What happens when a word is not used anymore?
Does it just disappear into the deep ends of a dictionary  or does it  come back from time to time to remind us of tastes gone by?
To avoid their death, this Spanish group of word's lovers decided to create this virtual "Shop of  forgotten words" where anyone can "shop" for a word for the symbolic price of a share  on any social network. 
It's as amazing as it sounds. It makes one wish  that other language lovers in other countries would do the same. 
Have a look at their beautiful website and their  funny videos.

http://www.latiendadepalabrasolvidadas.com/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=rapeables

LISA FELEPCHUK - FEB 13

If, instead of calling your significant other or child by their first name, you substitute an endearing pet name–honey, babe, pumpkin, sweet pea or the like–chances are you’re improving your bond without even realizing it. Because cutesy nicknames create intimacy between two humans. Research tells us that couples who use pet names report feeling more satisfied within their relationship than couples that don’t.
And, as you may have guessed, it’s not just North Americans who use these endearing words to describe their most favourite humans. Cultures all around the world use similarly charming and silly phrases and words the same way English speakers do. However, when pet names are translated from their native tongue into another language, they don’t always sound so sweet. In fact, some sound downright insulting.
Language learning app Babbel rounded up a handful of adorable pet names from Italy, Germany, Japan and beyond; we’re not suggesting you use them though, as translating them directly may not go over so well with your SO this Valentine’s Day (or any day). Here are 12 international pet names that get lost in translation.
MICROBINO MIO – ITALIANLike most Italian words, microbino mio rolls off the tongue. It sounds beautiful and sexy and cute all at once when said out loud, but the direct translation is “my little microbe,” so might be best saved for a science buff and not a germaphobe.
SPATZ – GERMANThe German word spatz translates to “sparrow,” which is actually quite a lovely pet name, but the way it sounds when pronounced in English is so similar to our word “spat.” It feels dirty, and not in a sexy, meet-me-in-the-bedroom-in-five kind of way.
CHANG NOI – THAIIn Thailand, chang noi is the way to call someone a “little elephant,” which is probably cuter than calling them a big elephant. But these massive mammals aren’t as celebrated in English culture as the are in Southeast Asia, so it loses some of its importance and appeal.
SÖTNOS – SWEDISHNobody wants to be told they have a pig nose…in English at least. In Sweden, however, the Swedish term sötnos, which means “sweet snout,” is often used as a term of endearment.
MON PETIT CHOU – FRENCHFoods that are cute and/or sweet often make good pet names: sugar, pumpkin, honey. Not so adorable: a head of cabbage. But in French, mon petit chou literally means “my little cabbage.” Even more adorbs: chou chou, which can be used for short.
MON SAUCISSON – FRENCHAnother French food nickname that shouldn’t be translated? Mon saucisson, which means “my little sausage.” If you don’t want to hear, “Are you calling me fat!?” accusations, avoid naming your bae this one.
DROPJE – DUTCHDropje (pronounced “drop-key”) is a traditional Dutch black licorice candy that only the locals seem to enjoy. It makes sense, then, that the word dropje is also used as a form of endearment, even though it directly translates to “little licorice candy.” If you’re going to use it, make sure the intended recipient actually likes black licorice.
MEDIA NARANJA – SPANISHIf you consider your partner your other half, then they’re your media naranja. Sort of. The direct translation of this Spanish pet name literally means “half an orange,” as in your lover is the other half to your orange. Cute, right?
PATATINA – ITALIANPotatoes are delicious, but would you want be referred to as a round and bulbous root vegetable? Maybe not. Patatina translates to “little potato” and definitely sounds more playful in Italian.
PUS – NORWEGIANPus is the way Norwegians say “kitten,” but again, our English meaning of pus makes one think of an infected sore. And there’s nothing less attractive than calling someone a word reminiscent of an oozing scab. However, the pronunciation in Norwegian puts emphasis on the “u,” so when said properly, it sounds more like our English word, “puss.” Meow!
TAMAGO GATA NO KAO – JAPANESEProbably one of the most bizarre translations is Japan’s pet name, tamago gata no kao. In English, it literally means an egg with eyes. But, wait–in Japanese culture, oval-shaped faces are prized, so an egg-shaped face is a compliment, but it sounds completely strange in English.
MURU – FINNISHMuru is short, sweet and fun to say. But when translated from Finnish to English, it loses a lot of its charm, as it means breadcrumb. Delicious, yes, but “breadcrumb” just doesn’t have the same ring to it as muru.

