How languages Helped Win World Wars

Languages are so fascinating. They reflect the way different nations view the world, they constantly evolve and provide insights into other cultures. The logic that we use in our thinking is emerged in our language. Part of our work here at USCTS is bridging those linguistic and cultural divides through the art of translation. Fascinating work it is. But there is more. Imagine languages as secret codes used to convey messages in times of war.

The first known utilization of a Native American language was done by the American 30th Infantry Division during World War I. It was a group of Cherokee Indian troops. Regrettably, little is known about them.
 
Soon afterwards, an American military officer, Colonel Bloor, also tried a non-standard way of communicating messages to troops. Just about every code that the military was using at the time was being broken by the Germans. It was in 1918 that on deployment in France he observed two Choctaw Indians speaking with each other. It was a small group of Choctaw Indians from Oklahoma that was pioneered conveying messages during the final stages of World War I with the help of their native language. It worked. The wiretaps of the enemy were worthless. These and other Native Americans were referred to as the code talkers.

The sad and dark chapter in human history namely World War II provided another opportunity to tap into the language resources of Native Americans. One of those was the Comanche. Fourteen of them participated in the Invasion of Normandy for purposes of conveying messages. As an example the Comanche word for bomber was "pregnant airplane", Adolf Hitler was "crazy white man." In the North African theater of war operations twenty seven Meskwaki men from the state of Iowa used their native language against the Germans.

On the Pacific theater, Japanese intelligence experts broke every code that the US forces  developed. Lots of those experts were also fluent in English. They prepared false commands and sabotaged messages of the Allied forces.  This time a civilian came to the rescue. Phillip Johnston was a son of a missionary who had grown up on the Navajo reservation and was one of the few non-Natives fluent in this complicated language. He argued that since the language had no alphabet and was extremely difficult to master, it could be utilized as an unbreakable code. Here are just a couple of examples from this code:   - tortoise in Navajo is "chay-da-gahi," which became the codename for tank;
"besh-lo" was iron fish which became the codename for submarine. There were some words in English that did not have equivalents in Navajo. Those would be spelled out using Navajo words. Every word represented letters of the alphabet. The selection of a given word was based on the first letter of its English meaning. For example "Be-la-sana" means "apple", hence that would stand for the letter "a". Other words with meanings starting with the same letter would be substituted in order to eliminate too many repetitions.
The elite unit of Navajo Code Talkers was formed in 1942. There were eventually 420 of them and their code proved to be crucial to the success of just about every major engagement in the Pacific region from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. Their contribution to victory cannot be overestimated, nor can the power of languages.  

chay-da-gahi

tank

 =

Ai! Ai! Ai! – Artificial Intelligence!

People conversing with robots like they're part of the human race, computers interacting with humans, following their orders and performing a wide array of tasks, all of this and more is associated with artificial intelligence. There have been futuristic visions as well portraying robots rebelling against their human creators and starting widespread wars.

In short, Artificial Intelligence is the study and design of intelligent agents which basically are systems capable of perceiving their environment and taking actions maximizing their chances of success. While this concept may seem like something from a sci-fi movie, Artificial Intelligence is already widely used. Examples in our everyday use include OCR (Optical Character Recognition), speech and speaker recognition.  The business sector also uses automated systems that generate credit checks of people and prepare profiles of the best clients. Unfortunately systems based on Artificial Intelligence may and probably will be used for greater surveillance and information gathering purposes.  

Another practical use of artificial intelligence is machine translation of texts.  Fortunately, for those of us in the translation business those machine produced translations cannot match human translations. Also, languages evolve constantly. New words and new meanings of words keep emerging all the time and translation software not only cannot keep up with those evolutions, but it is helpless when it comes to a wide variety of cultural and linguistic nuances. The programs do not understand the meaning of texts, the way that humans do.

