|
English with Linda
05 Feb 2012 11:03:44 +0000
I can’t imagine taking some text, clicking on an automatic translation service and then just using the text that was automatically generated without going over it (or having someone who knows the target language go over it). Yet there are obviously many who don’t have any qualms about this procedure. I came across two “translations” [...]
 בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
05 Feb 2012 14:28:20 +0000
על פי המבחן המשפטי הישראלי, "כושי" היא מילה גזענית, והשימוש בה, בעיקר כלפי אתיופים, נחשב פלילי. תלמידים אתיופים באור עקיבא שזכו אחרי מאבק להתקבל לבתי הספר בעיר, התקבלו בקריאות הגנאי "כושי" על ידי שאר הילדים. גם שחורי העור הלא יהודים מכירים את נחת זרועה של המילה. דרק שארפ, אזרח ישראלי וחבר נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל, סיפר [...]
 AQText Translation Services
05 Feb 2012 10:47:42 +0000
This is what expats need to know to get documents translated for an IRS audit
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Feb 02, 2012
Now we're also on Google+
https://plus.google.com/111997523888060581125
רוביק רוזנטל
Feb 02, 2012
האם הנבלות במשרד ראש הממשלה חיים או מתים? מה יש לנתיבה ...
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
02 Feb 2012 10:10:00 +0000
A preposition is a short word describing the physical or lexical relation between words, such as in, on, or about, to name a few. Every language has them, but the actual use may vary, especially in sentence with compound objects (of the preposition, not things). For example, French insists on placement of the preposition before each noun to ensure clarity: Il a parlé de l’indépendence, de la dignité and de la gloire de la France. In Hebrew, a speaker can insert all of them or omit the last ones: הוא דבר על העצמאות, על הכבוד ועל התהילה של ישראל or, without additional prepositions, הוא דבר על העצמאות ,הכבוד והתחילה של ישראל . The prepositions are underlined in all of the sentences, with the translation being He spoke of the independence, dignity, and glory of France and Israel, respectively. English has a clear preference to drop unnecessary prepositions, as demonstrated in the previous sentence. The most curious case is Russian, which often omits all of its prepositions entirely due to its grammatical structure that has built-in prepositions. Some examples include он мне дает деньги and она работает дураками [On mne daet dengue] (He gives money to me) and [ana rabotaet durakami] (She works with fools, respectively). In these cases, it is not necessary to add to or with because the ending on the noun expresses the relation without additional words. Of course, in many cases, Russian does use prepositions, but, like English, tends not to repeat them. To conclude, I would like to cite Abraham Lincoln’s beautiful use of prepositions in the Gettysburg’s Address: “…to ensure that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people can long endure.”  Yael Sela-Shapiro
01 Feb 2012 07:22:47 +0000
אגודת המתרגמים הודיעה זה עתה כי ביום ב', 13 בפברואר, בשעה 17:00, יתקיימו במסגרת כנס אגודת המתרגמים שני מפגשים מעניינים, הפתוחים לקהל הרחב (אין צורך להירשם לכנס והכניסה חופשית). פורום משתמשי טראדוס באגודת המתרגמים דיון פתוח בתוכנת Studio החדשה ובמוצרים הקשורים אליה. נציג טראדוס יענה על שאלות הקהל. אם יש לכם שאלות, אתם מתבקשים לשלוח [...]
 Tamar Eilam Gindi
31 Jan 2012 10:28:01 +0000
שלט "ברוכים הבאים לרפובליקה האסלאמית", עם תרגום מכונה נפלא.
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Jan 30, 2012
מערכת מוסף "תרבות וספרות" של הארץ מזמינה את הקוראים לתרגם שירה. כל שבוע מתפרסם שיר מספרות העולם והקוראים מוזמנים לתרגם אותו לעברית ולשלוח את תרגומיהם למערכת.
תרגומים נבחרים יפורסמו.
לפרטים:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/literature/safrut/translations/1.1565080
הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
30 Jan 2012 08:05:28 +0000
מה עובר לנו בראש כשאנחנו שומעים את המילה ויאטנאם? רוברט דה נירו מכוון אקדח לרקתו ב"צייד הצבאים", שורה של מסוקים מתרוממים מעבר לאופק בדרך להפציץ כפר שליו ומרלון ברנדו ממלמל "The horror" ב"אפוקליפסה עכשיו". לא דברים נעימים במיוחד, נכון? אז אתם מתבקשים להחליף את הדיסק בראש, כי כיום ויאטנאם היא אחת המדינות המתפתחות ביותר באסיה [...]
 Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Jan 29, 2012
בסינמטק בתל אביב יוצגו בפברואר מספר סרטים על שפה ועל תרגום.
לפרטים
http://www.pigeonpower.com/306143/45/9498/mail.aspx
Yael Cahane
29 Jan 2012 12:24:53 +0000
היום יש לנו פוסט אורח נוסף, מאת ד"ר מיכל חדד, עובדת עירייה יפנית קטנה ומדריכת טיולים ליפן. מיכל כתבה לנו על הקֶייגו, שהיא השפה הנימוסית המקובלת ביפן. לפני כמה חודשים ניגשתי למרכז לימודי השפה היפנית בעיר שבה אני מתגוררת בחצי שנה האחרונה, צורוגה, כדי לברר על לימודים למבחן רמת שפה ביפנית. האישה החביבה שם חייכה [...]
 Yael Sela-Shapiro
29 Jan 2012 07:10:39 +0000
כנס לשון ראשון בראשל"צ - ממסיבה עברית פרועה עד משוררות עבריות חמורות סבר, מרטוש, טולקין ואריאל מחדשי השפה ועד האקדמיה ללשון עברית המשמרת אותה, בהשתתפות סחרוף, בלומין, קופטש ועוד
 Itamar Kastner
28 Jan 2012 07:15:13 +0000
ראיתי שלט גדול תלוי בבניין המדרגה באוניברסיטת חיפה בקיץ שעבר, "הפקולטה למשפטים מברכת ומחבקת את בוגריה", והמחשבה הראשונה שחלפה בראשי היתה: אוי לא, מה קרה? אפשר להירגע, לא קרה שום דבר (או כמו שהייקים אומרים, שום דבר קרה). בסה"כ עוד מחזור של פרחי משפטים סיים את לימודיו בהצלחה, אבל משהו במשפט הזה גרם לי להיחרד [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
28 Jan 2012 14:33:00 +0000
Words can express their meaning not only by an arbitrary process of defining them, but also in the sounds and facial expressions they produce. The first is known as onomatopoeia while the second has no name of which I am aware. Some classic examples in English for the former are to meow and squeak, the sounds that cats and rusty wheels make, respectively. If you wish to see a full chart of animal sounds, I recommend the following site: http://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/personal/dabbott/animal.html. I have to note that Hungarian cats make strange noises! Smiling requires many facial muscles as anybody who has waited for a baby to make his/her first smile would know. In English, the mi in “smile” widens the mouth perfectly while the rire in the French “sourire” does the same. The Hebrew חיוך [hi’ukh] and Russian улыбка [ulibka] create their smile from the last syllable also. Similarly, laughing is a generally a happy matter. Ignoring the difficulty of spelling it, the final f sound in “laugh” forces the lips to open as does the long e sound in the French “rire”. The Hebrew צחוק [tzhok] ends a mouth-opening long o and k sound. Of course, nothing beats the Russian words for laugh and laughter хахатать (hahatatz] and смех [smyeoch], which provides examples of both onomatopoeia and face forming words. So, next time you learn now to say something as important as laughing or smiling, remember that the choice of words is a serious affair.  AQText Translation Services
28 Jan 2012 19:56:47 +0000
Here is how to opt out of being tracked for targeted ads on Google
רוביק רוזנטל
Jan 26, 2012
אחמד טיבי מתוחכם לשונית, האקדמיה מוצאת פתרונות למושגים ...
Yael Cahane
25 Jan 2012 11:02:37 +0000
הפוסט היום לא קשור לתרגום או לשפות, לפחות באופן ישיר, אבל הרעיון מצא חן בעיניי כל כך שהחלטתי להפיץ אותו. ריקון תיבת הדואר כיום הוא בעיקר מטלה, כשכל מה שמצפה לנו שם הוא בעיקר חשבונות ופרסומות (ואולי הודעות על דבר דואר למי שקונה ברשת). אבל פעם, לפני אי-אלו שנים, ההצצה בתיבת הדואר הייתה כרוכה בציפייה: [...]
 Yael Sela-Shapiro
25 Jan 2012 08:00:18 +0000
עשור שלם גרתי על גבול תל אביב. ושנאתי אותה. שנאתי את הדוחק והמחנק והצפיפות, הפקקים והכיעור והמטוּת-לנפול. חיכיתי בכיליון עיניים כבר לצאת ממנה לישוב הקטן שבו קנינו מגרש. לא הבנתי את המשוגעים האלה שרוצים לגדל את הילדים שלהם בעיר, מקום שבו ילדים בני שנה כבר לומדים לדחות את הסיפוקים שלהם חצי שעה, כי זה זמן [...]
 Tamar Eilam Gindi
24 Jan 2012 10:09:40 +0000
מהפכה! הפועל העברי אינו מביע זמן. כמעט.
Yael Cahane
23 Jan 2012 09:37:14 +0000
לרובנו יש דעה על הנוהג של מירב מיכאלי לפנות לצופים בלשון נקבה, וכמעט כולנו שמענו שהאקדמיה אישרה להתייחס לקבוצה בלשון נקבה אם יש בה רוב נשי. זו אגדה אורבנית – האקדמיה מפרסמת באתרה התנגדות לכך: אם כן, נקיטת לשון זכר גם במקום שיש רוב נשים היא דרכה של העברית, ואין האקדמיה רואה עצמה רשאית לקבוע [...]
 Itamar Kastner
23 Jan 2012 20:59:53 +0000
אודה ולא אבוש: במהלך התחקיר לקראת כתיבת פוסט זה חלה מטמורפוזה בדעתי על הנושא. כהרגלנו, כמובן, תוך שלוש תגובות תוציאו אותי טמבל ואאלץ לשנות את דעתי שוב. זה התחיל כששמעתי אדם בשנות הארבעים לחייו מבקש מבתו לחייג מספר באייפון. אמרתי לעצמי "וואלה, רק מבוגרים אומרים 'לחייג'. המילה הזו איבדה את משמעותה המילולית, אין שום סיבה [...]
 AQText Translation Services
22 Jan 2012 10:48:58 +0000
Best productivity android applications for translators
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
21 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000
The food we eat is not only concrete, but also abstract, not referring to the state of its ripeness. Since fruit and vegetables are such a part of our daily life, they have entered our language also. In a loving family, a person can refer to his/her significant other as a sweet pumpkin and child as the apple of his eye. By contrast, being a couch potato is bad while being a vegetable is tragic. A Georgia Peach is one of the special pretty girls from the American South, with bright red cheeks (at least in my imagination). It is obvious that one should not buy a lemon because it is a very bad car. Someone who lets out a raspberry in public is embarrassed by the smell and can drive people bananas or crazy. It will definitely get you into a pickle, a difficult situation. French also has its green-based expressions. Mon chou-chou is a wonderful endearment which literally means my little cabbage. I suppose that it is no more illogical than calling someone a pumpkin. A woman referred to as a pruneau, a plum, is not flattered as it means that she has many wrinkles. A bad movie is a navet, a turnip, while raconter les salades means telling lies, literally telling lettuces. If you don’t have any radis, radishes, you are broke. (My appreciation to http://www.francaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-francais-2/exercice-francais-7627.php for some of the French terms.) I would be interested in hearing about other imaginative uses of fruits and vegetables.  בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
19 Jan 2012 09:10:47 +0000
הבלשן חיים רוזן קבע בשעתו, במסגרת הדיון ב"עברית ישראלית", שבשפה הישראלית החדשה לא רק נולדות מילים חדשות, אלא נוצרים בה דפוסי דקדוק, נוהגים תחביריים חדשים ועוד. במסגרת הדיון אני מציע להתבונן בהתמוטטותה של חומת הברזל בין "שמות עצם שיש להם צורת רבים" (כמו בית, ספינה או לב) לבין "שמות עצם שאין להם צורת רבים" (כמו [...]
 Yael Cahane
18 Jan 2012 11:48:14 +0000
נתקלתי היום בכתבה מעניינת של The Jewish Daily Forward המספרת את סיפורו של המילון היידי-יפני. זהו המילון הראשון מיידיש לשפה שאינה אירופית ואינה עברית, וערך אותו קַזוּאוׁ אוּאֶדָה, מרצה במחלקה לגרמנית באוניברסיטת פוּקוּאוֹקַה. המילון כולל יותר מ-28 אלף ערכים. הרב מרווין טוקאייר, שהיה הרב היחיד ביפן בסוף שנות השישים, מספר בכתבה על המפגש הראשון שלו עם [...]
 Yael Sela-Shapiro
18 Jan 2012 07:51:00 +0000
הקשיבו הקשיבו! הנחת הציפור המקדימה (הנחת הקופץ בראש?) ברישום לכנס אגודת המתרגמים עומדת להיגמר בעוד יומיים (20 בינואר). הכנס מתקיים גם השנה במלון קראון פלאזה בירושלים, בתאריכים 13-15 בפברואר. אז רבותי, ובעיקר גבירותי, אני מזכירה שכנס הוא הזדמנות מצוינת להכיר קולגות, ושחלק מאד משמעותי מהעבודה שלנו מגיע דרך קולגות, ולכן המשוואה פשוטה (תפתרו אותה לבד [...]
 מארק לוינסון
18 Jan 2012 00:20:37 +0200
I don’t find many dictionary definitions of להבדיל. Dov Ben Abba’s dictionary in Signet paperback says “not to be mentioned together,” which makes sense — or at least reasonable partial sense, since whenever we say להבדיל we are indeed mentioning things together, while simultaneously we point out that they are not to be compared except in the narrow sense that we intend.
Take Nina's Word for It
17 Jan 2012 10:28:00 +0000
After two months of reading nothing but work-related [badly-written] texts and depressing news items, and writing nothing but work-related [hopefully well-crafted] texts, plus the occasional personal email and status update on Facebook, I am back to real reading and writing. Yay! I'll hold off with the pat on the back, though, until I make some noticeable progress. Reading: Grahame Greene, again. This time: The Comedians. Though I'm supplying a link, it contains spoilers so I don't suggest you read it if you plan on reading the book. It was recommended and lent to me by the admirable Noam Sheizaf . Admirable for many reasons, not merely the fact that he's the father of Baby Momo [see pic at end of post], though that of course is a huge feather in his cap, not that he often wears one. "It's like all Grahame Greene novels," Noam warned me. And so it is. The preface itself, pages 5-6, is worth far-more-than its weight in gold. The first two pages had me already rushing to Google/Wikipedia three times, to look up The Tontons Macoute, "Exegi monumentum", and pompes funebres, considerably broadening my general knowledge. And by page 23 I felt an overwhelming need to go back to page 1 and start over, in order to get the pieces of the puzzle straight in my mind, and make sure I was picking up on all the hints. Okay, so it's going to have a heart-rending end – you know that as soon as you read that Jones is dead (Chapter 1, 5th line, not exactly a spoiler). What else is new. But it is oh-so-gooood! Writing: He/she, or they? I've been watching episodes of Steven Fry's fascinating series Planet Word . Highly recommend for people in love with language. Or with Fry. Or both. Fry, whose vocabulary is immense, and who must be one of the better users of the English language, seems quite open to change and willing to accept new words, new status of old words, and new usage of existing words, not to mention changes in grammatically accepted structures. In fact, to him, the vitality and constant evolution of language is a thrilling thing in itself. Shouldn't we translators and editors be more like him? Less sticklers for stiff grammar-and-usage rules, and more open to creative use of language? In our personal lives, yes, sure. In our daily work we can't always afford to. While you or I may approve of the way your client expresses herself – be she a university prof preparing a paper for publication or a shop owner preparing an ad for the weekend local magazine – you have to keep your target audience in mind. Not all readers will understand or appreciate your client's usage. The other day my friend L. sent me the following question: "…So I finally found the time to finish up this really interesting academic article, and something really bothers me. He [the client] keeps mixing "their" with the singular. E.g.: "This naturally increases one’s commitment to their faith and the group." I keep correcting him, and I have explained to him that social convention (gender consideration) aside, he can't bend the grammar rules. Am I right to insist? I told him it had to be "This naturally increases one’s commitment to his or her faith and the group." [you can also use either one of the pronouns, but it must be singular] Am I right?" Grammatically, of course she's right. But usage-wise, we can't help it, things change. Attitudes change and the language changes with it. As it happens, in a recent job I was grappling with the same question. I was translating a booklet from Hebrew to English, and it was full of general descriptions of things people say and do, which, in English, required the use of "he/she", or "they", or "one", or "people". Constantly having to choose between these solutions got really tiresome. So I was tempted to use "their", but my inner grammarian balked... I recalled that the problem cropped up on the Chicago Manual of Style forum, and after some searching, found it online:
[Copyright: The Chicago Manual of Style] Bottom line? Suit yourself... ----------------------------------------------------------- As promised, a pic of Noam with Baby Momo:   Tamar Eilam Gindi
17 Jan 2012 10:15:13 +0000
הלל גרשוני ראיין אותי בג'יטוק על ספרי המצוין ועל איראן בכלל, ויצא מזה ראיון מקסים ב"בשבע". יום אחד גם ניפגש בחיים האמיתיים. מה שמעניין באמת, הוא שמהראיון הזה בעיתון שלא חשבתי שהוא מהנפוצים, קיבלתי יותר תגובות מכל פרסום אחר במדיה העבריים. המייל של אשר אפרתי מנתיבות העלה שאלות מעניינות מכדי להשאיר אותן בין שנינו. אני [...]
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Jan 16, 2012
The expanded program for the 2012 ITA conference is now on the ITA site.
The program and information about registration are here:
http://ita.org.il/index.php?cnt=conferences
Yael Cahane
16 Jan 2012 13:05:29 +0000
לאחרונה קראתי שני פוסטים נהדרים למתרגמים מתחילים (ובכלל), שאפשר להפיק מהם ומהתגובות להם המון. הפוסט הראשון הוא של ג'יל, Advice for a new translator on job hunting. בעקבות פנייה של קוראת בבלוג, ג'יל נתנה לה ולקוראים עשר עצות למתרגם המתחיל. המגיבים נתנו עוד עצות, שהטובה מהן לדעתי היא "תעשו כל יום משהו למען העסק שלכם. [...]
 הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
16 Jan 2012 12:23:34 +0000
1. איזו שנה בלוח השנה הסיני מתחילה בקרוב? א. יש לסינים לוח שנה משלהם? (50 נק') ב. משהו עם חיות, לא בטוח איזה… (100 נק') ג. שנת הדרקון, כמו לפני 12 שנה. (200 נק') 2. מתי מתחילה השנה הסינית? א. בסילווסטר. זה היה כבר, לא? (50 נק') ב. מתישהו בסוף ינואר, אם אני לא [...]
 Itamar Kastner
15 Jan 2012 18:00:10 +0000
יש סיכוי טוב שאני עומד לחדש לכם משהו ברשומה הזו, אם לשפוט מהתגובות המופתעות של חברים אותם שאלתי. בואו נדמיין שחפצה נפשכם בהורדת סרט מהרשת. יכול להיות שתמצאו את עצמכם בפורום זניח, בפתיל שנפתח כך: והשאלה היא: מה קורה בכותרת ההודעה הזו. מה זה לעזאזל "איכות סוסה"? איך מבטאים את זה בכלל? אתם מוזמנים לגגל [...]
 Yael Sela-Shapiro
15 Jan 2012 09:00:19 +0000
אהרן מגד הוא עוד אחד שאני מוכנה לחרוג למענו מעקרונותי לא לקרוא ספרות יפה. בעיקר אני מחבבת את הספר "הגמל המעופף ודבשת הזהב", שמגולל את סיפורו של סופר ומתרגם שיום אחד נוחת בדירה מעליו מבקר ספרות השנוא עליו במיוחד. סערה בכוס תה, אתם אומרים? כן, בהחלט. אבל מצחיק ושנון. למגד יש אוהדים רבים, ובעוד כמה [...]
 רוביק רוזנטל
Jan 12, 2012
אילו גלגולים עבר הכינוי "כושי"? מהו מקור המילה "פרוצה"? ...
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
12 Jan 2012 10:39:00 +0000
The verb to have seems like a such basic thing. Every language must have one, of course? Actually, while the Latin-based languages do, other languages have invented others ways to signal possession. While the English to have and the French avoir are possessive verbs in themselves, Russian and Hebrew used somewhat complex structures: у меня есть [u menya yest] and יש לי [yesh li], literally meaning there is to me. Somehow the existential verb to be gets involved, with the possessor being marked as an object, not a subject of the sentence. The situation becomes much hotter (or colder) when viewing how people feel. The straightforward English I am cold become J’ai froid [I have cold] in French, мне холодно [mene holodno] or קר לי [kar li] cold to me in Russian and Hebrew, respectively. As for eating, in English, one has breakfast, lunch, and dinner whereas, in French and Hebrew, people more logically eat those meals. Russian is the most efficient by having specific verbs: завтракать [zavtrakatz] and обедать [obedatz]. An unsuspecting American or Brit risks ridicule by saying Je suis plein(e) after a meal, literally translating I am full, unless it is a woman, who may be congratulated. The French phrase means I am pregnant. I’ll leave on that note and hope that you have a good day.  Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Jan 11, 2012
איגוד כללי של סופרים בישראל מזמין:
"קול באישה - שירה"- אירוע מחאה בהשתתפות משוררות ומשוררים
אירוע מחאה בהשתתפות משוררות ומשוררים
בבית העם, שדרות רוטשילד 69, ת"א
יום שלישי, 24 בינואר, 2011
בהשתתפות
מיכל סנונית, רוני סומק, חגית גרוסמן, מתי שמואלוף, רחל חלפי, נידאא חורי, אשר רייך, לורן מילק, זיוה שמיר, קרן אלקלעי -גוט, אודיה גנור, עמית מאוטנר, שרה בלאו, תהל פרוש, דנה לובינסקי, ניצן מינץ, שולמית חוה הלוי, שירי זינגר, דניאל עוז, דניאל באומגרטן, תום הדני, עינת הראל
מנחה
גד קינר
מוסיקה וזימרה
ליליה, יואב שושני וג'סיקה קראץ
Itamar Kastner
11 Jan 2012 17:50:04 +0000
וואו. כריס מאנינג ודן ג'ורפסקי, שני בלשנים חישוביים מוערכים מסטנפורד, מלמדים קורס בעיבוד שפה טבעית, בחינם, דרך האינטרנט, החל מה-23 לחודש. הם חוקרים כל כך מוכשרים, והרעיון הזה כל כך מלהיב, שזה שווה פוסט שלם רק בשביל קישור אחד: כל הפרטים כאן. מומלץ לצפות גם בסרטון הקצר שבו שני החוקרים מזמינים אתכם לקורס; הוא נראה [...]
