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Top 10 Most Interesting Christmas Traditions from Around the World

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 23:10:00 GMT

When it comes to Christmas around the world, there’s way more than extravagant merry-making and unabashed capitalism. For instance, did you know that the holly that’s hung at Christmas time symbolizes the suffering of Christ? That’s right, its sharp leaves represent the crown of thorns worn by Christ, and the red berries represent, you guessed it – the blood he shed. In fact, the Germans call holly “Christdorn,” which literally translates to “Christ thorn.”

Every culture has its own festive ways when it comes to celebrating Christmas, some stranger than others. Following are some of the most interesting ones we’ve found. Enjoy!

1. “God Jul!” – From Sweden

The Yule Goat or “Gävle Goat” known in Sweden as “Julbock,” which translates into English as “Yule Buck,” has a history that extends back to at least the 11 ^th century. Its first references are that of a man-sized goat figure commanded by Saint Nicholas and endowed with the ability to tame the devil.

As you may suspect, there have been many changes to the Yule Goat over time. Young men would frequently dress up as the goat figure in the 17 ^th century, walk around playing practical jokes, and demanding presents.

By the nineteenth century, the goat had evolved into a kind and docile character. Men in the household would dress up as the goat and present gifts to the entire family in place of Father Christmas. Giant replicas of these goat decorations made of straw and red ribbons are made in larger cities and can be found today. In fact, the enormous goat, 42 feet high and weighing close to 4 tons, is built in the same location each year, at Slottstorget (Castle Square) in Gävle, Sweden. From the first Sunday in Advent until after the New Year when it is taken down, viewers may even watch a live stream.

2. “ Geseënde Kersfees!” – From South Africa

Okay, this one just may have you reaching for some heavily spiked eggnog! For their festive feast, many South Africans consume fried Emperor Moth caterpillars. Insects, a fantastic source of protein, are gathered around Christmas and kept to be eaten throughout the winter. But during the Christmas season, they are cooked fresh as part of the holiday festivities. Festive fried caterpillars might appear to be one of the stranger Christmas customs, but these caterpillars aren’t your typical garden variety.

Apart from being incredibly delicious for those who are accustomed to their unique flavor, all those who ingest the Pine Tree Emperor Moth, also known as the Christmas caterpillar, will have a little more luck in the upcoming year thanks to its festive coloring. So, now we know where Bear Grylls spends his Christmas!

3. “Maligayang Pasko!” – From the Philippines

The “Ligligan Parul,” also known as the Giant Lantern Festival, is held annually in San Fernando and has glistening parols (lanterns) that represent the Star of Bethlehem. Thousands of rotating lights make up each parol, which illuminates the night sky. San Fernando is now known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines,” thanks to the celebration.

In the Philippines, early masses called “Misa de Gallo” or “Simbang Gabi” are celebrated to commemorate Christmas. The Feast of the Three Kings is observed on this day, which is the first Sunday in January, after the final mass.

4. “Fröhliche Weihnachten!” – From Austria

This has got to be, by far, the scariest Christmas tradition we’ve come across. St. Nicholas brings presents to good children in Austria and Bavaria, while Krampus, a horned, anthropomorphic, half-goat, half-man figure, makes his rounds to punish naughty children. To let off steam and frighten young kids back into line, some men dress up as the spooky character for a “Krampuslauf,” or “Krampus run,” when they march through the streets.

Krampus, St. Nicholas’ wicked helper, scares children who have misbehaved. Assisting Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of December 5th with Saint Nick rewarding the well behaved children with gifts such as oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate. The naughty kids only receive punishment from Krampus with birch rods. According to Austrian folklore, Krampus kidnaps the naughtiest kids and takes them away in his sack, while St. Nicholas blesses good boys and girls. Young men dress up as Krampus in the first week of December and frighten children by clattering bells and chains. This takes being on the naughty list to an entirely new level!

5. “Gleðileg jól!” – From Iceland

The Swedes may celebrate Christmas with their giant goat, but Icelanders have, wait for it… a giant cat! No Icelander, young or old, is unaware of this mythological figure. One of the many bizarre spirits and creatures of Christmas is the Yule Cat, known as “Jólakötturinn.” This is a huge cat that devours people who have not received new clothes to wear before Christmas eve. So if you’re thinking about spending Christmas in Iceland, be sure to pack those new holiday threads or else you just may end up as cat food! And you may want to refrain from saying, “here, kitty kitty” if you see a cat while visiting!

During the holiday season, “Jólakötturinn” is rumoured to lurk about the snowy countryside. Farmers would traditionally utilize the Yule Cat as a kind of motivation for their employees: those who put in the extra effort would get new garments, while those who didn’t would get devoured by the enormous cat-like beast. To avoid the unpleasant end of coming out in nature’s litter box, it is now a tradition in Iceland for everyone to get new attire for Christmas.

6. “God Jul!” – From Norway

In Norway, there’s a sweep on all brooms in the house on Christmas Eve. According to Norwegian culture, witches and bad spirits arrive on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the day when evil spirits and witches fly around seeking mischief and other nonsense, according to Norwegian legend. As brooms are witches’ favored form of transportation, it is customary for Norwegian households to store any sweeping implements out of the witches’ reach.

7. “Buon Natale!” – From Italy

Now, Sweden and Iceland might have a giant goat and a giant cat to instill fear into the hearts of the young and old and make them think twice about being naughty each Christmas, but Italy has “Befana.” Folklore has it that a witch by the name of Befana makes a visit to every kid in Italy on the night before the Epiphany (January 6th) to stuff their stockings with sweets and, if they’ve been nice, give them presents. La Befana has been flying around the world on her tattered broomstick before Kris Kringle could so much as grow a gotee. The witch has been in Italian tradition at least since the eighth century as part of the Epiphany. While La Befana distributes gifts to good kids, you could find a lump of coal in your bed if you were bad, so be careful! Befana arrives via the chimney, much like Father Christmas, and the children who live there leave her gifts, usually wine and regional specialties that all those poor parents have to eat and drink when the kids are back in bed!

8. “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” – From Japan

Christmas in Japan is a time for friends and couples to get together for dinner at a special place, throw parties, and generally enjoy themselves. KFC is that location. The first KFC Christmas advertisement was introduced in 1974 when the fast food chain sold a bucket of its famed fried chicken and a bottle of wine and suggested using it for an adult-only Christmas party. In what has become a national custom, around 3.6 million families treat themselves to Kentucky’s famous fried chicken during the Christmas season in Japan. So it’s safe to say that KFC has a busy holiday season.

