Catharine Cellier-Smart | Smart Translate
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smart-translate.bsky.social
Catharine Cellier-Smart | Smart Translate
@smart-translate.bsky.social
130 followers 120 following 290 posts
French 🇫🇷 to English 🇬🇧 sworn translator.
Brit-born resident of 🇷🇪, traveller, scuba diver, tea drinker.
Blog: http://asmarttranslatorsreunion.wordpress.com/
Website: https://smart-translate.info/
Posts Replies Media Videos
smart-translate.bsky.social
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 When it comes to romance, the French have the reputation of being passionate, first-class lovers. But what's it really like going out with a French person? And what about French attitudes to marriage, divorce and infidelity?
france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
via @france24.com
French connections - Love à la française: How are attitudes to dating and marriage different?
When it comes to romance, the French have the reputation of being passionate, first-class lovers. But is this just a cliché? What's it really like to go out with a French person? Are dating rules diff...
france24.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:52 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
📛 Why are personal names so often mispronounced or misspelt?
Our name is a deeply personal thing. No wonder so many of us take offence when someone gets it wrong.
And yet, we find other people’s so hard to remember – and just can’t seem to get them right.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/a...
BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 in Four - When people get your name wrong
Why personal names are so often mispronounced or misspelled, in conversation and online.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 13, 2026 at 1:35 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🔠 How many letters does each European #language’s alphabet have?
brilliantmaps.com/letters-of-t...
via @brilliantmaps.bsky.social
How Many Letters Does Each European Language's Alphabet Have? - Brilliant Maps
The map above shows how many letters each country (or really each language) has in it's alphabet.  In any case here's a ranking of countries by the number letters in their alphabet from lowest to high...
brilliantmaps.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:17 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🗺 The etymologies of endonyms (names countries call themselves in their own language), and exonyms (names foreign languages call them)
starkeycomics.com/2025/10/31/e...
by @starkeycomics.bsky.social
Etymologies of Endonyms and Exonyms - Starkey Comics
Endonyms are the names countries call themselves in their own language(s), while exonyms are the names foreign languages call them. Often these are clearly related (like English “Brazil” and Portugues...
starkeycomics.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:18 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🇱🇸 Revival of an endangered #language: concentrated among 1,000 people in Lesotho's Daliwe valley, siPhuthi has gained a dictionary, a Bible #translation & official recognition thanks to intrepid linguists & activists
theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
by @rachelmsavage.bsky.social
via @theguardian.com
‘I thought it was going to perish’: the remarkable revival of an endangered language in Lesotho
Concentrated among 1,000 people in the remote Daliwe valley, siPhuthi has gained a dictionary, a Bible translation and official recognition thanks to intrepid linguists and activists
theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:27 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🤖 Charities and MPs have raised concerns about the use of AI to #translate British Sign Language; risk spreading misinformation and making disabled access worse
mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
#BSL
AI translations of British Sign Language 'risks new barriers' for deaf people
Charities and MPs raised concerns about the use of AI to translate BSL, with Labour MP Jen Craft explaining deaf people were being brought in to road test the AI too late
mirror.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 11:24 AM
smart-translate.bsky.social
📛 The “must attend” conferences of 2026
rpstranslations.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/t...
by @rpstranslations.bsky.social
The “must attend” conferences of 2026.
Dear Colleagues: 2025 was a great year for professional conferences. Many colleagues physically attended professional conferences and others stayed home and virtually attended those conferences tha…
rpstranslations.wordpress.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:14 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🤖 AI is still not ready to handle arts and culture #translations: some examples from Natalie Soper
bellingua.co.uk/2026/01/19/w...
AI is still not ready to handle arts and culture translations
ChatGPT recently rolled out a translation page where you can select the tone you would like for your translation. Is it any good for arts and culture texts?
bellingua.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 3:10 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🎸 From 'The Penguins' to the 'Sex Pistols' to 'Pig Pig Pig Pig Pig Pig Pig' – what makes a good or a bad band name?
bbc.co.uk/programmes/a...
BBC Radio 4 - Word of Mouth, Band names - What makes a good band name?
From the (arguably) rubbish to the brilliant, along with some of the best origin stories.
bbc.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 6:21 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
👉 The online literary #translation summer school @oxfordtranslates.bsky.social will take place at @stedmundhall.bsky.social, University of Oxford
📆 6-10 July 2026
Workshops running into English from 11 #languages
Workshops out of English running from 4 languages
seh.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtransl...
February 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
Today is the first day of #Hawaiian #Language Month
dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/news-r...
