Why Trump’s comments are an ‘impossible’ translation service

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Unless you have been living under a rock these past months you probably have heard the rather explosive and sometimes tedious popularity contest that is the US presidential election race. The Presidential election race, for those who may not know is mainly contested between 2 polarising parties the left-winged Democrats who have selected former first lady Hilary Clinton as their leader and the right-winged Republicans which is led by American billionaire businessman Donald Trump, who if you don’t know is a straight talker to put it mildly. This blunt and abrasive way of speaking that Donald Trump employs can either make you love or hate him and one set of people who fall into the latter category, other than Democrats are those who offer translations services.

Translators and interpreters across the world who are there to keep their respective nations up to date on what is one of the most widely publicised presidential debates of any country to date are finding themselves in a bit of a bother when it comes to providing a fast translation service of Trump’s speeches in their native tongues. As if translating political affairs into other languages isn’t sensitive and tricky enough, translators have to deal with Trump’s unorthodox way of speaking which could sometimes yield some interesting results.

One twitter user @tylerantichrist commented on an interpreter providing German translation services on a German radio show for the elections that she felt sorry for the interpreter as he had explained his friends teased him because he had to first emphasise with Trump in order to quickly translate his comments into German.

There is also an example on The Huffington Post showing trump’s misogynistic and offensive language which has had a Mandarin translation which actually makes him sound worse. The words that have been translated makes his comments sound even more sexist and sometimes racist in other languages. On the other hand when some of his harsh and brash comments are translated into other languages it sometimes has the reverse effect and makes his tone sound softer when his intentions may be otherwise. For instance he was criticised and mocked for rudely interrupting and shouting “Wrong!” but when translated into Spanish “Es falso” which means that is not true actually made him sound civil.

With less than two weeks to go until America elects a new president, whether its Hilary or Donald, whether you love or hate Donald Trump, you can’t say he’s not entertaining.

Image credit: Gage Skidmore

How one man’s scribble earned him a book publishing

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We all know that one person at work who scribbles on post-it sticky notes like their life depends on it perhaps that person may even be you. Surely if a survey was done as to what post-it notes were actually used for in the workplace certainly a fair amount would be attributed to scribbling unrelated writing and drawing pictures of things from our imaginations at that present time. Well in this case a former architect who translates modern everyday adult life on sticky notes has found a career doing just that (seriously).

Chaz Hutton a 32 year old Australian living in London posted his humorous and very spot on interpretations of everyday life on his Instagram page @instachaaz which has since gone viral and amassed an impressive following of over 150k followers.  His witty humour and accurate interpretations of what goes on in everyday life is so eye catching that you may find yourself spending the rest of your lunch break scrolling through his Instagram page laughing at your smartphone screen leaving your work colleagues wondering whether you have lost the plot!

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Chaz who told BBC Trending he did not have the patience to be an architect so drawing things on sticky notes “seemed like a step in the right direction” has even gone on to land a book publishing deal and has released his book ‘A Sticky Note Guide to Life’ both as a hardcover and Kindle edition on Amazon. He has even been branded as the “world’s first sticky note lifestyle guru” according to the book description on Amazon.

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So if you’re down in your career get creative you too could be the next social media sensation.

All images credited to Chaz Hutton and published on his Instagram page @instachaaz.

How translation services will help avoid translation fails

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Whether you love or hate translation fails, whether you get offended or not one thing for sure is that they can be hilarious! But a translation fail is not a victimless act. Businesses that make these accidental translation errors will tell you this is no laughing matter, further proving why translation services from a professional translation agency is imperative to your business when either setting up operations in foreign markets or when trying to reach out to a specific community with language differences in your current geographical region. Any business worth its salt will tell you the same thing; leave the specialised subjects to the specialists! Here are 3 of the best reasons not to skimp on the cost for translations.

Could be costly

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money or at the very least make progress and when it comes to translations, getting it wrong could be a very costly mistake as chocolate makers Milka found out. Milka’s Oreo chocolate bar label had an ingredient “chocolate liquor” which is a cocoa paste, translated separately into “chocolate and alcohol” in Arabic in Dubai where although you can purchase alcohol it is considered haram (forbidden) in Islam. Although no alcohol was found in the product, Milka had to recall all of the bars which were sent out with this error. Financial translation = Ouch!

