Dec 2, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
How Does a Text-Based Medium Work? The link between texts on the Internet is far more obvious than it is for printed text, especially considering that direct links are often embedded right into the text. As users of the Internet, we are conscious that the amount of text we could find on any one subject is virtually unlimited. This abundance and the fact that they appear and are replaced so fast, added to the anonymity of the Internet (we rarely know who the author is) make the information contained in the texts appear less trustworthy than if they were found in print. Therefore, building credibility on the Internet is a major concern for Web content writers. Also, a webpage is read in a different manner than a sheet of paper. The user does not always read the content, but often just scans it. It has been shown that very little of the text on a web page is actually read and that the eyes often follow the same F-shaped directional pattern. Therefore, it is important to locate keywords strategically on the page. To attract and keep the user’s attention as long as possible, it is also efficient to emphasize keywords, to use lists and paragraphs, to write short texts and to stick to a simplified, factual style. In the last couple of decades we have seen the emergence of new forms of art (especially literature) using features of the Web. While it is obvious that taking advantage of the web by incorporating it into your business model is almost a necessity in this day and age to prosper, if... read more
Nov 27, 2014 | Blog, Translation
Translate Henry Ford’s Quote into Another Language Are you interested in applying your language skills and translating today’s positive business message? Or maybe you can proofread one of these existing translations? Make your contribution and share your knowledge. Enjoy being a translator! English Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Whether you think you can succeed in your business, or you think you can’t, you’re right. (Adaptation of Henry Ford’s quote). Czech Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Ať už si myslíte, že uspějete v podnikání, nebo si myslíte, že to nedokážete, v obou případech máte pravdu. (Adaptace citátu Henryho Forda). Slovak Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Či si už myslíte, že môžete uspieť v podnikaní alebo, že to nedokážete, stále máte pravdu. (Adaptácia citátu Henryho Forda) Russian Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Неважно, что вы думаете – можете вы достичь успеха в бизнесе или нет, – все равно вы правы. (Адаптация цитаты Генри Форда.) Dutch Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Als je denkt, dat je een succesvolle ondernemer wordt, of als je denkt dat het niet zo is, je hebt altijd gelijk. (Adaptatie van een citaat van Henry Ford). Japanese Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote あなたがビジネスを成功できると思えば、できる。できないと思えばできない。どちらにしてもあなたが思ったことは正しい。（ヘンリー・フォードの引用の改変） German Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Ganz gleich, ob sie denken sie können im Geschäft Erfolg haben oder sie können es nicht, sie haben recht. (Die Adaptation des Zitats von Henry Ford). Spanish Translation of Henry Ford’s Quote Tanto si piensas que puedes tener exito en tus negocios, como si piensas que no puedes, estás en lo cierto. (Adaptación de la cita de Henry Ford). Italian Translation of Henry Ford`s Quote Che crediate di... read more
Nov 27, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
What Does It Mean to Be a Text-Based Medium? Written text is a very important means of communication on the Internet. Websites without written words are very rare, even impossible (if you consider the URL as being part of the website) to come across. The Internet has been at the origin of a revival of written forms of communication. Text is to be found everywhere on a web page: in the core of it (the message), in navigation tools (menus, links, banners, etc.) and even hidden in the programming code, which generally does not appear on the screen. E-mail has become the primary medium for communication in business (even if phone calls are still favored in some circumstances). Users find e-mailing functional because it is easy and quick, and because it does not require an immediate response from the recipient. Also, it has far more potential than telephone communication (attached files, links, multiple recipients, etc). Due to the Internet, words have acquired a great commercial importance. For example, they are used as keywords that help to reference a web page. These keywords will then be chosen by the user when he uses a search engine. They are also used as tags to classify articles within a blog. Another important use is on online shopping sites, especially when it comes to defining categories in a directory or tagging a product. Even if most users access websites through bookmarks or search engines, the choice of a URL remains a crucial investment for a commercial website. These are a few reasons why major websites often hire linguists to optimize their presence on... read more
