwill be continually updated, especially as additional resources are put online. Boing Boing is syndicating new entries from the HDSF on a regular basis. (Read the series introduction.)
The science-fictional history of the word supervillain is hard to trace primarily because it's hard to agree on just what one is. A superhero is not just a really terrific hero—or, rather, it originally was; piles of news articles in the 1910s and 1920s apply the word to the brave feats of military men. But in the comics sense, a superhero generally has superpowers, powers beyond what is possible for ordinary people. Unless you are, say, Batman, in which case aren't you just a rich guy in a costume with fancy toys? No, the toys are also beyond what is ordinarily possible: they use superscience. There are still nuances, of course, and one can reasonably debate whether a costumed do-gooder with no special abilities or gadgets deserves the name, but for our purposes, we will stipulate that, say, pre-surgery Kick-Ass wasn't a superhero, just a kid in a suit.
While there are many tropes associated with supervillains (genius-level intelligence, vast wealth, dreams of global conquest, costumes, longhaired cats), we will make their defining characteristics the same as those of superheroes—superhuman powers or magical science—but used for ill rather than good.
Like superhero, the word supervillain is found in generic senses at an early date; the Oxford English Dictionary has evidence from 1912 in the sense 'an extremely villainous person', and from then on there is no shortage of examples referring to dastardly deeds. But unlike superhero, which doesn't clearly show up in the comics sense until the 1930s, there are several early quotations for supervillain which would seem to represent our modern sense. A 1917 newspaper review of a play describes a scientist as "the supervillain who does the plotting," with said plotting consisting in part of developing a bioweapon from a leprosy germ that would instantaneously incapacitate a victim; we're not a doctor, but that seems sufficiently unlike how leprosy works to count as "superscience." A 1920 example uses the word in reference to Dr. Fu Manchu, the stereotypical evil genius mad scientist. And a 1933 story features a Professor Sheldon who has a secret hideaway in an undersea grotto that he can flood as a defensive tactic; although lacking a longhaired cat, this also strikes the reader as pretty darn supervillainous. By this time, the comics sense catches up to us, and we are unquestionably in supervillain territory.
Translation ROI: How Do We Gauge the Value of a Good Translation?
In our past Insights articles, we expounded upon the value of good translation and how content that is not only well-translated but can inspire CTA engagement in your marketing and outreach efforts.
Indeed, it goes without saying that a customer is more likely to click on “Buy Now” or “Read More” when they can actually understand what these words mean in their own native languages on your websites and other marketing platforms.
However, if you’re a business owner, you might be asking, what is the actual ROI of engaging in transcreation?
Because every single decision you make has to factor in cost; every investment you make, even when expanding your reach to marketing your business to further shores, comes with the expectation of increasing revenue as the end result.
In working out the best decisions for the company, you need to think about how your decisions affect everyone for the better and how every investment would pay off, even before your next marketing dollar is spent. And that includes budgeting for content transcreation.
Measuring the ROI for investing in translations might prove slightly trickier than other conventional costs, as the metrics may not be as easily available. This is all the more confounding in the hospitality and travel business.
What kind of formulas are there to help gauge how much more bang you are getting for every buck you invest in getting your website translated into Korean, or your menus into Japanese?
This is where you need to put on your creativity hat and think out of the box – and Insights is here to help you with just that.
REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM (RevPAR)
Tried and tested, this would be the most obvious way to begin. The RevPAR is helpful when assessing if there has been any increase in a hotel’s ability to fill its available rooms from the average rate upon the use of transcreation services to expand your business’s outreach.
You may be able to gauge the success of your transcreation investment if you notice your occupancy rate increasing, as per your RevPAR increase. This is a simple metric to begin with but there are other ways to measure ROI specifically for transcreation.
TRANSLATION ROI – WHAT EXACTLY DOES THAT MEAN?
ROI doesn’t always have to be the financial returns of your investment. Different companies define ROIs differently, according to their own needs. An increase in ROI may stem from an increase in customer engagement from a particular market.
