Shanghai Nights

• Style: Chinese
• Address: Nelson Street, Bristol BS1 2JT
• Tel: 0117 9450505
• Website: http://shanghainightsbristol.co.uk/
• Valentine’s Deals: none
• About: Part of a leading, family run, Oriental food group established in the South West with over 40 years of catering experience, Shanghai Nights Restaurant offers freshly made dim sums and authentic Chinese cuisine prepared by chefs from China.

El Puerto

• Style: Spanish
• Address: 57 Prince St, Bristol, Avon BS1 4QH
• Tel: 0117 925 6014
• Website: www.el-puerto.co.uk
• Valentine’s Deals: Valentine’s menu.
• About: Ideal place to bring that someone special for an intimate Mediterranean romantic dinner and a few glasses of wine. El Puerto Restaurant ofers a taste of Spain with its traditional  tapas menu, made with fresh and authentic ingredients.

Mazati

• Style: Lebanese
• Address: Small Street, Bristol BS1 1DE
• Tel: 0117 927 7937
• Website: http://www.mazati.co.uk/
• Valentine’s Deals: none. The Chef suggests the platter of 8 mezzes (selection of small dishes) together with a wine from the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.
• About: If you want to try “The true taste of Lebanon”, this could be the right place,  since every dish is created from recipes handed down from one generation to the next. Lebanese cuisine is a fascinating collection of tastes, colours and textures combining the tantalising cooking styles of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The menu is updated regularly and offersa rich choice, including mouth-watering national dishes, carefully chosen mezzes, as well as Mazati’s own signature dishes prepared by the head chef.

Bosphorus

• Style: Turkish
• Address: 31 Marmaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF10 5BZ
• Tel: 029 2048 7477
• Website: www.bosphorus.co.uk
• Valentine’s Special: Valentine’s Set Menu. The Chef suggests the Charcoal grilled sea bass served with salad Izgara Cupra.
• About: Turkish Cuisine is a heritage of the Ottoman Empire and can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. At Bosphorus Restaurant each dish is cooked using traditional ingredients and techniques and are packed full of spice and fragrance. You will also find a good selection of Turkish wines, raki (traditional Turkish spirit) and of course wonderful Turkish Coffee.

Raj Tandoori

• Style: Indian
• Address: 35 King Street, Bristol BS1 4DZ
• Tel: 0117 929 1132
• Website: www.raj-bristol.co.uk
• Valentine’s Special: none
• About: If you like a decent curry, The Raj Tandoori is a popular and well known restaurant in the centre of Bristol. It  has a reputation for good service and good food.

Can you recommend any others? Please get in touch and let us know via Twitter or Facebook

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Shaka Zulu

• Style: South African
• Address: Stables Market, Camden, London, NW1 8AB
• Tel: 0207 428 4922
• Website: http://www.shaka-zulu.com/
• Valentine’s Deals: none
• About: London’s largest South African restaurant opened in August 2010 with a special royal blessing from the Zulu King, HRH Goodwill Zwelithini.
• Set over 27,000 sq ft in The Stables Market, Camden the restaurant boasts carved wooden murals covering every inch of Shaka Zulu’s walls and ceiling. On the lower floor they have a display of 20ft high warrior statues. The main A La Carte restaurant is located on the lower level and features open flame grills and offers diverse cuisine from all parts of South Africa showcasing the originality and flair of the culture. They also serve game meats, such as Kudu, Ostrich and Springbok from Namibia!
• Value: £20-£40 per head

Pearl Liang

• Style: Chinese
• Address: 8 Sheldon Square, Paddington Central, London, W2 6EZ
• Tel: 0207 289 7000
• Website: http://www.pearlliang.co.uk/
• Valentine’s Deals: none
• About: Pearl Liang is an up-market,  stylish, Chinese restaurant located in the heart of Paddington.The surroundings find the right balance modern and Oriental through the use of water features, bamboo and a full room-length painting of Chinese blossom branches. Pearl Liang’s menu is rooted in Cantonese cuisine, although you’ll find chicken satay and Thai green curry too.
• Value: £20-£40 per head#