Negative brand image

As well as potentially having a detrimental effect on your businesses finances, making an error when translating into another language could affect the credibility of your business which could in theory cause current or potential clients and customers to lose faith in your brand. Also with the importance of social media in today’s society magnifying every aspect of life, a translation fail could also see a business labelled a laughing stock that without a big budget PR system could be hard to rectify. So please if you are a retail business please seek professional retail translation services.

Avoiding offence

Making an inaccurate translation due to poor translation services or more commonly machine translations could have more than a negative financial or marketing effect for a business. One little mistake could end up being something that causes offence which results in a business being blacklisted or boycotted by an entire community and sometimes a whole nation. To avoid this it is advised to seek localisation services to help even further adapt your operations to suit the needs and customs in a foreign market. 

3 signs you need to take a career break

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Before even going into the depths and actually deciding you want a career break one must first understand what that actually means. A career break is not just a period you take off work to go travelling and relax on a beach somewhere in Southeast Asia (although that might not be such a bad translation) it is a period of time taken off work often when one is not feeling motivated in their day to day role. A career break may also be time taken off work due to family emergencies such as taking care of a sick family member or to spend more time with your children. Many people choose career breaks because they want to set up their own businesses which works for some especially those trying to set up online businesses as they can do so remotely, some decide to go freelance e.g. to offer French translation services for businesses and others just to take time off and return to regular employment. One thing for sure is that a career break will help you rejuvenate and help get you motivated again for work if you decide to go back.

When it comes to taking a career break one of the main obstacles which arises is the fact that your existing employer may not offer such a policy in the workplace which as a result could force you to resign. With the current job climate being very competitive this often puts people off the idea of actually taking a career break although they may need one.

Below are some signs which can help you decide whether taking a career break is the right choice for you.

  1. You wake up in the morning and your first thought is ‘I don’t want to go to work’!

This is something many of us experience from time to time and is a natural feeling which may not necessarily indicate that you need a career break however when this occurrence happens on a consistent basis then you may have to think about taking time off. Sometimes a career break may not be the best option especially if you have been in the job less than 2 years where maybe a one or two week holiday can help you refocus and relax ready to go back to work.

  1. You feel stressed, anxious and depressed in your role

Stress, anxiety and depression are some of the major causes of illness in the workplace with reports from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) finding that stress, depression and anxiety accounted for 440,000 cases in 2014/2015 in the UK. These psychological problems are behind one in five visits to a GP in the UK according to NHS reports. Major causes of stress in the workplace include lack of support from management, work pressure and work related violence and bullying. If you are experiencing the above at work the best thing to do is to speak to someone you think could help. This could be a family member or other professionals in your industry who may have overcome the same problems you are facing. If you do all you can to help resolve the issues you are facing but feel as though you are banging your head against a brick wall then it may be time to consider a career break.

  1. You lose creativity and are not performing at work

Ever sat on your computer at work and failed to do a task that you could easily do before, perhaps you work in the creative media industry or in a digital marketing role where you are expected to come up with creative ways to do things or produce fresh organic content but you just can’t seem to wash off that period of writers block? These are perhaps some signs that you need to take some time off, even go travelling and explore other parts of the world and push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Many choose this path as it often leads to finding one’s self and finding your inner passion.

Choosing to take a career break can be overall daunting with many outlooks to consider. The first step should be to identify why you need a career break and afterwards look at the different options available to you. For example you could take on a short term course whilst you travel the world therefore you gain new skills and a qualification that can help you in your next role.

You can find some help and advice for taking career breaks on the GOV.UK website.

Careershifters is another organisation that helps people find fulfilling work.

You can also find some useful tips on bow to get back into work after a career break here.

 

What experience have you had with career breaks or perhaps you are thinking of taking a career break. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

Is there any chance to save endangered languages?

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What can be done to save languages on the brink of extinction?

The definition of an endangered language is so complex that it is hard to narrow down it just to one simple definition. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) whose values include supporting global education so as every child has access to quality education and building cultural understanding among nations, have managed to categorise the definition of endangered languages into 5 groups highlighted below.

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Source: Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. Paris, UNESCO Publishing. Online version.

The latest Atlas of the Worlds Languages in Danger which was published in English, Spanish and French by UNESCO has estimated there to be around 3000 endangered languages worldwide. This alarming number leads to the question whether such languages can be saved and whether they are worth saving?