9. “Feliz Navidad!” – From Mexico

To recount the Christmas tale, churchgoers perform pastorales (Shepherd’s Plays) all around Mexico. The nine posadas of Advent are a very well-liked Mexican Christmas custom, and they’re partially to thank for Guadalupe-Reyes’ reputation as a party marathon. Posadas, unique Christmas social events, are customarily held every evening from December 16 through December 24.

With Las Posadas, a religious procession that mimics Mary and Joseph’s trip, the Christmas season in Mexico gets underway early in December. Additionally, the striking red poinsettia flowers are utilized nationwide in Christmas décor arrangements. Spanish Christmas melodies, magnificent nativity displays, dancing, and fireworks are all featured. While customs like Christmas trees and Santa have made an appearance at Mexican celebrations, the holidays are still deeply entrenched in Spanish and indigenous cultures.

10. “Ayamkom Saeedah!” – From Iraq

Christmas celebrations are calm and quiet in Iraq. The municipal council of Baghdad decorates a number of opulent hotels and restaurants and sets Christmas trees at crossroads. The population celebrates Christmas by participating in numerous Assyrian traditions and going to church. On Christmas Eve, it’s common practice to burn bonfires in the courtyards of homes.

The majority of Christmas festivities in Iraq don’t seem to have anything to do with the holiday’s modern religious roots. The most widely recognized representation of it in the Middle East is typically a festively adorned Christmas tree, a throwback to winter solstice festivities.

So, there you have it! We hope you enjoyed reading about how Christmas is celebrated in some countries around the world!

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Benefits of Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI)

Thu, 13 May 2021 14:09:00 GMT

The world is starting to resemble a global village as people from all walks of life convene for a common cause… the only roadblock to effective communication being language.

A priority when running a live multilingual conference is to get your messages across to as many attendees as possible. This wouldn’t be a problem if everyone spoke the same language. However, since your international audience may not all speak the same language, communication can be a challenge.

This is why Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) services are useful. You can maintain the accuracy of your company’s message while your audience receives the simultaneous translation in real-time. It’s highly reliable, effortless, and very cost-effective. In this blog, we will walk you through three key benefits of RSI services and why you should use them.

Benefit #1: RSI Retains the Core Message of Your Company

If your client base speaks your target language, then you probably don’t need to worry about language interpretation too much. Let’s suppose, however, that your attendees speak different languages and have trouble understanding your language. In that case, you’ll have to find a way to communicate with them without compromising the accuracy of your message.

It may seem like an insurmountable task on a budget, but Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) makes it easy and affordable for international attendees at a conference or event to listen to translated speech in real-time. In the case of live, in-person events, this service also lets you share content to smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Every attendee at your event will have the luxury of listening to your message in a format that’s easy to understand. Moreover, RSI facilitates the sharing of content in a way that is accurate and makes everyone feel included, regardless of the languages they speak.

Benefit #2: Interpreters Work Remotely

One of the biggest problems in the interpreting community is the logistical challenge of traveling around the world for interpreting assignments. It’s not always a feasible solution for interpreters and it gets expensive for clients.

Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) solves this problem because interpreters no longer need to travel to the site of the event, which means this is a more sustainable and cost-effective option for the client. Because interpreters don’t need to travel and there is no dedicated equipment, the carbon footprint of an event is reduced significantly.

Benefit #3: Companies Won’t Have Extra Expenditures

Interpreters who are flown in from another location will have several costs associated with their travels. This includes the price for their flights and staying at a hotel. You’ll also need to rent transmitters, receivers, headsets, AV equipment, and interpreter sound booths. These costs start to add up.

With Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI), interpreters work remotely from the comforts of their home offices. Participants at your event use our free app on their smartphone or tablet to listen to everything in their native languages in real-time. The simultaneous interpretation is streamed live with no delay or drop in quality. Your attendees will hear everything as if the interpreters were in the same room.

This also allows companies to present their event to multilingual audiences by hiring several interpreters in several languages, which opens them up to a broader audience.

It’s a win-win for everyone.

Wrapping Up

Companies that are interested in RSI services can obtain an estimate simply by providing the following details:

In short, RSI allows your business to truly scale up at a global level. You get the benefit of greater attendee engagement, greater efficiency, and lower costs.

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Don’t Get Lost in Translation

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 19:31:00 GMT

Your company, like so many others, may be trying to reach out to new multicultural customers in global markets to increase sales and grow your business. Of course, reaching out is one thing. Connecting is another.

It may be an easy thing to overlook, but translating your company and product literature into other languages may be one of the most important things to do to make that connection. Companies that are looking to attract new multicultural customers in different global markets —or even domestically— should be aware of some of the issues involved with translation, multicultural marketing and multilingual desktop publishing (DTP).

Market share

If you make your company literature and online content available in other languages, how much will your market share really increase? This is an important question to ask before seriously considering having your content translated. For example, if your company sells highly specialized computer components to technical types schooled in English (the language that dominates the entire computer industry), translation may not be necessary. On the other hand, if you intend to sell sports equipment to the general public located in another country (or even to non-English speakers in the United States), translation and production of your advertising material and product literature is probably a wise investment.

International regulatory compliance

Some countries require that all packaging with product information, ingredients and directions for use be translated into in their native language. Regulations vary by industry and by country. If you work for a cosmetic company, for example, there are certain requirements regarding how the ingredients appear on the packaging and whether they need to be in both English and the language of the consumers in that country. Check with the regulatory authorities in the countries you intend to target such as the local Standards Counsel or Trade Offices, or contact a regulatory specialist for your industry for expert advice.

Liability

Safety and warning statements almost invariably require translation. If your material is not properly translated, consumers may misuse your products, which could result in injury or even worse, death. Bad translations can also set the stage for your company being held liable for other misfortunes. Check with an international trade attorney for specific requirements in your industry.

Get to know your customers

Before starting any multicultural marketing campaign, take the time to learn about your potential customers. Who are they? What do they want? What drives their purchasing decisions? What appeals to their sense of value and how can you satisfy their needs? They may be nothing like your current English-only customers. Do some research and make sure you convey what you learn to anyone working on your communication materials, including your translation partner.

Go knee-deep at first

If you’re just getting your feet wet in the waters of translation and multicultural marketing, it may be wise to wade around for a bit at first before taking the full plunge. Start by translating only a key piece of your literature or content, not your entire library or website. Choose something that will generate the most sales, exposure and business presence that’ll give you the best ROI.

Think translation !

