A Beginning…Cuneiform
Though spoken language has been in existence for tens of thousands of years, it was not until the end of the fourth millennium before the
April 17, 2009
Esperanto: a Language with a Good Cause
Esperanto is the international language created by Polish doctor Ludwik Zamenhof so that all people might be able to communicate with each other on an
April 17, 2009
Easter
In most languages, the word “Easter” is derived from the word “Pesach,” the Hebrew name for the Passover holiday, a Jewish festivity that is directly
April 13, 2009
Compensating and Compromising
In the field of translation, there are inevitably going to be phrases and meanings in a Source Text that will not be able to be
April 9, 2009
When Knowing a Language Is Fun
Portuguese is a Romance language spoken by 240 million people. The international expansion of this language took place during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries
April 3, 2009
Is 1,000,000 words possible?
The Global Language Monitor, which was born from the ashes of yourdictionary.com, focuses on trends in the use of language, primarily through automatic algorithmic readings
April 3, 2009
Adjectives: Differences in English and Spanish
In English, adjectives are always spelled the same and, syntactically, are almost always placed before the noun. In Spanish, there are a few that are
April 3, 2009
Cogency: Am I Making Myself Understood?
The ability to formulate an argument (written or spoken) that logically sustains itself is not perceived the same way in every part of the world,
April 1, 2009
Favorite Words in Other Languages
The majority of the people I have exchanged emails and comments with on this blog are not just translators of one language pair, but polyglots
April 1, 2009
Italian, the Successor of Latin
In the Roman Empire, spoken language (vulgar Latin) differed from written language (literary Latin). Romance languages derive from vulgar Latin, the spoken variety. The language
March 27, 2009
Colorful Language: A Synesthete’s World
Synesthesia, a peculiar neurological phenomenon whereby the stimulus of one sensory or cognitive pathway automatically and involuntarily cross-activates another sensory or cognitive pathway, is an
March 27, 2009
Subject Verb Object
Both English and Spanish follow the S-V-O (subject – verb – object) order, though each to a different degree. In contemporary English, this scheme is
March 27, 2009
