Discovery en espanol will no longer be an orphan. The cable channel, geared to the U.S. Hispanic market, is getting two new siblings in June along with increased attention from its global multichannel parent Discovery Networks.

It’s part of Discovery’s strategy to make inroads in the mushrooming U.S. Hispanic pay-TV market with a new Miami-based division, the U.S. Hispanic Networks Group, launched two weeks ago with some 15 staffers in programming, advertising sales, research and distribution.

Discovery launched its “en espanol” channel seven years ago for U.S. Spanish-speakers, but has largely focused on developing Spanish-language channels in Latin America and Iberia.

About a year ago, Discovery started researching opportunities to lure more U.S. Hispanic viewers and came up with two “underserved, underprogrammed” niches: shows for children and women, Silberwasser said.

To start transmitting on June 17, Viajar y Vivir (Travel and Living) is designed to be a lifestyle channel aimed at women, with programming to encompass travel, food and home decoration.

Starting on the same date, Discovery Kids en espanol will offer “safe haven” programming with educational value: preschool fare in the morning, shows for school-aged kids in the afternoon and family programs on animals and nature in the evening.

Discovery’s push into the U.S. Hispanic market comes amid an explosion in pay-TV channels aimed at stateside Spanish-speakers. Last year, 19 networks were launched, many of them channels from Latin America, with another half-dozen announced to go up this year.

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The Hoffman Estates-based retailer has ended its relationship with TV personality Lucy Pereda known as the “Hispanic Martha Stewart” after less than two years of selling her apparel in 227 Sears stores.

Sears Holdings Corp. is saying adios to Lucy Pereda and hola to Latina Life.

The Pereda line had “weak” results, said Gwen Manto, general manager for Sears’ soft lines, which include clothing. “We’re having our last deliveries of Lucy Pereda now,” she said.

But Sears, whose retail Achilles’ heel has been apparel, is continuing to take steps at luring Hispanic shoppers — which account for a quarter of the company’s sales — with an exclusive line called Latina Life.

The line is part of a partnership with Latina magazine and consists of clothing, shoes and purses.

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Although the pontiff is said to have excellent foreign-language skills, the absence of any comments in Spanish perplexed reporters and photographers who were granted access to the new pope’s first public address.

To the bewilderment of journalists from Latin America, where most of the world’s Catholics live; he neglected to say any words in Spanish.

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Talk about pressure! Not only is the new Pope expected to speak multiple languages, but he’s also expected to remember to use them when he makes public addresses.

Jorgo Riss was born and raised in Germany: He has a weakness for bratwurst and a thoroughly Germanic seriousness about issues like solar power. But he also has an Italian casualness about punctuality and loves his 5 o’clock tea, a habit he picked up in London.

“I feel European rather than German,” said Riss, 34, who has lived in five European countries, speaks five languages and now runs Greenpeace’s office in Brussels. “I feel at home anywhere in Europe.”

A year after 10 new members joined the European Union, euroskepticism and doubts about the new European constitution may be dominating headlines. But beyond politics and institutional battles, the everyday reality of Europe’s open borders is quietly forging a European identity.

A growing number of young Europeans like Riss study, work and date across the Continent. Unlike their parents, who grew up within the confines of nationhood, they are multilingual and multicultural.

Most of the EU citizens who say they feel “European” still rank their national identity higher than their European one, opinion polls show. But among those aged 21 to 35, almost a third say they feel more European than German, French or Italian, according to a survey by Time magazine in 2001.

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Now in its third edition, Byte Level’s “The Savvy Client’s Guide to Translation Agencies” includes:

* 70 translation agency profiles
* 10 questions to ask before selecting a translation agency
* How to manage translation for the U.S. Hispanic market
* Translation agency trends and innovations
* What companies need to know before taking a Web site global

In addition, agencies are segmented by size, location, and specialty to help executives generate “short lists” of potential candidates, saving hours of research.

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I don’t know whether Linguistic Solutions is included, but we’re here if you need us.