In the conceptualization, writing and production stages of putting together your company literature, have your writers and graphic designers actually think translation . This may entail eliminating buzzwords, American colloquialisms and avoiding ambiguous phrases or expressions that may not have equivalencies in other languages.

The designers of your documentation should remember that many languages use more words or characters than English and therefore, require more space. For English text going into another western language, such as French or Spanish, allow at least 20% more space for what is called “translation expansion”.

Make sure your English copy follows all the rules of sound writing, including the use of short, clear sentences written in the active voice. Copy that is clear and enjoyable to read in English will be the same once translated. Conversely, poorly written literature in English will be just as poorly written in German, French or Chinese, no matter how good the translators are. See our blog post, “Writing For Translation“ for some ideas on how to keep your messages clear and easy for your translation teams to get your ideas across in other languages.

Forge healthy partnerships

The relationships that you develop with translation and multilingual publication professionals can go a long way towards making your multicultural sales and marketing strategies a success. Carefully consider many factors when shopping for translation services. Language Service Providers (LSPs) vary greatly in size, level of experience and expertise, length of time in business, support services and technical capabilities.

It’s important to consider not only cost, but most importantly quality, service, support and the overall value you’ll receive. Unfortunately, some companies that have made decisions based solely on price have ended up getting burned by embarrassing translations or poor service. In the end, it could potentially cost thousands more than what may initially be saved.

Always look your best !

Your company’s foreign language packaging, manuals, catalogs and online content is, quite simply, your way of presenting yourself to the world. Rather than attempting to handle the production in other languages internally, consider contracting a translation and localization firm experienced in multilingual desktop publishing (DTP), layout and production. A fully-equipped translation and graphics firm will have a highly-qualified multilingual publications staff experienced in working with major layout applications in all major languages every day, and they will make your materials look their best.

Even in languages such as French, punctuation rules differ from those in English. In some languages like Chinese or Japanese, using certain colored fonts are considered inappropriate and even offensive. And then there are the challenges of producing publications or content in a website in right-to-left (RTL) reading languages such as Arabic, Farsi or Hebrew. In these languages, everything needs to be flipped or a mirror image of the English layout. Special software and fonts are also required for RTL languages.

Should you decide to use your own graphics department for foreign language layout and production, take the extra steps of making sure that the material goes through careful pre-press reviews by the translators and proofreaders before going live or to print. Desktop publishers or designers who are not experienced in working with foreign languages, or who cannot read them, could accidentally place translated copy in the wrong spots, hyphenate words incorrectly or not follow the punctuation rules of other languages. Proof, proof and proof again.

As the number of companies vying for greater global market share increases —whether as start-ups or as established brands— so does the need for accurate and effective communication to audiences with vastly different cultural and linguistic realities. If you want to succeed in today’s truly multilingual and multicultural economy, communication with people of other cultures must be done right. High-quality translation, design and multicultural marketing are key to getting your messages across to those potential customers, without getting lost in translation .

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Translation and Interpreting Services During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis

Wed, 20 May 2020 20:55:00 GMT

While the COVID-19 pandemic has put a huge strain on people and businesses everywhere, and social-distancing is our new reality for at least until we all get our COVID vaccines, our native-speaking and accredited translators and interpreters are still able to work virtually as remote translators and remote simultaneous interpreters. We can provide you with accurate translations of announcements, bulletins, press releases, consent forms, web content, or whatever information you need to convey to keep open channels of communication with your clients, employees, patients, associates or the general public.

Open for business!

In this time of need, we are ready and available 24/7 to assist local governments, public health commissions, hospitals, doctors, patients and families, Departments of Health and Human Services, and ANYONE who is in need of accurate and low-cost translation and interpreting in any language for all aspects of life during this global pandemic.

Translation

We provide certified and HIPAA-compliant translation services in more than 200 languages and dialects. Translated documents can be delivered any file format that you require, from MS Word files, Excel or PowerPoint presentations, to PDFs, Publisher or InDesign files for publication purposes. We also handle multilingual desktop publishing for pieces that require special formatting and page layout.

Interpreting

If you need to communicate verbally, we can also help you stay in touch virtually and remotely with Over-The-Phone Interpreting (OPI) or Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) services for multilingual conversations in real-time. Whatever your interpreting needs, our skilled and experienced native-speaking interpreters will get your messages across in any language so that you can maintain important ongoing dialogues with your non-English speaking clients, employees, patients, families or the general public.

Fast, Easy and Affordable

We are here to help you get your important and time-sensitive messages across in any language as expeditious, hassle-free and cost-effective as possible. Our rates are structured to save our clients money and for our teams to earn a decent living. We handle each and every project with an extreme level of care and conviction.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

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Getting Ready for Translation

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 13:26:00 GMT

Often times companies take the single most important question for granted: into which language(s) do we need to translate? Perhaps the answer is not as obvious as one may think, and it influences many aspects of each project.

Some people may not realize that some languages differ in use from one country to another. For example, European French, Spanish and Portuguese all vary significantly from their North & South American counterparts . And there are two kinds of written Chinese, Simplified and Traditional, both independent of spoken Chinese. See our list of the world’s official languages to help you decide which languages you need and call us to help you get your project started in the right direction.

Another important thing to consider is that English language materials written for an English-speaking audience frequently have “hot spots” (seemingly innocuous, easily-overlooked language) which can cause delays in the translation process. See if you can find any of the following in your source document(s):

Consider the following before getting started with the translation of your documentation, collateral or online content:

Once you know your target markets and languages, it may be helpful to communicate with your in-country representatives, distributors or subsidiaries. Get ideas and input from them about their customer’s specific needs or “hot buttons” that drive their purchasing decisions. Try to compose and tailor the style, layout, language and approach of your English source documentation to meet the cultural standards and expectations of your target audiences. Review existing source documents and decide what changes could be made. Whenever possible, it may be a good idea for your foreign sales office or subsidiaries to approve your final source documentation before the translation process actually gets started. Just some food for thought.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

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Multilingual Communication in Times of Quarantine: Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI)

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 18:45:00 GMT

If you are like many people who still need to communicate with your non English-speaking colleagues, employees or clients during this time of physical distancing and sheltering-in-place, then you just may benefit from using Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) technology. RSI is an effortless, convenient, real-time language interpretation solution tailored to your specific needs. When you don’t need interpreters to be on-site, or in the case of the current COVID-19 crisis you cannot have interpreters on-site RSI will save you time, resources and money. RSI connects you with our qualified remote interpreters from around the world, ensuring that you get the highest quality interpreters at the best global rate.

