Jul 10, 2014 | Blog
Language Translation Service We are living in a more and more globalized world, people tend to move to different countries much more than they used to do and this leads to having highly linguistically diverse cities all around the world. For example, in the United-States, more than 20% of people do not speak English at home. To reach these people, you may need to use a language translation service. So what are the main language melting pots on the planet? *New-York, US In New-York, over 800 different languages are spoken. Therefore, this is the most linguistically diverse city in the world. It shows in the subway, where the information signs are written in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Italian, German and even Hebrew, It’s the perfect example of a situation where you may need to use a language translation service. *Manchester, UK In Manchester, you can hear more than 200 languages. This city is the most linguistically diverse city in Western Europe. You may need to use a language translation service to translate your files into these languages . Around 4 out of 10 people speak at least one language other than English. The most common languages there are English, Urdu, Arabic, Chinese, Bengali, Polish, Panjabi and Somali. *Toronto, Canada In Toronto, there are over 150 different languages spoken. This is the most linguistically diverse city in Canada. 45% of the residents speak a mother tongue other than French or English, which is likely to be Cantonese, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Mandarin or Portuguese. To reach these targets, you will need to use a language translation service.... read more
Jul 8, 2014 | Blog
Call-Center and Mistranslation. *Lack of language skills On one hand, the employee’s accent has to be easy to understand for your customer. You can achieve that by resorting to accent neutralization training. On the other hand, the employee has to be able to understand the caller perfectly as well. This is essential and they must be able to communicate effectively to avoid any mistranslation. *Lack of training Employees need to have sufficient knowledge of the product or services involved that they are selling, all the more if they are not available in their home country. It is important that they are experts of your industry, not to rely too much on scripts, and are able to manage efficiently the requests of the clients who are calling to avoid mistranslation or misunderstood. *Cultural differences Many behaviors your clients expect from a customer service employee (extra-politeness, empathy, etc.) are not common among foreign employees. You have to train them so that these behaviors become natural for them. *Poor location In some countries, the wages are low, which can be attractive. However you also have to take into consideration the government stability and the economic situation to make sure that hiring employees from those countries will not affect your business in the long term. *Lack of security The call center should have security guards on-duty 24/7 to provide a safe workplace for employees and to protect your data. You should also have the employees sign a nondisclosure agreement. If you are planning on outsourcing your call centre overseas and need documents translated, call LingoStar today or send us an email for a... read more
Jul 7, 2014 | Blog, Language Services, Tips, Translation
How valuable is website translation? Do you know how much international traffic your website gets? Have you ever asked yourself how much more it might receive if it was translated into multiple languages? A world class translation service with linguists and professional translators at its disposal can be worth its weight in gold. The fact is, in today’s global markets, a multilingual website is increasingly valuable. Its importance is such that it requires the dedication of professionals–human and not simply machines–to craft and perfect its message to appeal to local markets and effectively market to them. On the importance of human, professional translators There are many benefits to a well-translated website. Firstly, it has an authoritative advantage over competitors who may not rely on a professional service. They may rely on crowd-sourced or automatic translation. This is risky, however, because incorrect and even improper translation can undermine a company’s authority by making them appear ignorant or inept. Few would call the Coca-Cola brand and its marketers inept, of course, but even such major companies have endured language faux-pas and accidental mistakes that actually made headlines. Not so long ago, Coca-Cola spent a considerable amount of money printing signs that sounded like their brand name in Chinese but the wording actually told consumers to ‘bite the wax tadpole.’ Why use a translation agency? Some companies may choose to hire their own translator, but there are added benefits to working with a translation service. For one, website translation typically requires ongoing maintenance. Each time you add new content to the site, it will require professional translation. A translation service has teams... read more
Jul 4, 2014 | Blog
Scammers: A real danger? What is their basic mode of operation? Scammers steal resumes from professional translators. They replace the email address on the resume with their own and even change the name for a fake one sometimes. They also replace the phone number with an IP (Internet Protocol) phone number. Once this is done, they respond to online job offers with this fake CV or spam clients in order to get translations jobs. How do scammers find those translators’ resumes? They create fake translation companies with fake names, addresses, emails, etc. in order to receive resumes from new potential employees. Once they have them, they attempt to get translators to sign authorizations to use their resumes. Translators have to be very careful. On one hand, because their names can be used without them knowing it to do all sort of things they cannot control. Their reputation of being good translators can be severely endangered on the internet. On the other hand, because fake agencies try to appear legitimate by asking translators for test translations and having fake profiles on translation forums. How do those fake translation agencies work? They either translate with Google translation or send the job to the cheapest translator they can find, who is likely to be a poor translator and not to get paid in the end. This is why they either deliver nothing or a useless translation to the client. In the end, the invoice is sent from an unidentified PayPal address and if the client refuses to pay, the fake agency starts to threaten them. This is why clients should turn to... read more
