Intercultural Communication and Translation News

Pollution is sometimes a problem, but recent improvements made before the Olympic Games last year mean that now is a good time to be there. What better place to do business than the original city of democracy, learning, philosophical excellence and the arts?

Arriving: The state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos international airport was finished in 2001 in readiness for the Olympics and makes flying into Athens easier than ever, says athensguide.com. It’s about 20 miles from the capital and the city centre can be reached via a new six-lane motorway or the new metro extension. Immaculate trains leave every 30 minutes and stop at all stations to Monastiraki in the centre of town. The names of each stop, and signposts in general, are now translated phonetically into English to make life easier for travellers.

Business etiquette: The linchpin of business dealings in Greece is personal relationships, says kwintessential.co.uk. The Greeks prefer to do business with friends, but becoming too chummy too quickly might cause offence. The preferred way to do business is face to face and appointments are ideally made one or two weeks in advance. Afternoons are usually reserved for lunch so are not a good time for business, says worldexecutive.com. Nepotism is not frowned upon either, so expect to find relatives working for the same company. Printed material should be written in both English and Greek and an interpreter is a good idea.

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The Wall Street Journal has an article today suggesting Nomura is failing when it comes to females.

Specifically, the Journal says Nomura is guilty of the following faux pas:

1) Separating men and women during a training session for new hires.

2) Instructing the separated off women how to wear their hair, serve tea and choose wardrobes ‘according to the season.’

3) Telling some women to remove highlights from their hair, wear sleeves no shorter than mid-bicep and avoid brightly coloured clothing.

4) Changing some women’s email addresses to their married names from their maiden names.

A Lehman spokesperson in London informs us the information is ‘inaccurate’ and points to the presence of various senior women, including Bridget Anderson, COO of investment banking, and Saba Nazar, co-head of financial sponsors in Europe, as proof that it’s not as backward as all that.

However, senior headhunters and female bankers say the claims aren’t entirely unfeasible.

“In Lehman the individual is an individual. In Nomura it’s all about the firm and respect for elders. Nomura has been moving more and more towards the Western way of doing things but this highlights the extremes that might be left behind,” says the head of one Asian headhunting firm.

“The Japanese culture for women is very, very difficult,” confirms a senior Western banker who’s worked with Japanese clients. “It’s very archaic and women are expected to conform.”

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If you’re relocating your business, plan everything meticulously in advance down to the last detail, advises Neil Payne.

Moving his translation company Kwintessential from London to Somerset went so smoothly that he took his first order on the afternoon he moved into the new premises.

Payne, 33, started the business in 2003 in a one-bedroom flat in London’s Hounslow, after working as a language teacher travelling around the Middle East and studying Arabic. His wife Nicola, 36, (pictured with Payne at right) worked for an international oil company, and out of their joint experience came the idea for the business.

“We saw there was a need within international business for a one-stop shop which helped people work across cultural and linguistic barriers,” he says. “We would provide the translation services, cultural awareness training and manage multi-lingual websites.”
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Having powered its way to the top in U.S. retailing, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has struggled to extend its dominance across the globe.

But the world’s largest retailer is learning in Brazil and elsewhere that the most successful ideas don’t necessarily flow from its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. That has it tailoring inventories and stores to local tastes — and exporting ideas and products pioneered outside the U.S.

Traffic-choked São Paulo, for instance, proved inhospitable to the kind of vast stores with which Wal-Mart dominates in American suburbs. At the same time, the local-market savvy of Brazilian retailers that Wal-Mart acquired has proved invaluable.

“What we have learned in the past couple of years is that one size does not fit all,” says Anthony Hucker, a British retail veteran now tasked with taking winning Wal-Mart store formats and expanding them globally.

Wal-Mart’s challenge abroad is to cater to local tastes for native products that are not popular elsewhere, while still making the most of the global purchasing might that lets its squeeze down its costs.

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Nazis slogans banned in Germany may be legal if they are translated from German into English, one of the country’s highest courts has ruled.

The Federal Court of Justice said it had rescinded a conviction against a man fined 4,200 euros ($5,993) for possessing 100 T-shirts due for sale emblazoned with the words “Blood & Honor” — a translation of the Hitler Youth slogan “Blut und Ehre.”

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Countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands are being targeted by spammers using translation software to send out unsolicited mail in multiple non-English languages.

Released this week, the MessageLabs Intelligence Report, said that some countries are experiencing levels of spam higher than the global average thanks to increasing use of translation software.

“Once again the spammers turn to their online toolbox, the Internet, for their latest tactics. Translation services and templates enable the spammers to push out multiple-language spam attacks and some dubious translations through the use of poor online services highlight the use of these antics,” said Paul Wood, MessageLabs Intelligence senior analyst, Symantec. “Non-English spam now accounts for one in every 20 spam messages, a figure we’ll be closely monitoring to see if spammers continue with their global expansion.”

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A hotel room in Phoenix, Arizona, 7pm. A weary traveller, recently off an 11-hour flight from Gatwick, has just eaten half a bucket-sized portion of beef, cheese and peppers in the hotel restaurant and is about to get into bed.

Caller: “Hi, Mr Richardson. This is Brad here. Your waiter for this evening.”

Me (puzzled but friendly): “Oh, hi, Brad.”

Brad: “I was just calling to check you enjoyed your meal this evening.”

Me: “Well, cheers for asking, Brad. It was fine.”

Brad: “Only, I guess you being tired and all, you forgot to express your appreciation in the customary way…”

Like a lemon I got dressed, went downstairs to the restaurant and handed Brad a $5 bill. The recollection of this episode has tortured me ever since.

Yes, I know that Brad gets paid diddly-squat and, like all American waitpersons, relies on tips to stay alive. I forgot, I screwed up. But I was already in my pyjamas, for God’s sake.

Tipping, let’s face it, is a cultural and pecuniary minefield. There are complex cultural variants, such as baksheesh in the Middle East (basically, daylight robbery) and ta’arof in Iran, a preposterous formality whereby offers of money are refused two or three times before being greedily gobbled up. But these require a lifetime of study.

Read more > Telegraph