Cah Chi

• Style: Korean
• Address: 34 Durham Road SW20 0TW
• Tel: 0208 947 1081
• Website: http://www.cahchi.com/
• Valentine’s Deals: none
• About: Time Out call Cah Chi “the jewel in the crown of south-west London’s Korean restaurant scene”.  The mix of incredible food, relaxed atmosphere and attentive staff make this a favourite even amongst Koreans themselves.You can try the classics of Korean cuisine with everything available from kimchi to offal to seafood stew! There is a BYO wine policy too although Korean wine and beer, soju and saké are also available.
• Value: £20-£30 per head

Masa

• Style: Afghan
• Address: 24-26 Headstone Drive, HA3 5QH
• Tel: 0208 861 6213
• Website: none
• Valentine’s Special: none
• About: Maybe not the most glamorous of locations but a hidden jewel for sure. You will be greeted by a spectacular chandelier, wooden furniture and artwork on walls that entice you in.
• Afghani food is a not well know but delicious. A blend of Arab, Iranian and Indian cuisines you’ll dine well on rice, kebabs, curries and mango lassis.  If you fancy some of the uniquely Afghan dishes don’t be afraid to ask for help! It’s not licensed so you can take your own.
• Value: £15-£25 per head

Santa Maria del Sur

• Style: Argentine
• Address: 129 Queenstown Road, SW8 3RH
• Tel: 0207 622 2088
• Website: http://www.santamariadelsur.co.uk/
• Valentine’s Special: £30 3-course special (see website)
• About: If you are a vegetarian, this may not be the place for you. A traditional Argentine affair involves meat, and lots of it! Opened in 2006 Santa Maria del Sur specialise in Argentine steaks. It has a good selection of wines from Mendoza and there are options for vegetarians as well as fish. For a taste of gaucho culture this is the place to come.
• Value: £20-£40 per head

Can you recommend any others? Please get in touch and let us know via Twitter or Facebook

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By way of offering a simple ilustration, have a look at the menu bar below . Lets say Mr Designer starts with the English template and then wants his website to go into Italian, German, French and Spanish. You can see that if he bases his site around the dimensions of the English template, it is not going to work! This is because the translated text has inflated the area he needs for his menu.

The answer to this is not very difficult. Your translation agency or translator needs to know how text will be used and what for. Once the context is understood either they look for alternative translations to fit defined spaces or we work with the designer to create a more flexible layout.

If you need help with regards to web or graphic design please contact one of our team.

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It’s a great insight for those who find the British communication style puzzling at times. We tend to beat around the bush a lot, rely on others to interpret what we are really trying to say and be as polite as we can. For more info on this topic visit our British Culture and Customs page.

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Henry Dreyfuss’ “Symbol Sourcebook”

The tracks were not kept clear and in fact they became blocked. Why? The miners were reading it from right to left!

The explosion of international trade has resulted in new markets, new languages, new cultures and more importantly new ways of thinking. What the above example demonstrates is that cultural differences can impact the simplest of things when it comes to platforms of communication. Whether it’s a website, a health & safety manual, a graphical user interface (GUI) or signage, all in one way or another need to be adapted according to their audience.

Much is written online about the need to localize. Whether it’s locally appropriate translations or the correct use of currencies/units of measurements, the message is clear that designers, marketers and businesses generally need to “act local” to ensure maximum success. However, one area that gets little attention is imagery, graphics, icons and pictures.

Although graphics and imagery do pose certain challenges, they do also present a massive benefit perfectly captured in the well known phrase, “a picture can speak a thousand words”. Graphics have the ability to save on words, bridge languages and timelines. One only needs to think of the globally recognised ‘no smoking’ sign to appreciate its simple power. Using graphics can reduce translation costs, allow for easier understanding and improve comprehension.

Failure to communicate accurately is potentially disastrous. When using images, pictures and graphics, designers need to think about the audience or ‘readers’. One very basic consideration is how someone reads; not everyone in the world reads left to right. Within images it is therefore useful if one uses arrows to direct the eye in the correct order.

So what are some common pitfalls?