 Yael Sela-Shapiro
10 Jan 2012 08:00:56 +0000
התקציר לעצלנים: למרכז הספר והספריות בישראל הוקצה תקציב לשנת 2011. חלקו הועבר כמובטח; המרכז ומפעליו השונים, שאחד מהם הוא המפעל לתרגום ספרות מופת, התחייבו התחייבויות שונות על סמך התקציב המאושר, התחייבויות שנועדו לקדם את הספרים, הקריאה והתרגום בישראל. האוצר מסרב להעביר את יתרת התקציב המגיע למרכז על פי ספר התקציב. לפיכך, גופים רבים שהתחייבו לשלם [...]
 ביירון בלוג
09 Jan 2012 16:11:55 +0000
מי כתב את "המפוזר מכפר אז"ר"? כל אחד יידע לנקוב בשמה של לאה גולדברג. מעטים יודעים שהספר נכתב במקור בשפה הרוסית על ידי שמואל מהרש"ק. במהדורה החדשה של הספר בהוצאת "עם עובד" מוזכר שמו של מהרש"ק רק בעמוד השלישי. מי שגדל בבית דובר רוסית מכיר את מהרש"ק. שיריו אהובים ומוכרים לצעירים ולמבוגרים. מהרש"ק נולד ברוסיה [...]
אין פוסטים דומים.
ביירון בלוג
08 Jan 2012 07:01:13 +0000
לאחר בחינה של מספר רב של מתרגמים מערבית לעברית, חברת ביירון גייסה, בשעה טובה, מתרגם אינהאוס לצמד שפות זה. ביירון עוברת תהליך של ארגון מחדש בו יוכנסו לחברה יותר ויותר מתרגמים שיעבדו ממשרדי החברה בבילו סנטר שליד רחובות. הצורך במתרגם אינהאוס מעברית לערבית נובע מזכייה של ביירון במספר מכרזים ממשלתיים ובדרישה הולכת וגוברת של לקוחות [...]
אין פוסטים דומים.
Yael Cahane
08 Jan 2012 10:15:11 +0000
רוב המתרגמים עובדים לבד בבית, ולכן הם לא נהנים (או סובלים) מהמסגרת החברתית המובנית במקומות עבודה אחרים, ורובנו צריכים להיות אקטיביים כדי להכיר את הקולגות שלנו. למה כדאי להכיר קולגות? תמיכה מקצועית - מתרגמים אחרים יוכלו לייעץ בהתמודדות עם מצבים בעייתיים כמו לקוח שלא משלם, וגם לעזור ולחסוך לכם זמן במציאת מינוח ותעתוק מילים. רישות מקצועי - [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
08 Jan 2012 15:47:00 +0000
As cooking shows have become such a major part of television, at least in Israel on Friday, cooking vocabulary has become more widely used and required. For those who would like to understand what the fat man with the spoon is saying, here is a list of terms: Cooking is using heat to prepare the main part of the meal while baking is using the oven to prepare desserts and breads, although there are some baked main courses. A low flame on the gas is called sauté while an even lower one is called to simmer; frying is cooking over a flame with a decent amount of oil; deep frying has enough oil to cover the item, as in French fries or chips; wokking refers to cooking with a semi-cylinder shaped iron pan with little oil, but at a high temperature (as compared to walking the dog, of course, which can be done every day). Seering means either using the broiler or gas to cook the outside of a meat to seal its flavor. Roasting is cooking in the oven. Broiling is using the top burner only, convenient when it is too cold or rainy to barbeque. A pot roast is placing meat in a pot with some juice and cooking over the gas. Poaching is cooking fish in a pan filled with water. (Poached salmon is not by definition illegal unless you poach poached salmon.) Flambé involves lighting alcohol with sugar to create a caramel sauce over a dessert. If you are hungry, go prepare some food!  רוביק רוזנטל
Jan 05, 2012
על רקע החידושים הלשוניים של "האח הגדול 4", הזירה הלשונית ...
Yael Cahane
04 Jan 2012 08:41:49 +0000
הראיון היום הוא עם קרן נייזר-כהן, מתרגמת משפטית ועסקית ומרצה בקורס תרגום עסקי ומשפטי באוניברסיטת תל אביב. איך הגעת לתרגום? עבדתי כעורכת דין ובעקבות מאורע משפחתי ששינה לחלוטין את ראיית חיי החלטתי לעסוק במה שתמיד משך אותי – שפות. בתור מתמחה ועורכת דין תרגמתי מסמכים משפטיים רבים אך כעת זו "משרה מלאה+". במקרה או שלא [...]
 Tamar Eilam Gindi
04 Jan 2012 10:14:01 +0000
- האם יש קשר בין המילים אמרכל ו-מרכול?
- למה שיהיה?
- אז זהו שיש. ליתר דיוק, זאת אותה מילה בפרסית.
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Jan 03, 2012
דף אגודת המתרגמים ב- Facebook
http://tinyurl.com/7py32xz
Yael Cahane
02 Jan 2012 15:34:40 +0000
החנות תולעת ספרים והאגודה לקידום הלימודים הקלאסיים בישראל משתפים פעולה בסדרת הרצאות תחת הכותרת "העולם הקלאסי ואנחנו". ההרצאה הראשונה תהיה של המתרגם והמשורר אהרן שבתאי, ונושא ההרצאה הוא "מיוונית לעברית: התרגום כנקודת מפגש בין תרבות יוון לתרבות ישראל". ההרצאה תתקיים ביום ג' ה-10 בינואר בשעה 20:00 בדיוק, התכנסות החל מ-19:00, בתולעת ספרים במזא"ה 7 בתל [...]
 בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
02 Jan 2012 09:39:18 +0000
מבין אותיות בכל"מ יש לאות היחס בֵּית מעמד מיוחד. במונחי משחק הכדורגל אפשר לומר שהיא מעין שחקן חופשי. היא מציינת מקום, שהוא כנראה מקור ההתפשטות המרשימה שלה: בבית, ברמת גן. היא מציינת זמן, וממחישה בכך את עירוב השימושים של זמן ומקום: בבוקר, בשנה הבאה. היא משמשת לתיאורי אופן: במהירות, בשקט, בידידות. היא מחליפה ברצון את [...]
 Yael Cahane
01 Jan 2012 18:17:01 +0000
בבלוג הספריות של אוניברסיטת תל אביב מתפרסמים מדי פעם לינקים מעניינים, ובשבוע שעבר הם פרסמו לינק לרשימה של 35 אתרים להורדת ספרים אלקטרוניים בחינם. טרם הספקתי לחטט בהם, אבל אתרים כאלה יכולים להיות מקור למילונים ולספרי סגנון ודקדוק. חדשה מעניינת נוספת היא שמילון קולינס עלה לאינטרנט בחינם, יש שיאמרו באיחור של עשור. המילון עלה לאוויר [...]
 Itamar Kastner
31 Dec 2011 07:55:02 +0000
הדס שלחה מוקדם יותר השבוע את הציטוט להלן, מתוך כתבה בטמקא על חדירה לפרטיותם של זוגות הורים חד-מיניים: איני מבינה מה מעניין את מערכת החינוך אם אדם הוא חד מיני או דו-מיני. מקור הבלבול ברור למדי. למען הסדר הטוב: "חד-מיני" הוא שם תואר שיכול לתאר זוג (ששני השותפים בו בני אותו מין), או (נגיד) אדם (שהעדפתו [...]
 Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Dec 30, 2011
ביום שני , 2 בפברואר 2012 בשעה 19:00
במסגרת "מדע על הפאב" בפאב נולה סוקס בנווה שאנן חיפה יהיו ההרצאות הבאות:
מהמוח למכונה ובחזרה - רועי צזנה (ננו- טכנולוגיה, הטכניון)
אלף לילה ולילה - ד"ר חנה עמית-כוכבי (ביה"ס לתרגום, בר אילן)
הכניסה חינם - מומלץ להזמין מקום מראש
לפרטים והזמנות - 077-7929159
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
30 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000
People are sometimes identified by their country of origin. The question is what you call them. In many languages, the native noun has a predicable form based on the name of the country. However, due to the wide variety of endings on country names, it is sometimes difficult to predict how to name the person. In English, if a country ends in a or o, the person generally ends in an. People from Liberia and Morocco are called Liberians and Moroccans. In some cases, the suffix ian is used, as for Argentineans and Canadians. Ese is occasionally used as in having dinner with a Chinese and a Portuguese. Some nationality nouns use the country as a base form and take off some letters, as in Turks, Germans, and Greeks. There are suffixes that are used in rare cases. Ard is only found in Spaniards, while “i’ is used for Israelis, Iraqis, and Bengalis. People from Latvia and Finland are Letts and Finns, respectively. Some natives don’t even have a special form, using the country name as an adjective. People from France, Ireland, and Britain are known as Frenchmen (or women), Irishmen, and Englishmen, although the latter may be called Brits. Then, there are the Dutch, who come from the Netherlands. Aside from the official name of the nationality, there are nicknames, some of them derogatory and some not. Canadians are sometimes called Canucks (I don’t know whether they like it or not) whereas an older term for Brits is Limeys, since they were the first to have the sailors eat lime juice to avoid scurvy. To the best of my knowledge, Australians have no problems being Aussies, although New Zealanders hate being called such since they are definitely not that. If you don’t know what you are, check the dictionary. Personally, I am an Israeli, American, and Frenchman with a little bit Iraqi from my previous marriage and can be found under the term ethnic salad.  Yael Cahane
29 Dec 2011 16:58:23 +0000
יום אחרי שהודיעו על פרסום התוכנית ופתיחת ההרשמה של הכינוס השנתי הבא של אגודת המתרגמים, הודיעו היום על המפגש החודשי הבא, שיתקיים ב-17 בינואר 2012 בשעות 17:00-20:30 בבית ציוני אמריקה בתל אביב. כמו במפגש הקודם, גם הפעם הערב יוקדש למרצה אחת בלבד, ד"ר לילך ניישטט-ברונשטיין, חוקרת שירה ואקטיביסטית. ניישטט-ברונשטיין תרגמה את "קריסטבל", יצירתו הבלתי-גמורה של [...]
 רוביק רוזנטל
Dec 29, 2011
מרגול, משה קצב, גלעד שליט ובנימין נתניהו הם בין האנשים ...
Tamar Eilam Gindi
29 Dec 2011 13:13:54 +0000
הערב יש לי הרצאה בקיבוץ רמת הכובש, במסגרת קורס בשם שלוש יבשות, שלוש תרבויות, שלוש דתות – אחד אלוהינו! הקורס עוסק במזרח התיכון (אנחנו לא נחשבים. התרבויות הן התרבות האיראנית, הערבית וקצת הטורקית), וההרצאה של היום היא על שירת מחאה באיראן. אלה הסרטונים שהם הולכים לראות שם, תרגומים ופרשנויות בסדרת פוסטים נפרדים. נתחיל בביקורת על התרבות, [...]
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Dec 28, 2011
Registration for the ITA Conference Now Open!!!
כינוס אגודת המתרגמים בישראל 2012
15-13 בפברואר, 2012
מלון קראון פלאזה, ירושלים
נפתחה ההרשמה!
לפרטים על התכנית, על המחירים ולהרשמה
http://ita.org.il/index.php?cnt=conferences
הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
28 Dec 2011 08:59:26 +0000
לא רק פרות, לא רק שאנטי באנטי, לא רק סרטי בוליווד, קבצנים ברחובות, נקודה אדומה על המצח, צלילי סיטאר, טאנדורי צ'יקן ואלפי תרמילאים ישראלים אחרי הצבא. הודו היא הרבה יותר מכל אלה. המדינה השניה בגודלה בעולם, בעצם הדמוקרטיה הגדולה בעולם, היא היום מעצמה כלכלית אדירה עם כוח קניה בלתי נתפס שאין גוף עסקי בעולם שיכול [...]
 ביירון בלוג
27 Dec 2011 15:01:08 +0000
לפני מספר שנים קראתי ספר מעולה על ניהול בשם להוביל ולנצח! מאת ג'ק וולץ'. הפרק הראשון של הספר מדבר על ערכים ומשימות, ומדגיש כי חזון החברה חייב להכיל משימות פשוטות להבנה, המשקפות את ערכי החברה. הערך הראשון בחזון חברת ביירון משקף פשטות זו: "להיות חברה מס' 1 בישראל מבחינת איכות שירותי השפות שלנו."
תרגום טכני הוא [...]
פוסטים דומים:
ביירון בלוג
26 Dec 2011 13:38:23 +0000
חברת ביירון מלמדת אנגלית מאז הקמתה בשנת 1986. אנו שמחים להודיע על פתיחת סניף חדש של ביירון בבילו סנטר ליד רחובות. במקום יש מספר חדרים אשר משמשים ככיתות לימוד לשיעורים פרטיים באנגלית ברחובות ולשיעורים בקבוצות של עד 8 תלמידים. לרגל פתיחת הסניף החדש אנו מציעים הנחה של 1200 ש"ח לנרשמים במהלך חודש ינואר. יתקיימו קורסים [...]
אין פוסטים דומים.
ביירון בלוג
26 Dec 2011 13:50:21 +0000
האם נתקלתם בעבר בחוברת הוראות למשתמש אשר עייפה אתכם כבר תוך כדי קריאת המשפט השני? סביר להניח שמחברה של חוברת זו לא השכיל לבחור בשפה הנוחה לקריאה. רבים הכתבים הטכניים המתחילים אשר נוטים לבלבל ולזהות שפה טכנית עם כתיבה טכנית. ניתן להבין את שורש הבלבול, שכן כתיבה שהיא טכנית, לכאורה חייבת לעשות שימוש בשפה טכנית. [...]
פוסטים דומים:
English with Linda
26 Dec 2011 07:07:24 +0000
This arrived in my inbox. It’s too cute not to pass on, but unfortunately, I can’t find to whom to credit it, especially the lovely pictures. If you own the copyright to them, please let me know so that I can credit you. A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to help [...]
 Itamar Kastner
24 Dec 2011 03:52:12 +0000
מתן מזור שלח לדסק חגי ישראל של דגש קל (באמת? אנחנו עדיין עושים את הבדיחה הזו עם הדסקים?) את החנוכיה התחבירית החביבה הזו, ואנו שמחים לשתף אותה עם קוראינו. חג שמח! Filed under: מנהלה, עברית, פוסט אורח, צחוקים, תחביר
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
23 Dec 2011 16:21:00 +0000
Reality is often quite ironic. In the Western World, the only place where almost everybody is working on Jesus’ birthday is in the place he was born. Throughout Europe and the United States, people will be taking this Sunday off, with only a few luckless individuals having to work. (I have worked holidays; Even the extra pay does not make it feel better.) Just in Israel, the birthplace of Jesus, is Sunday a regular working day, albeit with the kids off for Hanukah. Not only that, there is no sign of snow or reindeers here, not mention, aside from a few Christian villages, any sound of Christmas carols. In fact, the winter solstice holiday in Israel remains pleasantly banal. People go to work, unless they work in high tech or some other industry so tied to Europe and the United States that it makes no sense for a business to remain open. Every night until Wednesday, a candle will be lit and a few short prayers and songs sung in honor of Hanukah. The Moslems and Druze have no holiday at this time. So, they conduct business as usual. The Christians will spend their holiday with their families, but it is not a very public celebration in most places. In fact, the most significant signs that there is any holiday at all are the omnipresent sufganiot [doughnuts], the smell of levivot [potato pancakes], and malls packed with kids and teenagers trying to spend their money as fast as they can. They of course are quite happy to be excused from school for a week, the exact same feeling their teachers have. On the bright side, people in Israel are not assaulted by fat men wearing red clothing, a constant background of cheerful songs, the pangs of guilt and foot pain involved in buying gifts, and a week of too much alcohol and food, not to mention fascinating small talk. This is almost a normal week. For us freelancers, we have two weeks of being in great demand as our colleagues in the West are generally busy socializing. Still, I would not protest if someone offered me an eggnog, nice and strong of course, and sang once, but only once, and in key Little Drummerboy. Aside from that, I prefer the Israeli version of the holiday atmosphere. It is quite possible that Jesus would feel at home with it.  אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
22 Dec 2011 22:40:48 +0000
מי אמר שהוצאות הספרים זונחות את הפנטזיה? בדיוק היום פורסמה הכתבה הזאת של בועז כהן המצוין (אם אינכם קוראים את הבלוג שלו, לונדון קולינג, הגיע הזמן שתתחילו), שהובילה לתגובה הזאת של דידי חנוך בבלוג של הוצאת גרף… ובתוך כל הדיון המעניין הזה על מצבה של ספרות המד"ב והפנטזיה, רואה אור בתרגומי ספר פנטזיה לנוער (בהוצאת … Continue reading
 רוביק רוזנטל
Dec 22, 2011
מה להדרת נשים ולהדר? מדוע אומרים מאיון ולא מאון? אילו ...
אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
21 Dec 2011 18:46:26 +0000
נתחיל מהסוף… החלטות. לכבוד 2012 הממשמשת ובאה, החלטתי לחזור לפוסט קבלת החלטות משנה שעברה, ולבדוק מה השתנה, אם בכלל. המסקנות לא משוּ. לא רק שלא "בזבזתי זמן" על הבלוג, אפילו הזנחתי אותו קשות… ולא בגלל ששמתי קץ להתעסקות העצמית, חלילה. מכאן נובע שגם לא כתבתי פוסטים לתפארת מדינת ישראל, גם לא לתפארת המגזר (מתרגמים ועורכים), … Continue reading
 Itamar Kastner
21 Dec 2011 18:00:18 +0000
נגיד שאתם רוצים להעמיד פנים שאתם כוח אויב שנלחם עם צה"ל. מה נדרש מכם? אם עניתם "כאפייה", "מגאפון", "מדים", "דגלי פלסטין", "חולצה מכופתרת" או "חוסר שליטה מוחלט בשפה הערבית" – צדקתם! במסגרת תחביב פענוח השלטים שלנו נבדוק מה קורה לעזאזל בכתבה שהתפרסמה אתמול בטמקא, צה"ל מקים 'פלוגת אויב' שתירה טילים כמו בעזה (יואב זיתון, 21/12/11). [...]
 Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Dec 20, 2011
המדור הלשוני של Columbia Journalism Review קיבץ קישורים לבלוגים שעוסקים בשפה האנגלית תחת הכותרת Blogs for grammar geeks
http://www.cjr.org/language_corner/language_free.php
Itamar Kastner
19 Dec 2011 03:49:33 +0000
לקראת סוף מהדורת "תיק תקשורת" האחרונה נשאלו הפאנליסטים הנכבדים האם לדעתם ערוץ 10 ישרוד את חודש ינואר הקרוב. אחרי שמודי כידון נתן באופטימיות הערכה חיובית, מסר אמנון לוי את התשובה הבאה: אני תמיד הולך עם זה שלידי. ובאחת חלפו לנגד עיניי קורסי המבוא לסמנטיקה. הביטוי "זה שלידי", הביטוי "הולך עם" (במשמעות "מסכים עם") ותיאור הזמן "תמיד" מאפשרות [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
19 Dec 2011 08:03:00 +0000
Every language is shaped by the experience of its speakers. The sea and (European) football have shaped England. Ranching and its wilderness experience have shaped Australia. One of the strongest influences on modern American language is sport. While American football and basketball attract more fans per game, American baseball attracts more people per season and strongly impacts the language. If life throws you a curveball, you have an unpleasant surprise. A person who is called a minor leaguer does not get much respect. If you strike you, you had no success. Speaking of scoring, teenagers used to refer to a date’s progress by how far the boy got, i.e. a kiss was first base while the mythical homerun was generally a lie at that age. A ballpark figure is an approximate number while a bleacher bum is an uneducated, boorish individual who is always criticizing. If your batting average is poor, you are not successful most of the time. A person who tries hard until the bitter (or maybe happy) end knows that It isn’t over until the fat lady sings. A screwball is a completely strange person. The world series is where the best play each other So, whether you like watching baseball or not, baseball is a part of America’s language.  Yael Sela-Shapiro
19 Dec 2011 07:33:49 +0000
כמו בשנה שעברה, גם השנה התוכנית לתרגום ולעריכת תרגום באוניברסיטת תל אביב פותחת סדנה מיוחדת לעורכים ולעורכי תרגום. מנסיוני בשנה שעברה, הקורס היה מועיל מאד הן לעורכים והן למתרגמים. הקדימו להירשם מפני שבשנה שעברה, רבים נשארו וחצי תאוותם בידם "מפגשי עבודה עם עורכי תרגום" לימודי תעודה בתרגום ועריכת תרגום הסדרה תתקיים בימי ד' בשעות 16:00-18:00 [...]
 בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
19 Dec 2011 10:29:22 +0000
ברשימה הקודמת עסקתי בכפיות הטובה של השפה, ולא רק העברית, לידידו הטוב של האדם, הכלב. יש משהו משותף לכלב ולדמות אנושית, הסבתא. גם הסבתא זוכה לכאורה לנחשולי אהבה, ונחשבת נציגת החוכמה העממית העוברת מדור לדור. אבל כשמחטטים בעולם הדימויים והצירופים שמציעה השפה מתברר שהסבתא היא מעין שק חבטות, דמות מזולזלת, בוודאי לא נציגת החוכמה עלי [...]
 מארק לוינסון
18 Dec 2011 00:18:20 +0200
A contributor to “Better than English” writes that פירגון is “An act of saying nice things or doing nice things to another person without any other purpose, but to make the other feel good about what he is or what he does” but another contributor responds that “It can also be to share the credit with someone or not try to stab them in the back. Not to be jealous of someone’s accomplishments.”
Itamar Kastner
16 Dec 2011 13:44:16 +0000
שוב עידוק מציל את בלוגנו מבצורת ארוכה מדי: נכון, נרג כתבו בתחילת הכתבה "הקרע שובר שיאים חדשים", וכל-כך עפו על עצמם שגם חזרו על זה בכותרת המשנה: "המתיחות שוברת שיאים חדשים". אך מה זה, בעצם, לשבור שיא חדש? מבחינה סמנטית טהורה, מדובר או בשטות או בהפחתת העוצמה: אם השיא החדש הוא זה שנקבע הרגע, הוא [...]
 רוביק רוזנטל
Dec 15, 2011
ספר ילדים חדש כתוב בשפה שאיש לא מדבר בה, הביטוי "תג ...
