Now is the time to make sure your brand speaks Arabic

April 3, 2013 By bridget

“Now is the time to make sure your brand speaks Arabic.” That is a great line from a post on the Common Sense Advisory Global Watchtower, a language industry publication, called “Waking Up to the Arabic Spring.”

The Common Sense Advisory published research showing that “Arabic has now surpassed Russian, French, and German in total online population. The language now ranks as #11 in share of world online wallet, notching the fastest growth between 2011 and 2012 – even outpacing still-surging Simplified Chinese.”

That means that global businesses are missing a huge swath of potential customers if they are not communicating in Arabic. The Common Sense Advisory found that only one in four top global brands communicate in Arabic.

Multilingual Connections offers document translation and live interpretation in Arabic. Contact us for a quote on translating your website, printed materials, advertising, HR manuals and many other documents into Arabic. Don’t miss this opportunity to reach a growing market!

Filed Under: Business, Cultural competency, Demographics, Global business, Translation

The importance of language in human evolution

March 20, 2013 By bridget

Of the many compelling arguments made in Mark Pagel’s TED talk How Language Transformed Humanity, one of the most fascinating is the idea of genetic preservation through language.

Some people would argue that over the course of human history, evolution has slowed down in our species. Long ago our ancestors may have passed up someone who was visually impaired, or lazy. Now, it seems that almost anyone will mate with almost anyone – except for one thing.

We tend not to procreate with people with whom we don’t share a language. Think about that – two intellectual and physical equals, both naturally selected for the fittest traits, still have very little chance of combining their genes because they can’t talk to one another.

It would seem that Evolution has a reason for us to keep our genes in our language group. But what could that possibly mean?

According to Mark Pagel, who is a professor of Linguistic and Behavioral Evolution at Reading University, the rise of language in humanity goes a little like this:

Chimps had the intelligence to use tools, but they didn’t have the social learning trait to share information.
Neanderthals had social learning, so they could copy what they saw another neanderthal doing, but they couldn’t speak about it to cooperate. They only had the skills they could steal from someone else, and remained competitive.
Homo sapiens had language, and could build a shared wealth of knowledge. This cooperation led to an explosion of creativity and the ability to manipulate their environment. Therefore, homo sapiens could spread their population all over the world, no matter the climate.

With all that expanding, humans developed separate languages. Yet Pagel reminds us that presently, the denser the human population, the more languages that arise. There almost 1,000 languages spoken in Papua New Guinea, population 7 million.

Why would a dense population need multiple languages, but a sparse population is happy to communicate with one another? Humanity must need to strike a balance between sharing information and protecting a gene pool. It would seem that distinct languages draw rings around cooperative groups, slowing the flow of genes and protecting those linguistic populations.

Pagel says language is the voice of our genes. Many linguistic theories point to separate language groups sharing separate ways of thinking. So, could it be that distinct language groups have distinct, subtle genetic codes worth preserving, and worth protecting via distinct language?

Listen to his TED talk – your mind will race!

Filed Under: Global languages, Research

Adding pictograms to translated documents

March 8, 2013 By bridget

One great resource for a multilingual workplace is using images, or pictograms, in documents. Images can be especially useful in safety manuals or policy and procedure documents, where communicating detailed information is essential to business and human resources.

Translating important information from the majority language (say English) into the minority language (Spanish, for example) is crucial to a safe and fair workplace. Using pictograms to communicate can help those with limited language skills in either the majority or minority languages.

Multilingual Connections can not only translate your workplace documents but also add pictograms to be sure that all employees understand the important communications to remain safe and content at work.

Filed Under: Business, Cultural competency, English in the Workplace, Immigrant workforce, Spanish in the Workplace, Workplace diversity

Simplified vs. Traditional Chinese

February 26, 2013 By bridget

Translating between English and Chinese is complex. First, there are two dialects of spoken Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese. Read more about Chinese dialects in our post on Mandarin vs. Cantonese. Mandarin is generally the dialect of global business, but there are many needs to translate to and from Cantonese, especially for a Cantonese-speaking workforce.

Another point to consider in translating to Chinese is to decide which written format to use. There are two forms of written Chinese characters – Traditional and Simplified. Traditional Chinese is the written form of Chinese characters dating back approximately to the 5th Century. Simplified Chinese was introduced in the 1950s by the People’s Republic of China. The simplified form is reduced both in style and in total number of characters. Instituted by the government, the simplified form was thought to encourage literacy.

