Finnish Radio Revives Latin Language

Finnish state radio has been broadcasting a weekly summary of world events and news in classical Latin. Though initially the broadcasts could only be heard via shortwave radio, they are now available on the station’s website via podcast and MP3 downloads, allowing Latin aficionados across the world to tune in. Tuorno Pekkanen, a retired Latin professor, helped to start the five-minute segment that airs every Friday. Mr. Pekkanen translates the news spots and chooses subjects that have broad significance, from the financial crisis in Cyprus to sights of the aurora borealis. Though the station doesn’t have records of how many listeners tune in, one station reporter estimates “tens of thousands”. Though many languages are becoming extinct, the station has seemingly revived the Latin language for many listeners, regardless of their proficiency in Latin.

Read more here.


Access 2 Interpreters Ranked as a “Top Business” in Ohio for 2013

Top_2013_Biz Honors have been bestowed upon the nation’s finest and brightest entrepreneurs. In recognition of the momentous achievement, DiversityBusiness.com, the nation’s leading multicultural social media site, has recently acknowledged Access 2 Interpreters, LLC as one of the State’s “Top Diversity Owned Businesses” and “Top Privately-held Businesses” for 2013. This exclusive ranking is a reflection of Access’s overall vision, leadership and economic accomplishments in moving the economy forward. The award, known as the Div500, represents the most unique class of forward thinking companies who have earned the distinction of fostering a culture of sustainable growth among the communities they serve.


Access 2 Interpreters, Ohio Court Interpreter Certification

An article in Business First, discusses the interpreter certification program conducted by the Ohio Supreme Court. This past February, the Court certified 22 interpreters in Spanish, French, Russian, and American Sign Language. During the certification process, interpreters must complete and pass a written examination and an oral performance examination. It is widely acknowledged that there is “a lack of interpreting schools in the Midwest.” The article mentions that Access 2 Interpreters, in Columbus, has initiated a preparation course for legal interpreters. The course includes topics on legal procedures and terminology. The article also quotes Yana Schottenstein, Access’s General Manager, who stated that, “[Legal language] is a completely foreign language for a lot of people, including native speakers of English.” For more on Access’s Interpreter Education Department, see the “Access Academy” page.

Read more here. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2013/04/05/certification-program-applies.html


Microsoft turns spoken English into spoken Mandarin

microsoft Microsoft’s CEO recently demonstrated live speech-to-speech translation at a presentation in China. The speech recognition software converts spoken word into text, then translates that text into the desired language while correcting the word order so that an accurate sentence is delivered in the target language. Finally, the sentence is spoken out loud.

The most exciting part? The sentence is spoken out loud, not in a computerized voice, but in the speaker’s voice. The software is able to replicate the speakers voice and vocal patterns in order to create a seamless speech-to-speech translation. The software, namely the translation accuracy, is still in the developing stages, but the demonstration was a taste of what’s to come with advances in technology.

Read more here. http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2012/11/08/microsoft-demos-amazing-english-to-mandarin-translation-allowing-for-real-time-audible-translations/