Blog on translation news by LingoStar Language Services in Vancouver

Asia – 10 Destinations That You Have To Visit At Least Once In Your Life

Jun 8, 2015

Maybe Asia This Summer? Have you ever visited Asia? Asia has a lot of amazing and awesome places. Here are some suggestions for good places to visit. Let’s take a look! East Asia Shanghai, China Shanghai is the largest city in China by the population. Shoppers should make a beeline for the Fabric Market, where you can have a suit or dress tailor-made for you at bargain prices. Check out the fashionable restaurants, bars, and nightclubs at night! Seoul, South Korea Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea and the world’s second-largest metropolitan area. You can see a lot of skyscrapers and the N Seoul Tower. Go to the historical sites! In Seoul, there are many historical sites like the Gyeong-bok Palace and Changdeokgung Palace. You can also eat Korean food and enjoy the amazing nightlife. Tokyo, Japan Tokyo is the capital and largest city of Japan. You’ll meet many skyscrapers as well as the Tokyo Tower. You can enjoy karaoke and eat lots of Japanese food. Taipei, Taiwan The city of Taipei is the capital and a special municipality of Taiwan. You can eat high-quality food at very cheap prices. Also, it has a beautiful night view and amazing architecture. South Asia Jaipur, India The word Jaipur means “Palace of Jai king”. It is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. You should visit Vidhan Sabha, its view at night is gorgeous. Southeast Asia Phnom Penh, Cambodia Phnom Penh is the capital city and largest city of Cambodia. Beautiful sites like Wat Phnom, Veal Maen,... read more

Does Your Country Have The Fastest Internet Connection In The World?

Jun 1, 2015

Who Is The Fastest? We can’t imagine our life without the internet anymore. Have you ever thought about how your country compares to others in terms of internet speed? Which country do you think has the fastest internet connection in the world? Here are the top ten countries with the fastest internet. See if yours made the list! No 10. Finland In the fourth quarter of 2014, average speeds for broadband internet connection were 12.1 Mbps (megabytes per second), up 33% from a year ago. No 9. Czech Republic Average connection speeds in the Czech Republic in the fourth quarter of 2014 were 12.3 Mbps, up 8.4% from a year ago. No 8. Ireland Ireland was ranked number 8 at 12.7 Mbps. Their average connection speeds increased about 24% from 2013. No 7. Latvia In the first quarter of 2013, internet speeds in Latvia were 9.8 Mbps. But later their internet speeds hit 13.0 Mbps, up 25% from a year ago. No 6. Netherlands The Netherlands had an average broadband connection speed of 14.2 Mbps, up 15% from 2013. No 5. Switzerland In 2013, average broadband connection speeds were 12.1 Mbps. By the first three months of 2014, they rose to 14.5 Mbps. No 4. Sweden Not to be outdone, the Swedes had speeds averaging 14.6 Mbps, up 34% from a year ago. No 3. Japan Japan fell from second place to third, with speeds averaging 15.2 Mbps, up 16% from 2013. No 2. Hong Kong Hong Kong just stole second place from Japan. The average speeds reached were 16.8 Mbps, up as much as 37% from 2013. No 1.... read more

Vancouver Inhabitants And Their Everyday Habits

May 29, 2015

Exploring the Culture Of Vancouver As a translation agency, we are always keen on exploring new cultures, traditions, languages, and the differences and similarities between them. Today, however, we would like to take a look inwards, to our own Canadian – and more specifically Vancouverite – background. We will focus on the habits of Vancouver inhabitants. 15 fun facts about Vancouver and its inhabitants A nice day is a day without rain no matter how cloudy it is. You know the difference between West Van, the West End, and the Westside. You know that there’s a Third Beach and Second Beach but no first beach (it’s English Bay). Going for a hike in the mountains and to the beach on the same day seems perfectly doable to you. Yoga pants are a way of life. Rent and housing prices don’t seem that bad. You can tell when the Canucks are playing by the number of people wearing hockey jerseys on the bus. You consider anything below 5 degrees to be freezing and above 20 to be insanely hot. The city receives a mere sprinkling of snow and you call it a snow day. You know what 4/20 means and why on that occasion you don’t go to the Art Gallery to admire the paintings. You know what UBC, SFU, ICBC, PNE, and VPL mean. You’re tired of eating so much sushi. You know that Vancouver Island is not in Vancouver. You know the proper pronunciation of the Vietnamese soup Pho. Even on the sunniest days, you have an umbrella with you because… you never know. Contact Us! Here at LingoStar,... read more

