Lingua franca: English vs Latin

Have you ever wondered why English beat Latin to become the world’s lingua franca? Here’s Eddie Izzard’s explanation. Warning: Not Safe for Work, contains strong language. By Marian Dougan

Communicating with clients: crystal clarity or muddy murk?

Radio Scotland news recently featured a hotel booking mix-up. A group of French tourists turned up at the Jura Hotel, on the Isle of Jura (off the west coast of Scotland), saying that they’d booked rooms there. The hotel owner had no record of a booking, and the hotel was full. When he checked their …

Olympic Linguistic Games (2): a competition

Here’s a wee Olympic Games language competition for readers. No prizes, just the satisfaction of figuring out the acronym/initialism puzzle. English-Polish translator Marta Stelmaszak has attended a training workshop on Language Services of the Olympics. Some of the acronyms/initialisms she found there are listed below. Can you guess what they mean? DVPM IOC/IPC NOC/NPC OCOG …

Olympic linguistic games

The organisers of the 2012 Olympic Games are making a big effort to ensure that the whole of the United Kingdom feels included in the event. There was a great fuss on the BBC news yesterday (18 May) about the arrival and planned relay — covering the length and breadth of the UK, with a …

Top 100 Language Blogs 2012 – voting now open

Voting is now open for the Top 100 Language Blogs 2012 competition organised by LexioPhiles, for which we’ve been nominated in the “Language Professionals” category. Voting takes place from 15 to 28 May 2012. If you’d like to vote for Words to good effect, you can do so here. Thank you! PS Having chosen a name that …

Translators’ and editors’ skill-set: add mind-reading

Earl Bush served for many years as press secretary for Richard J. Daley, a controversial mayor of Chicago who was a forerunner to another Bush, George W., in his mangling of the English language. Examples are: “Gentlemen, get the thing straight once and for all — the policeman isn’t there to create disorder, the policeman …

The jobs of the future… include translating

A recent article in The Vancouver Sun entitled What are the jobs of the future? examines the skills and careers likely to be most in demand as the 21st century progresses. The article cites a study by Sharon D. Crozier, of the University of Calgary’s Counselling Centre, on “Waves of the Future and High Demand Careers” …