This book is a translation in Tamil of Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow (1905-72), which made him world famous. An American journalist, who went to China in 1928, Snow worked as a correspondent to a number of journals and also as a lecturer in Peking University.

In 1936 he journeyed to Northwest China where the communists had set up the Soviet Government. He was the first westerner to set foot there.

During his stay he travelled all over and saw for himself how the communists lived and worked. He interviewed Mao Tse Tung, Chou En Lai, Lin Biao Chu Teh and numerous other leaders, cadres and ordinary people.

Based on what he saw and heard he wrote this classic of an oral history in 1937. This translation is of the 1972 Pelican edition without the index.

Besides the 1937 text condensed suitably to exclude tedious accounts the revised edition has chronology of the Chinese revolutions from the opium war to 1971, an epilogue written in 1944, chapter notes, further interviews with Mao, biographical notes on 100 leading communists updated up to 1971 and an extensive bibliography.

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The remarkably fast, accurate, and versatile Sakhr translation software
will allow U.S. government agencies to translate documents from Arabic to
English in a matter of seconds or minutes instead of hours or even days. The
translation capabilities of Sakhr may be equally applied in reverse, allowing
English to be quickly translated into Arabic, opening up a variety of
applications for the software beyond the national security arena. For
example, as Iraq develops its democracy and works to rebuild, this translation
software can play a valuable role in helping to provide needed medical
information, textbooks, engineering documents, and much more from the U.S. and
other English-speaking countries to the Arab world

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Caveat emptor!

The Senior English Language Fellows Program is an exciting opportunity for experienced teachers and trainers to increase the level of English language instruction by training local English teachers and designing curriculum that will be used by generations of learners. Senior EL Fellows serve the 10-month Fellowships primarily as teacher trainers at Teacher Training Institutes, Ministries of Education, Universities, and other institutions. The standard responsibility of Senior EL Fellows is to train English teachers, though some are responsible for developing materials that are often used countrywide by generations of English language learners. Senior EL Fellows are improving the level of English instruction around the world in a sustainable and effective manner. Currently we are recruiting for at least 39 Senior Fellowships all over the developing world for the 2005-2006 academic year. Senior EL Fellows make a difference in the lives of thousands of people. This is your opportunity to help build a peaceful and prosperous world community, make a tangible difference in the quality of English instruction, and make a personal difference in the lives of others.

Senior Fellows receive a $24,000 stipend, living allowance (designed to pay for housing, food, utilities, and transportation to and from work), shipping allowance, educational materials allowance, pre-departure expense allowance, in-country program activities allowance, round-trip travel, accident and sickness insurance, and are eligible for a dependent allowance.

Applicants must be US Citizens, have a MA TESOL (or closely related degree), and have significant teacher training and/or materials development experience.

All application materials must be submitted by May 15th, 2005.

The English Language Fellow Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the School for International Training.

Please visit our website for more information and to download an application.

www.sit.edu/elf

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As part of the Internationally Trained Workers Initiative, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is helping newcomers acquire the language skills they need to reach their full potential in the Canadian labour market, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Joe Volpe announced today.

“Language is one of the main barriers to integration into the workplace for many immigrants to Canada,” said Minister Volpe. “This investment will help engineers, trades people, doctors, nurses and workers in many other fields who received their training outside of Canada to find and keep good jobs that match the skills and experience they bring to Canada.”

While most newcomers have adequate conversational language skills upon arrival in Canada, many employers report gaps in the specialized workplace language skills and vocabulary that are required in many trades and professions. The Enhanced Language Training (ELT) initiative will provide job-specific language training to enable immigrants to gain the language skills they need to flourish in the workplace.

“I am pleased to report the progress we have made to date on this important initiative and share with you the list of projects that have been implemented across the country in 2004–2005,” added the Minister. “This would not have been possible without the successful partnership we established with Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and British Columbia on the delivery of ELT projects in these provinces.”

The government currently spends about $140 million a year on basic language training for about 50,000 adult immigrants outside of Quebec. The Enhanced Language Training initiative accounts for an additional $20 million annually, and provides bridge-to-work assistance, including mentoring, work placement and other assistance in accessing the labour market.

