Language Lines - Newsletter

July 2008

From the Editor

Welcome to the July edition of Language Lines!

In this issue of Language Lines we talk we talk about whether the English language dominates the internet, how London honors fallen interpreters, and the need for over the phone interpreting rising in China.

Speaking of China, in this month's “Language Laughs” we take a look at Chinese to English translated menu items. With the upcoming Olympics in China and the thousands of English speaking tourists who will be visiting the local restaurants who will soon find that what you read is not always what you get, we thought this topic would be good food for thought.

For more frequent updates about language services and their importance in the global marketplace, consider subscribing to our news blog.

Adriana Nevin | Corporate Sales Manager | anevin@languagetranslation.com

 

Featured Articles

 

Does English Dominate the Internet?

At one point, many experts thought globalization and the Internet would reinforce English’s role as an international language. But the situation is not so clear-cut.

In the beginning, there was Internet – in English. I can remember using the Web from France in 1997, and there were only six hundred or so sites to choose from in French, whereas sites in English already abounded.

Some observers too quickly predicted that “English would be the language of the Internet.” They were wrong.

More web pages are still created in English than in any other language, but non-English speakers can now benefit from a plethora of sites in their native languages. And language learners all over the world can easily access information and communicate in the language they are studying, which should eventually lead to a more multilingual world.

More importantly for businesses, studies have shown that consumers are more attracted to websites in their own language – and this preference will certainly increase as more and more sites communicate in languages other than English.

Localization, or the process of translating and adapting websites to foreign locales, can help your company reach out to new targets worldwide. At Language Translation Inc., our ten-step localization process guarantees flawless international communication. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free quote.

/ Betty Carlson

Memorial Dedicated to Journalists and Interpreters Killed in the of Work

The London memorial, located on the roof of the British Broadcasting Corporations headquarters in London, honors journalists, translators and interpreters who have lost their lives on duty.

“U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dedicated a soaring glass and steel sculpture to the memory of journalists killed in the line of work at a somber gathering in London Monday evening.

The sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa sits on the roof of the new wing of Broadcasting House, the British Broadcasting Corp.'s corporate headquarters in central London. It will be illuminated for 30 minutes every night as the BBC broadcasts its 10 o'clock news bulletin. Relatives of some of the journalists killed in action listened to Ban, who said the memorial is ‘a solemn reminder of those who have lost their lives giving voice to the voiceless…’

The International News Safety Institute that co-hosted the event with the BBC said more than 1,000 journalists and assistants, including translators, drivers and fixers, have died in the past 10 years.”

(Extract from the Associated Press, June 17 2008)

Language Translation Inc. recognizes that some translators and interpreters work in very dangerous conditions, far from the offices of global corporations, and honors their courage.

/ Betty Carlson

Demand Grows for Telephonic Interpreting in China

With travel to China booming, more tourists and businesspeople than ever are faced with a formidable language barrier.

In the past, these visitors often hired interpreter-guides for their entire trip – an expensive option. Now, with the advent of on-demand interpreting services, especially telephonic interpreting, visitors to China can get language help where and when they need it.

The notion that most Chinese people now speak English is, in fact, a myth. “Despite huge developmental advances over the last decade and increasing numbers of English-speakers, a non-Chinese speaker is still hugely handicapped in trying to get by in China,” explains Greg Sinclair, founder of ChinaONEcall, in a recent interview published on the Go Kunming website.

When asked about the most memorable call his company has interpreted, Sinclair recounts the story of an American husband who wanted to talk to his Chinese mother-in-law to plan a surprise party for his wife. “What should have been a very cheerful phone call turned into a screaming row as the wife overheard the conversation and got angry that her husband was secretly talking to her mother,” recounts Sinclair.

Language Translation Inc. in San Diego now offers telephone interpreting in over 150 languages — including Chinese, of course — through the “SpeakEasy” service. Available 24/7 and on a pay-as-you-go basis, we provide language interpretation of telephone conversations all over the world. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.

/ Betty Carlson  

 

Cross-cultural communication can bring about amusing errors and misunderstandings. Share a few language laughs with us…

Interesting Chinese Menu Translations

Let's hope what you see isn't always what you get.

The following examples from a real Chinese restaurant menu show just what can happen when you let a bad translation do the talking:

 

~ Menu ~
(a small sampling)

 

"Big bowl flavor vegetables pig livings bowel"

 

"Burn the spring chicken"

 

"Wood flower picks sea cucumber hoof"

 

"Domestic life beef immerses cabbage"

 

"Fragrant spring onion sauce explodes cow son"

 

"Fried beef rice w/ scorn and egg"

 

"A west bean pays the fish a soup"

 

"Double-boiled Forest Frog"

{source http://www.rahoi.com/2006/03/may-i-take-your-order/}

 

A new 170 page book being produced jointly by the Beijing Municipal Government's Foreign Affairs office and the Beijing Tourism Administration entitled "Chinese Menu in English Version" has more than 2,000 proposed names for dishes and drinks. With this new book hotels and restaurants across China may be able to make food sound more appealing, but certainly not near as humorous.

/ Shannon McCollough

 

 

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