4 Unexpected Countries That Speak Spanish

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Spanish is the 3rd most spoken language, following behind English and French. There is an estimate stating that 572 million people speak Spanish all over the world! It is also the 2nd most studied language in the world. So if it wasn’t clear before, Spanish is of great importance for many people to communicate through various forms of news, literature, art and beyond!That so many countries in South America speak Spanish doesn’t really come as a surprise though. There are some countries that you probably won’t expect speak Spanish either as an official language or as a 2nd language. Want to know which countries we’re talking about? Let’s dive into these unexpected Spanish-speaking countries below!

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Why ASL Interpreters Are Hard to Find?

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Ensuring Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Deafblind individuals have access to qualified and effective American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters is a language access right in America. Whether supporting coworkers, students, patients, or peers we want to make sure they have ready access to a great ASL interpreter. With continued pandemic and emergency response coverage came new strains on an already very limited pool of qualified interpreters. In this piece we’ll explore why ASL interpreters are hard to find.

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Halloween in Other Cultures and Languages

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For English-speaking countries, October is the start of autumn, the spooky season, and Halloween! But did you know Halloween is a celebration inherited from the ancient Celtic festival Samhain involving ghosts and religious rituals?Celebrations around those who have passed or connections to the underworld can be found all throughout the globe in every culture, each celebrated with unique traditions and rituals.Before this halloween weekend we’ll share what Halloween is in other cultures and languages.

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Why These Are The Top 5 Most Difficult Languages to Translate

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In this day and age, we connect and work with people from all around the world. Most of us will agree that the world has gotten smaller with the new technology and travel possibilities. With this change, we are also more connected to different cultures, languages, and dialects. To understand what is going on in the world, think about the news, art, media, and other critical resources. How do we access this content? Through translation of course! Without translation, we wouldn’t be able to understand each other.

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What International Translation Day Means To Ad Astra

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September 30th marks International Translation Day. It’s a day to put a spotlight on one of the most unseen and thankless components of the written word in a global space. Translation is no mere press and click language conversion, it’s an incredibly artful and deliberate process of finding meaning for meaning across cultures, histories, and people. A good translation is one that you don’t even think of as you read it, one that entirely matches the intent and voice of the source material.

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How to Become an ASL Interpreter

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The nation has experienced considerably more American Sign Language interpretation on their screens and phones due to the many COVID press events and national crisis coverage over the last 2 years. Films and Netflix shows also highlighting Signed Languages has further brought attention to these unique languages.But did you know that there is a dire need for new, diverse Sign Language interpreters and plenty of room to grow in this exciting field. So how does someone go about becoming a Sign Language interpreter? Our Deaf & Hard of Hearing team will lay out how a hearing person can become an effective ASL interpreter!

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Ad Astra Goes to the Movies: CODA

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The Ad Astra team recently watched the Apple Original 2021 film CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), directed by Sian Heder. On the tail of an exciting year for Deaf representation and stories on film, television, games and more – this heartwarming movie about family and finding oneself was a touching experience to see. Dive in as we discuss the importance of authentic Deaf representation on the silver screen. We’ll cover some of the real-life scenarios that played out in the film, learn more about why language access is so important and explore some of the facets of Deaf culture the film presented to us.

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Language Industry Scams That Exist

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The language industry is an industry not very well known to most of us. But, nonetheless, there are moments in our lives where we might come across language companies in our day-to-day work. With increased globalization and international teams comes the need for both companies and freelancers to better understand how to safely exchange services and money. One of the downsides and dangers of this rapid industry growth that there are also ” companies” or “translators” pretending to offer you services you are looking for but end up scamming you. To prevent getting scammed there are a few key things to watch out for.

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Translation Process Do’s and Don’ts

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The rendering from one language to another is not as easy a process as it may seem. A great understanding of the language and its culture, lots of experience, and excellent writing skills are needed to deliver a great translation that serves its purpose. In this guide we take a deep dive in to Translation Process Do’s and Don’ts to help you get a sense of just how much care and craft goes in to high quality translations.

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The Countries With the Most Official Languages and How They Translate

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With more than 6,500 languages worldwide, it is not uncommon for countries to have more than one official language. An official language has a legal status and is the most used throughout the nation in politics, government and education.But for a host of reasons, not every country can agree on only one language, and that results in countries having as many as 37 official languages. We’ll explore the top 5 countries with the most official languages and how they translate them.

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