Jun 27, 2014 | Promotions
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Jun 13, 2014 | Blog
Endangered languages. Endangered languages, are those languages that are at risk of falling out of use, as their speakers die or start to speak other languages. Nowadays, languages are becoming extinct at an accelerated rate due to globalization. Economically, powerful languages dominate others that eventually disappear. Since this truly arms the cultural diversity of the world, measures are implemented to save them. Many projects are aimed at preventing or slowing this loss by revitalizing languages. This means having adults acquire the language, creating a population of active speakers and encouraging literacy and use in education, in the workplace and in government services. This is above all implemented in countries that have indigenous communities. Areas of the world with a high number of languages nearing extinction include Siberia, Northern Australia, Central America, Southern South America, the Northwest Pacific Plateau and Oklahoma. Here are some examples of endangered languages throughout the world: Dumi in Nepal, Ongota in Ethiopia, Njerep in Nigeria, Lemerig in Vanuatu, Kaixana in Brazil and Taushiro in Peru. Here at LingoStar, we unfortunately do not have translators for those endangered languages, but we do have translators for over 100 languages as well as English. Call us today or send us an email for a free... read more
Jun 12, 2014 | Blog, Language Services, SEO, Tips, Translation
Everyone is concerned about search engine optimization today. Whether based on Main Street or in foreign capitals near and far, businesses and organizations value their page ranking immensely. Every company would prefer to be found on page one of a Google search and not buried ten pages deep where few searchers take the time to reach. Therefore, companies that want to maintain their ranking or climb to that number one spot must regard SEO seriously. While the placement of video content on a website is a great way to diversify content, and most likely the best way of interacting with your potential audience, that video might not be working as hard as it can if its translation isn’t prepared with SEO in mind. Just like text-based content, your online video translation can benefit from SEO where it can better support the website ranking. Many companies wish to have their video content translated for use in international marketplaces. The most professionally wrought translations, of course, can be obtained by working with professional translation solutions providers. Not only can you expect accurate translations, you’ll benefit from their SEO know-how. The fact is if you are going to have your video content translated, you may as well make sure the translation is SEO -friendly in order to better enhance your online presence. Whether it is voice-over translation or use of multilingual subtitles, your online video translation will support your website when that translation is made with SEO in mind. Because search engines like Google will index the video translation, this translated text can influence page rank. With more traffic to your website... read more
Jun 11, 2014 | Promotions
ENHANCING STAFF COLLABORATION WITH EFFECTIVE MULTINATIONAL TRANSLATION COMPANY In a multinational company, there can be many languages being spoken. Nevertheless, you have to be able to communicate effectively with everyone for the company to run and for your employees to be engaged. This is why the role of translation and translation company in this environment is very important. When a new employee joins the company, you want them to know as precisely as possible what their role will be, so they can be as productive as possible as early as their first day at work. If their predecessor was working in a language different from theirs, any important documents they have to take into consideration should be translated professionally by a translation company. You can also create a database with FAQs and all the documents translated by translation company, available in all the languages your company works with. This way, employees will be able to solve simple and repetitive problems by themselves. This will make them feel more comfortable and they will become more committed to their work. Translations done by Translation company ensure input from your entire workforce. Here at LingoStar, we have translators from all over the world able to work on any business document. 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
Jun 9, 2014 | Blog
History of French throughout the centuries – French Translation In the 13th century French was the most spoken language throughout Europe and it started to be used for diplomatic affairs between several countries. During the next centuries, as France became a world leader, people tended to learn more and more French, and little by little, the language replaced Latin. In the 17th century, the pre-eminence of Louis XIV (the “Sun King’) consolidated the position of French. It became the language used for international communication and it started to be referred to as the language of diplomacy throughout the world. Its strict rules of syntax and its vocabulary supervised by the Académie française allowed speakers to produce discourses that were both precise and accurate. However, after 150 years of French diplomatic predominance, the popularity of the English language rose and it took over the role of the international language of diplomacy in many parts of the world. Nowadays, the French language still plays a part in international relations: it is one of the UN official languages and is the official language of many countries. In addition, most diplomats in the world have a good knowledge of French. If you want to travel or work abroad you may need to have a french translation of your documents. Many documents are written in French, and whether they are diplomatic documents, legal documents, business documents… Here at LingoStar, we can offer a high quality of services from and to French. Call us today or send us an email for a free... read more
