Aug 21, 2023 | Blog, Language Services, Worldwide
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,...
Jul 23, 2023 | Blog, Tips for Translators, Translation
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 it’s 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...
Aug 26, 2021 | Blog, Environment, Translation, Worldwide
Africa is the world’s 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 don’t speak English or languages other than their own native language. Therefore, if a person can’t speak a certain language or isn’t 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...
May 18, 2021 | Blog, English language, Language Varieties, Traditions
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 – the sequel to The Three Musketeers by French novelist Alexandre Dumas – D’Artagnan said “English is little more than badly pronounced French”. Several years later, George Clémenceau (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 “false friends” – 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, créatif > 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...
Apr 11, 2021 | Blog, Communication, Language Services, Tips, Translation
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, you’ll be able to attract viewers in multilingual communities both in your own country and worldwide. Are you ready to become a global entrepreneur? You’ll also find out how to use the closed caption option in YouTube where subtitles can be turned on and off. Furthermore, you’ll 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...
Dec 17, 2020 | Blog, Language Services, Projects
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 don’t 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 let’s 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, we’ll be happy to issue a free translation quote here >>.Also, check out...
Nov 25, 2020 | Blog, Communication, Tips for Translators
How to Present Your Freelance Translator Resume to Small Translation Agencies – From an Agency Perspective Have you sent your freelance translator resume to numerous translation agencies but have never heard back? Are you starting out as a freelance translator and are trying to market your services to translation agencies? Would you like to work with a translation agency but find it really hard to get your foot in the door? How translation agencies process freelance translator resumes Sending out resumes to translation agencies can be daunting. You’re likely to send out a lot of applications and only receive a few replies. Translation agencies receive hundreds of applications every week and many of them don’t take the time to respond. When you finally do manage to get in touch with a vendor manager, it’s best you don’t get your hopes up. Your resume may be piled up among many others and you may not hear back with an actual job for a while. Are you wondering why? The truth is that there may be nothing wrong with your freelance translator resume, expertise, education or rates. One of the simplest reasons why you don’t hear back is that a small translation agency has scarce resources to handle vendor management. Therefore, processing your application may be at the very bottom of their list. Until they really need somebody very particular for a very specific translation job. And that could be just you! So make your freelance translator resume stand out! Whilst the purpose of this article is not to source new translators for our company LingoStar in Canada, we wanted...
