As we say goodbye to Fabio Capello, as has become routine with the resignation or removal of an England Manager, the country rejoices in the loss, castigates their work and hastily welcomes someone new, who they ‘know’ will do a better job.

Yesterday’s news of his resignation has brought a mixed reaction. Many have been quick to reflect on his failures (South Africa 2010), unpopular decisions (backing John Terry as Captain when the FA did not) and are jubilant at his departure. On the other hand we’ve seen many of the players expressing their regret to see him go.

The press paint a picture of an undoubtedly good manager who didn’t quite get it right with England, echoed by FA chairman David Bernstein stating that he was expensive but not a mistake.

Poor communication

My view of Capello is of disappointment. Being bestowed the respected position as England manager it is expected and important if you are not English to embrace yourself to some extent in the country, if for nothing but to understand the mentality of the players and aid communication with them.

Even if the team fails to benefit, absorbing the culture will bring a sense of satisfaction to the time spent in England.

Reluctance to learn English

Capello, however failed to learn the English language and notably stated that to discuss tactics with the team he only needed to know a maximum of 100 English words. This evidently is an exaggeration as we know his English is not as severely limited as that, but it represents his unwillingness to learn. He believed that not being able to communicate fluently with his players doesn’t hinder his ability as manager to lead them.

I think we need an English manager now, we don’t need anything else lost in translation – Rio Ferdinand

Maybe if he had taken some time (and a percentage of the £6 million a year he was paid) to improve his English we would have managed to succeed and not just qualify. A home grown manager may not share his experience and success rate but can appreciate the significance in his role, relate to the players and communicate with them in more than 100 words.

Mike Norrish discusses a few contenders to the 100 word glossary Capello needed to manage the England squad which we have borrowed below and Tim Dowling considers other professions where such limited vocabulary may suffice. What words would you add to the list?

Fabio Capello’s Essential English:

Armband, Agent, Average

Bib, Blame, Banter, Beer, Belief, BlackBerry, Basics

Contract, Corners, Cuckold, Cross, Cristal

Defeat, Diet, Dubai, Defeat

Early (doors, exit etc), Effigy

Failure, Fear, Fans, Fumble, Fundamentals

Golf, Gambling, Gaffe, Gaffer,

Hotel, History, Hoof, Hummer, Hamstring, Hype,

Injury, Insult, Injunction (super), iPad, iPod, iPhone,

Lions,

Money, Media, Mentality, Merked, Massive,

Nando’s, Nike, Niggle, Nobu, Nonsense (no-), No,

Overhype,

Psycho, Psychology, Pass, Pasta, Press, ProZone, Possession, Problems, Practice, Penalties, Pressure, Pegs (round),

Square (holes, Soho), Shoot, Save, Sorry, Schoolboy,

Tantrum, Tweeps, Technique, Tournament, Truth,

Underachievement, Under21s,

Victory, Valour, Vision, Vainglorious,

Waste, Why?, Winger,

Youngsters,

Z-list.

I’ve been a student of marketing since before I can remember, not a full time student you understand. But I remember as a child looking at advertising and wondering why certain things worked while others failed.

Later in life when I made marketing my career, I was pointed in the direction of David Ogilvy, by my first Marketing Director, and I’ve never looked back.

David has been described at the template for the characters in Mad Men, but that does him a disservice. David Ogilvy was a plain talking no nonsense genius at advertising and the art of persuasion. His book Ogilvy on Advertising, while now very dated (no web when it was written), still sits on my shelf and the ideas are still relevant to today’s marketing and advertising.

Some of the best advice he gives is on writing, something everyone assumes they can do. But it’s not as easy as it seems. I’m still learning and will continue to learn ‘til the end

David Ogilvy on how to write

On September 7th, 1982, Ogilvy sent the following internal memo to all agency employees, titled “How to Write”:

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well.

Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

David

Thanks to the best website on the internet, Brain Pickings, for highlighting this memo.

Over the past four months, the Leeds office of Global Lingo has expanded massively to take on a huge increase in the amount of transcription, translation and interpreting work they have secured.

Huge coup supplying translation services

Andrew Trotter, Global Lingo’s founder and Managing Director, commented: “Towards the end of 2011 we secured a contract to supply translation services to one of the world’s largest oil companies, this was a huge coup for us as we saw off some large competitors within the industry.

