What makes a word impossible to translate? Is it simply that the word doesn’t exist in English or is the meaning so subtle that the definition lies somewhere amongst a group of similar English words?

The fear, or assumption, that technology will one day break down all language barriers and replace the need for anyone to learn a foreign language may not quite be an age old one, but it is something that those involved in all the intricacies of learning, studying, and teaching languages do digress on from time(…)

Preserving our languages is important, we think, since languages are our communication tools, as well as essential parts of our cultural heritage. Last time we talked about language preservation, and therefore deciphering, with the Rosetta Stone and its counterparts; look how important a scribble they turned out to be! So now, we would like to(…)

Reading this title, there are two logical leaps to make. One, either we are going to talk about an ancient stone tablet, or two, we will discuss language apps and aids of the past. In fact, the first assumption is a little closer to home, so bonus points for you if that’s where your mind(…)

Speculating on the future of translation devices means going beyond mere wishful thinking about which of our favourite translation gadgets from the best science shows we can bring to life. From Google Translate making a wealth of languages available at our fingertips, to Skype facilitating instant translation during our video calls, it is easy to(…)

Google Translate and its counterparts have revolutionised the way we translate language. That is a bold statement, we know. However, if you had the pleasure of translating a word or two by yourself, before these services came to life, which for Google Translate was in April 2006, trawling through website upon website for a good,(…)

We all love a (good) bad translation, don’t we? There a wealth of web pages and entire blogs dedicated solely to the joy that is the word gone wrong, and last time when we began delving into the beauties available in pop culture we looked at the titles of our favourite TV shows overseas. This(…)

If there is one true thing that brings us all together, from whichever corner of the globe we reside in to whatever we do to fill our days, surely it is something that is noble, profound, the kind of thing that gets us up in the morning, puts a spring in our step, and shines(…)

With the amount of money that is poured into advertising and the cutthroat competition there is for that prime advertising spot in the middle of the Superbowl, or for the English amongst us, Coronation Street, we know that TV advertising is a very big deal indeed. Gone are the days where you could just have(…)

Whether you’re a Reddit regular or a sofa soapboxer, the plight of the viewer watching badly dubbed TV adverts is well-versed, widely known, and well… so very British, perhaps? This may or may not come as news to you, but the odd creature that is the Brit, both abroad, and in its native habitat, likes(…)