Today Tula Ndebele from Termwiki team is gonna share the story behind Blossaries.
It’s true that there are some things that words cannot describe—things that are out of this world or beyond our human knowledge. But no matter how limited human language is, it’s still a powerful tool that can help us connect with others, express what you really mean and cultivate better relationships. Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.”
People who work in the localization industry can vouch for just how complicated language can be. For example, how wacky is it that there are at least 10 different ways to say underwear? As a localization company, CSOFT understands its importance and therefore takes language very seriously. That’s why the company launched TermWiki, a social learning network that allows users to learn, discover, share, and store personal terms and glossaries.
Now to give you a behind-the-scene look at TermWiki, we’d like to introduce you to Tula Ndebele, one of our fabulous interns in the TermWiki department. She told us that after having created plenty of blossaries for TermWiki, she has learned a plethora of things.
“Potatoes. Can you imagine how many different types of dishes one could make with potatoes? I only reached seven, but the number is unthinkable,” she said. “Strange street signs, truths about Nikola Tesla, the moon, army products which are now used by civilians, the amazing world of street art, countries that don’t officially exist, and the list goes on.”
Learning from other TermWiki users is also another great option to expand your horizon. “I noticed other interesting blossaries that other users have added, such as Beekeeping, Retirement, and Dress Shirt Collars,” Tula said. But the best part of all, she said, is coming up with a title for each blossary. Some of her favorite ones are I got 99 problems but a stitch ain’t one, Bobs Family and Everything Jam. To this, she gives credit to her co-interns and her quirky personality.
And did we also mention that TermWiki currently boasts over five million terms and entries in over 100 languages? So if you’ve been inspired to blossarize, you better get started! Thanks, Tula, for sharing your experience with us!
If you’re interested in learning more about CSOFT’s globalization and localization solutions, don’t forget to visit csoftintl.com!
It’s true that there are some things that words cannot describe—things that are out of this world or beyond our human knowledge. But no matter how limited human language is, it’s still a powerful tool that can help us connect with others, express what you really mean and cultivate better relationships. Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that “The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.”