ProZ.com Translation Forums

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Teresa:

expressisverbis — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 16:56:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: expressisverbis
Post title: Teresa:

[quote]Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

There's a very interesting book on the subject:

Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. By Laura Spinney. Bloomsbury; 352 pages; $29.99. William Collins; £22 [/quote]

Thank you for the recommendation. I actually didn’t know this book, but it does sound interesting.

I have to admit that, just going by the title, my linguist’s eyebrows did go up a little. But I’m not going "to judge a book by its title". 😂 I haven’t read it, after all.

Being a bit of a linguistics nerd, I did have a look around and came across this review, which I found interesting:

[url removed]

So now I’m even more curious about the book and about the points raised in the review.

Money matters | Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties... | Damaging the market even more

ibz — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:56:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...
Poster: ibz
Post title: Damaging the market even more

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, José, but by doing this, you're damaging the market even more. Just imagine a painter who can't get enough jobs, for example. Would he then start working for free just because he likes painting?
Or a dentist who treats anyone for free? (I'm not talking about the occasional free treatment for someone who can't afford necessary dental care.)
Translation is demanding and not just a hobby.
By the way, I assume that you still need to earn a living. So where does the money come from?

Money matters | Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties... | Maybe it does not make sense but...

José J. Martínez — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:46:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...
Poster: José J. Martínez
Post title: Maybe it does not make sense but...

Ok, I get a lot of offers but they are not offers for what I like. I do not like interpreting, I do not like games, I do not like anything that is not traditional written translation. If it is not that, I do not want to do it. So then, if I am just sitting and not doing anything, well, I prefer to translaste in a charitable way.

Scams | Possible scam: Dun & Bradstreet Translation Solutions (D&BTS) | They have changed the domain name to make it look legit

BUKEKA MAHLANGABEZA — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:32:00 +0000

Forum: Scams
Topic: Possible scam: Dun & Bradstreet Translation Solutions (D&BTS)
Poster: BUKEKA MAHLANGABEZA
Post title: They have changed the domain name to make it look legit

[email removed]
Fri, Sep 18, 10:41 PM (2 days ago)
to me

Dear Linguist,

I hope this message finds you well.

My name is Jenny Holden and I am reaching out from Dun & Bradstreet, a global leader in business intelligence, data analytics, and commercial insights. We work with organizations worldwide to provide trusted business information, risk management solutions, and market intelligence services.

I came across your profile on ProZ.com while reviewing qualified linguists for an upcoming project, and your experience in translation stood out as potentially relevant for this assignment.

We are currently seeking an experienced legal translator for the following project:

Project Title:
Criminal Law

Scope of Work:
This is a legal and academic document focused on criminal law. The content covers the history of criminal law, criminal liability, elements of crimes, defenses and excuses, classification of crimes, punishment theories, and criminal procedure. The project requires strong legal expertise and precise use of specialized legal terminology to ensure accuracy and consistency throughout the translation.

Project Details:

• Language Pair: English → Zulu
• Word Count: 12,500 words
• Rate: €0.18 per word
• Format: Microsoft Word (.docx)
• Timeline: Time-sensitive (exact deadline to be confirmed upon availability)

We are looking for a linguist with proven experience in legal translation who can ensure accuracy, consistency, and adherence to professional terminology standards.

If you are available and interested, kindly reply with:

• Your updated CV
• Relevant legal translation samples (if available)
• Your current availability and estimated turnaround time

If your profile matches the requirements, we will share full project details and guidelines immediately.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Jenny
Recruitment Team
Dun & Bradstreet

Machine Translation (MT) | Firefox has a free, fast, offline, machine translator | Thanks

SEIDOU OUMAROU (M.A) — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:20:00 +0000

Forum: Machine Translation (MT)
Topic: Firefox has a free, fast, offline, machine translator
Poster: SEIDOU OUMAROU (M.A)
Post title: Thanks

Thanks for sharing! I wasn’t aware of that. I just discovered it. Very interesting and useful to know.

