'Unfriend' word of the year in the US

Birds are singing, the sun is shining and I am joyful first thing in the morning without caffeine. Why you ask? Because it is Word of the Year time (or WOTY as we refer to it around the office).  Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the holidays by making its biggest announcement f the year.  This announcement is usually applauded by some and derided by others and the ongoing conversation it sparks is always a lot of fun, so I encourage you to let us know what you think in the comments.

Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend.

Unfriend - verb - To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook. As in, "I decided unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight."

"It has both currency and potential longevity," notes Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary program. "In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most "un-" prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar "un-" verbs (uncap, unpack), but "unfriend" is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of "friend" that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century! Unfriend has real lex-appeal."

(source: Oxford University Press)

'What makes an accent in a foreign language lighter?'

The more empathy one has for another, the lighter the accent will be when speaking in a second language. This is the conclusion of a new study carried out at the University of Haifa by Dr. Raphiq Ibrahim and Dr. Mark Leikin of the Department of Learning Disabilities and Prof. Zohar Eviatar of the Department of Psychology at the University of Haifa. The study has been published in the International Journal of Bilingualism. "In addition to personal-affective factors, it has been found that the 'language ego' is also influenced by the sociopolitical position of the speaker towards the majority group," the researchers stated.

We all know how to identify the average Hebrew speaker trying to speak English: the Israeli accent is an easy give-away. But why is there an accent and what are the factors that make one speaker have a heavier accent than another? One possibility is based on the cognitive discipline, which suggests that our language system limits the creation of language pronunciations in a non-native language. Another explanation is derived from the socio-lingual field, which claims that socio-affective elements have an effect on accent and that the second language constitutes an image label for the speaker in the presence of a majority group.

"Israel is a perfect lab location for testing the topic of second languages, because of the complex composition of its population. This population is made up of immigrants who learn Hebrew at an advanced age; an ethnic minority of Arabs, some of whom learn Hebrew from an early age, and others who learn the language as mature adults; and a majority group of native Hebrew speakers," the researchers explained.

(source: University of Haifa)

'How Computers Learn To Listen: Scientists Develop Model To Improve Computer Language Recognition'

We see, hear and feel, and make sense of countless diverse, quickly changing stimuli in our environment seemingly without effort. However, doing what our brains do with ease is often an impossible task for computers.

Researchers at the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging in London have now developed a mathematical model which could significantly improve the automatic recognition and processing of spoken language. In the future, this kind of algorithms which imitate brain mechanisms could help machines to perceive the world around them. (PLoS Computational Biology, August 12th, 2009)

Many people will have personal experience of how difficult it is for computers to deal with spoken language. For example, people who 'communicate' with automated telephone systems now commonly used by many organisations need a great deal of patience. If you speak just a little too quickly or slowly, if your pronunciation isn't clear, or if there is background noise, the system often fails to work properly. The reason for this is that until now the computer programs that have been used rely on processes that are particularly sensitive to perturbations. When computers process language, they primarily attempt to recognise characteristic features in the frequencies of the voice in order to recognise words.

"It is likely that the brain uses a different process," says Stefan Kiebel from the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. The researcher presumes that the analysis of temporal sequences plays an important role in this. "Many perceptual stimuli in our environment could be described as temporal sequences." Music and spoken language, for example, are comprised of sequences of different length which are hierarchically ordered.

According to the scientist's hypothesis, the brain classifies the various signals from the smallest, fast-changing components (e.g., single sound units like 'e' or 'u') up to big, slow-changing elements (e.g., the topic). The significance of the information at various temporal levels is probably much greater than previously thought for the processing of perceptual stimuli. "The brain permanently searches for temporal structure in the environment in order to deduce what will happen next," the scientist explains. In this way, the brain can, for example, often predict the next sound units based on the slow-changing information. Thus, if the topic of conversation is the hot summer, 'su...' will more likely be the beginning of the word 'sun' than the word 'supper'. 

