Do you speak Pig Latin?

Pig Latin is a constructed language game in which words in English are altered according to a simple set of rules. Pig Latin takes the first consonant (or consonant cluster) of an English word, moves it to the end of the word and suffixes an ay (IPA [eɪ]). For example, pig yields igpay, banana yields ananabay, and trash yields ashtray or rashtay (dependent on location/preferences).

The objective is to conceal the meaning of the words from others not familiar with the rules. The reference to Latin is a deliberatemisnomer, as it is simply a form of jargon, used only for its English connotations as a strange and foreign-sounding language.

Found in Middle English and meaning ‘expert, skilful, clever’, hend comes from the word for ‘hand’, and originally meant ‘near at hand’. In a similar line are the words well-handed and habile.Read more…

synonyms

21
Oct

John Oliver shreds US over Afghan translators

Posted by 40dots / Other

john oliver

21
Oct

HELP fight Ebola, word after word

Posted by 40dots / Other

Ebola: A Crisis of Communications Over and over again, aid workers report that people do not have the knowledge they need to contain this deadly disease. In a major survey in Sierra Leone (late September) UNICEF found:

30% believed Ebola was transmitted via mosquitos; 30% believed it was an airborne disease
20% believed treatment by spiritual healers is effective
42% believed hot salt water baths are an effective cure

Aid workers know kissing deceased loved ones is a major cause of the epidemic (the virus is most potent right before and right after death). And yet the ritual continues. They also know epidemics can be reduced if the practice of eating bats (a delicacy in West Africa) is reduced or eliminated. Yet this knowledge is not effectively passed on to those who need it.

Why?

localization vs. internationalization

Posted by 40dots / Usage

Internationalization (i18n)

The process of making a program localizable. This would cover work to allow for different fonts and charactersets to be displayed correctly. To allow for scripts that run from right-to-left, etc. This work is usually done once for a language, once the toolkits and programs support a language the internationalization work is usually complete.

Localization (l10n)

The process of taking an existing program or operating system and making it work in your language. This would include translating: interface and documentation, creating a locale file and the creation of fonts. It would not include changing the widget set or program operation to cater for your language, that work would fall under internationalization.

Source: Read the docs

definition internationalization localization

Dirty Little Secrets for Translators