LingoStar Feed

Culture Differences

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Easter:

There are as many ways to celebrate Easter all over the world as there are chocolate eggs eaten!

Language Matters April 2012: English skills: the good and bad students

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:15:48 PDT

Dear Language Friend,

Traveling abroad has become a leisure activity like many others, due to the development of new communication technologies and affordability of means of transportation to the masses. If you are a traveling enthusiast and have already set foot in Europe, you may have noted the obvious inconsistency between neighboring countries regarding the practice of foreign languages, most particularly English. Have you ever wondered why? Do not worry. LingoStar is here to clarify!

English as the common language for international trades and travels

It is indeed extremely convenient to be a native English speaker - or at least a fluent speaker - to travel around the world. But what happens when you wander around in a country that does not understand this widely-spoken language? As you may know, the European Union is composed of 23 different official languages - 24 with the incoming incorporation of Croatia. It is highly surprising to note that only a few European countries are considered to have “excellent” English skills (according to a survey carried out in 2011), while the rest fluctuate between “average” and “very poor”. What is much less surprising, however, is that the top of the list is mainly composed of Germanic countries. English being also a Germanic language, countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries, sharing the same language roots, have an obvious advantage. On the other hand, Latin countries, such as France, Italy, Portugal and Spain - among others - are struggling to improve their grades!

A closer look at the English-Speaking World Ranking

This survey, conducted in 2011 in 44 countries all around the world by a private language taskforce called Education First, has raised as many surprises as obvious facts. It was not a surprise to see the top of the list occupied by Germanic countries (7 countries in the top ten), with the unbeatable Norway at the head, followed by the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. The European Latin train is lead by Portugal, ranked 15th, followed by France, ranked 17th, Italy, ranked 23th and Spain, ranked 24th. Greece is not even in the ranking. As for English speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the lack of necessity to learn a foreign language is unfortunately decreasing the number of linguist graduates. It is most definitely a major loss, especially when we consider the important role they play within international institutions like the IMF and the UN. Well, there are only two solutions left: start learning Chinese, or contact LingoStar!

Sharing the same language does not mean perfect understanding!

An interesting fact is the gap between European and Canadian French. These two dialects are very close yet very different, due to the Quebecois’ will to keep their French as “pure” as possible by drawing a separation line from their English speaking neighbors, contrary to European French that has evolved at the same pace as globalization and international trades. The most noticeable difference is the accent: surprisingly, French people usually have a hard time understanding Quebecois, and not the other way around! Another linguistic paradox can be observed in a smaller scale in Belgium, a European country with two very different official languages: the French side with low English skills vs. the Flemish side, much more proficient in English. Flemish is a dialect taking its origin from Dutch.

Luxembourgish:

A language in jeopardy. Ever heard of Luxembourg? This small European country houses many European Institutions of great importance and attracts many cross-border workers from Belgium, France, Germany, as well as many Portuguese workers, with its well-renown wealth. Actually, it is so attractive that Luxembourgish people are now a minority in their own country!

Are common language roots the only culprits?

The European and Scandinavian Germanic countries are one step ahead of other Latin and Slavic countries, however, is it fair to exclusively scapegoat the different language inheritance to explain the English skills world ranking of these countries? Of course not! Several other elements have to be added to the equation. Regarding Latin countries, it is important to keep in mind that, despite sharing the same language roots with several other European or American countries, they are not much more proficient in these languages (c.f. French, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish). As for Germanic countries, their educational system has a stronger focus on foreign languages, encouraging the students to regularly practice English, in and out of school; in Latin countries, students are afraid to speak a foreign language out loud, thinking they will be made fun of because of their strong accent. One of the main reasons why Germanic countries push the students to practice English as much as possible is that there is no other alternative if they want to experience living abroad. Indeed: France has Quebec, Portugal has Brazil, Spain has Latin American countries, while only Austria and Germany, as neighboring countries, share the same language.

Oh hello, how may we help you?

Thanks to our extensive database of professional linguists, LingoStar is sure to provide you with the best certified or regular translations for your traveling and immigration documents! Also, if you are a tourism enthusiast, do not hesitate to contact us to learn more about our Tour Guiding services! There is no language barrier that LingoStar cannot shatter!

LingoStar Translation Services

Here at LingoStar, we can quench your thirst for international traveling thanks to our Tour Guiding services, as well as our trained bilingual staff in many language combinations. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information! Or if you like to do things all on your own, we also offer language tutoring and cross-cultural training! We can solve all your translation needs, whether for regular or certified documents or from English to French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or any other official language of the EU.

EU: The largest translation service in the world

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Translation and interpretation at the EU:

The EU has much need for translation and interpretation services. Every document and meeting has to be understood by all of the EU’s citizens, which equals 500 million people among 27 countries!

Canadian French and French of France Translations

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Differences between Canadian French and the French of France:

French is the mother tongue of nearly a quarter of the Canadian population. However Canadian French is different from the French of France. Let’s study some differences between these two distinct dialects.

Linguist and Author David Crystal

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:00:00 PDT

David Crystal:

Since 1964, David Crystal, one of today’s most famous linguists, has been publishing new material on a regular basis.