Foreigners Living In Canada And What They Miss About Their Homeland

May 25, 2015

Foreigners living in Canada Canada is known to be a melting pot of cultures, languages, and traditions. Foreigners living in Canada come from all over the world for its high standard of living, plentiful opportunities, and beautiful nature. The pros of living in Canada are countless, however, foreigners will always miss something from their homeland, after all, they cannot deny their roots, they can even feel homesick sometimes. We decided to ask people from other countries now living in Canada – from longtime immigrants to aspiring permanent residents, from temporary workers to exchange students – to list the things that they miss most about their home countries. Some ideas of what foreigners living in Canada could miss Onsen and Sentō – Japan Onsen is the Japanese term for hot springs, while sentō refers to public bathing facilities. Therefore, there are thousands of onsen and sentō of many kinds scattered around Japan, outdoor or indoor, ranging from very basic to the utmost in luxury. A great way to relax after a stressful working day. Bidet – Italy Italians feel lost without it! Considered a luxury good in Canada, you will find a bidet in every Italian house, right beside the toilet. Really convenient item, once you get used to it you won’t be able to go back to a “bidetless” routine. Sophisticated online banking – Slovakia For most people, electronic banking means ATMs or direct deposit of cheques, however, the Slovak system allows many more types of transactions, mostly on computers or smartphones, which is the reason why e-shopping is so well-developed and popular all over the country. Christmas markets – Czech Republic Traditional handicrafts, local food and beer, carols... read more

Nepal Is In Need Of Translation, Nepal Needs You

May 20, 2015

Now It Has Hit Nepal Too Indonesia, China, Haiti, Japan, just to name a few, and now Nepal. Two quakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.3 have struck Nepal in the last 3 weeks, killing more than 8,000 people and leaving several other thousands injured or homeless. Humanitarian organizations are already on the field doing all they can to heal the injured, feed and give shelter to the population with no place to go, recover bodies from the rubble and make reconstruction plans. Why the Role Of Translation Is so Crucial in the Areas Hit By the Earthquake When a disaster strikes, no one usually thinks about the need for linguistic aid. Why would you need translators when people are dying? You need doctors! Fair enough. But have you ever wondered how the communication between doctor and patient occurs? How does a Nepali father explain to a rescue worker who only speaks English that his child is in need of help in a certain place and needs to be rescued? These people are afraid, lost and destabilized. In addition, foreigners unable to speak their language surround them and they can’t communicate with them even if they absolutely need to. How must that feel? Translation has the crucial role of enabling mutual understanding and supporting the aid organizations as well as the Nepali media and communication channels to act quickly and efficiently. Translators Without Borders has sent a team of 25 people to the affected areas of Nepali, Newari, and Hindi for translation work. This kind of rescue work lacks in funds and is far from being the most advantageous job.... read more

Victoria Day: 10 Names That It Doesn’t Hurt To Know

May 14, 2015

Victoria Day: One Holiday, Ten Different Names Ready for the long weekend? Do you know what we celebrate on Monday? At LingoStar Language Services, we found 10 different names for the very same holiday, in Vancouver called Victoria Day, and we are bringing you the explanation for every single one. Take inspiration and enjoy your free time and beautiful weather on this great Canadian holiday. Victoria Day Queen Victoria, who reigned over Great Britain, was born on May 24, 1819. Victoria Day Weekend This celebration marks the birthday of Queen Victoria and is celebrated every year on the last Monday before May 25. May Two-Four A “two-four” is slang for a case of 24 beers, and since the Victoria Day Weekend often ends up including the date May 24th, well, the “May Two-Four” is that weekend where you have an extra day to drink, or to recover. The Start of Camping Season Camping season in Canada runs from Victoria Day (third Monday in May) until Labour Day (first Monday in September). Unofficial Beginning of Summer In the hopes that the frost is really over, many people break out the gardening gloves and get dirty on Victoria Day weekend. May Long Weekend This is pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes abbreviated to just “May Long”. Firecracker Day Fireworks on the holiday Monday is a Canadian tradition. People usually go to fireworks displays put on by their local towns or cities, or set their own off in their backyard or neighbourhood parks. May Run Why is this weekend called “MAY RUN”? In a Facebook discussion, someone thinks that it is a combination of some species... read more

Queen Elizabeth II: ‘We Love to Have Another Girl’