How RSI works

Presenters at a live event speak in one language. There are participants who do not fully understand that language. Audio and video are streamed to our remote interpreters who see and hear the presenters at the conference or web meeting on their computers. They then simultaneously interpret what is said into the different languages of the participants who use their smartphones or tablets with our FREE RSI APP to listen to our remote interpreters in their own native languages. The simultaneous interpretation is streamed live with no delay or drop in quality. Participants hear everything as if our interpreters were in the same room.

RSI Benefits

RSI is effortless. Because participants use their smart phones or other electronic devices, there is no need for cumbersome traditional headsets, receivers, or sound proof booths. The setup is hassle-free, and it’s an easy and intuitive user experience that allows participants to fully engage in the event..

RSI is sustainable. Because interpreters don’t need to travel and there is no dedicated equipment, the carbon footprint of an event is reduced significantly.

RSI is very reliable. Our Remote Simultaneous Interpreters are experienced linguists accredited and trained to provide simultaneous interpreter services in the most demanding technical settings.

RSI is cost-effective . There are no travel costs for interpreters or expensive equipment rentals and its related labor. With RSI, users save an average of 25-30% over traditional simultaneous interpretation.

Simplicity, affordable rates, and expert simultaneous interpreters make RSI the preferred solution for conferences and virtual meetings in any language, at any time. Tap into a global audience and gain access to international markets by integrating Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) into your next conference, seminar, meeting or event.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

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Found in Translation: Multilingual SEO

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 20:37:00 GMT

Having a web presence in today’s global economy is vital to growing a solid customer base. But how easy is it for people of other languages who want to buy your products or services to find you? We all know that developing keywords for your English language site and having a solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy is important. But how do you go about doing the same for your potential non English-speaking customers? This post explores some important things to consider and offers some tips to help getting your site found by people around the corner, or around the world who may be searching for your products or services in other languages.

Content Writing for SEO

Often times a website that is very well-written unfortunately may not contain the necessary keywords for the site to be found in searches. Content that is written so that a site will rank well focuses on keyword research and things like keyword density and keyword frequency . This must be done in a way so that it does not seem forced and so there is a natural flow and rhythm to the narrative. The content must tell a story, draw visitors in and keep them interested. Otherwise, the site may just be losing visitors. As an integral part of our multilingual SEO solutions, our digital marketing content writers will review your site’s current content to make sure it that it contains the keywords and elements needed to rank well in searches, has easy-to-index copy and is also interesting and compelling to provide your audience with a great user experience.

Multilingual Keyword Research

Your content strategy should always start with keyword research for the regions and languages you’re targeting. You should never just translate your existing keywords using Google translate and expect very good results. With our multilingual SEO solutions, our native-speaking digital marketing experts conduct in-depth research and investigation using advanced digital analytical tools that get inside the mindset of your new potential customers. We then create detailed reports of the keywords people will be using in specific languages and markets when they search for products or services in your industry. This includes the current jargon, lingo, buzzwords, expressions and industry or product-specific terms and expressions.

Metadata Optimization

Metadata descriptions, as well as alt tags, keyword synonyms, names and titles of pages are some of the most important variables of a website. When fully optimized, these elements play a very important role in how well your site will rank organically in search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. It’s very important to take the time with the entries in the backend of the site when localizing and optimizing a site to different languages. Our experienced multilingual SEO and digital marketing teams have the expertise and know-how to get these technical steps handled correctly.

Content Translation and Localization

The translation and localization of the content of a website and the optimization of its keywords, meta data, alt tags, synonyms, names and titles is perhaps the single most important and powerful tool to establish a solid presence in global markets. Having a site translated to another language is one thing. Having a site effectively localized and optimized so that it attracts traffic, ranks well in organic searches in other languages and holds reader’s attention is something quite different. Whether your current content is optimized or not, we’re here to help. Our teams will assist with the writing and optimization of your current site and with the translation, transcreation and localization of the content to other languages.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Translation and Optimization

If you currently use services such as GoogleAds, Yelp, or other PPC programs and want to reach customers in other languages, our multilingual digital marketing specialists will see to it that your PPC campaigns in English or any other languages get you the results you need for maximum exposure. Since PPC programs and ads generally require a limited number of words and characters, this type of translation requires a special approach that focuses on the effectiveness of the keywords and content as well as optimizing images.

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Demystifying Localization

Sat, 05 May 2018 12:17:00 GMT

We’ve all heard the buzzwords and felt the excitement when people begin talking of “going global”, but what does all of this really mean? What are the issues facing the documentation manager or international marketing manager who is handed the task of localizing content, software and supporting documentation? For anyone who is trying to sell their products overseas for the first time, the prospect of localization can be daunting. However, with the international software market booming, it makes sense for companies with a viable overseas market share to seriously consider localizing their products.

What does the term “localization” even mean?

Localization is the adaptation of a product or service to meet the needs of a particular language, culture or desired population’s “look-and-feel.” Just about anything written can be localized – user manuals, product instructions, packaging, websites, software, etc.

Localizing software and apps

The first and most important step in preparing your software for the international market is to identify the modules that will need to be localized. For any standard piece of software, this includes the user interface, the help screens and any documentation that goes along with them (the user manual, registration cards, license agreements, etc.). Once this has been determined, you need to consult with your programmers and architects to see if your software has been internationalized. Internationalized software has been written so that certain elements such as the date and time format and sorting requirements can change to fit foreign market standards. Software that is being localized for the Asian markets will also need to be double-byte enabled. Enabling your software means giving each character two bytes of space so that it can handle the Asian language character set rather than one byte of space which is all that is needed for Western languages. If you know an upcoming project will eventually need to be localized, making these items a prerequisite for your programmers will save you time and expense later on.

Getting started

After you have chosen a localization vendor, together you will need to establish a glossary of terms to ensure consistency in translation of specialized terms not only for the project you are working on, but for any future updates or new products you may be developing. There may be several translation teams working on your project at once. Having a glossary established ensures that terms are translated the same in all modules and won’t end up as a mixed up jumble of terms that is difficult for the end user to understand. This is also the best time to bring your foreign distributors into the loop so that they can review and approve the glossary before translation begins and save you the hassles of misunderstandings and mistranslations later on.

Are we there yet?