Jun 3, 2014 | Blog
LANGUAGE APPS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS BC *Word Lens Word Lens instantly translates printed words using your built-in video camera. You can also look up translations by typing them in. Up to 6 language pairs are available. This Language apps is easy to use and no network is required. *Lost in Translation Lost in translation, allows you to translate from one language into one or more of the 36 languages offered. This language apps remembers your most recent 50 translations so that you can easily reuse them. The result of the translation can be copied and sent via sms or email and you can also hear how to pronounce it. *Google Translate Google Translate directly translates speech and handwriting from and into 80 languages. You can then listen to your translations spoken aloud. You can also start your favorite translations for quick access even when you are offline and view dictionary results for single words or phrases. *Duolingo Duolingo is Apple’s 2013 App of the Year and one of the best language apps available. It allows you to learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and English in a fun way for free. You also have the opportunity to translate real-world texts in the language you are learning. Of course, if you need a professional translation of a business document, you need to turn to a translation agency. Here at LingoStar, we have specialized translators from all over the world able to work on any technical document. 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
Jun 3, 2014 | Blog
Mandarin Classes Vancouver BC Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken first language in the world. Mastering this language allows you to communicate not only in China, but as well in Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Mongolia. Since the economies of these countries are becoming more and more important and we trade a lot with them, it might be a good idea to have Mandarin Chinese taught to your child. So, how can you do this in a cost-effective way? Here is the link our website, where you can find more information about Mandarin Chinese: https://lingo-star.com/mandarin-chinese-translations/ A Mandarin Chinese nanny for your baby Hiring a Mandarin Chinese speaking nanny might be what you are looking for. Not only do they take care of your children, but they also will speak Mandarin Chinese around your child consistently, which will eventually rub off and be absorbed by the child. Children pick up languages very easily, all the more when they are under 6 or 7 years old. They quickly become fluent and speak with no accent, even in Mandarin Chinese. However, after this period of time, it becomes harder for them to learn a new language, this is why hiring a foreign nanny is one of the best ways to learn a language. Here are some tips so you can make the most of this opportunity. Make sure to check the nanny’s qualifications, previous experience and references and, if necessary, have her diplomas translated by a translation agency (teaching qualifications, driver’s licence). Here at LingoStar, we have specialized translators from all over the world able to accurately... read more
May 31, 2014 | Blog
Newsletter – May 2014 Dear language friend, This month, we remember the 8th of May, the end of the Second World War. This day is called the Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) and is celebrated as a public holiday in several countries in Europe. The celebration’s date may vary according to the country. For instance, Italy’s Victory day is on April 25th and Denmark’s one is on May 5th. Now let’s remember what happened 75 years ago. 1939: the beginning of the war In 1933, Adolf Hitler was governing Germany after having won the democratic elections. His political party (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) promoted anti-Semitic and colonialism propaganda, people admired his speeches and supported him in his quest to get all the German speakers united in one nation. In September 1939, he decided to invade Poland: France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. After several months without activity, called the Phoney War (the ‘sitting war’ in German and the ‘funny war’ in French), Germany attacked France. They arrived in Paris and made France capitulate in June 1940. Until 1941 Great Britain fought alone. When the war globalized, in June, the USSR declared war on Germany after it had been invaded by the Wehrmacht (German Army). In December 1941, Japan attacked the American naval station in Pearl Harbour which caused the start of war in the United States. The war then turned global and fights were no longer just taking place in Europe. The 1942 turn and the Allies’ response With the involvement of new countries, 1942 would be the last year the Axis Power (Germany... read more
May 23, 2014 | Blog
