Tuesday 3 December 2013

Only 4% of Languages are used online.

In Only 4% of Languages are used online, Priceonomics reports on the paper  “Digital Language Death”, by Andreas Kornai.

The article mentions that the internet is a potential threat to many languages.  If a language is unused in this domain, it may suffer a loss of function and prestige.

It makes an interesting point that the internet situation is not a normal case of language decline, but the reverse:  whether languages will  "establish themselves as viable options for digital use."

In investigating online language use, the article states:   "A language’s Wikipedia presence was one of the most important indicators of its ability to leap into the digital age."   Which is interesting, considering that Even Hindi Falls Behind.

Saturday 27 April 2013

Star Wars to be dubbed into Navajo.

In "Luke, I am your bizhe'e:", The Telegraph reports on a project to dub the original Star Wars film into Navajo.

The article mentions some of the challenges of translating novel sci-fi concepts, and draws parallels with the efforts of  Code Talkers to coin appropriate terms for WWII concepts such as tanks and grenades.

The project is funded by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department.