As the holiday bells chime and snowflakes dance, we at LingoStar Language Services are excited to unwrap our linguistic adventures from our translation projects 2024! Celebrating a Year of Global Communication in Translation Projects 2024 As we approach the most wonderful time of the year, we’re not just exchanging gifts. We’re sharing moments of joy, connection, and linguistic magic. If we could sum up our language projects in one word, it would be “share” – celebrating by connecting cultures, bridging languages, and spreading joy across continents. Every year brings its own tapestry of experiences, and 2024 is no exception. It’s a time to pause, reflect, and appreciate the milestones we’ve reached and the lessons we’ve learned along the way. What Translation Projects 2024 Lit Up Our Year? In our translation projects 2024, LingoStar transformed language barriers into global opportunities: Translated documents across 45 languages Translated English to French (Canadian), Spanish (Latin American) and Chinese as the most requested language pairs Simultaneous work on 25 languages in single projects Translated over 150,000 words Specialized translation projects including: French Canadian e-learning voiceover recordings Ethical hotline message translations in major European, Asian, and Indian languages Complex medical record transcriptions and translations in Hindi and Punjabi Wrapping Up Our Translation Projects 2024 Journey This year has been a wonderful journey of collaboration, learning, and connecting with amazing linguists and clients worldwide. We’ve worked with trusted translators, welcomed new linguistic talent, and continued to expand our global communications horizons. đ LingoStar Video: Your Global Communication Superpower Need some translation magic? Since 2005, we’ve been transforming language barriers into business opportunities for Canadian companies. Our...
Building Your Foundation to Start a Translation Business Are you passionate about languages and eager to turn your skills into a thriving enterprise? Learning how to start a translation business can be an exciting and rewarding venture. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to starting and growing a profitable translation business, even if you’re new to the world of entrepreneurship or translation. How to Start a Translation Business: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Success and Profitability Educational background for your translation business While formal education isn’t always mandatory, a strong educational background can give you a significant advantage when starting a translation business. Consider the following: Bachelor’s degree in linguistics, foreign languages, or translation studies Master’s degree in translation or interpreting Certification from professional translation organizations Remember, continuous learning is key in this ever-evolving field. Stay abreast of language trends and industry developments to maintain your competitive edge as you start and grow your translation business. Developing business acumen To run a successful translation business, you’ll need more than just language skills. Here’s how you can build your business skills: Take online courses in business management and entrepreneurship Attend marketing and finance workshops for small businesses Join local business networking groups to learn from experienced entrepreneurs Invest time in an internship with a translation company. Therefore, these skills will be crucial as you start a translation business and work towards profitability. Launching your translation business If you want to stand out in a crowded market when starting a translation business, consider specializing in a specific area: Identifying your niche To stand out in the crowded market when...
Translation localization involves translators adapting a translated text to the requirements of a specific geographical area. They adjust the content to make it sound familiar and easily understood by the target audience. Localization can include elements such as cultural references, illustrative colours and images, local dialects, adaptations of dates, times, or currencies, and units of measurement, as well as local information. For high-quality localization, localization translators must have specialized skills compared to general translators. They need to have an in-depth knowledge of the culture, idiom, and lifestyle of the people from the source and target area. Ideally, native speakers of the target language should carry out the translation, but it is also essential to choose translators with specific knowledge of the target region or dialect. Therefore, companies looking to expand into new markets find localization particularly beneficial. It enables them to reflect the local culture, translate content into the local dialect, personalize their product or service, adapt promotions and events to the national holidays of the target country, and comply with local regulations where necessary. Certain types of translation require more localization than others, depending on their specific nature and the need for cultural, linguistic, and technical adaptation. Here are a few examples of types of translation that often require extensive localization: Website localization Websites often contain region or country-specific content, such as information about local services, promotions, cultural references, and news. Localization is crucial to ensure that the website is tailored to the language, culture, and local preferences of the users. Software and application localization Localization of software and applications involves adapting the user interfaces, menus, error messages,...
