The Difference Between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese

Nov 29, 2013 | Blog

Mandarin is spoken by over one billion people throughout Asia, including China, Singapore and Taiwan. Mandarin has become an imperative language in business gradually replacing English on account of China’s growing economy. However, most people might ask what the difference between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese is and why Chinese people use different written text in different countries. In translation, oftentimes our clients are confused by Mandarin and Cantonese and where Chinese people speak them. We hope this article will work out your questions and clear up some of the complexities of one of the most difficult and oldest languages in the world. Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken languages. Maybe the most confusing of aspect is why we never see the words in either Mandarin or Cantonese, because they are two spoken dialects of Chinese language. Their difference is dependent on the region they are spoken in, not on their written characters. Mandarin is widely used in Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore as an official language whereas Cantonese is specifically targeted in China’s Guangdong Province and in Hong Kong. Simplified and Traditional Chinese are written languages. Written Chinese has been used for several thousand years and was standardized during Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC). Until today, although there are many varieties of spoken Chinese dialects, but there are only two primary written systems: Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Simplified Chinese The proposal for simplified characters started as early as 1906. The purpose of simplified Chinese not only made the characters faster to write and easier to memorize, but also boosted literacy rate. After Chinese Civil War ended in...

Localizing Mobile Apps

Nov 28, 2013 | Blog

“Mobile computers are spreading faster than any other consumer technology in history.” With the fast development of mobile technology and especially smartphones during the last few years, mobile applications have boomed in a way that most mobile users are regular users of mobile applications. This is why app developers are very interested in localizing and translating their applications. It is certain that doing so will reach markets in other languages and countries and augment the number of people who know about and download their apps. To achieve this, it is best to make sure the user experience is up to the standard, in other words, go for a user-friendly localization technique. A mobile user is much more likely to download and use applications that are in his/her own native language, which is why localizing an application starts with translation. It is essential to find a good translator to do the job, as a bad translation is worse than no translation at all: poorly translated content will put off your clients and make them think the app is not worth downloading. Localizing mobile apps does not only consist of translating the information. There are other factors to take into account, for instance, the layout design. Some languages have words that are longer and take up more space than others, like German for example. Also, app developers should look out for languages with different character types such as Chinese or Korean. Localizing your app will make sure your layout design is appropriate for the type of language used while remaining stylish and retaining the original aesthetic. In addition, localizing your app...

Bilingual or Bicultural?

Nov 8, 2013 | Blog

More than half of the world’s population today is at least bilingual. However only a small number of these people will become translators and interpreters. Not everyone who speaks several languages can call himself a translator. It is believed that a good translator needs not only to be bilingual, but also bicultural. If speaking two languages would be enough to be a translator, then anyone with a dictionary would be able to translate. It isn’t the case. Translators do not only translate words. They translate meanings, idioms, and phrases that would only make sense in one particular cultural background. To be able to achieve this, translators must be aware of their second language’s culture. But how does one become successfully bicultural? Multicultural people immerse themselves in the life of two or several different cultures. They take part and adapt their behaviours, values, attitudes to these cultures. It is essential for translators to take into account even the tiniest cultural references when translating a text. Failing to do so can sometimes have devastating consequences. It is also good in general to be multicultural. It can double up your social networks, improve your awareness of cultural differences, and help bridge two different countries that have different cultures. It is also said that being multicultural awards you greater creativity and professional success. It is certain that bilingualism is required for translation proficiency and efficiency. A good translator should be bicultural or multicultural and should be given training in their second language’s cultural background. Should you need a translator for a particular cultural text, here at LingoStar we have a range of native-speaking...

UBC – ELI, HELP, Conferences & Accommodations

Sep 8, 2013 | Blog, Projects

We help University of British Columbia departments educate and inform their students and respective families of program services and updates. We provide on-going translation services to three UBC departments: Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), English Language Institute (ELI) and Conferences & Accommodations, who require yearly updates and revisions to their informational letters and marketing and promotional text into the following languages: French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, German, Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Italian, Kazakh, Spanish and Portuguese, Punjabi, Tagalog. We take extra care to place the translation jobs with local linguists familiar with UBC to ensure consistency and target market...

The Health Team

Aug 21, 2013 | Blog, Projects

With our help, The Health Team promotes health and wellness in the workplace.  The Health Team provides workplace health and employee wellness programs to employers in Canada. Founded over 10 years ago, The Health Team’s mission is to promote good health and well-being in the workplace. For example, they offer a flu-shot program where registered nurses go to a particular client’s offices and distribute flu shots to employees. We help them on an ongoing basis with English to Canadian French translation of informational and promotional material so they can better reach a diverse Canadian...

Panoramic Software Inc.

Jul 21, 2013 | Blog, Projects

We helped Panoramic broaden their business horizons. Panoramic Software is a Vancouver-based software developer of games and applications for mobile devices. Their popular Calc-Pro calculator app reached an international audience after we helped them translate it to Korean, Dutch, Russian, German, European Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, European French, and Japanese. A very challenging subject matter as this app performs highly advanced mathematical functions, so a thorough knowledge of mathematics was necessary to ensure a good quality translation. We were thrilled to hear that the Calc-Pro app reached a number 1 rating in...