Kwintessential's Blog

If there is one thing you can't call my employers at Kwintessential, it's that they aren't generous. As well as all the free information on the website, last month saw a guide to cultural awareness and now they have produced a fantastic guide on global SEO tips - again for free! Looking for tips on website marketing but with an international flavour? Read on...

Unfortunately within business, translations are often bottom of the priority list. Any good translation company will tell you stories of last minute panics by clients to get vast amounts of words translated as part of tenders, legal hearings or business meetings. A Chinese company almost paid the price for a similar attitude for a tender worth ten million - yes 10,000,000 - tablet PCs. 

If you have been following our blog you will know that I am over in Ghana developing our understanding of business in West Africa. As part of the trip we are involved in a UKTI - London Chamber of Commerce Trade Mission which stopped in Lagos, Nigeria and then onto Accra, Ghana, where we joined the group. The mission is being led by the shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna.

During these past four days in Accra, we have often been asked what we make of Ghana – the culture, people, food, etc. It’s been an exciting and eye opening 4 days. Interestingly, one of the most surprising factors have been the traffic jams during rush hour and the extent to which these influence timeliness – we have experienced this ourselves on most days, so to avoid unnecessary frustrations, I have had to surrender to the traffic and simply go with the flow (and try not to inhale too many fumes!).

Novel translation. What do you picture? Chained doors? Publishers of Dan Brown’s Inferno have taken the concept of "top secret" to a whole new level -  11 of the novel’s translators were locked up in an Italian bunker to translate the latest product of Brown’s pen!

All week, in Ghana, we have reached out to a broad spectrum of successful  Ghanaian businessmen to help determine how they have managed to attain success.  Our meetings focused on hearing their experiences, their challenges, as well as their formula for breaking out of the crowd.

Based on my experiences of organising business meetings in Ghana, of which I wrote about in yesterday's blog post, I am going to elaborate on business etiquette in general, with the hope to give a few more insights, explanations and tips for doing business in Ghana.

Ever thought a celebrity such as Robery Downey Jr. would need and use localization to market himself and his latest flick Iron Man 3? Here are some tips that might have aided Downey, but can definitely help you market your products properly in foreign markets!

I am currently in Ghana developing our translation services for local languages spoken in Ghana. You may have read my colleague Caroline’s blog yesterday about her first day over in Accra? We are here developing Kwintessential’s skills and know-how and we plan to blog each day to give insight into our trip.

“There’s no food for a lazy man”; a common saying displayed all over Accra, and one heard too. In Ghana there are many proverbs to illustrate the values of Ghanaian people, and this one just stood out today (first day here!).

According to culture awareness expert Andy Molinsky, 'global dexterity' is key to successful cross-cultural understanding. Awareness of culture and cross cultural differences are increasingly important in our global economy; Molinsky explains more in an interview with Forbes.

What English words translate from Arabic? Arabic to English translation intern Zoe, explores some of the shared linguistic history between the English and Arabic languages...

How does one go about inventing a language? Many people have done this for TV and movies before whether it's Klingon for Star Trek, Elvish for Lord of the Rings or Wookie for Star Wars. The hit TV series Game of Thrones has brought a new language to our screens - Dothraki and High Valyrian.

Travelling to the Arabic speaking world? Learning some Arabic phrases? 'No' is one of the most crucial words you will need to know. Arabic - English translator, Zoe Trunks explains why.

Planning on exporting or selling more abroad? If you are new to international trade then you may be new to cultural differences. Research has shown that language and cultural barriers are amongst the top cited reasons for companies struggling to export.

I am currently in Germany taking part in the European Language Industry Association (ELIA) Networking Days conference which takes part twice a year. As members we really like ELIA, its members and what is does for the translation and language sector.

We focus a lot on this website about cultural differences in business; however for us it's all about culture and understanding that culture influences who we are and what we do. Only when you understand your own "self" and the cultural programming your have received, can you move towards understanding the "other".

What is the state of the games localization market? What are the pressures being put upon localization agencies and especially translation companies who feed into the localization and gaming industry? Aaron Lee and Develop give us new insights into today’s game localization market.

Any idea what a ‘Raute’ is? Or what a ‘sfigato’ is? Probably not, but imagine all the new English words invented every year and you get a sense of how the digital age and internet neologisms are challenging languages across the globe.

A common problem we find when working on website translation or especially with web designers is that many do not appreciate text expansion and contraction within the translation and design process. The common perception is that when you translate the text of a website, it will automatically fit into the existing website template and space. Unfortunately, this is not the way things work.