Tag: learning

Easter traditions

Erika Trabattoni

I have always believed that learning a foreign language also means getting familiar with the culture that language expresses and this is the reason why I have chosen to talk about Easter traditions in Italy, in the United Kingdom and in Germany in today’s post.

Generally speaking, Easter is a very important celebration in Italy, where each city follows its own traditions. However, some rituals and customs are shared throughout the country. Children usually receive chocolate eggs with a surprise inside: strolling around and browsing the shop windows, one can find beautifully decorated chocolate eggs, some of which could be considered real culinary masterpieces. As for typical food, a world-renowned dessert is the so-called “colomba” (“dove”), a sort of cake originally born in Milan. Throughout the country, people usually take part in religious celebrations, such as the tradition Mess and various kinds of processions and parades.

In the United Kingdom, Easter is one of the most important Christian festivals too. The Easter bunny, which seems to have its origins in Germany, may actually be either a rabbit or a hare. Children believe that the Easter bunny brings them chocolate eggs, provided that they have been good. Eggs seem to be a transnational symbol, which is probably due to them being a symbol of rebirth; in England, coloured eggs are very popular and people employ different techniques to make them: King Edward I contributed to making this practice famous, since he seems to have ordered 450 eggs to be coloured in 1290.

Finally, in Germany Easter is associated as well with the resurrection of Jesus Christ as well and people celebrate it by attending religious functions, exchanging gifts and spending time with their families. Churches are usually decorated with spring flowers and some communities even hold a shared breakfast or lunch, while people usually exchange edible Easter eggs and hares as gifts. A typical tradition is the organisation of Easter egg hunts: a lot of eggs are made of chocolate, whereas boiled eggs are painted with colours and decorative eggs are made of plastic, fabrics or wood.

After this short overview exploring Easter traditions in different countries, there is only one thing for me left to do: I wish you all a happy and serene Easter!

The information for this article comes from different sources:

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/germany/easter https://www.learnenglish.de/culture/easter.html

Post-graduate degree in Legal Translation

Erika Trabattoni

Last week, I wrote about the two post-graduate degrees I have recently started attending, but I focused on the one in Medical and Pharmacological Translation. Today, instead, I am going to talk about the one in Legal Translation.

First of all, the course is held jointly by a lawyer and a translator who have been working together for some time in the translation industry. This way, attendees can profit both from theoretical knowledge in the law field and from a more practical and linguistic approach to texts that need to be translated. The course focuses on English to Italian translation, but what one learns can be applied – mutatis mutandis – to other language pairs, as well.

When translating a text dealing with legal matters, it is of paramount importance to be aware of the great difference existing between distinct legal systems: the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia follow common law (as well as some former English colonies and countries influenced by the Anglo-Saxon tradition), whereas continental Europe follows civil law. These two legal traditions mainly differ because of the source of law they favour (case law and legislative decisions respectively). In addition, some mixed legal systems developed across the world. Different legal systems imply different legal institutions, which lack an equivalent in other countries and, consequently, in other languages.

Legal translators need to possess at least basic knowledge of comparative law, which is why I decided to attend this Post-graduate Degree in Legal Translation: this course is also going to provide basic principles of many branches of law (civil law, criminal law, corporate law…).

As you probably know if you have visited my website, I attained a Master’s Degree in Conference Interpreting: I graduated with a glossary thesis about the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). While examining different documents to build my glossary, I soon realised the frequent lack of an exact Italian equivalent for English terms referring to particular institutions and procedures. In addition, law is an abstract subject: across the whole world, the human body is the same and a heart is always a heart, even though different languages use different words to indicate it. On the contrary, legal terminology is based on institutions, offices, laws and statutes which are not the same in every country and which cannot be “physically seen”: criminal conducts, for instance, are identified through several elements which make them unlawful, but these elements and law principles are created by men and are, therefore, abstract.

All this must be added to the common issues faced by translators and interpreters. They are part of the reason why I chose this post-graduate course. Another reason is that I am deeply interested in the subject of law and I like translating documents pertaining to it. Last but not least, having basic knowledge of legal matters can only make one’s life easier!

Post-graduate degree in Medical and Pharmocological Translation

Erika Trabattoni

Working in today’s translation industry often requires specialising in at least one field. Generally speaking, it is possible to distinguish between literary and technical translation, which deals with scientific and technical subjects: these two categories present significative differences and require different approaches and skills.

