Earlier this month Google added 13 new languages to its online automated translation tool, Google Translate, bringing the number of available languages to just over 100, which apparently covers 99 percent of the wolrd’s online population, according to the company. Continue reading
Author Archives: Shiar Youssef
«It ain’t right, innit?» – About language register in English
What is the difference between saying «it ain’ righ’!» (dropping your Ts at the end of words) and «that is not right!»? Or between «innit?» and «isn’t it?»? There is no difference in meaning. Both mean exactly the same thing. The only difference is in the level of formality and ‘properness’. Linguists call this the … Continue reading
Student Contribution: How to explain ISIS
This blog was written by a CELSA student after attending an English language tutorial in the Language Lab. L.L. came in and wanted to talk about the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS or Da’esh) to practice her spoken English using a current affair as a topic. A few days before, the tutor had … Continue reading
Which Arabic should I learn?
All we learnt about English accents at school was that there were two main ones, British and American – and a third one spoken by our teachers! When you go and live in the UK or the US, however, you discover that there are tens of very different accents grouped together as ‘British’ or ‘American … Continue reading
Between the Arabic ‘Da‘esh’ and the English ‘ISIS’: What’s missed in translation
You must have all heard of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Shaam (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It’s been on the news a lot lately and a US-led coalition has just declared a full-fledged war against the terrorist group, which had established a self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate … Continue reading