It might appear strange, but there are actually certain things that are very difficult for computers, while they are relatively easy for humans to learn. Like the ancient Chinese game of "Go". Also known as Weiqi (Chinese) and Baduk in Korean  – this game can be easily taught to children. In fact, according to the most commonly known story about its origins, it was Chinese Emperor Yao who invented this game in order to educate his son Danzhu. This game taught him all the skills he needed in order to become a successful strategist and leader.

Research continues and there are ongoing Artificial Intelligence projects on the web. One of them is called Cleverbot. It is a web application that employs an artificial intelligence algorithm to converse with humans. The responses that Cleverbot gives are not fed into it, they are selected from human phrases in previous conversations. I decided to give it a try and submitted my question to the Cleverbot. It was:" Which human language do you find to be most difficult to learn?

The answer? Hmmm……………. I have waited for 2 days, but so far was not honored with one. Maybe it got lost somewhere in cyberspace? Should I get one, I will make another post on this blog with an answer. But for now, I will go and have a go at Go. Try to get a machine translation of that last sentence!!

A Wonder in the History of Language

"Syllabeary" – one of the 30 bears in the Cherokee, North Carolina Bear Collection is dedicated to Sequoyah

Whenever we linguists analyze a language with its reading and writing system, we usually do so in the context of an evolution. An evolution that took place over hundreds or thousands of years resulting in the languages and their written representations that we know in their current forms.

For example, the oldest writing system in the world still in use today - Chinese - is said to be more than 4000 years old. It is also the oldest known recorded language that was written on bones and shells of turtles. Not all writing systems come close to such an advanced age, but there is still so much to be considered when not only analyzing, but also learning a foreign language. We try to get to know some of the history, events, inventions, foreign influence that shaped not only modern day vocabulary, but also resulted in the way we spell words today. It helps us remember better, learn faster and understand at least some of the logic behind a given language system.

Now imagine something almost unimaginable. A person who cannot read or write in any language actually developing a written representation of a spoken language. As improbable as it sounds, it did happen and not that long ago, by historical standards. It was only in 1825 that the Cherokee Nation adopted a complete and effective writing and reading system developed by one of their tribe members. His name was Sequoyah and he was a Cherokee silversmith.

As a silversmith, Sequoyah had contacts with white settlers in his area. He became very much intrigued by the writing that those people used and he referred to it as "talking leaves." His fascination led to an idea, and it was around 1809 that he began working on a writing system for the Cherokee language. Initially, Sequoyah could not find adults willing to learn this new writing system, so he taught his daughter. He then traveled to Arkansas where some of the Cherokee tribe members had settled and started working on convincing them that the system in fact worked.  He conducted numerous demonstrations which involved asking individuals to say a word that he would write down and then calling his daughter to read those words back. This convincing took a several months, but eventually he succeeded in convincing the western Cherokee that he had created an effective reading and writing system that really worked.  Sequoyah then returned east with an envelope with a speech by one of the Arkansas Cherokee leaders. He read that speech to the eastern Cherokees which was enough to convince them to also learn the system. So, as we said earlier in this post, it was in 1825 that the Cherokee Nation officially adopted Sequoyah's system.  This was the first and only time in recorded history that a person belonging to a non-literate people created an effective writing system independently. Below is an image of a chart with the Cherokee syllabary. 

 ***Contributed by Gosia.  Check out her popular blog at http://planetgosia.blogspot.com

What's In a Name...or Where did you go?

Every translator will tell you that names of places do not get translated. They just stay as they are.  There are however, some linguistically curious, not to mention challenging names that do get translated. Sometimes it is not so much the difficulty of pronouncing those names in their original languages - which are usually rare -  that justifies the translation, but the wish to convey the beauty of a name to a wider audience. Let us take a look at just a small sample of some interesting geographical names.

According to the 2009 Guinness Book of Records, there is a hill in New Zealand in the Hawke's Bay region which has the longest name on the world.  It is called:

Taumatawhakatancichancakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimauncahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

– which in the Maori language means " The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one". This name is frequently shortened to Taumata.

