My CPA was handing out little loot bags today, and among the usual notepads, ballpoint pens and the like was this hilarious chocolat bar. Click on the image for a larger copy.

Grandpa, mother, & me – ca. 1950

It would have been my grandfather’s 117th birthday. Whatever issues he had with his own children, he made sure that I had many memorable summers when I was young, and he taught me many things – some were useful, some I was not supposed to tell my mother about.

He had a lot of stories and tall tales about his time in World War I in northern France and made it sound as if it was all a big Boy Scout outing – not likely, as anyone can tell who has seen the cemeteries and the ossuary at Verdun. So my grandfather survived the Great War; he lived to be 90.

I just visited the “Careers” page of a translation agency website. Here, freelance translators can fill out an on-line form to be included in the agency’s database. I was intrigued by the question about the daily translation volume of the candidate. Leaving aside the fact that the answer may vary with the subject matter, I am trying to imagine life in the upper third of the pick list’s word volume.

Increased rumors and speculation are surfacing … that American linguists are involved in a wide-spread plot to convince US citizens that the world needs other languages besides English.

Roger Shuy explains it all in Language Log.

Nachtrag zu „Saarbrücken ist das neue Bielefeld“.