facts about language Archives | Raptor Translations Magazine

26Nov

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Facts

9 most useful languages

A while ago, we covered the most useless languages, now we will cover the most useful languages. So, what are the most useful languages? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9 most useful languages 9. Hindi At first, it probably surprises you that Hindi is even on this list in the first place, but when you think about it, it does make sense. India is the world's 7th largest economy, so a lot of business is done there, which would make it quite useful if people knew how to speak Hindi. If Hindi was more well spoken, we'd all be better off, no longer would Indian manufacturers and Western companies have to communicate through an intermediary. This would allow for cheaper prices on Indian-made goods, which would make them even more attractive to...

19Nov

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Facts

12 completely extinct languages

Languages come and go, those languages that go are called extinct languages. Just like other species, languages can go extinct, sometimes, there is a revivalist movement centuries down the line, which saves it, and other times, not. So which languages are extinct? 12 extinct languages (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 12. Breton We spoke about Breton in our previous article- 12 useless languages. In that article we talked about how in 2009, the UN reported that the language was officially considered one of the extinct languages. Breton was previously the most spoken language in Brittany, a Celtic language, spoken from the descendants of the Britons (a Celtic people who lived in present day Britain). This was up until it began to be overtak...

12Nov

By George SanghviNo Comments

Facts

12 useless languages

When it comes to learning languages, linguists normally have their heart set know a few to learn. Normally, this is because there is something particular that the language has to offer, or that it will be useful in later life. But, not all languages are equal, some are useless languages that serve little to no purpose for the speaker. I was recently talking with some translator friends of mine when we got around to how translators show off to non-translators. After much back and forth, we came to one that most of us had done- use a language we didn't know to impress someone- usually a girl they liked. Most of the time, these languages were useless languages spoken by less than 10 million people in Africa, or a small pocket elsewhere in Europe. Or better still, they were ...

7 things I hate about being a translator

5Nov

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Uncategorized

7 things I hate about being a translator

A few weeks ago, we did an article on 10 best things about being a translator. Now, I aim to show the flip side of that article with the 7 things I hate about being a translator. This is quite a personal article as I love my job, but there are certain things I hate about being a translator. 7 things I hate about being a translator (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. People who say "Can you just translate this?" I get asked this a lot, my wife likes to introduce me to her friends by telling them I’m a translator. Normally, I get one guy, normally a boyfriend of my wife’s best friend, who thinks he can speak Spanish. Normally, his grasp of the language is pitiful, and he makes himself look like a complete idiot in front of everyone. Nor...

15Oct

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Learning Languages

10 hardest languages to learn

When it comes to learning a language, some languages are harder to learn than others. Whilst some languages may be easy, others can be one of the hardest languages to learn. 10 hardest languages to learn (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 10. Estonian According to Estonian World, Estonian is the hardest language to learn when it comes to Latin alphabet languages. Estonian has around 14 cases that make Estonian incredibly complicated. Whereas, English has all, or most of its cases, it makes it quite the shock when an English speaker tries to learn Estonian. For example, English uses personal pronouns: forms such as I, he and we are used in the role of subject (‘I touch the book’), while forms such as me, him and us are used in the role of o...

8Oct

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Learning Languages

10 easiest languages to learn

Learning a language is never easy, just some languages are easier to learn than others. But, when it comes to learning some languages reign supreme in terms of ease. But what are the easiest languages to learn? 10 easiest languages to learn (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 10. Esperanto Whilst Esperanto may be a shock, there's a reason for it being on this list. But Esperanto is rather strange on this list- it isn't a natural language like Spanish, German or French but is man made. Without getting too specific, in 1887, L L Zamenhof published his book on the language under the name Dr. Esperanto. Just as Zamenhof hoped, it is an unofficial language of the world. Many global organisations and corporations use the language, such as the EU a...

Hyperpolyglots- What is it? Why are there only 1000 of them?

1Oct

By Gareth Seagull1 Comment

Facts

Hyperpolyglots- What is it? Why are there only 1000 of them?

When you meet someone who speaks one or two second languages, it’s impressive. But when you meet a hyperpolyglot, it will blow your mind... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But what exactly is a hyperpolyglot? Before we can define a hyperpolyglot, we need to define other language labels. These definitions come from those stated on ILanguages.org. Monolingual- someone who speaks only one language. Monolingualism constitutes roughly 40% of the world’s population.Bilingual- someone who speaks two languages to an equal level of fluency. Bilingualism constitutes roughly 43% of the world’s population. Trilingual- someone who speaks three languages to an equal level of fluency. Trilingualism constitutes roughly 13% of the world’s total popula...

What is the first language spoken by man?

10Sep

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Facts

What is the first language spoken by man?

Man has been around for 200,000 years. Many languages have been spoken since, but what was the first language spoken by man? What first language spoken by man is a difficult question to answer. Whilst there were undoubtedly languages before. We just don’t know their names or what they sounded like. They have simply been lost to history. The first languages were likely those in the cuneiform script, dating back to the 8 millennium BCE. However, other linguists claim that Sumerian or Egyptian are the oldest- simply because they have the oldest writing systems. What are the first languages spoken by man that we still use? Tamil (5000 years old)- Tamil was first spoken Sri Lanka. It is also the official language of both Sri Lanka and Singapore. It is spoken by 78 milli...

Names- Expert: We shouldn’t translate names

3Sep

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Facts

Names- Expert: We shouldn’t translate names

In this globalised world, it’s quite easy to find material in another language. Just last week, I read an article in Spanish. It was about the British Royal Family. However, when I read it, I was taken aback. Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t referred to as “Queen Elizabeth”. But as “Reina Isabel (II)”. The Spanish translation for Queen Elizabeth. Her son and grandson also had translated names. Instead of it being “Prince Charles” or “Prince William”. It was “Principe Carlos” and “Principe Guillermo”. This stunned me. As in English media, we never refer to “Rey Felipe” as “King Phillip”. Normally, just “King Felipe of Spain”. Nor his father “Rey Juan Carlos” as “King John Charles”. However, I sat and read an Italian article. On the same subject. However, the names were ...

4Jun

By Gareth Seagull1 Comment

Facts

11 Weird Facts About Translation

Like everything, there are an array of extremely weird and intricate facts about translation and the industry. So, this begs the question, what are they? 1. A dedicated day Every year on the 30th of September, it is International Translation Day. It was started to promote and celebrate translators and their expertise, who would have thought that? 2. Patron Saint The translation industry has its own patron saint, his name is Saint Jerome. He gained this accolade and became the guardian of the profession after he translated the Bible into Latin in the 5th century (that Bible went on to be called ‘The Vulgate’). 3. Work load It’s no secret that being a translator is a physically and mentally demanding task. So it came as no surprise when a study showed that the average tran...