Other parts of the world have their gems as well. There is a village whose name is the longest officially recognized place name in the United Kingdom. That name is:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The village is located in Wales on the island of Anglesey. The shortened version is Llanfair PG or Llanfairpwll. The meaning of the name is: "ST. MARYS CHURCH IN THE HOLLOW OF THE WHITE HAZEL NEAR TO THE RAPID WHIRLPOOL OF LLANTYSILIO OF THE RED CAVE."

Not as long, but nicely sounding is the Pino sulla Sponda del Lago Maggiore. It is a village and municipality in the Italian region of Lombardy.

How about hyphenated names? The longest hyphenated name of a place in the United States in Winchester-on-the-Severn in the state of Maryland.

In Mexico, there is this small village in the state of Michoacan.  It is called Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro and is situated near the Paricutin volcano. Shorter, unofficial names are used to refer to this village, like "San Juan" or "Nuevo San Juan", among other.

There is also a lake in the state of Massachusetts called Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, now its name is:  Chargoggaggoggmancogmanhoggagogg, also known as Lake Chaubunagungamaug or Webster Lake. Its name comes from the Algonquian Indian language and means: "Fishing Place at the Boundaries – Neutral Meetings Ground".

There must be something about giving lakes lengthy names because the longest name of a place in Canada is…a lake.  It is: Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik, located in Manitoba and Nunavut and its name literally means: "where the wild trout are caught by fishing with hooks." Lovely!

But there is also a hill in Australia called: Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill. It is believed that this name in the Pitjantjatjara language means: "where the devil urinates". How about that for a vacation destination?  "I am going hiking to the place "where the devil urinates". It's going to be grand!

Now, if you were planning a trip to Bangkok, instead of saying so, why not just say: "I have relatives in Thailand and I will stop in Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit for a couple of days." Actually, this is the official name of Bangkok which translates as the poetic and invitingly intriguing: "The great city of angels, the supreme unconquerable land of the great immortal divinity (Indra), the royal capital of nine noble gems, the pleasant city with plenty of grand royal palaces and divine paradises for the reincarnated deity." How about that? Makes me want to pack a bag and catch the next airplane to Bangkok.

Well, long names can make great conversations, but maybe the thing to do is to just keep it short and sweet and say: "hey, I'm going to Sé" – central borough in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

You are in great company!

We all know that the United States, except for our proud Native Americans, is a country completely made up of immigrants and their descendants from just about all corners of the world and from all walks of life.  Think about it for a minute.  Everyone you see around you is either an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant.

Let us take just a short look at a few recent immigrants who have helped shape the United States and contributed to its fine achievements.

In the late eighteen hundreds, Romulado Pacheco, of Mexican heritage, was the first (and only to date) Hispanic governor of California.

Andy Garcia, originally from Cuba, became a well-known actor.

Samuel Goldwyn, film producer and founding contributor of several film studios, was born in Poland in 1882.

Dr. Deepak Chopra, the modern day guru on Ayurveda, mind-body medicine, best-selling author and public speaker is originally from New Delhi, India.

Yo-Yo-Ma is a French born cellist, virtuoso, composer of Chinese descent. He is by far the most famous cellist of our times.

George Zamka, 49, an NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps pilot, has Polish and Colombian roots.  In 2007, he piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station.  He was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. He also recently visited the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, Poland.

Dr. Francisco Dallmeier of Venezuelan descent is one of the world's leading wildlife biologists and an expert on biodiversity.

Many books have been written on the contributions that immigrants have made to the development of the United States, but everyone from all walks of life and from all nations contributes to this great country.  What will your contribution be?

Legal Alien Advice - How to Play the Green Card Game - Part II

Picking up where we left off last time...

