10/16/2006 - 10/17/2006

cultural differences could lead to "Balkanisation" of the internet

The internet could be broken up in future by cultural differences between nations, according to one leading expert.

Nitin Desai, chair of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), says ignoring whole countries and regions could lead to a "Balkanisation" of the net. He cited the concerns of Chinese net users who do not use the Latin alphabet, who want to be able to access web pages using Chinese characters.

He said: "If I look at the internet in five years from now there are going to be many more internet users in Asia than in Europe or America. There's a point at which the Chinese will say, sorry, we have to have domain names in Chinese characters, and they will set up an independent system."

Equality tsar calls for end to religious vetting

There is no case for allowing religious beliefs to take precedence over equality laws when it comes to recruitment, according to the future head of the new super equalities body.

Trevor Phillips, who will become the chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) next year, said British core values must be based on equality, which "trumped religious diversity".

Expat managers take exotic ride to the top

Switzerland can be an excellent springboard for career-minded expats – although some of them have problems getting used to the country.

For some managers dispensing with prejudices and misconceptions is the hard part, while others struggle to understand the finer points of Swiss etiquette and daily life. Of the estimated 820,000 foreigners working in Switzerland, fewer than 50,000 are managers, according to the Federal Statistics Office.

But these business nomads are very particular. They have high expectations of their host country and many arrive with preconceived ideas about what Switzerland is like, according to François Micheloud from the relocation agency "live-in-switzerland".

"China-Mania" sweeps Egypt

In recent months, Egypt is seeing not only the summer fever, but also waves of "China fever", seemingly triggered by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's June visit to Egypt and fueled by the planned China-Africa cooperation forum in early November.

From the popularity of China-made goods to Egyptians' craze for the Chinese language and to senior Egyptian officials' zeal for visiting China, a "China mania" is sweeping this populous north African nation.

Minding your language pays off

Companies that pay attention to language and cultural issues are generating an average of £290,000 of extra business per year.

That is according to recent figures released by the UKTi, Which also says one in five companies are losing out to this opportunity because they lack the language skills.

"Communication is the key to success in the international business world and being able to break through the language and culture barriers improves a company's competitiveness in the international arena", Mohammed Ahmed, Managing Director of Translate UK Limited.

Reuters Launch Arabic-language Sports Service

Reuters is to launch an Arabic language sports service, covering the world's big sporting events as well as games in Middle Eastern countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt.

The new wire service will provide international real-time sports coverage and data including results, analysis, news, features, statistics and pre- and post-game reports.

"The Reuters Arabic Sports Service will complement our Arabic general and business news offering as well as the demand for regional sports news."

Government to Review Language Policy

The government is investing nearly £1 billion into personalised learning for students to provide ‘catch-up’ lessons for failing English and Maths students.

Speaking in the House of Commons last week, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Alan Johnson, responded to criticisms that “frighteningly high numbers of children in the higher years of our secondary and upper schools cannot read well� [Andrew Selous, Con, SW Bedfordshire], saying: “Some 66% of children who reach the right standard in English at level 4 aged 11 will go on to obtain five good GCSEs, but only 9% of those who do not reach that standard will do the same�.

Manchester's language and translation businesses are booming

Thanks to the 'Place In the Sun' generation, more Britons than ever own second homes overseas. At the same time, Manchester businesses are expanding into overseas markets faster than at anytime since the cotton boom.

But whether it's China, Eastern Europe or more familiar destinations closer to home, it's more important than ever to mind your language, so it's no surprise that Manchester's language and translation businesses are booming.

Match-fixing probe needs Afrikaans translator

Indian police have made little headway in a probe into a 2000 match-fixing scam due a problem in translating taped conversations in Afrikaans, a report said on Sunday.

In 2000, police in New Delhi had filed a case against Proteas cricketers, including then captain Hansie Cronje, and middlemen for allegedly accepting money to influence the outcome of matches.

But the police said they had made no progress in the case as they could not find a translator, the Hindustan Times reported.

38% Internet users in India clock 8.2 hrs a week

Around 38 per cent of all Internet users in India are 'heavy users' and on an average spend about 8.2 hrs per week on the Internet, according to the, I-Cube 2006 report by the Internet And Mobile Association of India and IMRB International.

The report also revealed that the percentage of heavy Internet users in India is rapidly increasing: from 16% in 2001, 20% in 2004 to 38% in 2006 of the overall Internet users.

word of the day: exemplar

exemplar \ig-ZEM-plar; -pluhr\, noun:
1. A model or pattern to be copied or imitated.
2. A typical or standard specimen.
3. An ideal model or type.
4. A copy of a book or text.

