Innovative use of technology breakthrough revitalizes endangered languages
4-3-2003
VICTORIA, BC, March 4 /CNW/ - There is an urgent need for Aboriginal communities worldwide to have the tools to document, archive and revitalize their endangered languages while enough fluent speakers still survive.
Two Victoria-based organizations - The First Peoples' Cultural Foundation (FPCF) and Trafford Publishing - are exploring ways to support and enhance existing First Nations language programs and encourage the revitalization of endangered languages around the world.
(Canada Newswire)

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Language barrier found to hurt Hispanics' health
28-2-2003
WASHINGTON--Hispanics who speak little or no English are coping with a health care system that frequently fails to communicate with them in Spanish, a survey released Thursday concluded.

The language barrier is having a devastating effect on those Hispanics--mostly newly arrived immigrants--by discouraging them from seeking medical care, said the survey's authors.
(Gannett News Service)

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Language translation at fingertips
24-2-2003
NEW YORK — What do you do when you're chomping into a currywurst sausage in Berlin and — Crack! — your front tooth snaps off?

An unsavvy traveler might simply point to the broken tooth and moan.

But the makers of MobiLearn Talking Pocket PC phrase books offer a more interesting solution. Tap on your handheld computer screen a few times and a soothing female voice springs forth, telling those around you: "Ich habe einen Zahn abgebrochen" or "I broke my tooth."
(Jim Krane - The Seattle Times)

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E-dictionary market embraces multimedia system
20-2-2003
Many students of foreign languages are leaving their bulky dictionaries behind in favor of sleek and lightweight hand-held e- dictionaries, or "electronic" dictionaries.

The focal point of this not-so-new technology is a simple memory chip that can store hundreds of bits of data, including addresses and phone numbers. The memory for these devices are rapidly evolving into devices that can store more information and provide more features while fueling local demand for the latest models.
(The Korea Herald)

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Sign language gets own easy-to-use dictionary
17-2-2003
Victoria Manning uses facial expressions, hand shapes and body language to communicate.

Her sign language is lightning quick to a non-signer, yet she learned it only as a 20-year-old, 16 years after losing her hearing.

Ms Manning is deaf, but for four years was New Zealand's first mental health professional working with deaf children, adults and their families.
(JULIA MAHONY - The New Zealand Herald)

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Canada - Language laws stifling anglo communities: conference
29-1-2003
Quebec's language laws are stifling English communities, especially outside Montreal, and they need federal help to stop them from dying, a diversity conference was told Thursday.

The association representing English groups outside Montreal said successive provincial governments have choked off English at the expense of protecting French.

"There is a delicate balance, in my mind, between protecting French and restricting English,'' said Hugh Maynard, president of the Quebec Community Groups Network.
(Canada.com)

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Body Language Camera ‘Most Accurate Lie-Detector
27-1-2003
A high-tech camera which reads people’s body language could be the most accurate lie detector yet, its developers claimed today.

Dubbed the “Silent Talker“, the system uses artificial intelligence to detect and analyse thousands of tiny movements to determine whether people are being truthful or not.

Following tests at Manchester Metropolitan University, researchers believe it is even more accurate than standard polygraph tests used by the CIA in America.
(Chris Marritt - Scotsman.com)

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U.S. forces in Hungary will turn volunteers into translators ...
24-1-2003
U.S. forces in Hungary will turn volunteers into translators for coalition troops in war with Iraq.


STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S. European Command soon will begin training Iraqi exiles in Hungary at facilities currently under construction.

As many as 3,000 Iraqi exiles living in the United States and in Europe, who are loyal to groups opposed to Saddam Hussein, should arrive later this month at the Taszar air base, about 120 miles southwest of Budapest to begin training as part of Task Force Warrior.

Their immediate task will be to undergo training as translators and logistical support personnel for U.S. soldiers in a potential war with Saddam Hussein. Their instructors will be U.S. Army reservists.
(David Josar, Stars and Stripes)

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Language requirements
25-1-2003
In an effort to further tighten up immigration legislation, the Government has proposed that refugees should pay for their own Danish language lessons after residing in the country for three years, and if they don't live up to stringent language requirements when applying for permanent residency after seven years, they will be refused residency and deported.
(The Copenhagen Post)

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