Archives de Tag: culture

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Regional Languages & Bilingual Complaints

According to the Penarth Times, the town council of Penarth (Wales, UK) will have to translate its Summer and Christmas festival brochures into Welsh after receiving complaints, including from the Penarth Welsh Language Society. Read article here.

The Welsh Language Act 1993, which the town council is subject to, states that organisations must prepare a Welsh language scheme that ensures both English and Welsh are treated equally in public services.

It shows that offering English-only communication isn’t necessarily a great option. Companies, town councils, among others should cater to other linguistic needs. Preserving language diversity is important. As there is a Welsh medium school in Penarth, it does make sense to develop materials in the local language to make sure that the language can be used and practised is all parts of life, not just within the walls of schools.

Did you know that Icelandair, Iceland’s main airline, has implemented a unique program to promote its language to tourists? The airline uses every opportunity to teach its passengers about the national language. From the moment you use the entertainment system to your own cushion, you can learn some Icelandic words.

Promoting local languages is a great way to boost tourism, upgrade your image and offer a one-of-a-kind experience. Think of Ireland. Isn’t it absolutely lovely and authentic to soak in the true Irish culture when visiting a small town where even road signs are written in Irish? After the era of mass consumption, there is now a move back to authenticity and uniqueness. For more info on that new phenomenon, read my previous article about Translation in the Retail Industry about highly personalised offers.

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Halloween Lost in Translation

Every year, the same question pops up again in France: Should we celebrate Halloween?

It is still viewed as an American celebration that has been imported more for commercial reasons than anything else. It is often perceived through a negative prism because it depicts the concept of death in a fun way right on the eve of « La Toussaint », the day when the French honour their loved ones who passed away. Typically, they go to cemeteries to flower their relatives’ graves in a very solemn way. The idea of having fun and mocking death the night before doesn’t sit quite well in the culture. You’ll often hear parents who don’t want their children going door to door to ask for sweets. It is still seen as indecent. As for the Millennials, it is a great opportunity to host a « fête costumée » (a costume party).

But, if we have a closer look at France’s history, Halloween does find some roots in the French past, especially in the Celtic part of the country: Britanny. After all, Halloween derives from the Celtic celebration called Samhain. According to what I’ve read, this Celtic celebration supposedly disappeared from France during the Middle Ages.

Now that it is trying to come back, you need to consider the linguistic aspect. Is there an equivalent to the catchy phrase « Trick or Treat? ». What about the tradition of carving a Jack O’lantern? And the many Halloween-themed recipes online?

Halloween remains a marginal celebration, so the French vocabulary hasn’t developed much.

Want to learn a few Halloween-related expressions in French? Find below a quick glossary.

Trick or Treat!: Un bonbon ou un sort !

Jack O’lantern: Une citrouille d’Halloween (Halloween pumpkin, quite simple really!)

To dress up: se déguiser

A ghost: Un fantôme

A witch: Une sorcière

A wizard: Un sorcier

A costume: Un déguisement (« un costume » also works fine)

A curse: Une malédiction

Cook Up A Storm!

If you really want to impress your French friends and show them the real spirit of Halloween, the way Americans do it, then show them how to host a true Halloween party. Don’t forget to offer some of these great-looking pastries as those shown on this website: http://allrecipes.com/recipes/holidays-and-events/halloween/

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Upcoming Linguistic Events

Find below a list of upcoming events dedicated to languages and cultures. Please note that it is not solely meant for professional linguists. Although it is mainly aimed at translators, LSPs, teachers, or any other language specialists, anyone interested in the subject is more than welcome!

October 2014

15th to 18th | The 5th Int’l Conference on Dual Language/Immersion Education in Salt Lake City (USA)

20th to 21st | Language Education Conference (LEC 2014)  in Nilai (Malaysia)

27th to 28th | International Conference on Languages and the Market: Competitiveness and Employability in Estoril (Portugal)

November 2014

01st to 02nd | AUSIT Biennial Conference’14 Transition Into the Future  in Brisbane (Australia)

12th to 13th | International Conference on Education, Culture and Society  in Toronto (Canada)

December 2014

11th to 13th | 2nd Global Conference on Linguistics and Foreign Language Teaching  in Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

15th to 17th | Int’l Conference on language, literature & culture 2014 in Pune, Maharashtra (India)

16th to 17th | International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education  in London (United Kingdom)

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Language among Top 5 Barriers to Doing Business

The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) published and recently updated its AIBS 2014 report (Australia’s International Business Survey), one of the most comprehensive investigations into Australian international business activity to be conducted in more than a decade.

The survey found that one of the top obstacles to doing business and/or accessing markets is a lack of information about local culture, business practices and language.

Therefore, translation should be seen as an investment, not a cost. Good communication is key to success on a global scale.

For more information, read the complete survey report here.

For highlights report, click here.

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The Art of Translating for the Tourism Sector

It’s official, France is the #1 destination for tourists with more than 84 million people visiting the country in 2013. They’re mostly from Germany, the UK, the US and China. Therefore, offering multilingual content is necessary to properly welcome these numerous international guests. So, if you’re still unsure about your areas of expertise, here’s a sector you should consider. However, translating touristic texts isn’t as easy as it may sound.

In fact, it is a very demanding task involving various notions: translation, localisation, transcreation and adaptation, as explained in this academic paper on quality in the translation of tourist discourse on the Web, by Patrizia Pierini, published in the Journal of Specialised Translation.

Translation is in high demand in this industry, and it includes a wide range of content –  1362514234xwt2dinformational, promotional, commercial. Depending on the aim and scope of the material, a translator has to apply the proper strategy to ensure that it has the same effect on the target audience as the source text did on the original audience. And in order to achieve just that, there is no such thing as a standard procedure; and the exact purpose of the communication strategy has to be clearly established by the client so that the translator can take the proper decisions. He/she may need to adapt/localise the text – changing currencies, dates, the measurement system (metric, imperial) – but also ensure the proper tone is applied (depending on the target culture, the source text may be considered too straightforward and aggressive, requiring an important stylistic realignement).

The ultimate goal is to create the same effect on the reader – persuasion – in order to enhance the client’s conversion rate and turn readers into paying customers. In that regard, Pierini mentioned the AIDA approach ⎯ capture Attention, create Interest, increase Desire and motivate to Action.

Every translator working on this type of content has to constantly keep in mind the socio-psychological needs of the potential tourist. One has to strive for a translation that sounds like an original text, not a translation. And that’s why clients need to think local. Indeed, for a touristic text to be persuasive, it has to be relevant to the target audience, not foreign. And only a native has the extensive knowledge needed to convey accurately every nuance and localise appropriately.

Localisation – What does that mean? Pierini gives a compelling answer:

Localisation involves taking a product and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locale (country/region and language) where it will be used and sold. For example, the French spoken in Canada is a different locale to the French spoken in France.

According to a recent survey by TextMaster, mistakes and errors in translation account for a loss of about €120 million each year. So, a competent translator with excellent writing skills can seriously consider this sector a viable option!

Ready to make people dream?