Itamar Kastner
11 Dec 2011 19:31:17 +0000
מזה יותר משנה שאני מקבל בערב שבת איגרת דוא"ל שבועית מיעקב עציון עם הטור השבועי עוד מילה, הגיג אטימולוגי שחושף צדדים שונים של מילים בעברית. למשל, ידעתם שבתנ"ך לא מוזכר אף אחד מהימים בשמו ("יום שני")? פרופ' יצחק קלוזנר הציע ב-1929 לקרוא לימות השבוע על שם הכוכבים, כמו בלעז: שמשום, ירחום, מאדימום, כוכבום, צדקום, נגהום, [...]
 הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
11 Dec 2011 11:44:20 +0000
השנה היא 1957. המקום:מוסקוה. קהל עצום של סטודנטים סינים צופה נרגש עד דמעות במנהיג הסיני הבלי מעורער מאו זה דונג שקפץ לביקור מפתיע בבירת ברית המועצות. " העולם הוא שלכם" קרא מאו, "הוא גם שלנו, אבל בסופו של דבר הוא שלכם – אתם הצעירים, אתם הנוער, אתם העתיד, אתם כמו פרחים רעננים, כמו השמש בשעות [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
09 Dec 2011 15:06:00 +0000
While it is true that the whole world works on a week of seven days and an official calendar of 365.25 days, it does not mean that the pace of the time is identical in all countries. In each country, there is a time for business and time for other things. Whether you like it or not, you have to take these patterns into account when doing business. For example, in the good old days of Brezhnev at the time of the Soviet Union, wary consumers, if they had a choice of course, never bought anything made on a Monday, Friday, or the last week of the month. The workers had hangovers on the first day and were hurrying to meet quota at the other times. In Paris, it is best to take care of official business, including banking and post office, in the morning as the clerks become down-right unpleasant as the end of the work day approaches. In Germany, the unions prevent stores from staying open late, meaning shopping is hectic between 4-6 in the afternoon and then almost shuts down completely afterwards. In the Mediterranean basin, due to the heat, except for shops in modern, air-conditioned malls, most establishments close between two and four in the afternoon. On the bright side, they stay open late. Most countries in the West have a real two day weekend, except for those working in retail. In the United States, Saturday has become a big errand day, with even banks giving into competition and opening half days on Saturday. The term bankers’ hours no longer means short working days. By contrast, Sunday is spent reading the especially long Sunday paper and watching football games on TV during the season for those who are football fans. Israel has a completely different rhythm to life. Friday is an intense half day of work. The local joke is that Friday is a SEX day, referring to the Hebrew initials for mopping, shopping, and cooking. However, on Friday afternoon, many people take a long nap in the afternoon. Saturday for most people is doing things they don’t have to do, however they define it. Some people take hikes while others go shopping (In the stores, by law at least, only non-Jews can be forced to work on Saturday, the Sabbath). The Sabbath for most non-religious people is a busy but fun day. On the other hand, while the rest of world is resting on Sunday, Israelis are back to work. Monday has a different meaning in Israel than elsewhere. Each place to its pace.  רוביק רוזנטל
Dec 08, 2011
עם כניסתו של האזרח מספר אחת לכלא, מגיש "הזירה הלשונית" ...
Tamar Eilam Gindi
08 Dec 2011 10:15:05 +0000
ביום שלישי השבוע ציינו השיעים את העאשוראא', יום האבל על הירצחו של האמאם חסין בן עלי (חוסיין). הבלוגר והמעצב הגרפי בָּאבַּכּ אִירָאן-בָּאן פרסם ביום שלישי פוסט בשם אילו אמאם חסין היה יודע לא הייתה היום עאשוראא'. אני מתרגמת אותו כלשונו עם כמה הערות. אני תוהה: אדם הקריב את ראשו עבור אמונתו, כדי להשמיע את קולו. הוא נלחם במלחמה שידע [...]
GevaTrans Blog
05 Dec 2011 13:44:11 +0000
 Rather than ranting and raving about the problems we have on a daily basis, I thought it may be useful to give freelance linguists an insight (and yes, I mean linguists and not specifically translators, editors or proofreaders) that could maybe help you to get prospective clients to do more than skim over your CV [...]בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
04 Dec 2011 11:47:31 +0000
הפתגם אומר שהכלב הוא ידידו הטוב ביותר של האדם. השפה מספרת לנו סיפור אחר לגמרי: מדובר בידידות בעירבון מוגבל, לפחות מצידו של האדם לכלב. אם היה הכלב יודע מה אומרים עליו בני האדם, היה מהרהר בינו לבין עצמו, שעם ידידים כאלה אין לו צורך באויבים. אז מהו הכלב, על פי השפה? "כלב" סתם הוא כינוי [...]
 אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
03 Dec 2011 07:08:34 +0000
אם אתם בדרך ללונדון, ב-7 בדצמבר תתקיים ב-City University הרצאה שנשמעת מעניינת מאוד, History of Translation: From Scroll to Hypertext. המרצה היא ד"ר קארין ליטאו מאוניברסיטת אסקס. לפרטים ולהרשמה היכנסו לקישור שלעיל. אם כמוני, גם אתם נשארים בארץ, ניאלץ להסתפק במאמרים כמו זה שהתפרסם אתמול בבלוג של האקונומיסט, Differences among Languages: True Untranslatability, לפחות עד הכינוס … Continue reading
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
03 Dec 2011 16:08:00 +0000
Children throughout the world like stories and, at least in the Western world, read and see many of the same stories and cartoons. It does not necessarily follow that that they will recognize the names of these characters, however. Traditionally, names have experienced what translators call “localization,” meaning adjustment to the local language. In other words, the stories are the same, but the names have been changed (to protect the innocent?). In the world of fairy tales, many heroes are unrecognizable to other culture. The German Hanzel and Gretel has become Ami and Tami in Hebrew. The English Cinderella is לכלוכית [lichluchit] in Israel, the dirty one, and золушка [zolushka] in Russian. Snow White is freely localized: Blanche-Neige in French, שלגיה [Shelgia] (the snow one) in Hebrew, and белоснежный [belosnojni] in Russian. Popular culture also is translated. The American comedians Laurel and Hardy were called on Israeli television השמן והרזה [hashemen veharazeh], meaning the fat one and thin one. In the wonderful duo of Pinky and the Brain (my favorite “modern” cartoon), the French Pinky is called “Zero”, presumably due to his intelligence or lack thereof. I question how many Americans would recognize les Pierrafeu, otherwise known as Fred and Barney. To quote the latter, have a yabba yabba good time day.  Itamar Kastner
02 Dec 2011 13:46:34 +0000
דסק העיתונות של "דגש קל" עצלן ודל-אמצעים. בעיות עיתונאיות בשימושי שפה הוא מביא מאתרי החדשות בהמרשתת (ודוגמאות-עבר מארכיון העיתונות), ואפילו שחלקים ממנו מצוידים במצלמות-עלי-שח-נבון, טרם היכתה בו ההכרה שניתן לצלם עיתונים ממש כמו פרסומות בחוצות. עלי חביב (בתור ספצימן, כן?) המוסף לשבת של ידיעות אחרונות, ובבלוגי אני מעתיק מן הכתוב, אפילו שכנראה לוקח כבר פחות [...]
 הבלוג של אור-אל
01 Dec 2011 16:34:15 +0000
כאמצעי תקשורת של אוכלוסייה צרת־אופק עם התנהגות פוליטית וחברתית מסוימת, האנגלית נהייתה כלי לתקשורת בין־לאומית תחת התעוררותה הכלכלית ותחת ההתרחבות המדעית של בריטניה ולאחר מכן גם של ארצות הברית. השפה האנגלית נגלתה לעולם בפעם הראשונה במאה החמישית לספירה על ידי האנגלים (Angles), ומכאן שמה. האנגלית היא שפה הינדו־אירופית. צירופים טיפוסיים כמו father/mother, brother/sister וכד' הם [...]
רוביק רוזנטל
Dec 01, 2011
יצחק תשובה מבקש תספורת, ילדים ממציאים חידושים יצירתיים ...
Yael Sela-Shapiro
29 Nov 2011 09:00:39 +0000
איך איפסנו את הילדים אצל הסבתא ויצאנו לאכול בסוף העולם שמאלה (כשבאים מצפון). וגילינו שהיה ממש, אבל ממש, שווה את הנסיעה למסעדת אלגונקווין של השפית והמתרגמת רלי שולמן.
 Tamar Eilam Gindi
29 Nov 2011 10:00:23 +0000
בפייסבוק, בתקשורת או ברחוב? עיבוד של נייר עמדה מכנס שדרות.
רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
26 Nov 2011 18:37:13 +0200
שמות התנוחות ביוגה הם בסנסקריט, והם קשים לשינון, וכדי לזכור אותם אפשר לתת בהם סימנים. כידוע, הסנסקריט היא שפה הודו-אירופית והיא אחות לרוב השפות האירופיות. לעיתים קרובות יש קשר גנטי בין מילים בסנסקריט ומילים ידועות בשפות...
רוביק רוזנטל
Nov 24, 2011
טלי סיני-ריקליס משתעשעת עם צורות לשון ארכאיות, לאה שנירר ...
Itamar Kastner
24 Nov 2011 12:53:28 +0000
נראה שהחומסקיבוט, אותו מנגנון פשוט שמצרף חלקים ממשפטים לא קשורים לכדי פארודיה שלמה אחת, זוכה לאחרונה לעדנה ברשת הישראלית. אני חושב שתיארנו את החומסקיבוטים לראשונה בתגובות כאן; האתר שולף משפטים או חלקי משפטים ממאמרים שונים של חומסקי ומחבר אותם לפסקה משעשעת אחת. בדומה לזה נוצר גם מחולל הפוסט מודרניזם, שמחבר מאמרים שלמים בעלי ניחוח אקדמי. [...]
 גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
24 Nov 2011 20:16:58 +0000
בעוד שב-Language Log עסוקים בלהתווכח האם "מילת השנה" חייבת להיות מילה או שהיא יכולה גם להיות צירוף, באים 88FM ושולפים במיוחד בשבילי שיר שמדגים בצורה מושלמת את העובדה שיש דברים שרק מילים, ולא צירופים, יכולות לעשות. אני לא יודע כמה פעמים כבר שמעתי את Don't dream it's over, השיר הנהדר משנות ה-80 של Crowded House, [...]
Tamar Eilam Gindi
24 Nov 2011 10:31:09 +0000
עבאס טבאטבאא'י שלח לי מייל אישי בעקבות שאלה שפרסמתי בפייסבוק על יחסי איראן-ישראל. כשביקשתי ממנו לפרסם במייל הוא אישר לפרסם בשמו, ואף שלח לי גרסה ארוכה ומפורטת יותר, שאפרסם מאוחר יותר, כשאסיים לתרגמה. להלן המייל הקצר יותר. החברה האיראנית היא חברה מסובכת מאוד. בתחומים רבים, האנשים פועלים ללא בחירה והולכים חיש מהר אחרי הזרם. אתן [...]
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
23 Nov 2011 07:17:00 +0000
Parents have the right in most countries to name their children as they wish. Some names are chosen for their popularity while others for their meaning. Calling a girl Yaffa or Tova, Hebrew names, may place a burden on her because they mean pretty and good, respectively. Of course, there is little worse than Cher calling her daughter Chastity. A curious serious of selective names involve the seasons. Some Israeli parents name their children Stav and Aviv, meaning autumn and spring. By contrast, kayitz and horef, summer and winter, are unheard of. By contrast, in English, Summer and Autumn as first names exist, but are rare where as spring and winter are basically ignored. In terms of months, the spring months are generally preferred as sources of first names, specifically April, May, and June. Although July and August are named after Julius Caesar and Augustus, they don’t seem to have caught on with the general public unless all those Julies and Julias are actually named after a month, which may be technically true. The fall and winter are dead as far as names go. The only names of days that pop in the mind are Wednesday as a first name in the Adams Family series and Friday as a last name in the Dragnet series. It can be safely said in English and Hebrew that there is basically no good time for a name.  Yael Sela-Shapiro
23 Nov 2011 07:12:47 +0000
כל יום חמישי, אוניברסיטת תל אביב פותחת את שעריה: הרצאות, הופעות, סרטים, תערוכות, והכול חינם.
 Tamar Eilam Gindi
22 Nov 2011 10:05:37 +0000
בפרקים הקודמים גילינו שיש מצב שימשיכו לחגוג את יום העצמאות גם במחנה החרדי וגם במחנה הדתי-לאומי. היום נגלה שכבר היו דברים מעולם, ויש גם מוסר השכל בסוף. לקריאת כל הפרקים בסדרה. בחזון המפורסם בספר דניאל מוזכרות ארבע מלכויות המשעבדות את עם ישראל, שלאחר קִצה של האחרונה בהן אמורה לבוא הגאולה: המלכות החמישית הנצחית. הפרשנות המסורתית [...]
גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
21 Nov 2011 19:26:10 +0000
יש כל מיני שאלות על בלשנות שיכולות להוציא אותי מדעתי. רובן הן שאלות של אנשים שבחיים לא שמעו על בלשנות מודרנית, ושחושבים שבלשן הוא מין פילולוג שבזמנו החופשי מחפש במקורות חוקים של מה מותר ומה אסור. אבל אחת השאלות היותר מעצבנות זו שאלה שדווקא באה מאנשים ששמעו משהו על הבלשנות המודרנית: "אתה חומסקיאני?" ולמה השאלה [...]
רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
21 Nov 2011 22:22:02 +0200
ב-1965, כאשר התקבל חוק לשון הרע, בניגוד לעמדתו של אורי אבנרי בעיתונו "העולם הזה", הוא השתמש בראשי התיבות של החוק הזה, חולר"ע. Little did he know!
Take Nina's Word for It
20 Nov 2011 13:39:00 +0000
How many ways are there to say "this cream will do wonders for you complexion"? Let me count the ways… Or better yet, let's not. Since becoming self-employed, some six years ago, I was approached several times by skincare, toiletries and cosmetics companies to translate their blurb, do copywriting, edit their texts, and so on. Initially, it was fun. I liked doing the research: going to the drugstore, studying the labels on jars and bottles; reading pretty brochures, and getting samples of lovely scented concoctions. Actually writing copy was more difficult, psychologically at least. As much as I like my own favorite toiletries, I disapprove in principle of the huge industry that sells illusions to women. You know – all those "promises in a jar" – don't remember which beauty mogul coined that excellent phrase. Though I rather enjoyed the PR & Advertising course I took in my late twenties, I did not last long as a freelance copywriter. With youthful idealism, I felt I was wasting my time and talent on an unworthy goal: What, waste time and creative effort on persuading people to buy Lotion A rather than Lotion B?! How trivial! Yet here I was, decades later, doing precisely that. Shame on me. One such project was a mite more "convincing" than others. The company head, with a degree in chemistry, sounded very sincere when he explained that his products were based on organically grown plants in sustainable environments, and that for this and other reasons they were ecologically sound, and any person could use them with a clear conscience. I wrote a deeply-caring text. That was before the full-fledged organic craze, years before every other toiletry product claimed to be organic and therefore automatically good and healthy. Fast-forward. Rivers of lotion later, I found myself dealing with three different manufacturers of skincare products. Possibly because it's been established that I've done this sort of work before. Now, suddenly, I am lost for words. Yes, I have a little list. It's called "skincare words.doc" and it currently has sixty-odd entries. But it's of little help. Because all creams and lotions claim to do the same things. They all hydrate, calm, soothe, give you a radiant, glowing complexion, bla bla bla, and so on and so forth. I suppose the trick is to give them alluring new names, inventing words and adjectives along the way. Some companies give their products incredibly long names. Others – like Clinique – go in for puns, like Take The Day Off. I rather like that approach; inject a bit of humor into the green jar or bottle. Oops, I've strayed from my topic, which was how to deal with different copy for clients with similar products. Briefly, it's a question of finding a slightly different focus; of addressing a slightly different target audience, if possible; and creating a different image. Just recently, I translated marketing texts for two competing senior residence chains. The copywriters for the two chains chose a completely different tack: Copywriter A emphasized the services provided, the experience of the staff, the size of the rooms and the view from the window, if any. Copywriter B emphasized the social aspect: a place where you'll make new friends, turn a new leaf, find new love and be happy. But what if the same copywriter were hired by the two competing chains? Could he have done justice to both?... I guess it depends on the "brief" – on the instructions and guidelines given to the copywriter by the client. Okay, I finished venting about this topic. No one is forcing me to undertake such jobs. I'll do my best for the current project, then give it a rest.  Yael Sela-Shapiro
20 Nov 2011 08:49:40 +0000
[אוקי, איך מתרגמים לעברית Audio-conference?] בכל מקרה, חברת התרגומים הבינלאומית ForeignExchange Translations עורכת מין אודיו-קונפרנס שכזה פעמיים השבוע, והנושא העיקרי שיידון בהם הוא דווקא איך למצוא שירות תרגום טוב. אבל אל תחשבו שאנחנו, בתור מתרגמים, לא יכולים להרוויח מהרצאה המיועדת ללקוחות. הרצאה שכזו היא בבחינת "דע את האויב". כדי לספק ללקוח את השירות שהוא צריך כמו [...]
 בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
20 Nov 2011 14:08:23 +0000
דרכי המעבר משפה לשפה בתרבות העולם רבות ומגוונות, אבל חלים עליהן בכל זאת מעט כללי התנהגות נאותה. ערוץ התרגום מניח גבולות ברורים: child היא מילה באנגלית, "ילד" היא מילה בעברית. ערוץ השאילה הישירה שם גבולות מסוג אחר: "דמוקרטיה" היא מילה סלאבית שמקורה יווני; היא משמשת את דוברי העברית, אך זוכה למעמד של אזרח סוג ב' [...]
 אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
19 Nov 2011 11:36:04 +0000
טוב, אחרי כמה פוסטים שחרגו מעט מרוח הבלוג, הגיע הזמן לחזור לדברים שברומו של עולם, לא? אחיה של חברתי הטובה מֶמֶ, הפנה את תשומת לבי לספר חדש שעוסק בתרגום. [תודה, שושו!] Is that a Fish in Your Ear? – Translation and the Meaning of Everything נשמע מבטיח, לא? על פי התקציר, הספר "עוסק במכלול החוויה … Continue reading
 GevaTrans Blog
19 Nov 2011 12:11:36 +0000
We bought a Virtual Dedicated Server from GoDaddy to host our project management system, websites and blogs. We uploaded and installed everything as planned and everything seemed to work, although rather slowly, for a week or two… We were in the middle of setting up and loading the data when suddenly the project management system [...]אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
18 Nov 2011 06:00:30 +0000
בג"ץ קבע שהתפטרות המתמחים אינה חוקית. שהם אינם נקיי כפיים. שהם עושים דין לעצמם, שהם חותרים לשפר את תנאי העסקתם, רחמנא ליצלן! אם כולם יחתרו לשפר את תנאיהם, אנה נגיע? אז מה בעצם המסר ששולח בג"ץ להדיוטה כמוני? שאסור לשבות. אסור למחות. אסור לזעוק. בזמנו, כשהייתי מעורבת עד מעל הראש בענייני אגודה ומאבק מתרגמי הכתוביות, גם … Continue reading
 מארק לוינסון
18 Nov 2011 16:03:18 +0200
Nostalgia may be wistfully reflective but is not painfully sad the way געגועים can be. Are we ever said to be nostalgic over people anyway? Times and places for sure, but individual people? I don’t know. Maybe public figures.
רוביק רוזנטל
Nov 17, 2011
זהבה גלאון ודוד רותם מתכתשים בכנסת, המומחים מוחים, מאיה ...
Itamar Kastner
17 Nov 2011 17:18:35 +0000
נפתח ישירות עם אבחנתה של דורה קישינבסקי על מצב הכותרות בעיתוני ארצנו: מקף מעריב, ש"ע: המקף שבא באמצע כותרת כדי להתאים את טון הידיעה לגיל המנטלי המשוער של הקורא. "שמע שאשתו מוצצת לאחיו — וירה בה עם אקדח גדול!" בהיעדר הזמן והמשאבים הנדרשים למחקר מעמיק יותר, אנסה לענות כאן על שתי שאלות: ראשית, מה מאפייניו [...]
 אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
16 Nov 2011 21:00:52 +0000
בחודשים האחרונים הבלוג שתק. בהתחלה הוא שתק כי הוא היה בלה-לה-לנד, בארץ ירוקה ורחוקה שהקיץ בה נעים, האוויר בה צלול ומסביב רואים רק ירוק בעיניים; הוא שתק כי לא היו לו (יותר מדי) דאגות על הראש, אף ששעקב בדריכות ובגאווה אחר המחאה, האוהלים, ההפגנות ואווירת הסולידריות. הוא שתק גם אחרי שחזר ארצה, כי פתאום גילה … Continue reading
 על ספרות איטלקית - בעברית
16 Nov 2011 08:32:57 +0000
על הסיפור מאי והנס של סן ג'נרו ועל הסופרת, אשה שמרנית שהתנגדה לפמיניסטיות, אבל יסדה וערכה עיתונים נשכניים ויצאה לבד למסע צליינות לארץ הקודש.
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
16 Nov 2011 12:57:00 +0000
The English language borrows roots from many languages. Therefore, the same meaning can be expressed in different ways, even in prefixes. For example, pre and ante both mean before. If something is good, two possible roots are the Greek eu and the Latin bene. A eulogy is saying good things about someone who died, even the words are lies while a euphemism is a nice word for an ugly concept – collateral damage for civilian casualties and height-challenged for short. (By the way, my favorite euphemism is expanded face for describing baldness.). Similarly, a benefit is a money or privilege that makes life better while a benediction is a blessing, i.e. good words. By contrast, malady, maladroit and malfunctioning are very bad, as is part of their root, mal. I don’t know the Greek root for bad or whether it is used in English, but I would be happy to find out from someone. So, have a euphoric and benevolent week and avoid mal-de-mer, otherwise known as seasickness.  רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
16 Nov 2011 15:51:07 +0200
"אני רוצה את טובת הרפואה הציבורית בישראל" אמר הרופא המתפטר "ואין לי ארץ אחרת". טעות גדולה, ידידי הרופא המתפטר, ידידתי הרופאה המתפטרת. יש לכם ארץ אחרת. אתה יכול ואת יכולה לעבוד באוסטרליה, בקנדה ובארצות רבות אחרות המשוועות...
אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
15 Nov 2011 08:25:34 +0000
רגע לפני שאני חוזרת לכתוב בבלוג, אינשאללה, הנה סיפור חיי 'בקליפת האגוז'. אני בטוחה שרבים מהמתרגמים והעורכים שביניכם יזדהו איתי. איכשהו, Mox תמיד יודע לקלוע למטרה. Filed under: בשוטף
 GevaTrans Blog
15 Nov 2011 21:34:30 +0000
 I was just sitting relaxing in front of the computer watching the tweets fly by when I noticed the word “languages”. I took another look, clicked on the link, and lo and behold a fascinating site opened up which I would like to share with you all: http://aboutworldlanguages.com . Hundreds of languages are listed including their [...]Tamar Eilam Gindi
12 Nov 2011 12:52:54 +0000
גנזך המדינה שוקל לשנות את שמו לארכיון המדינה. חוץ מזה שאני נגד, אני לא מבינה למה בכלל צריך לשנות.
