Language translation and training blog

As one of the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), China offers major opportunities for many countries. The current growth rate of China’s economy and production, has attracted many companies from around the world seeking lower manufacturing costs and cheaper labour. To succeed in this competitive market place you need a good understanding of Chinese language and culture.

In Tomorrow’s Markets, a  report published in 2008 by UK Trade & Investment,  UK executives revealed that they intended to increase their expansion plans into China by 49%.  Expanding into China could mean anything from sourcing a new supplier to setting up a new manufacturing plant in China. To do business in China effectively requires an understanding of how the Chinese do business differently  from the UK. In China for example;

• Asking for help is seen as a sign of incompetence or weakness.
• Their view of team working is very different to ours.
• Relationships are important to getting business done.
• You must understand Guanxi which refers to the socio-emotional bond that ties people who do business together.

For help and advice on language training or cultural briefings that will help your move to China or help you do business with Chinese people more effectively, contact us on +44 (0)118 934 6000.

Mexico has a diverse range of languages. In addition to Spanish, 63 indigenous languages are recognised as “national languages” by the Mexican government. Examples with estimated number of spreakers are

As for every country, try and speak with hosts, friends or family to ascertain the local customs so that you are fully prepared for your visit. Here are some areas to consider for business.

Meeting people

·                                 Generally, women pat each other on the right forearm or shoulder, rather than shake hands.

·                                 Men shake hands until they know someone well, at which time they progress to the hug and back slap.

·                                 It is custom to wait until you are asked, before using a Mexican’s first name

Business Meetings

• ·                                 Make business appointments at least 2 weeks in advance and reconfirm the appointment one week before the meeting. When you arrive in Mexico, make sure that the secretary/PA of the person you will be meeting has your contact details.
• ·                                 Always arrive on time for meetings, although be prepared for your Mexican business associate to be up to 30 minutes late; people often run behind schedule.
• ·                                 Have all written material professionally translated into Spanish wherever possible.
• ·                                 Agendas are not common and when they are given they are somewhat flexible!
• ·                                 Mexican society and business emphasise hierarchical relationships and people respect authority. Therefore always know the chain of command/hierarchy so as not to appear disrespectful.
• ·                                 Always exchange business cards with everyone at a meeting and have one side of your card in Spanish. They should also show your professional and educational qualifications.

People are usually very surprised when I say I’m from Iceland and I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the phrase “you’re the first person I’ve ever met from Iceland”. Well, that’s not surprising as there are only 320,000 Icelanders in the world. Many people are interested in Iceland and people often say to me that they would love to go there but very few people know anything about it; they might have heard about our most famous pop stars Bjork and Siguros and more recently they have of course heard of the evil volcano Eyjafjallajokull. I have therefore gathered together some interesting facts about the little island in the North; I hope you will enjoy them!

• Icelandic people don’t have surnames as such. They take their father’s first name and add either “son” or “dóttir” (daughter) at the end. Icelandic women don’t take their husband’s name when they get married.
• There are only about 320.000 Icelanders in the country and the total area is 103,000 km2. About half of the people live in the capital Reykjavík and its suburbs.
• Reykjavik means ‘Smoky Bay’.
• Iceland has no army, navy or air force.
• Icelanders speak the Icelandic language, which is used only in Iceland and among Icelandic expatriates, chiefly in Scandinavia and North America. Icelandic is very similar to old Norwegian of about 1,000 years ago.
• Iceland gain fully independence in 17 June 1944 from Denmark.
• Iceland’s main industry is fishing.
• Iceland’s first female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, was the first democratically elected female head of state in 1980.
• Iceland has one of the longest working weeks in Europe.  Icelanders are renowned for working hard.
• There are 13 different Santa Claus figures or “Yule Lads” in Iceland. Children put their shoe in their window 13 days before Christmas and get a little present from each Santa. If the children are naughty they get an old potato.
• Icelanders are listed in the telephone directory alphabetically by first name.
• Icelanders learn Danish and English from the age of 11.
• Sigurrós, a very successful Icelandic music band was voted the 10th best band in the world (by Newsweek).
• Icelanders believe in elves and dwarves (in a sort of myth-way)
• Icelanders have a fantastic nightlife; most nightclubs are open until 6-7 in the morning.
• Most of Icelanders graduate from High school at the age of 20
• Iceland has the cleanest water in the world.
• There are 24 hours of sunlight during summer in Iceland. But during December there is hardly any sun.
• Beer and wine was forbidden in Iceland until 1989. Icelanders could only buy strong spirits in special stores. Alcohol is still only sold in state liquor stores throughout Iceland and is not available in supermarkets. 

