Tag: global business solutions

Translation and Interpreting: How to Best Communicate with Foreign Language-Speaking Customers

Willy Brandt, the former West German Chancellor, once famously said: “If I am selling to Asian interpretationyou, I speak your language. If I am buying, dann müssen sie Deutsch sprechen (then you must speak German).”
The quote underscores a point we continue to emphasize more broadly to businesses and organizations today: the most effective way to communicate with clients, consumers and your own employees is in their own language.

Understanding Russian Cultures and Customs

Image of Moscow Red Square
Red Square – St. Basile

The Russian Federation has a thousand years of history. Its growth and expansion over the centuries has resulted in a country rich in diversity—in culture, customs, language, religion, politics, art and more.
As we highlighted in our last blog, Russia’s vast expanse across two continents—Europe and Asia—makes it uniquely attractive to business seekers and leisure travelers. In fact, its footing at the crossroads of diverse cultures and people gives it a combination of western and Asian influences that naturally make it a prominent player on the world stage.
As part of our ongoing blog series, this week we’re taking a closer look at Russian cultures and customs and what you should know if you plan future travels there.

Multilingual Subtitles and Captions Can Expand Your Video Views

Marketing and promotional videos are more popular than ever in this age of digital media. It used to be that only big-budget businesses could afford the cost of producing a slick marketing video touting all the advantages of their products or services.
Not anymore.closed caption image
Today, many organizations have their own in-house video production teams equipped with low-cost but high-quality cameras and editing software that almost anyone with a basic knowledge of computers can use. Even more appealing to cost-conscious marketing managers is the array of social media sites that feature videos produced inexpensively on mobile devices and shared easily across multiple user platforms. A study by Cisco estimates that by 2020, video will account for 75 percent of all mobile data traffic! (Our previous blog highlights more fully the impact and opportunities of video marketing.)

Translating Measurements: Is ‘Close Enough’ Ever Good Enough?

Did you know that 90 percent of the world uses the metric system? In fact, only Myanmar (Burma), Liberia and the United States use a different form of measurement. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. That means for virtually any translation or interpretation project that involves measurement—like length, mass, volume, area, even temperature—you need to be extra careful about how they are communicated.
In some cases, you might want the conversion to be an exact translation, but not always.

India Culture is in the “Hearts and Soul” of its People

Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t just talking about his own homeland of India when he said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” He captured the essence of how countries and societies are ultimately perceived around the world.India Culture Image
As for Gandhi’s own country, Indian culture is among the world’s oldest, dating back more than 4,500 years. Second only to China as the most populous country on earth with more than 1.2 billion people, India boasts diverse customs, languages and religions.
In our latest look at world cultures, we summarize some of the widely diverse traditions and customs that make India such a captivating country and alluring destination for travelers.

‘Transcreation’ Helps Maintain Your Brand’s Image in Foreign Markets

As the world gets smaller and cultures continue to blend, sophisticated business leaders and marketers are refining the way they communicate their messages into foreign languages.
Think about how hard it is to get your message heard above the din of competing brand campaigns in your own language. Trying to do the same thing in another language is even trickier. How do you go about marketing and maintaining your brand image in another country? How do you ensure that the essence of your brand will resonate with customers in foreign markets?  Companies spend plenty of time and money trying to figure that out.
That’s where transcreation can help.

Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Translation Process Seamless

PowerPoint presentations are a critical tool for communicating important messages. Businesses of all shapes and sizes continue to rely on the creative capabilities of powerpoint logo imagePowerPoint to present ideas, shape opinions and spur action. While PowerPoints are easy to produce by just about anyone with a computer, it’s easy to neglect some basic steps if you’re planning to translate your presentation into another language. Since translating PowerPoint presentations is a common request by our clients, we’ve come up with a few suggestions to make the PowerPoint translation process run more smoothly:

Rainbow Nation: Learning the Culture and Customs of South Africa

Desmond Tutu, the renowned social activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, called SouthMap of South Africa Africa the “Rainbow Nation” to describe its ethnic diversity. In fact, the republic located at the southern-most tip of Africa is considered one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world. Its history of colonialism and immigration has created a nation whose ethnic makeup includes indigenous black peoples, white Europeans, Indians, Indo-Malays and Chinese, among others. It is a popular destination for anyone pursuing business or leisure interests. If you fall into either of those groups, here’s a brief overview of the country’s customs and culture that will help in planning your visit.

Understanding German Customs and Culture Helps Create a Rewarding Experience

Germany is a popular destination for tourists looking for fun and adventure as well as businesses looking to expand their customer base. As the center of Europe from a German Flag Imagegeographic and economic standpoint, Germany has much to offer. But before you don your lederhosen and head off to Oktoberfest or pack your briefcase for a corporate meeting with potential new business partners, it’s good to know some of the German customs and social protocols you’ll encounter.

A Look at the Cultural Customs of Brazil

In August, the 2016 Summer Olympics will attract thousands of people from around the world to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s glamorous tourist hub along South America’s Atlantic coast.Rio De Janeiro image
For those of you planning to attend the Games, or who may be interested in visiting or doing business there someday, we decided this is the perfect time to feature Brazil as part of our ongoing review of cultural customs and traditions in other countries.
Like the United States, Brazil has been described as a melting pot, reflecting the diverse mixture of cultures, races and nationalities that influenced its evolution over the past few centuries. The Portuguese were the predominant European group that constructed settlements in the country beginning in 1500. Over time, the European influence melded with the various local indigenous tribes to create the eclectic cultural makeup of modern-day Brazil.