11/15/2006 - 11/16/2006

Going Global: Considerations of Culture and Language

Just because it's a global economy doesn't mean companies can sell to audiences in different parts of the world using the same techniques, words or strategies. What works with one audience may not work with another, even in the same continent or country.

What is hilarious to one audience may seem tacky or rude to those who speak a different language, which is why Lisa Campbell, director of client marketing for Creative Digital Group, an interactive marketing agency, said she makes sure her clients stay away from humor in their international messaging and keep copy crisp, clear and concise.

"What we find funny, they might not find funny," she said. "Even people who are British and speak our language don't find the same things funny." Plus, translation can be very tricky; it's not enough to hand a campaign to a translator and hope for the best. It's very important to make sure your message has localized-not just translated-content, said Michael Beavers, director of strategy at interactive agency IQ Interactive.

Ethnic media conference launches next week

There are more than seven million people in the UK's ethnic minority communities.

They are growing 15 times faster than the overall population and, by 2010, will represent over 35 per cent of the population in urban areas.

Ethnic media channels are also growing faster than ever - and have never seen higher audiences. But why do they still find it hard to attract "household name" advertisers?

male only officers for hasidic jews

An article in a Montreal police department internal newsletter has garnered negative reaction from the Montreal Police Brotherhood and surprise from the Jewish Orthodox community it purports to be respecting.

The article, published in the Oct. 30 edition of L'heure juste, recommends female police officers defer to their male partners when dealing with male Hasidim, out of respect for a religious culture that discourages fraternization between males and females.

The article suggests that if a female officer is having difficulty speaking with a Hasidic Jewish man, she should not take offence but simply call over her male partner to conduct the interview.

Enhanced TMP Worldwide Diversity & Inclusion Offering

TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications, the world's largest independent recruitment advertising agency, today announced that it has enhanced its award-winning diversity and inclusion solution, creating an end-to-end system that empowers clients to monitor and improve their diversity and inclusion progress. To lead deployment of the solution, TMP Worldwide has hired Ron Owens as the company’s first ever Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion.

The Chinese Language Wikipedia Returns

The Chinese-language version of online encyclopedia Wikipedia has been unblocked by Beijing authorities, activists said.

The lifting of the year-old block by China was reported by Andrew Lih, a Chinese-American researcher and confirmed by Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based press freedom group.

The move came a month after China began opening up access to the English-language version of Wikipedia, an "open source" encyclopedia that allows users to edit the online information.

HCL Technologies Integrates cross-cultural requirements with Japan

HCL Technologies Ltd has announced that the Company along with the Nihongobashi Institute for Japanese learning, presented certificates of Japanese Language Proficiency.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Gunaseelan Narayanan, Senior Corporate Vice President, of the Company said, "The Japan Delivery Unit (JDU) at HCL exclusively caters to our Japanese customers. This cross cultural training program at JDU aims at equipping our engineers with relevant language and cultural skills, apart from their technical knowledge, to provide smooth workflow integration at Client side engagements. Our engineers working at Japan are now in a better position to service Japanese clients as they would understand the culture and communicate better, transforming transactional business to enhanced relationships with our clients. This further enforces our 10 years of commitment to the Japanese market."

migrants workers tell of language problems

Language difficulties and exploitation in the workplace are among the main problems affecting Polish migrants to Ireland, a new report revealed today.

The study found many newcomers were unable to defend their rights in the workplace due to problems with the English language. The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) called for more to be done to provide language tuition and interpreting services for all migrant workers.

6 Steps to a Successful Translation

To wisely compare translation agencies, focus on how they define their quality process— their translators, tools and methods— to make sure you receive the best final product. After all, your company’s name will be on it.

Keeping these six items in mind will help you make the best selection:

1. Language Style and Flow: Only Humans, Not Software, Can Perform Quality Translations
As you know, languages are very complex. That’s why quality translations cannot be performed via software translation programs. Software and web-based programs that instantly translate text are 40-50% inaccurate and should only be used to identify general ideas within a document. Even in our sophisticated age of technology, translations must be conducted by human translators since personal judgment is absolutely essential to perform quality translation.

preparing for al-jazeera in english

As they say when the Olympics convene, "Let The Games Begin." A new Olympics gets underway today, the news Olympics, as the Anglo-American hegemony of the big news cartels has for the first time a challenger in the form of wellpackaged professional network. Al-Jazeera International goes on the air globally (but not yet in the USA) to offer another perspective.

The Arabic language news channel that revolutionized news in the Arab world has just marked its tenth anniversary and become once again the world's fifth top known brand. Al-Jazeera marks the occasion with the launch of channel in English (not just a translation of the original) with a sports channel, documentary channel and their own CSPAN type special events channel.

word of the day: inexorable

inexorable \in-EK-sur-uh-bul; in-EKS-ruh-bul\, adjective:
Not to be persuaded or moved by entreaty or prayer; firm; determined; unyielding; unchangeable; inflexible; relentless.

But the idea of providence, whether the biblical version or the Enlightenment's or Marx's, is at bottom a tragic notion, for it implies that individual human choices count for nothing against the weight of an inexorable, overwhelming force, whether benign or cruel, whether known as God, History, Destiny, Progress or DNA. -- James Carrol, "Laughing Our Way to Defeat", New York Times, February 16, 1986