Traditional Chinese characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (note: Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Macau). Simplified Chinese is officially used in the People’s Republic of China and in Singapore (where the dialect of choice can be Mandarin, or depending on the location Cantonese), and is increasingly used in the US.

Still unsure which dialect and written form you need for your Chinese translation project? Contact the Multilingual Connections translation team for advice and a free translation quote.

Filed Under: Cultural competency, Mandarin, Translation

Top Bilingual Careers

February 1, 2013 By bridget

Bilingual and multilingual people are fortunate to have a natural skill that sets them apart in the workforce. Whether for translating purposes, or reaching markets that span multiple languages, the ability to speak more than one language fluently opens the door to a list of in-demand careers.

If you are bilingual but don’t have a certain career path in mind, consider what type of worker you are.

Do you prefer working with large groups of people, limited numbers of people or alone?
Do you need a rigid schedule or can you work your own hours?
Do you thrive in a business setting?
Do you work better in the same office or classroom every day, or can you perform equally well in a changing setting?
Are you a good writer in your native language?
Can you travel?
What jobs have you held in the past?

Once you answer questions like these (this is a very basic list), you’ll start to determine the skills that can point you toward the right type of bilingual job, besides fluency in multiple languages.

Language school teachers often enjoy interacting in groups, and can maintain a semi-routine schedule. Bilingual people with strong writing skills and high levels of concentration and organization, who can work on their own, can thrive in the written translation setting. Fluent speakers who don’t mind a varied work setting, and enjoy small groups of people, might make a good interpreter.

The worst thing you can do is pursue a bilingual career just because you speak the requisite languages, when your skills and personality would normally send you in a different direction. Be realistic about the day-to-day job expectations.

Certainly, teaching, translating and interpreting are some of the most well-known bilingual careers. But multilingual skills can be an asset to any career, particularly in business. According to The Bilingual Job Fair, a web resource that connects bilingual people with jobs and businesses, the fastest growing bilingual careers are:

1) Bilingual Interpreters & Translators
2) Bilingual Nurses and Bilingual Medical staff
3) Bilingual Marketing Director
4) Bilingual Teachers
5) Bilingual Human Resources staff

Almost any career favors bilingualism these days – from web design to management, government, manufacturing, hospitality, non-profit, administration, child care and beyond – since many businesses operate across multiple countries, or their target market spans multiple cultures and languages.

The best advice we can give is to specialize in industries with which you connect. Interested in law and justice, but didn’t go to law school? A career in legal translation could be a good fit (just remember, being bilingual isn’t enough to become a translator; proper training is required!). Have a background in non-profit or community building? Bilingual social workers are in huge demand.

For instance, at Multilingual Connections, we only work with translators that specialize in the particular industry for which they are translating. We wouldn’t assign a translator who specializes in medical translation to work on translations for a mass retailer. That consideration is how a translation agency can be the best possible resource to its clients. Besides, when you are connected to your industry, you might find you enjoy the work more.

Finally, if you’re looking for employment as a translator, contact us! Or, take the very first steps on your bilingual career path by taking language classes at our language school Multilingual Chicago.

Filed Under: Business, Employment, Global business

Huggies Pull-Ups Campaign Aimed at Latino Families

January 10, 2013 By bridget

Toilet training is certainly a milestone for toddlers, but some consumer research conducted by Huggies shows that families are hesitant to start potty training their kids. “Moms don’t look forward to potty training,” said Pete Sawin, the brand director for Pull-Ups at Kimberly-Clark. “Many of them procrastinate and put it off. They start training well after their kids are ready to.”

A new ad campaign hopes to encourage parents to celebrate their child’s “First Flush.” The general message is to encourage successful toilet training, and of course, promoting the transition away from diapers and into Pull-Ups. Interestingly, Huggies developed a separate, targeted message for Latino families.

“In the Latina’s world, the pressure came with sticking to the process,” said Victor Paredes, vice president at LatinWorks, the agency that worked on the Spanish-language ads. “They had some preconceived notions of the process needing to be fast and the gold standard was transitioning to regular underwear, and not understanding the transition that happens.”

Huggies saw an opportunity in the Latino market and directed targeted advertising to Spanish speakers. “If one in four kids is Hispanic, that’s not a business opportunity, that’s a business imperative,” Paredes said of the recent growth in the number of Latino children in the United States.

The Spanish-language ads will begin in February and will run on Univision’s broadcast network, on Web sites like Mamás Latinas and Batanga and in print publications like Siempre Mujer and Vanidades.