A successful initiative to protect a culture

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:19:43 PDT

Māori TV:

In 2004 in New Zealand, a channel broadcasting in both Māori and English called Māori TV was launched to promote the Māori language and culture. Almost 15% of New Zealanders, or 660,000 people, are Māori.

Twin Translation Agency

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:41:59 PDT

Judy & Dagmar Jenner:

When you try to build a translation or interpreting business it is always good to have a partner. But who do you choose? After all, you will have to work together with him or her for about 8 hours a day.

Translation major player

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:47:37 PDT

This month’s major player in the translation industry is Nicholas Hartmann:

Nicholas Hartmann, son of famous photographer Erich Hartmann, grew up in London and New York, got his doctorate in Classical Archaeology and decided to become a full-time translator in 1984.

Language Matters March 2012: A New Era For Translation

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:42:33 PDT

Dear Language Friend,

Our current world is in perpetual evolution. During the past few decades, the internet has brought together people living in countries all over the world. It has allowed these people to share their culture with us, to communicate with us, and to make our lives easier. Because of - or thanks to - the internet, the importance of foreign languages keeps growing, to the point that many tools have been developed to support this means of communication and sharing.

Surfing on this wave, LingoStar is glad to provide you with professional language services to meet all your needs and demands.

Yesterday: Dictionaries and reflection

A few decades ago, the crossing of cultures and languages was expanding. Groundbreaking technologies using complex design and function processes were appearing constantly. And to support all this, translators had nothing but dictionaries, background knowledge and common sense. Hours of research and understanding were necessary to ensure the accuracy of a technical translation. It is obvious that, in our contemporary society, the internet has made research for specific information much more attainable. In only a few decades, the worlds of communication and information have totally changed. The legitimate question now is: what to expect of the future of languages?

Today: Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools

Nowadays these are a translator’s best friends. The technology allows them to keep a memory of a large number of terms and sentences previously translated and depending on the context, bring them up when it runs across similar terminology! There is nothing to be afraid of: these tools haven’t been designed to replace the translators, but to help them gain time and respect deadlines. The most important tool leading to a high quality translation remains the human mind, able to comprehend every detail and subtlety hidden in a text.

These tools are mostly used to format documents quickly and efficiently, to create exhaustive terminology databases for clients or for later use, and to have the whole translation project organized in an efficient way. If you are looking for one, here are several world-known CAT tools: Systran, SDL TRADOS and WordFast. You can also find plenty on the internet, some free, some not. Some of them are oriented to carry out certain types of tasks specifically, so we would advise you read the information about the tool’s purpose and use carefully!

Subtitling tool: Aegisub

Aegisub is subtitling software available on: http://www.aegisub.org

Free, user-friendly, easy to install and compatible with most video software, Aegisub is the perfect tool to share your linguistic knowledge and to contribute to the Internet! What’s more, subtitling videos is also a great way to practice one’s translation skills while having fun. The guidelines are very clear, so give it a try!

Safe and useful online terminology database: IATE

IATE is the official terminology database used by the European Institutions. To use without moderation: http://iate.europa.eu

Real time translation for chatting: Ortsbo

Ever heard of Ortsbo? Ortsbo enables real-time conversational translation in over 50 languages and seamlessly integrates with today's most popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, MSN Messenger, Google Talk and Yahoo! Messenger. It’s time to enlarge your vision of the world and your knowledge of other cultures.

For more information, visit: http://www.ortsbo.com

Tomorrow: Will the language barrier be dismantled by technology?

This is the kind of question one could ask when gazing at the amazingly fast evolution of linguistic technologies. And it is not Microsoft that could deny this fact! Microsoft is currently working on a bold and groundbreaking project: a portable device able to translate your words into 26 languages, altering your voice to imitate the local accent perfectly! And this idea is based on.. Star Trek!

How would it work? This device would be personalized, since it would require about one hour of input to save the nuances of your voice, tone, and every other tiny characterization that constitutes your voice. But once it’s ready, the doors of the world would be fully opened to you. The anxiety of travelling for people not well-versed in foreign languages would be nothing but a bad memory! However, this device is not perfect: even if the people of a country can understand you, nothing ensures that you will understand them in return!

What does it mean for LingoStar?

You don’t have to worry! There will always be a need for language professionals! And LingoStar will be here to answer your demands and help you find the best service at the most advantageous price.Thank you for trusting LingoStar in the past, and thank you for trusting us for your future projects! You can count on us to shatter the language barriers you face and open the doors to the world for you.With the growing use of professional websites, a new language market made its appearance: website localization. Making sure that your professional website complies with a country’s laws and culture is of great importance!

LingoStar and its language professionals can help with that. Do not hesitate any longer!

LingoStar Translation Services

We understand the importance of providing translations of the best possible quality for the particular target audience. LingoStar guarantees the use of qualified native-speaking translators and editors. Only native speakers know the cultural background and terminology of a particular language. Our experienced translators are meticulously selected to translate documents accurately and in a timely manner. So if you are looking for a professional translation service for your translations, you're looking in the right place.

Don't hesitate to contact LingoStar for a quote today!

The founder of SDL

office@lingo-star.com (Intern) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:05:39 PDT

Mark Lancaster:

Surely you’ve all heard of SDL, or “Software and Document Localization” before.