Itamar Kastner
11 Nov 2011 09:11:24 +0000
בשולי ההברקה האחרונה של נשיאות אוניברסיטת בן גוריון, הבלשן עידן לנדו ניצל את ההזדמנות כדי לדבר על איך זה שחוקרים טוענים שהם עובדים אפילו כשהם לא במשרד שלהם באוניברסיטה. הרשומה שלו לא ארוכה ושווה קריאה גם עבור תלמידי מחקר וגם עבור אנשים נורמלים. הרשת מלאה בטקסטים על מחקר, חייו של הדוקטורנט המסכן ושאר קשקושים. לא [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
11 Nov 2011 11:01:00 +0000
I am an exception – a former resident of North America (American or Canadian) who came and stayed. The fact is many come, but few stay. The interesting issue is the reasons for this tendency. To clarify, standard of living is generally not an issue. Most immigrants from North America and Canada come with either capital or financial support. Being a native speaker and having a degree allows most immigrants to attain respectable jobs. Very few Anglo-Saxons have ever cleaned streets in Israel. The level of housing and food is comparable to most of the United States and Canada. I could not afford my house in the United States. Instead of living on credit card debt, Israelis live on overdraft. The name is different, but the interest rate is the same. Health and educational facilities are superior and less expensive here as compared to many places “back home.” In short, most Yankees and Canucks do not suffer economically in Israel. In my opinion, the major factor is cultural. Israel is a “frontier” country. The people are hot-tempered and direct; the pace of life is fast; confrontation is common. For people used to a more “genteel” way of life, coping with Israel requires a change in expectations and thinking. This is less problematical for singles, who only have to worry about they want. By contrast, emigrating families struggle to get everybody adjusted to the new life. Since there is a “home” to return to, some members of the family want to go back where life is psychologically easier. If the family is split 50/50, it generally returns. Of course, other reasons may apply. Age and language difficulty affect integration into society. Unrealistic expectations can lead to disappointment. Distance from family can be difficult to handle. I would be interested in hearing from other immigrants / former immigrants to other countries and their impression.  רוביק רוזנטל
Nov 10, 2011
איפה הריחה אורנה בן-דור פלוצים? האם גרביים הם זכר או ...
English with Linda
10 Nov 2011 14:09:48 +0000
An interesting job came, literally, to my door yesterday. It was to translate a “CORI” report for a certain individual from English to Hebrew. I don’t do English to Hebrew as a rule; I don’t feel my Hebrew is good enough to qualify me to translate into that language. However, my neighbor had apparently approached various lawyers [...]
 על ספרות איטלקית - בעברית
10 Nov 2011 21:10:26 +0000
לפעמים, כשהסתיו מכביד, יש מקום לסיפור אביבי. דווקא.
 Itamar Kastner
09 Nov 2011 21:09:42 +0000
מבזקון קצר, ונלך לישון: בצרפתית מילית החיבור היא et. היא נהגית לרוב כ-[e], אך ברור כי כתיבתה מרמזת לקיום חבוי של צליל t בסופה (הוא גם נהגה לעתים, אם לימדו אותי צרפתית נכון בהאוניברסיטה). בימי החיאת השפה העברית היתה צרפתית שפת אינטיליגנציה נחשבת והשפעתה מספקת כדי שמילית החיבור תושאל לעברית על מצלולה (התיאורטי) ותיכתב כ-"את" [...]
 Itamar Kastner
06 Nov 2011 02:12:12 +0000
נצלול הישר למבזק שהיה בטמקא בשבוע שעבר: "אין לימודים מחר בקריית גת, בבאר טוביה ובקריית מלאכי – יש" אני מניח שאין יותר מדי צורך להסביר למה הכותרת הזו איומה. יש כאן מעין משאול פיסוקי: מי שמתחיל לקרוא את הכותרת חושב שמדובר ברשימה של מקומות בהם אין לימודים, כיוון שפסיק משמש בעברית (גם) להפרדת חלקי רשימה, [...]
 בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
06 Nov 2011 08:58:44 +0000
תעלולי השפה מובילים למקומות מוזרים, ומניחים מוקשים סמנטיים שלא תמיד קל לצאת מהם בשלום. למשל, כאשר אומרים "הרב התיר את הנישואין", רצוי מאוד לדעת האם הזוג שבו מדובר כבר נשוי, או שעדיין לא. אם הוא כבר נשוי, הרב מתיר לנשואים להתגרש. אם לא, הרב מתיר לשניים להינשא. מקור התעלול הלשוני הזה הוא בפועל הִתִּיר. משמעותו [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
05 Nov 2011 10:33:00 +0000
Foreign students of English often feel that that the most frightening aspect of it is the sheer number of tenses. Especially for people whose native language is structurally simple, i.e. three forms – past, present, future, dealing with such a complex grammar structure is rather daunting. In fact, despite English’s basic structure of 9 tenses (+ a few odds and ends), the construction of tenses tends to be rather simple and straightforward. First, the raison d’etre of having many tenses is that writers and speakers can say exactly what they mean without adding words to clarify. For example, I was winning the game does not mean the same as I won the game or I have won the game. So, while adding formal complexity, the learning process enriches the language and is a finite process. Compare that with Russian whose formal structure is simple, but the process of understanding the difference between perfective and imperfect active in any given situation never ends for a foreign learner. As for building the verb, it is vital to remember that all languages add markers to the verb, generally the root, to signal its time and, often, person. For example, the present tense is parle, parles, parle, parlons, parlez, parlent; говорю, говоришь, говорит, говорим, говорите, говорят; and אומר, אורמת, אומרים, אומרות in French, Russian, and Hebrew respectively. English works in a similarly manner, using helping verbs instead of endings for the most part. The progressive tenses mark time and person using the verb to be and the ing form of the word. Therefore, present progressive uses am, are, and is; past progressive uses was or were; and future progressive uses will be. Similarly, the perfect tenses uses the verb to have with the past participle, ie. have and has in the present, had in the past, and will have in the future. As they say in Hebrew, dafka [dafka]or to be contrary, the simple is the least simple: in the negative and interrogative forms of the present and past, the helping verb is do, i.e. do and does in the present and did in the past, before the root. The future marker is will. In the positive form in the present tense, there are neither helping verbs or endings except for after s/he it, in which case an s is added while in the past, aside from the many and common exceptions, an ed added to the work marks the past. The point is that students can concentrate on the actual meaning of the verb if they relax and learn how to recognize the form, which is not a stressful activity.  רוביק רוזנטל
Nov 03, 2011
אילו חידושים לשוניים הביאה העונה החדשה של עספור? למה ...
Itamar Kastner
30 Oct 2011 02:51:52 +0000
הטרגדיה של מורן היא שהיא התחתנה עם בלשן. ראיתם כבר שאני מנתח את שפתה פה ושם, אך זה בהחלט לא היה המקרה הראשון. כבר בשנת לימודיי הראשונה בחרתי לבצע מחקר לשוני קטן בהשראתה. אציג אותו לפניכם באיחור אופנתי של ארבע שנים, ואת הטוויסט הקטן שמצאתי באיחור של שנתיים. ככה זה עם טיוטות בדגש קל. הן [...]
 Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Oct 29, 2011
When: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at 18:00-21:00 hrs.
Where: ZOA House 1 Daniel Frisch St. (corner of 26 Ibn Gvirol), Tel
Aviv (for a map, click here: http://tinyurl.com/3xfbtt7).
Parking: There are various parking lots in the vicinity, with price
ranging from 16 to 24 NIS for the entire evening.
This event will take on a different format than usual.
We shall host Orna Levi.
Orna Levei is deaf, born to deaf parents, married, and a mother of twin
daughters. She has majored in education, and is a professional
רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
29 Oct 2011 21:46:40 +0200
כאשר מילה נשאלת משפה אחת לשפה שנייה, לעיתים קרובות עולה השאלה: האם היא נשאלת על צורותיה בשפת המקור, או שהיא נכנעת לצורות המקובלות בלשון השואלת? קחו לדוגמה (או אולי לדוגמא) את האנגלית: צורת הריבוי של phenomenon "תופעה" הי...
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
28 Oct 2011 14:45:00 +0000
Almost nobody feels neutral about France or the French. Many people adore France but hate the French. There are probably a few who feel the opposite. Some people love or hate both. Whatever the case, it is rare to anybody say, I went to Paris. Nothing special. I am among those who love both France and the French, but not enough to want to live there. France is a country where living is an art, whether it concerns food, clothing, or conversation. By contrast, making a living is a necessity and a bit proletariat in the negative sense of the word. Parisians constantly talk about restaurants, vacations, and movies or books. So, while French emphasis on living may seem rather decadent to more protestant-thinking people, it is rather attractive and even addictive. By contrast, to be diplomatic, the French themselves are not always appreciated, even by themselves. Many people are quite offended by their arrogance and rudeness behind the formal level of politeness. Being half American and half French, I have no problem understanding their attitude and even enjoying it. There is a sociological concept called a zero sum world, typical of peasant societies, in which a finite, fixed limit exists for everything, material and immaterial. There is only so much money and love in the world. Therefore, to ostensibly show one’s money means that the people watching have less, an unpleasant feeling. Similarly, in friendship, people have a limited space for love, i.e. childhood friends and close family. This is creates an us and them world. Friendship is total for the us group and basically non-existent for the them group. Fortunately, Paris has a high percentage of non-French. I belonged to the both to the us and the them. As any obnoxious attitude was not personal against me, I found it amusing at time, like live theatre (of the absurd). It is like watching a bunch of children trying to act like adults, ultimately very entertaining. Of course, living in Paris is another story. Paris is a small, dense, tense, and intense city with too much air pollution, strikes, and bureaucracy. Also, for people used to seeing the sun most of the year, the weather is depressing. Maybe Paris is like New York: a place for young people with lots of energy. Still, I visit Paris at any opportunity and feel sadness each time I part from it. My fantasy wish would be the ability to transport myself instantly to Paris and enjoy a baguette, a good piece of cheese, an old dusty chaotic book store, and petit pain au chocolate or chocolat liegoise. Ah, sometimes, la vie est dure sans confiture.  רוביק רוזנטל
Oct 27, 2011
מהו הקשר בין הערבית לעברית? איך אומרים שעועית בשפות ...
Itamar Kastner
27 Oct 2011 01:29:32 +0000
בדיווח על התקדמות עסקת גרפל הופיעה הפסקה הבאה בכתבתם של טל שלו, פנחס וולף וניר יהב (הושגה עסקה לשחרורו של הישראלי אילן גרפל מהכלא המצרי, וואלה! 24/10/11, ההדגשה שלי): העסקה נרקמה על ידי שליחו המיוחד של ראש הממשלה, יצחק מולכו, השוהה כעת בקהיר ובסיוע ח"כ ישראל חסון (קדימה) שעזר במגעים בשל קשריו הטובים עם הגורמים [...]
 הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
27 Oct 2011 21:25:37 +0000
דמיינו את השיחה הבאה: "את יכולה להביא לי את השלט, אני רוצה לראות ליגת האלופות." "בבקשה. איזה משחק אתה רוצה לראות?" "ברצלונה נגד מנצ'סטר יונייטד." "זה בערוץ 5 פלוס לייב, אני אעביר לך." "תודה מאמי." נשמע הזוי, לא? לא כשמדובר בשיחה שתתקיים בעוד מספר שנים בין גבר ישראלי ממוצע והרובוטית שלו. עוד כשהייתי ילדה קטנה, [...]
 רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
26 Oct 2011 08:58:11 +0200
האוגדונר היוצא של אוגדת יהודה ושומרון אפיין את הפושעים המבצעים פעולות "תג מחיר" כ"שוליים קיצוניים אך מתרחבים בקרב החברה הישראלית", ואף הגדיל לעשות וכינה את מעשיהם כ"טרור". זוהי אמירה אמיצה של מי ששירת בתוך מערכת הכיבוש ה...
רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
25 Oct 2011 16:32:43 +0200
Ardha Candrāsana הוא שמה של תנוחת חצי הירח. ארדהא הוא חצי, וצ'אנדרא הוא ירח (c בתעתיק המקובל מבוטא "צ'"; k מייצג את הצליל "ק"). באופן מעניין, המספרים מ-2 ומעלה בשפות ההודו-אירופיות דומים (על כך בפעם אחרת), אבל המספר 1 וה...
בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
23 Oct 2011 09:31:36 +0000
באחת הרשימות הקודמות עסקנו בדמויות מן המקורות ששמותיהן הפכו למונחים וזכו ללעג ושנינה. שמות פרטיים ההופכים למונחים קרויים אֶפּונימים, ומדובר בתופעה רחבה בשפות שונות. בישראל החדשה הפכו בשנות המדינה הלא רבות כמה וכמה דמויות מפתח למונחים בפני עצמם, או לחלק מביטוי כללי. בדרך כלל נראה שהם היו מוותרים על הכבוד. קחו למשל את גולדה, מלכת [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
22 Oct 2011 09:10:00 +0000
As English is the Lingua Franca of the world for the moment, non-native English speakers, i.e. most of the world, are often faced with the daunting task of writing emails in English. (I would say that even the French have to do so from time to time, but as they would say, J’ignore.) In fact, business emails are easy to write. Unlike personal letters, they are intended to be short, to the point, and simple. So, the writer does not have to and should not write Shakespeare (or Orwell, whom I prefer). Begin with the simple phrase “Dear …). Add Sir or Madam if you don’t have the actual name of the person, i.e. the customer relations department. A man is referred to as Mr. while a woman is addressed as Ms. For business purposes, her marital status is irrelevant. At this stage, to avoid forgetting to attach the required documents, I always add my attachments before going on. If you are have written often to the person, are continuing a previous matter, or just want to create a friendly feeling, make the first line a salutation such as Good morning, Good evening, or even Happy Holiday if that applies. The first real paragraph states directly why are writing: I am writing in response to your notice on the forum or As requested, I am attaching the proposal. Make it short and sweet. You don’t have to use fancy words. People receive hundreds of emails a day. They want you to get the point quickly. The next paragraph or paragraphs go into detail concerning what you have to say. Once again, write short, direct sentences. If you are applying for a job, begin with one sentence why the company should consider you, such as I have expertise in C++, as you require. The last sentence should say what you want them to do: Please confirm receipt or I await further instructions. As for the salutation at the end, see my previous posting on that issue. The final step before sending the mail is to reread the text and check for any grammar or spelling errors. Those make bad impressions, as any girl who received a note saying “I luvs yu” would know. By writing short and simple sentences, non-native speakers can simplify vocabulary and grammar while ensuring that their meaning is transmitted as intended. Also, it reduces “language stress” when thinking about writing the email. Here’s for reducing stress!  Take Nina's Word for It
21 Oct 2011 09:09:00 +0000
Tarzan loved Jane, John Carter loved Dejah Thoris. That was way back in 1912, but theirlove never died, it lives on in us, in the minds of readers. Since then, ClarkKent loved Lois Lane, Han Solo fell for Princess Leia, Rick Deckard chose to be with Rachael,Strider loved Arwen, and on it goes. Love doesn’t only make this world goaround, it makes far away planets and mythical kingdoms go round, too. Not that there aren’t good sci-fi and fantasy storiesthat have nothing to do with love-and-marriage, horse-and-carriage. Asimov andnumerous others made little or no use of romantic plots. Still, love goes along way to captivating an audience. A case in point is the recent short story competitionfor the Einat award , as part of the ICON festival .Fifty-five stories were submitted, of which 10 made the short-list, and ofthose, several had romantic themes, to greater or lesser extents. The winner – When WinterEnds ("Besof HaHoref"), by Yoni (f.) Goldstein, was doubtlessly themost romantic of all. Not that this in itself accounts for its winning; thestory has a – forgive the pun – winning quality; it's well-crafted,well-written, and quite obviously not written by a teenager. It is a touchingstory, heart-warming, and, in my opinion, unabashedly romantic. But let me get back to John Carter. I'm nearly ashamed to say thatI only made his acquaintance recently. As a kid, I devoured every Tarzan comicbook I could lay my hands on (in Hebrew); maybe John Carter's Martian taleshadn't been translated into Hebrew at the time. I found the entire series (inEnglish, of course) on my mother's bookshelves only a few years ago. So far,I've read only the first one – A princess of Mars, of which we have twocopies, two different editions with a different jacket:
Guys, let me tell you – John Carter puts to shame Jason Bourne andIndiana Jones combined! In 159 pages of tight, old-fashioned English, he packsin adventure after adventure, fights and narrow escapes, acts of cunning,courage and daring. Not to mention falling in love with and rescuing thebeautiful and brave Princess of Helium, Dejah Thoris. Some things change, some don't. Plots have become moresophisticated, violence more graphic, characters less chivalrous. But whetheron Earth or in faraway galaxies, love remains. Amen.  רוביק רוזנטל
Oct 20, 2011
מאין הגיע הביטוי "קווים אדומים"? מי המציא את התחמנות? ...
רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
20 Oct 2011 20:53:55 +0200
מסתבר שביוגה יש לכל אדם שמונה מפשעות. זה לא בגלל שאנחנו משקיעים כל כך בתרגול. זה בגלל שאנחנו מנסים לדייק. וכך יש לנו (1) מפשעה קדמית, כלומר החריץ שנוצר כשאנחנו מכופפים את הברך כלפי מעלה, (2) מפשעה אחורית, שמסומנת בקו שמפ...
Itamar Kastner
19 Oct 2011 07:43:36 +0000
טוב, זה קצת מביך: ישנו אתר בשם מיינט, שרמת הכתיבה שתמצאו בו דומה לזו של עיתון בית הספר היסודי. הסיבה שאני קורא אותו, כמובן, היא שלעיתים נדירות אפשר למצוא בו יצירתיות לקסיקלית שלא תראו בשום מקום אחר. כך, בתום ידיעה על קללות שמופנות לילדי משמרות הזה"ב באור יהודה, מובאת תגובת העירייה: מהעירייה נמסר: "לאחר בדיקה [...]
 ביירון בלוג
18 Oct 2011 02:43:14 +0000
אני שמח מאוד שגלעד שליט חוזר הביתה. השחרור של גלעד הוא נושא שנוי במחלוקת ואני מעריך שככל שיעבור הזמן, אז המחלוקת על נושא זה תגדל. אני לא מעוניין לדבר על המחיר הכבד שאותו משלמים המשפחות של הנרצחים והנפגעים בפעולות הטרור. הדבר שמעניין אותי כאן זה היכולת של הפרטים להשפיע על מהלכים פוליטיים גלובאליים. התופעה של [...]
פוסטים דומים:
מארק לוינסון
18 Oct 2011 06:00:00 +0200
How can we render ז"ל into English? English does provide us with an abbreviation, RIP, and I would feel free to use it in a translation, but only in a translation that does not have to read smoothly in English. In English, the abbreviation RIP is not a common expression to see in running text, and in our day it verges on facetious.
GevaTrans Blog
17 Oct 2011 10:09:44 +0000
 First of all…what is Projetex? It is a powerful project management software system specifically designed for use in the translation industry. Why use Projetex? GevaTrans has grown so much in the past year or so that it is becoming difficult to keep track of our projects. We decided that it was high time to [...]Itamar Kastner
15 Oct 2011 16:18:10 +0000
סליחות הוא שיר מכונן, הן במרחב הלירי (כתבה: לאה גולדברג) והן במרחב המוזיקלי של ימינו (לחן: עודד לרר, ביצוע: יהודית רביץ, תשל"ז). שמעתי אותו לא מזמן, אולי בפעם האלף בחיי, ולפתע עלתה בי שאלה: עד כמה חזקה השורה הבאה? וְלָמַדְתִּי: שֵׁם לְכָל רִיס וְצִפֹּרֶן וּלְכָל שַׂעֲרָה בַּבָּשָׂר הֶחָשׂוּף אמירה שכזו, לפיה ניתן להעניק תשומת לב [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
14 Oct 2011 15:15:00 +0000
I recently realized that I am an “expatriate.” That means that I have lived abroad, in Israel, for almost as many years as I lived in the United States. That is nothing compared to my mother, who has lived in the U.S. twice as many years as she lived in France. Still, as an expatriate who occasionally visits the motherland or the fatherland, as a Russian or German would say, I have the right and ability to appreciate many good things about the United States of America. 1. The United States is one of the few countries in the world in which going to the post office and bank takes only 30 minutes. 2. The level of service received is not a coefficient of the salary level of the worker. 3. People do not feel entitled to punish the salesperson or secretary for the fact that they had a fight with their spouse, child, or cat. 4. America is a place where everyday driving, except on Sunday, is not a battleground. 5. Most people expect to work and make adjustments for life’s unpleasant surprises. They don’t expect the government to do it for them. 6. Two day weekends are fantastic! 7. It doesn’t make a difference how old you are or how new you are to a city. You can still make new friends. 8. Almost everybody has an accent (at least in California). Variety is the spice of life. 9. American food is world food: granted in enormous quantities, but there is everything. 10. Americans try to be nice to each other at least in public. That makes life so more pleasant! I know that that the flip side also exists. There are many problems in the United States. However, as an expatriate, I can take the good and ignore the bad. I would be interested in hearing any comments or additions to this list.  אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
13 Oct 2011 17:53:12 +0000
לכבוד השנה החדשה, הנה כמה פרטים על הספר הראשון בסדרת שבע הממלכות, בתרגום אמתכם הנאמנה ובהוצאת כנרת זמורה ביתן. בעולמה של קַטְסָה, בארץ שבע הממלכות, חיים מחוננים — בני אנוש בעלי יכולת מופלאה שמעוררים בעיקר פחד ומנוצלים על ידי המלכים. קטסה היא מחוננת שנושאת נטל כבד במיוחד, כישרון שאפילו היא עצמה מתעבת: כישרון להרוג. היא … Continue reading
 הבלוג של אור-אל
13 Oct 2011 10:51:54 +0000
כשאני מתחיל ללמוד שפה, אחד הדברים שאני מזכיר לעצמי להיזהר ממנו הוא מ„ידידי כזב” (faux amis) – מילים שנראות דומה או זהות לחלוטין למילים בשפות שאנחנו יודעים, אך שיש להן משמעות שונה. ככל שאני למדתי שפות רבות יותר, כך מצאתי יותר מילים כאלו. בפוסט זה ריכזתי עבורכם רשימה של „ידידי כזב” בשפות שונות שעשויים לבלבל [...]
רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
12 Oct 2011 23:07:20 +0200
כידוע, הסנסקריט היא שפה השייכת למשפחת השפות ההודו-אירופיות, שאליה משתייכות גם רוב שפות אירופה. לעיתים קרובות, אנחנו יכולים למצוא דמיון בין מילים בסנסקריט למילים בשפות האירופיות. sūrya-namaskār, או "ברכה לשמש", היא סדרה ש...