Translation is a complex and vital process. It requires a deep understanding of the source and target languages in the cultural context they are being used. Working with professional translators can help businesses and organizations communicate effectively with their target audiences. Every language has its own set of linguistic and cultural nuances that must be considered during the translation process. While it can be tempting to address your translation needs with an acquaintance, a friend or a native speaker of the target language, professional translators spend several years training for their trade for a reason. Of course, being a passionate linguist is a must, but itâs not enough! Here are six of the most important attributes of a professional translator: 1. Working with professional translators fluent in the languages they work in When translating languages, choosing a professional translator who is fluent in both languages is extremely important. The translator should have an in-depth understanding of the cultural and linguistic nuances of both languages. They should also be able to translate the text accurately while staying true to the original meaning. 2. Hiring a professional translator ensures that your target audience comes first One of the first steps in translating from one language to another is research. Thoroughly researching the target audience and their target cultural relevance is crucial. This will help ensure that the translation accurately conveys the intended meaning and message of your text. For example, the terminologies and expressions used in legal documents will be different from those used in marketing campaigns. Similarly, those used in children’s resources will be very different from those used in...
Africa is the worldâs hottest and second largest continent on Earth. Made up of 54 countries, there are approximately 1,000-2,000 different languages spoken across the continent. Africa has barely contributed towards climate change and yet it is one of the hardest hit by its effects. The impact of climate change in Africa Africa has experienced significant increases in temperatures and dramatic decreases in precipitation. Tropical storms have also been more frequent and more intense, as well as dust storms in June and July. Higher temperatures, drought, changing rainfall patterns; all these climate changes are already a reality and will only worsen if we don’t take action urgently. How translation is helping fight against climate change The main reason for climate change is the burning of fossil fuels. Other reasons are deforestation and farming. Indeed, all are causing the planet to heat up. But global warming is only one aspect of climate change. Human activities are directly responsible for climate change and people therefore play a pivotal role in its reversal. The population of Africa is currently 1,374,627,468. In some countries of Africa, the lack of adequate education and limited access to knowledge pose real widespread problems. Consequently, most people in Africa are not aware of environmental issues. In addition, in some of its countries, people donât speak English or languages other than their own native language. Therefore, if a person canât speak a certain language or isnât aware of environmental issues, how could they understand the meaning of global warming or do anything against climate change? One of the best ways to help people in Africa address climate change...
English is the product of many cultures and despite being of Germanic origin, an important part of English language etymology finds its source in the French language. In Twenty Years After â the sequel to The Three Musketeers by French novelist Alexandre Dumas â DâArtagnan said âEnglish is little more than badly pronounced Frenchâ. Several years later, George ClĂŠmenceau (early 20th century French PM) said the same. Is there any truth in their claim? To find out, we need to go back in time and look at English language etymology in its historical context. But first, here are a few useful definitions. English Language Etymology: Definitions Cognates Cognates are words that share a common ancestry. True cognates might not be instantly recognizable; they only share the same etymology. But they can also have the same spelling and meaning, or they can be loanwords or calques. They can be close cognates (same meaning but slight variation in spelling) and even false cognates (or âfalse friendsâ â same spelling but different meaning). For example: True cognates: to attest < attester, from Latin ad-testari, curfew < couvre-feu, from the Old French cuevrefeu (used in the Middle Ages when fires had to be covered and people had to be home and off the streets by a certain time), coward < couard, Old French.Close cognates: analytique > analytical, crĂŠatif > creative, banque > bank.False friends: magasin (FR) = shop (EN) not magazine (publication), douche (FR) = shower (EN) not douche (EN) (medical term or type of person), bras (FR) = arm (EN) not bra (EN) (undergarment). Read more about the etymology of words between...
Learn how to produce multilingual subtitles in your YouTube videos Have you ever considered adding multilingual subtitles to your YouTube or company videos in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, Russian or any other language? Do you see yourself or your company as a global communicator and multilingual content creator? Would you like to gain more exposure in different countries where people do not speak English as their native language? In this blog post and video tutorial, learn the basics of subtitling using YouTube Studio and how to easily add English and multilingual subtitles. Learning how to subtitle a video in other languages can be a lengthy process. There is not just the actual translation but also specific subtitling rules to follow. There are various subtitling programs, as well as different ways to display subtitles. Looking to hire professionals to add subtitles to your videos? Get a free translation quote here >>. How can you manage to learn it all? At LingoStar, we’ve used YouTube Studio to translate subtitles from English into French, Spanish, and Czech. We’ll show you the easy way to start creating your subtitled videos in foreign languages. By doing so, youâll be able to attract viewers in multilingual communities both in your own country and worldwide. Are you ready to become a global entrepreneur? Youâll also find out how to use the closed caption option in YouTube where subtitles can be turned on and off. Furthermore, youâll get to know about the differences between closed captions and embedded subtitles and how to handle both versions before publishing them on YouTube.YouTube offers the option to add subtitles...