Money matters | Lack of work, makes me cry... | We are all struggling with the new realities.

SEIDOU OUMAROU (M.A) — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:10:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work, makes me cry...
Poster: SEIDOU OUMAROU (M.A)
Post title: We are all struggling with the new realities.

At least many translators who started in the 2000s enjoyed the rewards of their hard work and earned a very good living from translation. They also had the opportunity to build a solid base of direct clients.

For us newcomers, especially in the age of AI and after COVID-19, things are much more difficult. Many of us are turning to AI annotation, while MTPE opportunities are still relatively limited because there is already a scarcity of work in traditional translation.

We are now caught between AI, the need for strong marketing, and increasingly demanding competence requirements.

Good luck to all of us. We have to adapt to these new realities if we want to survive and build sustainable careers in this profession.

Money matters | Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties... | Well...

Gregor Trebec — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:54:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...
Poster: Gregor Trebec
Post title: Well...

Well, Asians will be more than happy to have you.

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | The language of new-born babies

Jennifer Levey — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:20:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Jennifer Levey
Post title: The language of new-born babies

Surely the most lovely - indeed, the most emotive - language for people of all mother-tongues; and especially for the parents, siblings and grand-parents of the new-comer.
At least, that is, while the novelty of non-stop Gurgle! … Burp!! … Hic!!! hasn't degenerated into 24/7 tantrums.
JL

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | No doubt: English

Angie Garbarino — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:54:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Angie Garbarino
Post title: No doubt: English

Ever since I was five: English — rhythmic, intuitive, wonderful-sounding, musical.

P.S. I also have a pretty good idea which one I find the worst (among the ones I understand). But this is neither the time nor the place.

[Edited at 2026-09-20 15:17 GMT]

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | @Christine

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:46:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: @Christine

You're right! I love Madeiran accent, mostly because it reminds me of my Mother. It’s quite melodic, starts on a lower pitch and rises toward the end of sentences. Over the years, mostly because of the TV influence, Madeiran accent is not so heavy as it was years ago. Yet, in some villages you need to train your ear to understand what’s being said; moreover, in Madeira they still use words that have fallen out of use in mainland Portugal.

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Northumbrian border dialects, Geordie and West Riding Yorkshire

Christine Andersen — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Christine Andersen
Post title: Northumbrian border dialects, Geordie and West Riding Yorkshire

Northumbrian border dialects, Geordie and West Riding Yorkshire
The voices of Wilfred Pickles, my family and godmother from Leeds, Vera Stanhope ...
My sister-in-law's cream-caramel accent from Paisley is quite lovely too.
They are simply music in my ears!

... In other words, the languages or dialects a given individual associates with happy periods of life or good friends.

Unfortunately I don't speak any of them - my own idiolect is quite boring.

Money matters | Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties... | There is no pro bono work...

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:54:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: There is no pro bono work...

I have worked pro bono occasionally during my 40 years of professional translation experience, but I must say that if paying clients are entrusting their work to AI, it is only natural that charities do the same…

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Ancient language

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:15:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: Ancient language

[quote]expressisverbis wrote:

[quote]Rima Khader wrote:

................

Indeed, Arabic is the mother of all spoken, written, heared languages on Earth.

[/quote]

It is certainly a fascinating and historically influential language, but not the mother of all human languages on Earth.
Arabic is a branch, not the trunk. 😄

There's a very interesting book on the subject:

Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. By Laura Spinney. Bloomsbury; 352 pages; $29.99. William Collins; £22

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | My views

expressisverbis — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:49:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: expressisverbis
Post title: My views

[quote]Rima Khader wrote:

................

Indeed, Arabic is the mother of all spoken, written, heared languages on Earth.

