College of Information and Computer Science, Long Island University
Published by June 7th, 2008
in search and language.
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The World Wide Web may not cover the entire globe, but it certainly has a presence in most populated places throughout the world. With such an international scope, the “multilinguality” of web content continues to increase. For savvy searchers, the multiple languages and content from distant countries create new opportunities for finding previously buried information resources.
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Published by April 6th, 2008
in libraries, American Library Association, library services and language.
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About 21 million people in the United States speak limited or no English, 50 percent more than a decade ago. As our country’s demographics continue to change, U.S. public libraries continue their efforts to meet the demand for service to non-English users. Today the American Library Association (ALA) released “Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” an unprecedented study on the range of specialized library services for non-English speakers. “Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” is the first national study to consider the range of library services and programs developed for non-English speakers, including effectiveness of services, barriers to library use, most frequently used services and most successful library programs by language served. The study also analyzed library service area populations and patron proximity to local libraries that offer specialized services.
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Published by March 16th, 2008
in dictionaries and language.
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Dictionarist is a language tool resembling a Swiss army knife: It’s a free online talking dictionary which provide translation in 13 languages.This cool language tool translates to and from English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Dutch, Greek, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. When combined, this makes 60 translation options (English to French, French to English, Spanish to Turkish, Turkish to Spanish etc.).
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Dictionarist web site
Published by December 16th, 2007
in books, language and publishing.
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A little over a decade ago, Spanish-language books occupied the smallest slice of shelf space at bookstores around the country. They were dusty, overlooked and undervalued, and there were few titles beyond the classics — a little poetry and reference materials, most pertaining to the Spanish language itself. But the 2000 census and its revelations about the fast-growing Hispanic population sparked renewed interest among U.S. publishing houses in meeting the reading desires of Spanish-speakers. Many who had tried — unsuccessfully — to market books in Spanish in the 1990s supercharged their plans.
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Published by September 29th, 2007
in language.
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Languages are now becoming extinct faster than birds, mammals, fish or plants. Of the estimated 7,000 unique languages spoken in the world today, nearly half are likely to disappear this century, with an average of one lost every two weeks. Losing a language often means losing the knowledge and history of an entire culture, especially when there is no written record available. For this reason, the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages have engaged in an impressive undertaking to identify and record the most endangered languages in the world.
National Geographics’s Enduring Voices website