הבלוג של אור-אל
10 Oct 2011 20:30:33 +0000
לאחרונה נזכרתי במספר מילים שאני מכיר משפות אחרות שחבל שאין בעברית. ולכן, ללא מילים מיותרות, קבלו את מצעד המילים שהלוואי והיינו שואלים משפות אחרות: שֵׁמוֹמֶדְגָּ'מוֹ (גאורגית) מכירים את זה שאתם ממש מלאים, אבל הארוחה הייתה כל כך טעימה שאתם לא יכולים להפסיק לאכול את זה? הגרוזינים מבינים את כאבכם. התרגום המדויק: „אכלתי בטעות את הכול.” [...]
הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
10 Oct 2011 13:00:21 +0000
נניח שבא לכם פתאום לפתוח מפעל בסין. זה קורה כמעט לכולנו, לא? אתם אומרים לעצמכם: ניקח לנו שותף סיני חביב עם קשרים מכאן ועד שנגחאי, נשכור עורך דין מתוחכם שיכין לנו חוזה מפורט ומאובטח מכל הכיוונים, נשלוף את פנקס הצ'קים והכל יהיה בסדר. אז זהו, שלא. מדובר בסין חברים ושום דבר לא פשוט כמו שהוא [...]
 רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
10 Oct 2011 16:59:11 +0200
כשהייתי נער, חיבבתי מאוד את השיר "אזור חופשי" של ז'אק פרבר, שבתרגומו של אהרון אמיר נשמע כך: שמתי מצנפתי בכלובובצאתי היתה הציפור על ראשימה זהכבר לא מצדיעיםשאל המפקדלאכבר לא מצדיעיםענתה הציפוראה כךסליחה חשבתי שמצדיעיםאמר ה...
GevaTrans Blog
09 Oct 2011 20:51:25 +0000
 Well…what on earth is “that”? Let me explain… without you all GevaTrans wouldn’t be growing. Now who is “all”? Don’t you know? I thought it was so obvious. Well… “all” is all of you! All of those wonderful translators, proofreaders and editors, and of course clients, without whom we would have difficulty surviving. So why [...]Take Nina's Word for It
09 Oct 2011 10:28:00 +0000
In recent months I was involved in two projects where I itched to improve the original writing. One was a non-fiction book about the bible and its interpretation; the other was the memoirs of a Jewish man who lived in Poland and Russia during World War II and survived to tell the tale – and what a tale it is!
In the first book, which I shall call BAIT (the Bible As I see It), I was asked to translate a couple of chapters from Hebrew to English, with the intent of sending the sample to a publisher abroad who had expressed an interest. The second book, which I shall call J's Memoirs, was originally written in Polish, then translated into English and edited (sort of); I was asked to do further editing, mainly with regard to all the "weird" Polish names. In both cases, I was tempted to do far more than I was asked, and in both cases, the client put a definite damper on me. Case #1 – BAIT The writer, an elderly gentleman, came from a religious family, but early on in childhood became disenchanted with the god known as Jehovah and would have nothing further to do with him. Nonetheless, later on in life he found himself drawn to the Bible and read it very carefully, trying to figure out its power over people, and to what extent it should be taken at face value. A huge, ambitious attempt, to be sure; one which he approached with gusto, a critical eye and ear, and considerable imagination. The two chapters I read and translated were unusual, unorthodox, interesting, and at times funny. But one thing was very clear: the author was not an accomplished writer, and if he wanted to hook a publisher, the two chapters would benefit greatly (in my opinion) from some polishing. How presumptuous of me! The client, upon reading my first draft, foamed at the mouth. How dare I put words in his mouth, and add a sentence that wasn't in the Hebrew, and change his words! I was merely a translator, and my job was simply to convert his Hebrew text into correct English – no more, no less.With ill grace he accepted a few changes I proposed on the grounds that the non-Israeli, non-Jewish reader might misunderstand. Any other improvements of his prose were contemptuously thrown out the window.Last I heard, he hadn't found a publisher. Case#2 – J's Story The story itself was fascinating, if you ignore the beginning that describes in detail the layout of J's family home, the neighbors, the aunts and uncles, etc. J didn't have to invent any adventures or quirky characters to make his story interesting. His struggle to survive during the war comes through in his short, matter-of-fact sentences. He does not hypothesize or philosophize, he just tells it as it is, or was. Like the author of BAIT, he was not especially good with words, not a born storyteller. It would have been more "fun" for me, more "creative", to add some color to his prose, to make his sentences more elegant or sophisticated. But his widow said a flat "no": she wanted to maintain the authenticity of her husband's voice. I was expected to correct the grammar where necessary, add the absolute minimum of clarification, and make sure the English spelling of Polish names was logical and consistent. We also agreed which names had to be left in their original Polish spelling, e.g. Janusz Korczak, Wladyslaw Gomulka, Grzegorz Dzierzgowski, and others. But, considering that the target audience was mostly the writer's American family, there was no justification for maintaining the Polish spellings of names of Jewish writers such as Sholom Aleichem or David Frishman.Another consideration, of course, was how members of the family currently spell their name; if a branch of the family spells its name Brodecki, say, rather than Brodetsky, so be it. Moral of the story: Before you embark on heavy editing or rewriting, make sure you know what the client wants and expects, and-- preferably -- why.  Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
07 Oct 2011 08:46:00 +0000
The surest way to identify a non-native speaker is by looking at their articles – a, an, and the. Russian does not have any articles, which mean Russian speakers often add them almost randomly. Hebrew speakers only have the definitive one – the. French use is similar, but with differences, including the requirement to place one before every noun in a list. Compare the English I will take the fish, rice, and salad as compared to the French Je prendrai le poisson, le riz et la salade. For a change, there are actually clear rules in English. a. All singular nouns must have an article, either the indefinite a (or an) or the definite the. b. Plural nouns if definite must be preceded by the; otherwise there is no article. Examples: A friend of mine has the only copy of the book. The books are important resources. Exception: Abstract nouns (uncountable to some of you) do not take articles: You need patience and skill [in general] to succeed. Since as abstract nouns, they can’t be plural, there is nothing to worry there. Clarification: a and an Contrary to what many have you been taught in school, the word an does NOT go before a vowel. It goes before a VOWEL SOUND! Appearances can be deceiving. Some vowels (AEIOU) can SOUND like a consonant while some consonants can sound like a vowel. An egg but A European egg: The word European sound like [yu], meaning a consonant sound. An ugly building at a university: [u]gly as compared to [yu]niversity. You’ll be a happy person in an hour: The word happy has a voiced h, while hour doesn’t. Police look for an MO: You say [em] and therefore write an. If you are unsure whether to write a or an, say the word. If you are unsure whether to use an article, remember that unless the noun is plural and indefinite, there must be an article. As they say in Hebrew, הבנת את זה. ברוך? or, more seriously, if you explain it to me slowly, I’ll understand it quickly.  רון כוזר "בין... לבין..."
06 Oct 2011 23:22:28 +0200
איזה מזל שיש לנו קטגוריות. שאנחנו מסוגלים לבצע קטגוריזציות באמצעות השפה. יש בזה משהו מאוד מרגיע. אמרו בחדשות ששריפת המסגד היתה פעולה של "תג מחיר". עכשיו אני מבין וגם רגוע. הכול ברור. ברגע מסוים קצת התעצבנתי. הקריין אמר: ...
בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
05 Oct 2011 09:03:06 +0000
השאלה "מהו שיבוש" ימיה כימי השפה. לשאלה הזו טעם מיוחד כשמדובר בצירופי לשון. שיבושים מזדמנים בצירופים נפוצים מאוד, מ"היהלום שבקצפת" ועד "האור בקצה המערה". חלקם נעשים לשם שעשוע כמו "לא דובים ולא זבובים" המיוחס למוטה גור. הקבוצה המעניינת היא השיבושים הקבועים, כאשר מן הצירוף המקורי נולד צירוף חדש העולה על רבו בהיקף השימוש. בהיסטוריה של [...]
 הבלוג של אור-אל
03 Oct 2011 19:33:07 +0000
אטימולוגיה (בעברית: גיזרון) הוא המחקר של היסטוריית המילים, מקורותיהם, וכיצד שצורתם ומשמעותם השתנתה במשך הזמן. אטימולוגים מנסים לשחזר ולמצוא מידע על אודות שפות עתיקות מכדי שיהיה עליהן כל מידע כתוב וישר. על ידי השוואת מילים בשפות קרובות ולאור הנחת סדירותם של מעתקי הגאים, מנסה החוקר לשחזר את צורתן המשוערת הקדומה של המילים ואת גלגוליהן במהלך [...]
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
01 Oct 2011 06:27:00 +0000
What is better, one size fits all or exact sizes? The same issue applies to languages. There are terms that in one language one word fits all usages while in another, each specific context requires a completely different word. In English for example, business offer special or volume discounts, i.e. they lower the price for a special product or if you buy more than a certain amount. By contrast, in French, there is a rabais, an exceptional discount because of the condition of a good, a remise, a regular discount applied all the time, and a ristourne, a discount awarded periodically for various reasons. These distinctions save words, but can definitely confuse a non-native. Speaking of clothes, Hebrew is quite particular on how you put them on. You lovesh ( לובש) a garment, noel (נועל) a shoe, gorev (גורב) a sock, hoger (חוגר) a belt, onev (עונב) a tie, oteh (עוטה) gloves, hovesh (חובש) a hat, markiv (מרכיב) glasses, and oned (עונד) jewelry. The only help in remembering all that is the verb generally sounds like the article of clothing. Getting married is supposedly about saying I do. Well, in Russian, it appears that they are very particular about not having same sex marriages. A Russian man женится (jenitcya), meaning he marries a woman, while a Russian women is замужна (zamujna), meaning marries a man. There is no ambiguity there. I would be interested in hearing about other examples of such branching off of vocabulary in any language.  Take Nina's Word for It
30 Sep 2011 13:53:00 +0000
Case #1 – Danny (real name, as far as I know)
Shame I didn't save the actual email, but the gist of it was, that there's some guy out there called Danny (maybe), who needs something translated. Plus a mobile phone number, which I wouldn't dream of calling without a bit more information. What's his surname? Where did he find or get my name and email address, what is it all about – looks like it didn't occur to him all these are details worth mentioning. My initial reaction in such cases are to educate the guy; send him an email explaining that in order to help him I need more information. And that it's common courtesy to at least sign with your full name. But he got to me on a day when I was busy and tired. I just deleted the message. I hope that whoever ended up helping him also took the trouble to enlighten the guy about better ways of approaching a service provider, or any other person, for that matter. Case #2 -- Ms. Biostory (obviously a name I made up, but the story is real) Ms. Biostory was referred to me by a colleague. Her line of business is writing people's autobiographies. I don't think it's ghostwriting – I think people either give her their written or recorded memoirs, or else tell her their life stories, which she then transforms into a book. She wanted a price quote for translating one such manuscript from Hebrew into English. Since the manuscript was 60 units (15000 words) long, I estimated that in English it would come to at least 80 units, and gave a price quote for 85 units tops, to be on the safe side. The email I received in response was one of the shortest and rudest I ever got, something along the lines of "You must be crazy! I got far lower quotes." My daughter said I could either ignore her email, or just shrug it off with a "take it or leave it" reply. Instead, I told her I found her reply impolite, and proceeded to explain my calculation, the main point being: if the other – far lower – quotes were a result of lower per-unit rates, that's fine with me; every translator is free to charge whatever he/she sees fit. But if the lower quotes were based on the Hebrew word-count, then the client will be in for a nasty surprise when the final word count of the English translator ends up being 20,000 or more. I find it hard to believe that any serious translator would choose to ignore the expansion of the translated text; it would be more honest to take the expansion into account, then charge a low per-word or per-unit fee in an attempt to beat the competition. Be that as it may, I hope the end-client, i.e. the subject of the autobiography, is getting her money's worth. On that happy note: Shana Tova to all!  ביירון בלוג
27 Sep 2011 08:40:05 +0000
תמונות של ביירון בכנס מנהלי רכש 2011. תוכלו לראות את אביאור ביירון, דלית ביירון, אורית חסידים ואתי כהן. היה כיף לפגוש לקוחות קיימים ולקוחות פוטנציאליים.
פוסטים דומים:
Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
26 Sep 2011 15:57:00 +0000
Whether it is because of poor teaching or a natural love of stream of consciousness writing, many people, even the most intelligent and organized, write horrible run on sentences. They sound like a hysterical five year old telling his mother about his day: I walked in the class and Johnny threw a brick at me and I cried and the teacher came and asked me what was wrong and I hit Johnny and I was punished. To set the record straight, a sentence is ONE idea structurally consisting of one SUBJECT, which may have more than one part, and one VERB, which may have more than one action as long as they all relate to the same subject. In simple terms, the subject can be simple, as in Boys, or compound, as in Boys and girls. The verb can simple, as in laugh, or compound, as in laugh and cry. You cannot have two separate sets of subjects and verbs. Therefore, Boys and girls laugh and cry is grammatically correct while Boys laugh and girls cry is incorrect. Instead of the word and, you can use the conjunction while: Boys laugh while girls cry; Alternatively, you can use the word with and put the verb in the ing form: Boys laugh, with girls crying. Finally, you can write two sentences: Boys laugh. Girls cry. That is the stereotype of children’s reaction to violence. So, the next time you write a sentence in an email or composition, make sure there are one subject and one verb. If not, please make the changes and make your teacher/editor much happier!  ביירון בלוג
22 Sep 2011 20:46:12 +0000
חברת ביירון הופיעה בכנס של מנהלי רכש של כפר המכביה. הכנס התקיים אתמול 21.9.2011 והיו בו כ 200 אנשי רכש מהחברות המובילות במשק הישראלי. הכנס היה מושקע מאוד ונראה כי המשתתפים בו נהנו מההרצאות ומהאירוח. האוכל היה מצוין וחברת ביירון נהנתה לתת חסות לכנס. בקרוב נעלה לבלוג תמונות מהכנס.
אין פוסטים דומים.
אין פוסטים דומים.
אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
19 Sep 2011 15:05:23 +0000
הנה פרטים ראשונים על הספר עיר של עצמות, בתרגום אמתכם הנאמנה, שיצא ממש בימים אלה בסדרת גרף צעיר. כשקליירי פריי בת החמש-עשרה יוצאת לבלות במועדון לילה בניו-יורק, היא לא חולמת שהיא תהיה עדה לרצח. רצח שמבצעים שלושה בני נוער מקועקעים שרק קליירי יכולה לראות. זהו המפגש הראשון של קליירי עם בני הנפילים, הידועים גם כציידי … Continue reading
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
19 Sep 2011 17:04:00 +0000
One of the personal pleasures of traveling is hearing familiar sounds that have entirely different meanings. A sound set, a word or series of words, may come from unrelated roots in a language or language family. In other words, regardless of the spelling, what you thought you heard is not what they meant. For example, the sound riba in Hebrew (accent on second syllable to be exact) refers to jam while in Russian it refers, accent on the first syllable, it refers to fish. If a host asks you if you want riba on your sandwich, you might be rather surprised if you aren’t paying attention to the language. Of course, these plays on roots provide wonderful opportunity for puns. It is known that un oeuf is enough for some people, although I prefer three eggs. If you munch some cacahouètes with your beer, you are eating peanuts, not something wet and stinky from the cat box. A relative of mine, just off the boat from France, was watching a nature movie and remarked “Look at the phoque.” She was referring to a seal, not to the mating activity. This phenomenon of multiple meaning to similar sounding roots is an ideal way of learning vocabulary. I took an intense Russian course which required me to learn some 50 words a day, an extremely difficult feat considering that all of the roots were new to me. We had the word гордится [gorditcya], which means to be proud. Faced with the fact the English root was so distant from the Russian root, I connected the Russian word to the name of a California town, Gardenia, where I would not be so proud to live in, for no particular reason. The result is that I still remember that name. I would love to hear other examples from people who have run into confusing root pairs and have lived to laugh at them.  בלוג השפה העברית של מילון רב-מילים
19 Sep 2011 06:45:45 +0000
מיהו 'ההמון', אותו גוף אנושי חסר פרצוף, שהאדם היחיד אובד בו? לשפה העברית יש בעניין זה סיפור עתיק יומין ומאלף. 'המון', מספר לנו כבר המקרא, הוא קול שאון, קול המיה, מעין המהום. 11 פעמים במקרא ההמון משמש כאונומטופיאה, או בעברית: תצליל. כך בפסוק "ויאמר אליהו לאחאב: עלה, אכול ושתה, כי קול המון הגשם" (מלכים א [...]
 הבלוג של אור-אל
18 Sep 2011 19:29:57 +0000
התחלתי לקרוא את "מקורות הסדר הפוליטי", מאת המרצה פרנסיס פוקויאמה מאוניברסיטת סטנפורד, ואז נתקלתי במשפט הבא: But it is clear that the political job of finding the right regulatory mechanisms to tame capitalism's volatility have not yet been found. קראתי את זה פעם שנייה. אחר פעם פעם שלישית. משהו לא מסתדר. הפועל "have" נראה שגוי, [...]
GevaTrans Blog
18 Sep 2011 15:54:10 +0000
 During childhood, and given time, we learn how to avoid pain. But passion is different. Those who have a real passion for something won’t let it go so easily. My passion was for language and later for translation. Now where did this passion come from? As the oldest daughter of an Arab linguist, my mother [...]מארק לוינסון
18 Sep 2011 03:31:04 +0300
When a person or a movement presents its principles and encourages the government in particular and the nation in general to recognize their validity, what it has written is a manifesto. Unfortunately, readers of English are strongly accustomed to seeing the word manifesto preceded by Communist. And if it isn’t Communist, it’s Unabomber.
הבלוג של אור-אל
17 Sep 2011 16:30:06 +0000
השוני בין הפרסית לבין האנגלית ניכר ממש כמו הדמיון בינהם, וכמובן שלא נתחיל אפילו לדבר על ההבדלים בתרבות. פוסט זה מכוון בעיקר לאנשים שהולכים ללמד פרסים אנגלית, אך הפוסט מתאים גם לאלו שמתעניינים בהבדלים התרבותיים־חינוכיים ובהבדלי השפה.
GevaTrans Blog
14 Sep 2011 08:12:24 +0000
 GevaTrans is happy to announce that our MENA Desk for Middle Eastern & North African languages & DTP is now fully functioning and is headed up by Dee. An Arabic native speaker, Dee speaks fluent English and has nearly 10 years’ experience in the translation and DTP businesses where she started out as a [...]Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
14 Sep 2011 06:00:00 +0000
Native language speakers, especially ESL teachers, quickly learn to identify non-native speakers. Accent is less important than what is termed translation errors, meaning structures translated literally from the speaker’s native tongue. A classic Hebrew speaker mistake is the use of the future tense in temporal clauses, i.e. after the words when, after, as soon as, etc. Hebrew is a quite straight forward language regarding tenses. When the meaning is in the future, you put the verb in the future. By contrast, English avoids use of the future tense as much as possible, almost entirely limiting to the use in the independent clause, the main verb in the sentence. Dependent parts are assumed to be in the same tense as the main verb and are thus written in the present simple. Native speakers take this fact for granted, but English as a second language speakers often struggle with this tendency. For example, in Hebrew, one would write .כאשר אבין את המאמר הזה, אסביר לך, with the two underlined verbs in the future, as compared to the English version: When I understand this article, I will explain it to you. The independent part of the sentence is the future, making it obvious that the whole sentence is in the future. Isn’t that clear?  הבלוג של אור-אל
12 Sep 2011 16:10:00 +0000
הפרסים מתמודדים עם משבר זהות לא קל. מי הם? פרסים? איראנים? מוסלמים? בסקירה דיאכרונית וכרונולוגית זו אני מנסה להגיע למסקנה לגבי הזהות של העם הפרסי, על הרכב איראן ועל ההשפעות על השפה ועל התרבות. היכנסו כדי להמשיך לקרוא!
הבלוג של אור-אל
11 Sep 2011 13:33:25 +0000
מצב הָעברית במדינת ישראל הולך ומדרדר וה"ישראלית", כפי שמכנה פרופ' גלעד צוקרמן את השפה החדשה שנוצרה לנו, תופסת מעמד גדול יותר גם בספרות היפה וגם בשאר הטקסטים הכתובים. בתור טַהֲרָן עברית למהדרין, החלטתי שיש לכתוב אוסף כללי לאדם שעומד לכתוב בעברית המודרנית התקנית, לפי כללי האקדמיָה ולפי כללי ההגיון. המדריך מנוסח בציניות ובהדגמה פרקטית לנוחות [...]
אינגה מיכאלי - בלוגלובלי
09 Sep 2011 07:40:48 +0000
מתוך הבלוג של מוקס – Obsessive compulsive grammar disorder שתהיה לכולנו שבת נעימה ושקטה… Filed under: בשוטף
 הבלוג של אור-אל
09 Sep 2011 08:25:29 +0000
הילה צדיקי היא משוררת איראנית מלאת־תשוקה ובעלת נאמנות מוחלטת לאיראן העתיקה ובעלת שאיפה מתמדת למהפכה באיראן. באחד משיריה הבולטים ביותר היא מכריזה על עצמה כאישה איראנית מערש התרבות וכבת־דורה של שירין. מצורף תרגום לעברית.
הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
09 Sep 2011 09:46:21 +0000
וידוי אישי… גם היום, כשאני כבר בת 43, אני עדיין נהנית מלמצוא את ההבדלים בתמונות במדור הילדים של עיתוני סוף השבוע. אני לא מרפה עד שאני מסמנת את 7 ההבדלים המבוקשים בין תמונות שהן כל כך דומות. אני במיוחד נהנית מאותן תמונות שנורא זהות. ככל שהאתגר גדול יותר כך גם ההנאה והסיפוק מועצמים. כשאני מסתכלת על שתי [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
08 Sep 2011 16:53:00 +0000
It would seem to imply that to live in a country over a long period of time would encompass all aspects of that country, including speaking the language. That would seem especially true for an immigrant country like the United States, where the only factor in common among people could be speaking English. In fact, what struck me on my trip was the lack of “English immersion” in the United States. I knew that many people lived in Spanish or other language ghettos, but to see it in practice was a bit shocking. Large numbers of people who have lived in the United States for 20+ years are unable to understand a simple conversation in English. In many cases, these English non-functional people came in the 20’s or 30’s or even were born there! As an immigrant to Israel, I made it my highest priority to function in Hebrew. It seems to me to be a basic part of participating in society. By contrast, I saw some Turks at the airport in Istanbul who spoke German like a German because they were German in the sense of fully living in Germany. I have seen Africans speak much better French than most French people themselves. In Israel, there are older immigrants, such as Ethiopians and Russians, who because of their surroundings and age, find it difficult to speak Hebrew. However, most younger immigrants quickly and willingly learn to function in Hebrew. I would be curious to hear other people’s reaction and exposure to this phenomenon.  not the Last Word - Uri Bruck
Aug 28, 2011
A multilingual menu on a shop in Haifa
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Aug 28, 2011
מועד: יום ב', 12 בספטמבר 2011, בשעות 17:30 21:00
מקום: בית ציוני אמריקה רח' דניאל פריש 1 (פינת אבן גבירול 26), תל אביב (למפה, לחצו כאן:http://tinyurl.com/3xfbtt7 )
חניה: יש מספר מגרשי חניה בסביבה הקרובה במחירים בין 16 עד 22 ¤ לכל הערב.