For many decades English has been referred to as the global language and is the official language in as many as 60+ countries such that it is the language used in education, work and government. Although that maybe the case, many people in these countries where English is the official language commonly use their native languages and also pass these languages onto their children and thus the language is preserved from generation to generation. Take a country like Zambia where the majority of people who have gone to school speak and write in English, you will find that many of them also speak languages like Bemba and Nyanja mostly at home with family but also when communicating with friends. Although such examples show that languages like Bemba will not become extinct anytime soon if ever, there are many other languages where even fewer than 10 people are able to communicate. Languages like Kuuku Ya’u an aboriginal language now spoken by only 9 people is classified as critically endangered on its way to extinction (Source: UNESCO).

Causes

Before finding a solution to any problem you first have to look at the cause. For many languages the causes of them being extinct are varied and these causes include a lack of incentive to learn the language where learning another language brings more benefits both economically and socially. History has taught us this through colonialism by the British and French Empire where those languages combined are now the official languages of over 100 countries worldwide which has not always been the case. Other causes for language endangerment include natural disasters famine and diseases. War and famine have also in the past contributed to languages becoming extinct.

Effects

The loss of languages can have negative effects in a people’s culture as some may experience a loss of identity. Speaking a language specific to your region brings a sense of identity for many people and that is why when a community loses its language it often loses part of its culture e.g. it may lose its songs, poetry and teachings which may not necessarily translate well into another language. Other effects may be a loss of political legitimacy for example in some African and Asian countries traditional leaders may lose their voice in favour of political leaders which could potentially have negative consequences for their own people.

Solutions

As far as solutions go there are several parties concerned and actively working towards the prevention of language extinction. Governements, NGO’s and international bodies such as the EU and UNESCO as well as for profit companies are all working in one way or another for this cause.

For example a new start-up Tribalingual which aims to teach endangered languages in order to prevent them from extinction has started with 3 dialects; “Ojibwe, an endangered musical language in North America; Tulu, a South Indian language that is passed down orally only and doesn’t have a writing system; and Ainu, the language of a marginalised indigenous tribe in Japan, with less than 10 speakers worldwide”. Read more at Cambridge News.

What are your thoughts? how do you think languages can be prevented from extinction?

3 ways you didn’t know how translation services could help your business

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So you decided to take the leap of faith and take your life back into your own hands and started your own business. First of all hats off to you for taking the plunge. You have been running your business pretty successfully for a while now and through your products or services you have built up a decent brand identity, customer base and a steady income, congratulations to you, seriously give yourself a pat on the back!

This is because as we know an estimated 55% of start-ups in the UK fail to make it past the 5 year mark let alone find any success. But this leaves you at the very awkward and uncharted stage of whether you want to carry on being a stable business maybe looking to grow a little more or find a new strategy or market to expand or grow you current business? Maybe you want to attract new customers or maybe you just want to please your existing customers for the loyalty they have shown you. Well one much overlooked tool that you could utilise to help your business is none other than professional translation services.

Growth

The growth of a business is seen as a key stage in a business’s life span. Growth serves as a motivation for any entrepreneur who has ambitions to live off of their own earnings which is one of the main reasons behind starting a business in the first place, for the growth of one’s business does financially translate. With the help of translation services your business could discover new markets with a whole new customer base which could potentially bring more success to your business in the long run. This is a very risky strategy which requires a lot of research and consideration but from those big risks you could reap the big rewards.

Localisation

Different countries and regions have different customs and varied ways of doing things. This is why localisation services are of the utmost importance when considering setting up business operations in not only just other markets with different languages but also countries and regions who communicate through the same dialect. For example you might find success in the way you promote your business in the UK but it won’t necessarily translate across the pond in the US because there are even significant differences in UK and US English which is why it is crucial to localise your content.

Localisation is even more vital when you translate into different languages because it is not enough to just get a professional translation but it is also important to get help in what colours and images to use as well as type of products to sell. So if you are a BBQ restaurant who is looking for Hebrew translation services to set up operations in Israel it would best that pork ribs are a left off the menu.

Professional image

Having your existing website or advertisements available in numerous languages just smacks of professionalism as it shows evidence that the business is reliable enough to be run in several different countries. It could give a potential new customer the confidence to go with you rather than somewhere else, because sometimes even if they have no prior knowledge of your business just seeing you have an English, French, Spanish and Italian translation of your website could mean the difference between a sale and no sale, because a business appearing to operate in many countries must be doing something right?

Image: Colby Stopa