To test this hypothesis, the researchers constructed a mathematical model which was designed to imitate, in a highly simplified manner, the neuronal processes which occur during the comprehension of speech. Neuronal processes were described by algorithms which processed speech at several temporal levels. The model succeeded in processing speech; it recognised individual speech sounds and syllables. In contrast to other artificial speech recognition devices, it was able to process sped-up speech sequences. Furthermore it had the brain's ability to 'predict' the next speech sound. If a prediction turned out to be wrong because the researchers made an unfamiliar syllable out of the familiar sounds, the model was able to detect the error.

The 'language' with which the model was tested was simplified - it consisted of the four vowels a, e, i and o, which were combined to make 'syllables' consisting of four sounds. "In the first instance we wanted to check whether our general assumption was right," Kiebel explains. With more time and effort, consonants, which are more difficult to differentiate from each other, could be included, and further hierarchical levels for words and sentences could be incorporated alongside individual sounds and syllables. Thus, the model could, in principle, be applied to natural language.

"The crucial point, from a neuroscientific perspective, is that the reactions of the model were similar to what would be observed in the human brain," Stefan Kiebel says. This indicates that the researchers' model could represent the processes in the brain. At the same time, the model provides new approaches for practical applications in the field of artificial speech recognition.  

(source: Science Daily)

'Cornish language extinct, says UN'

The Cornisch language has been branded "extinct" by linguistic experts, sparking protests from speakers.

Thirty linguists worked on Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, compiled by United Nations group Unesco. They also said Manx Gaelic was extinct. Cornish is believed to have died out as a first language in 1777. But the Cornish Language Partnership says the number of speakers has risen in the past 20 years and there should be a section for revitalised languages.

The Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, published by Unesco, the cultural section of the United Nations, features about 2,500 dialects. But Jenefer Lowe, development manager of the Cornish Language Partnership, said there were thousands who had a "smattering" of the language. "Saying Cornish is extinct implies there are no speakers and the language is dead, which it isn't," she said. "Unesco's study doesn't take into account languages which have growing numbers of speakers and in the past 20 years the revival of Cornish has really gathered momentum."

Last year the partnership agreed a single written form of Cornish which brought together several different forms of the language. Mrs Lowe said: "There's no category for a language that is revitalised and revived. "What they need to do is add a category. "It should be recognised that languages do revive and it's a fluid state."

Christopher Moseley, an Australian linguist and editor-in-chief of the atlas, told BBC News he would consider a new classification. He said: "I have always been optimistic about Cornish and Manx. "There is a groundswell of interest in them, although the number of speakers is small. "Perhaps in the next edition we shall have a 'being revived' category. "[Cornish] is among a group of languages that turned out not to be extinct but merely sleeping."

(source: BBC)

'Facebook Swahili version launched'

The social-networking website facebook has launched in Swahili, targeting more than 110 million speakers of the language. A group of Swahili scholars launched the new version with the permission of the California-based internet firm. Facebook use has spread over the past five years in East and Central Africa, where most Swahili-speakers live. Analysts say a Hausa version could be launched next in West Africa and Zulu for southern Africa. Facebook already exists in Afrikaans.

Symon Wanda, one of the project's initiators, said they wanted to launch a Swahili version to safeguard the future of the language. "The youth, the future generation, if you look at the biggest percentage of users on Facebook, they are the youth," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "They can easily navigate through when it's maybe a language they understand, which makes it easier to use the Swahili than to use the English." The BBC's Ruth Nesoba, in Nairobi, says the Swahili site has already been on trial for some time and word has spread quickly. Facebook's Simon Wanda says they have been monitoring the take-up and says more than 60% of Facebook users in East Africa are already using the Swahili version.

The bulk of Swahili-speakers live in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, parts of the Horn of Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean islands. Facebook already exists in some 50 language versions.

(source: BBC)

'Many change accent to get ahead'

More than one-third of employees have changed their accent in order to impress their boss and improve their career prospects, research suggests. Among the 1,000 people surveyed, 38% of those with a regional accent said they had had difficulties being understood, the Bury Technologies survey found. The Queen's English came out top in terms of being the easiest to understand and the most professional. The Liverpudlian, Mancunian and Midlands accents came out bottom. Home counties' accents came second in the overall regional rankings, followed by Irish and Scottish. The London accent came in 10th out of the 13 regions included.

