Here is a fascinating insight into how budding linguists are formed: Veritas takes us through the linguistic trials and tribulations of her young child in this blog post. Perhaps there is a future for him in professional translation services!

The little boy, Noah, is 6 years old. He is a native speaker of English, and has been in Welsh-medium education since the age of 3. He speaks Welsh fluently and gets more practice reading and writing in Welsh than he does in English. Recently we have started to read more English books and it has been very ‘challenging’, to say the least! He assumes English words are pronounced as they are written (and written as pronounced) like they are in Welsh, and I have a new perspective of how unforgiving English can be to learners, adults and children alike. At the little boy’s tender age, I know that the important thing is not mastery of English spelling or the ability to read Great Expectations – I only wish to show him the joy of reading and the importance of language.

So at the moment he is in a transitional period: he has built up a knowledge base of sounds and their corresponding letters or groups of letters in Welsh, but he is applying those to both Welsh and English. The picture below is an example – this is the letter he wrote to Father Christmas last week.

What Noah wrote:
bliss canai haf y lego blis si ion
bliss canai haf chabin
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Translation may be the last thing you think of when thinking about doing business abroad, but it is one of the most important factors in your bid to attract overseas clients. It goes without saying that choosing professional website translation services is of the utmost importance, but there are also other things that you need to take into account when preparing to trade with other countries.

Many people don’t realise that it is not just the actual words in a text that need to be translated. Each language belongs to a unique culture and as such, your text will need to cater to the preferences and values of the new target audience. It is widely recognised that when writing an advertisement, you must remember that you are not necessarily the target audience, and this principle is never more important than when writing for your new target market. For example, a pun or joke in your text may not be funny in the target language, or may not make sense at all! A professional translation company will alert you to any potential issues in your text, and will suggest suitable alternatives, whether that be finding an equivalent expression in the target language, or removing anything which may be deemed inappropriate by the new target audience. This process, which includes the translation of any cultural references, is commonly known as Continue Reading →

Have you finished your studies in language interpretation and don’t know what to do next? After so many exams and hours of study you finally DID it! Now it’s time for you to jump feet first into the labour market, but do you feel that you simply don’t have any idea where to start from? Don’t worry; there’s no reason to feel overwhelmed because you have before you a multitude of attractive career opportunities. Hopefully this blog will give you some ideas and advice about getting started in the world of interpreting services.

First of all, it’s very important for you to have a clear understanding of which of the possible fields of language interpretation you are interested in, since there is a wide range of professional settings where professional interpreters are needed nowadays, such as business, journalism, film, television and multimedia (dubbing, subtitling), the tourism sector, social assistance, health care, international organizations and institutions, translation and interpreting agencies, language teaching (schools, colleges, academies…) etc. Each sector works in its own way and some require specific qualifications.For example, if you are interested in working for the public service you will need to get the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI). Federal court interpreters have to pass two different tests and go through a process that takes at least two years.

In general, the next step should be to get work experience, as nobody is going to hire someone that doesn’t ...

What makes a truly professional translation service? Logically, a great translation is one that achieves its aim. This can mean very different things to different people, which is why we pay so much attention to this here at Veritas. We are able to adapt our translation services to different situations, which is partly what makes us so popular with our clients and makes us the multi-award winning translation and interpreting company that we are!

In order to provide our clients with the best possible quality translation services, the Veritas team need to consider a number of aspects when drawing up instructions for linguists. Some of the most important considerations are the expectations and objectives of our customers. What companies aim to achieve when they commission a foreign language translation or, as is often the case, a translation into English, has a huge impact on the translation process.

For example, if a medical equipment company requested their entire website to be translated from English into Polish, it is very important to draw up a brief for the translator, as the consistent use of terminology will be essential, and the client may be able to provide reference material or a glossary to assist this.

In another case, if the translation of a travel guide is commissioned for the tourist industry, the client’s aim is to persuade readers to visit the particular attraction or region. ...

The Internet is one of the most powerful marketing tools in the world and is utilised by countless companies, charities, individuals…you name it, there’s a 99.9% chance it has a presence on the web!

This presents a golden opportunity to market products and services globally and to a vast customer base. Now, taking into account that over 930 million people (who are online) speak a native language other than English, making good use of available website translation services is becoming key to reaching out to them.

Using website translation services to address current or potential customers and clients in their native language not only increases marketing potential but also promotes a company as open minded and culturally aware which is valuable in today’s global climate. It’s been shown that web users stay for twice as long and are four times more likely to purchase from a site that is written in their own language. Website translation can seem quite daunting at first – all those drop down menus, and sub-pages and forgotten links!

It is vital to ensure excellent management of a website translation project as it can be a huge undertaking. The importance of thorough content analysis, localisation and testing cannot be underestimated either. Towards the end of November 2002, 68% of online content was English. This had dropped steadily and significantly over the last ...