[/quote]

It is certainly a fascinating and historically influential language, but not the mother of all human languages on Earth.
Arabic is a branch, not the trunk. 😄

[quote]kd42 wrote:
The pronunciation of a French phrase "J'ai perdu mon pantalon" in Russian literally sounds as "I am farting into my underwear pants", does not match with an average concept of beauty for a Russian speaker. [/quote]

That is not really an argument against the beauty of a language. 😊
Every language can produce funny or unfortunate associations when its words or names are heard through the phonetic system of another language. That is simply a matter of sound coincidence.
For example, the name of the famous Soviet/Russian ballerina Irina Kolpakova can sound rather amusing to a Portuguese speaker, something like “urina para a cova” (“urine for the grave”).
I could therefore use the same kind of argument to make Russian names sound ridiculous to Portuguese speakers, but that would obviously tell us nothing about the beauty of Russian.
The same applies to “J'ai perdu mon pantalon”. If it happens to resemble something funny in Russian, that is an amusing coincidence between two languages, not a linguistic argument against French. 😊

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | French is not entirely beautiful

kd42 — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:17:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: kd42
Post title: French is not entirely beautiful

[quote]Zea_Mays wrote:
Period.
(What an unscientific experiment - you'd only be able to _listen_ to languages, and only to those you _don't_ understand.) [/quote]
The pronunciation of a French phrase "J'ai perdu mon pantalon" in Russian literally sounds as "I am farting into my underwear pants", does not match with an average concept of beauty for a Russian speaker.

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Yes

kd42 — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:13:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: kd42
Post title: Yes

[quote]Gregor Trebec wrote:
The most loveliest language is Slovenian. [/quote]
Because it is the Sloveniest of all languages.

Money matters | Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties... | Makes no sense

ibz — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:48:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...
Poster: ibz
Post title: Makes no sense

So you're complaining about a lack of work, yet now you want to work for free? I don't understand.
Put your energy into thinking of new business opportunities, improving your skills, contacting new clients, or doing whatever helps you, but don't advertise your work for free. It doesn't make sense at all.

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | It is Arabic

Rima Khader — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:22:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Rima Khader
Post title: It is Arabic

................

Indeed, Arabic is the mother of all spoken, written, heared languages on Earth.

Money matters | Lack of work, makes me cry... | Solo AI Startups in China

ATIL KAYHAN — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 07:45:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work, makes me cry...
Poster: ATIL KAYHAN
Post title: Solo AI Startups in China

[url removed]

[Edited at 2026-09-20 07:49 GMT]

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Languages simply speak to us in different ways

expressisverbis — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 20:21:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: expressisverbis
Post title: Languages simply speak to us in different ways

I studied Latin and a bit of Greek, and I absolutely loved it. It is sometimes said that Latin is the maths of languages because it is so structured and logical.
On the other hand, I have always been fascinated by Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic.
That doesn’t make them “the loveliest languages”, of course. It simply means that, to my ear, they have something special.
Perhaps that is the point: we don’t necessarily have to agree on which language is the loveliest. We can simply have languages whose sounds we are drawn to for reasons that may be deeply personal.
Lastly, I also love the sound of Portuguese as spoken in African Portuguese-speaking countries. It has a rhythm and musicality that I find particularly beautiful.
Some languages simply speak to us in different ways. 🙂

Wordfast support | WFP 11 released | Reinstall Rosetta to use WFP with Golden Gate

JohnWhi — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 20:09:00 +0000

Forum: Wordfast support
Topic: WFP 11 released
Poster: JohnWhi
Post title: Reinstall Rosetta to use WFP with Golden Gate

Just an observation on macOS 27.0 Golden Gate: the update removes Rosetta and, when launching Wordfast Pro, one is given the option of reinstalling Rosetta. Apart from Wordfast, I found this useful as it also revived a printer driver that had stopped working.