Region Specific Symbols

Try to avoid the use of letters, punctuations and other verbal symbols that might only make sense where you come from. The symbol below may very well make sense in Western Europe, but what about in China?

Analogies

Try not to be too clever with verbal analogies. A simple example would be using an image of a mouse to represent a mouse (for your PC). It’s not called a mouse all over the world. Actually try and avoid animals unless you research the associations within a country or culture. In some cases it could be a positive.

Colours

Be aware of colours as their symbolic meanings differ from culture to culture. The Japanese interpret red as anger/danger whereas       the Chinese relate it to joy/festivities. This doesn’t mean colour should be avoided; simply researched and used wisely.

Human Figures

Care should be taken with human representations. Some cultures are sensitive to this; others will interpret images in their own particular ways. In the Islamic world there are protocols around how both men and women are portrayed. If using human figures try to go for neutral, simple outlines of people.

Hands

Following on from the above, hand gestures can also be tricky. One culture’s thumbs up is another ‘**** you’. Hands though are really useful when used alongside objects to illustrate how to open or operate something.

As one can see, there are a few potential stumbling blocks to the use of icons, images, graphics and pictures internationally. However, this should not put people off using them. The message is, ‘use them but take care’. A simple way of ensuring your icon can be internationally recognised to use ISO recognised symbols like those below. They have taken the time and trouble to test them internationally so you don’t need to worry about them.

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Leigh Van Bryan and his friend Emily Banting are not the first people to fall afoul of the linguistic differences between us Brits and our cousins over in the USA. Although we both speak English, we don’t always share the same English, especially when it comes to vocabulary.

The tourists were booted out of the country after the Department of Homeland Security flagged Leigh as a potential threat when he posted a tweet to his mates prior to his trip to Hollywood which read: ‘Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?’  What the Department of Homeland Security didn’t seem to appreciate was that in the UK, within his generation, he didn’t plan to ‘destroy’ America but to party very hard. (Read more about the story here)

So in honour (yes, honour not honor) of Leigh we thought we would spare travelers either side of the Atlantic their blushes with a quick fire guide to Anglo-America words that don’t mean the same.

If you know of anymore, please send them our way to add here (details at end).

• Rubber (USA = condom) – Rubber (UK = eraser)
• Football (USA = rugby with lots of body armour) – Football (UK = what the Americans call “soccer”)
• Fag (USA = homosexual) – Fag (UK = cigarette)
• Bum (USA = homeless person)  – Bum (UK = your bottom)
• Fanny (USA = your bottom) – Fanny (UK = women’s genitalia)
• Knickers (USA = short trousers) – Knickers (UK = women’s underwear)
• Pants (USA = trousers) – Pants (UK = men’s underwear)
• Pot plant (USA = marijuana plant) – Pot plant (UK = plant in a pot)
• Suspenders (USA = braces) – Suspenders (UK = Straps worn to hold up a woman’s stockings)
• Pissed (USA = angry) – Pissed (UK = drunk)
• Power-bang (USA = type of fringe [hair]) – Power-bang (UK = does not exist but would be interpreted as very vigorous sex)
• Chippy (USA = a woman of suboptimal morals) – Chippy (UK = fish and chip shop)
• Tomayto (USA = red salad vegetable) – Tomahto (UK = red salad vegetable)

If you know of any more “tricky” words people should avoid, please email us (info AT kwintessential.co.uk) along with your name and we will publish them here.

For those interested in some more UK-USA vocabulary, please check out these websites:

• Wikipedia – British-American English
• The BG Map – Driving specific differences
• The American’s guide to speaking British
• Dictionary of Slang
• A British slang dictionary with audio pronunciations

written by +Ben Lewis

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On 24 August 2007, Pericard was sentenced to four months in prison after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice. This came after he lied about being the driver of a car caught speeding at 103 mph near Plymouth. He was released from prison on 20 September 2007.

It just so happens that one of the gurus of intercultural communication, Fons Trompenaars, carried out an exercise on this exact same issue. It hits the nail on the head when illustrating how Pericard is not just grabbing at straws in his reasoning.