May 13, 2015

Queen Elizabeth Shares her Baby Joy and We Provide the Translation of her Quote into Several Languages: “Yes, we love to have another girl.” — Queen Elizabeth Translation into Albanian: Jemi të lumtur për ardhjen e një vajze tjetër. Translation into Arabic: نعم نحن سعداء بالحصول علي طفلة أخري Translation into Bulgarian: Радваме се, че имаме още едно момиченце в семейството. Translation into Croatian: Drago nam je što imamo još jednu djevojčicu. Translation into Czech: Ano, jsme rádi, že máme další holčičku. Translation into Dari: ما دوست داریم یک دختر دیگر داشته باشیم Translation into French: Oui, on est ravi d’avoir une autre fille. Translation into German: Ja, es freut uns sehr, noch ein Mädchen in der Familie zu haben. Translation into Goun: E vivi nan mi na mi so do ovi yon’si devo Translation into Greek: Χαιρόμαστε πολύ που έχουμε ακόμα ένα κορίτσι στην οικογένεια. Translation into Gujarati: અમને એક બીજી છોકરી હોવાનો આનંદ છે. Translation into Hebrew: אנחנו שמחים שיש לנו ילדה נוספת. Translation into Hindi: हमे एक और लड़की होने की बेहद ख़ुशी है। Translation into Italian: Sì, siamo felicissimi di avere un’altra bambina. Translation into Indonesian: Kami merasa bahagia memiliki bayi perempuan lagi. Translation into Korean: 우리는 또 다른 소녀를 가졌으면 해요 Translation into Kurdish: خؤشحالين بة لةدايكبووني كجيَكي ترمان Translation into Latvian: Mēs priecājamies par vēl vienu meiteni. Translation into Lithuanian: Džiaugiamės dar viena mergaite. Translation into Macedonian: Milo ni e što imame ušte edno devojče vo semejstvoto Translation into Norwegian: Vi er veldig glade for å ha en jente til i familien. Translation into Pashto: موږ مینه لرو یوه بله جلی ولرو Translation... read more

5 Awesome Sports That Aren’t In the Olympics But Should Be

May 4, 2015

Cool Sports For the Olympics Every two years the Olympics come and an assortment of exciting and classic sports are spectated by millions. The most common of which include the well-known sports like Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Track and Field, etc. There are several sports around the globe that go unrecognised at the Olympic Games though, and there are five in particular I think would be awesome to implement in future games to amp the excitement up! Foosball (or Table Soccer, whatever you people call it) When I was a kid foosball was one of the most fun games I had ever played. It got extremely competitive between me and my friends and relatives, and I think it could have a place at the Olympic level. Just picture it like Tennis. There could be men and women’s singles matches, as well as doubles. I think it could do very well and be extremely popular. Dodgeball One of the best games ever invented? I think so! I have unleashed my wrath against my classmates so many times in dodgeball and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who DOESN’T enjoy it. Throwing a ball as hard as you can at other people in order to win, how can you beat that!? Paintball A simulation to prepare soldiers for battle, this game is extremely tactical, strategic, and requires a huge amount of precision, skill and athleticism. Combining several exciting elements into one crazy sport, Paintball would be a great addition to the Olympic Games and would provide a very fast paced and exciting sport for spectators to watch. Sepak... read more

Inspirational Quote: Get Motivated By The Positive Message of the Day

May 4, 2015

Inspirational Message Translation into Italian, French, Japanese, Slovak, Russian and Czech. Dear friends, one of the greatest inhibitors of success is fear. Fear of success is rampant in our society, and it prevents many people from achieving greatness. Only when your desire to be successful outweighs that of your fear of rejection and failure, can you truly achieve success. You will fail over and over before you finally succeed, and it is imperative that you take on the risk of failure with open arms because only by embracing failure can you truly win in life. Today’s inspirational quote is here to help you achieve success. Let’s inspire and support each other. Let’s share this motivating positive message with everybody. We are always happy to send your translations of the positive messages we prepare for you. Inspirational Quote in English: Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try. – Jack Canfield Inspirational Quote Translation into Italian: Non preoccuparti dei fallimenti, preoccupati invece delle opportunità che perdi quando non ci provi nemmeno. – Jack Canfield Inspirational Quote Translation into French: Ne t’inquiète pas de l’échec, inquiète-toi des chances que tu manques lorsque tu n’essaies même pas. – Jack Canfield Inspirational Quote Translation into Japanese: 失敗を恐れる必要はない。恐れる必要があるのは、やりもしないで逃がしてしまうチャンスのほうである。－ジャック・キャンフィールド – Jack Canfield Inspirational Quote Translation into Slovak: Netrápte sa nad neúspechom, ale nad šancami uspieť, ktoré ste nevyužili. – Jack Canfield Inspirational Quote Translation into Russian: Не переживайте насчет неудач, переживайте о шансах, которые вы упускаете, потому что даже не пытаетесь достичь успеха. – Jack Canfield Inspirational Quote Translation into Czech: Nebojte se neúspěchu, starejte se o šance, které zmeškáte,... read more