VIDEO, SCRIPT TRANSLATION BC Fansubbing for video and script translation is a current practice where fans of foreign television programs do the translation and subtitle the latest episodes released. This phenomenon appeared in the late 80’s in the USA with Japanese animes. There were tensions between the Japanese producers and the American distributors who, for instance, were cutting some parts of the episodes for budget reasons. The low quality of animes led to the development of the fansubbing. The fans decided to go find the original video and to make their own video and script translation. The Fansubbing: A new way for the video, script translation Good or bad quality? Fansubbing is not necessarily synonymous with bad quality. Some communities of fansubbers have established rules to provide the best quality to the watchers. For example, it is always the same persons who do the multilingual subtitling and the proofreading for a same series in order to be consistent in the translation. Of course, some practices do exhibit the bad quality of amateur subtitles. For example, sometimes the goal of the fansubber is not to provide a good quality translation, but only a fast translation for the fans who want to hurry to watch an episode of their favourite show. What is the impact on the subtitling companies? It goes without saying that this practice receives critics from the professional associations as the fansubbers provide the subtitles for free. It can be also a cause of the deterioration of professionals’ working conditions with the foreign studios competition. But, fansubbing also brought some positive aspects. The spread on the Internet of... read more
May 16, 2014 | Promotions
New words are constantly created and used in the daily life. But they are not all in the dictionary, but how does it get entered in? Every dictionary is updated each year by the editor and the research offices. A lexicographer is a real language observatory which spots, captures and selects the new words, the new expressions and also the new sense of variations that have appeared for some words. Here is the list of all the people who contribute to updates of the dictionary. Lexicographer A lexicographer is a ‘A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge’ (Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language, 1755). He analyzes corpus and context, does research in other dictionaries, and is specialized to know all the different meanings of a word. Documentation Documentation concerns all the work done to track all the new words or the new uses of the same words. When we read, listen to radio, watch TV, or even when we are talking to someone, we observe new words uses or neologisms (the coining or use of new words). The person in charge of documentation will track down new expressions, phrases and new word classes (for instance when a noun is employed as an adjective). The lexicographer can use any support, ranging anywhere from the Internet to a shopping catalog, which is a helpful source of daily terms. Once the choice of the new words is done, they can be submitted to the editorial office. The new words New words are appearing each day. Most of the time, they are relevant to IT technology. As they are in English, all... read more
May 12, 2014 | Blog
Certified immigration documents for immigration purpose. It is no doubt that work is one of the necessities in daily life. People usually consume around one third of the time in a day at work. Usually form morning to afternoon, people devote considerable effort to the company. Therefore, the environment of the workplace is very important because it influences their quality of life. Work environment differs depending on companies or cultures. For several reasons, you may have to work abroad and discover a new culture, a new way to work or live. As an immigrant you will need your certified immigration documents translated by certified translator. Here at LingoStar, we provide these services. Here are some examples of differences of work environment between several countries. Europe In Accordance with French labor law, to work 35 hours a week is decided as a standard. But people often make a contract to work 39 hours a week including 4 hours over time work, so people usually work 7 to 8 hours a day on each weekday. Regarding long vacations, French law decided that people can take a 5 week continuous holiday. Other countries in Europe have a similar rule, hence why European countries can be good locations to work at. If you want to work in Europe, you will need your certified immigration documents translated from English to French, Spanish for example. North America In the U.S., for the most part, people work 8 hours a day, but some people work more than 10 hours, or even exceed 12 hours a day. They are motivated to work hard to reach their goals because... read more
May 5, 2014 | Blog
Chinese language all over the world. Chinese business is growing day by day in North America. With the huge influx of Chinese immigrants into North America, translating your English source documents into the Chinese language, will help your business grow and make a favorable impression on the Chinese market. In China, there are 2 Chinese languages which are Mandarin and Cantonese. Mandarin is mostly spoken in Northern and southwestern China, whereas Cantonese is mostly spoken in mainland China. If you are planning to expand your business in China, it is very important for your organization to communicate with Chinese people in the Chinese language. Chinese language at LingoStar. We at Lingo-Star Language Services can help you with your document translations in all Chinese languages. All of our translators are native Chinese speakers and have over 5 year’s translation experience. Don’t hesitate to contact us We take quality very seriously and promise our clients that we will deliver only great quality translations for their documents from or into Chinese language. We can also help your organization with typesetting and localization services. We have worked for over 2000 clients and have helped them to expand their business operations globally across the world. Please contact us today and get a free quote for your document translation into Chinese... read more
May 1, 2014 | Blog