Nov 25, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Socializing and Networking for Translators Many translators ask themselves: why should I socialize and network with other translators if I have clients and I am satisfied with my workload? The answer is that the translation industry is constantly growing and changing, and for every professional in this field it is essential to communicate with colleagues to keep track of events and grow with the industry. Networking helps people build relationships and gain trust. Due to networking, people exchange knowledge, experience, and ideas, and this generates new ideas and leads to progress. Social media opens a whole new world of networking opportunities: LinkedIn and Facebook, the two biggest professional platforms, let translators promote themselves, get support from their peers, and keep improving their professional skills. Research related to social networking by Pew Internet Project shows that Internet users get more support from their social ties, and Facebook users get the most support. By networking we mean not only being an active user of social media, but also attending events and conferences. Social media is a pretty abstract tool and it doesn’t always help to make a first impression. However, if you go to translation events or linguistic conferences, you are more likely to meet people who share your ideas and interests. Another way to network is to join a translators association, especially if you are working as a freelancer. For example, as a member of a translators association you can get good legal advice or support before signing a contract with a particular company or starting a new project that will monopolize all of your time. Some of these associations... read more
Nov 20, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Several Ways to Market Translation Services The Government of Canada’s Translation Bureau engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to conduct a benchmarking and comparative analysis study of the linguistic services industry in Canada and globally in 2012. The global language services industry is highly fragmented: there are a small number of large companies such as Bowne global solutions and Lionbridge which account for less than 5% of the worldwide market. The study demonstrated that today the global market includes over 25,000 organizations that offer different types of translations services, often in a limited geographic range. This means that the translation services market is getting more and more competitive each year, and to survive, translation agencies and independent translators need to pay strict attention to their marketing strategies. Independent translators need to be noticed, and one of the ways to do that is direct email. First, it is important to prepare a high-quality digital package that contains information about your education, mother tongue and language pairs, subject areas, translation/interpreting/voice-over skills, contact information, etc. Your documents have to be well organized, with references from clients if possible. Translators should contact as many translation agencies or companies as possible and say that you are available for work. Never forget about networking with people who work with foreign languages, translation, and international business, as they can help you find clients. Translation agencies, in turn, need to keep their websites current to attract customers and update the language list they are working with, how quick their service is, and their rates. It is also crucial to promote their services on social media as one of the key... read more
Nov 18, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Localization Our enormous mysterious world, which in ancient Indian mythology was believed to be resting on the backs of four huge elephants, has turned into something easily accessible due to the Internet and social media. When a business becomes global and wants to connect with customers around the world, in any web strategy, including social and mobile media, localization is the key element. Localization can bring great value to a company. Today, world-class organizations generate more than 60% of their revenue outside of their domestic market by initiating contact with global markets rich with opportunities. In other words, products and services get better results and attract target audiences more successfully when localized versions are available. For many years standardization has been a powerful strategy in consumer markets. However large chains face a huge problem: they have so many outlet stores open that they don’t have any more room to expand. When they find an attractive location to build another store, they face resistance from community activists. Another problem they face is lack of innovation: managers become so focused on meeting tight operational targets that they intentionally avoid any experimentation. Fortunately for companies, the era of standardization is coming to its end with the opportunity to expand due to localization. Retail giants such as Best Buy, Tesco, and VF have benefited from the new system by localizing their products. Focusing on a particular local market means improving resonance, engagement, and commerce. For example, Starbucks and Blackberry feature localized content on webpages aimed at specific countries, and this has increased interaction as much as 10 – 15 times compared to pages... read more
Nov 13, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Freelance vs In-house Translators If you want to build a career in translation, you need to decide whether you want to work as a freelance or in-house translator. What is the difference between these two positions and what are their pros and cons? Translators can either work for themselves as independent contractors, for a translation department of a company, or for a translation agency or organization. Those translators who work independently are called freelancers, and those who work for agencies and companies are in-house translators. An in-house position is attractive because it provides a translator with regular office hours and a stable income. A translator works on texts that the company or agency needs translated, attends events and meetings where he/she discusses large-scale translation projects, and goes to training sessions to learn about new equipment or software tools. An in-house translator has paid vacation, insurance, and other benefits typical of this type of office job. On the other hand, working for a company or agency means adjusting your work style and methods to those of the company, and potentially you could get tired of translating the same type of text over and over. Freelancers, on the other hand, set their own rates and can work whenever they want to, in any corner of the planet. They also must take care of their own marketing, invoicing, accounts payable and receivable, etc. Freelance translators can earn more per year that in-house translators, but their income is variable, and they have to take care of expenses such as taxes, insurance, and other business costs. On the other hand, marketing one’s self is a... read more