"Everyone has an accent and, within the UK, accents change noticeably about every 25 miles," said David Crystal, professor of linguistics at the University of Bangor. "The survey shows that people have now learnt to use different accents and alter their speech, depending on the situations in which they find themselves, to their best advantage." Of those surveyed, Liverpudlians were the most willing to change their accent, closely followed by people from the Midlands. However, not one Irish person admitted to having changed their voice for either professional or personal reasons. Bury Technologies, an in-car equipment firm, commissioned the research from ICM.

'What does a translator, interpreter, proofreader or copywriter?'

Translator

A translator has received an academic education. He transforms texts from one language into another. A good translation is the result of the translator’s thorough knowledge of both the source language and the target language. In addition to the literal knowledge of the words, he also needs to have an in-depth understanding of the many shades of meaning/differentiations, plays on words and structural context. He has to be in such control of the target language that he can transfer the source text and its style into the target language as if it had been originally written in that language.

Sworn translator

A sworn translator meets a number of quality requirements, is considered qualified by a court and has taken a professional oath before the legal body of his/her judicial district. Sworn translators are entitled to translate official documents , to sign them as a confirmation of their true translation and to affix their personal stamp. This gives the translation an official character. Most of the time these translations have to be legalised at the court of first instance. A legalised translation is a sworn translation of which the court legalises the signature of the sworn translator, who is recorded in their court’s register of translators.

What kind of text does a sworn translator generally translate?

• For private individuals: birth certificates, marriage licenses, affidavits, divorce decrees, diplomas, certificates of good character, adoption files, documents for emigration, etc.
• For companies: deeds of incorporation, articles of association, lease contracts, licence agreements, pleadings, summonses, etc.
• For notaries public/lawyers/process servers: legal documents of all kinds.

Interpreter

An interpreter translates another person’s spoken words. An interpreter listens attentively to what the speaker is saying, tries to fully understand it and transforms those words from one language into another.

There are several forms of interpreting:

• Consecutive interpreting: the interpreter listens carefully to the speaker and at the end of the statement he gives a spoken version of it in another language. The interpreter stores the speech in his memory and makes notes so he can follow the logical structure and not lose track of the content.
• Simultaneous interpreting: in this case the interpreter listens and speaks at the same time. The translation has to be as fluid as the original speech. This requires strong powers of concentration, a perfect knowledge of both the source and target languages and broad general knowledge. It is a skill that one can learn however, and practice makes perfect.
• Liaison interpreting: the interpreter is a liaison between people who speak different languages. The interpreter translates short interventions without making notes and this in both directions. This requires a good knowledge of both languages, lots of concentration, informed learning and a strict neutrality.

Proofreader

A proofreader corrects existing texts/translations from a third party. A good understanding of the text is essential and the corrections and/or revisions have to yield a high-quality text.

Copywriter

A copywriter is specialised in the writing of advertising and other commercial texts. But he can also be a songwriter or someone who writes cabaret. A copywriter generally specialises in business-related texts for websites, folders, brochures, e-mail messages or mailings, sales letters, news-letters, personnel magazines or advertisements. Copywriters are also closely involved in the production of advertising films and television commercials and ‘billboard’ campaigns.

Translator, Interpreter, Proofreader, Copywriter

'Do they speak English in Australia?'

Well of course they do - like millions of other members of the big happy Commonwealth family. But new rules asking natives of those countries to prove they can speak English before getting UK citizenship has left some 'colonials' feeling a little insulted - and that's the same in any accent.

There's Vegemite and maple syrup, copies of the Sydney Morning Herald and All Blacks gear. South African chutney sits across an aisle from Canadian peanut butter.

In the midst of all this, Geoffrey O'Connell is on a roll. The issue is deep-fried potatoes. What are they called? Depends on where you're from, of course. A native Briton will ask for a packet of crisps. A Canadian wants a bag of chips. Australians cover all bases, and look for potato chips. "Potato chips are these things," Mr O'Connell, general manager of the Australia Shop in London's Covent Garden, says as he holds up a packet of, strangely, a South African brand. "We don't have crisps."

