Learning a new language can advance brain power in just one week

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When it comes to picking up a new language many can agree that it does not come easy especially as you get older of which there are many reasons as to why you don’t pick up a language as quickly as someone who is 6 years old. Some attribute this to the way in we have been taught to learn and how we process information which is not so beneficial when trying to learn a language. Many people take to studying a new language at university level, using language translation software, migrating to a new country or for other reasons such as business or marketing use a professional translation agency to translate their documents for them.

Learning a language is not simply about memorising words and their meanings but it involves using those words in practical everyday life situations and this takes time to master especially as adults who are used to doing things in a particular way compared to children who are more free as their brains are not yet as conditioned to do things in a certain way.

Recently a study conducted at the University of Edinburgh where a sample of 76 students aged between 18 to 78 (33 of the students were participating in a one week intensive Gaelic language course and were compared with 16 other students who were taking part in a comparable course but not involving foreign language learning) showed evidence that the language learners had in fact increased their attention span. The non-language learners who were taking park in a similar intense programme did also increase their attention spans however when compared to those that did not take part in a one week learning program, results showed that the Gaelic language learners had a more significant change in their attention spans.

Within the Gaelic language learners group a study was conducted to see whether age had an effect on performance. Having split the students into 3 groups (18-40, 41-60 and 61-78), results showed that the lower age group scored the highest in the subtests testing everyday attention. In second place was the learners aged 41-60 and in third the students aged between 61-78.

The results also showed that those that practiced 5 hours or more per week had improved performance 9 months after the initial study in comparison with students who practiced for 4 hours per week whose results were inconsistent.

Lead researcher on the study Dr. Thomas Bak stated that “I think there are three important messages from our study: firstly, it is never too late to start a novel mental activity such as learning a new language. Secondly, even a short intensive course can show beneficial effects on some cognitive functions. Thirdly, this effect can be maintained through practice”.

The full results were published in the Journal PLOS ONE.

Image source: Neil Conway

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Fast translation services like no other

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Netflix, the massive online streaming service has started something rather unfamiliar in the world of television and indeed translation services. Netflix have commissioned a new late night talk show starring American comedienne Chelsea Handler. But this is no ordinary late night chat show; in fact this is something that has not even been done before in the history of television and streaming. The show will be made available simultaneously across 190 countries to make it the first truly global show.

But there are many reasons that this type of global release has not been done before with one major and very obvious reason being the language barriers that are prevalent. Imagine the issues of trying to get a Hebrew translation of “There are two kinds of people I don’t trust: people who don’t drink and people who collect stickers.” That is an example, a rather pre-watershed example of Chelsea Handler’s joke; would that even translate well into another language?

That’s not the only problem that Netflix have had to deal with. There is the issue of getting each translated version of the show done in time and ready for release as well as localised for different variations of the languages. That is the precise reason that they have assembled a team of 200 linguists selected from a pool of 5000 to provide translations and localisation services to make sure that the jokes are understood worldwide. Amongst the linguists includes ‘dirty’ words specialist for Handler’s unconventional humour.

The show is recorded live 34 hours before it is released on Netflix. To help make the translations quicker and smoother, Netflix creates a live transcript in English which someone then reiterates into voice recognition software for the waiting translators and language experts who sift through the transcript to highlight any non-formal English words or idioms that might be a problem to localise. This then leaves the translators with just a 12 hour turnaround time to translate the show into the 20 languages that Netflix are aiming for it to be available in, then a 90 minute safety cushion in case anything goes wrong. This massive operation is all done so you could have the Portuguese translation of the show exactly at the same time as the English version.

When Football gets lost in translation

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Football, fútbol, fussball, fotbal, futebol, voetbal, whatever you call it; football is a game that is played worldwide by many different cultures and people from all corners of the globe. Football is often referred to as a universal language of which a need for translation services is not required. All you need is a football and some goalposts! So with this seemingly massive worldwide appeal and the many different nationalities plying their trades in the top European leagues, there is bound to be some sort of miscommunication within the game right? Here are some examples when football has got lost in translation.

Soccer?

The name football has many variations as to how it is pronounced or even what it is called around the world. In Germany it is ‘Fussball’ (Fußball ), in the Netherlands ‘Voetbal’, and you don’t need Romanian translation services to tell you what ‘Fotbal’ means. Nearly everywhere the term football has translated well except one place, the USA. The US refers to the beautiful game as ‘soccer’ much to the annoyance of the rest of the world. The reason for this was because America caught on to football relatively late and had already created their own game called American football, which in fact is mostly played through carrying the ball so they had to distinguish between the two games. The term soccer actually comes from Britain but usage of the word declined after the Americans caught on to it.

Lee Chung gone?

A recent story involving Premier League side Crystal Palace and their South Korean left-back Lee Chung-yong. Lee was quoted in the Korean media stating that Palace boss Alan Pardew was too ‘hot tempered’ during a match that he would forget how many substitutes he had made. Although Lee pleaded his innocence that his comments had been misinterpreted and lost in translation, Alan Pardew did not accept that as an excuse and fined him a week’s wages, reportedly £30k. Now you don’t need a professional translation agency to tell you Lee’s thoughts on that.