Depending on the size of your product and your time schedule, the software localization process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, but this is where all of your preparation pays off. The more comprehensive your glossary is, the more quickly and seamlessly the localization process will be. Once the translation is complete the software and help will need to go into the testing or engineering phase. This step is to ensure that the software works like the English version. Your engineering team will be looking for issues such as whether or not the new text fits into the dialog boxes, if the hot keys are working properly and if the links in the help all go where they are supposed to. Any problems will be resolved at this point to make sure that the translated version of your software looks and works as well as the English version. While this is being done, our multilingual desktop publishing team can get to work on the documentation, arranging the fit and flow of the text as well as placing the new screen shots from the translated version of the software.

Once again, this is a great time to bring in your foreign distributors or any in-house localization specialists to review the translated version of the program and to make any suggestions for changes that they feel are appropriate.

Localizing software, apps or products has many different components to keep track of. The most important rule of thumb to keep in mind during the localization process is communication. Keeping everyone involved, from your localization vendor to your foreign distributor to your printing house is the best means for reaping the rewards of growth in global markets.

By Meagan O’Connell
Project Manager

The post Demystifying Localization appeared first on intransol .

Fun Language Tidbits

Fri, 05 Aug 2016 13:48:00 GMT

Did you know…

The language called “Silbo Gomera” (Gomeran Whistle) spoken on one of the Canary Islands, “La Gomera”, which is located off the coast of Morocco, consists entirely of whistles. It is structured in such a way that the islanders are able to mimic the spoken language of the region – Castilian Spanish – through whistles.

More than 1,000 languages are spoken on the continent of Africa.

Over 20,000 new words in French are created each year.

Spanish contains about 4,000 Arabic words.

Kinshasha, the capital of Congo, is the world’s second largest French speaking city.

More than 1.5 million Americans are native French speakers.

Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world.

The most difficult language to learn is Basque, which is spoken in northern Spanish and southern France. The word in Basque for their language is “Euskera”. It’s a very old language whose origins are unknown however many renowned linguists and historians believe that it can be the direct descendant of the language spoken by the dwellers of the caves of Altamira, Ekain or Lascaux. The Basque language’s origins date back to the Neolithic, but there is evidence that it could be even older.

All pilots on international flights identify themselves in English.

Cryptophasia is a language phenomenon developed by twins (fraternal or identical) that only the two children can understand. The word has its roots from the Greek “crypto”, meaning “secret” and “phasia”, meaning “speech”. Most linguists associate cryptophasia with idioglossia , which is any language used by only one, or very few, people. Cryptophasia also differs from idioglossia on including mirrored actions like twin-walk and identical mannerisms.

Hindi did not become the official language of India until 1965

Over 300 languages are spoken in London alone.

The first language (from Earth) spoken in outer space was Russian.

Papua New Guinea has the most languages on the planet at 840!

What’s in a name? Actually, much, much more than most realize. When choosing a product name for world markets, be sure to select a name that can be used and pronounced by your global customers. People have a hard time buying a product if they cannot pronounce the name. What’s worse is a name with negative connotations or one that may even sound like something racy, distasteful or even humorous in your customers’ languages. It is of paramount importance to thoroughly investigate what the name means and sounds like in the languages of your target markets. It is equally important to make sure that the name is not already trademarked.

The phrase “It’s all Greek to me” is over 400 years old. It was coined by Shakespeare in “Julius Caesar” in 1599. Prior to that, however, it may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in Latin: “ Graecum est; non legitur ” (“It is Greek, [therefore] it cannot be read”). The phrase was used by monk scribes in the Middle Ages, as knowledge of Greek was dwindling among those copying manuscripts.

When it comes to difficult languages, Khmer is an excellent candidate. Khmer is spoken by around seven million people in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, and its alphabet contains the grand total of seventy-four letters. We thought spelling in English was difficult!

How many Disney fans remember that catchy song, “Hakuna matata”, from “The Lion King”? The song is sung in Swahili and the title means “No problem”.

Along with other well-known professions, translation is one of the world’s oldest. A dictionary that was chiseled on clay tablets using a writing method known as “cuneiform” dating back to 6,000 to 10,000 years, was recently discovered in the Middle East. On it are two columns of words in two different ancient tongues.

In ancient times, interpreters were often used as scapegoats if negotiations went sour between neighboring tribes and nations. An interpreter was considered a very hazardous profession and there wasn’t any workers’ compensation insurance!

According to Biblical legend, the Tower of Babel was built by people who all spoke the same language. Their vanity drove them to construct a tower reaching into heaven. It was destroyed and the mortals were punished by being made to speak many languages.

The language of Esperanto, created by Ludwig Zamenhoff, was man’s most recent attempt to create a single, universal language. In a word, it was a flop.

Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translators (347 – 419 AD) translated both the Greek and Hebrew versions of the Bible into Latin. Every year on September 30th (the day of his death) translators around the world celebrate International Translation Day.

Back in the 70s, President Carter was giving a speech to the Polish people and he wished to express his affection to the audience and said “I love you”. His English-Polish interpreter translated it as “I lust after you” which, needless to say, made the crowd roar with laughter!

After Mexico, The United States has the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world, and the numbers change every year. The official estimate for the U.S. is 53 million people, of which approximately 41 million people are native Spanish speakers and 12 million people speak Spanish as a second language . Due to the huge rise of the Hispanic population in the U.S. in recent years, Spanish is the most translated language in the United States, and in the world, today. American businesses have a major stake in effectively reaching this enormous market, both inside and outside U.S. borders.

“Spanglish” is the term for the Spanish-English hybrid language emerging here in the United States wherever Hispanic and American cultures blend.

It has been said that the “typical” human is an 18-year old Chinese girl. Statistics show that there are more females than males on earth and the average age is 18. Additionally, Chinese is spoken by more people than any other language on the planet. More than 1.2 billion people speak some dialect of Chinese in the People’s Republic of China alone. 6+ million more speak Cantonese in Hong Kong. There are another 21 million Chinese speakers in Taiwan. And the number of Chinese speakers around the rest of the world…who can count? Does your company target this huge market of potential customers? Your competitors do…

Although there are many spoken Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Taiwanese, Shanghai-ese, etc.) Mandarin Chinese is the official spoken language in mainland China and Taiwan. Cantonese is not a written language. A Cantonese “translator” is someone who orally interprets the Cantonese dialect of the Chinese language.

There are only 2 written forms of the Chinese language: Traditional and Simplified. Traditional Characters are used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and Simpliﬁed Characters are used in Mainland China. In the United States it is most common to use Traditional characters (the majority of Chinese newspapers printed in the U.S. are published in traditional characters).

If your company has not identified its target market among mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, all printed materials should be in Traditional Characters.

It is culturally incorrect (and offensive) to use Simpliﬁed Characters in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Using the correct language shows the sincerity and courtesy of a foreign company to the Chinese local business and consumers.

