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LingoStar’s Blog 
Welcome to LingoStar’s blog! On this page, you can find a lot of interesting and useful information about the translation industry. Explore topics on website translation and localization and how successful localization can influence your business to help your company grow and go global.
Language Blog Topics
On this blog, you can also learn about professional translators and interpreters, multilingual search engine optimization (SEO), the importance of socializing and networking and translators’ professional ethics. Quite often we write posts about the languages of the world, other cultures, and their traditions. Not only do translators convert texts from a source language to a target language, but they also help people communicate with each other, help establish international contacts, and are often prominent figures in the social, economic, and political life. Lastly, of course, we want you to have fun, so on our blog, you can find many posts that will entertain you and, hopefully, make you smile!
We hope you enjoy our blog and discover a lot of interesting things!
Baluchi – بلوچى
Baluchi is a North-Western Iranian language spoken by about 7 million people. Most Baluchi speakers live in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan and it is also known as Balochi, Baloci or Baluci. Originally, the Latin alphabet was used but after Pakistan acquired independence in 1947, Perso-Arabic script was adopted for the written form. In general, the language was identified as a dialect of Persian before the post-colonial period. At the time, it was just an oral language and there was no traditional writing system. There are two major dialects: Sulaymani (Eastern) and Makrani (Western). The Makrani dialect is most widely... read moreAzerbaijani – آذربايجانجا ديلي Azerbaycan
Azerbaijani is the official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is spoken by 30 million people in the world, although the population of Azerbaijan is only 9 million. The Arabic alphabet was introduced to Azerbaijan in the 7th century and used until the 1920s. In 1929, the Latin alphabet was introduced in Northern Azerbaijan in an attempt to avoid the influence of Islam. Then the Cyrillic alphabet was adopted in 1939. In 1991 they switched back to the Latin alphabet once again, but a slightly different version from the one used in 1929. These switches obviously caused considerable confusion! To this day, the Latin alphabet is used in... read moreAssamese – অসমীয়া
Assamese is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India and spoken by 13 million people. In the state of Assam, Hindi, Bengali, and Nepal languages are widely spoken as well. Assamese is closely related to Bengali, and a version of the Bengali alphabet is used in written Assamese. Interestingly, there are only two characters that are different between the two written... read moreArmenian – Հայաստան
Armenian is the official language of the Republic of Armenia and is spoken by approximately 7 million people. Its origin is Indo-European and it does not belong to any other language family. Its dialects are Western, which is originally associated with the Ottoman Empire, and Eastern which is originally associated with the Russian Empire. One interesting fact is that three quarters of the total population of Armenia live in other countries such as Russia, US, Turkey and more. Those who live in foreign countries speak at least three languages. This is why Armenians are known to be... read moreArabic – أبجدية عربي
English Arabic Translation Services LingoStar Translation Services Canada | USA provides professional translation and interpretation from English to Arabic and Arabic to English. Thanks to a well established network of top Arabic translators and linguists we are serving all major cities in Canada – Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and the USA – New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and more. We offer Arabic document translation, English to Arabic website localization and Arabic interpreting services. Additionally we offer Arabic editing by native translators and editors, typesetting by experienced Arabic typesetters and video game localization and voiceovers by specialized Arabic voiceover artists and translators. Our experienced native English to Arabic translators and interpreters are meticulously selected to provide English to Arabic services of the best possible quality for your particular needs! Only native Arabic translators know about the cultural background of the Arabic language and can localize websites or documents for different Arabic speaking countries, e.g. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Arabic speakers in the United Arab Emirates, etc. Our team consists of experienced medical, technical and legal Arabic translators. Our Arabic translators will expertly handle your project in your specific industry. We have completed numerous Arabic translations in these fields and more: • Advertising • Mining • Business and Employment….. • Packaging and Labels • Engineering • Training • Finance • Software and IT • Forestry • Technology • Marketing • Travel and Tourism Furthermore, we also offer Arabic certified and notarized translations for passports, driver’s licenses, divorce decrees, birth and marriage certificates, legal documents, transcripts, diplomas and other Arabic certified document translations. As Arabic is one of the six official languages of the... read moreAmharic
