Intercultural Communication and Translation News

With the Indian economy predicted to grow by 7.5 percent this year, experts say it could be time for Western CEOs to learn some lessons from their Indian counterparts.

While Western economies continue to stutter, a report forecasts India will soon return to the high-growth trajectory it enjoyed before the crisis.

At the same time, new research published in this month’s Harvard Business Review shows the heads of India’s biggest companies have a very different approach to leadership from Western bosses.

Peter Cappelli, professor of management at Wharton University of Pennsylvania, was one of the researchers behind the study, based on interviews with leaders and HR departments from 98 of India’s 150 biggest companies. He identified some of the key differences between Indian and Western bosses.

Read more > India

If everybody in the world could communicate freely with each other, no matter which language they spoke, what would happen?

That question formed the basis for SuperPower Nation Day – an experiment in multi-lingual debate and discussion.

By using a specially created website, users from around the world could post and reply to each other’s messages, even if they did not share the same language.

The experiment was part of the BBC’s SuperPower season, a series of programmes, online reports and events designed to examine the extraordinary power of the internet.

Read more > BBC

There are major barriers carriers will face as they try to unlock the potential of more than 1.2 billion people living and working in China, a global powerhouse. And while these barriers will all but stop even the most tenacious players, there are three that will stop them dead in their tracks.

As companies attempt to enter the Chinese market, the first and largest barrier is the language. Imagine your claims associate trying to get the details of an accident from the various parties involved and not being fluent in Chinese — it just wouldn’t be possible. All verbal and written communications would need to be in Mandarin, which would further be complicated by more than 20 dialects. Even if these problems were solved, capturing pertinent data in your systems presents a challenge, as Mandarin takes years to master.

The claims organization faces the second major barrier. The practices in China will be quite challenging due to the nature of settlement procedures used here. If you are involved in an accident, the transaction is often settled on-site, in real time. Wouldn’t that create some workflow issues?

Read more > China

India has compiled a list of do’s and don’ts for its citizens at this year’s Commonwealth Games to help showcase New Delhi’s charms.

“We want to tell them don’t urinate in public, don’t spit, keep your houses and shops clean, keep public transport safe and such things,” Delhi tourism chief Rina Ray told the Hindustan Times Friday.

“This will tell every Delhiite that instead of being on the sidelines as a spectator, he or she can contribute to a better games.”

New Delhi is preparing to host more than 100,000 foreign visitors during the October 3-14 event and the Indian capital hopes to use to games to show itself off as a truly global city.

“We don’t want to start (the campaign) too early lest it fizzles out,” Ray said.

Read more > New Delhi

All EU governments will be obliged to provide full interpretation and translation for criminal suspects under European Commission plans.

The idea is to help people “exercise their fair trial rights anywhere in the EU when they cannot understand the language of the case” said a statement.

The Commission cites the examples of an Italian tourist involved in a car crash in Sweden who was not allowed to talk to an Italian-speaking lawyer during his trial, and the Polish suspect denied access to written translations of evidence used against him in a French court.

Such “unexpected barriers” could lead to unfair convictions during legal proceedings in other EU countries.

The proposal – requested three months ago by EU ministers themselves – is the first step under the new Lisbon Treaty towards setting common EU standards in criminal cases.

The Treaty allows the EU to adopt measures “to strengthen the rights of EU citizens, in line with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights”, said the statement.

Read more > EU

The boom in online software to help businesses cross the cultural divide, from matching up cultural profiles to emotional recognition.

This story is adapted from a broadcast audio segment; use audio player to listen to story in its entirety.

American business doesn’t end at America’s borders. It hasn’t for a long time: in the 1980s, the trick was figuring out how to do business in Japan or Europe. Now it might be China or India or Brazil.

It’s an old problem. When you’re doing business overseas, you often have to bridge some kind of culture gap. But many intercultural trainers — cultural bridge builders if you like — say a set of modern illusions is making things worse. Technology can connect anyone to everyone at any time, so the business world seems smaller and more uniform. But culturally the world isn’t flat, it’s bumpy.

“People who are doing business with each other — Americans and Chinese, or French and Indian — they become disillusioned because they don’t quite read each other,” said intercultural trainer Lisa LaValle-Finan. “They don’t quite understand what make the other guy tick.

Working out what makes the other guy tick is just good business, especially in today’s economy.

An animated intercultural video from the training firm Kwintessential features a flirtatious Brazilian man who’s behaving a bit too informal for his Western visitor. For instance, he’s sitting on a couch with his legs wide apart.

Read more > Software