Writing began in China over 4,000 years ago with drawings of natural objects, and these drawings gradually became simplified and stylized into pictographs, or pictorial characters. Other symbols represent ideas and abstract notions and are correspondingly called ideographs. Over the past 3,000 years, at least 70,000 characters have been in use at one time or another, but currently only about 10,000 are used for modern texts.

Without special arrangement, 800 numbers do not work when dialed from outside the United States (not even from Canada). Be sure to replace any toll-free numbers with standard numbers (area code + seven-digit number). Your international customers will thank you.

Puns, plays on words, idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms can usually be translated successfully by meaning or intention. Some creations, however, such as “E-Z” or “made-right”, for example, present difficulties for translators. Also, trademarked product names are not usually translated.

Cultural-specific “Americana” references are perhaps the greatest caveat in the translation and localization process. When writing for international audiences, keep the intended readers in mind. Your messages should make the readers feel like the content was created specifically for them, not as an after-thought.

The Differences Hmong Us: Did you know that there are two versions of Hmong? And where is Hmong spoken? Is there a country called “Hmonglandia” or “Hmongolia”? No to both. White Hmong is widely acceptable and is spoken and written by all Hmong speakers. It is considered the “neutral” dialect. Green Hmong, the dialect, changes as you cross rivers, mountains and other geographical boundaries. It is different from White in that it sometimes uses different accents and spellings which affect pronunciation. White Hmong is equally understandable to those who speak Green Hmong. If a group of Green Hmong speakers were in a room they would use Green Hmong. In the presence of White Hmong speakers, however, Green Hmong speaker would automatically and readily switch to White Hmong.

There are approximately 5.5 million Armenians in the world. Over 4.5 million living in Armenia, 150,000 in Iran , about 350,000 in the U.S., and the rest scattered all over the world. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia and Iran whereas Western Armenia is spoken in other parts of the world (i.e. Europe, Middle East, North and South America, etc.). Even though there are slight differences in the tone of voice between the two they are basically very similar.

Arabic is written and read from right to left, so that a book or pamphlet printed in Arabic opens towards the right (the reverse of a European book) and shifts the alternation of even and odd pages. Arabic is a cursive script whose letters vary in form depending on whether or not they are next to spaces or linked to other letters. Some letters have as many as four distinct forms. Arabic makes no distinction between upper and lower case.

Farsi has been written using the Arabic script ever since the conquest of Iran by the Moslems in the 7th to 9th centuries. Because the Arabic alphabet was not originally conceived for Farsi, it has had to be adapted through the addition of several characters for sounds that don’t exist in Arabic.

Japanese is spoken by approximately 123 million people on the islands that make up Japan, and another 2 million elsewhere in the world, particularly Brazil and the United States. Standard Japanese is based on the Tokyo dialect.

There are four ways of writing Japanese: Kanji, Katakana, Hiragana (developed by simplifying the grass, or cursive, style of calligraphy), and Romanji. Historically, Katakana characters were used in combination with Chinese characters to indicate correct pronunciation; whereas Hiragana characters were used mainly by women and not mixed with Kanji. The contemporary habit is to use Chinese characters for content words and Hiragana for grammatical function words such as particles and inflectional endings. Katakana is used to write borrowed words from foreign languages. In addition, Romanji is a phonetic writing system using the Roman alphabet. It is used to write subway station names, for example, and as an aid for foreign tourists, to express foreign acronyms (such as ILO, IMF, or NATO), as well as in advertising.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

The post Fun Language Tidbits appeared first on intransol .

Writing for Translation

Sat, 20 Feb 2016 12:31:00 GMT

When writing content that’s intended to be translated and localized into different languages now or even at some point down the road, it’s always a good idea to think translation – that is, to think in terms of how easy it will be to express the same ideas and concepts in different languages and how well your target audiences will understand the content.

With our Content Evaluation & Adaptation (CEA) services, our teams of multicultural marketing experts, in collaboration with our translators and editors in the target markets, evaluate and adapt all kinds of content before it’s translated, making it more “translatable” or “localizable”. The translation and localization process will not only be easier and less expensive, but most importantly, it will not sound like a translation and will resonate more with your global customers.

Focus on key areas

It’s important to remember that simple, straight-forward content will always be easier to translate and will save you time, money and resources. Try to keep these things in mind when developing your content:

When we evaluate and adapt content for translation and localization, we address the many “red flag” areas in the content that may cause translation and localization stumbling blocks or hurtles. Using simple content annotation and change tracking tools, we flag these areas and address them with notes and suggestions so that clients can review and approve the changes before they’re actually implemented. It is a collaborative process between intránsol and our clients. We present recommendations with clear explanations and together we determine the best final translation and localization-ready version of the content.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

The post Writing for Translation appeared first on intransol .

Does your website parle-t-il français, habla español or parla italiano?

Fri, 19 Feb 2016 21:06:00 GMT

Way back in the early 90s, having a website was a pretty big deal. There was no such thing as WordPress with thousands of themes to choose from. Sites has had to be built from scratch by people who knew code. A decent site could have ended up costing tens of thousands of dollars and very few of them, if any, were in multiple languages. English-only websites dominated the Internet.

Fast forward a few years and things have certainly changed. Major players in retail and manufacturing have realized that English-only sites will only appeal to English-only speakers. That would exclude about 70% of the world’s population. Such organizations that have sites in multiple languages have truly put the worldwide in the web. If you think Internet consumers speak your language well enough to want to buy from your English-only site, this could be a fatal misunderstanding. In fact, there is an undeniably strong link between in-language content and a consumer’s likelihood of making a purchase.

The world is your oyster

If you work for a global company with a strong web presence or much of your business is derived from online exposure and sales, a site that is multilingual will engage your customers in their languages, enhance the user experience and generate more business. There’s no country in the world where only one language is spoken, including the United States. Although English may seem to be enough, you could be missing out on a huge market share by not having a site in different languages. Localizing your website involves the same pre-translation steps as traditional print projects. If your company has given you the task of investigating this before you plunge head-first into the website localization process, here are some things to consider:

What languages to translate into? Each company should study the location and habits of its own web visitors and evaluate its strategic geographical plans for growth. Once you know what geographies to target, you can easily determine the languages that you need. This could be French for Canada, for example, or Spanish for the United States.