We already supply language services to some of the major worldwide financial institutions so our client base of large multinationals is growing rapidly. From the outset I could see that Leeds was the perfect place to base our operations, the city has a great base for linguistic staff as well a wealth of highly focused sales people.

Winning that contract towards the end of last year was a major boost for us, we’re a very ambitious company so rather than sit on our laurels I decided to ensure that we invested in the best possible people we could to take the company forward and continue our growth.”

Ambitious development for 2012

To continue the ambitious development of Global Lingo seven key positions have been filled in the second half of last year to augment the original team. Gill Hurst, Stephen Hale and Jessica Fell have vast experience having worked at language agencies in the Leeds area previously. Alex McIntyre, Melanie Crewe and Karl Eastwood are new to the industry and bring a fresh approach to the business. Fiona Lindley originally joined Global Lingo as a graduate intern, but impressed the team so much that she was offered a full-time position.

Fiona said “Securing the internship was a great opportunity for me. From the word go I was given responsibility and important tasks. To be offered a full time role after was a wonderful surprise and I grasped it with both hands, I’m having a great time and really love working here.”

As well as the expansion in Leeds, Global Lingo has also moved to new offices in the City of London placing them at the heart of the world’s financial hub.

Independent Think Tank 2020health has sought to find out, through Freedom of Information requests, the full extent of recent NHS spending on language services and have published their findings in a probing report.

They found that many NHS trusts did not keep up to date records on translation spend. Significant, considering the huge £23.3 million total being spent in a year and the government’s endeavour to cut £20 billion from the health budget.

What can be painted by the findings is a lack of integration present within the UK; 120 languages have been interpreted or translated at a cost to the tax payer. However, it is a firm concept that we are a nation rich in diverse languages, therefore language services play a necessary role in maintaining the efficient services provided by the NHS as well as the police and the government.

Medical translation must be accurate

Some may suggest that the NHS should not provide language services, only healthcare, but it is important to remember that often translation is critical to be able to treat patients. For example, in cases where someone has visited the UK and fallen ill or moved here but their medical records are in a foreign language.

Nevertheless there are two significant steps that the NHS can undertake to reduce costs and allow for essential spending in other vicinities:

• Producing ‘easy to read’ English documents, this will encourage non-English speakers to learn, and will assist those already seeking to improve.

• NHS trusts can pool their resources to prevent duplicate translation costs occurring. This can be done through a central repository of information which has already been translated and can be shared throughout all sectors of the NHS.

Even Google don’t use Google Translate

One recommendation the report suggests is the prospect of using free web-based translation services such as Google Translate. The value of this service can be queried; it doesn’t take the context of the written text into account and translates it literally word by word, often producing a substandard or inadequate translation. This cannot be tolerated when using important medical terminology.

Interestingly, Google has human translators do its own translations. It does not use its own tool. Franz Ochs, the Head of Google Translate, has admitted on more than one occasion, that he does not use Google Translate much at all!

There is little worth in a service which uses statistical machine translation – meaning it uses the words users put into it to grow and produce future translations for others. The effect of this is that users are “giving” their text to Google to help them improve their system, meaning that you may be sharing sensitive discussions unknowingly.

The cost of translating documents has actually fallen

The reduction in translation fees is largely due to language companies using translation memory, software that collates repeated phrases or words within a document – meaning they only need to be translated once.

This benefits both the customer, who receives a lower price and the translator who can ensure an efficient, comprehensive translation and in a shorter time span.

This Blog records a few of the tasks I have embarked on and achieved in my first week as an intern – a role which endeavours to expose and secure Global Lingo’s position as the go to people for language services.

Monday – New girl, always a daunting prospect

My first morning at Global Lingo Leeds was spent meeting all the staff and being introduced to the ins and outs of the company. What they seek to do and how they do it. Easy so far!

Then by the afternoon I’d introduced myself on Twitter and written my first Blog. The challenge was to find relevant language news or a topic to discuss and to then come to grips with software that would enable me to upload it to the Internet. A little more challenging!

Little did I know by the end of the day I would have contacted Oliver Moody the journalist whose article I examined in my Blog to see if he wanted to discuss it – and he did!

An exciting day!

Tuesday – Becoming ‘LinkedIn’

Today was spent familiarising myself with LinkedIn, a website which helps you engage with others in your professional network.