Nov 13, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Film Translation While watching a foreign movie with dubbing or multilingual subtitles, do you ever wonder why the film is so successful, even though it wasn’t made in your native language? The answer may be quite simple – it is translated, and translation has certain advantages and disadvantages which can influence an audience’s reaction. This is what we are going to talk about today – film translation. Film has always been a powerful tool and a ubiquitous source of ideas in every culture. Entertainment and business are inseparably bound in this industry. Movies are not just a national property; on the contrary, they go far beyond national borders and attract global attention and recognition, resulting in a huge economic impact for the film industry on the international market. The international market, in turn, cannot be imagined without a team of translators whose primary goal is to establish communication between cultures. During the silent film era, intertitles would be placed throughout the movie to provide the viewer with dialogue. These intertitles were easily replaced by identical titles translated into the target language. However silent films gave way to speaking movies, and film companies faced a huge problem making their movies understood in different countries. American film companies found a solution: they produced multi-language versions of the same film. Actors who could demonstrate proficiency in several languages were in great demand. However, this practice turned out to be absolutely unprofitable, and very soon it was abandoned and replaced with the modes that are being practised nowadays. These modes include dubbing, subtitling, voice-over, narration, and commentary. Dubbing is the process of adding... read more
Nov 12, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Translation Challenges Some people strongly believe that knowledge of two languages is enough for a person to be a translator; that it is easy to take a word or phrase and convert it to another language! We wish everything would be so simple. The history of translation proves that it is much more of a challenge than that. Sometimes a word is simply untranslatable in a target language. All translators can do in this case is give a descriptive translation that attempts to convey the meaning of the original text. Here is a list of some untranslatable words which always puzzle even the most experienced language professionals: Tingo (Pascuense) – to gradually steal all of the possessions out of a neighbour’s house by borrowing and not returning. I am pretty sure that all of us can find at home some things we have ‘tingo’ed from our friends or neighbours! What can be more romantic than waking up early in the morning with the purpose of going outside to hear the birds’ sing? Looks like it is a very common activity in Sweden as they have a corresponding word: Gökotta. Sometimes I am desperately looking for a word that means: a face badly in need of fist. Guess what! Germans actually have this word: Backpfeifengesicht. Maybe in your neighbourhood there lives a very interesting lady, usually old and lonely, and her biggest passion in life is to ‘collect’ cats. Italians call such ladies gattara. Do you know this wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but both don’t want to start? Everybody knows... read more
Nov 6, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Translation to Spanish Spanish is the third-largest spoken language in the world; it is spoken by almost 420 million people. Because of this, translation from English to Spanish is very important for expanding business opportunities. We would like to share some important information regarding the translation from English to Spanish with you. The first point to note regarding translation from English to Spanish is the specific type of Spanish that is required. Translation from English to Spanish is not the same in every Spanish-speaking country. You may already know that Spanish is spoken in more than 20 countries as a native or official language, and each country has its own history, culture and social systems. Needless to say, Spanish in Spain is different from Spanish in Latin America, and furthermore, Latin American Spanish is different in each Latin American country. The word ‘T-shirt’ for example, is translated as ’remera’ in Argentina, ‘playera’ in Mexico, and ‘camiseta’ in Central America and other countries. If you have no clue which Spanish you should translate to, the safest option is to translate into a neutral Spanish that will be widely understood. In addition, translating from English to Spanish entails different levels of difficulty than translating from English to other languages. Which do you think is easier, translation from English to Spanish or translation from English to Japanese? Translation from English or other Western languages to Japanese is not easy, since Japanese has a very different grammatical structure, such as word order and syntax, and no similar words, letters or characters at all. Translation from English to Spanish, on the other hand, looks... read more