For example, if you aim to expand into Korea, your ROI would be seeing more Korean customers engaging online with your company to begin with, and perhaps only later, the ensuing increase in Korean guests patronising your establishment.
Every business has a different definition of ROI. Therefore it’s very important to be clear about your goals and the reasons why you are engaging in translation and transcreation services as part of your marketing strategy to begin with.
In setting your goals, these are some of the areas, other than revenue, you can consider keeping track of when measuring ROI:
Market share increase in your business’ global markets
Increase in new clients
Greater brand awareness
Rise in customer satisfaction
Online metrics to measure traffic and hits to your website from your target markets
MEASURE EVERYTHING YOU ARE TRYING TO TRACK
In order to establish your ROI, you will need to set targets for these goals in the areas you have just determined above. Set measurable KPIs for each goal as this will give you the means to gauge if your investment is hitting the mark or not.
For example, in translating your website into Korean, how many percent increase do you hope to eventually see in Korean-speaking guests coming to your establishment.
Other areas to track include:
Revenue vs translation cost
Conversion rate from particular markets
Market share
Country traffic and language
Number of new customers from your target markets
These KPIs will go a long way in measuring your success in investing in transcreation. Your marketing team can then use these metrics, aided by tools and software to track conversions by language and country, helping you see where, how and to what extent transcreation is impacting your business positively.
Quality and cost
The common misconception about ROI is hoping to get the most for your investment while spending the least amount of money.
That may not necessarily work when it comes to translations, as cheap translations may sound attractive at first but ultimately, poor translations will cost you a lot more in the long run in terms of your business reputation and market share, potentially causing conflicts and diverting future customers to your competition.
When looking for a translation partner, bear in mind that transcreation is the better way to go, especially if you are from the Hospitality, Travel, Lifestyle and Retail industry.
Cheap translators are a dime a dozen but don’t expect anything close to decent quality. In fact, ‘cheap quality’ is about as much of an oxymoron as one can get in the world of business, something you might already know.
Remember that this is your brand’s image at stake, so go the extra mile when looking for quality and find yourself someone specific to your industry whom you can trust.
If you are really serious about putting out good stuff for your target audience in the global arena, this means your translated content should bear as much weight as the content in your native or home language.
TRANSLATION ROI AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
It’s not often that you will hear the words “ROI” and “customer satisfaction” in the same breath but that doesn’t mean that these two goals are incompatible.
In fact, an excellent way to ensure that you’re going about your business the right way is to look at whether the customers from your target market or country are happy and satisfied and if they keep coming back to your establishment, hence increasing your ROI.
Transcreation not only provides them with collaterals that are created specifically in their native language and not forgetting, with their culture in mind, it also shows them how serious you are about your localization efforts and your goal in keeping your customers happy.
You cannot expect them to be google-translating every menu, message or sign on your premises while enjoying a relaxing holiday – they won’t come back and your revenue will inevitably be adversely affected.
HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Just as how creating your brand name took you a while to establish, transcreation is not going to yield ROIs overnight either. It will take some time before you can see the fruits of your investments.
This is why it’s best to start sooner than later when it comes to engaging in a trustworthy partner to help you achieve the market outreach of your aspirations.
Don’t be disheartened. Take heart that in due time, your efforts will be rewarded.
And if you need help, look no farther – IPPWORLD is here to guide and advise you in this next big marketing step for your business.
Want to learn more about our creative translation services? Contact us today.
About IPPWORLD
As a Language Service Provider, IPPWORLD (www.ippworld.com) is a global transcreation (creative translation) agency that assists travel, hotels, hospitality and lifestyle brands, as well as various businesses enhance their engagement strategy in global markets. We provide end-to-end Multilingual Localisation and Transcreation solutions for website content and online booking information. Transcreation encourages higher readership amongst native-language speaking communities, helps drive conversions, grows revenue and builds brand loyalty. To understand how you can better connect with global audiences through transcreation, drop us a mail at creativetranslation@ippworld.com, or connect with Joanne Chan on Linkedin.