Italian Food Lost in Translation : 5 Fun Facts That You Didn’t Know

Apr 27, 2015

Italian Food As An Important Trait of the Culture Food is one of the most distinctive traits of a culture. Each cuisine has its own local specific ingredients and flavors to mark its identity. However, in the interpretation of foreign dishes to fit in with the local cuisine, mistranslation happens. Today I would like to give you a quick insight into Italian food lost in translation. Ice-Cream Gelato is the Italian word for ice-cream. Therefore, being Italian myself, I was very confused when coming to Canada as I found out that the two are actually different. Apparently gelato indicates what I knew as such (soft, smooth and creamy) whereas ice-cream has a heavier and richer texture to it like Tim Horton’s ice cream. Prosciutto The same goes for ham and prosciutto (the Italian word for ham). Ham refers to the cooked ham known in Italy as prosciutto cotto. Prosciutto, on the other hand, refers to the dry-cured uncooked ham, called prosciutto crudo. Doing some research you will be able to find some more detailed and scientific descriptions of the differences. However, I learned at the expenses of my taste buds that the English-named product is, more often than not, the fatter and less refined version of its Italian food-named twin. Peperoni Is No Meat In Italy Totally misleading food-related words are also pepperoni (spelled peperoni). In Italy it has nothing to do with meat. It actually means bell peppers. In the same vein is latte, which translates into Italian simply as “milk” and doesn’t have any coffee in it. So if you go to Italy, ask for a caffè macchiato and... read more

Enjoy Our New Positive Message Translation

Apr 27, 2015

Inspirational Quote Translation into Italian, French, Japanese, Slovak and Czech. Dear friends, Procrastination and laziness are prominent in society nowadays. Many people assume that if they just wait long enough then a golden opportunity will eventually present itself and then they will be set for life. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out that way. Life favors the proactive, and the success seekers. Take it upon yourself to make opportunities for yourself, and to go out of your way to put effort into opening doors of success for yourself, as opposed to waiting for others to do it for you. Let’s inspire and support each other. Let’s share this motivating positive message with everybody. We are always happy to send your translations of the positive messages we prepare for you. Don’t hesitate to contact us and send us more translations. You are amazing! Inspirational Quote in English: If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. – Milton Berle Inspirational Quote Translation into Italian: Se l’opportunità non bussa alla tua porta, costruiscine una. – Milton Berle Inspirational Quote Translation into French: Si l’opportunité ne frappe pas à ta porte, construis-en une. – Milton Berle Inspirational Quote Translation into Japanese: もし機会がノックしないなら、ドアを建てなさい。－ミルトン・バール Inspirational Quote Translation into Czech: Pokud příležitost nezaklepe, postavte dveře. – Milton Berle Inspirational Quote Translation into Slovak: Ak príležitosť neklope, nastal čas kúpiť si dvere. – Milton... read more

Living Costs Around the World – The Costs of Living Vary Dramatically

Apr 22, 2015

Massive Differences In The Living Costs It is amazing how drastically living costs differ around the world in modern-day. Whether you choose to live in America or Asia, your budget calculations can look very different. Let’s have a look at a few examples. Living Costs In North America Living in a tiny studio apartment in Vancouver could cost a small fortune. Meanwhile, the same amount of money could buy you a family-sized house somewhere halfway across the world. America is well known as an expensive country to live in. However, cities in the United States have climbed in the ranking due to the relative stability of the US dollar against other major currencies. This is in addition to the significant drop in cities in other regions. It resulted in US cities being pushed up the list away from one of the most expensive places to live. European Living Costs Four European cities remain in the top 10 list of the most expensive cities. Paris is the most costly European city on the list, followed by Zurich and Geneva. Switzerland remains one of the most expensive locations for expatriates following the slight strengthening of the Swiss franc against the US dollar. Asia and Huge Cities vs. Rural Towns In Asia, it is no surprise that Hong Kong tops the rankings as one of the highest living costs on the planet. Singapore and Tokyo not too far behind. To clarify, it is evident that the more popular and population-dense a city is, the higher the living cost will. In rural areas and farm towns in Canada specifically, the price of a... read more