Filed Under: Business, Demographics, Latino, Marketing

Linguistic Quiz: Common Foreign Language Phrases

January 3, 2013 By bridget

Can you match these common foreign language phrases to their English translations?

sotto voce (Italian)
auf Wiedersehen (German)
grazie (Italian)
bon mot (French)
doppelgänger (German)
mano a mano (Spanish)
schadenfreude (German)
mucho gusto (Spanish)
bitte (German)

English translations:

charming remark
lookalike
please
pleased to meet you
pleasure in others’ misfortune
goodbye
face to face
thank you
quietly

Answers…

Are…

Below….

No cheating……….

sotto voce (quietly, literally ‘below voice’)
auf Wiedersehen (goodbye)
grazie (thank you)
bon mot (charming remark)
doppelgänger (lookalike)
mano a mano (face to face, literally ‘hand to hand’)
schadenfreude (pleasure in others’ misfortune – what a word!)
mucho gusto (pleased to meet you)
bitte (please)

We hope you learned a new word! Stay tuned to the Multilingual Connections blog for more linguistic quizzes, and check our website for more information on document translation and corporate language training.

Filed Under: Global languages, Linguistic quiz

Auld Lang Syne

December 30, 2012 By bridget

The end of a year is often a time for reflection, and the beginning of a year a time to make changes and set goals. The stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve is when we traditionally sing Auld Lang Syne. Though we sing the song in English, many people don’t know the meaning of those three important words.

Auld Lang Syne is an old poem composed in Scots, the traditional Germanic language of lower Scotland (as opposed to Scottish Gaelic of the Highlands).

The words “auld lang syne” translate to “old, long, since” in English. Those words do sound familiar! The phrase represents our “once upon a time,” referring to the “olden days.” It’s a song to acknowledge the memories of the year (or years) gone by and anticipate the new.

So (incorporating a couple of other translations) when we sing this song, we are saying, “We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet for times gone by.”

Is your business setting a linguistic goal for the new year? Whether it’s on-site English classes to improve safety, morale and employee retention rates, or document translation to reach a new global market, contact Multilingual Connections for a free quote. Here’s to a Multilingual 2013!

Filed Under: Cultural competency, Global business

The Recent English/French Debate in Quebec

December 18, 2012 By bridget

The following provisions are included in the Bilingual Law of the Canadian constitution, which has origins in 1867: the government must conduct and publish their business in both French and English, food and product labels must be printed in both languages, and non-government groups are allowed to promote the use of one or the other language.

French was declared the official language of Quebec in 1977, through Bill 101. It is the only province in Canada that claims French as the official language. English is the dominant language in the majority of the country, but Quebecois retain a deeper connection to their ancestors’ native French language and culture. It’s estimated that only 8.3% of Quebec residents declare English as their dominant language. Some (mostly older generations) do not speak English at all.

Monolingualism will always inspire debate. Where is the line between language preservation and multicultural inclusion? In the United States, the debate rages between English as a common language and accommodating the influx of languages that have always accompanied they country’s immigrant population. In Canada, official bilingualism comes with costs, not the least of which is providing corporate and government translation and interpretation into French and English.

The most recent debate in Quebec is over newly proposed Bill 14, which is discussed in the Common Sense Advisory Global Watchtower blog. It strengthens the status of French while loosening restrictions on prohibiting the use of English (as supported in the original Bilingual Law). In other words, the Bill will affect many officially bilingual cities in Quebec. The new bill would make it easier to remove bilingual status whenever a city’s population falls below a threshold of 50% of citizens with English as their mother tongue.

Another change affects workplace language. Bill 101 already states that French must be the day to day language at businesses with more than 50 employees. Under Bill 14, businesses with 26-50 employees would be included in the French-only rule, which includes serving their clients in French.

Bill 14 certainly supports the preservation of French in an increasingly English speaking world. And basing official language on population seems to make sense.

Discussions of official language, and of supporting minority languages, will always inspire debate, particularly amongst people who argue that we should all side with the dominant language as a common language. In this part of the world, that would be English.

However, language preservationists support more than words. To preserve language is to preserve culture and thought. It will be interesting to watch this legislation and interpret the results – does Quebec side with its French history or its presumed multilingual future?

Advice to global businesses from Common Sense Advisory: “Policies that limit the rights of people to receive information in their native languages are often economically short-sighted. Organizations doing business in Canada should keep a close eye on this proposed legislation.”

Filed Under: Cultural competency, English in the Workplace, French, Global business, Language Policy