During a press briefing on June 12, 2023, Eric Mamer, the European Commission (EC) spokesperson, announced the launch of a pilot program in which the EC will use its own “eTranslation” machine translation tool for the EC’s press corner.
Speaking to an audience of reporters, and introducing the news as “a little housekeeping announcement,” Mamer described the purpose of the tool and the program as a way to ensure “that you have access to translations of our press material in the language of your choice faster right from the moment of publication.”
The EC’s spokesperson added that the machine translation service is an intermediary step to speed up availability of content.
The pilot program will be conducted along with the Directorate General for Translation, and the eTranslation tool will be used while a human-produced translation is (eventually) available, or to provide translations in additional languages not offered before.
Mamer assured the audience that “we will continue providing you with human-made professional translation of our press material, which will replace the machine translations as soon as they are available.”
On the EC’s press corner, a subsite of the EC’s portal where all communiques and announcements are posted, content is typically available in four languages (English, French, German, and Spanish).
Materials to be machine-translated immediately are related to the environment, marine affairs and fisheries, transport, and the new European bauhaus. The EC spokesperson explained that a disclaimer will appear at the top of an item’s page when users of the press corner get a machine-translated version of a piece of content.
Eminent Arabic and South Korean writers and publishers are calling for a definitive Arabic-Korean dictionary to facilitate cultural exchange between both countries.
Appearing at the Seoul International Book Fair, where Sharjah is the guest of honour, the lack of an authoritative language guide was cited as limiting the spread of both literary and academic works from both nations.
“At present, while there are one or two Arabic-Korean dictionaries, they are mostly concerned with phrases or everyday use of the Arabic language,” Gwag Soon-lei, a professor in the Arabic department at Hankook University of Foreign Studies, tells The National at the Sharjah pavilion.
“We need something more extensive and richer that translators and academics can use which will really open up many more discoveries for everyone.”
Gwag adds that many academic translations of Arabic historical texts into Korean are being done through a “third language", such as English.
“We normally translate the English version of the Arabic original, which is useful but perhaps may not capture all the richness and nuances of the original Arabic language,” she says.
“A new and thorough dictionary will help us bridge that gap which is vital for us in the fields of academia. But if we are taking normal language exchange, the more basic dictionaries and phrasebooks available now suffice.”
Taking it to the next level
Abdullah Al Kaabi, president of the Emirates Publishers Association, is a beneficiary of such works. Last year, his company Al Ramsa Publishing published a Korean translation of an Arabic phrasebook with relative success.
“It is a simple book, but we were happy with how it was received in the UAE alone and that shows you the appetite there is because Korean culture is loved and respected in the country,” he says.
“I do feel that we have to elevate that relationship further now by finding a way to translate one of the Arabic language’s best dictionaries into Korean because it benefits everyone.
“While it will definitely assist academics it can also be the gateway to understanding general Arabic culture because it is so intertwined with our language.”
Omani author Jokha Alharthi will have her 2019 Man Booker International Prize novel Celestial Bodies published in Korean next year. Getty Images
That said, a new dictionary is not the ultimate game-changer in spreading Arabic literature in South Korea.
San Ho-park, the translator behind the upcoming Korean version of Omani author Jokha Alharthi's 2019 novel Celestial Bodies, which won the Man Booker International Prize, says South Korean publishers need to be commercially astute in what Arabic titles to introduce to the market.
“A dictionary would be hugely helpful for Korean translators and particularly those who work in academia and culture,” she tells The National.
“But when it comes to general literature, it is all about finding the right story from the Arab world that you want to translate.
“Right now, I can tell you that novels with women-led narratives are what Korean readers want to read. And I do believe that Celestial Bodies is one of these novels that can resonate with Korean readers when it’s out next year."
Abdullah Al Kaabi is the president of the Emirates Publishers Association and founder of Al Ramsa Publishing. Saeed Saeed / The National
A measured approach is also needed when it comes to translating South Korean works into Arabic.
Al Kaabi notes the small number of Arabic publishers in attendance at the Seoul International Book Fair – a lion’s share of which come from the UAE such as Sharjah’s Kalimat Group and Al Qasimi Publications – is a sign more work is needed in reaching out to South Korean counterparts.
“This is my first time attending the book fair in Seoul and the main goal here is to leave with two titles that I can potentially translate and build relationships with my peers,” he says.
“If you have a small publishing house like mine, it is difficult to simply build that connection with a major Korean publisher. At the same time, the smaller Korean publisher may be initially hesitant to work with you because you are unknown to them. So, you need to come to these book fairs, have those meetings and build mutual trust.
"It takes time but from my experience, it is ultimately worth it.”