Map it out. Plan ahead by thinking about the navigation of your site. How will your foreign users be directed to the correct pages? Your home page may need to greet visitors in several languages at once. It’s usually best to give them a language option using the native name of the language. For example, the multilingual menu options for your site should simply be “English”, “Française”, “Italiano”, “Deutsch”, “Español”, “Svenska”, “русский”, “中文”, “日本語”, “한국어”, and so forth.

Choose a multilingual-ready theme. If you’re using a multilingual-ready WordPress theme for your site, you’re already way ahead of the game. You’ll just need to check to make sure that the theme you’re using is multilingual-ready. If not, it may be time to think about upgrading. A great resource where you can find themes that are ready to add languages is themeforest.net. You can either purchase a multilingual-ready theme or purchase a plug-in called WPML (WordPress Multilingual) which will allow you to add languages to your site. WordPress is an open-source software for building websites. Today more than 25% of all sites out there a WordPress sites. The advantages are that there are hundreds of themes to choose from, including e-commerce sites with shopping carts. You can run WordPress sites from your own servers or use WordPress hosting.

How much to budget? Having determined the needed languages, try to identify the budget within which you need to operate. If the budget drives the requirements, there are different cost reduction techniques that you can follow to maximize the value of your efforts.

It is not always possible to estimate the cost of localizing a website by simply viewing it online. Websites are dynamic and not just static. An effort to collect and compile all of the the assets and source files of the site that will require localization is essential before an accurate estimate can be generated. Doing this can be a time-consuming process and is usually outside of the scope or providing a free estimate. It is usually best to compile all of the text in Word docs since translation teams work most efficiently in this file format. Once you have compiled the text and created a Word doc for each page or one Word doc with all pages identified, go through the files carefully to determine what the best strategy for each will be. Ask yourself these questions:

Once you have Word docs or other text files of the pages requiring localization collected and ready to review, contact your translation vendor for an estimate to translate those files. The cost of localization should include the following:

You may also want your translation vendor to populate the pages within the backend editor of the site where it’s hosted and to perform tests on different browsers and on different devices to make sure the localized content is displaying properly. This is part of the localization process and it should be clarified with your vendor upfront whether this is something you will handle internally or if it is something you want your vendor to handle. If you wish for your translation vendor to handle this, it will involve additional costs and they will need to be able to access the backend editor of your site where it is hosted.

How often to synchronize languages?

Since websites are very organic in nature and are constantly changing, you should also decide how frequently you will want to update the localized pages, and how closely they should be synchronized with the source.

With the use of translation memory, this technology allows for tracking and translation of updates either frequently (weekly or monthly) or infrequently (quarterly or yearly). It all depends on how much time and money you are willing to spend on having updates to your site in English reflected in the localized languages.

Ready to get started?

Having multilingual content for your global customers in their languages with a professionally localized website is not a simple endeavor. It requires many steps that must be followed diligently to get the job done right. Scrimping on the effort by relying on automated online translation tools could have quite the opposite of the desired effect. People who view sites in languages that are obviously “machine translations” or done with online translation tools will see the gibberish, non-sense language immediately and may leave your site and never return. Done professionally and correctly, however, your localized site could turn visitors into long-term customers who tell their friends, who tell their friends. This is why you need to think seriously about involving a professional and reputable language service provider (LSP) early in the process. Please feel free to contact us with questions or for additional information about how we can assist you in creating a strong multilingual online presence.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

The post Does your website parle-t-il français, habla español or parla italiano? appeared first on intransol .

Simplified versus Traditional Chinese

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 12:34:00 GMT

Many of our clients ask when translating or localizing content to Chinese whether they need to translate it to Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese characters. For U.S. companies doing business with the Chinese, it is important to use the correct language in their business correspondence, advertising brochures, contract documents and business cards. The Chinese written language has two styles. The ﬁrst uses Traditional Characters (“Fan Ti”) while the second uses Simpliﬁed Characters (“Jian Ti”). Traditional Characters are used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and Simpliﬁed Characters are used in Mainland China.

When in doubt…

If you have not identified or are not sure of your target market among mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, all printed materials should be in Traditional Characters. Many Chinese mainlanders, especially those in the business world, do recognize and understand the Traditional Characters (even though they prefer Simplified Characters). It is culturally incorrect and offensive, however, to use Simplified Characters in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Using the correct language shows the sincerity and courtesy of a foreign company to Chinese businesses and consumers.

In addition to two styles of written language, there exist several dialects of the spoken language. Within the Chinese language family, there is the standard spoken language, Mandarin Chinese, as well as many local dialects such as Cantonese, Taiwanese, Shanghai-ese, etc. Mandarin Chinese is the ofﬁcial spoken language in mainland China and Taiwan. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and the Guangdong Province of mainland China. Cantonese is not a written language. A Cantonese “translator” is someone who orally interprets the language.

The post Simplified versus Traditional Chinese appeared first on intransol .

You Say “Chávena”, I say “Xícara”: European and Brazilian Portuguese

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:15:00 GMT

It’s a well-known fact to those of us who work with Portuguese on a daily basis, that the Portuguese spoken in Europe is quite different from that spoken in Brazil.

For a number of years scholars from both countries tried to somehow narrow these differences by drawing elaborate orthographic treaties to unify the Portuguese language, but to no practical avail, due to a strong intellectual opposition on both sides of the Atlantic. Meetings were held in Lisbon and Rio, but the latest treaty was never ratified because of its polemic nature. Scholars, writers, journalists, actors, and politicians all joined hands to fight this treaty that should have been approved by January of 1994.

Today, this subject still draws a lot of emotion, and there are no prospects of a practical solution to this matter.

So… just what are the differences?

The divergences between European and Brazilian Portuguese deal with a considerable number of spelling differences, vocabulary options, and syntactical preferences that validate the opinion of some scholars that insist on the idea of two different languages.

Some Vocabulary Differences

There are also innumerable syntactical differences, such as those that deal with pronoun placement, the use of the infinitive in European Portuguese vs. the use of the gerund in Brazilian Portuguese.

On top of these vocabulary and syntactical differences, one must not forget the countless cases of those words that have a different spelling.

Below you will find just a brief example of some of the differences in spelling between European and Brazilian Portuguese. There are over 500 words that fall in this category, and over 1,400 words that have different accent marks.

Different Spelling

So by now you might be asking yourself the question, “what do we do when we need to translate content for Portuguese speakers who reside in the United States who are from Portugal and Brazil?” The answer to that question basically comes down to demographics: what percentage of your audience is from Portugal and what percentage is from Brazil? Majority rules. Almost invariably, Brazilian Portuguese wins out for use in the U.S.

