Dragoman Transcreation

An agenda is a list of meeting activities. It shows the time, room and topic of each session. A session may be in the form of a workshop, panel discussion, seminar or conference and will typically end with a Q & A. An agenda may also be called a docket. Individual sessions should also have their internal agenda. Ideally, event organizers publish the agenda on advance and also provide a print copy...

Dragoman prefers preceding initialisms with a definite article. An initialism is an abbreviation formed from initial letters. They require “the”, because they are pronounced letter by letter. Incorrect: Trump told world leaders to support overhauling U.N. Correct:     Trump told world leaders to support overhauling the U.N. An acronym, on the other hand, is a word made up from the first letters of...

This piece is a part of our capitalization series. Proper capitalization in English is tricky. Stay tuned with our Language Tips for more. 1. If magazine or journal is part of the title, use upper case New York Magazine Journal of the American Medical Association 2. If magazine or journal is not part of the title, use lower case Time magazine 3. Capitalize the article the if part of the title of a...

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine’s users. SEO is an integrated part of website lo...

A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom. Trade conventions typically focus on a particular industry or industry segment, and feature keynote speakers, vendor displays, and other information and activ...

Spelling is the writing of one or more words with letters and diacritics. In addition, the term often, but not always, means an accepted standard spelling or the process of naming the letters. In the sense of a standard, spelling is one of the elements of orthography and a prescriptive element of alphabetic languages. Spellings attempt to transcribe the sounds of the language into alphabetic lette...

American Psychological Association (APA) style is an academic format specified in The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, a style guide that offers academic authors guidance on various subjects for the submission of papers to the publications of APA. The APA states that the guidelines were developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences, fo...

MLA Style Manual  is a publication by the Modern Language Association. As a style guide, it is probably the most commonly used reference by writers, researchers and academics. Lead authors are Domna C. Stanton and David G. Nicholls. The Manual has been out in the market for over 50 years. Updated in 2016, the eight edition of the MLA Style Manual offers complete, up-to-date guidance on writing sch...

A court is a tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. In both common law and civil law legal systems, courts are the central means for dispute resolution, and it is generally understood that all persons hav...

A compound modifier (also called a compound adjective, phrasal adjective, or adjectival phrase) is a compound of two or more attributive words: That is, more than one word that together modify a noun. Compound modifiers are grammatically equivalent to single-word modifiers, and can be used in conjunction with other modifiers. When localizing a compound modifier, you may not find an equivalent phra...

Game localization or game globalization refers to the preparation of video games for other locales. This adaptation to the standards of other countries covers far more than simply translation of language. There are different areas, such as linguistic, cultural, hardware and software, legal differences, graphics identity and music. Globalization refers to general Eastern/Western variations, while l...

Tone is a literary technique that is a part of composition, which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes. Each piece of literature has at least one theme, or central question about a topic, and how the theme is a...

In linguistics, prosody is the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance (statement, question, or command); the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and focus; or other elements of language that may not be encoded by grammar or choice of vocabulary. Proso...

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) (also known as external dispute resolution in some countries, such as Australia) includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disagreeing parties to come to an agreement short of litigation. It is a collective term for the ways that parties can settle disputes, with (or without) the help of a third party. Highest form of alternat...

A dragoman was an interpreter, translator and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries, delegations and politicians of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. Dragomans would typically speak Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and several European languages. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/drago...

Turkish, also referred to as Istanbul Turkish or Anatolian Turkish, is the most widely-spoken of the Turkic languages, with over 100 million native speakers. Speakers are located predominantly in Turkey, with smaller groups in Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Greece, and other parts of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The roots of the language can be traced to Central Asia,...

In sign language, orientation (ORI) refers to the distinctive relative orientation of the hand when signing. Orientation is one of five components of a sign, along with handshape (DEZ), location (TAB), movement (SIG), and facial-body expression. Every language has its own signs, even British Sign Language is different then the American Sign Language. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www...

A sign language (also signed language or simply signing) is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning. This can involve simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker’s thoughts. Every nation has their own sign langua...

In sign language, expression refers to distinctive body postures and facial expressions that accompany signing, and which are necessary to properly form words. Expression is one of five components of a sign, along with handshape (DEZ), orientation (ORI), location (TAB), and movement (SIG). A major component of expression is mouthing. However, not all signs have an inherent expression. Become a sup...

In sign language, location, or tab, refers to specific places that the hands occupy as they are used to form words. In Stokoe terminology it is known as the TAB, an abbreviation of tabula. Location is one of five components of a sign, along with handshape (DEZ), orientation (ORI), movement (SIG), and facial-body expression. Different sign languages make use of different locations. For more informa...

In sign language, handshape, or dez, refers to the distinctive configuration of that the hands take as they are used to form words. In Stokoe terminology it is known as the DEZ, an abbreviation of designator. Handshape is one of five components of a sign, along with location (TAB), orientation (ORI), movement (SIG), and facial-body expression. Different sign languages make use of different handsha...

In sign language, movement, or sig, refers to the distinctive hand actions that form words. In William Stokoe’s terminology, it is the SIG, an abbreviation of signation. Movement is one of five components of a sign—with handshape (DEZ), orientation (ORI), location (sign language) (TAB), and facial-body expression. Different sign languages use different types of movement. Some treatments distinguis...

In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. A typical clause consists of a subject and a predicate, where the predicate is typically a verb phrase – a verb together with any objects and other modifiers. However the subject is sometimes not expressed; this is often the case in null-subject languages, if the subject is retrievable from context, but...

Only is often misplaced in a sentence. We must be careful about its usage to avoid confusing our readers. Learning correct usage of grammatical modifiers is a hard work and it is worth all the effort. Only should go right before the word or phrase it modifies. “Only I said I cannot attend the party” means that I was the only one to decline the invitation. “I only said I cannot attend the party” me...

This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. This writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like struck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I u...