Chinese | 茶馆：所有"无关紧要的"话题 | China, Australia youth rowers, dragon boat racers build friendship

ysun — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 19:23:00 +0000

Forum: Chinese
Topic: 茶馆：所有"无关紧要的"话题
Poster: ysun
Post title: China, Australia youth rowers, dragon boat racers build friendship

[b]China Daily:
China, Australia youth rowers, dragon boat racers build friendship[/b]
By Shi Ruipeng and Zou Shuo | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2026-09-17
[url removed]

Money matters | Lack of work, makes me cry... | Trump Announces an ‘AI Force’ After Industry Sounded Alarm

ATIL KAYHAN — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 18:54:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work, makes me cry...
Poster: ATIL KAYHAN
Post title: Trump Announces an ‘AI Force’ After Industry Sounded Alarm

US President Donald Trump launched an AI Force today, and stated that he will not stifle the growth of the AI industry.

[url removed]

Chinese | 茶馆：所有"无关紧要的"话题 | Xinhua: Ancient Chinese dragon boat racing thrives in inland Xinjiang

ysun — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 17:50:00 +0000

Forum: Chinese
Topic: 茶馆：所有"无关紧要的"话题
Poster: ysun
Post title: Xinhua: Ancient Chinese dragon boat racing thrives in inland Xinjiang

[b]Xinhua: Feature: Ancient Chinese dragon boat racing thrives in inland Xinjiang[/b]
Editor: huaxia
[b]2026-09-03[/b]
[url removed]

[b]新华社：追光丨下水、上冰、跑旱地，龙舟在新疆“卷”起来了[/b]
[b]2026-09-09[/b]
[url removed]

两岸猿声啼不住，“Dragon boat”已过万重山！

[b]Dragon Boat festival[/b]
[url removed]

[b]汉典：[/b]啼
[quote]啼
tí ㄊㄧˊ
1 哭，出声地哭。例如～哭。～泣。悲～。～笑皆非。
2 鸟兽叫。[/quote]
节哀顺变！

[img] [url removed] [/img]

[img] [url removed] [/img]

Money matters | Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...

José J. Martínez — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 16:12:00 +0000

Forum: Money matters
Topic: Lack of work... Now I want to offer Pro-Bono for my specialties...
Poster: José J. Martínez

Localization | German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform | Gendern

Joakim Braun — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:29:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform
Poster: Joakim Braun
Post title: Gendern

[quote]Zea_Mays wrote:

Edit: Not to mention the aspect of gender neutrality, which is often a key requirement.

[/quote]

"Gendern" is a hugely important issue, whatever the view on this. Make sure to get the customer's instructions on it (and try to get paid by target word...)

Localization | German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform | Du

Joakim Braun — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:27:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform
Poster: Joakim Braun
Post title: Du

Given your description, I think "du" is unavoidable. I can't imagine "lots of jokes and metaphors" with "Sie".

Personally, I take offense at being "duzed" in any business context, it's jarring, intrusive and ingratiating.
Never was a thing before 2010 or so. But language evolves...

(There seems to be less "duzen" in news media over the last few years, perhaps there's hope!)

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Inflection rules

Joakim Braun — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:18:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Joakim Braun
Post title: Inflection rules

Among languages I know something about, the flexibility of Russian and Latin is wonderful to someone stuck with a non-inflected native language.

Translator resources | CRM for freelance translators | Thanks for your feedback

Eduardo Furrazola Valladares — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:48:00 +0000

Forum: Translator resources
Topic: CRM for freelance translators
Poster: Eduardo Furrazola Valladares
Post title: Thanks for your feedback

[quote]Samuel Murray wrote:

Nice, thanks. Odd place to have the bug report email address: at the bottom of the user's profile. [/quote]

Hey! Thanks for your feedback, you can also contact support for bugs within the Help button menu.

Linguistics | What is the world’s loveliest language? | Freeench!

Zea_Mays — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:17:00 +0000

Forum: Linguistics
Topic: What is the world’s loveliest language?
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: Freeench!

Period.
(What an unscientific experiment - you'd only be able to _listen_ to languages, and only to those you _don't_ understand.)