​​http://www.theloop.ca/lost-translation-pet-names-countries-dont-work-english/?utm_content=buffer8ced3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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“As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology and human-development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions.
“If AI is to reach its potential in serving humans, then every engineer will need to learn more about the liberal arts and every liberal arts major will need to learn more about engineering,” 

(I am however  baffled by this : "The researchers found that the median wage of a humanities major in 2015 was $52,000, or about $8,000 lower than the median for all college graduates. They do better, however, than graduates who majored in the life sciences, the arts or education."   So, according to this research, arts or education are not part of humanities studies...   Then, what are they part of ? They are not  "STEM" either, so what? )

Report busts myth of unemployable humanities grads

Originally published February 12, 2018 at 6:00 am

No, they’re not all working as baristas. When it comes to pay, job satisfaction and career advancement, humanities majors do just fine, a new report says.
Share story
 
By 
Katherine Long 


Seattle Times higher education reporterThe American Academy of Arts & Sciences wants you to know that studying the humanities is not a career-killing dead end.
In “The State of the Humanities 2018,” released last week, the national academy makes the case that humanities majors are doing just fine when it comes to pay, job satisfaction and career advancement.
And the report comes on the heels of a new Microsoft e-book on artificial intelligence, which discusses an important role that the social sciences and humanities will have in the development and management of artificial intelligence.
The academy’s report, which is based on U.S. census data and Gallup polling of workers nationwide, aims to show that humanities majors find jobs after college, don’t make that much less than other college graduates and are generally happy with their jobs.
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Unlimited Digital Access. $1 for 4 weeks.The researchers found that the median wage of a humanities major in 2015 was $52,000, or about $8,000 lower than the median for all college graduates. They do better, however, than graduates who majored in the life sciences, the arts or education.
They’re also paid significantly more than those with only an associate degree or high-school diploma.
Almost 87 percent reported they were satisfied with their job in 2015.
The report measured financial satisfaction with a survey that asked respondents for a yes-or-no answer to these questions: “I have enough money to do everything I want to do” and “In the last seven days, I have worried about money.” While 42 percent of humanities majors said they had enough money, their financial satisfaction wasn’t too far below that of engineers, 51 percent of whom said they had enough money to do what they wanted to do.
Unemployment among humanities majors — as in all fields — rose during the recession but is down now, to just about 4 percent among workers ages 24 to 55. And about 14 percent had jobs in management.
The picture isn’t all rosy. More than a third of humanities majors said there was no relationship between their job and their degree. About a third with bachelor’s degrees were employed in sales, service, office and administrative support jobs.
Humanities majors who went on to get an advanced degree, beyond a bachelor’s, generally did better, with higher median salaries and a closer match between their degrees and their occupations.
In its new book, Microsoft called for more liberal arts majors to study computer engineering, and for more tech engineers to take classes in the liberal arts.
Sign up for Education LabAn easy way to stay connected to education. Delivered to your inbox Thursdays.

Sign up“The Future Computed: Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Society” includes an introduction by Microsoft President Brad Smith and the company’s executive vice president of Microsoft Artificial Intelligence, Harry Shum.
“Skilling-up for an AI-powered world involves more than science, technology, engineering and math,” the two executives wrote in a blog post about the book. “As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology and human-development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions.
“If AI is to reach its potential in serving humans, then every engineer will need to learn more about the liberal arts and every liberal arts major will need to learn more about engineering,” Smith and Shum wrote.

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or [email protected]. On Twitter @katherinelong

https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/report-busts-myth-of-unemployable-humanities-grads/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_left_1.1

How Starwood Optimized Its Website Translation Speaks to an Industry Becoming Fluent in DataSean O'Neill, Skift
 
- Apr 06, 2017 1:00 am 

"Starwood recently changed its approach to the translation of websites for its 1,500 properties. Its move is a case study in how many hotel groups are getting savvier about using data to boost bottom line results."