Personal Growth : Keeping Your Head Above Water

Apr 21, 2015

How Personal Growth allows us to face life’s challenges As people, personal growth is one vital parameter in our lives. Our learning and understanding of life does not end with graduation. It is only a start. It is pretty amazing to realize that there is so much knowledge and so many lessons to learn from life. At universities and colleges we learn the theory, we memorize books and scripts, we learn critical thinking. It is very valuable and it serves us. But at one point in our lives, there comes a moment when education seems moot, all the theory and endless seminars seem distant. Even the greatest professors of the greatest universities do not seem to teach us the lessons of life. Why? Because personal growth takes a lifetime, we can grow if we feel grounded in deep waters just like the poles in this photograph, if we accept the ocean of emotions that is contained within us. Handling certain emotions can be overwhelming and we are not made of stone even though our hearts sometimes act so. We are trees of life that grow and flourish with every breath. We can blossom, we can expand, we can become more knowledgeable and aware. Being able to stand strong, just like the seemingly weary poles in the photo, is one of our characteristics. We can face life and its experiences as calmly as the old poles can handle the waves of blue waters. The Importance of Personal Growth The poles in this beautiful picture may seem rotten, tired and worn out. But there is wisdom in the poles of life.... read more

Inspirational Quote: Check out Our New Positive Message

Apr 20, 2015

Inspirational Quote Translation into Italian, French, Japanese, Slovak and Czech. Whether you are having a bad day or just not in a great mood due to recent obstacles in your life, just remember, you are not alone. We all have daily struggles and those who can draw the motivation from within to push onward and to put there all into each and every day are those who will succeed in their endeavors. Check out our inspirational quote list below for some motivating words that can help you look forward and let go of negative feelings deriving from past events. The future is yours to take advantage of. Let’s inspire and support each other. Let’s share this motivating positive message with everybody. We are always happy to send your translations of the positive messages we prepare for you. Don’t hesitate to contact us and send us more translations. You are amazing! Inspirational Quote in English: Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. – Lyndon B Johnson Inspirational Quotation Translation into Italian: Non possiamo recuperare il passato, ma possiamo vincere o perdere il futuro. – Lyndon B. Johnson Inspirational Quote Translation into French: On ne peut pas récupérer le passé, mais on peut gagner ou perdre l`avenir. – Lyndon B. Johnson Inspirational Quotation Translation into Japanese: 昨日を取り戻すことはできないが、明日は勝利するも敗北するも我々次第である。 -リンドン・B・ジョンソン – Lyndon B. Johnson Inspirational Quote Translation into Czech: Včerejšek již nespravíme, ale zítřek můžeme zvítězit nebo prohrát. – Lyndon B. Johnson Inspirational Quotation Translation into Slovak: Včerajšok sa síce napraviť nedá, ale stále môžeme na zmenu využiť zajtrajšok. – Lyndon B. Johnson Did you liked today’s Inspirational Quote? Follow Us For More! We at LingoStar know... read more

Some Embarrassing Welsh Mistranslation in Europe

Apr 13, 2015

Embarrassing Welsh Mistranslation The supermarket owned by the company Tesco in the UK seems to have bitten off more than they can chew with their attempt to branch out to the Welsh speaking local customers with their embarrassing translation of the text on their cash point machine in Aberystwyth into Welsh. Obviously unaware, the company had actually translated their text saying “free cash withdrawals” to “free erections”. This was embarrassing for the company and caught the attention of many Welsh speakers in the area. The Welsh translation reads “codiad am ddim” which translates to “free erection”. Some locals found the mistake amusing, while others were astonished at how poor of a quality translation the company used. A young man Garin Fitter, 18, elaborated on this after seeing the translation in person. “I am not sure how they came up with it because anyone with a basic understanding of Welsh would know it is the wrong word. “They must have used Google translate. I think it’s quite funny but I know some people might be offended they didn’t bother to check they had got it right.” Evidently, Tesco failed to take into account the ramifications that a poor-quality translation truly could have on their brand image. Although free translation services may be enticing for such a small piece of text, you can see just how detrimental even the mistranslation of a few words can truly be to a company’s reputation. This is why you need to take all of your translations to a reputable professional translation agency, no matter how big or small the translation is. Got Any Stories as Embarrassing?... read more

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