John Baugh, the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named to the advisory board of the first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English (ODAAE).
The initial phase of the project will last for three years and is scheduled to be released in 2025.
Baugh, who is also a professor of psychological and brain sciences, of anthropology, of education, of English, of linguistics, and of African and African-American studies, all in Arts & Sciences, conducts interdisciplinary research, drawing extensively upon related work in the fields of anthropology, ethnography, linguistics and sociology. His research has, for decades, considered African American English (AAE), its history and its influence on other American dialects.
He recently spoke about the project and the history and importance of AAE on Wisconsin Public Radio.
“The linguistic contributions of United States slave descendants to American English have been considerable, but they are often overlooked or devalued,” Baugh said. “The Oxford Dictionary of African American English will honor this neglected linguistic legacy and do so with exacting scholarly rigor.”
Baugh will join a team of lexicographers and researchers who will together apply the “depth and rigor of the OED’s historical methodology” to the ODAAE, according to its website. The project aims to be the definitive reference for information about the meaning, pronunciation, spelling, usage and history of AAE words.
App Converts Phone or Tablet into Two-Way Translation Device, with Access to 82 Languages at Your Fingertips
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pocketalk, a leader in real-time language translation technology, today introduces Pocketalk App, its first mobile app, which enables use of a phone or tablet for fast, reliable, and affordable two-way translation. The cloud-based Pocketalk App translates 82 languages, supporting a global need for accessible translation solutions. Easy to download on any iOS or Android device for $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually, it provides subscribers access to the most accurate conversational translations whenever they use the app on their phone or tablet. First time users of the Pocketalk App will receive a free three-day trial that can be activated once the app is downloaded.
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Pocketalk App Converts Phone or Tablet into Two-Way Translation Device with Access to 82 Languages at Your Fingertips
"There's never been a greater need for accurate, fast, and accessible translations that bridge the language divide," said Noriyuki Matsuda, Founder and CEO, Pocketalk. "The Pocketalk App contributes to a deeper understanding of people and different cultures, all at one's fingertips, and meets a need for people to more easily communicate with each other anywhere in the world."
Translations for Everyday Conversations
The Pocketalk App gives people freedom to speak with more confidence during multiple language conversations, knowing the person they're speaking to will more clearly understand them, bridging language gaps when it's needed most. The app lends itself to casual, spontaneous everyday conversations, and is the ideal companion for traveling abroad, for helping build stronger connections with relatives who may only speak their native language, for chatting with international friends or colleagues, and for informal exchanges at happy hour or the grocery store.
The Pocketalk App is a complement to Pocketalk's existing suite of language translation products, including Pocketalk S and the HIPAA and GDPR compliant Pocketalk Plus that have proven success strengthening communication for travel, education, healthcare and logistics.
Once downloaded on a preferred mobile device or tablet, the Pocketalk App creates new potential for on-the-go conversations and translation support whenever multiple languages are being spoken.
Pocketalk App In Action
Once the Pocketalk App is downloaded on a phone or device, select the language you want to speak in and language you'd like to translate to. Then, hold down the "translate" on your screen and speak to activate. As you speak, the app will translate to text in the language you've asked it to translate to. Additional app features include:
One-button translation for simpler translations in fewer steps
Text-to-translate camera, which allows your phone or tablet camera to instantly recognize and translate digital text, written words, and signs
Conversion feature, which computes exchanges for currency, length, width and temperature
The Pocketalk App is available for purchase in the App store and Google Play for $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually and provides subscribers a connection anywhere they go in the world. The free three-day trial can be activated following the initial app download. For more information and to view a product demo, visit Pocketalk.com.