לוח זמנים:
17:30 התכנסות
18:30 הרצאה ראשונה
הרצאה ראשונה (בעברית): "חלופות לכתב העברי היכונו לגל הלטיני"
מרצה: יובל פינטר
19:30 הפסקה - כיבוד קל
20:00 הרצאה שנייה
הרצאה שניה (בעברית): "טינגו תרגום, תעתיק, ומה שביניהם"
מרצה: גיא שרת
מחירים:
GevaTrans Blog
24 Aug 2011 18:12:10 +0000
 While we are busy finishing the GevaTrans website and tweaking it into shape, Dee and I thought we would launch our blog which is intended to complement the site. We would like our blog to be a meeting place for those interested in the world of language, translation, DTP and more… But that is [...]Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Aug 21, 2011
יום השתלמות לבעלי ידע קודם בלשון - 07/09/2011
תכנית היום:
10:00 12:00 סדנת ניסוח מפי רחל סליג
12:15 14:15 סוגיות בעריכה מפי צופי ליבוביץ
14:30 15:00 פרק בתחביר מפי אורלי אלבק
פרטים:
http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/hishtalmuyot/closeEvents/Pages/07092011.aspx
יום השתלמות לחובבי הלשון - 21/09/2011
תכנית היום:
15:00 17:00 סדנת ניסוח מפי רחל סליג
17:15 19:15 סוגיות בעריכה מפי צופי ליבוביץ
19:30 20:00 פרק בתחביר מפי אורלי אלבק
ידע קודם אינו נדרש.
פרטים:
http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/hishtalmuyot/closeEvents/Pages/21092011.aspx
GevaTrans Blog
21 Aug 2011 13:37:56 +0000
 Do you really need to jump in your car and drive for an hour or two to meet your website builder a few times? Well, you certainly need to work closely with them if you want your site to have all the functionality, and bells and whistles that you have set your heart on. But [...]Take Nina's Word for It
18 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0000
In recent months I had occasion to read, translate and/or edit a good number of CVs of professionals in the fields of writing, education, hi-tech, translation, and more. A few were superbly written and formatted. But most suffered from at least one problem. I've addressed this issue before, in my post "Who cares when you were born" (published May 2008). But it's been a while, I have a few more suggestions, and the subject is worthy of re-addressing. So here goes:
מארק לוינסון
18 Aug 2011 08:00:00 +0300
The word הזמנה is the one that corresponds better to invitation. It’s a notice saying that you will be welcome at the specified place at the specified time, but unlike זימון it implies you are free to never show up. A זימון may be open to negotiation, but it does not want, and it does not expect, to be disregarded.
Take Nina's Word for It
17 Aug 2011 09:30:00 +0000
Well, perhaps small crimes – against the language – and misdemeanors; the latter referring to writers’ not bothering to self-edit, proofread their work, and/or look up certain words and phrases.
I make allowances for bloggers (including myself, tee-hee), dyslectics, and plain old scatterbrains (again – like me.) Most bloggers I follow are quite strict with themselves and painstaking with their posts. As I’ve said before, a blog is neither a term paper nor a thesis and you write it and “get it out there” without too much delay, striking while the thought is fresh in your mind, the topic topical and your fingers itchy. So here are some crimes against language that I came across recently:
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
14 Aug 2011 09:42:30 +0000
קובץ הקלטה - ראיון בגלי צה"ל 12-8-2011 להמשיך לקרוא
הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
14 Aug 2011 22:06:05 +0000
במהלך השבוע החולף הלכנו אני ורוני כמה וכמה פעמים למאהל המחאה בשדרות רוטשילד בתל אביב. זה לא שאנחנו לוחמים גדולים, או מרגישים צורך לזעוק את הזעקה החברתית, פשוט שנינו אוהבים את הקונספט. שנינו אוהבים את האווירה הזו, אוהבים לשבת עם אנשים, לדבר, לנגן, לשיר, לתת לדברים לקרות מבלי לתכנן. לא תמיד היינו שנינו כל כך דומים. [...]
 Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
11 Aug 2011 18:34:00 +0000
Once upon a time, all boys and girls automatically met (or were matched) somewhere between the ages of 16-20, got married, and lived happily (or not) ever after. Needless to say, those days are over, replaced by divorced once or multiple times, latch key kids, being single to 30, 40, or more, and even two father or mother households. Life is not so simple anymore. Many languages, alas, are behind the time. For example, English has a nice pair of words: girlfriend and boyfriend. These are very adequate words until somewhere around 30 when the “boy” has a pot belly, expanding face, and a salary higher than the father while the “girl” may be a high-level executive who has already given birth. They are clearly not “16 going on 17” as the song says. So, faced with this challenge, English has come with plethora of alternative words. There is the more adult versions lady friend and male friend. There is gender and relation ambiguous partner (the one I am currently using) or, slightly more specific, life partner. For invitations that want to ignore legal status issues, significant others includes everybody. I feel obliged to mention She-who-must-be-obeyed, although I would never actually use it. The problem with all these terms, many of them quite appropriate, is that the speaker has to think which is the most politically correct to use. They all have some gender/legal status/age context. Contrast this with approach taken by Hebrew. There, we have חבר [haver] and חברה [havera], which mean simply friend, masculine and female. The voice inflexion and context let you know how friendly they are, but that really isn’t your business, is it? Older couples can use the terms בן זוג and בת זוג [ben zug / bat zug], which means male and female of the pair, a bit like spouse without the requirement of marriage. The beauty of these words is that there no connotation of age or status, just stating the essential: friendship and togetherness. Those are never outdated. I would be interested in knowing how other languages deal with the older friendships. My next post will be at the end of the month.  Stephen Rifkind - Tip of the Tongue
05 Aug 2011 14:08:00 +0000
The hardest task in a foreign language, even harder than talking on the phone, is reading books in that language. Even many long-term residents of a country never read books in the language of their adopted country, no matter how well they speak the language. In this sense, a person can live 50 years in a country and not become completely bilingual. There are many good reasons for this attitude to foreign language books. Many people read at night in bed. This activity is supposed to be pleasurable and relaxing. Straining your brain and using a dictionary are definitely not fun and restful. Also, the learning curve for reading is very long and steep. In other words, it takes a lot of practice before you can read a book in a foreign language as easily as in your mother tongue. Finally, depending on your native tongue, there may be plenty of reading material available as is. For example, if English speakers have no problem finding reading material wherever they are. There are always English books in libraries and second-hand stores, not mention English books in retail book stores. Therefore, it is clearly very easy not to avoid reading foreign language. However, if you ever really want to master a language, whether you live in a country that speaks that language or not, you have to read it all the time. Passively but effectively, reading a book in the language adds vocabulary, understanding, and nuance. You see many words than you will never hear. Moreover, over time, the reader intuitively understands what they mean without looking at a dictionary. Differences between similar words suddenly become much clearer and easier to remember after you have seen them used hundreds of times. You learn like a native. Also, the connotations of words sink in without any formal explanation. To reach this stage is like climbing a tall mountain. The first part of the journey is hard and tiring, not to mention frustrating at times. However, when a language learner reaches the peak, effortless reading of a foreign language, it all seems worthwhile. You can understand Goethe, Zola, and Orwell in the original, or anybody else who wrote in that language. That is a natural high, like climbing a mountain. However, unlike Sir Hillary, you never have to go down. You can enjoy the view all of your life. That's a good reason to learn how to read in a foreign language.  הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
26 Jul 2011 21:18:51 +0000
לא מזמן פינקנו אתכם במספר טיפים שימושיים שיעזרו לכם בעבודתכם מול חברה לתרגום. נשארו עוד שתי מנות עיקריות, והנה הן לפניכם: אחריות קניתם מזגן מעולה באחלה דיל ובמחיר רצפה, רק מה – אין עליו אחריות. הצחקתי אתכם? לא קונים מוצר בלי אחריות, זה לא אחראי! מאותה סיבה לא עובדים עם חברה לתרגום שלא נותנת אחריות [...]
 not the Last Word - Uri Bruck
Jul 25, 2011
Google מפרסמים את קונבנציות הכתיב של השירות החדש שלהם AQText Translation Services
21 Jul 2011 11:39:07 +0000
Over the past couple of years, we’ve been translating a steady stream of resumes for American expats moving to Israel. Most of them have experience in both countries and the original English resumes denote the location of Israeli institutions with city and country names (for example: Jerusalem, Israel). This makes perfect sense if you don’t [...]
Translation Israel - Uri Bruck
Jul 19, 2011
ערב עיון העברית בין רצף לחידוש יתקיים ביום שני א' באב, 1 באוגוסט. בתכנית: הרצאתו של חיים באר על ארון הספרים היהודי כת�יבת תהודה בספרות העברית והרצאותיהן של עובדות המזכירות המדעית של האקדמיה ד"ר קרן דובנוב ותמר כץ. מנחה ד"ר גבריאל בירנבאום.
הקהל מוזמן!
פרטים:
http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/hishtalmuyot/closeevents/pages/310711.aspx
יום השתלמות לחובבי הלשון ביום רביעי כ"ה בתמוז, 27 ביולי.
פרטים:
http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/HISHTALMUYOT/CLOSEEVENTS/Pages/27072011.aspx
מארק לוינסון
18 Jul 2011 04:30:00 +0300
There was a spate of commentary explaining that terrorism is a nuisance but not an existential threat to Israel. Before that, I’d heard only about existentialism. So an existential threat to Israel sounded like a streetful of French intellectuals campaigning to cut off our supply of brie.
הבלוג של ליצ'י תרגומים
08 Jul 2011 08:30:46 +0000
אגדה יפנית עתיקה מספרת על בית הניצב על ראש גבעה ובתוכו 1000 מראות. השמועה על הבית המיוחד עושה לה כנפיים ומגיעה לכלב סקרן ועליז שמחליט ללכת לבקר. כולו שמחת חיים ואופטימיות, זנבו מכשכש ועל פניו מרוח חיוך כלבי מאוזן לאוזן הוא מגיע ונכנס לסלון הבית. להפתעתו הרבה הוא מוצא את עצמו מתבונן ב 1000 כלבים שמחים, כשכולם [...]
 Take Nina's Word for It
02 Jul 2011 12:01:00 +0000
Reading ads and picking on small-but-annoying mistakes (I have one of those with me today, too) is not the only thing I do for fun. I also read real, entire books. My problem is usually which book to read. My home library is an amalgam of my family's taste, and that covers quite a range, including – but not limited to – history, fantasy & sci-fi, thrillers, plays, popular science, and more. Mostly in English. Some I inherited from my parents; some my kids left behind when they flew the coop; some I received as gifts, rescued from being thrown out by neighbors, or bought at airports and bookshops around the world like Feltrinelli (Italy) and Waterstone's (UK), to name a few.
These days, however, I'm surrounded by a whole new collection, mostly in Hebrew but also in French and English: the library of my daughter Daria and her life-partner Noam. Not that I haven't visited their rented Tel Aviv apartment before; but these were on the whole brief, purposeful visits that didn't leave me much time for browsing the packed bookshelves. But if you've been following the vicissitudes of my life to any extent, you can't have missed the fact that I have recently become a grandmother. As such, I've had the privilege of pacing the couple's living room for hours, infant in arms, humming silly things like Ah-ah baby, Mummy is a lady, Daddy is a gentleman, and Momo is my baby. No rule that says I can't scan the bookshelves as I pace. Or, when my arms get tired, I can pass Baby to Grandpa, freeing my hands to actually take books off the shelf and look at them. I made the decision not to bring the book I'm currently reading (The Book of Ultimate Truths, Robert Rankin) to Momositting sessions. My shoulder bag is heavy enough as it is, and why bring a book to a place that has so many volumes that I don't have at home? And so it came to pass that I picked up something I've always thought I ought to read:Jack Keruack's On The Road. Unfortunately, it's in Hebrew. Translated by Oded Peled*. And therein lies the problem. I read a sentence, and wonder: What was the English? Why does this sentence sound so stiff? The translator uses the Hebrew word "gruta'a" – I bet the original says "jalopy"; really must check. Which I did, and indeed the sentence is "Dean… was actually born on the road, when his parents were passing through Salt Lake City in 1926, in a jalopy…" I end up being tempted to translate a few pages myself, without peeking, to see if there's any way I can make the Hebrew text flow more naturally and easily, as it does in English. Daria had said that she gave up on the book (in the Hebrew version) very early on, and decided to read it in English. As far as I know, she hasn't gotten around to it yet. Maybe when darling Momo starts sleeping through the night. Or through the day. One or the other. And so, back to my usual kvetching about poor translation of trivial ads. This one appears in Friday's (July 1st) Jerusalem Post special Active supplement, and sounds quite okay, except for one offending word. The English text, referring to wheat crackers with the "original" name Crispiot, says, inter alia: "Crispiot are crisps made of 100% puffed wheat, which is rich in nutritional fibers." Yes, dear translator; in Hebrew the expression is sivim tezunatyim, in the plural. But in English it's fiber, not fibers. Fibers are what material is made of, for instance. Besides, if you check the original English label of any foodstuff containing fiber, the "nutritional" is implicit; or else it's referred to as "dietary fiber". Or who knows – maybe you wrote it correctly, but a know-it-all Israeli editor thought he/she knew better… Bon appétit, all; remember to include fiber in your diet. ___________________________________ * Some people liked Oded Peled's translation. Scroll down the article , because most of it refers to Shaul Levin's translation of The Original Scroll version.  AQText Translation Services
28 Jun 2011 17:57:53 +0000
In my last post on creating a mindset conductive to better pay, I promised to show how to use this attitude in doing the actual translation. However, several comments on one of LinkedIn groups (sorry about the malfunctioning comment function here – it has been fixed) made it clear that the message did not go [...]
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
27 Jun 2011 00:38:57 +0000
מתוך אחרית דבר: לחצו על התמונה כדי להוריד את קובץ סונטות שקספיר ….תרגומיי לסונטות של של שקספיר הצטברו במגרה טיפין-טיפין. את הראשונות התחלתי לתרגם באמצע שנות השישים, שעה שלמדתי תרגום אצל ד"ר אדם ריכטר, ראש אגודת המתרגמים דאז, וכשלמדתי ספרות אנגלית באוניברסיטת תל-אביב. … להמשיך לקרוא
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
27 Jun 2011 10:35:43 +0000
- ברוכים הבאים -
הוראות שימוש באתר להמשיך לקרוא
not the Last Word - Uri Bruck
Jun 26, 2011
The Wordnik online dictionary is a useful dictionary with an array of tools for word lovers and an API for developers.
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
26 Jun 2011 00:04:39 +0000
קובץ הקלטה - ראיון ברשת ב' 23-06-2011 - להמשיך לקרוא
English with Linda
25 Jun 2011 13:42:20 +0000
Don’t believe me? Check this out: http://mox.ingenierotraductor.com/ And thanks to Maurice for the link.
 AQText Translation Services
23 Jun 2011 10:31:20 +0000
In my last post, I explained why paying too much attention to non-paying customers or demanding a “living wage” is counterproductive to achieving professional success. Translators sometimes argue that their services are undervalued, because they are meant to be transparent. In other words, since the ultimate translation is the one that reads as if it [...]
Take Nina's Word for It
21 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000
For weeks now, the newspapers have been carrying huge, full-page ads for Beauty City , an event(?) that will take place at Tel Aviv's fairgrounds, officially called The Israel Trade Fairs Center, (Merkaz HaYeridim @ Ganei HaTa'arucha, June 22-24, 2011.
For a token(?) entrance fee of NIS 30, women (well, I bet it'll be mostly women) will be awash in a sea of cosmetics and toiletries of every brand and kind. Heavily made-up sales representatives will probably be offering free makeovers, cute sachets of samples, and tempting(?) discounts. You know, the kind that make all the difference in the world: A 30-shekel cream sold for 20 shekels, and a superior(?) 800 shekel cream on special for "only" 600. Or maybe buy three, spend an arm and a leg, get one free, it'll come in handy instead of that missing arm or leg. Hey, listen, I love wandering in the scented aisles of the Perfumery & Magic-Potion section of malls and duty-free shops. I inhale deeply, pick up pretty jars, read some ingredients and pipe-dream promises, appreciate the good copywriting and sneer at the bad texts. I consider the significant difference between Autumn Rose, Dusty Pink, and Plum Surprise shades of lipstick and their possible contribution to my general appearance and attractiveness. I hesitate between Desert Beige and Sandy Peach shades of powder for my reddish nose. I lament the fact that I can no longer use mascara because my eyes object in no uncertain terms and my skin reacts with a rash to anything more scented than baby soap. Then I sigh, pick up an unscented facial moisturizer with SPF 30, queue up, pay and leave. "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."  פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
20 Jun 2011 20:25:51 +0000
Jabberwocky / Lewis Carroll 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. 'Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! … להמשיך לקרוא
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
20 Jun 2011 20:56:33 +0000
LE DORMEUR DU VAL / Arthur Rimbaud C'est un trou de verdure où chante une rivière Accrochant follement aux herbes des haillons D'argent; où le soleil, de la montagne fière, Luit: c’est un petit val qui mousse de rayons. Un … להמשיך לקרוא
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
20 Jun 2011 21:04:38 +0000
ROBERT HERRICK (1591-1674) / To the Virgins Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, The higher he’s a-getting; … להמשיך לקרוא
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
20 Jun 2011 21:12:59 +0000
Emily Dickinson / Exclusion The soul selects her own society Then shuts the door; On her divine majority Obtrude no more. Unmoved, she notes the chariot's pausing At her low gate; Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling Upon her mat. I've … להמשיך לקרוא
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
20 Jun 2011 21:26:00 +0000
Philip Larkin / Wants Beyond all this, the wish to be alone: However the sky grows dark with invitation-cards However we follow the printed directions of sex However the family is photographed under the flag-staff - Beyond all this, the … להמשיך לקרוא
פרופ' זיוה שמיר - מחקרים בספרות עברית
20 Jun 2011 21:53:05 +0000
ודווקא מתוך "נווה שאנן" זה, שבו כמצות אנשים מלומדה אין מזכירים כלל כל אותם עניינים הטורדים את מנוחתם של בני הדור הוותיק, יוצאים שני ילדים אמיצים ושוברי מוסכמות – מיה ומתי – ונכנסים בלא יודעים למעמקיו האסורים של היער. … להמשיך לקרוא
Take Nina's Word for It
19 Jun 2011 16:30:00 +0000
Local car importers/distributors strike again.
Or rather, strike out again. Yet another Israeli advertising agency has blundered. The ad in question this time is for Fiat 500. Cute little car; there's one parked on our street. Looks perfect as a runabout for errands in and around the city and parking in tight places. No, I do not think it would be the first choice of some Italian contessa or principessa. The ad in question bears the title: BEAUTIFUL. ITALIAN. Beneath which is a photo of a bejeweled, prettyish woman, supposedly Italian looking, supposedly with a seductive expression and finger-to-lip sexiness. At the bottom right is the toy itself, which looks – due to the angle and proportions of the illustration – as if it would barely accommodate two of Snow White's dwarfs. (They were chubby, you will recall; at least in the Disney version, which is what most of us recall.) Bottom left is the horrendous copy, translated literally from trite, ill-conceived Hebrew copy. I'll spare you the pain and just give you the questionable beginning and the flawed end: "The Italian beauty will attract you. It's hypnotizing. It's overpowering. [7 more lines of bla bla, yadda yadda] … which combines beauty with character. With the company of a gorgeous Italian..." [Hint hint, nudge nudge, say no more!] Did they by any chance mean "in the company of a gorgeous Italian"? Who knows. Just compare that fatuous babble with the less pretentious, spot-on description of the car on the official Fiat site in Hebrew; briefly, it says "it warms the cockles of your heart and brings a smile to your face."  AQText Translation Services
19 Jun 2011 14:13:16 +0000
Don’t we all hate Scrooges among our clients? As true as this may be in most other professions (a former boss of mine who used to own a tombstone company told me he had never received a bad check in 20 years in business), among translators the pain runs so deeply that recently someone launched [...]
Take Nina's Word for It
18 Jun 2011 15:04:00 +0000
Weeks ago, I saw a full page ad, in English, for the new VW Passat: run-of-the-mill looking car in an empty street of a nameless, gold-colored foreign city. Okay. I can live with that. Boring, unimaginative, but not offensive.
The title-slogan says: The new Passat. Huh? What on earth got into them? What did they mean by that? Google to the rescue. Seems there's this clip, the brainchild of one of Israel's largest advertising agencies, that's presented as an example of Israeli advertising at its best. I watched the clip. I've seen better, I've seen worse. But the telltale error of their ways is revealed at the tail end. The voiceover says: The new VW Passat. It gets into you. And the Hebrew subtitles read (I transliterate): hee mashpi'ah aleicha. Which means, gentlemen, it gets to you. Vive la difference. And this, dear readers, is a true representative sample of Israeli car advertising at its typical blundering "best". BTW: This ad's rating on the above-mentioned site is 8.8/10, gained through a very generous 19 votes. I wonder how many of the voters were native English speakers. (I bet none were finicky editors or QA people.) The clip also appears on YouTube, but without the Hebrew subtitles which give it away.  מארק לוינסון
18 Jun 2011 03:59:00 +0300
Both חשיפה and exposure are odd concepts in that they are not necessarily affected much by a reversal of directionality. For example, if a rabbi exposes his sense of humor to his students, he has also exposed his students to his sense of humor and the phrasings differ little in their meaning. I suppose the difference is in a choice of emphasis: on the thing that has previously remained in concealment, or on the people who have previously remained unaware.
AQText Translation Services
14 Jun 2011 12:56:54 +0000
In an insightful blog post about the NDAs in the translation industry, Grace Bosworth shares some personal experiences litigating with a former employer over a non-compete agreement. She is correct in arguing that litigation is the only way to enforce any type of agreement. The financial and emotional cost of litigation often makes it counterproductive. [...]
Take Nina's Word for It
13 Jun 2011 13:30:00 +0000
Cars. They are so much more than just a biggish, expensive device to get you from A to B. And competition is fierce. So naturally manufacturers pour a lot of money into outdoing each other with creative ads.
