Interesting idioms in Chinese
For those who just speak English, or any other Western language for that matter, understanding the Chinese language – both in written and verbal forms – can be a challenging task, even if you are curious about interesting idioms in Chinese. The country is quite literally on the other side of the world and its […]
What makes a good interpreter?
When it comes to receiving a good service from an interpreter, there are probably two key elements you’ll be looking out for – accuracy and efficiency. Both are equally important, as incorrect interpretations will inevitably lead to misunderstandings, while an interpreter who cannot keep up with the speed of the speech, conversation or lecture they […]
Top tips for localising for the Japanese market
When localising your brand for any market, you should never presume this can be something done easily. It’s never as simple as translating from X language into Y language and often it’s not a few poorly-converted words that can end up costing you time, money and reputation – it’s those cultural quirks that can be […]
What do we look for in a good translator?
When you need translation work done, it’s vital that you employ the right person for the job. Not only will you require your translation to be done to an impeccable standard, but you need to know that it will be done by the right deadline, as for a great number of projects – for example, […]
The importance of Mandarin Chinese in modern business
The British are known for many things – tea, scones, roast dinners and a passion for sarcasm, to name just a few of our great loves. However, when it comes to modern foreign languages, it would be fair to say that, as a nation, we are notoriously bad at them. We are the nation of […]
Will Google Translate ever be a Substitute for a Human Translator?
Recent years have seen an explosion of online translation tools there to help us. They pop up when a page is in an unfamiliar language, casually requesting if you fancy having that page translated into English. Google Translate is probably the most well known and enjoys the same verb-like status of its search engine feature. […]
Put your Confidence in Rosetta
We understand that confidentiality and data security is very important for our clients and naturally it is for us too. Confidential material comes in all shapes and sizes, no matter the type of document everything at Rosetta is treated with the strictest of confidence. Our minimum confidentiality protection measures involve 4 key areas: 1. […]
Top 5… Most Difficult Languages to Learn…
As a linguist I am sometimes asked what I think is the most difficult language to learn. Having studied German, French, Japanese and Spanish at various stages my knowledge is relatively limited, and from my point of view there is no definitive answer. But, some are definitely more difficult than others. As an English native, […]
Sex and Language Learning
Having studied languages at various stages in my life, school, university (under and post graduate) it has always been evident that languages were more of a ‘girls’ thing’ rather than a boys’. In classes, for every one guy there was at least five girls; a favourable ratio perhaps for the Lotharios of the world! But […]
How To… Keep a Language Alive
It is estimated that there are approximately 7000 languages spoken in the world today, although about 1000 of these only have a few hundred speakers. It is also estimated that 25 languages are lost every year, which is a sad thought. Are we moving towards a new chapter of globalisation where only a handful of […]
Why Human Translation Experts are better than Machine Translators
The trend of using machine translations has made its mark in recent times. It’s a service that is free and available online anytime. Nothing really compares when you need a quick reference right there and then for a few phrases or sentences. Its efficiency, therefore has led most businesses to believe that machine translations […]
Top 10 Advertisement Translation Mistakes
Top 10 Advertisement Translation Mistakes Since advertising experts, working in their own native language, still often struggle in getting the words and message right, how surprising is it that linguists face substantial challenges in translating highly colloquial and emotive advertising documents? Not getting the message quite right is one thing, but there are well-documented cases […]
Sextitles: Dubbing & Subtitling in Pornography
Most of us are familiar with the day-to-day language services we provide. So, I thought that this month’s article should be dedicated to one translation area in particular: subtitling and dubbing. But, to spice things up a little I have decided to introduce you to subtitling and dubbing in the porn industry! What is life […]
Are Some Languages Faster Than Others?
Have you ever wondered why some languages seem faster than others? And, if this were truly the case, would that mean some languages conveyed more information in the same amount of time than others? In an attempt to solve this spoken mystery, François Pellegrino of the University of Lyon conducted a study wherein 59 native […]
One Brain, Two Languages: Are Bilinguals More Intelligent?
Being bilingual is something many people would envy you for. You can communicate with a wider range of people, you have more chances of getting a good job and it seems you are smarter than monolingual people. This is what has been claimed in an interesting article written by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee[1]. But, is it really […]
What Influence Does Your Language Have?