Known as the “Car and the Pedestrian”, the exercise works as follows:

Scenario: You are riding in a car driven by a close friend. He hits a pedestrian. You could see his speedometer and know he was going at least 50 km per hour in an area of the city where the maximum allowed speed is 30 km per hour. There are no witnesses. His lawyer says that if you testify under oath that he was only driving 30km per hour it may save him from serious consequences.

What do you think you would do in a view of your obligation as a sworn witness and as a friend?
A) Testify that he was going 30 km/hour
B) Not testify that he was going 30km/hour

Well, if you think most people in the world would jump to tick B, then you are wrong – see below. Cultures have different priorities; this exercise was developed to show the compromise people make between protecting a personal relationship and obeying the law. Within the mix are also people’s perceptions of the consequences of lying in a court of law. The evidence clearly shows that in many cultures people see the obligation to the friend as outweighing the need to obey the law.

This is exactly what Pericard is arguing when he made his comment on radio. So in conclusion, yes, believe it or not, people from other cultures really would not know that lying in court is a big no-no!

What would you do? Take our Poll (Facebook page)

by +Neil Payne

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Culture is a buzzword in football circles at the moment. The topic was brought to the fore through the comments of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. Found guilty of racist language against Patrice Evra, Suarez blamed cultural differences and claimed people had misunderstood. Swindon boss Di Canio, who was sent to the stands for overzealous body language in the technical area, recently ranted on BBC “I have a culture, I don’t stop my culture”. Slowly the discourse has turned towards looking at culture clash in football as a serious issue. Of primary importance for lots of clubs is how to help foreign players settle into life in the UK.

BBC Radio 5 Live’s Culture Club covered the topic for over an hour on their 23rd January (2012) show with some very interesting insights from the likes of Roberto Martinez, Julio Arca and Lucas Radebe.

Kwintessential wrote about all of this back in 2006. At that time Shevchenko and Crespo had been flops in the Premiership. Many pointed to their inability to settle as the primary reason. The business world has been more switched onto these issues for a long time. Research has shown that the inability to adapt to a new host culture is the most common reason for relocation and/or business failure. International companies recognise the importance of minimising this risk and as a result invest in relocation or ‘cultural awareness’ programmes. These help top professionals settle into new countries and cultures, as well as provide guidance on how to work effectively with new colleagues.

So for us, it was clear that these footballers were experiencing exactly the same challenges. We wrote to all Premiership clubs, the FA and the PFA. Only Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United responded outlining how they assisted their players. How things have changed. The clubs, PFA and FA have woken up to the fact that you can’t keep bringing in these footballing superstars and expect them to function as normal. Bad PR as well as failed signings are just two of the negative consequences being witnessed in England.

Anyone who moves abroad to another country will face culture shock (see above image). At first everything is new, exciting and colourful. Then you get home sick and start to question why you are there. If the weather is cold and rainy it doesn’t help! Then you start to get annoyed with the new host country and its ways. Finally, if you can get through all of that, you settle down, understand the culture and start to fit in. Relocation or cultural awareness training explains this process so people are aware of what they will go through mentally. Advice is given on how to handle these emotions. On top of that, the training gives them real information on their new country, the culture, etiquette, ways of doing things, etc. It helps them understand their new home that little bit better which helps them settle quicker.

Within the football world there are plenty of examples of players finding life in the UK tough.

Hernan Crespo left Chelsea due to the inability to settle. Crespo found even everyday things difficult because of language and cultural barriers. Speaking of his time at Chelsea he said: “It was a problem for me to sign a contract for a house. It was even a problem trying to use my phone because I couldn’t explain what I wanted. If the electricity bill came, it was a problem as well. Those things would occupy my mind every day. There was nobody to help me. There was no one to tell me whether to live near Chelsea or the training ground. And when you change your country, don’t speak the language and you feel alone, it’s the worst thing.”

Lucas Radebe signed for Leeds straight from Kaiser Chiefs in South Africa. “It wasn’t really easy. I felt really alone,” he told Five Live. He only had the Chief Scout to help him and it was actually hotel staff that helped him settle in and learn more about Leeds. What surprised him about the UK? The work culture, the drinking culture and Yorkshire puddings!  “Here even if players drink too much they work hard.”