I was set the challenge to represent Global Lingo’s group which is used to promote the services we provide and present a platform potential clients can use to contact us. I was also given access to our sub group – Professional Transcribers which enables Global Lingo to connect with linguists and also for linguists to connect with each other.

Wednesday – No longer the newbie

Simone Zanetti arrived from Italy as part of the Erasmus Programme and we both had photos taken and biographies written for the company website. Unfortunately, there was no time to practice my best pose as I had a busy day ahead.

I spent the day sourcing something interesting to write-up in my second Blog. The prospect of writing something from scratch is still intimidating but practice makes perfect! I enjoyed discussing the rising trend of misused words in the English language and how our summarised transcription service ensures all these words are left out of your publication.

Thursday – Tweet, tweet

I did some initial reading into press releases so when I am faced to create one, I now already understand the basics. Picking up new skills already is excellent as I took on the internship to improve my aptitude, especially having the ability to write efficient press releases will be a valuable skill I can use in my career.

Every day at Global Lingo I also examine the news, taking in anything that will benefit the company and also passing on information on to the sales team. This provides them with knowledge for when approaching new clients. I’ve always enjoyed reading the news and keeping informed so this gives me the perfect opportunity.

Researching current affairs also lends material for Twitter. I can ‘tweet’ our followers insightful information, links about languages or just anything that’s interesting. Consolidating a lengthy piece of information into 140 characters though continues to be a challenge – a challenge I hope to conquer!

Friday – Expert Blogger (though not necessarily any speedier!)

Another task I have been set is to develop a list of journalistic contacts which will be used to develop relationships with relevant people who we can provide discussion on languages to and help promote our services.

I completed my third blog (yet to be published) which I thoroughly enjoyed, it discusses America’s relationship with Downton Abbey and Britain’s Edwardian lifestyle, highlighting how the UK and the US are culturally diverse, even though they share a language.

Clumsy and incorrect words are littering the English language. According to Tony Thorne, Language consultant at King’s College, London and his article written in The Sun, there is a growing trend of slang and misused words which clutter language today.

‘‘That cross to Rooney was literally on a plate’’

Actually the ball wasn’t on a plate it was ‘literally’ in the air, the statement by Jamie Redknapp is a typical example of how words in the English language can be used incorrectly. A growing trend among younger generations.

Hesitation markers encumber speech, when someone wishes to pause they replace the break with ‘like’ or ‘sort of’. The use of these words is making the speaker appear unclear when often they are actually trying to assert themselves.

Our summarised transcription service ‘literally’ removes the wasted words

At Global Lingo we use highly skilled writers to produce transcripts of your meetings. Our writers can produce verbatim transcripts which will include all the hesitation markers, or we can produce a summarised transcription which will tidy up the document, taking out any unnecessary or misused terms. This banishes all the ‘likes’, ‘sort ofs’ or ‘kind ofs’ from sight, making your final document perfect for publication.

Britain’s deficit of foreign language speakers is costing the economy £17 billion a year according to research by the Education and Employers Taskforce for Collins Language.

An article by Oliver Moody in The Times, (behind paywall) highlights the consequences of fewer people learning foreign languages. Employers grumble that recruits are either inexperienced in working with languages or vacancies are failing to be filled due to unsuitable candidates not reaching the necessary language skills required.

A worrying prospect in Britain’s climate of rising unemployment!

As business deals between the UK and far-flung countries are becoming ever more vital the problem needs to be tackled by equipping future generations with skills that bring our language standards on par with the rest of the world.

This drive to provide Britons with language proficiency contrasts to the isolationist perspective from David Thomas’ in The Daily Mail. David asked; ‘Why do the English need to speak a foreign language when all foreigners speak English?’. He reasoned that school pupils learning foreign language is inefficient when there are large numbers of people globally learning English.

If this language shortfall in the UK’s workforce can be resolved, exports could increase by 8 percent bringing a more uplifting outlook to our economy.

Moody’s lost in translation statement draws attention to the importance the role professional translation companies play in providing the services necessary to ensure professional communication in business.

Blimey, what a start! This is the headline from The Daily Mail written by David Thomas. David appears to be a man of the world, he is by his own admission multi-lingual, well travelled and he has part Welsh and part Norwegian heritage.

So why does he reason that the world should speak only English?