An enduring relationship
The Sharjah Book Authority, which is behind the Sharjah pavilion, aims to pave some of the way by creating partnerships with South Korean cultural organisations.
One of which was hosting Thursday’s agreement between Sharjah’s Department of Government Relations and the King Sejong Institute Foundation for the latter’s establishment of a regional headquarters in the emirate.
Launched by the South Korean government in 2007, and now in more than 80 countries, the language academy already has six branches in the GCC, three of which are in the UAE.
“DGR's unwavering commitment lies in aligning with His Highness's Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi [Ruler of Sharjah] vision by actively building bridges to foster fruitful and sustainable partnerships with our international counterparts, such as the King Sejong Institute,” said the department's executive chairman Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi at the signing ceremony.
“Together, we share a profound appreciation for the pivotal role of language in promoting knowledge and cultural exchange among nations.”
The move is music to the ears of Gwag, as it’s a step closer to creating the definitive Arabic-Korean dictionary she and colleagues long for.
“These projects require a lot of investment and often happen as a result of high-level collaborations between institutes and governments,” she says.
“It’s all about relationships, they help everything.”
BRUSSELS — The EU’s translation unit is doubling down on artificial intelligence.
For the first time, high-tech machines will translate press releases without any human oversight, in order to cut waiting time for journalists and expand the number of languages available to the public.
This marks a new frontier in the Commission’s drive to automate its translation department, one of the largest and oldest among the multilingual Brussels institutions.
The EU introduced machine translation decades ago to cope with an increasing bulk of legislation, resulting in fewer translators being hired.
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This shift shrank the Commission's dedicated translation unit by 17 percent over the last decade, despite an increase in workload from about 2 million pages in 2013 to 2.5 million in 2022, according to EU figures.
Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer announced Monday that, under a new pilot project, it will immediately publish automated translations, marked by a disclaimer, while a human version is in the works.
“This new tool will ensure that you have access to translations of our press material in the language of your choice faster, right from the moment of publication, and give you access to more translations in general,” Mamer told a daily media briefing.
“We will continue providing you with the human professional translation of our press material, which will replace machine translations as soon as they are available,” Mamer added.
The new system will allow immediate access to Commission press releases in all the EU’s 24 official languages, with the ultimate intent of expanding their reach.
Under the current system, EU staff and contractors translate press releases only in French, English, German and other languages relevant for the given subject matter.
While the pilot project applies only to a few policy areas, it might soon become the norm in the Brussels bubble.
“Currently, the spokesperson’s service is gathering feedback from journalists that will allow us to consider next steps of the pilot project,” Mamer added.
Automated translation has gradually penetrated the EU translators' unit over the past years.
The bloc's executive launched a new data-driven engine in 2013 — only to be replaced four years later by an even more sophisticated and better-performing translation system. That one uses an artificial neural network, or computer nodes in a structure that mimics neurons, to predict the sequence of words.
But translators insist that humans in the EU’s dedicated unit remain essential to spotting any mistakes and adapting machine-translated texts to EU lingo.
Oxford University Press has announced a large-scale study that will culminate in the Oxford Dictionary of African American English, the brainchild of historian Henry Louis Gates that will focus on the contributions that African Americans have made to the English language.
The dictionary will be released in 2025 and is expected to include about 1,000 words.
“The editing of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English will realize a dream I’ve nurtured since I first studied the pages of Samuel Johnson’s ‘Dictionary of the English Language,’” Gates said in a press release. “Every speaker of American English borrows heavily from words invented by African Americans, whether they know it or not.”
Evidence for every entry, according to Gates, will be gathered from diverse sources like novels, academic research papers, newspapers and magazines, song lyrics, recipes and social media. Researchers have encouraged the public to make entry suggestions.
Oxford University Press last month announced they have completed the first 100 word entries and released 10 of them.
The 10 words include:
cakewalk (n.): 1. A contest in which Black people would perform a stylized walk in pairs, typically judged by a plantation owner. The winner would receive some type of cake. 2. Something that is considered easily done, as in, This job is a cakewalk.
old school (adj.): Characteristic of early hip-hop or rap music that emerged in New York City between the late 1970s to the mid 1980s, which often includes the use of couplets, funk and disco samples, and playful lyrics. Also used to describe the music and artists of that style and time period. (Variant form: old skool.)
Jiya Pinder, the creator and curator of We The Diaspora, looks at historical photos.
Courtesy Tina Pinder
How Black archives are highlighting overlooked parts of history and culture
pat (verb): 1. transitive. To tap (the foot) in rhythm with music, sometimes as an indication of participation in religious worship. 2. intransitive. Usually of a person’s foot: to tap in rhythm with music, sometimes to demonstrate participation in religious worship.