All this effort goes down the drain by the time the ads make it to Israel, and the local importer/distributor asks his advertising agency to make a Hebrew version of the ad. More often than not, the agency apparently decides that the ad created for Europe or North America simply won't work in Israel, and opts for a made-for-the-average-Israeli-macho version. The results range from acceptable to lame to downright awful. Example? With [dis]pleasure. Go to the Volvo XC90 page and click on the link 5 Things to Know. That's just plain good marketing writing; nothing extravagant. Tells you good things about the car. That's for the sake of background information. Then Google "Volvo XC90 ads" and look at a few. The artwork is beautiful and the slogan is simple: Life is Lived Better Together. Or if you want the humorous version, try this. Now, if you have a Hebrew daily handy, look at the ad that's been running in Hebrew papers for weeks. The Hebrew text is low-brow, crass and coarse, which is bad enough. The English translation is … I can't think of a suitable adjective: Unprofessional. Literal. Yuck. Blargh. It doesn't even capture the spirit of the Hebrew. (I don't know if that's good or bad, in this case!) See below: (The text of the ad is all upper case; not my doing.) YOU HIT THE ACCELERATOR AND DON'T BELIEVE IT, 3.2 LITERS MOBILIZE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH 238 HORSEPOWER. YOU LOOK BEHIND YOU AND DON'T BELIEVE IT, THERE ARE SEVEN SEATS. YOU GET INTO THE CAR, AND YOU DON'T BELIEVE THE AMOUNT OF PAMPERING FEATURES [SIC!]. YOU READ ABOUT THIS OFFER AND YOU REALIZE THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY WHICH WON'T REPEAT ITSELF. Sadly, this "opportunity" has been repeating itself for weeks.  Take Nina's Word for It
12 Jun 2011 14:26:00 +0000
Baby-leasing or hair styling?
Those were the two options that crossed my mind when I first saw the name of the luxury accommodations offered to new moms by Lis Maternity Hospital in Tel Aviv. Babylis. I ask you! Okay, so it's a challenge for the copywriter to think up a pithy name for it. So give the task to an imaginative, creative person. I happen to know we have several here in Israel. The word "bliss" just begs to be used in this context, at the risk of slipping down the slippery slope of mushy-mushy. The name Babyliss, pronounced in Hebrew (at least in my teens) bah-bee-lees, was one of the first I heard in the world of hair coiffing, when my friends and I had our hair done every Friday afternoon, in time for Friday night's party. Girls like me, with straight hair, had their hair put up in rollers to give them "volume", while girls with curly-to-kinky hair spent hours straightening their locks with bahbeelees. As pronounced in Hebrew, the name Baby Lis sounds alarmingly like "baby-lease", and you're left wondering how it works: Can you lease your baby to someone who is babyless and wants one for an afternoon stroll, to show off in the park? If you're in need of a baby, can you apply to Baby Lis and get one on lease for a limited period?... As for the place itself, though my eldest is at the moment there with her partner and exquisite (naturally!) newborn baby boy, I haven't been there yet, so can't vouch for its being luxurious. A luxury in terms of cost it definitely is. To my daughter Daria, and everyone else at Lis Maternity Hotel: Mazal Tov, Congrats, enjoy your stay!  Take Nina's Word for It
28 May 2011 08:40:00 +0000
As usual, I had a hard time deciding what books to take with me on my trip. I had quite a stack on the table, and Daniel helped me finally narrow it down to two:
Frederik Pohl – Alternating Currents (short stories), and Robert Rankin – The Book of Ultimate Truths. The first being smaller and lighter, I thought I might read it en route, and so packed it in a safe and sensible place in the carry-on trolley, so it would be easy to get at. So naturally I couldn’t for the life of me find it, and had to start reading the Rankin which had been casually thrown in among the clothes in the big suitcase. But before I could get very far, Michael finished the book he was reading, and so appropriated Rankin, while, by sheer chance, Pohl turned up. Not that I had much time for reading; and when I did read, my first priority was the excellent travel guide we brought along (amply mentioned in my travel blog) by Rick Steves & Cameron Hewitt. Disappointed with the scant choice of travel guides in English on Slovenia & Croatia at local shops (Steimatzki and Lametayel), Michael turned to Amazon.com and ordered 2 books that seemed promising . The Rick Steves one made good on that promise: not only does it give detailed and reliable information on everything from where to stay, what to wear and which ice cream is best, but it's also entertaining reading; these writers definitely have a way with words. (When was the last time you guffawed while reading a Michelin guide-book?) But at bedtime, Steves was abandoned in favor of Pohl. Big mistake?... The first story, Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus, with its focus on consumerism gone mad, reminded me of The Midas Plague, in Pohl's collection The Case Against Tomorrow. In both, the problem of over-consuming is not solved on a global level; but individuals, at least, find a way around it, so in that sense at least it has a happy end. The second story, Ghost Maker, is a bit morbid, and the protagonist gets his comeuppance with a twist… Keep that in mind when dealing with ghosts and ghost-makers. The third story, Let the Ants Try, is a downright horror story and a dire dystopia. I think the mere title gave me the creeps; I sort of suspected the ants would win the day, to the detriment of mankind. It was the sort of story to give me nightmares. Luckily, my felicitous travel experiences overcame the imaginary horror, and my crazy dreams were on the happy side. Pythias, a story of pride and the dangers of absolute power, sent me running (well, clicking, more like) to Wikipedia, ashamed of my ignorance. Wow! Did you know she was Aristotle's first wife? Together, Aristotle and Pythias had a daughter, also named Pythias. This Pythias married three times. I bet their story is at least as interesting as this specific story by Pohl, and probably more so. The Mapmakers is about being lost in space. Yes, the spaceship Terra II gets back safely. That isn't really a spoiler, because how they find their way back is the unexpected bit. Rafferty's Reasons is plain depressing in an Orwellian way, with echoes of Animal Farm, 1984, and perhaps some Camus thrown in, I'm not sure. If this story is any indication of the shape of things to come, then we all have very good reason to rebel. Target One is one of those time-warp/alternate history stories where the protagonists naively think that if they only change or prevent one significant event, history will be the better for it. Well, naturally we're not that naïve, we know that change happens with or without a certain great personality. We sci-fi readers know that messing with history more often than not screws things up even worse… Grandy Devil – ah, at last a whimsical, humorous story! Not without its dark side, but not nightmare material. The Tunnel Under the World is my favorite story in this collection. It starts out with a bang and ends in a whimper, but that's not a bad thing, in this case. The nightmare begins early on, the protagonist is trapped, feels that something terrible is going on (the doings of Martians? The Russians?) and decides to fight it, run for freedom, get help. As his attempt is foiled, the twist in the plot reveals itself… Which is why I'll clam up and say no more. Go ahead, read it, I dare you. What To Do Till The Analyst Comes (last story) suffers from a bit of obvious preachiness. It, too, reeks of doom; not by the hands of aliens but by our own laziness, in a Lotus Eaters kind of way. As for the Rankin book – I am reserving judgment, since I am only on page 37 out of 347. All I can say is that so far I'm having a hard time following what's going on. (Daniel did warn me it was weird.) I peeked at readers' opinions online and got the impression that Rankin is an acquired taste.  גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
28 May 2011 17:42:07 +0000
אי שם במזרח התיכון, חי לו שבט מבודד שבשפה שלו אין ביטוי שמקביל ל-Here we go again. אם היה, הייתי פותח בו את הפוסט הזה. כי כמו שקורה במחזוריות של אחת לכמה חודשים, מתפרסם לו בעיתונות דיווח על שבט כלשהו באמזונס שבשפתו אין דרך לבטא ??? (השלם את החסר). בד"כ הפרסום הזה מצטט באופן עמום [...]
גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
24 May 2011 17:57:58 +0000
עבר כבר יותר משבוע מאז שנתקלתי בשיר המקסים הזה שאמור לגרום לכל בלשן או סטודנט לבלשנות לחייך מאוזן לאוזן (ולמי שרוצה, הנה המילים); סוגריים מרובעים ותכוניות מעולם לא נשמעו כ"כ רומנטיים. ובעוד אני מתלבט אם יש לי מה להוסיף מעבר לקישור, התגלגלתי לפוסט ב-Language Log שמנסה להסביר את שם השיר למי שלא למד סמנטיקה פורמלית; [...]
מארק לוינסון
18 May 2011 08:00:00 +0300
In English, the word phenomenon is claimed both by scientists who consider that, as in Greek, it means anything that has come into view, and by circus ringmasters who like to reserve it for things they would call phenomenal, while the rest of us are caught in between. Nachama Kanner wrote in asking about those cases where phenomenon doesn’t quite work as a translation for תופעה.
גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
10 May 2011 17:24:11 +0000
עובדה בסיסית ומוכרת לגבי השפה האנושית היא שיש שמות עצם ספירים (count nouns), ויש בלתי ספירים (mass nouns). לשמות ספירים יש צורת יחיד וצורת רבים (למשל, "כלב" ו"כלבים"), ואפשר לתאר כמות שלהם בעזרת מספרים ("שלושה כלבים"). לשמות בלתי ספירים יש צורת יחיד (למשל, "חלב" או "אורז"), אבל צורת הרבים שלהם, אם יש כזו, היא בד"כ [...]
English with Linda
08 May 2011 13:15:51 +0000
For both parties, a written agreement is always the best option. A contract doesn’t intimate a lack of trust, but rather being straightforward about exactly what, when and how services will be given, and what, when and how payment will be expected. I also think that a contract makes one look much more professional. Of [...]
 Take Nina's Word for It
06 May 2011 16:20:00 +0000
Vece, I said vece, didn't I? I meant WC, of course. For zenski. With a squiggle on top of the z. That's what it says in the section "Slovenian Survival Phrases" at the end of the guide book.
I started reading that glossary the day before our trip, but somehow nothing sank in. Except perhaps Ja and Ne. Some other words sounded vaguely familiar, like "dobro", meaning good, which sounds like the Polish word "dobre", which I heard often in my schooldays from my Polish speaking friends and their families. And "Na svidenje", meaning goodbye, which sounds a lot like its Russian counterpart, "Dasvidaniya" (please ignore spelling.) But other than that, I seemed to bump against a wall, or mental block. How can I call myself a linguist if I can only manage mildly-foreign languages such as French, Spanish and Italian? The moment things get a bit tricky, I'm lost. In Portugal, it was the pronunciation rather than the vocabulary that killed me. Here it's both. All those impossible consonant clusters! Before our first trip to Greece many years ago, I made a point of studying the Greek alphabet, so that I could read the signs. It did help. Here in Slovenia, the alphabet is familiar, I even know how to pronounce the c and the z with and without the "chupchik", but it all comes to naught when we're driving along the highway at 130 km/h and a sign looms with a list of half a dozen destinations, all with impossible names, and is gone within a blink. One major mistake was not learning the names of the cardinal directions. A hit-and-miss attitude to directions is bound to result in trouble... And there is absolutely no way you can guess: North = Sever, South = Jug, East = Vzhod, West = Zahod. I couldn't think of a single mnemonic for any of them. Sever made me think of the river Severn; "Jug" made me think of the jugular vein and vampires; Vzhod looks to me like total gibberish; and Zahod brings to mind the delightful(?) Zaphod Beeblebrox which, you'll agree, is not a very helpful association. Today, for instance, on our way to catch a train in the middle of nowhere, we were stopped because of road works. We tried to explain that we have a train to catch, even resorting to mimicry and "choo-choo", but the guy with the beret and red-and-green lanterns just shrugged. By the time I've mastered a few basic words in Slovenian, we'll be in Croatia. Anyone have any helpful hints??? For more stories of our Slovenia & Croatia adventures, see my travel blog: http://nina-makes-tracks.blogspot.com/ Meantime, adijo! Vidiva se kasneje gori v pubu :-)  גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
26 Apr 2011 17:25:29 +0000
לא עבר אפילו שבוע מאז שהזכרתי את הגישה הבכיינית לשינוי בשפה וכבר התפרסמה ב"הארץ" דוגמא לתפארת מדינת ישראל. באמת שהתלבטתי אם לטרוח ולהגיב על הטור הזה של צפי סער, עד שבא בן לי וולק והתנדב לעשות את העבודה המלוכלכת ב"דגש קל". אז למי שלא קרא, אני ממליץ על ביקור ב"דגש קל" לקבלת מנת שפיות קטנה. [...]
גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
21 Apr 2011 17:15:00 +0000
הנה נושא שההגיון אומר שאסור לי לכתוב עליו, כי הוא נמצא בתפר בין כמה תחומים שבאף אחד מהם אני לא ממש מבין: בלשנות היסטורית, פונטיקה, טיפולוגיה לשונית ומודלים הסתברותיים. אבל לאור השטויות שכבר נכתבו על הנושא, הרבה יותר גרוע זה כבר לא יהיה. אז כמו שאולי כבר קראתם בעתונים, מחקר חדש של חוקר בשם קוונטין [...]
מארק לוינסון
18 Apr 2011 06:00:00 +0300
What is the general term that would fit a guy whose function involves no hands-on participation, no hiring, firing, budget-making, imposition of schedules, or issuance of commands, and no PowerPoint presentations, but who nonetheless is supposed to be listened to seriously because he knows the stuff?
גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
15 Apr 2011 06:18:08 +0000
יש סוגי אנשים שעדיף לא להתווכח איתם. למשל, ילדים בני שלוש וחצי.
אתמול הבן הקטן שלי הסביר לי, בצורה ברורה ושיטתית, שהיום זה מחר. הטיעון הלך בערך ככה (לא במילים המדויקות האלה- זה מהרגעים האלה שגורמים לי לתהות למה אני לא מסתובב כל הזמן עם מצלמת וידיאו ביד): "אתמול אמא לא הרשתה לי לראות סרט, אבל היא הבטיחה שמחר אני אוכל לראות. היא התכוונה להיום, כי זה היום שאחרי אתמול, אז היום זה מחר, אז אפשר לראות עכשיו את הסרט?"
ביירון בלוג
14 Apr 2011 10:44:07 +0000
לאחרונה חברת ביירון ביצעה עבודת תמלול לחברת גג הנגב. העבודה בוצעה תחת לחץ זמן ודד-ליין קצר. מכיוון שהחומר נשלח לבית משפט מיד לאחר התמלול היה צורך בעבודה מהירה מדויקת ומקצועית. להלן ההמלצה שקיבלנו מהחברה על שירותי התמלול שלנו:
פוסטים דומים:תמונות של ביירון בכנס מנהלי רכש 2011
תרגום מערבית לעברית אינהאוס
פוסטים דומים:
גבי דנון - בלשנות אונליין
12 Apr 2011 05:45:16 +0000
כותרת רב-משמעית מ"הארץ", "מת רץ במרתון ת"א שהתמוטט במהלך הריצה", מעלה שאלות לגבי תהליך העיבוד של משפטים וחלוקת העבודה בין הרכיב התחבירי לרכיב הסמנטי והפרגמטי בעיבוד משפטים. וגם משהו על משחק מילים שאף אחד לא כתב.
Take Nina's Word for It
09 Apr 2011 19:05:00 +0000
Some may say it never was; they lump it together with card tricks, astrology, palmistry and other trivial pursuits. But handwriting analysis as practiced by serious, well-educated professionals is neither a party-trick nor trivial. At its best, it can help identify forgeries and questioned documents, and serves as a worthwhile complementary tool in personality evaluation. At its worst, when practiced by charlatans, it is indeed worthless; when practiced by professionals it might fall short of expectations.
And who am I to make such statements about graphology? Years ago, I worked for one of the best, if not the best, handwriting analyst that ever lived in Israel: the late Dr. Aryeh Naftali. [Photo copyright: the Naftali family.] I got to thinking of him last weekend, when the J. Post carried an interview with his daughter and successor, Michal Naftali. Not that I needed any reminding. Things that I learnt from Dr. Naftali, affectionately called "Abba" (Dad) even in the office, are with me constantly. For example, the relaxation exercises which he taught me, and which I practice nearly every day. What does that have to do with handwriting analysis? Probably nothing; but Dr. Naftali was far more than a handwriting analyst; among other things, he was a doctor of medicine who believed in the healing power of relaxation exercises, sphincter muscle exercises (the Paula Garbourg method), breathing and developing proper vocal technique. I'm sorry I can't give you a link to the article by Larry Derfner; searching for it shows that it's in the paper's Premium Zone, i.e. for paying customers only. As an aside: I have no idea whether Derfner interviewed Michal in Hebrew or in English; I assume his Hebrew is good by now, and Michal (a classmate of mine at Tel Aviv University) always had a good command of English; nonetheless, a few expressions in the text sounded very much like literal translation from Hebrew. But that's neither here nor there. Back to graphology. Dr. Naftali, bless him, hired me on the strength of a sample of my handwriting, and despite what he saw in it. As he dictated to me (remember, this was way back when, well before personal computers), he used to sometimes comment half-jokingly on my handwriting: "I gather you had a good night's sleep? You're very focused and relaxed today." Or: "What's wrong, Nina? Aren't you feeling well?" When I was agonizing over my separation from Husband No. 1, considering divorce, Dr. Naftali examined my husband's handwriting, and gave me the straight dope: This man is (a), (b) and (c). He's not very likely to change in this respect. It's up to you: are you willing and able to live with these aspects of his personality? He didn't really tell me anything I didn't know about my husband. But he sure put things in perspective. And now for my question: Is graphology still relevant? I ask because to some extent, I feel it has lost its power, through no intrinsic fault of its own. The reason is our addiction to typing… Most of us hardly write by hand anymore, aside from scribbling a note here and there. We use our fingers to "text" (SMS, or "lesames", to Israelis) and to type. When we do occasionally have to hand-write anything, our fingers feel stiff, and the handwriting comes out sloppy, the letters not as well-formed as they used to be. This isn't true, of course, of all people. Some are less affected than others. If a graphologist is analyzing the handwriting of a hi-tech person or a university professor, chances are their handwriting has deteriorated. But if the analyzed sample belongs to a person whose vocation and avocation don't call for much writing, be it by hand or by keyboard, then I suppose his/her handwriting is the same as it ever was or would be. I assume professionals like Michal Naftali and her brother Jonathan are well aware of these factors, and compensate for them, to the extent possible, in their analysis. What is "the extent possible"? I have no idea. Maybe I should pick up the phone and ask Michal, since the issue did not come up in the interview. Naftali Institute of Graphology (Hebrew only) Naftali Institute of Forensic Graphology  Take Nina's Word for It
01 Apr 2011 09:54:00 +0000
It's very difficult to write fresh, convincing copy for Israel's hotel industry. Probably for the hotel industry everywhere, but my experience has been mainly with Israeli hotels and resorts.
Whatever you do, it all tends to come out sounding the same… How many different adjectives can you use to describe the "sumptuous" rooms (or meals), the "breathtaking" view, the "sophisticated" equipment in the gym or in the business lounge, and so on?... The other day I was asked to translate (Hebrew>English) a promotional text about a certain hotel chain I'd never heard of, let's call it The Hercules Heights. Unsurprisingly, the Hebrew text was a disaster: muddled and badly written. Looking for help online, I found that the hotel chain actually had a pretty decent website, written in pretty decent English and employing all the usual suspects -- I mean adjectives -- in a relatively creative way. No idea who wrote it, but someone both professional and imaginative. The website helped me bypass the hurdles of the Hebrew text and produce an acceptable English version. (Thank you, Mysterious Colleague, whoever you are.) Thursday morning, leafing through the J. Post's Weekend magazine, I came across a one-page promotional text about a different hotel, let's call it The Tantalus Towers. Guess what: it contained nearly the same description as the stuff written about the Hercules. Let me be clear: I am not for a moment suggesting that the writer borrowed text from that, or any other, similar hotel website. It's just that, well, they all use the same phrases… (Actually, it just occurred to me that both texts may have been written by the same writer!) Be that as it may, it would be nice if we could restrain ourselves and try, from now on, to produce text that's a bit less pretentious and trite:
Of course, if your client – the hotel – feels gypped by the tame nature of the adjectives you've chosen, you may have no choice but to recant. Now, I may be picky, but something bothered me about the penultimate sentence of the article: "Those wanting a massage can close their eyes, snuggle in a cozy robe and slippers, and listen to the rainforest while sipping hot tea." Why don't you read it again and try to imagine the scenario: You want a massage. Presumably, you go down to the Spa. You close your eyes, then you lie/sit down in robe and slippers, listen to the rainforest (?), and sip hot tea. End of story. I wonder whether an editor/proofreader who was in a hurry, or perhaps a layout person, just chopped off a few words in order to make the story fit better on the page (and the hell with logic.)  ביירון בלוג
17 Mar 2011 12:53:50 +0000
לחצו על הוידאו בכדי לצפות בסרטון. נשמח לשמוע מה דעתכם על הסרטון ואיך אתם מתכוונים לחגוג את החג…
Click the video to watch it. Write to us what you think about it.
פוסטים דומים:ביירון מגייסת מנהל/ת פרויקטים וקשרים עסקיים
כלבלבית: תרגום סימולטני לכלבים
במה אנחנו לא נוגעים
פוסטים דומים:
Take Nina's Word for It
13 Mar 2011 12:46:00 +0000
Apparently, this is the 5th Women in Business conference I would have ignored, had I not been specifically invited to attend this year by my entrepreneur daughter. Daria was invited to take part in a four-women panel about – fancy that – women entrepreneurs. I don't get to see Daria give a talk about her enterprise very often, and thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to combine business with pleasure: see Daria do her thing; take a day off routine work; mingle, network, see other women.
