Wordly’s Post

Once upon a tech timeline in 1999, a creative mind at a Japanese telecom company, Shigetaka Kurita, embarked on a digital quest. His mission? To break down communication barriers with a universal visual language. Thus, the first set of 176 emojis was born, paving the way for what would become a global phenomenon. From humble beginnings on Japanese phones, emojis have evolved into a digital tapestry, weaving emotions, jokes, and even entire conversations without a single word. Today, our digital dialogues are rich with over 3,000 emojis, from facepalms to unicorns, proving that sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Emojis have transcended cultural and linguistic boundaries, becoming a pivotal part of how we connect, emote, and express ourselves in the digital age. #EmojisEvolution #DigitalCulture #UniversalLanguage

Japanese Language Ponderings: 抗う/aragau   When Japan adopted kanji characters and introduced readings derived from their Chinese pronunciations (音読み/on-yomi), it became possible to express things in Japanese in a more streamlined, sophisticated manner. “Traditional” Japanese words are known as 大和言葉/Yamato-kotoba or 和語/wago. Words with roots linked to Chinese are known as 漢語/kango.   Generally speaking, 和語 are easier for learners of Japanese to understand than 漢語 as they employ the nouns, verbs and adjectives they are taught first. Conversely, 漢語, by their nature, use compact kanji compounds based on the Chinese-derived 音読み, which make for the aforementioned streamlined, sophisticated means of expression.   How does this work? Let’s look at an English-language analogy.   If I were terrified of giving speeches in front of people, I could take a 和語 approach and say, “I have a fear of public speaking.” If I wanted to take a 漢語 approach, I could say, “I suffer from glossophobia.”   Now for a couple of Japanese examples.   If I were headed out, I might say, “外に出る/soto ni deru,” an example of 和語. 外/soto is a noun that means outside and 出る/deru is a verb that means to leave, exit, go out. This could also be expressed in 漢語 by combining 外 and 出 to form the compound 外出/gaishutsu followed by the verb する/suru (to do).   Next, if I were to get mad or angry, I might use the phrase “腹が立つ/hara ga tatsu,” a 和語 expression that, literally translated, means [one’s] belly rises or stands up. The 漢語 version of 腹が立つ uses the same kanji to form the compound 立腹/rippuku, which can also take the verb する to function as a verb.   Although I’ve generally found 和語 to be easier to understand than 漢語, in reading a recent entertainment news article, I realized that’s not always the case. The article relayed an incident on a late-night TV talk show featuring a panel of female guests talking about beauty. One woman commented she wasn’t interested in cosmetic treatments, saying, “別に老化に抗おうともしてないんですよ/Betsu ni rouka ni aragaou to mo shite nain desu yo.” With the exception of the verb 抗う, which I had never encountered before, I was able to read, and get the gist of, what she said: she had no intention of fighting against aging.   But as it turned out, one of the other guests on the show, like me, also wasn’t familiar with that same verb and, unfortunately for her, hadn’t been able to see the kanji used to write it, as I had in the article. Since it was a variety show, hilarity ensued.   Because I saw it written, I recognized that 抗う/aragau shares a kanji with the compound 抵抗/teikou, a word I knew that means resistance, opposition, standing up to. As such, I was able to deduce from the context that 抗う is similar in meaning to 抵抗—it means to go against, fight against, oppose, resist, deny. But if I had suddenly heard it used in conversation, like the hapless guest on the show, I probably would have drawn a blank as well.   Do you have a favorite 和語 or 漢語?   #Japanese #Nihongo #日本語 #抗う

So I'm getting my daily Duolingo in (108 day streak and counting, TYVM), and I come across the Japanese word for T-shirt, pictured here. Since it's a loan word borrowed from another language, it's written in katakana, one of three alphabets that Japanese can be written in. I started to make a cheap joke about how similar the second and fourth characters are -- two little smiley faces! different sounds! the novelty of it all! -- but then I got to wondering about #accessibility with regards to low vision readers. My vision, with corrective lenses, is nearly perfect -- my optometrist calls me a visual perfectionist because I notice what he would otherwise describe as imperceptible changes to my prescription. Even so, I have a great deal of trouble telling those two characters apart at a glance; I have to really examine them. Granted, I'm still learning, so they're still new to me and I'm sure with practice I'll be able to more readily distinguish them from one another. But what about folks whose vision is more impaired than my own? What #accommodations might there be to make katakana more readable for low-vision readers? What about kanji, for that matter? My own pool of polyglot accessibility experts is low, so I'm hoping to throw this out into LinkedIn and find someone smarter than myself who might actually know the answer. How do you accommodate visual impairments in such visually dense character sets? Do you know the answer? Please give me a shout! #a11y #lowvision #visualimpairment #japaneselanguage