— Sean O'Neill

Before its acquisition by Marriott was completed last September, hospitality company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide changed its approach to a problem that many chain hotels face — how to maximize the value of its spending on translation services for its property websites worldwide.
There were two aspects to the question: Was Starwood overspending on the translation of some of its branded websites, relative to how much business it was bringing in from the speakers of those languages? And was it failing to translate other websites and thus losing customers who were turning elsewhere and instead booking stays at properties that offered online information in their native tongues?
It’s not often that hotel executives offer a peek into their thinking about challenges. So it caught Skift’s eye two weeks ago when Ora Solomon, director, global product management, digital, gave a presentation about Starwood’s effort at the CMO Digital Insights Summit in Atlanta.

To be sure, the approach Starwood took is not the last word in how hotels can approach similar challenges. In fact, Marriott’s approach to translations will likely be different than what Starwood took, a spokesperson for the merged brands said.
Starwood’s experiment, whatever it’s ultimate fate, illustrates a broader industry trend that’s one of the hotel trends we’re watching in 2017: More and more hotel groups are relying on data instead of instinct to drive decision making.


PUTTING A MORE ACCURATE PRICE ON TRANSLATION
Starwood has 1,500 properties around the world, half of which are outside the U.S. Obviously it has been expensive for the company to translate the individual details of each property across its 11 brands.
To contain costs, its policy had been to provide translations for nearly all of its properties in four common languages — German, French, Spanish, and Japanese — regardless of the revenue that speakers of those languages generate for each of the properties.
It also made rough guesses about when to offer translations in up to seven other languages, such as Simplified Mandarin (which it did for 452 hotels) and Portuguese (which it did for 237 hotels).
The problem was that Starwood wasn’t sure it had the best coverage. For example, its Aloft Charlotte Uptown had received a Japanese translation, even though all nine of its Charlotte’s properties had received less than about $20,000 of revenue from Japanese guests in 2014.
On the other hand, many Italians visit New York City. Yet Starwood had provided few Italian translations for its properties there.
To get the translation mix right, Solomon believed that Starwood needed to “come up with a translation model that was scalable, given that non-English revenue share was growing, and competitors were investing to win,” she says. At the time, the Starwood sites had 200 million visitors a year, representing about $4 billion a year in revenue.
So in 2015, the company hired a math star on a temporary contract to come up with a more data-driven approach. Along with other Starwood employees, the person came up with a mathematical model that weighs revenue over two years, versus the full on-going cost of translation at the market level, such as of French translation for a hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
The results were striking. The formula predicted that, for 11 Starwood properties in the San Francisco area, spending on Japanese language translation produce revenued that was, collectively, 42 times the money spent on translation.
In contrast, investing in Japanese translation in Dallas didn’t deliver a good return on investment. Based on the data at the time, the cost of offering translations for the 17 Starwood properties then in Dallas would have meant that every dollar spent on translation would have yielded only a $2 gain in annual revenue.
Similarly, the company had spent on Dutch translation for only two of its properties worldiwde. The formula recommended it invest in Dutch translation for 161 properties if Starwood wanted to capture at least 60 percent of the possible revenue.
In total, approximately $600,000 investment in translation services could produce $45 million in additional revenue from guests who decided to book at Starwood instead of somewhere else that had a website in their native tongue.
The formula also predicted where Starwood could cut back on translation spending without hurting revenue. The company had been translating all of the websites of its properties into Japanese. But by only translating 611 properties that have high inbound traveler volume, the company could capture 97 percent of the revenue that it would have otherwise.
Overall, by dropping its policy of translating all of its websites into four core languages, the company would save about $300,000 a year without a loss to revenue.
Solomon says the initial results in 2016 for the $600,000 expense on expanded language translation were on target with the forecasted model. The company executed the program in phases, to limit up-front investment. The staged approach delays the effort to analyze the formula’s success until enough time has passed for comparative information.
Solomon says it is already clear that the cuts in the former four core languages did not negatively affect conversion rates online. The decrease in core translation has put minimal revenue at risk. She says, “We didn’t lose as much of the even minimal revenue loss that the model predicted, and we saved money, which we could redeploy.”
As with many aspects of the Marriott acquisition of Starwood, Marriot says it is “assessing and evaluating Starwood’s business applications as they would apply to the newly merged companies.” A spokesperson says that “Marriott has a system for determining the timing and scope of new websites and apps in new languages. Translations are going through that process, and we will await the outcome before commenting further.”
Regardless of the fate of its specific experiment, Starwood’s effort underlines one of the major hotel industry trends of this year: Hotels are getting smarter about how to interpret all of the data they have been collecting.

