Every year, thousands of students come to Canada in order to start, continue, or finish their studies. There are many Canadian schools, programs, and careers available for everyone. If you want to study in Canada, you’ll have to find the one that best suits you. You’ll also need to find out, ahead of time, what type of documents in English and French you’ll need to submit to the authorities. Why study in Canada? People worldwide consider that the quality of education in Canada is outstanding — from as early as elementary school to post-secondary studies. In fact, more than 25 Canadian universities feature in the World University Rankings. This is mainly due to their strong focus on research and development. What’s more, the Canadian government offers great support for research in many fields. In terms of economy, studying in Canada is not as expensive as in other countries such as the US or the UK. Tuition fees in Canada might seem rather cheap due to the possibility of applying for a range of scholarships. The aim of these scholarships is to cut down your expenses. Lastly, another reason why you should consider studying in Canada is its safe and peaceful environment. It is the sixth most peaceful country in the world. The process of studying in Canada Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PWPP) allows international students to stay and work in Canada for up to three years after completion of their graduation. Not only can you gain some work experience, but you can also apply for permanent residency after some time. If you’ve decided to apply to study in...
In our last blog post, we talked about the Spanish language, which is spoken all over the globe. This time, we are focusing on the culture associated with it. In this blog post, we set out some of the most popular traditions of Hispanic culture. About the word “Hispanic” and Hispanic culture We use the term Hispanic when referring to people who originate, either directly or through their ancestors, from a predominantly Spanish-speaking country, especially from Spain or a Latin American country. The Catholic religion It goes without saying that Hispanic culture is closely related to the Catholic religion. Take Argentina for example. Jesuit missionaries from Spain introduced Catholicism in Argentina in the 17th century. Since then, the Catholic Church has had a significant influence on Argentina’s history, as well as on the ruling class in the country. There are regional differences in the practice and degree of religiosity in Argentina. The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires. People consider it to be the most secularized region of the country. On the other hand, the provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Tucumán often show a strong sense of religious devotion. One of the biggest religious assemblies in Argentina is Señor y Virgen del Milagro (in English, the Lord and Virgin of the Miracle). People usually celebrate it in Salta. The event contains a large procession of people who walk, bike or ride on horseback from their farmlands and desert towns into the province. It’s also recognizable in a great number of movies or TV shows that include a Hispanic or Latin individual. They tend to carry the rosario (a beaded necklace with...
About the Spanish language Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world, beaten only by Mandarin, English, and Hindi. It is a Romance language spoken by natives in Spain and most Central and South American countries. In Spain, the variant is Castilian Spanish. Let’s talk about the different varieties of Spanish. There are many variations of the Spanish language. You can find them everywhere. Each country has its own variant. In Spain, the official language is Castilian Spanish and it has many varieties. In Galicia, people also speak Gallego (Galician). One of the things that characterizes the language variation in this area is the exclusive use of the past simple. Some languages have past simple and past perfect, and so does Spanish. Read on to learn about some examples! Varieties of the Spanish language: past tenses La Fundéu and La Real Academia Española are some of the institutions in charge of explaining the correct use of the Spanish language. They recommend the use of both past perfect and past simple. However, in some parts of Galicia, Asturias, and in the Canary Islands, people frequently use the past simple. According to some studies, in Spain the past perfect is more common when talking about today or now. Meanwhile, the past simple is used when explaining something that was done: last night or yesterday, for example. So instead of saying “¿Por qué no ha venido con nosotros?” (in English, “Why didn’t he join us?”), the inhabitants of these areas would say “¿Por qué no vino con nosotros?”. Varieties of the Spanish language: expressions In Spain, there is a misconception...
Discover Dutch and Flemish The Dutch and Flemish languages have many things in common. But they also have differences. Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands and one of the three official languages of Belgium. The population of Flanders, a northern Belgium region wedged between the North Sea and the Netherlands, speaks Dutch. However, the variant spoken here is known as Flemish. Flemish speakers account for 59% of the Belgian population. There are four principal Flemish dialects in Flanders. There is Brabantian, Limburgish, East Flemish, and West Flemish. But how do Dutch and Flemish differ from one another? Main differences between Dutch and Flemish The variations of this language don’t lay in grammar. The differences are in vocabulary and pronunciation. Usually, there are no changes in grammar; but in some dialects, the word order can change a little. Dutch speakers generally tend to pause between words; in Flemish, the words are often strung together. Let’s talk about the differences in pronunciation. Even those who don’t speak the language can perceive a variation in the pronunciation of different words. This is because the pronunciation of Flemish is more similar to French than Dutch, as Dutch leans more towards English. One example of this is the scraping G. The further you move south (from the Netherlands to Belgium), the sound of the letter G becomes softer, more like the French sound of the letter. The flow of words also becomes more relaxed. So we could say that Belgium has the softest version of Dutch (at least if we don’t take into account the African variants of the language). Do Dutch...
The vast majority of the people who live in the Netherlands speak English fluently. So do we need English and Dutch translations to target people in the Netherlands? In fact, at 70%, the Netherlands has the highest percentage of non-native English speakers in the world. The Netherlands is the only country in the European Union that doesn’t require foreigners to speak its own native language. This means that if you want to get a job, live, or even go to university there, you don’t need to prove that you speak a minimum level of Dutch. It is true that in most cases, students usually have to prove their language skills in the country’s official language before enrolling at a university; however, in the Netherlands, this is not the case, since many Dutch universities offer degrees in English. So compared to other countries, it is exceptionally easy to live in the Netherlands without speaking the country’s native language. About the Dutch language We may consider Dutch a small or not widely used language, but people actually speak it in several countries: it is the official language of the Netherlands and Belgium, where it takes the name of Flemish. People also speak it in Aruba, Suriname, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Germany, etc. Dutch has its roots in a dialect of Low German and a lot of its words come from English. This is why people usually say that Dutch is a mix of German and English. Dutch has 23 million native speakers all over the world. As we have mentioned before, Dutch is spoken in several countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, etc. However,...
In this blog post, we’re introducing our former French intern who has completed an internship with our company. She’s described the process of looking for a translation internship and what her learning outcomes were. If you’re interested in looking for a translation internship in Canada, read on! Let me introduce myself. I’m a French university student and my mission was to complete an internship in Canada. Indeed, this is a requirement of my translation studies. This internship is part of the second year of my master’s degree in translation. Following a bachelor’s degree in translation (English/Portuguese and French) and then a master’s degree, this internship was the way to conclude my five years of studies in this field. My internship didn’t have to satisfy a long list of requirements. I had to work with one of my languages, evolve in a professional translation environment (translation agency/department or an independent translator) and a professional had to supervise me. Looking for an internship in a translation agency in Canada After an internship with an independent translator last year, it was logical for me to do this one in a translation agency. I wanted to discover precisely how an agency works from the inside, how to manage a project, and also be able to work on a range of diverse projects. Diverse in terms of languages but also services, not only translation but also interpreting, subtitling, and more. I wanted to combine this internship and my desire to discover Canada. It’s for this reason that I started researching Canadian agencies. Finding a translation agency LingoStar is one of the first agencies where...