The ELT initiative is an important component of the Government of Canada’s efforts to attract highly skilled workers and ensure more successful integration of immigrants into the economy and communities. Other measures include working with regulatory bodies and sector councils to facilitate the development of effective processes for the recognition of foreign credentials and prior work experience, and the development of the Going to Canada Immigration Portal to provide better information to immigrants before they come to Canada.

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Public Radio Stations Nationwide Will Broadcast Documentaries, Features, Commentaries, Global Call-Ins and Public Forums on Topics Ranging from the Environment and Economics to Migration and MusicMay 16-22 On the Air; http://www.thinkglobal2005.org Online

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Thanks to the 2000 census, everyone in business knows the nation’s Latino population has become a hugely important market. The Latino base is growing in immigrant enclaves like South Gate and, increasingly, cities and towns far from traditional Latino destinations, including metro Atlanta.

The challenge is reaching this complex audience.

The nation’s Latino population remains little understood and little seen by much of the United States. While the country is 12.6 percent Hispanic, a large portion of the population is heavily concentrated in the West, especially states on the border with Mexico.

Georgia’s Latino population is about 5.3 percent.

By 2020, however, Latinos are likely to be 17.8 percent of the U.S. population. And Latino culture will continue to become a bigger influence on overall pop culture.

Latino spending power is huge: $700 billion in 2004, according to HispanTelligence, a research firm. That total is expected to grow to $1 trillion by the end of the decade.

Felipe Korzenny, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, said the U.S. Hispanic market is already the second-largest in the world, after Mexico itself.

“And they have more buying power than the gross domestic product of Mexico,” he said. “Just think about that.”

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A London Business School survey of over 100 CEOs found strong demand for MBA graduates with global awareness and experience. “For our end-users,” the report found, “global business is more than a political discussion point, marketing mantra, or corporate aspiration; it is a burgeoning day-to-day reality.” In response to this market demand and increased interest by its students, American Graduate School of Management (AGSM) is introducing an International Option to its Executive MBA Program.

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New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman has a brilliant–and very helpful–ability to identify the patterns at the heart of the most complex world situations, without losing the human voices of the people involved. Over a dozen years after its publication, From Beirut to Jerusalem remains one of the most valuable accounts of Arab-Israeli relations, and in The Lexus and the Olive Tree, he redefined how we thought about the new forces of globalization and the old ties of nation and tradition (and, along the way, introduced the “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention,” which pointed out that no countries that both had a McDonald’s had ever gone to war with each other). Like most of us, he spent the first years of the new millennium focused again on the Middle East, where it seemed as though the main drama of the age was being played out. But a visit to Bangalore, India, in early 2004 made him suddenly aware that the real story was happening on the other side of the globe, as the vast and ambitious populations of India and China began to enter the global marketplace as full-fledged participants, taking advantage of systems of communications, production, and distribution that can connect the entire globe instantaneously. “The world is flat,” he realized, and he immediately knew he had to write about it. In an email and phone exchange between Seattle and the various stops on Friedman’s travels, Amazon.com senior editor Tom Nissley asked him to explain just what has made our world flat, and what that might lead to.

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Deborah Adler, a 29-year-old graphic designer whose ClearRx prescription-packaging system debuts at Target pharmacies May 1 avoided using the word “once” on the label, since it means “eleven” in Spanish. Prevention, after all, is the best medicine. Better safe than sorry!

Speaking of “International by Design”, look for an e-book bearing the same title by Nancy A. Locke to be pubished in 2005 by Multilingual Computing, Inc. which “will explore the language of design and the ways to ensure it speaks to mulitlingual, multicultural audiences”.

Tom’s done it again! If you’ve read The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, you know all about the keen insights of Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas L. Friedman. In The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Tom once again brings to light the plain truth about globalization. Read it and discover for yourself where we’re headed. Overlook it at peril of obsolescence.

Also by Thomas L. Friedman: From Beirut to Jerusalem (winner of the National Book Award) and Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism.