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The Literary and Cultural Origins of French With Respect to Latin

When one decides to embark on a study of French literature in its modern sense, the 11th century is the earliest back he/she will be able to reach. The actual manuscripts which we possess are seldom of older date than the century subsequent to this. It is evident, according to French Translation to English of such scripts that the French language that of those days was from perfect. Nonetheless, it is quite certain that at least at the beginning of the 12th century, the French language in its completely organized form was used consistently by a large number of people. Literature had been written in France or by citizens of France in the centuries preceding this, and they all used the France as all know it today. However, as early as the 9th century, as most evidence suggests, the language used for written communication in France was Latin. Nevertheless, the Latin influence on French literature should not be paid great attention. What historians find interesting is the phase in which the French language was known as Lingua Romana Rustica and at a much later stage it gain enough independence in order to be called a language. Not earlier than the 7th century, the so called Lingua Romana, which was not to be mistaken with Latin and Teutonic, is mentioned as a language used in court cases. A translation of these documents from Latin into French by a Legal Translator service became available recently. Most scholars suggest that the oldest written documents in French comprise a small number of texts of various nature, dating as far back as the centuries from the 9th to the 11th. One of them confirms how Louis the German allied himself with Charles the Bald exchanging the Oaths of Strassburg.

Speaking about the Germans, they unfortunately failed to become accustomed – in comparison to their Scandinavian neighbors and their English cousins who were heavily influenced by Latin – to the new literary order imposed by France and Italy on Europe. Rather, their literary history has been a struggle for independent expression, a constant warring against outside forces, even when the latter – like the influence of English literature in the 18th century and of Scandinavian at the close of the 19th – were hailed as friendly and not hostile. One of the most fruitful periods in the history of German literature is probably the Reformation. Germany’s most famous man of letters in his time was Martin Luther. His work necessitates more research than anyone else’s activity not only in terms of literary achievement, but also for his religious enlightenment because the intellectual capacity of the time was unthinkable without him. The Bible Luther produced was unique because it brought intellectual and religious wellbeing not only to the German people but also to their literature. Luther thoroughly realized that a German Translator of the Bible would earn him immortality so he made all possible effort so that he could produce an entirely German work. Having become the most popular German translation it was written in a dialect which used direct language that aimed at the everyday, ordinary Germans. Following the publication of the translation of the Bible the Saxon chancery developed further and shaped up the contemporary German language.

April 25, 2010   Comments Off

In German to English Translation

Most professional European and American translators know that German and English are closely related and have many words in common. English to German Translation students usually find this to be a blessing and a curse.

English and German language learners need to be apprised of this situation. However, new German translation graduates often plunge ahead without fully understanding that words can be deceptive. “False friends” are false cognates that actually have nothing in common with what one would expect. Translators are regularly challenged by the questions surrounding whether or not a particular word is a false cognate. As stated before, these words look like a familiar word but actually have nothing in common with it. Incorrectly using false cognates can cause embarrassment at best and lawsuits in the worst case scenario.

Between the German and English languages there are literally hundreds of false cognates, and this is because the two languages are so closely related. There are countless words that look and sound alike in German and English. Some examples of true cognates (or true linguistic friends) are the following: hound /Hund, mother / Mutter, end / enden, word / Wort, dance / Tanz, and many others. Many such true cognates exist between the German and English languages, and these should be differentiated from the many false cognates between the two languages.

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April 21, 2010   Comments Off

Building Fresh Skills in Language Translation

Because we can no longer think of our world consisting of homogeneous who all speak the same language, we must be able to communicate with people in a variety of ways. To illustrate this example, we can image that a foreign speaking vacationer may have difficulty talking, whereas a second generation US resident will be easy to understand. Conversely, we sometimes encounter individuals who are forced to communicate in a written language because of vocal handicaps. When this happens, we should be prepared for people who want to communicate through hang gestures. Of course, speaking won’t be the only obstacle that we encounter. Some clients will have deaf.Are you good at reading body language? The reason for asking is that some people may prefer to use body language and we must be able to recognize to this and respond appropriately.

Sometimes communication challenges can best be explained by requesting English to Korean Translation students evaluate people who are closest to them. The idea here is to get people to notice that others have their own forms of communication. After suffering from a debilitating illness, disease, accident or some other injury, a new form of communication may be adopted by some people. We need to stress that the purpose for doing this exercise is to provide examples that add to the complexity of interpretation. Here is a guide that can help establish a strategy for you.
_ Can images be used to break down information?
_ Does the he or she communicate in a special way with others?
_ Under what conditions should you communicate in certain ways with him or her?
_ Could your team communicate through pictures and images?

Do you comprehend the significance of these questions? When it comes to French Legal Translation, the reason is almost immediately visible. When this happens, you can expect bad consequences that include faulty data, aggravation, and other inefficiencies that could be preventable.

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February 16, 2010   Comments Off

University Professors Stress New Interpretation Skills To Increase Reliability

Many people don’t understand how mistakes can be made in document translations and this article attempts to provide some of the reasons. The art of translation and interpretation is subject to error at all stages of the process that include the process of receiving and handling requests to do specific translations, assigning the right translator to the job, doing research, networking, translating words, phrases, and registers, editing the translation, delivering the finished text to the employer or client, billing the client for work completed, and getting paid. As other disciplines began to have greater need for more accurate translations, a growing number of colleges began to offer courses. As more courses were developed and interest grew among students, a growing number of universities began offering complete degrees and in translation studies.

As more German Translation studies programs were developed, a formal curriculum was developed that included a history of translation theory, beginning with the ancient Romans and encompassing key twentieth-century structuralist work. New coursework was later amended to study programs plans that emphasized specific problems of literary translation through a close, practical analysis of texts that tackles crucial problems of translation and extensive suggestions for further reading.

When asked, most pupils will indicate that coursework begins with a brief introduction to the types of problems that they will face in the areas of medical translation, legal translation, certified translation or any of the other types of translation projects that they may be given in their careers. Early on, all program participants discover that translation must take place at the sentence and paragraph level, rather than at the word level. This is the reason why it is foolish to blindly rely on machine translations to convey the true meaning of a document. Even experienced translators use this type of translation at time, particularly when the subject matter involves Medical Translation, Engineering Translation, Legal Translation or another form of highly technical translation. The following true story attests to the difficult issues encountered by professional translators.

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February 12, 2010   Comments Off

Drawbacks of English to German Translation

Practically everyone who has ever worked as a professional translator knows that English and German share many similarities when it comes to vocabulary. German Translation students usually find this to be a blessing and a curse.

Many Anglophones learning in German translation studies should be aware of this fact. However, unfortunately, many early learners of German or English don’t understand that things are not always what they may seem. “False friends,” which exist in many languages, are cognates that are false, and having nothing in common with the words you would expect them to mean. The translation profession regularly deals with the challenge of avoiding falling prey to false cognates. As stated before, these words look like a familiar word but actually have nothing in common with it. Incorrectly using false cognates can cause embarrassment at best and lawsuits in the worst case scenario.

When it comes to translating from German to English or vice versa, there are numerous false friends because the languages are in the same family. Any student of German or English knows that there are numerous similarities between many words in the two languages. There are many examples of true cognates, including: father / Vater, cat / Katze, hair / Haar, is / ist, and many, many others. German and English have countless true cognates, but be careful not to assume that a given word is a true cognate.

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February 9, 2010   Comments Off