LAA 3. – Avoid sloppiness. Processing countless applications and documents is a job and a half. While you cannot make it pleasant, YOU CAN make it easier, much easier in fact and faster for the officer working on your file. And believe me it is in your best interest to do so. When waiting in a long line, I saw a person holding a form and scribbling information on it while waiting, in some vivid green ink. The form was all bent and wrinkled and I am sure that the greenish scribbling on it was not an example of calligraphic art. So when such a piece of work lands on the desk of an officer, versus something neatly typed on the computer, which do you think may be the first one to be processed? And really, the same goes for the documents from your country of origin. My documents from Mexico were all translated, certified and notarized by USCTS which delivers an absolutely beautiful final product. All documents are on company letterhead with all the stamps and seals and the company's contact information. The attitude that I am telegraphing by submitting such professionally prepared documents is: "I am going to be a valuable addition to the American society. I am going to be a good, diligent worker here and it is worthwhile to process my application efficiently and in a timely manner. I will be making a positive contribution and will eventually become a good citizen.  This is what I am: disciplined, serious,professional – just like the image of the documents that I am submitting.' Let's face it, the appearance of your document package reflects on you directly. Sloppy paperwork equals sloppy person.

LAA 4. – Mr./Ms. Congeniality. Immigration officers constitute a very broad spectrum of individuals who come from various backgrounds. Some of them are immigrants as well. As it tends to happen with human nature, an immigration officer, just like anyone else may be having a bad day. Or they may have a bad attitude, or possibly even not be very knowledgeable and trying to cover up their lack of knowledge and/or experience with not-so-friendly behavior. To you it shouldn't matter. At least not when you are dealing face to face with them. Should you be on the receiving end of rude treatment... smile.  If something goes wrong, don't become accusative.  Stay calm and polite and request their help. You can vent your frustration later if you need to by hitting a punching bag in a gym. Yoga and meditation is supposed to help too.

My files were misplaced during processing for more than 6 months, lost and found. But here I am at the end of this road: a legal alien. Finally! It was definitely worth it. 

Remember be patient, persistent and polite!

Yours truly,
The legal alien!

Legal Alien Advice - How to Play the Green Card Game - Part I

No, this is actually not me. I am however since just recently a new legal alien in the United States. The process I underwent in order to become a legal alien has been lengthy and quite frankly not very much fun. This could be due to the fact that my closest immigration service center is one that serves a vast area in the southern US – Texas that is. 

By the way, kudos to all those immigration service officers who despite huge backlogs, files getting lost and angry applicants tirelessly process tons of paperwork and handle huge loads of cases with varying complexities. I do not envy them their job, but for those of you getting ready to apply for permanent residence – the famous green card which is not even green – being an applicant can be tough as well. While I will not get into a long story of all the obstacles that I had to face and stumbling blocks thrown my way, but will attempt to give some advice from personal experience on how to make things go a bit easier.

LAA - Legal Alien Advice

LAA 1. – Go for the overkill. In other words, when the requirement is to bring for example 2 or 4 photographs, have 6 on hand.  If pictures of you and your spouse are required to prove that you are truly living together – not just getting married for green card - bring an entire album or 2. It does not mean that the immigration officer will actually look through each one of them. Most probably they will hardly look at them at all, but this telegraphs an attitude that: "I am serious and treat this process and immigration officers that I'm dealing with seriously."  You cannot go wrong with that.

LAA 2. – Dress code. It really doesn't matter if you are going to the immigration office in order to obtain information, for an interview, to submit paperwork, to a citizenship examination or the grand finale which is the citizenship ceremony. What matters is the impression that you are going to make on the officer.  And trust me you want to make the absolutely best impression on the person(s) in whose hands is your "to be, or not to be" in this country. No matter how hot it is outside, anything even remotely resembling beach attire is a NO GO. A summer blouse preferably with long sleeves and long pants/skirt for a woman is the safest way. Men should wear a casual long sleeve shirt, long pants and dark or white socks. Any kind of extravagant fashion statements are not going to be appreciated. Basically, be conservative and modest. The same goes for jewelry and makeup. Less is better. And please do not pour on yourself a load of perfume/cologne before coming to the office. You may give everyone around you a bad headache.