https://skift.com/2017/04/06/how-starwood-optimized-translation-spending/

10 marketing slogans – lost in translation
August 6, 2013 10:38 am
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“Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.”
It is hard to believe that this translated slogan has been used in China to promote the famous cola. The soda selling giant translated the original slogan “Pepsi brings you back to life” into Mandarin meaning “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”.
Surprisingly, this is not an isolate case. Numerous world-famous companies failed to transpose accurately their original slogans into other languages, risking offended consumers and low sales figures.
The potential of going global with a brand has never been as attractive as it is now: establishing an international customer base, favourable economic conditions in other countries, competitive cost of goods and so on. Companies enter the international market in the hope of successfully selling their products worldwide and aim at achieving the above listed advantages of expanding overseas.
When companies decide to do so, their success depends on how well their product is received by customers in each market. This means that advertising campaigns need to be reviewed, adapted if necessary and translated. Nevertheless, preparing international marketing campaigns is not as easy as literally translating from one language to the other.
It is important to consider cultural values, norms, rules of conduct, humor and slang when promoting a product abroad. This is especially the case for slogans that represent the corporate identity of a brand.

Advertising campaigns need to be reviewed, adapted if necessary and translated
​
The objective of a slogan is to differentiate a product or brand from other competitors in a positive way. Unfortunately not all companies take this into account. A failing international marketing slogan can be traced back to mistranslation, lack of cultural understanding or even intentional translation errors to catch the customers´ attention.
Here is a compilation of the 10 funniest marketing translation blunders. They are classic examples of how failed translation can be crucial to a brand’s reputation.

1. “The Jolly Green Giant” for Green Giant in Arabic directly translates to “Intimidating Green Ogre” (Source: White M. (2009) “A short course in international marketing blunders” Marketing mistakes made by companies that should have known better. World Trade Press).
2. Braniff International Airways´ slogan Fly in leather came out as “Fly naked” Spanish (“Vuela en cuero”). (Source: Brady, D. (2011)”Essentials of international Marketing” ME Sharpe).
3. Mitsubishi launched the rover vehicle “Pajero 4WD” in Spain ignoring the fact that the word “pajero” means “jerk” in Spanish. The car´s name has then been changed to Mitsubishi “Montero”. (Source)
4. The Italian mineral water company promoted their water Traficante in Spain not knowing that the word “traficante” means “drug dealer” in Spanish. (Source)
5. When Kentucky Fried Chicken opened their first store in China, it did not take long before they discovered their slogan, “finger lickin’ good” translated to “eat your fingers off.” (Source)
6. In Italy a campaign for Schweppes Tonic water translated the drink´s name into “Schweppes Toilet Water.” (Source: Haig M. (2004)”Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time” Kogan Page Limited).
7. Pepsodent promoted its toothpaste in a distinct area in Southeast Asia by highlighting that it “whitens your teeth.” This campaign entirely failed because the locals chew betel nuts to blacken their teeth as it is considered attractive. (Source: Verderber K. and R., Sellnow D. (2012) “Communicate“).
8. IKEA named one of its new desks “FARTFULL” to promote “fährt” (speed) given the desks’ wheels and the design. (Source: Rasmussen R., Mylonas A., Beck H. (2001)”Investigating Business Communication and Technologies” Cambridge University Press)
9. The Brewing Company Coors translated its slogan “Turn it loose” into “Suffer from diarrhea” in Spanish. (Source: Haig M. (2004)”Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time” Kogan Page Limited).
10. An American T-shirt designer printed shirts for the Spanish market to promot the visit of the Pope. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa), the shirts read “I saw the potato” (la papa). (Source: Ardagh P., (2009) “Howlers, Blunders and Random Mistakery”).

All of these marketing blunders are examples of how even the smallest translation error can have a great effect on a brand´s success overseas. Translation mistakes like these can be prevented by avoiding literal translation, checking pronunciation in other languages and researching the country´s cultural norms and values.
What about you? Have you come across any other marketing blunder?