Nov 4, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Degrees of Website Localization To make their services attractive for an international audience and encourage cross-cultural communication, companies have started translating and localizing their websites. Website localization is a complex, multi-layered process which must be performed by industry professionals who know how to modify information so that it appeals to the target culture. There are different degrees to which a website can be localized. A basic taxonomy proposes a distinction between monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual sites. Which option you choose depends on the language policy or marketing strategy that your company uses for business communication. Most often, the localization level depends on the importance or size of the local market or audience. Singh & Pereira (2005) suggest five degrees of localization: ‘standardized’ (one website for all countries), ‘semi-localized’ (one site gives information on many countries), ‘localized’ (a whole translated site for each country), ‘highly localized’ (translations and culture-specific adaptations), and ‘culturally customized’ (a new site completely adapted in the target culture). However, we can also find many intermediary stages between these five degrees. For example, general website information can be translated, but specific terminology remains in the source language. Such a concept is called a mode of ‘standardization’. How do organizations choose a particular option? In a market environment, decisions about localization degree highly depend on Return on Investment issues. It means that companies analyze whether the potential benefits of the localization process outweigh the initial investment needed for production of a localized version. What we observe today is that localization is in very high demand and quite profitable because organizations benefit greatly from localized websites effectively communicating their... read more
Oct 30, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Project Management When you think about translators, what do you imagine? Do you see a linguist in a dusty library, huddling over a Latin manuscript, struggling to find a better equivalent to a certain word or phrase? On the one hand, you are right. This is one traditional side of a translator’s working environment. On the other hand, the past decade has seen translation moving far beyond the realm of printed documents into software, websites, databases, and multimedia content. The reason for such changes is the digital revolution, which has given rise to the concept and practice of localization. Today translation is not just a service but a whole industry based on team work, use of the corpus, and informational technologies. The translator needs to develop the skills of a project manager, a computer scientist, a documentalist, an evaluator, a localizer, and a technical writer. In our current international environment, translation agencies now work on massive, multilingual projects. This has made it essential to rely on project managers, who have become an integral part of the translation agency’s workflow as they coordinate the skills, needs, and expertise of multiple resources. Translators and other industry professionals have to work cross-culturally, and professional teams are often geographically distributed. Translators’ working process has to be somehow supervised, and this is where the project manager comes into play. Translation agencies do not perform translation; their main goal is to coordinate translators’ work and to make sure that that translation and localization projects awarded to them by clients are completed on time, within budget and according to the client’s requirements. The translation part of... read more
Oct 28, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
WEBSITE LOCALIZATION The Internet is widely considered to be the most revolutionary technology since the printing press. This era of electronic communication has opened up one of the fastest growing business areas: cross-cultural marketing. As we have discussed in previous posts, it is crucial to make sure your website is comprehensible to those in your target country in order for your company to succeed in both domestic and international markets. Thus, an important factor is translating it into the native languages of your target audiences. The Localization Process However, translation itself is only one part of a very complex concept called localization. To make the website appealing to your target cultures, we need to go beyond translation itself. Localization is a multi-layered process which requires both linguistic and cultural knowledge as well as programming skills. Linguistic and cultural knowledge encompasses language knowledge, expressions , cultural perceptions, senses of humor, and pop culture. In addition, there are numerous other factors to take into consideration when modifying the content of a website. These factors include date and time formats, currency formats, units of measure, paper sizes for print-outs, sound files, legal conventions, and many other details that a company has to adapt to the target culture. However, all of these factors are vital to connecting with your audience. Also important in website localization are design elements like images, symbols, and colours. For example, when adding pictures of personnel it is a good idea to tailor them in such a way that they will look appropriate for the target audience. Just like images, symbols can also result in misunderstandings because a particular... read more