Iceland: A Bit Hot Under the Collar!

Iceland is famous for explorer Leif Ericson, writer, journalist and TV presenter Magnus Magnusson, pop singer Bjork and of course our very own Training Service Manager Ósk Daníelsdóttir! It also attracts thousands of tourists each year who go to view nature at its wildest via the mud pools, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls and of course the now infamous volcano Eyjafjallajökull or “island-mountains glacier”. Interestingly, despite the volcanic ash which has plagued air travel over recent weeks, Iceland is the cleanest country in the world according to Forbes magazine.

So how are Icelanders coping with the global microscope on their country?

Icelanders are used to geo thermal activity and this current activity poses no widespread safety threat as it is localised to a very small area surrounding the volcano. Some farms in close proximity to the volcano were evacuated initially and livestock were kept inside. There was also some localised flooding. However, the rest of the country continued with their daily routines, with little or no disturbance.

As spring breaks into summer, Icelanders expect an increase in geo-tourism at this time of year. The displays at Eyjafjallajökull only add to the annual performance by Mother Nature.  The Spanish newspaper El País, recommends Iceland as one of the best places to witness the forces and beauty of nature at work.  In fact, “working nature“ supports Iceland in being the only western country that produces all its electricity from emission-free and sustainable natural resources in the form of geothermal and hydro power. Some Icelanders are being very creative using the volcanic eruption to inspire design.

The language of Iceland is Icelandic which is a Northern Germanic language with about 300,000 speakers in Iceland, Canada and the USA. Are you going on holiday to Iceland? Are you doing or thinking about doing business in Iceland? Why not consider learning some of the language and customs to help you get the most of your holiday or business relationships. To find out more about how an Icelandic cultural briefing can help you go to Cultural Briefings or contact Ósk on +44 118 934 6000

Today, 17^th June, Iceland celebrates the nation’s Independence Day (Icelandic: Þjóðhátíðardagurinn). On this day in 1944, the Republic of Iceland was formally established and Iceland became fully independent from Denmark. It is also the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, a major figure in Iceland’s history and the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement.

Traditionally, a woman dressed as Fjallkonan (“The Mountain Woman”), wearing Iceland’s most festive national dress, reads a poem. Fjallkonan represents the Icelandic spirit and nature and became a symbolic figure in Iceland’s fight for independence.

The Icelandic people celebrate the day by parading proudly in the town and city centres with marching band, flags and balloons. Children get the Icelandic flag painted on their faces and sing “hæ hó jibbý jei, það er komin sautjándi júní” (or hurrah today it’s 17^th of June). The whole day has a carnival atmosphere. Music is played on the streets, there is lots of outdoor entertainment, dancing, competitions and drinking.

Have fun today Icelanders! We wish we were there!

Famous for fjords, salmon, Vikings and the composer Edvard Grieg and infamous for regularly scoring “nul points“ in the Eurovision Song Contest in the past (although they won in 2008), Norway is part of the Scandinavian Peninsula with a population of 4.8 million people. It also has the highest income per capita in the world, beating both Switzerland and the USA.

There are two official forms of written Norwegian.

Bokmål meaning “book language”, used by 85-90% of Norwegians and the form usually taught to foreign students.

Nynorsk meaning “new Norwegian”.

From the 16th to the 19th centuries Danish was the standard written language of Norway. Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk is a language form based on Norwegian dialects.

An aspect of Norwegian culture is the importance attached to communal achievement. The negative implications of this (e.g. discouraging individualistic behaviour) is satirised as Jantes Law in the novel En flyktning krysser sitt spor by Aksel Sandemose published in 1933. Norwegians are generally informal but they will often introduce themselves using their surnames and should be addressed with “Herr” (Mr.) or “Fru” (Mrs.) plus the surname until they offer their first name.

