A UK train operator, Northern announced in September 2023, that it would interpret its announcements into British Sign Language (BSL) on some of its services. Passengers will first see the new BSL visuals on trains between Manchester Victoria and Leeds. The visuals will interpret information such as station announcements. The train operator aims to have…… Continue reading Sign Language for trial for more trains
Tag: News
When the machines started hallucinating
The Cambridge Dictionary—an online dictionary for learners of English—has added a new meaning to its definition of ‘hallucinate’ and has picked ‘hallucinate’ as its Word of the Year for 2023. Cambridge Dictionary names ‘Hallucinate’ Word of the Year 2023 | University of Cambridge Hallucinating ‘false information’ This year has seen a surge in interest in…… Continue reading When the machines started hallucinating
Nynorsk writer wins Nobel literature prize
The winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature was someone who writes in Norwegian, Jon Fosse. That award is notable not just because Fosse is the first winner known best for his plays since Harold Pinter (2005). And not just because he is the first winner who writes in Norwegian since Sigrid Undset (1928).…… Continue reading Nynorsk writer wins Nobel literature prize
13 October International Plain Language Day
Today (13 October 2023) is International Plain Language Day International Plain Language Day – Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) (plainlanguagenetwork.org) In June 2023, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO 24495-1 Plain language — Part 1: Governing principles and guidelines. ISO on Plain Language – Language Miscellany
Ancient Indo-European language comes to light in Turkey
An excavation in Turkey has brought to light an unknown Indo-European language. The new language was discovered in north-central Turkey at Boğazköy-Hattusha. That site was the capital of the Hittite Empire, a great power in Western Asia inthe Late Bronze Age (1650 to 1200 BCE). Excavations in Boğazköy-Hattusha over more than 100 years have so far…… Continue reading Ancient Indo-European language comes to light in Turkey
International Translation Day
Today is International Translation Day, a day picked because 30 September is the feast day for St Jerome. The Catholic Church regards him as the patron saint of translators—and also of archaeologists, Biblical scholars, librarians and students. For more information about International Translation Day, please see the following information produced by the International Federation of…… Continue reading International Translation Day
A tricky legal translation problem: food packaging
I’ve written before about a court case which concluded that UK retailer Tesco mis-translated the phrase chocolate powder into Czech. Translation and food packaging – Language Miscellany The judgement of the EU Court of Justice was produced in French. When I wrote before on this case, the official English translation wasn’t yet available. The English…… Continue reading A tricky legal translation problem: food packaging
Scrapping non-proposals
Last week, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced he would scrap some proposals relating to climate change. The next day, the BBC Radio 4 Today programme interviewed Mr Sunak. The interviewer (Nick Robinson) said the UK government had never made the ‘proposals’ that Mr Sunak said he would now scrap. He asked why the…… Continue reading Scrapping non-proposals
ULEZ, uljez, izlaz
London has just extended the boundary of its Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Drivers of motor vehicles causing heavy emissions must pay to drive in the ULEZ. The word ULEZ has the shape and feel of some Croatian words. The common prefix u- means ‘in’ or ‘into’ and is derived from the preposition u. (In other…… Continue reading ULEZ, uljez, izlaz
Does training of AI models rely too much on input from other AI models?
Large Language Models (LLMs, like Chat GPT) use a large body of existing texts in training themselves so that they can answer questions by producing text that looks like the work of humans. The underlying texts used in training LLMs should be generated by humans—but are they? Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology…… Continue reading Does training of AI models rely too much on input from other AI models?