Oct 23, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Multilingual Website Translation Have you ever found a perfect website which contained the information or the product you have been looking for, but the website was in a language you can’t understand? So unfortunate! But here is some good news: multilingual website translation if a service offered by more and more companies. Nowadays most marketers have chosen to adapt the print and broadcasting media to language of their target audiences. However, this does not always happen with websites. More than 70% of Internet users speak languages other than English. Also, online shoppers prefer buying from sites that are in their native language. Nonetheless, translation of websites is not a common practice yet. Should translation of websites be a common practice? The answer is yes. Multilingual website translation will give your business the opportunity to communicate to a brand new international audience in their native language. This will result in creating awareness of your brand, service, or product, and ultimately, to financial success for your company. This is one of the most effective ways of drawing new clients’ attention, marketing your business and giving it international status. Website translation is not only important for the international market, but also the domestic one. Canada, for example, is a multicultural and multilingual country. According to the 2011 Census of Population, more than 200 languages were reported to be spoken as mother tongues by Canadian residents. Making your site multilingual demonstrates your companies’ respect and appreciation towards the entire population, regardless of language and cultural background. Furthermore, website translation removes boundaries and contributes to establishing a more inclusive business standard across the globe.... read more
Oct 21, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
TRANSLATION MYTHS TRANSLATION MYTHS The world is full of preconceptions and the translation profession is not exempt from this inevitable fate. In fact, translators are always engaged in the never-ending battle of educating the customer. Today we want to try to debunk the most common translation myths. First and foremost we have: ‘Everyone who can speak two or more languages can be a translator’. If this was true, the world would be overflowing with translators. Luckily for the actual professionals, knowing two languages does not necessarily mean that a person can translate between those languages. There is so much more behind the mere knowledge of the language, despite the general skepticism of the public. The second fairly common misconception is that translating from one language to another is the same as translating in the reverse direction. In reality, translators should always translate into their own native language and not vice-versa, unless they are perfectly bilingual, which is rare. Third is the ‘translators can translate any subject matter’ belief. Unless they have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything due to extensive studies, translators tend to specialize in only a few key areas. In the same way that a cook or a painter probably wouldn’t be able to discuss the intricacies of engineering, a translator specialized in cuisine or art would unlikely be able to translate a technical engineering text. Another myth that is often the source of misunderstandings is the conviction that translators can deliver any translation within a very short turnaround time. Clients sending a translation request expecting the job done on the following day is a not unheard of. ... read more
Oct 15, 2014 | Blog
SCIENTIFIC TEXTS Scientific texts are one of the most challenging materials when it comes to translation. A linguist has to consider a variety of aspects when dealing with them – the target text has to be more than just a literal translation. Besides the deep knowledge of specific terminology for particular scientific fields, this kind of translation involves quite a bit of localization: unless present in the source text, every ambiguity must be eliminated, measures correctly converted and comparisons often need to be adjusted. For instance, if a French text on glaciers compares the size of an ice field to the size of France, when translated into German, the comparison object may be changed to Germany to sound more familiar to the German audience. However, cross-cultural issues are by far not the only difficulty, nor the biggest difficulty in translating scientific sources. Modern sciences contain numerous fields and subfields; some of the studies deal with a range of highly specific material which may only be relevant for particular countries. For this reason many terms don’t have an existing equivalent in the target language. This is an especially problematic case for a translator, who then has to decide whether to leave the term in the source language and provide an explanation, or translate it and thus create a new scientific term in the target language. Both involve a high level of understanding the material. If the linguist chooses to translate the foreign term he/she has to be absolutely sure that he/she understood its meaning correctly and found a translation that conveys the sense of the word to 100% accuracy. To... read more
Oct 9, 2014 | Blog, Translation
Medical Escort Interpreting Canada has 4.7 million residents who speak a language other than English or French at home. In a multilingual society misunderstandings regularly occur, and in many cases this is understandable and acceptable, but absolutely not in the case of medical care. Miscommunication between a doctor and patient can result in tragedy, that is why medical escort interpreting is a very important field which requires much accuracy and expertise. In January 1980, 18-year-old Willie Ramirez was rushed to a South Florida hospital in a comatose state. During the two days following his hospitalization he was treated for a drug overdose however the treatment showed no results. A routine neurological test ordered by doctors on the second day revealed an intracranial hemorrhage, the result of a burst artery which had been defective since birth – the true cause of the young man’s condition. Ramirez was then given emergency surgery to remove the blood clot. He survived the operation but was left quadriplegic, as the treatment came too late. At the heart of the misdiagnosis lay the language barrier – none of Ramirez’ Hispanic relatives spoke understandable English and the hospital was unable to provide an interpreter. The only clue to the young man’s condition was the Spanish word “intoxicado”, used by his girlfriend’s mother as she tried to convey the cause of Ramirez’ collapse to the paramedics. In Spanish, this word usually refers to food poisoning; the young man’s family believed he was sick because he had eaten an undercooked hamburger at a fast food restaurant earlier that day. Since the paramedics spoke no Spanish and no interpreter... read more