What charmed me was the idea of a boy too young to understand the lecture but not too young to recognize the eminent man on the platform as his model, the exemplar of what would become his own life work. -- William Zinsser, "A Travel Nut's Library", New York Times, August 26, 1990

It was this cathedral that Monet famously painted in different weathers, and that was William Morris's favorite exemplar of French Gothic; for its sake he visited "Rouen, glorious Rouen" twice. -- Peter Gay, Pleasure Wars

British Airways criticised after crucifix necklace ban

British Airways (BA) has been inundated with requests to change its uniform policy after the airline banned an employee from wearing a crucifix.

Nadia Eweida, who works for the BA check-in team, claimed she was forced to take unpaid leave after she refused to remove her crucifix necklace while on duty.

globalization and cross cultural issues in management

With hot topics like globalization and cross-cultural opportunities in the Asia Pacific rim, one might think it would be easy to research the implications of cross cultural issues. Rather, what the writer found was a significant discussion all around the periphery but little in-depth analysis. Discussion prevailed on the socio-economic and technological ramifications. Others resources focused on the language issues but little work was intuitively available on the subtleties of cross cultural issues one may encounter.

Intercultural Project Management

Intercultural Communication is a topic that is familiar to managers working in international contexts. There have been many courses and seminar offerings explaining the theory of intercultural communication and the differences in values, attitudes, and beliefs. It is extremely critical to understand different cultural perspectives as human beings have been socialized, affected, and programmed by the standards set by the societies in which they live. Geert Hofstede describes culture as "the software of the mind", how we have been programmed to feel, think, and behave. (1998)

However, there is a new trend in Intercultural Communication. It is not only enough to be aware and knowledgeable about these differences, but specific skills need to be developed in how to interact in different cultural settings. That is, how do I understand my own culture in relation to the other? Hence, the name "Intercultural Communication. The focus of this article is on the development of skills in Intercultural Communication Management. More specifically, Intercultural Project Management (IPM).

australia: Call for cultural factors in sentencing

An Australian Senate committee has urged the Government not to stop courts from considering indigenous offenders' cultural backgrounds when determining sentences.

The Government wants to change the Commonwealth Crimes Act to stop courts from taking into account cultural backgrounds, customary laws or cultural practices in sentencing and bail deliberations.

New faith schools 'face shake-up'

All new religious schools could have to offer at least 25% of their classroom places to "non-believing" children, leaked papers seen by the BBC suggest. Education Secretary Alan Johnson believes the move may reduce religious and racial tension, the documents say.

Google Launches Japanese-Language News Service

Internet Search giant, Google Inc. has launched a free Japanese-language news site for mobile users. In Japan, more people access the Internet on-the-go through their mobile devices than PCs. The news stories appear as a list of headlines with links to the appropriate news sites that can also be accessed through mobiles.

viaLanguage Makes Translation and Localization Strides

viaLanguage, a leading provider of language translation and localization services, announces significant growth in the California Healthcare segment. Combining its expertise in Healthcare-specific language translation with a specialized focus on health plan providers and hospitals, the language services provider has expanded its presence in the California market and added a number of new customers.

“The operating environment for health plan providers and hospitals in California is unique when it comes to language challenges,� cited viaLanguage CEO Chanin Ballance.

translation blunders

Spoken by more than 700 million people, English has travelled to all corners of the globe. But some of it gets scrambled along the way. A new book, Lost in Translation, has compiled some of the best, or worst, communication catastrophes. Here are some favourites...

India: Welcome to Hotel Cosy: where no one is stranger
Paris: Please leave your values at the front desk.
Seoul: Third floor: Turkey Bath.
Hamburg, Germany: It is our intention to pleasure you every day.
Zurich: We have nice bath and are very good in bed.
Thailand, donkey tours: Would you like to ride on your own ass?

Beijing looks to brush up on its English for Olympics

Beijing will try to stamp out embarrassingly bad English on bilingual signs as part of the Chinese capital's image make-over in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics, state media said Sunday.

The municipal government will issue translation guidelines for signs in hotels, shopping malls, public transport and tourist attractions by the end of the year, Xinhua news agency reported.

word of the day: tchotchke

tchotchke \CHOCH-kuh\, noun:
A trinket; a knickknack.

The rare tchotchke aside, our antiquing journeys mainly amounted to wishful foraging, in the spirit of a more roomy and prosperous someday we somehow never really articulated. -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Most Wanted

Of course, you also have arcades, like Funland, and your typical tchotchke vendors, like Ryan's Gems and Junk. -- Jamie Peck, "Rehoboth Beach", Newsday, May 18, 2001