My father used to say, “If you know Chinese, Spanish, and English, you can communicate with one third of the world!” Whilst this may be an exaggeration, the growing numbers don’t lie! What we speak seems to be a great factor upon the influence we have. However, as we know, greater numbers do not always […]
Top 10 Alien Languages
Narrative stories around the world have been using alien languages for generations. Sometimes completely made up, sometimes real but distorted, these languages add some mysterious dimension to their speakers. What are the top 10 Alien languages in movies, then? Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the most popular representations of these alien […]
Wasted Letters in English and the Reasons behind them
A wasted letter, also known as a silent letter, refers to a letter within a word which does not contribute to the sound or pronunciation of that word, for example the ‘n’ in ‘autumn’ and the ‘k’ in ‘know’. So, why do we spell ‘colour’ with a wasted ‘u’ when the American equivalent is spelt […]
Learn our Language and be part of our Nation
National identity, the sense of belonging to one state or nation, rather than another, is far from a natural phenomenon. It rather requires the presence of a number of symbols of various kinds, which people can identify with. These can include flags, songs, colours, the nation’s history (particularly the national creation myth), culture, food, etc. […]
Language: A Social Class Indicator?
Within the general “social class” theme (if there is still such a thing) that we are touching upon this month, the language-related section will be looking into the social stratification of people based on their language use and more specifically the way they pronounce (or not) a specific linguistic variable, the [r] variable. William Labov […]
How to Speak “Properly”?
Are you self-conscious about your grammar, accent, pronunciation of words, or are you maybe in the habit of saying uhmm and errrr a lot? All these are indications that you may not speak as clearly and properly as you could. You may therefore want to improve your techniques for speaking properly, but how to effectively […]
How to Make a Good Translation
How to Make a Good Translation Below are some basic rules for making a good translation aimed at linguists working in the translation industry. This list is not exhaustive, but it is a starting point for whoever wants to develop a career in translation and is not familiar with the do’s and don’t’s of the […]
Are Humans Predisposed to Learn Language?
It is one of those things that we take for granted, we don’t stop to think twice about this impressive ability that humans have to acquire language so effortlessly. In the linguistic circles this is a popular topic however; there have been many studies and many linguists who tried to address this issue, the so-called […]
Why We Should All Study Phonetics
The Practical Importance of Stuying Phonetics As a French native speaker, it became obvious to me very early on that I would need to learn at least one, and ideally two foreign languages, in order to optimise my chances of getting a good job in the future. How does this relate to the claim […]
How to keep up with Language Change
Languages change so quickly that it’s a wonder how people of the same language understand each other, mind you talking to younger people of the same generation is often like trying to communicate with a foreign language speaker. Here are some of our tips on why language change is inevitable and how to keep up! […]
Who make better translators, men or women?
The issue of male versus female performance in translation and interpreting work is one that rarely comes up, but it is one where project managers may be surprisingly opinionated. The question of whether women or men make better translators or interpreters is not one that is frequently asked. Perhaps this is because a career in […]
The Front Line – Interpreting Services in the Public Sector
Logic dictates that higher immigration levels increase the demand for language provision in both the healthcare and justice system. But what happens when increased demand and a need to cut costs meet head on? For the NHS, providing interpreters for patients who do not speak English is vital for patient safety and dignity. However the […]
How to Strike a Balance when Living Away from “Home”
“I am a citizen of the world”, this is what both myself and my two brothers, who also live abroad, think of ourselves. Having left home at 18 to come to the UK to study, when people ask me now if I miss “home”, sometimes I wonder: Where is home really? I have not been […]
The Language Life Cycle
The life, death and maintenance of languages is a concept that has kept me amazed since childhood. With recent talks of language extintion I explore the language life cycle to see how the world’s many languages can be kept alive. The Life Of Languages Since I started writing for a translation company, my childhood interest […]
Introduction to Japanese
I know that China’s economy is booming and that it’s going to be the next economic giant, perhaps one day it will rule the world, so learning Chinese should be the option to choose if looking for an Asian language to learn. In fact, I would recommend that you do take up Chinese as there […]
Where do languages come from?
I recently read a fascinating article about the evolution of language (BBC Focus magazine), and was inspired to write today’s blog on the same subject. I’ve always been interested in language, the differences between them and, later in life, how we learn languages and indeed how the spoken word changes over periods of time. Differences […]
A guide to obtaining a translation
I think I often take for granted what I know about languages and translation, this is often brought home to me working here as many clients and potential clients are often (and I don’t want this to sound patronising in anyway) ‘clueless’ about the costs and time involved in order to acquire a translation. Sourcing […]
Sourcing Interpreters
We have previously expressed thoughts on how to trust new translators. I would now like to attempt to answer a somewhat similar question: how can you trust a new interpreter? In our industry we work mainly with freelance translators and interpreters. Whilst with translators you can test and “assess” their abilities before adding them […]