Amharic is a Semitic language and the national language of Ethiopia. There are around 25 million speakers in many countries, particularly in Eritrea, Canada, USA and Sweden. In addition, 7-15 million people speak Amharic as a second language. This makes it the second most spoken Semitic language. Amharic is gendered as are many other languages, but the difference is that male and female nouns and pronouns can also be used to express certain emotions. For example, female pronouns can be used to represent things that are little, cute or delicate or to show sympathy for people. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. As a result, the Amharic language has a long and rich... read moreAlbanian – Gjuha Shqipe
The Albanian language belongs to the Indo-European family but has its own characteristics, similar to Greek or Armenian, meaning it does not have any direct similarities with other languages in the same family. There are two dialects in Albania called Gheg and Tosk. A large river called the Shkumbin River flows through the center of the country and divides the two dialects. Albanian is spoken by 7 million people mainly in the Republic of Kosovo, and also in parts of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Italy. Albanian borrows some words from Greek and many words from Latin. It was also influenced by Slavic and Germanic... read moreAfrikaans
Afrikaans is spoken in South Africa and Namibia by about 10 million people as a first or second language. Several million speakers understand the language on a basic level. This unique language originated from Dutch settlers. It is influenced by Dutch, French, Malay and German, but since South Africa was invaded by England, it is mostly influenced by English. There are three main dialects in Afrikaans: Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern... read moreEnglish | French | Italian Interpreter and Translator
Interview with Matteo, Freelance Interpreter and Translator from English and French to Italian: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? My father is a French teacher. My mother an English teacher. How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Very stressful. Excellent self-marketing skills are essential. Ability to adapt to different situations. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? Study abroad. Attend a good University. Take advantage of multimedia learning (DVD, mp3 etc) What are the challenges of being a translator/interpreter? What are the perks? Handle stress. Find and keep good clients. Remote working. Interesting job. Thank you very... read moreEnglish | Arabic Interpreter and Translator
Interview with Ibrahim, Professional Interpreter and Translator English / Arabic: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I have been blessed with reasonably good knowledge of two languages: Arabic & English, mainly because my early education was bilingual and my university education was in the UK. As a result, I found myself translating or interpreting throughout my academic and professional life, both for business and personal use. Having spent a career in the information technology field, I finally wanted to do something different. A friend who translates in a different language group spurred me to think about translation, and my son-in-law, who is an interpreter/translator, provided the required encouragement and initiation. I have not looked back since! How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Translation turned out to be a highly enjoyable, challenging and complex field; much more than I had expected, proving the adage that the more you know about something, the more complex it becomes. Conversely, we have a tendency to always oversimplify anything we do not know well. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? I began learning English at the age of 10. This is the first rule – start early! If that ship has sailed for you, the next thing you need to do is immersion in the culture of the language you are trying to learn. Live in the... read moreEnglish | French | Spanish | Russian Interpreter and Translator
Interview with Vitaly, Interpreter and Translator from English, French, and Spanish to Russian, and from Russian to English: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? English came easy for me in high school and that prompted me to enter a university in my hometown and study there, majoring in English and doing German as a second foreign language. While in university, I started to offer translating and interpreting services to make some money. I made a final decision to be a translator after graduation and I never came to regret it! Surely, I thought of changing my career several times in my life but it would still be something associated with languages and being around people of different nationalities. How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Looking back now, I can say that overall, a career of a translator/interpreter has met my expectations. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? I believe that the best way to learn a language is in a country where it’s widely spoken. When you are totally immersed in the language you can make fairly rapid progress. I could not afford to travel abroad when I was a student, so I just spent countless hours in the local library reading books, preparing mini-glossaries, staying in touch with my pen pals. I also tried to use every opportunity to talk... read moreEnglish | German | Spanish Certified Interpreter and Translator
