An article from MarketingSherpa.com gives four suggestions for successfully transferring email marketing campaigns to different cultures.

First, the article suggests that companies should always use local translators. This point is debatable, as it may be easier to assure quality translation by going through a US-based company. That said, many language service providers work with worldwide databases of translators, and know how to choose the right translators for the job based on both their language and cultural knowledge.

The second piece of advice is to recognize local differences in a language. US English is different from British, for example, and for marketing purposes, companies can even find themselves in the position of needing “translation” within the same language.

Finally, in its third and fourth key points, the article emphasizes the importance of respecting cultural differences in general, and the appropriateness of photos and other images in particular.

Countries have their own languages, but they also have their own cultures – including in the world of business. Successful business translation may include localization, or custom-fitting your message to your target locale’s business culture. Turn to a qualified language service provider such as Language Translation, Inc. to help find the right translators and localization experts for your company.

Betty Carlson

The Dictionary of American Regional English, also known as DARE, is much more than a compendium of American idiomatic expressions. The word “Regional” in its title indicates that it also shows where Americans use the words and expressions that are included.

Even language experts (such as English teachers) often contrast “American English” with “British English” or “Australian English.” While differences definitely exist between “national” forms of English, great regional variations can be found even within the same country – and the USA is no exception.

As the DARE website points out, “Americans have many names for the kind of sandwich that includes meats, cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, etc., served in a long bun. What DARE can tell you… is where the words hero, hoagie, grinder, sub, torpedo, Cuban, etc. are the local terms for this sandwich.”

DARE has been a large-scale and long-term project that is not yet complete. The first volumes -- letters A through Sk- were published over a 17 –year-period (1985-2002). The final tome, Volume V – which will finally bring the work to the letter Z -- is presently scheduled for publication in 2011.

Hospitals and health care facilities do not use just one type of language interpreter. In this series of posts about different categories of medical interpreters, we will look at health care staff members who sometimes do language interpreting, and who are known as “ad hoc interpreters.”

As far as health care professionals, certain bilinguals with a strong knowledge of medical terminology in both languages and a lot of on-the-job practice may be capable of performing interpreting duties. But that profile is relatively rare, and since these staff members have other duties, it can be difficult for them to jump from their regular medical job to interpreting and back again.

However, many health care professionals would be ill-equipped to carry out precise medical interpreting. Most master medical terminology in the language they studied it in --which may or may not be their first language. Interpreting is also a special skill that requires training in specific techniques, and someone without these competencies may deliver faulty information.

Clearly, the medical field increasingly faces translation and interpreting needs. When medical translators and interpreters are called upon, it is preferable that they have specific training and familiarity with their subject matter as well as excellent language skills. At Language Translation, Inc. in San Diego, medical language services are among our specialties. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.

Betty Carlson

Scotland has just over 5 million inhabitants, but an increasingly diverse population. In a move to assure that no one is left behind in health care, the government has financed a plan to translate a National Health Service guide into 17 languages.

“The online video and DVD aims to put all patients at the ‘heart of the NHS’ and offers advice on GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists.

It is hoped that thousands of people, including new migrants, people whose first language is not English and people with low literacy, will benefit from the service…

The advice will be available in Arabic, Bengali, British Sign Language, Cantonese, English, Farsi, French, Gaelic, Korean, Kurdish Sorani, Mandarin, Polish, Punjabi, Somali, Tigrinya, Turkish and Urdu.”

(Extract from Management in Practice, February 25^th, 2010)

It will certainly take quite a team of qualified translators to carry out this major job. Medical translation is a highly specialized field, as translators must possess the requisite language knowledge as well as working knowledge of medicine itself.

At Language Translation, Inc. in San Diego, our translation service works with qualified professionals who understand not only their languages, but also the technical subject matter that they work in. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Betty Carlson

The Vancouver Olympics were a showcase for Canada’s bilingual identity. It also may have helped matters that French and English happen to be the official languages of the International Olympic Committee. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, was French, and French has remained one of the two official Olympics languages partly to honor him.

Part of the Games’ website was devoted to emphasizing Canada’s bilingual heritage. On Bilingual Experience, organizers explained that “the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) has devoted a great deal of time and resources to ensure these Games reflect our country’s world-renowned diversity, including its linguistic duality.”

Or, as they say in French, « le Comité d’organisation des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d’hiver de 2010 à Vancouver (COVAN) a consacré beaucoup de temps et de ressources à organiser des Jeux qui offrent une représentation juste de la riche diversité culturelle du Canada, y compris sa dualité linguistique, reconnue mondialement. »

Language Translation, Inc, located in San Diego, California, offers translation and interpretation services in over 40 languages, including French. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Betty Carlson