If you are making a presentation make sure you have done your research and support your arguments with clear facts and figures, not hype or emotion. Norwegians are analytical thinkers and appreciate a direct approach. Give an honest impression which may mean pointing out both sides of an argument or proposal; and if they say they consider your price too expensive, they probably mean it.

Famous for its cheese, mountains, watches and wealthy cities, Switzerland is in the heart of Europe. There are four main languages spoken in Switzerland; German (spoken by 74% of the population), French (21%), Italian (4%) and Rumantsch or Romansh (1%).

Tips for doing business in Switzerland include:

·         Swiss business culture is very hierarchical. Only the highest individuals in authority make the final decisions.

·         Shake hands with everyone at the start of meetings to show respect.

·         People tend to address each other by their surname. In German-speaking Switzerland, use the courtesy titles “Herr” to address a man and “Frau” to address a woman; in French-speaking areas, use “Monsieur” and “Madame”; in Italian- speaking areas, use “Signor” and “Signora” before the surname. However, in some multinationals this is changing and first names are a little more common.

Portuguese is a romance language derived from the Latin spoken by the peoples of the Roman province of Lusitania. It spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th centuries as Portugal established a colonial and commercial empire extending from Brazil in the Americas to Goa and other parts of India, Macau in China and Timor. It is currently ranked 7th in the world of the most common languages based on number of native speakers (around 230 million).

The Spanish writer, Miguel de Cervantes, called Portuguese the “sweet language” as it sounds more like Catalan or French than Spanish or Italian. Most of the lexicon of Portuguese is derived from Latin, but due to the occupation of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages by the Moors, and the participation of Portugal in the Age of Discovery, (the intensive exploration and mapping of the globe by Europeans) it has adopted loanwords from all over the world.

Tips for working with people from Portugal:

·         Appearances matter, especially in the cities. People are fashion conscious believing that clothes are a sign of social standing and success.

·         People respect authority and seek/expect guidance and decision-making from people senior to them. Decision making and problem solving tend to be directed from the top with little attention to building consensus or involving junior colleagues.

·         In written communications, maintain a sense of formality and be mindful of the status of the person you are communicating with. English is not widely spoken beyond a basic level, so have brochures or contracts available in Portuguese.

·         In face to face communication, expect to invest time developing the relationship which means that speaking Portuguese will ease your progress.

“A falar é que a gente se entende.”  -  Talking is the way for people to understand each other.

There are 18 major languages spoken in India and over 1,600 regional dialects. Hindi is the official language of India, spoken by about half the population, mostly in North India. Hindi can be traced back to the 7^th or 8th century. The dialect that has been chosen as the official language is Khariboli using the Devanagari script. Some of the many other dialects of Hindi are Brajbhasha, Bundeli, Awadhi, Marwari, Maithili and Bhojpuri. Hindi is spoken by over 437 million people worldwide.

Some of the major Indic languages (ie the languages of the whole Indian sub-continent) are Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Bengali is the state language of West Bengal where many people only speak Bengali. Urdu is the state language of Jammu & Kashmir, was developed in Delhi and is mainly spoken by the Muslim population. It is written in the Arabic script and includes many Persian words. Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world.

Although English is widely used for government, legal purposes and further education, the Indian Ministry of Education is concerned that only 1% of the population speaks English well enough for business purposes, and is seeking to remedy this as India plays an increasing role in the world economy.

When doing business in India consider the following:

·         At a first meeting make sure you present and exchange business cards. Find out what the local language is and have your card translated. If you travel widely and do not wish to have several languages on your card, you might choose Hindi.

·         Be sure to receive and give with your right hand.

·         Make sure the card is put away respectfully and not simply pushed into a trouser pocket.

·         Meetings in India will generally begin with friendly small talk. This may include personal questions about family and is seen as a way of building rapport and trust before business.

As you send Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greetings to your colleagues and friends around the globe, take a look at our website to help you say that special message in their language. Bear in mind that people of faiths other than Christianity might not be interested in a Christmas greeting but will probably appreciate your best wishes for the new year.

Click here for Christmas and New Year messages.

Click here for our free on-line Translation Tool.