ABOUT POCKETALK
Pocketalk is the global leader in connecting the world and facilitating conversation through the only translation solutions on the market that enable an authentic communication experience. Pocketalk, which is HIPAA and GDPR compliant, connects people of all backgrounds through language translation — fast, easy and most importantly, accurate translation. Developed, manufactured and distributed by Sourcenext, the largest distributor and creator of software, hardware, and IoT products in Japan, Pocketalk officially launched in the U.S. in 2018 with headquarters in Palo Alto, CA. The company offers translation solutions through the handheld Pocketalk collection and, in an exciting innovation, now the cloud-based Pocketalk Pair and Pocketalk App. The two-way translation solutions can translate 82 languages and be utilized anywhere in the world with an internet or data connection. To find more information or purchase Pocketalk, visit Pocketalk.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to stay in touch with our latest updates.
An elementary school student checks a dictionary. Photo: VCG
Chinese language scholar Li Yuming was thrilled to see the new entries documenting progress in China when he flipped through the latest edition of a popular Chinese dictionary released recently.
The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese, launched in 2004, is now in its fourth edition.
The latest edition incorporates about 1,000 new phrases reflecting changes in China's socioeconomic landscapes compared with its last revision eight years ago. Among these are phrases like "new normal" and "overtaking on the bend."
"The around 1,000 buzzwords were compiled from various aspects of the society, recording the progress of the times," said Li Xingjian, chief editor of the dictionary. He added that the new edition contains more than 12,000 characters and about 72,000 phrases, presenting a comprehensive picture of contemporary Chinese vocabulary.
Documenting social evolution
Li, chair of the China Association of Lexicography, said that the timely revision of the dictionary has documented the evolution of society and satisfied users' need for reference.
Phrases such as "original aspiration," "anti-corruption," "top-level design," "new normal," "free trade zone," "the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," "ecological civilization," "pooling the strength and will," "worst-case scenario thinking" and "last-kilometer," have earned a place in the dictionary.
"The latest version of the dictionary reflects two major trends: the pursuit of green and low-carbon goals in economic and social life, and the significant impact of the internet on our daily life," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese language and literature at Peking University.
Terms like "low-carbon economy" and "Weibo," China's microblogging service, were added to the dictionary's second edition in 2010 when the two trendy concepts gained widespread popularity.
In 2014, the phrase "online shopping" was included in the dictionary after the phenomenal development of the e-commerce sector made it familiar to every household.
In this edition, new entries include "peak carbon emissions," "carbon neutrality," "cloud computing," and "mobile payments."
The national carbon market has seen a cumulative turnover of 194 million tons of carbon emission quotas worth nearly 8.5 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) since it became operational in July 2021.
In 2021, China's cloud computing market size surpassed 300 billion yuan. Moreover, the annual transaction scale of mobile payments in China, which was only tens of billions of yuan in 2011, hit 527 trillion yuan in 2021.
The abundance of new words reflects the zeitgeist of society, said Wang Fang, president of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), the publishing house behind the dictionary.
"The emergence of new phrases is a result of the tremendous transformations and outstanding accomplishments of the past decade," Wang added.
New meanings in old words
New terms were coined, and old words also acquired new meanings. This phenomenon is another reminder of how much society has progressed. Among them is the phrase "overtaking on the bend."
The phrase refers to racers with superb skills and courage who surpass their opponents while rounding a bend. In the updated dictionary, it has gained a new figurative connotation of turning difficulties and risks into opportunities, rising to challenges and outperforming others.
From new energy vehicles to online consumption, 5G, high-speed railways, the sharing economy and artificial intelligence, booming emerging industries prove that "overtaking on the bend" is a reality in China.
One of the most salient criteria for the inclusion of new words in the dictionary is their wide use by the general public, said Zhang Shiping, who is in charge of revising the dictionary.
"The inclusion of new words reflects the development of society, which, in turn, further enriches language."
New phrases stemming from Chinese classics are also added to the dictionary, as the preservation of traditional culture now has greater weight.
Readers can acquire knowledge of Chinese culture and improve their cultural accomplishments by looking up these words in the dictionary, Wang Fang said.
The definitions of some words have been revised under the Civil Code to keep up with the country's progress in the practice of the rule of law.