Even though there are differences between cultures or backgrounds, some proverbs have similarities because different cultures may have similar ways of thinking. Especially when there is a relationship of ethnicity, more similarities are found in proverbs. For example, the English proverb “Anyone can make a mistake” changes depending on the culture expressing it. See below for an example of this: English: Anyone can make a mistake French: l’erreur est humaine (The mistake is human) Latin: errare humaum est (The mistake is human) Chinese: 智者千虑, 必有一失 (Even the wise are not always free from error) Japanese: 猿も木から落ちる(Even monkeys fall from trees) Differences: Sometimes proverbs have completely opposite meanings depending on countries or the area. For example, there is an English proverb ‘The Squeaky wheel gets the oil’. The idea of this proverb is that people who keep drawing attention to themselves are more likely to get attention. But on the other hand, there is a Japanese proverb ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down’ because in Japanese society, people who stand out are often hated, or disturbed. Because humility or modesty is a virtue in Japan, their very similar proverb has a completely different meaning in comparison to the English version. As there are countless languages in the world, proverbs are everywhere in the world. Most of them are straightforward and often show characteristics of nationality, so they can be utilized as a source of good educational material to learn about different cultures. Here at LingoStar, even though there are vast differences between cultures, we can offer a high quality of services in various language services. Call us today... read more
Apr 29, 2014 | Blog
Finding a professional translation company that you can trust entirely is not an easy thing. Trust is everything, don’t dive in and choose a translation company that you are not 100% sure about. It is your document, and ultimately your reputation on the line. Quality is everything and at Lingo-Star we can guarantee you that you will receive high quality Punjabi translation services. There are about 600,000 Punjabi speakers in Canada, which is about 2% of the Canadian population. Punjabi is mostly written in the Gurmukhi script from left to right. Our Punjabi translators work in sectors including business, medical, oil and gas, legal, financial, technical, engineering and many more. Lingo-Star Promise: – Our Punjabi translations are quick, efficient and reliable – We only use professional and experienced Punjabi translators with at least 5 years’ of experience – We will offer competitive translation rates – All of our Punjabi translators are native Punjabi speakers and provide high quality translation work Lingo-Star offers document translation, website translation, email translation, certified translation, business translation, manual and catalog translation, online translation, patent translation and software translation in... read more
Apr 25, 2014 | Blog
It is no doubt that English is one of the most used languages in the world. It is spoken as an official language in more than 50 countries, and widely learned as a second language because of its usefulness. But the education of English differs depending on the country because of an assortment of reasons. Here are some examples: China The Chinese government initiated English education in elementary schools in 2001 aimed at getting their students to gain practical use of English. Even though there is a slight gap in the education between urban areas and rural areas, some schools hire native speakers to enhance their students’ ability to speak English. Germany Each province in Germany has most of the authority regarding English education, so each province has different styles in the way they offer English education. Approximately half of the provinces offer only English education. On the other hand, some provinces offer Italian, Russian, or French education. Education places an emphasis on listening and speaking more than writing and reading skills to enhance cross-cultural communication. Netherlands English education in elementary schools in the Netherlands started from early 1970. English class is offered 4 times a week, and it is a popular subject for students. Students don’t learn English grammar in a school. They just listen to English, and an emphasis is placed on speaking. Lots of teachers in the Netherlands are fluent speakers of English, so they mostly don’t hire native speakers of English. France Education of foreign languages started in the 1960s in France. Now education of English starts from elementary school (from 6 years old). After... read more
Apr 15, 2014 | Blog
Do you want to be a translator? If you are interested in language, you might have thought about it. Being a translator is an ideal job for those who have a love for language. But of course, a high level of expertise is needed to do this job, so intensive training is needed to work as a professional translator. There are a lot of fields stemming from a job as a translator, and the requirements of translation are different depending on what kind of translation is needed. Here are some examples of different translation fields: Business Translation Contract, financial statement, manual, catalogue, pamphlet, advertisement, business letter etc. Accuracy is the most important requirement in this field. As well as fundamental knowledge of the business field. Translators should also know details pertaining to specific differing fields such as finance, marketing and their corresponding terminologies necessary to improve a quality of translation. Mistranslation in this field may cause serious issues and negative ramifications for a company. That is why accuracy is essential in this field. Literary translation Plays, novels, short stories, poems etc. As well as simple translation, translators of literary translation should include feelings, nuances, humor etc. in a text. Also, wide ranges of knowledge are required in regards to slang, jokes, fad words, history, custom, culture etc. That is why it is considered as one of the most difficult forms of translation. Compared to another field of translation such as business translation, only a small number of people can work as a literary translator because of its difficulty. Visual media Translation Subtitle, dubbing, voiceover etc. This type of translation... read more