Kwintessential's Blog

Looking for a laugh? Well it's funny Chinese language machine translations time! Check out these funny English signs that were photographed in China.

Work in the market research space? New findings have revealed that the results of surveys, questionnaires and market research can be skewed and manipulated by the translation of the terms used in questions.  

Travelling to the Middle East, The Gulf or Arab world on business? No matter where in the world you go for work knowing a few words or phrases in the local language can break down barriers, build relationships and smooth the way to business success.

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!

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.

A new report from Ipsos finds that businesses need and want people with intercultual skills. John Worne agrees, stressing the importance of knowing your foreign languages and being culturally aware as a company.

Yale University behavioural economist Keith Chen has published a new study that supports the controversial theory that your language influences the decisions you make about your finances.

According to a new report, English teenagers are the worst when it comes to learning and using foreign languages in Europe. Are you surprised?

A children’s book containing offensive language has caused quite the stir in Germany. Telegraph journalist Felicity Capon tried to decide whether revision should be required for these kinds of books or not.

I came across an interesting news piece recently from The Washington Post about the Arabic word “jihad”. An organisation called My Jihad has started a campaign across the USA to re-brand the word to try and distance it from those on the extremes of Islam (and of course outside Islam) who use and abuse its translation.

The world is changing from day to day as localization continues to see amazing developments that push traditional boundaries. Did you think computer programming languages would always look like random nonsense and always in English? Think again! Ramsey Nasser has taken localization to the next level and in the process created a beautiful programming language based on the Arabic script.

Anyone who was planning to take their driver’s test in a foreign language must hurry; if it’s up to the UK’s Transport Secretary, this might soon be a thing of the past!

Export is seen as one of the ways in which the UK will pull itself out of recession and into growth. British entrepreneurs that want to take their business across the border should look in the northern direction, says journalist Jon Card. Here are a couple of  his tips to set up business in the chilly north!

Did you hate cramming those endless lists of verb inflections and grammar rules of foreign languages when you were in school? French or German? Or even Latin maybe? A recent study has shown it might have been worth the long, boring hours of studying after all!

With the fast approaching World Cup and Olympic Games, Brazil is doing everything it can to prepare its citizens for the hordes of tourists that will visit the county and spend their money. Now we usually hear about multilingual volunteers, some cultural awareness training maybe and some translation; the Brazilians though have taken this to the next level and are educating the country’s sex workers!

Trekkies, pay attention: the simultaneous translation device used in the beloved Star Trek series may finally become reality!

Have you heard of Chinglish? Spanglish? Hinglish? Whether you know it or not, the internet is creating a great deal of new forms of English which all have their own peculiarities.

Want to know what language course Santa should put in your stocking this Christmas? We do! Here’s a list of the ten languages that are easiest to learn for British speakers.

Due to globalisation, many languages in the world are threatened by extinction. But don’t worry, the Living Tongue Institute is here to come to the rescue! Find out what they are doing to help preserve these endangered languages.