(H/T @becauselanguage.com)
NEWS RELEASE: Hi-Ema Celebrates Hawaiian Language With Mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi In February | Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency
HI-EMA CELEBRATES HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE WITH MAHINA ʻŌLELO HAWAIʻI IN FEBRUARY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 16, 2024 HONOLULU  ̶  The beautiful and vibrant Hawaiian language is being celebrated throughou...
https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/news-release-hi-ema-celebrates-hawaiian-language-with-mahina-ʻolelo-hawaiʻi-in-february/
February 1, 2026 at 12:59 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🚀 A strong start to 2026: your round-up of news, articles, and blog posts about #translation and #language for the month of January
wp.me/p2brSS-1ki
Around the web – January 2026
Here’s your first round-up of 2026 with the most interesting news, articles, and blog posts about translation and language over the past month. The Institute of Translation & Interpreting…
wp.me
January 31, 2026 at 12:39 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
📑 Where does the word "stationery" come from?
facebook.com/reel/2360666...
741K views · 11K reactions | Where does the word ‘stationery’ come from and how does it link to this little alleyway near St Paul’s Cathedral? 🤔 You can find my full blog post on this fascinating sp...
Where does the word ‘stationery’ come from and how does it link to this little alleyway near St Paul’s Cathedral? 🤔 You can find my full blog post on this fascinating spot here:...
facebook.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:11 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
😢 Obituary of Deborah Cameron: #linguist, feminist activist and author of influential books on how #language can shape gendered experiences
theguardian.com/education/20...
by @bindelj.bsky.social
Deborah Cameron obituary
Linguist, feminist activist and author of influential books on how language can shape gendered experiences
theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:13 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
👧 What ‘67’ reveals about childhood creativity
atlasobscura.com/articles/67-...
by @tchotchke.bsky.social
via @atlasobscura.com
What '67' Reveals About Childhood Creativity
The work of Iona and Peter Opie, two pioneering researchers in postwar Britain, can help us understand the epitome of 2025 memes.
atlasobscura.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:44 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🏆 A list of #translation competitions for aspiring and professional #translators being held in 2026
j-entranslations.com/japanese-to-...
via @jentranslations.bsky.social
Japanese to English Translation Competitions 2026 - J-En Translations
A list of Japanese to English translation competitions 2026 for aspiring and professional translators who want to improve their skills.
j-entranslations.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:33 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
☕️ Grounds for Inclusion? Coffee in the OED
oed.com/discover/cof...
January 25, 2026 at 1:37 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🧙‍♀️ Wicked: For Good – what lies beneath correcting the way people speak?
theconversation.com/wicked-for-g...
by @emhumps.bsky.social
via @uk.theconversation.com
Wicked: For Good – what lies beneath correcting the way people speak?
Elphaba’s insistence on correctness speaks to a broader challenge facing anyone positioned as an outsider: having to work that much harder to be accepted.
theconversation.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:26 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
📆 Today is World Endangered Alphabets Day
www.endangeredalphabets.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:21 AM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🤖 "We are building a world that treats translation as a problem to be solved. But #translation was never just a technical challenge — it is an act of witnessing"
What automation erases inside Europe’s institutions
politico.eu/article/when...
via @politico.eu
When the interpreter wept: What automation erases inside Europe’s institutions
We are building a world that treats translation as a problem to be solved. But translation was never just a technical challenge — it is an act of witnessing.
politico.eu
January 22, 2026 at 10:05 AM
smart-translate.bsky.social
In the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, Amir Mehdi Haghighat saw a book he’d #translated. The sight of his work, damaged but still legible, made him realise the importance of #translating & protecting stories–so they remain when everything else falls away
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated
The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:35 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🍃 Caesarean, windfall, baker's dozen: the way long-forgotten laws—including Roman laws—can shape the way we see and talk about the world
antidote.info/en/blog/repo...
The Laws Behind the Lingo
Come learn about the long-forgotten laws behind some common words.
antidote.info
January 20, 2026 at 1:58 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🇷🇪 Not language related, but last night I just so happened to be staying at #ReunionIsland's gîte du volcan (I live on the island) ... when the volcano erupted!
🌋 Here's one of my photos.
January 19, 2026 at 1:15 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🤖 HarperCollins will use AI to #translate its Harlequin romance novels in France
404media.co/harpercollin...
by @mjgault.bsky.social
via @404media.co
HarperCollins Will Use AI to Translate Harlequin Romance Novels
The publisher is teaming with a company that claims its proprietary AI can ‘provide 2 to 3 times higher quality translations’ than other large language models.
404media.co
January 17, 2026 at 1:30 PM
smart-translate.bsky.social
🇦🇫 #Linguistic purge from streets to universities: How the Taliban are #translating proper names from #Persian and #Uzbek into #Pashto
8am.media/eng/linguist...
via @8ammedia.bsky.social
Linguistic Purge from Streets to Universities: How the Taliban Are Translating Proper Names
For more than four years, the Taliban have systematically erased Persian words and expressions from schools, universities, and even city
8am.media
January 16, 2026 at 12:21 PM