12/18/2006 - 12/19/2006

Cultural Tips: Spain

When communicating with Spaniards face-to-face or by telephone and e-mail, it is important to show a great deal of sensitivity to the other person's feelings. Tact, diplomacy, cordiality, and warm graciousness are basic elements of social and business interactions in Spain. In fact by U.S. standards, the distinction between social and business communications is often blurred. The priority is not merely "face-saving," but positive "face-building" that results in good personal relationships. Therefore, criticism or negative feedback, however true or justified, should be avoided until a strong bond of mutual trust and confidence has been formed.

Intercultural Stereotyping

Defined as "beliefs about the characteristics, attributes, and behaviours of members of certain groups", stereotyping is a process that we engage in at one time or other towards a group of people who do not conform to our way of life. We hold their "weird" practices and wholly different ideals, for instance, as reasons to justify our ugly and intolerant attitudes.

There are some people who stereotype a person by virtue of his physical attributes, or dress sense. And then proceed to over-generalize the entire community that said person belongs to - which is often negative to say the least.

Expats at Xmas Time

With Xmas fast approaching, people's thoughts turn to home, and for expats, it's no different. Most would say that their lives have improved since leaving Britain, yet they still miss traditional British institutions such as Yorkshire puddings, Marks & Spencer and Marmite.

BUPA International, the world's largest expat health insurer, surveyed expats from more than 35 countries about their lives abroad. When people from overseas were asked what they liked about the UK, they placed their new home's weather right at the bottom of the list, with just 9 percent admitting to liking the British seasons. By contrast, and not surprisingly, 89 percent of expats who'd moved to Australia praised the weather down under. And less than half the expats now living in Britain said they enjoyed the lifestyle, compared to 90 percent of expats who gave the Spanish way of life the 'thumbs up'.

"It's a Cultural Thing" - Why Brits and Languages don't mix

The UK's island mentality, a dose of laziness and a good tune all contribute towards the view among young teenagers that language learning is just not sexy, say teachers and linguists in Dorset.

Languages were compulsory for 14-year-olds until two years ago, and there has only ever been piecemeal provision in Britain's primary schools. Hurn resident Ian Evans, a retired language teacher with more than 40 years experience, said: "The youth culture of the world is based on music most of which is in English."

"When we go abroad we can usually find someone who speaks English so we don't have to try their language. Historically the British have an island mentality and don't have that feeling that we are part of the whole. It's a cultural thing.

JetBird launches German Language Website

JetBird AG (‘JetBird’), the first Pan-European, low cost executive jet provider, today announced the launch of its German language website, www.flyjetbird.de.

The launch of the German language website will provide investors, potential consumers and the general public with local language support, and reaffirms JetBird’s commitment to the German speaking markets. The design and content of the website are based on the original English website, www.flyjetbird.com and includes presentations, press releases and information on the JetBird offering.

Globalisation treating SDL well

Globalisation and the flattening world have opened niches for companies such as SDL that sell translation programmes for companies trying to hit the whole world at once.

The small-cap software company, which formed in 1992 and floated in 2000, jumped in early trading after it said its full year pre-tax profit would exceed expectations by about 10%.

Word of the Day: impassive

impassive \im-PASS-iv\, adjective:
1. Devoid of or unsusceptible to emotion.
2. Showing no sign of emotion or feeling; expressionless.

As before, he seemed neither happy nor unhappy. Just utterly impassive. -- Lesley Hazleton, Driving To Detroit

Yet highway troopers, too, wore smoked glasses to mask their emotions and thus look formidably impassive as they delivered news as highly charged as jazz. -- Edward Hoagland, Compass Points

Georgia - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette

Etiquette and Customs in Georgia

Meeting and Greeting

* When meeting someone for the first time, shake hands while saying "gamarjoba" ("hello"). Once a relationship warms up some, but not all, Georgians will quickly move to a kiss on the cheek.
* When addressing people only close friends or family will usually use first names.
* First names may also be used with the word "Batono" ("Sir") or "Kalbatono" ("Madam") immediately afterwards, which brings a sense of formality.
* Most people would expect to be addressed with their appropriate title followed by the surname.

The Expat's Trip

International working has been likened by some researchers to a heroic journey. Individuals set off from a familiar home base and follow a call for adventure to foreign realms, encounter and confront challenges along the way, learn and experience transformations, before returning with new knowledge and understanding to share; an authority on two worlds.

Exploding Hispanic Population Creates Record Christmas Sales

Spanish CD and book courses are selling like hotcakes at the nation's bookstores and on the Internet and there's no sign that demand will be slowing down anytime soon. Why the sudden love affair with Espanol? According to language expert Mark Frobose, best-selling author of Behind the Wheel Spanish, this buying passion can be traced to one major source: the exploding Hispanic population in the U.S. "Hispanics now constitute our nation's largest and fastest-growing minority," said Frobose in a recent interview with Carlota Bradley of AP Network News in Washington, D.C. "Hispanics turned out in record numbers in the last presidential election and are now influencing our music, our cuisine, our economy, our politics, and even our language. Translation: Learning Spanish has never been more important for the average American."

Teach Immigrants English

It shouldn't surprise any of us that the public cost of translation services for immigrants is now standing at around £110 million. That's divvied up between councils, government departments and the health service, all of whom appear to believe they are obliged to detail everything from rubbish collection to immunisation programmes in up to 15 different languages.

Now at last some government ministers and many immigrants too, have recognised this is a pointless exercise and that the bulk of such funding should go into encouraging English language tuition rather than interpreters.

Word of the Day: opportune

opportune \op-uhr-TOON; -TYOON\, adjective:
Suitable for a given purpose or occasion; timely.

There is a war on. It's not the most opportune of times to distract the president with a phony political scandal. -- James Taranto, OpinionJournal, January 14, 2002

With corporate America under siege, there has never been a more opportune moment to adopt better business practices. -- Arianna Huffington, "The Coming Corporate Revolution?", AlterNet, August 12, 2002