Interview with Giovanni, Certified Interpreter and Translator from English and German to Spanish and from Spanish to German: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I wanted to become an interpreter since the early age of 6. My whole family used to watch the Miss Universe pageant on television, and I wanted to be the guy who interpreted for the candidates. I thought that was the coolest job in the world. I’m satisfied with what I do now, but if I had to move to another business, I’d probably open a restaurant where I’d be the cook (or head chef, if you will). How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? It’s been pretty much what I’d expected as a grown up. I enjoy reading and learning about something different every day. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? In my opinion, there’s really no best way as everyone learns in a different way. I went to language institutes, both locally and abroad, but I also spent quite a significant amount of time studying independently on my own. What are the challenges of being a translator/interpreter? What are the perks? There’s more and more competition every day, and computer software is getting better and better and more affordable each time. Perks? Compared to other jobs, translating gives you a lot of flexibility to manage your... read moreEnglish | Russian | German Interpreter and Translator
Interview with Andrey, Interpreter and Translator from English to Russian: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? Actually I did not have much choice; life itself showed me the right way. First I studied in an English-oriented school, the first Minsk “gymnasium”, after that I entered the Linguistic College, where the curriculum included some of the courses of the Minsk State Linguistic University and college students were allowed to start from the third year, missing the first two. Studying there was an immense experience – Minsk University is considered to be one of the best in the former USSR and the student life was real fun. However within the period of 1998-2002 the majority of my mates (as well as those from the school and college) emigrated abroad, as the knowledge of English was a great benefit for that, so the only thing I could do was to stay and support our national translation business. And I like my trade, especially oral interpreting (including simultaneous). How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Actually I’ve never thought that an interpreter should also function as a driver, lawyer, animator and wine taster, at least down here in Belarus. J What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? As far as I am concerned, I studied English in two English-oriented schools and in the university, and I believe that... read moreFrench | English Interpreter
Interview with Michel, Conference Interpreter English / French: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I was the Director of the Vancouver Berlitz Centre in the early eighties and supplying interpreters to conferences in Vancouver when on one occasion, one interpreter cancelled at the last minute and the second was late. I decided to jump in, run to the hotel where the conference was taking place a few blocks from my office and stepped in the booth to fill in. I realized that I really enjoyed it, that I could do it and wanted more. From then on, I kept on doing as many conferences as I could each year in additional to my regular full time job. It also often meant using some of my holidays. Now that I am retired from corporate life, I can work at conferences as often as I’m needed. I could not think of any better job now that I am out of the stressful business world. How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Interpreting for me has remained as interesting and fun as when I started. What is most enjoyable thought is that we are a small group of conference interpreters in BC, all fun to be with, very respectful of each other, forming a friendly and close team of very interesting people. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn... read moreFrench | Spanish | English Interpreter and Translator
Interview with Angela, Interpreter and Translator from French and Spanish to English: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea stem from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I took a course in high school regarding career choices and wrote my final project about those options in which foreign languages (as these were my strongest subjects at school) could be used. Of all the professions I researched, I liked best the idea of becoming a conference interpreter at the United Nations, as it offered the opportunities of a great deal of travel, a good salary, meeting important people who could change the world for the better (by preventing war and promoting peace) and, more importantly, I would be using my language skills to help people communicate with each other. I then planned my university curriculum around obtaining this goal. It involved studies in Vancouver, Quebec, California, Spain, France and the École de Traduction et d’Interprétation in Geneva, Switzerland. If the language career had not worked out for me, I did have a few back-up options, the first of these was as a classical musician since I studied piano up to the A.R.C.T. (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) performance level. More recently, however, I have added language teaching, editing & proofreading, photography, videography, writing, marketing & sales, website creation & design, tour guiding and other skills to my own company’s business package, so as to keep things fresh and stimulating, to exercise different parts of my brain, and to... read moreTranslation Blog and News
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