George Takei had posted this through his social media outlets. This is funny, but at the same time, this is a perfect example of how localization and translation can go awry if not done correctly. It took me a while to realize that "melons" probably were "muggles". Take a look, have a good laugh, and then remember that what you write–or say–can easily be misinterpreted!
In the literature on language death and language renewal, two cases come up again and again: Irish and Hebrew. Mention of the former language is usually attended by a whiff of disapproval. It was abandoned relatively recently by a majority of the Irish people in favour of English, and hence is quoted as an example of a people rejecting their heritage. Hebrew, on the other hand, is presented as a model of linguistic good behaviour: not only was it not rejected by its own people, it was even reviv
This is an interesting article that centers on the evolution of the Irish and Hebrew languages, but I think some of the bigger points could apply to any language that continues to be used and is evolving. I think part of what’s going on now with Irish language is that there’s a big effort in Ireland to try to revive the language so that it doesn’t die altogether. Having travelled to Ireland twice this past year, I can say firsthand that most signs are listed in Irish first, then English second. Ireland is reclaiming its heritage more than ever now, especially with the 100th anniversary of the 1916 revolution coming up. It will be interesting to see how the resurgence of bringing back Irish as a dominant language will evolve in coming years.
Of my tech comm friends who speak Hebrew (and I know there are a few of you), how do you think that re-emergence of Hebrew has gone as people have slowly moved away from Yiddish–or is Yiddish still prevelant enough that Yiddish hasn’t gone away either? I’d be curious to hear your take on it.
Since I wish I was multilingual, I find this kind of study fascinating (makes me think that I have a lost calling in linguistics). This supports something that I’ve often thought through studying many languages, but mastering none but my native language (and some question if I’ve mastered that as well). I think one of the reasons I usually did well in foreign language classes is because I could find common structures to these languages, and that helped me organize how those languages worked. It’s helped me in understanding how to use more "standard English" when writing for a non-English audience.
What do you think of this study? Sounds fascinating to me!
Ken Ronkowitz posted this on LinkedIn, and asked if perhaps this was social networking before it was cool. Having owned a party-based business during my lifetime for a short stint during my stay-at-home mom days, I was immediately drawn to this story. I would confirm that yes, Tupperware parties–and other party-based businesses like it–definitely are the pre-cursor to social networking as we know it today. Now, social media wasn’t around when I had my business back then. It had barely begun online activity at all before the business that I chose (or at least that branch of the company) went under/closed shop. I wonder how I would’ve done if it had been now instead of then?
“May the odds be ever in your favor!” It looks like they were for Ed Marsh!
Remember the little contest I ran recently to win a chance at a free All-Access Pass to Information Development World 2015? I didn’t forget! A random drawing (not by me, to make it fair) was done of the tweets submitted for the free all-access pass to Information Development World 2015 in San Jose, California.
Ed was notified last week about winning the pass and the opportunity to attend. When informed of his win, he had this to say about it:
Ed Marsh of ContentContent Photo by Arclight Images
“All I had to do to win a free conference admission was send a tweet? I do that for free! I didn’t realize until recently how important conferences are to my career, so I’m excited to see different perspectives on content at Information Development World.
After narrowing down to three great choices, I finally decided to go with Lisa Welchman’s ‘Understanding digital governance’ [for my workshop day], because it’s probably the biggest issue we’re dealing with now.
I’m most looking forward to meeting new people, for sure. And I have to say that I plan to attend a variety of topics, not just one particular track, to get the most from my experience.
Having been on Ed’s ContentContent podcast, I know him well enough to know that even as an attendee, he will contribute a lot to conversations at the event. I know he’s excited about going, and he’s going to have a blast.
If you are going, make sure to say hi to him and congratulations at the event! Congrats, again, Ed, for the win! The odds were ever in your favor, evidently!
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