The Civil Code, which took effect on January 1, 2021, is the first law with "code" in the title since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
"Dictionaries are the collective memory of the nation," said Li Yuming, adding that as society evolves, new entries must be added to ensure this memory stays fresh.
ST. PAUL — Holding a wooden flute, Larry Martin stood during a recent Mass and welcomed the congregation to join the responsorial psalm. He began: “Aw ge-chi-twaaa-wen-daa-go-zid, Gi-gi-zhe-ma-ni-doo-mi-nann.”
The language was Ojibwe, and the words translated to “Our God is one who is glorious,” taken from Psalm 19.
Martin, a 79-year-old director emeritus of American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, worked with another language expert to convert the English to Ojibwe, the traditional language of many of the American Indian Catholics who worship at Gichitwaa Kateri in south Minneapolis, Martin’s parish.
Most of them can’t speak their ancestors’ language, but it’s meaningful to pray in it, he said. “It helps them give voice to their Indian identity,” he said.
Gichitwaa Kateri is home of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Indian Ministry. Since 2018, Martin and fellow parishioner Rick Gresczyk have translated into Ojibwe most of the responsorial psalms used in the church’s three-year Sunday Mass cycle. Their work built on a project they began years earlier to translate popular hymns such as “Ode to Joy,” “Hail, Holy Queen” and “How Can I Keep from Singing?”
Their accomplishments caught the attention of Catholics planning Pope Francis’ visit to Canada this July. At the request of the visit’s organizers, Martin submitted a few hymns for consideration, including “Wezhitooyan Gakina Go” and “Hymn for Kateri Tekakwitha.”
The first, an Ojibwe creation song Martin and Gresczyk composed, was inspired by three sources: an Old English creation hymn, an Ojibwe creation story and a hymn attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great.
The second hymn was created by Father Jan Michael Joncas, a well-known liturgical composer and recently retired priest of the archdiocese. In 2012, he collaborated with the Gitchitwaa Kateri community to craft a hymn to celebrate the canonization of the parish’s namesake.
Although the hymns he submitted were not ultimately used during the papal visit, Martin thinks that might be partly due to regional difference: The Ojibwe dialect spoken in Canada differs from the dialect Martin and Gresczyk use, he said. He feels it was an honor for the hymns to even be considered.
In addition to translating popular Catholic hymns and psalms, the two men have set to music Ojibwe-language prayers of Bishop Frederic Baraga, the first bishop of Marquette, Michigan.
Like elements of Pope Francis’ Canadian pilgrimage, Martin and Gresczyk’s translation initiative is tied to culture reclamation efforts underway in the U.S. and Canada, in response to the Indian boarding school era, where American Indian and Indigenous children were removed from their homes and sent to government-funded schools, some run by Catholic religious orders and dioceses, where they were often not allowed to speak their native languages or express their cultures.
“The church is responsible for damage to language, so we thought we should do something about bringing it back,” said Martin, who is Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe.
For the translations, Martin credits Gresczyk’s deep knowledge of Ojibwe. Martin doesn’t consider himself fluent, but says he can tweak grammar and align Gresczyk’s translations with the chosen melodies.
Gresczyk now lives in northern Minnesota, so the two mostly collaborate by phone.
Shawn Phillips, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Indian Ministry and pastoral minister at Gichitwaa Kateri, said the translations help parishioners pray and learn more about their culture and heritage. He hopes one day there will be a similar effort to translate prayers into Dakota, so both of the primary Native American cultures in Minnesota would be represented, he said.
The translation effort is important, Phillips said, because “God will speak to them in their own language.”
“That was the Pentecost message,” he said. “It wasn’t that the Gospel be in Greek or in Roman, but … all of these people could understand it. It’s that God cares about us and speaks to us in our own language and knows us intimately.”
– – –
Wiering is editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
*The latest edition of the Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese incorporates about 1,000 new phrases reflecting changes in China's socioeconomic landscapes compared with its last revision eight years ago.
*The latest version of the dictionary reflects two major trends: the pursuit of green and low-carbon goals in economic and social life, and the significant impact of the internet on daily life.