In order to translate a highly technical text, it is necessary to possess at least basic notions of the topic it deals with: this is why translators and interpreters accurately prepare for every new assignment, gathering general and more specific information in addition to the correct terminology. This preparation becomes less time-consuming when the professional is used to working in a certain field, since he or she just needs to update his or her knowledge to keep up with the latest developments.

Experience plays an important role, but one can also choose to specialise in a certain field before starting to translate texts pertaining to it. That’s what I chose to do: I have recently enrolled in two Post-graduate degrees, one in Medical and Pharmacological Translation, the other in Legal Translation. These two courses – organised by CTI – Communication Trend Italia (an Italian language service provider) – are being held once a week in Milan: lessons will take place from February to July and at the end of the courses, attendants are required to deliver a thesis (their translation of a highly technical text provided by CTI) and to pass an oral exam to test their knowledge and discuss their translation.

In today’s post, I am going to focus on the Post-graduate course of Medical and Pharmacological Translation: after attending the first two lessons, I can already say I am very happy with my choice. Students receive both theoretical and practical preparation: this way, they can gain medical knowledge and apply it to the translation of real texts, also learning the particular characteristics of medical texts and terminology.

I have always been very interested in medicine, which is the reason I have decided to grab this chance to expand my knowledge in this field: I will be studying biology, genetics, anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology and much more. Thanks to this specialisation, I will be able to deliver high-quality translations and interpretation services: knowledge of the topic, familiarity with medical terminology and with the style of medical texts, the ability to peruse the web and distinguish reliable sources from unreliable ones are only some of the skills I will be able to offer my clients in this specific field.

This course is useful and really interesting and I am looking forward to attending more lessons and to hone my skills, thus adding another small brick in my education and in my experience as an interpreter and translator. Wish me luck!

The benefits of learning languages

Erika Trabattoni

Everybody can benefit greatly from his or her knowledge of at least one foreign language: benefits concern both your working and personal life and can also extend to your health.

First of all, knowing one or more foreign languages is always a great asset when applying for a job and carries considerable weight with employers. Companies often need to establish and maintain relationships with foreign clients and stakeholders: employees are needed who can understand, speak and write the language used for communication between the company itself and these other parties. Even though English is most frequently required, the knowledge of other foreign languages is held in high regard as well, since being able to communicate with its stakeholders in their own language is very important for a company and shows great consideration on its part.

Knowing one or more foreign languages can represent a great asset to your personal life as well. Travelling becomes considerably easier if you know the local language or at least a language which allows you to communicate with local people; moreover, meeting new people and keeping in touch becomes quite simple. Knowing a foreign language also means having access to the culture expressed by that language and to the possibility of fully understanding it.

Learning to think and express yourself in different language systems improves your problem-solving attitude as well: getting in touch with different cultures means realising that others may think and act differently, hold different opinions and cherish different values. Nothing is set in stone and understanding different ways of thinking may help you find new approaches. Being able to switch between different linguistic and cultural systems can also improve your multitasking skills.

However, learning foreign languages may also have a positive impact on your health. According to several studies conducted in this field, speaking more than one language can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia: tests were conducted both on monolingual and bilingual individuals and – even though both categories showed the same level of cognitive impairment – the latter seemed to be diagnosed with the disease about four years later. Furthermore, bilingual people’s brain seems to work better and longer after the first signs of Alzheimer’s occur. This seems to be due to the fact that bilingual people exercise the executive control system more, since they need to keep two language systems separate: their brain, in fact, provides them with multiple choices for every word, establishing the need for them to constantly switch between two different languages. This exercise is thought responsible for bilingual individuals’ ability to cope better with Alzheimer’s. Even though this research was tailored specifically on bilingual individuals, the same benefits seem to be enjoyed by those who start learning a second language later in life as well. (*)

Finally, there’s another reason to learn one or more foreign languages: it is a lot of fun! It is an eye-opening experience and even though it requires hard work and constant exercise, it is extremely rewarding. What are you waiting for?

(*) Further information can be find in the article used to write this entry (https://www.livescience.com/12917-learning-language-bilingual-protects-alzheimers.html)