Today, let's delve into the fascinating world of the Japanese language and explore the word of the day: 目指す. This word is composed of two intriguing kanji characters, each with its own unique etymology and meaning, which together form the concept encapsulated in 目指す. The first kanji character is 目, which translates to 'eye', 'class', 'insight', 'experience', 'care', or 'favor'. The etymology of this character is pictographic, meaning it was originally designed to visually represent an eye. The character depicts an eye covered by an eyelid, a simple yet effective representation of one of our most vital sensory organs. This character's meaning extends beyond the physical eye to encompass broader concepts such as insight and experience, reflecting the importance of vision in understanding and navigating the world around us. The second kanji character in our word of the day is 指, which means 'finger', 'to point at', 'to indicate', 'to insert into', 'to play', or 'to measure'. This character is a compound of a semantic and a phonetic component. It consists of the character 手, which means 'hand', and the phonetic component 旨. The character as a whole represents a finger pointing straight ahead or the concept of 'going straight'. In this context, 旨, which translates to 'delicious meal', serves purely as a phonetic component, contributing to the pronunciation of the character but not its meaning. When combined, these two characters form the word 目指す, which encapsulates the idea of setting a goal or aiming for something. It's a word that beautifully illustrates the process of focusing one's vision and pointing towards a target, much like an archer aiming for the bullseye. And there you have it - another dip into the profound ocean of the Japanese language! If you've enjoyed this journey and appreciated our expertise, remember: when it comes to localizing your games, leave it to the specialists. We don't just translate, we understand. #gamedev #indiedev #gameloc #translation #localization #translate #localize #l10n

The term "乳搾り" is made up of two distinct kanji characters: 乳 and 搾. The first character, 乳, represents "milk" or "breasts." Delving into its etymology, 乳 is a composite ideogram. On its left, we see an image of a child being shielded by a hand. This is reminiscent of the original symbol for 孵 (fu), which means "to incubate an egg until it hatches," as demonstrated in the word 孵化 (fuka), which means "to hatch." On the right side, we see a modified version of 乙 (tsubame), which translates to "swallow." Paired with the bird symbol, it creates 乙鳥 (tsubame), which also means "swallow." Historically, in China, swallows were viewed as symbols of fertility, representing the nourishment and upbringing of children. The character also evokes thoughts of something soft and sticky. The second character, 搾, signifies "squeeze" or "press." It too is a composite ideogram, blending both semantic and phonetic elements. The symbol 窄 (saku) is crafted by merging 穴 (narrow hole) with the phonetic component 乍 (saku). It depicts the action of forcefully cramming something into a tight space. 搾 is formed by pairing 手 (hand) with the phonetic element 窄. Originating in Japanese, this symbol indicates an action where something is pressed or squeezed. In Chinese, 搾 serves as a variant of 扠 (sa), which phonetically resembles 榨 (zhà). It represents the gap between the thumb and index finger when they are spread in a V-shape. And there you have it - another dip into the profound ocean of the Japanese language! If you've enjoyed this journey and appreciated our expertise, remember: when it comes to localizing your games, leave it to the specialists. We don't just translate, we understand. #gamedev #indiedev #gameloc #translation #localization #translate #localize #l10n

Let's talk about how popular it is to learn Korean right now! In every class of 30 teens, there are always roughly 5 who will tell me they are learning Korean. Some insights into the why and how this language has become so popular in recent times are offered in this article. I think we should learn some key words and phrases in Korean to keep up. Look out for those soon! As usual, drop your thoughts and experiences below. #lovelanguaging #languagelearning #koreandrama #kpop #korean https://lnkd.in/eTfJTHAW

🖐️ The Importance of Knowing Some Sign Language if You Work in #Retail 👋 Yesterday I came across my first ‘Profoundly Deaf’ customer. He was with his wife who was obviously a great help to him and he could speak reasonably well (enough to communicate to his wife a joke he had seen me say to the previous customer 😂) Like any language that we are not familiar with the go to response when we are infront of someone who speaks another language to us is either speak to the other person who we can communicate with or ignore the person because it’s easier😳 That’s not because we are being rude but a language barrier is a huge thing that no one really knows how to deal with. This customer could clearly lip read well so really I didn’t have to do anything differently if I didn’t want to… BUT… I had a lightbulb moment in my head, I know minimal sign language. I normally say to customers the usual Hello, Good Morning, Good afternoon, How are you etc. I knew I could say this in sign language. So I did, I signed hello, good afternoon, how are you? and when he left I signed Thank you and goodbye. The look on the man’s face was like I’d just given him his hearing back🥹 He went on to tell me how much he appreciated it and that it made him feel ‘seen, heard and worth something’ whereas usually he feels ‘unseen, unheard and invisible’. Most of us know the words for hello, goodbye, thank you in Spanish or French but why don’t we know these words in sign language? The one language you are realistically going to come across more. You do not need to be proficient at sign language to help a customer who is deaf. You can simply learn some basic signs and sentences in order to help out this person and make their shopping experience and day a more pleasant experience. Useful signs that I know are… Hello Goodbye Good Morning Good Afternoon Good Night Thank You How are you? Sorry You see I wasn’t joking when I said i know very minimal 😂 But simply signing to someone could mean the world to them and completely turn around their day/experience in your store. This post isn’t for praise or recognition. I just want to bring awareness to something I’ve come across at work and hopefully encourage others to learn very basic and easy to learn skills that could mean a lot in day to day situations. In a world where inclusivity, diversity and embracing our differences is widely observed to be the right approach, be the change you wish to see. Every Little Helps 💙 #tesco #retail #communication #signlanguage #deafcommunity #success #management #skills #skilldevelopment #development #everylittlehelps