Some linguists and lexicographers agree that African American language and culture deserves its own dictionary. Tracey Weldon, a sociolinguist currently working at the education executive search firm Greenwood Asher & Associates and one of dictionary’s executive editors, illustrated the project’s importance.
“The African American speech community has contributed so much to American English, but so much of it has been invisible to the public at large,” Weldon said. “This is an opportunity to just acknowledge those contributions and educate the public about the various types of words, the breadth of the vocabulary and some information about its history.”
Weldon pointed out words that are used in everyday language. Words such as “yam,” “okra,” “shout- out,” “lit” and “woke” all began in the African American community and became part of the American lexicon.
“We are hoping this will be fairly comprehensive, extensive broad and going beyond just sort of the slang term that people typically think of when they think about African American English, and just show the full breadth of the vocabulary,” Weldon said.
The choice of words will vary from the middle passage to the plantation era, but the dictionary will also include popular words from current social media platforms such as Black Twitter.
“We are looking for variety and breadth, so not everything will necessarily make its way to the first publication. But we want to hear from the public, so the final version is a representation of a community’s perception,” Weldon said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the period from which the dictionary will draw words.
Kylie Minogue's 'Padam Padam' could be added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Since the release of the pop icon's latest tune, Oxford University Press - the publisher of the English dictionary - is said to have been inundated with requests to add Padam, which is the word to describe the beating of the heart, to the resource.
A source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: “Loads of fans have been contacting the Oxford English Dictionary about actually getting the word ‘Padam’ added.
“Kylie joked about it in an interview recently but now people have taken it upon themselves to make it happen.
“It has entered her fans’ vocabulary and they want to make it official.”
The 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' hitmaker recently gushed that she is "bursting with joy" over the success of 'Padam Padam.'
The Australian singer - who became the first female artist to score a UK Number 1 album in five consecutive decades with the release of her last record 'Disco' in 2020 - returned to the charts with the lead single from her forthcoming album 'Tension' and thanked fans for the reaction as she celebrated her 55th birthday on May 28.
Speaking in a video posted to Instagram, she said: "I just wanted to say thank you, thank you so so much for all the birthday messages and the 'Padam' reaction and the love, it has been an incredible week topped off by being my birthday today and I can't thank you enough. My heart is bursting with joy so thank you so so much!"
'Tension' is set for release on September 22.
Meanwhile, Kylie has hinted at embarking on a tour.
She told 'Heart Breakfast': “I would love to…. we're looking into dates currently so hopefully I can make that happen."
Listen to 'Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden' weekdays from 06:30 – 10:00 and on Global Player.
Instagram Notes is today getting its first set of new features following its December 2022 public launch. Currently, Instagram Notes allows users to leave a status message that appears for their Close Friends or mutuals at the top of their inbox. With today’s update, Notes will also support music and translations, according to a post shared by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via his Instagram Broadcast Channel this morning.
Before, users’ Notes could only include text and emoji, but now they’ll be able to share a 30-second clip of a song, as another way to express themselves. The expectation is that people could use the new Music Notes to share their moods, feelings, or just what favorite song they’ve been listening to lately. In addition to the shared clip, users can add a caption to a Music Note to share their thoughts, too, if they choose.
The company says the song clips will be supported in all markets worldwide where Instagram has music licensing rights.
Image Credits: Instagram
The other new feature arriving with today’s update is Notes Translations. This feature simply allows users to tap a “See translation” link below a note in a different language in order to have it translated into their own. Instagram already supports translations across other areas of its app, like in Post descriptions, comments, and Reels, so this is simply making that same functionality available to Instagram Notes, as well.
Image Credits: Instagram
During testing of Notes ahead of its launch late last year, Meta said it found users appreciated having a way to start conversations with friends in a lighthearted way. And, similar to how Twitter prompts users to share “what’s happening?” in its app, Instagram Notes asks users to “Share a thought…” Users can then type out a Note with up to 60 characters of text or emoji, which appears at the top of friends’ inboxes for 24 hours. Replies to Notes then come in through DMs (Direct Messages).
Though a bit under the radar, given the lack of adoption among certain friend groups, Instagram Notes has been allowing the company to experiment with text-based updates ahead of the launch of its Twitter clone, now in active development. In fact, Instagram had considered leveraging Notes as something of a Twitter competitor, The New York Times reported last year. But now that Instagram’s Twitter-like standalone and decentralized social app is being previewed to company employees, it’s unclear how its coming launch will ultimately impact user adoption or the company’s investment in the less prominent Instagram Notes feature.
The new features will begin rolling out today across Instagram’s global install base, but you may not see them immediately, as large-scale rollouts can take time.