The crisp-chip-potato chip issue is an example of the cultural differences between the native English-speakers of the Commonwealth. And while there may be opinions on how well citizens of different Commonwealth nations handle the English language, there's no doubt that many of them actually do speak it.

Under new regulations, all would-be British citizens from every nation on earth must now prove that they have a working knowledge of English - a rule which applies equally to people from Commonwealth countries like India, Cyprus and Barbados, as it does to those from, for example, the US.

For many people, secondary school or university qualifications will act as proof; for those without those certificates, proof from an English-language school will be sufficient. 'Mad as a cut snake' "They no longer take for granted that we antipodean colonials speak anything that they recognise as English," wrote a mildly annoyed Terry Lane in Melbourne's Sunday Age. "Already, two Australians wanting to become Britons have been rejected."

Hurt feelings aside, there's the feeling among some that citizens of English-speaking Commonwealth nations should maybe get a free pass on the test, because being asked to prove that they understand their native tongue seems kind of, well, insulting. After all, says Mr O'Connell - who has placed the packet of crispy potatoes, perhaps slightly crushed, back on the shelf - citizens of Commonwealth countries are often treated differently when it comes to visas, so why not when it comes to language? "I do find it odd that we're asked to sit an English test when we've taken their government and expanded on it, we've taken the food and expanded on it, and we've taken their language and expanded on it," he says. "We've actually got something to give and they've got something to learn off us."

His shop stocks delicacies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, and it employs citizens of all those nations. Mr O'Connell admits there has been the odd breakdown in communication - he got some blank looks from non-Australian staff when he asked them to have a "fossik", which loosely means hunt, for a lost item - but nothing critical.

New Zealanders in the UK report bartenders giggling over their pronunciation when they try to order a bottle of Beck's beer, and confusion over their use of the word "dairy" instead of corner shop. Canadians, of course, spend half their time explaining they're not from the United States, and much of the rest being polite, spelling words with a "z" instead of an "s" and purchasing two-fours - or cases - of beer.

But a spokesperson for the Home Office - which implemented the rules last month - says the regulations, which also recognise those with a working knowledge of Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, aren't an attempt to insult. Rather, they're an effort to be more egalitarian. "Effective integration of those who adopt the UK as their home - including embracing common language and an understanding of life in the UK - is important to continue good race relations and community cohesion," a spokesman says, describing the standards as a key part of the government's "managed migration" scheme.

"New citizens need to have a better understanding of the rights and responsibilities which come with the acquisition of British citizenship. This will help them gain a deeper understanding of British values, alongside their own cultural heritage." 'Cross as a frog in a sock' Citizens of many Commonwealth nations would argue that they already understand UK values since their government, courts, and social systems are based on British models. But the thought of having to prove a grasp of the English language still seems a bit worrying to Craig Posnikoff and Alex Blair, two 19-year-olds from Vancouver, Canada, who are spending months travelling across Europe. The pair ducked into the Maple Leaf Pub - looking for a replay of a World Cup of Hockey exhibition game - and considered the question.

"I'm somewhat insulted," Mr Blair says, "but I can understand it a little bit, because there's a lot of Canadians in Canada that I would say aren't necessarily can speak the language properly. "And there's my language skills there," he says, after a pause. "Very poor." While Canada doesn't have a language requirement, the country is happy when would-be citizens speak English or French, one of the country's two official tongues. Australia asks migrants to demonstrate a "sufficient ability" in the English language; New Zealand wants a "reasonable standard"; South Africa requires would-be citizens to "communicate satisfactorily" in one of the country's official languages.

And while the Sunday Age's Mr Lane believes the Australian people could do with some diction lessons - he is concerned the language there could "become completely unintelligible to all but McDonald's counter staff and female MPs" - he believes the British may also have a problem. "The English, as we know, are in no position to mock the colonial deviation from the standard spoken language," he says. "If those BBC cops-and-robbers shows are anything to go by, then there are sub-dialects of English that are incomprehensible to those not native to the patois. So who are they to sit in judgement?"

(source: BBC)