Since I don't usually go to conferences other than the ITA's (as I've mentioned in a previous post), I studied the program/agenda carefully to see which lectures I'd like to attend. As far as I could see, the program was available only in Hebrew. No English, no Arabic, no Russian. Hmm. I wonder what that means. I guess it means that if you're a woman doing business in Israel, you had better know Hebrew. Or else. Let's look at some of the program highlights and see which sessions are worth going to… 09:30- 10 a.m. – Opening, Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv. Nah, can't be bothered. Too early in the morning. Besides, since when do mayors say anything really interesting in such speeches. I've had the opportunity to edit or translate various mayors' addresses. I could probably write such a speech with one hand tied behind my back. Though that would slow me down, seeing as I'm used to touch-typing. 10 – 10:20 – Prof Gabriela Shalev, From Israel to the UN and Back. Yes, she's good. But I just heard her at the ITA conference, and assume she'll say more or less the same things. 10:20 - 11:05 – Where Are They All? A panel with half a dozen women in high places – a CEO, a judge, and other execs. I have no idea what this panel is supposed to discuss. What's the key issue? Too vague. Not attractive. Skip it. Plan to pick Daria up from Tel Aviv. Okay, we found parking and went in. As soon as I got my name tag, attached it to my shirt and started "mingling", I realized my mistake: my name tag was useless. I failed to fill in the registration form correctly and, as a result, my name tag carried my name, in Hebrew, twice, and that's all: no hint of my profession, my occupation, or any such info that would be useful to other participants whose path I may cross. Most other women had their company name under their own name. Since I don't have a company, I just entered my name again in that field in the form. I did see one woman who had apparently written "atzma'it" (self-employed) in that field. Daria said I should have written "Take Nina's word for it", since that's my slogan. Even if it didn't ring a bell among that crowd, it might at least evoke some curiosity or interest. So I took my mini Sharpiewhich I always carry with me for just this type of emergency, and added that to my name tag. This mingling business did not work very well. Women mostly stuck to their own kind. Small groups bearing the same company name (e.g. Sleepless City, eSelling-Stuff, Freshly-Recycled-Ideas-Inc., and so on) clustered closely around the food stalls, queued for quiche, yakking to each other. As far as I could see, my daughter was among the few who actually moved between groups and introduced people to one another. Only later, after her panel appearance, did total strangers come up to her to introduce themselves and establish a new contact. Elevnish: A Moment after the Oscars – Against All Odds. Ah, at last an experienced speaker who knows exactly the point she wishes to make. Karen Tal, principal of the Bialik-Rogozin school for foreign workers' kids, spoke about her unique venture and about the documentary film Strangers No More, recent Academy Award winner in the "best documentary short subject" category. Very moving subject, well presented. [Note: There was a bit of a mix-up with the order of the sessions around lunchtime, so I can't vouch for the order of the events, but that's immaterial.] Next: The Secret World of Women – Julie Shlez, (or Shles, she should make up her mind about it) a film director and producer, creator of a certain Israeli TV docu-drama series that I'm not familiar with. See write-up in Hebrew. Let me know if you think I missed something really good. Maybe I'll watch the sequel. Brunch: Lots of green leafy things which I ignored. Some greasy, yummy, cheese/pasta dishes; mini desserts. Huge queue for coffee. I drank water. Now, from 12:45 to 1:50 pm there should have been, according to the program, a talk that sounded very interesting: I Too Am in it for the Money! Women and negotiations – M. Cristal [sic], CEO and founder of Nest Consulting. Now, this is what I call important! We all know that most women are timid when it comes to asking for money, negotiating salary, demanding to be paid well. So all those leaf-eating ladies would be doing themselves a huge favor to pick up some tips from Motti, or however he spells his name, assuming he has good stuff to offer. But I'll never know :-( The unannounced changes in the schedule meant that I missed it. Gentle readers – if you attended this session, please report! Next came the pièce de resistance (for me…) of the conference: Entrepreneurship, Alive and Kicking: 7 minutes, 4 entrepreneurs (f.), 4 success stories. Marathon & panel chaired by journalist Tali Heruti-Sover of The Marker. Gali Ross of Razoss spoke – if I understood correctly – of the importance of having a a support system. I admired her slim figure. (Can't help it. We're brainwashed.) Makbula Nassar – outspoken, biting radio talk-show host[ess] (in Arabic) on A-Shams radio, was, well, outspoken, energetic and charming. Yullia Gal, founder of Yullia Spa Express, started her business when she was under twenty and fairly new in the country… But she pulled it off, and her small manicure/pedicure shop blossomed into a chain. She's got a point, you know, with this idea of being able to pop into a place and say, "Hi, I feel like having my nails done; can you fit me in soon?" I only have my nails done about once a year, and I set up that appointment about a month in advance… Daria Shualy, founder of Sense of Fashion, sporting a 26-week pregnancy, was fourth and last. She seemed the best-prepared for this short talk and presentation. Though she had told me earlier that she's used to giving this presentation in English, it went just as smoothly in Hebrew. (Duh!) The audience was very attentive, and sent the MC loads of questions. Bet you can't guess what the main thing the audience wanted to know was… (How old are you? Are you married? Do you have kids? Where do you live?) I'm glad I stayed for the next talk and interview, with Beth Brooke, who is such an amazing personality with so many achievements, that I wouldn't know where to begin to describe her. I'll copy-paste just one statement: "Beth was named three years in a row by Forbes Magazine as one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” and was named 2009 Woman of the Year by Concern Worldwide." All I can add was that everything she said was eminently sensible and eloquently put. Wish we had more like her. This is as far as I got. Daria said that the dance/Youtube project YouMake ReMake by dancer-choreographer Renana Raz was beautiful. If any of you readers stayed on for the last item, the launching of Catalyst, the first [Israeli] project aimed specifically at promoting women in business, please report. I have the glossy, expensive-looking folder and handouts, and glanced at them briefly. Looked like a worthwhile endeavor, meant for you [ladies] and me; and if I'm bored to tears, or trying to procrastinate when I'm supposed to be working, I might even read them more closely. One last comment: Please look at the homepage for the conference and tell me if the meaningless blurb in its title was really necessary. The Hebrew says: כנס נשים ועסקים, קנה המידה שלך להצלחה - Kenes nashim va'assakim, kneh hamida shelach le'hatzlacha - The women and business conference, your yardstick for success. Is this how we're supposed to measure our success? By attending the conference, or what?... Did whoever wrote this "slogan" even know what they meant by it? That's it, folks. Sorry it took so long, both timewise and wordwise. I came away feeling proud of my daughter's accomplishment and pleased with the tiny samples of expensive skincare products of the type I wouldn't buy for myself. Oh, and with one business card of one new contact. For a different take on this conference or on international women's day, read what my colleagues have to say: Yael Sela Shapiro [Hebrew] http://transela.com/2011/03/10/my_woman_day_career_soaps/ Neri Livneh, [Hebrew, last year] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/to-the-international-woman-in-appreciation-1.264110 Ruth Ludlum [English]: http://ruthludlam.blogspot.com/2011/03/international-womens-day-2011.html?spref=fb  not the Last Word - Uri Bruck
Mar 07, 2011
English with Linda
01 Mar 2011 10:27:03 +0000
An extremely hostile, antagonistic post was posted on a yahoo list that I subscribe to, after one lister innocently asked the following: Hi, What would be a standard per-page rate for upgrading the English of a 100-page MA thesis in Israel? Thanks! ES This punch-in-the-face answer from SW came by reply: The price is the [...]
 English with Linda
21 Feb 2011 09:41:21 +0000
Editing isn’t just adding commas, “undangling” participles, and checking whether “affect” is used effectively. Editing is helping clients to organize their thoughts and create from them clear and effective prose that reaches out and speaks to their target audiences. The editor isn’t just a teacher with a red pen; the editor is a soundboard, upon [...]
 AQText Translation Services
17 Feb 2011 09:27:24 +0000
Tips and ideas for new users interested in working with translation technology and CAT tools. including CAT tool comparison, buying, and training ideas.
AQText Translation Services
13 Feb 2011 09:26:08 +0000
Resource websites for professional translators offer operations, marketing and business tools
English with Linda
12 Feb 2011 06:26:56 +0000
Hello world Hello English lovers, English craftspeople (i.e. editors, writers and translators), and English customers (students of English and those in need of English craftspeople.) There will be something for everyone on this blog. Who I Am I am Linda Yechiel. I live in Israel with my family, 2 dogs and one cat. I have [...]
 English with Linda
12 Feb 2011 16:06:16 +0000
On the Road Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 7-8) I attended the annual ITA convention. I believe this is the second time I have gone (maybe third). Last year I attended it for one day. This year I did two out of the three, traveling back and forth to Jerusalem each day; with the new 431 [...]
 Take Nina's Word for It
12 Feb 2011 10:54:00 +0000
By now many of my learned colleagues have posted their impressions of the ITA conference on their blogs and websites. For example, you can read Linda Yechiel's report (English); Inga Michaeli's story (Hebrew), Ruth Ludlam's very comprehensive report (English), and several others, which, if they're not actually available yet, doubtlessly will be within the next few days. So you don't need a blow-by-blow description of the lectures from me.
Which lets me off the hook, freeing me to address the conference from a different angle. 1. From a woman's point of view, one of the main measures of success or failure is: Have I gained or lost weight? No matter if a woman is stick-thin and told by her physicians that, for her own good, she'd better gain a few kilos, or if she's perfectly average weight-wise or bulging from her clothes, it's always the same: have I managed to gain/lose?... 2. Sifting through the business cards. Sorry to say that this year I gathered only a small number of cards, and gave away very few from the big, heavy bundle I brought with. Then again, this could be a direct result of the happy circumstance that I already knew many of the people there and they know me and we know how to get in touch with each other! The one person whom I really wanted to meet – a distant cousin I last saw years ago – didn't seek me out and introduce herself! I kept my eyes peeled, but didn't see her. Hey, cousin M – where art thou? Then there was a young woman whose name (on her name tag) seemed very familiar, but I couldn't place her. I thought of walking up to her, introducing myself (that is, pointing to my name tag), and waiting to see if any light of recognition dawns on her face. But I didn't, and I'm sorry, because once at my desk-top at home, I realized she's one of my mentees! Shame on me. I apologize. 3. What did I learn? In less-than-useful terms, I learnt:
4. In truly useful terms,I learnt:
Joking aside, it was – like all my blogging colleagues pointed out – a wonderful conference, and left me in utter awe and admiration of the organizers, especially the unpaid ones, the ITA volunteers who worked hard to make it happen. Thank you all.  Take Nina's Word for It
06 Feb 2011 17:00:00 +0000
My two blogs have been sorely neglected recently, what with me being preoccupied with pre-conference work and conference-related work. I've been spending half my [pure-work] time trying to make some headway on a big project that (surprise, surprise) is turning out to be more difficult and time consuming than I thought; and half my time preparing my talk and presentation for the ITA conference.
For various reasons, the time-slot allotted me is only 30 minutes. In previous years I had 45 minutes to talk. It's tough to squeeze everything I have to say on my topic into 30 min or less (leaving time for questions). The speaker before me has a whole 60 minutes. But then, she'll be speaking on the attractive subject of Facebook, whereas I'll be speaking on the touchy issue of customer complaints. Assuming that there won't be time left for Q&A – unless I really zoom through my examples – I've designed my penultimate slide to compensate for that lack, and am suggesting to my audience – those who have not yet fallen asleep or run off for coffee and cake before the closing session – to drop me a line, and I'll answer their questions here on my blog. This seems to me an excellent solution. Will give me time to think carefully rather than shoot from the hip. I, for one, can think of lots of pertinent questions. Now, the easiest way to give listeners my email address and blog URL is to hand out my business card. It carries my slogan – Take Nina's word for it – which, when Googled, directs you to my blog. Simple, right? No need to memorize or write anything down.  This reminded me of a colleague's objections to my slogan. She said it sounded smug or haughty or something like that. Her comment took my by surprise. I never thought of it like that. I was actually thinking of the more literal meanings of the phrase, not of its idiomatic import. As in-house chief editor of Hever Translators'Pool, I definitely wanted Hever's translators to take "my word"; my monthly Editor's Letter, with proposed and recommended solutions, was my way of establishing a sort of House Style Guide. Later, as self-employed, I wanted prospective clients to take "my word" rather than someone else's. I never meant it to mean, "listen, folks, believe me, I know best." I like giving my opinion, sure; but, being a skeptic, I applaud skepticism. In fact, I was actually considering opening another blog, entitled Don't Take My Word for It… but decided against it. In brief, I urge you all:
See you soon in Jerusalem!  Hagit Rozenes
05 Feb 2011 18:40:43 +0000
לכולנו יש pet peeves – הדברים הקטנים והמעצבנים האלה שאנחנו פשוט לא יכולים לראות/לשמוע, אבל אצל אלי ברוש ה-pet peeve ממש קרם עור וגידים, כשהיא בראה חיה שתמחיש אותו. אלי מתעצבנת נורא כשהיא רואה שאנשים כותבים Alot במילה אחת, במקום הצורה הנכונה: A lot. אז היא ציירה את ה-ALOT, החיה שהיא רואה לנגד עיניה בכל פעם שהיא [...]
 Hagit Rozenes
31 Jan 2011 09:55:07 +0000
בעוד שבוע מהיום, ייערך הכינוס השנתי של אגודת המתרגמים לשנת 2011. אני ארצה ביום הראשון, על שיטות חיפוש ב-Google. זו המצגת הוותיקה שלי, עם קצת חידושים ועדכונים. פה יש טיפ לדוגמה. 7-9 בפברואר 2011, מלון קראון פלזה, ירושלים מקצועיות ועסקים: ליטוש כישורים והגדלת ההכנסות סדנה למתרגמים מתחילים – כל מה שלא לימדו אתכם בלימודי התרגום!!! יום [...]
 Take Nina's Word for It
23 Jan 2011 16:23:00 +0000
Well, what did I expect from a book with such a title? An upbeat tale?
Despite my reluctance to read depressing books, this was fascinating. The description of not having a penny (or a sou) to one's name, to the extent of not eating for three days, is difficult to grasp to anyone who's never been in such a situation. I guess young Eric Arthur Blair subsisted on water (even weak tea is not to be taken for granted) and cigarettes during those days. Cigarettes don't go bad like milk nor stale like bread, say, so you could keep a stock, bought in more "affluent" days (all is relative.) Anyone who's fasted seriously on Yom Kippur knows how unpleasant it is not to eat a thing for 24 hours. So try to imagine three whole days, which often included walking for miles. On a totally empty stomach. The description of the squalor in the cheap Paris "hotels", or boarding houses for the destitute, is unsettling: the bug-infested rooms, the dirty sheets, the need to pawn one's spare clothes to be able to afford tea-and-two-slices. But far worse is the colorful description of what used to go on in the kitchens of Paris hotels and restaurants. Read on, and it might just ruin your appetite for days: It was amusing to look round the filthy little scullery and think that only a double door was between us and the dining-room. There sat the customers in all their splendour--spotless table-cloths, bowls of flowers, mirrors and gilt cornices and painted cherubim; and here, just a few feet away, we in our disgusting filth. For it really was disgusting filth. There was no time to sweep the floor till evening, and we slithered about in a compound of soapy water, lettuce-leaves, torn paper and trampled food. A dozen waiters with their coats off, showing their sweaty armpits, The writing is matter-of-fact, honest and appealing. (Though I did feel like editing it a bit here & there… but rather glad nobody did.) The humor is extremely understated and low key, but it is definitely there, under the surface. When I was just about to finish the Paris part and move on to the London part, and having gathered that his lot would not be any better, I thought that in England Orwell may feel more "betrayed"; in Paris he was a foreigner; England should, theoretically, be his home, and as such more… caring? I could barely believe my eyes when I read how the young Blair deteriorated from being a Paris plongeur to a London tramp. The life of a British tramp is explained, as was his Parisian life, very matter-of-factly, yet the descriptions are painfully vivid. I learnt the terms "spike" and "casual ward" – the deplorable accommodations designed for vagrants:
Orwell has a unique talent of describing something both subjectively and objectively, as it were. On the one hand he is part of the tramp scene, shares their squalid existence and some of the ugly aspects of their behavior, while at the same time reporting it in a dispassionate, precise way. I wouldn't say "detached", though. He is thoroughly involved and empathetic. As sorry as the reader may feel for him, one can still take comfort from the knowledge that Blair/Orwell does extricate himself from this life. Even as he was experiencing, observing and taking notes, and before he knew that he would one day become a well-known (and hopefully financially comfortable, or at least secure) author, he did have a friend to lean on. A friend who twice lent him 2 pounds – quite a fortune, for a tramp – and quite likely saved him from starving or … or I don't know what. Would anyone who has, say, a half-decent family to fall back on [not that there is any mention of Blair having such a family] let himself go through such degrading and excruciating living, just for the sake of "experience"? And if you do, isn't the whole experience contaminated by the fact that you're there by choice, not because Life has been cruel to you? And even if you don't have a backup system, surely all this suffering is more bearable when you know it's definitely temporary, and all you have to do is grit your teeth and continue breathing, and walking from Casual Ward to Casual Ward, secure in the knowledge that, come next spring, say, your time will be up and you'll rejoin "normal" society? If this were a novel, I'd be devastated by the protagonist's suffering. Knowing that, while true, it was but temporary for the writer, makes it more bearable, though no less shocking, when one thinks of the writer's fellow tramps, who didn't have a way out. And just in case you were wondering, what makes a tramp a tramp in the first place, Orwell's explanation is an eye-opener: This has given me an appetite for more of Orwell's non-fiction, plus perhaps those of his novels that are heavily based on his own life and experience. If I do indeed read more (see huge selection on Amazon), I shall report. Note: I read the Penguin Books edition; copied the quotations from this online version. Meantime, I've switched to something lighter: Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island. - to be continued -  Take Nina's Word for It
22 Jan 2011 10:17:00 +0000
February is approaching fast, for better and for worse.
For better, because I'm looking forward to the conference. For worse, because I should have, by now, submitted my presentation, but I have not. Which means I should turn down work, for a few days at least, and get that lecture and presentation down on record! Several of my colleagues have already posted links to the conference program, and said all sorts of nice things about it. There was one guy, however, who – a propos of conferences in general, apparently – wrote on FB that he just doesn't see the point in conferences, where people come mainly to mingle, drink lousy coffee and eat rogalach. Or something to that effect. I'm not his FB "friend" so I don't have access to the precise quote. Dear T.P., I guess you've had unpleasant experiences of conferences. I can't argue with you, because I don’t recall attending any serious conference other than the ITA's. There was one totally commercial "conference" organized by www.status.co.il in June 2006, about inter-cultural business and communication, where I gave a lecture-cum-presentation entitled Good Translation as a Way of Dealing with Inter-Cultural Gaps. But it didn't feel like a "real" conference. And I know Hubby has been to several work-related conferences over the years, in Israel and abroad, but I couldn't get a proper description out of him of what those were like. Mostly they involved spending time in airports and hotels. So all I have to go on is the ITA conferences I took part in over the past few years. And let me tell you, they were great. I started small, by attending for only a few hours, but I quickly got hooked, and graduated to "Full Program", minus the first-day workshops. So what's so great about them? Briefly:
Well, that's enough. I feel like I'm preaching to the choir. What I'd really like to do is convince "unaffiliated" colleagues to join the ITA and attend the conference. Yes, I mean you – HG, JT, HF, GB – among others. Try it. You'll like it; and if you don't overdo the food stuff, you won't have to reach for the Alka-Seltzer.  Hagit Rozenes
10 Jan 2011 03:52:47 +0000
לפני שבוע, ניצן, הבן שלי, קיבל צעצוע חדש ומקסים. טרקטור צבעוני, נוסע ורועש, נהוג על ידי חוואי חביב, שגורר חיות חווה חביבות לא פחות. כל חיה משמיעה את הקול האופייני לה כשלוחצים עליה, והחוואי שר טרללה-לה-לה-לה אי-איי-אי-איי-או. ובכן, אתם ודאי שואלים את עצמכם אילו חיות חווה מסיע החוואי, ולאן. הנה הן, חיות החווה. הסוס, שעושה [...]
 Take Nina's Word for It
10 Jan 2011 20:09:00 +0000
Two of my colleagues, who write the most enjoyable blogs, have recently written a New Year's Resolutions post. I usually do my annual soul-searching and the jotting down of well-meant resolutions on or around Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year. Force of habit, from childhood. But having read my friends' posts, and not remembering where I wrote and what I did with my most recent Resolutions, I thought I'd chime in.
The first post is by Yael Sela Shapiro, see transela.com, if you read Hebrew. Her Point #1, though sensible, did not appeal to me: for heavens' sake, she talks about working more and blogging less! I'd rather do things the other way round. Point #2, viz., work more, waste less time on aimless web browsing, is a touchy one. I plead guilty, blush, and pretend I never read it. Two points which I endorse wholeheartedly are:
The second post, by Inga Michaeli, is more my cup of tea, since Point #2 advocates fun things like more blogging and less work. However, to make that possible, there's the important issue of pay. If we get paid more for our work, we can afford to work less and spend more time on the joys of life. This is Inga's highly commendable Point #4. Sure – we love our work, and sometimes it is pure joy, or at least very satisfying. Still, more time for family, friends, dinners out, trips abroad – well, they all contribute to our, ahem, professional development, our sanity, our wide horizons, our emotional and mental well-being. No one wants to deal with a disgruntled, stressed-out translator/editor, right??? So you see, it's in everyone's best interest that we balance work and play. By now, I have found the notes I made last Yom Kippur. Funnily enough, the notebook was precisely where it ought to be. Let's see what observations and resolutions I made only 3 months ago, and what I've done about them, so far: 1. Procrastination is a killer. Fight it. Progress report: I'm not alone in the battle against it, but that's not much help. 2. The trick to Happy Work is working on enjoyable material. To that end, get in touch with people who might supply same. I have a few names. Get in touch with them. Do not put it off. Progress report: Er… maybe after the ITA conference?... 3. Sort the huge pile of notebooks, letters, diaries etc that my mom left me. Progress report: Started to. Got discouraged. Will have to wait. 4. Start new blog, about all sorts of things that don't fit into the current two blogs. Speak to website/blog expert recommended by Yael. Progress report: Have name for new blog: Nina Tracks Changes. Jotted down ideas. 5. Turn daughter's room into a study. Progress report: Winter is not the right time – it's the coldest room in the house! But I can still plan… like if I move the bookcases over there… and maybe my desk would fit over here… 6. Go for a brisk walk every day. Okay, at least every other day. Progress report: Excuses, excuses. Happy 2011 all. May you be successful with your resolutions. And if you're only partially successful, don't beat yourself over the head – you'll just get a headache which, in turn, will cause you to procrastinate.  Take Nina's Word for It
09 Jan 2011 17:19:00 +0000
The problem with the TV series Lie to Me is, that it somewhat ruins all other police and detective series – good, bad, new, old, British, American… They could all use Cal Lightman or his skills, and solve their cases in half the time. In all these other shows, you see the macho, stiff-upper-lipped detective or his ridiculously high-heeled female partner interrogating a suspect or a witness, and they're at a total loss as to whether their interlocutor is telling the truth. Now, where is Dr. Lightman when you need him?!
As an aside, it's mostly the American girl-detectives and crime-scene investigators who wear high heels and skin-tight pants, whose makeup is always perfect and who contaminate a crime scene with their long, flowing hair. British girl-detectives tend to look like real women. They are not necessarily pretty, they wear little or no makeup and sensible shoes, they don't look like they've just stepped out of the beauty parlor, and – believe it or not – they often wear the same outfit throughout the entire episode! With no cleavage showing!  Take Nina's Word for It
08 Jan 2011 17:09:00 +0000
OK, so the jury is still out on that one. But what about big mistakes in tiny print in boring ads that no one reads? Do they count? Does it matter? Does anywhere out there care, except for a few persnickety editors/proofreaders and compulsive ad readers?... Take this Mega ad the in the J. Post…  I'm pretty sure nobody reads it. If anything, you just glance at the pics of the products and their prices, and say to yourself, "Hmm… interesting… I wonder how much I paid last week for a kilo of this type of laundry power… I think |