In our previous blog post Canadian English: A Brief History, we set out to explain how Canadian English was formed throughout its colonization. Today, we look at some of the variations in written Canadian, American and British English. Canadian English may have been shaped by its history, but it is also clear that it has its own identity. Weâve had lively debates about the following points among our team members in our office and with our contributors further afield! đ Weâre always striving to build on our specialist knowledge of any language-related aspect so we thought weâd share a few of them with you! 1. Spelling variations English has one single spelling system, with two minor subsystems: British and American. In Canada, the British subsystem prevails for the most part. In the historical context of the British colonization of Canada, this becomes easier to understand. However, Canada is equally under the influence of the United States, not least because of the proximity between the two nations. We can therefore find variations from both subsystems in Canadian English, to the extent that there is no defined Canadian standard. Canadian English therefore oscillates between the two subsystems. You can read more about why Canadian spelling is different here. Examples of spelling variations ⢠Nouns and verbs ending in ââise /âizeâ: Canadian English (CaE) favours the American English (AmE) spelling system with âzâ, e.g. localization, customize, personalize, finalize civilize, criticize, italicize, itemize, memorize, organize. Exceptions: advertise, advise, arise, comprise, enterprise, exercise, merchandise, revise, supervise, surprise. ⢠Nouns ending in ââour /âorâ: AmE favours the ââorâ ending, but British English (BrE) and CaE...
A Word on Localization Over the past year, weâve spoken a lot about the importance of localization. The 14 guides we published in fall 2020 highlight why localizing your website content matters. They explain what to look out for in order to localize your website easily to establish trust and successfully engage with your target audience. Moreover, in one of our social media posts in December 2020, we touched on the differences between Canadian, American and British English. Translations into Canadian English and Canadian French make up the core of our business. As part of our commitment to continuous professional development, we decided to delve deeper into how Canadian English was formed to gain a better understanding of its history. Our findings were so enriching that we had to share them with you! Canadian English: A Rich Heritage The creation of Canada as we know it today is the product of several phases of colonisation. Indigenous people had already been living on the land for thousands of years. In the 10th century, Scandinavian expeditions tried in vain to establish sustainable settlements. Itâs not until the 15th and 16th centuries that the French and the English revived colonisation interest. Over the next 350 years, each respective side discovered and won over different parts of Canada through several wars. Weâve produced this handy infographic summarising the key events over this period. 350 Years of Canadian English Formation at a Glance From then on, apart from the important number of French-Canadians in Quebec and its surrounding area, the population was almost entirely British. Indeed, the enormous immigration wave that took place in...
Translation is all around us thanks to client-driven multilingual translation projects At LingoStar, we love the variety of multilingual translation projects we work on. Translation is all around us, even if we donât realize it. Thanks to advanced technologies, companies have many more opportunities to make their products and services available online. Therefore, many decide to localize and offer their products to a significantly larger number of speakers of various foreign languages, rather than resorting to English speakers only. Now more than ever before, people worldwide are using online tools to purchase and download products. Naturally, they want to do so in their native language. Interestingly, this presents an opportunity for many small, medium and freelance businesses to share their expertise and services as well. So, are you ready to localize your services and products into foreign languages and expand your online business? If so, find out how to localize your website in our ebook. A Beginner’s Guide to Multilingual Website Translation Multilingual Translations Help You Expand Internationally Many of our Canadian clients realize the potential for global expansion and entrust us with multilingual translation projects on a weekly basis. So letâs have our projects speak for themselves. We’ve selected a few projects to show you the variety of multilingual projects we carry out on behalf of our clients. We regularly complete translations for corporate documents, operating manuals, marketing materials, as well as multilingual phone recordings, professional voice-overs and so much more. Have a look at what we’ve been up to! If you need our help, weâll be happy to issue a free translation quote here >>.Also, check out...