Oct 7, 2014 | Blog, SEO, Translation
Editing, Proofreading, and Post-Insertion Review These three revision processes differ slightly from each other. Editing Editing involves reviewing the content, overall structure, clarity and style of a document. It is the first step following the translation. It consists of rewriting the translation while taking into account the meaning, tone and style of the original text, as well as keeping the target audience in mind during the rewriting process. The translation should read fluently and not sound like a translation. It is important that it sounds natural to a native speaker. The editing process is time-consuming, and can sometimes take as long as the actual process of translating. The editing must be done by a different translator than the one that has done the translation. This is because the second translator will be more objective during their editing process. Proofreading Proofreading goes hand in hand with the editing process. The proofreading process is about checking the punctuation, grammar and spelling of the document. It implies making smaller changes in the translation, for example, making sure that the tenses used are consistent, or that the formatting of the translated text matches the original. A spell check or grammar check function is used to catch any inconsistencies. Post-Insertion Review The post insertion review process involves reviewing the translation after the desktop publishing (DTP) process. In order to do this, the translator must compare the original source text, translation and design file with the translation inserted into a graphic format (i.e. brochure). The translator has to make sure that the translation has been copied to the right place on the page and that... read more
Sep 30, 2014 | Blog, Translation
Translation in Vancouver Schools It is evident that there are an increasing number of children in schools in Vancouver that don’t speak English. Over the years, non-native English speakers have increased in numbers throughout the school boards, and are having a tough time coping with the lack of translation services available in their schooling. The District Panel Advisory Committee has been asked for help numerous times by parents as the population of minority groups has grown at a rapid pace. Recent studies have shown that in some schools in Vancouver as many as 40% of the students need ESL support! Some of the more common languages spoken by the children like Mandarin and Cantonese receive a decent amount of help; however, the rarer languages with obscure dialects are often neglected and the child is essentially helpless. The School Board is recommending that parents contact their principal in order to arrange for third party services to offer translation in Vancouver schools offered at the expense of the administration. This would not only solve the issue at hand, but would also help more foreign students reach their full potential via their schooling and education. Procuring the services of a professional language services agency would definitely be a step in the right direction to ensure that all students are receiving the help they need in their education. Here at LingoStar, we have countless qualified native speakers and interpreters located all across Canada for any type of job, and we can provide language services in over 100 languages as well as English. Call us today or send us an email for a free... read more
Sep 29, 2014 | Blog
Professional translators. As the years have progressed we have experienced an influx of people residing in other countries and continents travelling to settle down and live in Canada for the duration of their lives. With our bountiful resources and employment opportunities it is a great place to live, and as a result, has attracted settlers from all over the globe. Consequently, many areas in Canada are becoming more diverse and multi-cultural, with more languages than just English and French being spoken on a regular basis. Those of Asian descent now comprise a large portion of the Canadian population, and it is evident that there is a communication barrier between some of them and the English native speakers. It is highly advised that corporations start looking for professional translation services and professional translators to begin translating advertisements to Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc. to appeal to this large market that many times is completely left untapped. It is evident that some companies have already started adopting these marketing strategies, and it has proven advantageous for them by allowing their message to reach a more widespread audience. Things like having professional translators to provide menus for Punjabi restaurants, translating websites into Simplified/Traditional Chinese, or even having bilingual tutors available at schools are just a few examples of services that could be taken advantage of in specific situations to optimally provide services to the non-native English speakers that comprise large portions of Canada’s diverse cities. Here at LingoStar, we have countless qualified native speakers located all across Canada for any type of job, and we can provide language services in over 100 languages... read more