*The emergence of new phrases is a result of the tremendous transformations and outstanding accomplishments of the past decade.
BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese language scholar Li Yuming was thrilled to see the new entries documenting progress in China when he flipped through the latest edition of a popular Chinese dictionary released recently.
The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese, launched in 2004, is now in its fourth edition.
The latest edition incorporates about 1,000 new phrases reflecting changes in China's socioeconomic landscapes compared with its last revision eight years ago. Among these are phrases like "new normal" and "overtaking on the bend."
"The around 1,000 buzzwords were compiled from various aspects of the society, recording the progress of the times," said Li Xingjian, chief editor of the dictionary. He added that the new edition contains more than 12,000 characters and about 72,000 phrases, presenting a comprehensive picture of contemporary Chinese vocabulary.
Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2021 shows the venue of China 5G+ Industrial Internet Conference in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)
DOCUMENTING EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY
Li, chair of the China Association of Lexicography, said that the timely revision of the dictionary has documented the evolution of society and satisfied users' need for reference.
Phrases such as "original aspiration," "anti-corruption," "top-level design," "new normal," "free trade zone," "the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," "ecological civilization," "pooling the strength and will," "worst-case scenario thinking," and "last-kilometer," have earned a place in the dictionary.
"The latest version of the dictionary reflects two major trends: the pursuit of green and low-carbon goals in economic and social life, and the significant impact of the internet on our daily life," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese language and literature at Peking University.
Terms like "low-carbon economy" and "Weibo," China's microblogging service, were added to the dictionary's second edition in 2010 when the two trendy concepts gained widespread popularity.
In 2014, the phrase "online shopping" was included in the dictionary after the phenomenal development of the e-commerce sector made it familiar to every household.
An exhibitor promotes food products through livestreaming at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
In this edition, new entries include "peak carbon emissions," "carbon neutrality," "cloud computing," and "mobile payments."
The national carbon market has seen a cumulative turnover of 194 million tonnes of carbon emission quotas worth nearly 8.5 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) since it became operational in July 2021.
In 2021, China's cloud computing market size surpassed 300 billion yuan. Moreover, the annual transaction scale of mobile payments in China, which was only tens of billions of yuan in 2011, hit 527 trillion yuan in 2021.
The abundance of new words reflects the zeitgeist of the society, said Wang Fang, president of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), the publisher of the dictionary.
"The emergence of new phrases is a result of the tremendous transformations and outstanding accomplishments of the past decade," Wang added.
A "Fuxing" high-speed train runs on the Beijing-Tianjin intercity railway in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
NEW MEANINGS IN OLD WORDS
New terms were coined, and old words also acquired new meanings. This phenomenon is another reminder of how much society has progressed. Among them is the phrase "overtaking on the bend."
The phrase refers to racers with superb skills and courage who surpass their opponents while rounding a bend. In the updated dictionary, it has gained a new figurative connotation of turning difficulties and risks into opportunities, rising to challenges, and outperforming others.
From new energy vehicles to online consumption, 5G, high-speed railways, the sharing economy, and artificial intelligence, the booming emerging industries prove that "overtaking on the bend" is a reality in China.
One of the most salient criteria for the inclusion of new words in the dictionary is their wide use by the general public, said Zhang Shiping, who is in charge of revising the dictionary. "The inclusion of new words has reflected the development of society, which, in turn, has further enriched the language."
New phrases stemming from traditional Chinese classics are also added to the dictionary, as the preservation of traditional culture now has greater weight.
Readers can acquire knowledge of Chinese culture and improve their cultural accomplishments by looking up these words in the dictionary, Wang Fang said.
The definitions of some words have been revised in the dictionary under the Civil Code to keep up with the country's progress in the practice of the rule of law.
The Civil Code, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2021, is the first law with "code" in the title since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
"Dictionaries are the collective memory of the nation," said Li Yuming, adding that as society evolves, new entries must be added to ensure this memory stays fresh. ■