05/08/2007 - 05/09/2007

Job-seekers to showcase international expertise

A new resource from CILT, the National Centre for Languages, to be launched on the 9 May will assist young people to demonstrate their language and communication skills to potential employers. The Language Work Placement Toolkit has been specially designed for those undertaking, organising or hosting languages work placements.

"No lanterns", Italian city tells Chinese community

The local government in Treviso has ordered the northern Italian city's Chinese restaurants to remove red lanterns from their windows because they look too "oriental".

"It's spoiling the appearance of the city," the head of the council's town planning department, Sergio Marton, told Corriere della Sera daily. "The Chinese put up all sorts of stuff: lanterns, lions, dragons, there's even one (establishment) that did its whole front in oriental style."

Report on Consumer Behavior of South Asian Americans

Global Advertising Strategies has just released the first in a series of five marketing strategy reports outlining detailed research on the South Asian American community and its consumer preferences. As a leading multicultural advertising agency Global plans to release each installment of the research on a bi-weekly basis, available at its website www.ethnicusa.com. The first report focuses on "Lifestyle and Entertainment Spending." The other four will focus on the following industries: automotive, financial, travel and telecommunications.

Global’s focus on the niche market research is a part of its Multicultural 2.0 philosophy which captures the complex mosaic of different and nuanced cultures and delivers consumer insights from the untapped markets.

China targets bad tourist etiquette

For Chinese who habitually travel during the weeklong May Day holiday, they may find this year's itinerary involves as much etiquette education as sightseeing, delicious food and shopping.

"On our first day in Beijing, we were repeatedly told by the tour guide not to litter and spit and given pamphlets about what to do and what not to do," said Luan Hong, a tourist from southeast China's Fujian province. Posters telling travelers how to behave appear in almost every train station, bus stop, hotel and scenic spot. "We are treated like little kids," Luan said.

Let your mobile phone speak a foreign language for you

Mobile-content producer, Steape launched their talking phrase books for mobile phones in the UK and the USA today. At the push of a button, travellers can easily communicate in a foreign language using an application on their mobile phone. The translators are already popular in the Netherlands, and are now also available in the UK and USA via the website: www.steape.com.

RTO Industry missing out on Hispanic custom

Considering that there are 45 million Hispanics in the United States representing nearly 9% of all consumer spending, the Rent to Own industry is doing a poor job of marketing to this group in the virtual world. Less than 1% of RTO industry websites offer a Spanish translation. Rent-A-Center is the only rent to own company with a national presence, or even a large regional presence, to offer a complete Spanish translation.

Researchers: Accurate Medical Translations Are Desperately Needed

Translating English into another language correctly could make money for a business. It costs governments millions of dollars to do it. However, getting the words right in a medical setting could save lives. Building on its experience in medical, legal and business writing solutions, WhiteSmoke--a leader in developing English writing software tools for global communication--now offers a new suite of translation dictionaries for seventeen languages in its continued effort to bridge global communication.

Word of the Day: celerity

celerity \suh-LAIR-uh-tee\, noun:
Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness.

Though not in the best of physical form, he was capable of moving with celerity. -- Malachy McCourt, A Monk Swimming: A Memoir

Furthermore, as is well known, computer technology grows obsolete with amazing celerity. -- Alan S. Blinder and Richard E. Quandt, "The Computer and the Economy", The Atlantic, December 1997

EU gives new funds for integration of immigrants

The European Commission on Monday said it was giving new funds to support cross-border projects aimed at improving the integration of immigrants in the 27-member European Union.

Some four million euros (5.4 million dollars) would be made available for 12 initiatives that 'encourage dialogue with civil society, develop integration models, seek out and evaluate good practice in the integration field and set up networks at European levels,' the commission said.

UN Website More To Be Thoroughly Multilingual

Delegates attending the United Nations Committee on Information meeting in New York today called for new measures to make the world body’s website more thoroughly multilingual.

Simon Pidoux of Switzerland said the UN Department for Public Information (DPI) should “continue its efforts to attain linguistic parity of the content of this Internet site in the different official languages of the United Nations.�

Police get Romanian translation guide

Police officers have been handed a special translation guide to help them deal with Romanian crime suspects, it emerged yesterday.

The initiative has been introduced to tackle a crime-wave involving East European thieves and pickpockets who are targeting London's West End. Since Romania joined the EU in January, thefts and handbag snatches have soared as organised crime gangs and beggars trawl the streets in the hunt for cash and valuables.

Common Sense Advisory Releases Ranking of Top 20 Translation and Localization Providers

Common Sense Advisory has released its annual ranking of the top 20 translation and localization companies doing business in North America and Europe. The list, which is based on the 2006 fiscal year, includes SDL International (SDL), Moravia, L-3, and Hewlett-Packard ACG. Three new providers join the list this year, including Language Line which vaults onto the 2006 rankings in fourth position; while McNeil Multilingual drops off the list.

Word of the day: intransigent

intransigent \in-TRAN-suh-juhnt; -zuh-\, adjective:
Refusing to compromise; uncompromising.

He was intransigent at times, and almost playfully yielding at others. -- "The Decline and Fall of a Sure Thing", New York Times, September 10, 1989

Sometimes I was intransigent, and proud of it. At other times I seemed to myself to be nearly devoid of any character at all, timid, uncertain, without will. -- Edward W. Said, Out of Place: A Memoir