According to the statistics he quotes:

1. 380,000 teenagers in England did not take a single foreign language at GCSE last year
2. Department for Education figures show that fewer English speakers in the UK are learning a foreign language
3. More non-English speakers are becoming multi-lingual

David’s argument goes something like this:

• Most of the world is learning English as a second language
• There are several thousand languages other than English
• Therefore it’s not efficient to learn another language

Here’s a direct quote from the article.

‘This magical language is English. It unites the whole world in the way no other language can. It’s arguably the major reason why our little island has such a disproportionately massive influence on global culture: from Shakespeare to Harry Potter, from James Bond to the Beatles.

All those foreigners who are so admirably learning another language are learning the one we already know. So our school pupils don’t need to learn any foreign tongues.’
He’s missing the point of learning a language

Using only English is a very isolationist point of view.

From an economic point of view, English-speaking countries are struggling to keep their markets afloat as are the nations in the Euro Zone, traditionally our closest economic allies. The countries of largest growth currently; Brazil, Russia, India and China, the so-called BRIC nations, don’t have a history of speaking English (with the exception of regions of India).

Now and in the future the UK needs to trade with these countries, as does the rest of the world. If the UK doesn’t have the people who can handle the relevant languages we’re at a disadvantage from the beginning.

From a cultural point of view, if you never learn a language other than English, you’re going to miss out on so many things. How can your experience of the world as a whole be limited to only one language? Communicating is what humans do best, just because someone doesn’t use the same language as we use should we not bother to speak to them?

Just as mathematics, art and science enhance people’s lives, so do language skills.

We’re proud to announce that Global Lingo has been appointed language and translation partner to my360plus.

Simon Walker, director my360plus, explains why Global Lingo was chosen.

At my360plus, we’re delighted to have Global Lingo on board as our language and translation services partner. My360plus is an online coaching and development system that collects 360 degree feedback on individuals. The output is a clear individual and/or team profile report that provides focused personal and strategic development.

Language and clarity are fundamental to what we do because they underpin the two things that make my360plus different to the many other 360 degree feedback systems out there.

Firstly, our clever processing produces crystal clear ratings with clear terminology for each high performance behaviour in our chosen framework – the renowned Schroder model. Most other systems simply report numerical scores and statistics.

Secondly, our feedback reports then explain in plain, clear language what this means, so that a person receiving the feedback fully understands the implications for their role. The report also provides detailed coaching suggestions for each behaviour so that the person – or team – can work to develop and raise their performance.

Feedback in your own language

Our global clients need questionnaires and reports in a variety of languages – individuals give and receive feedback far more readily when conducted in their mother tongue. But, because of the high levels of detailed explanation and coaching given by the my360plus system, choosing a language partner is an important decision. And this is where Global Lingo comes in.

Technical translations

From a technical standpoint, translating psychometric instruments is a highly specialised activity. We need mother tongue translators with a deep understanding and experience of personal development and psychology. Choosing the right translators, together with careful proofing and checking, ensures that we can maintain both the crucial question validity in the initial online questionnaire, and the nuance and accuracy of the explanations and coaching comments.

We chose Global Lingo as our language partner because you understand these specialist requirements and have the staff and systems to deliver. We’re looking forward to working with you!

To find out more about us, visit www.my360plus.com

It’s time to start making tracks…

After two months of constant blogging, tweeting, news reading, proof reading and press releasing, my time at Global Lingo has come to an end.

Joining the team as a PR and Marketing Intern, I was initially nervous of entering the social world. As an avid social media fan, I knew I loved reading other people’s blogs, following their twitters and going on their Facebook pages, but the thought of writing my own material was at first, I’ll admit, somewhat daunting.

That panic quickly vanished when I came into the office on that first November morning. I was instantly reading welcome emails from the fantastic team at Global Lingo. Their support was there from the word go, and when the first task was set – writing a press release on interns and what they can bring to a company, I felt right at home.

Since then it’s been a whirlwind of writing blogs, sending Christmas trees, reading news, tweeting news and the odd QA thrown in for good measure. Oh, and coming into the office with one purple and one black pump on – I blame winter for that one, it’s a dark few months!

Taking the internship was a risk, leaving paid employment for a 3 month internship could seem like madness to some people, but I’ve never been one for conventions. Was it a good move? Most definitely. I’ve met some fantastic people who truly love what they do, I’ve learnt that twitter moves faster than the speed of light but most importantly I’ve realised you have to make your own luck. And with 354 more LinkedIn contacts than when I entered this office, I fully intend to do so!