Rafa the Gaffer

Also recently former Liverpool, Valencia, Real Madrid and Napoli manager Rafa Benitez was given the task to keep Newcastle United in the Premier League. He narrowly failed in doing so but was also given little time to achieve his goals. Spaniard Benitez who is tri-lingual in English, Italian and Spanish admitted that he had to brush up on his French language as a vast majority of United’s players are French speakers and that instances such as half-time team talks proved somewhat of a challenge as he could not get his message across even in English due to some players not being able to understand the language very well. This just highlights how important the language barrier is in football where a manager might not be able to get his message across properly. The fact that Benitez had little time and not being able to get a fast translation across to his French players could have contributed towards their downfalls, thus leading to his tactics somewhat getting lost in translation.

Image Source: joshjdss

 

How the benefits of using professional translation services far outweigh the costs

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The increase in globalisation over the past few decades has created numerous opportunities for the average individual to set up a business that is able to serve and compete in global markets, a luxury that only the large corporations or the wealthy were able to reap the benefits of in the past. Running a business today is something one can achieve from the comfort of their homes with just the help of a computer and an internet connection and with access to professional translation services. Internet businesses have been thriving and have shaken things up when it comes to the traditional way of doing things, whether it is the way we purchase groceries or how we decide to book holidays.

An example of this would be when looking for a holiday package, you would either visit a travel agency at their local office or call one over the phone to find out what was available. Now with sites like lastminute.com it is easy to see exactly what is on offer and compare in order to achieve the best deal and simply book at the click of a button.

The ability to reach a wider audience has posed a challenge for businesses to communicate effectively with all key target audiences as language barriers surface. With research including a survey conducted by Common Sense Advisory showing that consumers substantially prefer to view and digest information about products and services in their mother tongues. Findings like these are extremely imperative to businesses that provide services or are looking to grow in areas such as France, China or South America where native languages are used primarily before the English language. With that being said it is clear to see that using a professional English to French translation service or English to Chinese translation will ultimately increase your exposure and as a result have a positive impact on your sales as well as brand awareness.

Another benefit to using professional translation services for your business is that the end user feels valued that you have taken the time to communicate to them in their own language in which they communicate best.

For many businesses especially SME’s the value of time and resources is very crucial in determining efficiency. In cases where your company is too small to hire in-house translators an alternative solution is to use a professional translation agency which can manage the entire translation process for you from sourcing a suitable linguist to perform the translation, to performing quality checks ensuring that your message is portrayed in the way in which you intended.

It is tempting to use free translation tools when it comes to administering your message in other languages. When you decide to use free translation tools you must consider this; firstly the content translated by machines is a literal translation of the source language. Now as humans we do not process information in quite the same way as machines and different languages and cultures communicate differently so what might make sense in English may not in Italian when translated word for word. This is where the use of qualified and experienced translators comes into effect. Investing In website localisation services in clearly would achieve more benefits to you and your business than the costs incurred.

Image Source: Corbis

Captain America set to keep Mandarin translation

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Captain America has officially touched down in China amidst opposition to the film and Disney films in general. The Captain America series will continue both Disney’s and Disney’s Marvel dominance in the Chinese territory. It is the fourth release by Disney in China this year, following the blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Zootopia, and The Jungle Book which coincidently are three of the four highest grossing imported films this year earning over $100 million so far in China alone. The financial translation equals ka-ching!

Even though there is a huge dominance from Disney and a big demand for their films in China when it comes to ‘imported’ movies, there is also an opposition from parts of the Chinese population. A Chinese military newspaper was quoted that America were using “invisible propaganda” within their films which prompted a People’s Liberation Army academy professor to state “Hollywood has long been an effective propaganda machine for the U.S. by using blockbuster films to promote U.S. values and global strategy,” then going on to say “In a world of cruel reality, it is always a wolf that eats a sheep instead of the other way round. Such a fundamental concept that even a child could understand was easily turned around by Hollywood.”

These comments are not just from a few people, the Chinese authorities do not agree with Western values and have been making efforts to clamp down on them in films, television, the internet and textbooks whilst even going as far as releasing guidelines to protect the national identity. Although there are a lot of Chinese people on social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo who have ridiculed the newspaper as “overthinking” the whole issue.

Although there is a Chinese backlash to ‘American ways’ surprisingly Disney actually have decided to keep the direct Mandarin translation of Captain America instead of having it changed for political reasons, a move which had been taken in other countries such as South Korea and Russia.

Captain America had been rebranded in Russia and South Korea to a rather less American glorifying “First Avenger” in an attempt at the localisation of the film to audiences who, let’s just say might not be the biggest fans of the USA, although the name still fits as it is often referred to as The Avengers 2.5.