Article written by Sandra Nunes Teixeira, student intern at TermCoord, Master student in the“Multi-learn programme”

http://termcoord.eu/2013/08/10-marketing-slogans-lost-in-translation/

Where are you from? Where is your home?

​As a language professional, you might have had to answer these questions more times than you'd wished.
If you travelled extensively, lived in more than one country, raised a family somewhere else than your country of birth, created emotional and affective bonds with people in other countries, found a kinship somewhere unexpected, then you know how hard it is to answer.
​

"Home […] is not just the place where you happen to be born, it’s the place where you become yourself […]
For more and more of us, home has really less to do with a piece of soil, than […] with a piece of soul […]”
(Iyer, 2013)

http://termcoord.eu/2016/06/going-dutch-or-having-a-french-shower-idioms-using-other-nationalities-and-countries/

“Going Dutch” or “having a French shower”: idioms using other nationalities and countries
June 28, 2016 2:47 pmFacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppLinkedInEmailWordPressTumblrWe all know that all “roads lead to Rome”, which “was not built in one day”, but what about “smoking like a Turk” or “speaking Chinese”?
Idioms. We all use them, but where do they come from? The easiest answer would be that they come from historical events and from the proximity of one country to another. The English-speaking people have a saying about the French, “don’t leave like the French” which means leaving without saying Good-bye! The Spaniards say “despedirse a la francesa“, to “leave the French way”. On the other hand, the French say the same thing about the English (“filer à l’anglaise“). The Germans blame it on the Polish, “einen polnischen Abgang machen“,“make a Polish exit” and the Poles throw it back at the English “leave in an English way”, “wyjść po angielsku”.
We Romanians had a lot to deal with the Turks, so we say, “he eats like the Turks are fighting on his mouth” (“se bat turcii la gura lui”) to describe someone who eats very quickly. In addition, when someone sits with their legs crossed, they are “Turkish sitting” (“stă turceşte”) and when someone does not understand something obvious we implore “don’t be a Turk” (“nu fi turc”). I was surprised to find that Slovenians have the same saying but about the French, Croatians about the English, Polish people about the Greeks and Greek people about the Chinese. In addition, “Θες ν’ ακούσεις κάνα τούρκικο τώρα” in Greek, “You want to hear some Turkish now?” means “do you want me to swear?”. And what about “pardon my French”? It is not that someone is excusing themselves for their level of the language? Indeed, it is also related to swearing.
Have you heard about “smoking like a Turk”? Well, if you are Romanian, Italian, Slovene, Croat, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, French or German, apparently you would use this idiom when you refer to someone smoking a lot.
To refer to something that they don’t understand in writing, the English would say “it’s all Greek to me”. At the same time the Greeks say the same thing, but referring to Chinese. As do the Portuguese, Bulgarians and Spanish, people. The Finns have a slightly different saying about the same thing, to “speak pig’s German” (“puhua siansaksaa“) – namely, when someone says something completely weird and incomprehensible.
For the Spanish people, the English are punctual, so they say “punctual as an English man”, while in Romanian, Estonian and other Baltic languages, they say the same thing, but about the Germans. When Italians describe one’s punctuality, they say “punctual like a Swiss watch” (“puntuali come un orologio svizzero“), the Poles say “to work as in a Swiss watch” (“chodzić jak w szwajcarskim zegarku“) referring also to the accuracy of a Swiss watch. The same goes for Portuguese people who say, “Certo que nem um relógio suiço“ (“right as a Swiss clock”).
“Going Dutch” means splitting the bill in half at the restaurant, and “having a French shower” means to spray on too much deodorant instead of washing oneself. This is the first time I have heard that, but it seems that it is a popular idiom. In Sweden, the idiom is “take a Turkish shower” (att ta en Turkdusch). The French people also have an idiom about showers but it’s “prendre une douche écossaise“, (“take a Scottish shower”) which describes someone experiencing a hot and cold alternate water temperature when showering.
It was an interesting journey to find and read about all these idioms. Do you know some idioms we have not mentioned?
Sources:

• Idioms
• 10 idioms in English using nationalities and countries
• European nationality related idioms
• Idioms using nationalities and countries

Written by Raluca Caranfil
Communication Trainee at TermCoord
Journalist & Student at the University of Luxembourg