Over 100,000 would-be translators are on the waiting list for Duolingo, a platform with a unique approach to crowdsourcing.A few months ago, I wrote a post about how translation is falling back into favor as a language learning method, at least among s…

Could the increasing quality of machine translation discourage learners from tackling Asian languages?An interesting and eye-opening debate is taking place online at the Australian-based Lowy Institute for International Policy blog. Although the blog i…

Providing language interpretation services can be a key to getting injured workers back on the job.Language interpretation services in medical settings are clearly desirable for L.E.P. (Limited English Proficiency) patients, as we have discussed many t…

I enjoy running passages through Google Translate from time to time – and not just for fun.In the years I have been writing this blog, I have run a number of highly unscientific tests on automatic translation systems. At first it was truly “ju…

Successful foreign language use requires not only knowledge, but communicative skills.I don’t know if it’s a European thing, but suddenly I’m hearing the term “soft skills” everywhere. According to Whatis.com, a specializ…

The computer application MediBabble provides medical staff with a way to ask key medical history questions in 5 languages.MediBabble is a free medical translation application. Developed by UCSF medical students Brad Cohn and Alex Blau, it provides spok…

Language influences culture, and culture influences language. Language and culture are inextricably linked. When you think about it, the way a term is used can create a whole new mindset. For example, the term “geek” used to be an insult …

One might think that geographical names would be universal — but this is far from the case.Languages would be a bit easier to learn if place names were always the same. Of course, different versions are inevitable when alphabets differ. But even amon…

While it is crucial for court interpreters to be highly qualified, new testing systems are making it harder for courts to find interpreters at all.Which situation is preferable in a courtroom: poorly-qualified interpreters, no interpreters at all, or h…

We often focus on the world’s most widely used languages. But which ones are losing the race against time?Many people wonder which language is spoken by the most people, but which one has the fewest speakers? As has been widely reported in the mains…