Julio Arca (Middlesbrough) has been in the UK now for 12 years and is one of the success stories. “I never spoke English. Culture was different. Everything was different.” He knew it would take time to adapt so mentally handled the loneliness and isolation well. A PlayStation helped him kill a few hours each day. Emerson (also at Middlesbrough) is known to have left the country due to his wife being so unhappy in the UK. Juan Pablo Angel (Aston Villa) grew long hair – but not by choice – he didn’t know how to ask to get it cut!

Ian Rush’s bizarre description of his ill-fated spell at Juventus; “It was like playing in a foreign country” shows British players can be equally ill-equipped for the change in lifestyle that playing abroad entails.

“Out of 10 players who move abroad, only one of them will go on to succeed straight away,” claims  Vincent Pericard who moved to Portsmouth in 2002. “Yet football fans don’t see the potential problems of life as a footballer. When players arrive they’re expected to turn up, play and perform miracles. But without support, it’s not always easy. I see young foreign players struggling with loneliness or failing to settle in an alien country, not just England.”

It is clear that foreign players and their families have trouble with two major issues: 1) settling in and 2) cultural differences. How do clubs help them? Well, not all clubs do. Those that do have a Club Liaison Officer who will help with basics such as housing, schools, phones, utilities, language lessons, etc. Manchester City now actually has a whole Player Support Unit. However, based on feedback from players, the hardest part for them is life outside the club. If you are an 18 year old from Argentina who lived at home, how are you now going to cope with no family, no friends, no Mum to cook your dinner, etc? Are clubs doing enough to help players and their families socialise, find a community and feel “at home”? They need a support network inside and outside the club.

Where clubs aren’t paying attention is with cultural differences. Commentators jokingly comment about players asking where the nearest beach is, not knowing about the congestion charge in London or being shocked at the weather as examples of cultural differences. These are not cultural differences. Cultural differences are areas such as how you treat people, what a society thinks about race or gender equality, approach to time, expectations on hierarchy, etc.

Let’s translate these into some simple examples, starting with Suarez. If he is being truthful and calling someone a ‘negro’ is fine in Uruguay, then he would have soon learnt in some cultural awareness training that in the UK we value diversity and actually have laws against discrimination, even verbal. We are punctual people in the UK and I expect every serious manager wants his players at training on time. There are numerous accounts of players strolling into training late then wondering why the manager is livid. For them, time simply isn’t an issue back home. The British are a funny lot when it comes to communication; we can be direct, indirect and everything in between depending on who we are speaking to, why and where. How can we expect a foreigner to grasp the subtleties of our communication style on and off the pitch? These are a few examples of real cultural differences and the real issues that clubs need to start addressing.

When asked about how foreign players settled into Liverpool FC Gerard Houllier replied; “The players’ country is Liverpool Football Club and their language is football”. This is a romantic and naïve notion. When a business person moves to China from France, do you really believe his/her country will be the company and the language business? Far from it.

Football clubs invest millions in players. Surely it is time to start looking at the transfer process in more detail and working out how to make sure incoming players and their families settle in and are happy?  Clubs, agents, the FA and the PFA all need to communicate and work together to formulate how to a) help players and families settle and b) what kind of help they can offer to address issues like the weather, food, geography and more importantly the subtle cultural differences of life in the UK.

Cultural awareness training is not the solution – it is part of the solution and even then such training needs to be heavily geared towards the footballing world which has its own very unique culture.

by +Neil Payne

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His post-match reaction was typically Di Canio. Interestingly though he was very passionate about his right to express his culture. His use of body language and gestures were interpreted as being somewhat overzealous by match officials. However, Di Canio clearly feels that he can’t help but express his Italian culture, of which a large part is to be expressive vocally and physically.

What do you think? Does it matter that he is now working in another culture? Should we accept that sometimes managers [and players] come from different countries and can therefore act differently? Or, as professionals in the UK should they respect local customs and culture?

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