Portuguese is the fifth most widely-spoken language in the world. There are about 11 million speakers in Portugal and 210 million in Brazil. It remains the administrative language in the former colonies of Angola, Mozambique, Guiné-Bissau, Saõ Tomé-Principe and the Cape Verde Islands (where Portuguese-based Creoles are also spoken). Portuguese is also encountered in pockets in Goa, Timor, Malaysia, Macao and North America. New England, Boston, Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are home to many people from both Brazil and Portugal.

One interesting feature of Portuguese is the system of address, so structured that it has been compared to the honorific systems of oriental languages. The intricacies of the different forms of address vary between Portugal and Brazil. Portugal and Brazil in 1943 agreed to establish a common, standard orthography. Although Portuguese uses the same Latin alphabet as English, the letters k, w and y only occur in words of foreign origin.

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

The post You Say “Chávena”, I say “Xícara”: European and Brazilian Portuguese appeared first on intransol .

Multilingual Desktop Publishing (DTP) Tips

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 08:35:00 GMT

Multilingual Desktop Publishing (DTP) Tips

By Michael Kooiman
Production Manager

Following are a few things to consider before having your materials and translated produced in other languages. Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions by emailing us at translate@intransol.com .

Graphic Elements: If the images in your materials are intended for an American audience, they may not transfer well to people in other countries. Some images may need to be adapted to be more appealing and acceptable to your target audience. We always evaluate the graphic elements as part of our localization and multilingual desktop publishing process and provide suggestions and recommendations to ensure that your content will resonate with your global customers.

Regulatory Requirements: What information is required on labeling and packaging information to satisfy regulatory requirements? We can take care of this for you to make sure your materials are regulatory-ready.

Printing: Have you determined the most cost-effective way to print your materials once localized? We’re happy to make some recommendations.

Final Copy: Is the English text in your material completely finalized to avoid costs for updates, changes and revisions later? If updates are needed after the translation is completed, we can easily track changes to make the updates easily and inexpensively.

Assets: Do your electronic art files include all of the necessary assets such as graphic elements (links) and special fonts? Once we receive the art files, we will make certain that there are no missing links or fonts and will let you know if there are.

Non-Roman Languages: Layout changes that may be needed for Non-Roman languages such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, or right-to-left reading languages such as Arabic, Farsi or Hebrew. If you need you materials produced in those languages, not to worry! We will show you the most cost-effective ways to adapt existing layouts.

Spic-n-Span? Is your electronic file cleanly formatted? Most translations expand from 110-125% of the English copy. Does the existing English-language layout have space for the translated text to expand?

Recycle Your Colors. If you’re having pieces professionally printed, do you need to reproduce all the colors in your translated document? For example, if your 4-color project contains mostly overprinting black text, you may be able to reuse the old cyan, magenta and yellow plates again, changing only the black. By restricting the colors of those elements that change, you can save on printing costs. We can advise you on the best way to maintain quality, yet reduce these costs.

A4 or Letter? The standard size of most international publications is A4, a slightly longer and thinner format (210 mm x 297 mm) than our 8.5 x 11 (letter) size. Does your in-country contact recommend printing in A4? Will the layout of your letter-sized documents easily convert to A4? If your 8.5 x 11 layout is photocopied or reproduced abroad, the different size may change its look and feel.

Whatever your localization and production needs, our seasoned project managers and experienced multilingual production teams will make the process completely easy and hassle-free. We’ll see to every last detail so that your materials are professionally produced to get the professional results they deserve from Indiana to India, Mount Vernon to Montevideo, Ashtabula to Azerbaijan, and all points in between.

The post Multilingual Desktop Publishing (DTP) Tips appeared first on intransol .

Good Morning, Vietnam!

Mon, 06 Jun 2005 03:36:00 GMT

Good Morning, Vietnam!

By Jason Wood
CEO & Managing Director

Way back in February 4, 1994, the then 19-year old American economic embargo against Vietnam was repealed. Finally, Vietnam, one of the last unexplored markets, could be discovered by many different American businesses. Among the “hot” industries at that time were dams, irrigation systems, roads, power plants, telecommunications, hotels, tourism, soft drinks and much more. Levi Richardson, former manager of Vietnam affairs for the U.S.-ASEAN Council for Business and Technology, indicated that “the U.S.-ASEAN Council, which includes many of the Fortune 500 companies that do business in Southeast Asia, has conducted the only systemic survey of Vietnam’s business opportunities; it expected roughly $2.6 billion worth of trade and investment to ﬂow within two years (1995-1997) and $8.2 billion within ﬁve”. At least 34 U.S. ﬁrms set up in-country ofﬁces – Pepsi-Cola being one of the ﬁrst. Fast forward to 2018 and Vietnam’s economy is booming.

Besides the lifting of the embargo, “doi moi” or “new thinking”, the process of reforming Vietnam’s economy from a state ownership system to privatization, greatly aroused the interest of not only American politicians but also of American business interests. Also, Vietnam offers great economic potential – a well-educated population which is highly disciplined and motivated, a wealth of natural resources including offshore deposits of oil and natural gas, timber, foodstuffs – namely rice, and a market of nearly 71 million consumers.

The introduction of liberal foreign investment laws by its government completes its favorable business outlook. Enterprises can be fully foreign-owned, investors have the right to repatriate their proﬁts and foreign companies can appoint foreign managers.

All enthusiasm aside, however, competition is intense between American investors and traders and their European and Asian counterparts who were not restrained by the American embargo. They have already invested more than $6 billion with Taiwan being the largest investor, followed by Hong Kong, Australia, France and Japan. American marketing executives are anxious to also become active in Vietnam’s growth potential. Another obstacle is the lack of normal banking procedures which need to be established according to international protocol. Until that is completed, investors will not be completely conﬁdent in Vietnam’s economy. Short-terms frustrations are bound to ensue but long-term prospects are worth the wait as growth will be phenomenal.

Ethnically speaking, 87 percent of Vietnam’s population are “Kinh,” also the word which deﬁnes its’ language. There are also approximately 52 other ethnic groups which mostly occupy the mountainous areas. Most of these groups have their own language and cultural practices.

After gaining independence from the Chinese in the 11th century, Vietnam retained Chinese writing for formal and ofﬁcial documents until the 20th century. Now, Kinh, or Vietnamese, is used throughout Vietnam. It is not related to Chinese but rather belongs to the Austria-Asiatic language family. The “national script” is Roman, thanks to Catholic missionaries and their transcription of the native language, and it serves as the official orthography.

The post Good Morning, Vietnam! appeared first on intransol .