The word of the day is 吸入器, which can be broken down into three kanji characters: 吸, 入, and 器. Together, they form a term that translates roughly to "inhaler". The first kanji, 吸, means "to suck," "to inhale," or "to sip." Its etymology offers a vivid imagery of the action it represents. The character comprises of 及, which itself is a combination of 人 (person) and 又 (hand). This pairing depicts a hand suddenly reaching the back of a fleeing person, symbolizing an immediate action. Within the kanji 吸, 及 is paired with 口, which represents a mouth. This combination illustrates the swift action of reaching out and sucking something with the mouth. Next, we have the kanji 入. This character is associated with the concepts of "entrance," "to enter," "to insert," or "to put something in." Its design captures a thrusting motion toward the center of the shape ↑. This character can also be perceived as a depiction of an entrance. While 入 has a kin in 納, they have diverged in modern usage. Today, 入 mainly carries the meaning of "to enter," while 納 is used in the context of "to put something in" or "to store." The third kanji, 器, encompasses meanings related to "utensils," "vessel," "instrument," "skill," "container," "holder," "tool," or "set." The character composition is a testament to its diverse meanings. It combines four instances of 口 with 犬 (dog). The myriad mouths suggest various containers, while the inclusion of the dog implies a variety of types or kinds. And there you have it - another dip into the profound ocean of the Japanese language! If you've enjoyed this journey and appreciated our expertise, remember: when it comes to localizing your games, leave it to the specialists. We don't just translate, we understand. #gamedev #indiedev #gameloc #translation #localization #translate #localize #l10n

Social media🌐 and emojis☺️ have become intertwined in modern digital communication. The term "emoji" originates from the Japanese words "e" (meaning picture) and "moji" (character), aptly describing these small, expressive symbols that have revolutionized the way we convey emotions🎭 and messages in the online world. Emojis made their debut in the late 1990s, thanks to a Japanese artist named Shigetaka Kurita. His initial motivation was to create a simple, visual language that could transcend linguistic barriers in the emerging world of mobile communication. The first set of emojis included basic symbols like smiley faces, hearts, and weather icons, but their impact was monumental. Today, emojis have evolved into a vast and diverse lexicon, comprising thousands of symbols that help users convey everything from joy and laughter to sadness and frustration. They have become an essential element of social media communication, adding depth and nuance to our digital conversations, transcending cultures and languages, and bridging the gap between text and emotion in the online world. #EmojisInDigitalCommunication #EmojiEvolution #VisualLanguage #DigitalExpression #EmojiImpact #ShigetakaKurita #SocialMediaCommunication #LanguageOfEmojis #EmotionInText #OnlineEmojiCulture For more tips and updates, follow me on: FB: https://lnkd.in/gyufdN5V INSTAGRAM: https://lnkd.in/gjFBqYZV TWITTER: https://lnkd.in/gEeT-qxb LINKED IN: https://lnkd.in/gj-mYEPC

Samsung has made a big step 👏. Language barriers will soon be a thing of the past. And sooner than you might think. 😁 I have called this as being one of the first innovations of AI/LLM's last year. Live translator devices have existed on the market for years - anyone interested in Asian languages has seen these clunky and big walkie-talkie 📻 devices that could translate Japanese-English for example. - You press a button 🔴 - The other person speaks 🗣 - You wait 15 seconds 😴 - The device translates with a robotic voice 🤖 It worked but it was slow, clunky and often not very accurate. It also costed few hundred $$$ to purchase. Today, Samsung Electronics during their #Samsungunpacked2024 event has shown LIVE translate capabilities for both TEXT and VOICE. Directly on the phone in the built-in text/phone app in the new S24 series. 📱 A call, being translated Live with nearly no delay, BOTH WAYS. Texts being translated as you type, BOTH WAYS. What a world to live in! 🥂 I am looking forward to seeing AR glasses being able to live translate text through your vision as well in the coming years. Imagine travelling to the country and seeing text appear in your native language live! #mobilephones #aiadvancements #languagebarriers