Many of us are not aware of just how big a role translation plays in our daily lives. In today’s world, almost every product or service we use has come through several countries. To demonstrate the importance of translation and how it affects our lives, we have come up with a list of 5 things you’ve […]
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1.“Do I need a translator or interpreter?” Interpreters only translate the spoken word. For written documents, you will need a translator. There are different skill sets in each so not all interpreters are good translators and vice versa. 2. Not sure if you really need an interpreter? Be aware of the benefits interpreters can bring […]
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It is likely that most people didn’t notice the number of people standing discretely behind the politicians and delegates that recently gathered at the Loch Erne resort in Fermanagh for the G8 summit. Not to mention the small army of people working behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the most recent gathering […]
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Latin and Greek became “universal” languages for a time in Western civilizations. However, their dominance and popularity waned as the Age of Discovery fostered the prevalence of the most widely spoken European languages in the newly acquired colonies around the world. Despite having been in existence for well over a century, the artificially conceived language, […]
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Being located in an English speaking city that is also a popular tourist destination, you just have to walk through the streets of Dublin city centre to hear all sorts of “pidgin” English – that is various tourists and international students speaking to each other in a blend of English words with syntactic constructions based […]
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A friend in need is a friend indeed – so promises the old adage. False Friends: A Translator’s Worst Enemy! An innocent abroad or even at home however, should beware of friends whose familiar appearance conveys a comforting reminder of home and lures the gullible into dangerous complacency! Echoes of a mother’s warning to the […]
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What comes to mind when you hear the word “communication”? Languages, speaking, writing, phones, internet…? Communication is possible through different ways: there is verbal communication and then nonverbal communication such as body gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. Research has shown that 80% of messages are portrayed through body language rather than the words that […]
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Recently the interpreting industry has been in the media in both France and the UK, the most recently publicized being the catastrophe that occurred last year when the UK government contracted a protected company to provide court interpreting services and this company struggled to cope with the demands. In France, the interpreting industry has also […]
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“My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.” This quote is from Mark Twain’s amusing essay “The Awful German Language”, written in 1880. It is perhaps a typical viewpoint for a native speaker […]
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Manuela Spinelli has been working for DCU Language Services as a Conference Interpreter for almost 10 years. During her time working as an interpreter in Ireland, Manuela has raised the profile of what is usually quite a ‘behind the scenes’ profession, through her role working as interpreter to the Italian manager of Ireland’s football team, Mr […]
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