TRANSLATING UNTRANSLATABLES (II)

Exactly one year ago, the Lexington team began its linguistics writing journey with an article on the so-called untranslatable words, terms in one language for which there is no single-word counterpart in other languages (or, more often than…

INTERNET SLANG AND “TEXTISMS”

Internet slang and “textisms” (text messages) incorporate a variety of shortcuts used by Internet users and people typing phone texts, in order to save time. We all know what LOL, OMG, BTW mean, because we have probably all used them at…

CONSTRUCTED LANGUAGES (II)

Welcome again to the world of invented languages, where meaningful words meet quirky grammar structures, and unusual sound combinations transpose humanitarian, scientific or artistic ideas. However strange, eccentric or feckless these languages…

CONSTRUCTED LANGUAGES (I)

A constructed language (also known as artificial, planned or invented language, or conlang) is a language the phonology, vocabulary and grammar of which have been consciously created by an individual or group, either from components of existing…

WORDS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN TRANSLATION: THE CASE OF CALQUES

Cultural evolution represents a pervasive element in modern societies, along with language, which is a reflection thereof, for it actually points to the changes occurring within such communities. Every modern society undergoes change from a…

WHO’S IN A NAME?

Etymology can disclose fascinating stories surrounding the origin or evolution of words. Some of the most captivating accounts are related to eponyms - common nouns derived from proper nouns, i.e. names of (real or imaginary) persons or places.…

ON LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT

If you took a moment and considered the prodigious diversity of the world’s languages, you would doubtlessly realize that some languages encode more information than others. For instance, Mandarin has no word with the exact meaning of English…

WHY TRANSLATORS MATTER

If translation is an art, it is the art of choice. A choice between the different meanings or structures, between favoring content and preserving form, between faithfulness to the source and adaptation to the new cultural context, between conveying…

:) translations

Translation “E dureros. E clar ca nu s-a îngropat singur acolo.” Original text: “It’s painfully obvious he didn’t get there by himself.”

WHY WE LOVE FRENCH

Spoken on all continents by 220 million people, an official language in 29 countries, learnt as a foreign language worldwide and extensively used in international diplomacy, French is also known as the language of culture, art, fashion, gastronomy…