Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467304575383131592767868.html

New cognitive research suggests that language profoundly influences the way people see the world; a different sense of blame in Japanese and Spanish.

Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?

Learn more >>

Link: http://www.acfny.org/events/events-single/event/228/

THURSDAY JUL 01 - WEDNESDAY SEP 01

The Austrian Cultural Forum New York awards the "ACF TRANSLATION PRIZE" each year.

The prize supports translations of contemporary Austrian fiction and poetry that have preferably not appeared in English previously. For guidelines, please go to http://www.acfny.org/events/events-single/event/228/.

Applications are accepted between July 1 and September 1, 2010.

Thierry Royo (el. bass) playing with "Casa Mantequilla" (afro cuban soul funk) on Saturday, May 1st at 10 PM at a club called "The Underground Lounge."

The Underground Lounge

955 West End Ave (107th street)., New York, NY 10025
http://www.theundergroundnyc.com/

Link: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article7017831.ece

GOOGLE is developing software for the first phone capable of translating foreign languages almost instantly — like the Babel Fish in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

By building on existing technologies in voice recognition and automatic translation, Google hopes to have a basic system ready within a couple of years. If it works, it could eventually transform communication among speakers of the world’s 6,000-plus languages.

The company has already created an automatic system for translating text on computers, which is being honed by scanning millions of multi-lingual websites and documents. So far it covers 52 languages, adding Haitian Creole last week.

Google also has a voice recognition system that enables phone users to conduct web searches by speaking commands into their phones rather than typing them in.

Now it is working on combining the two technologies to produce software capable of understanding a caller’s voice and translating it into a synthetic equivalent in a foreign language. Like a professional human interpreter, the phone would analyse “packages” of speech, listening to the speaker until it understands the full meaning of words and phrases, before attempting translation. Read more >>

Link: http://www.acfny.org/events/events-single/event/228/

The Austrian Cultural Forum New York, in collaboration with the Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation and Words Without Borders, is pleased to announce the Austrian Cultural Forum Translation Prize: An award aimed at the promotion of intercultural exchange between the Republic of Austria and the United States. This initiative supports translators of contemporary Austrian Literature into English with a grant of EUR 3000.

Scope and Eligibility
The ACF Translation Prize supports translations of contemporary Austrian fiction and poetry that have preferably not appeared previously in English. The award will be disbursed upon the formal acceptance of the manuscript by a publishing house, which must occur within a period of three years.

Applicants are asked to submit the following material with their application:
1. Completed cover sheet.
2. 20-page, single-spaced sample of the translation.
3. Description of the project and its significance.
4. Biography and bibliography of the author, including information on translations of his or her work into other languages.
5. CV of the translator.

Please note that translations of theater plays can not be submitted.

Applications are accepted between July 1 and September 1, 2010. Early submissions are strongly recommended. Please submit the completed application material by email to translation@acfny.org after July 1, 2010.

The Award Ceremony of the 2010 Translation Prize will take place in December 2010. A distinguished jury will present the winner, as well as the translated work. Applications are evaluated by a transatlantic advisory board, comprised of Fatima Naqvi (Rutgers University), Michael Orthofer (The Literary Saloon), Ricky Stock (German Book Office, New York), Daniela Strigl (University of Vienna), Martin Rauchbauer (Deputy Director, ACFNY) and Andreas Stadler (Director, ACFNY).