Some
of our favorite funnies from the world of MIStranslation...
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Another
Newsletter?! Howdy. Hola. Guten Tag.
Yes, this is another newsletter, but not like any of the others
you may get. We know your time is valuable and you probably
won't read all of what we send you, but hear us out at least here in
the first paragraph. We are in the business of foreign
languages, and we know many of you find that
B-O-R-I-N-G (remember falling asleep in Spanish
class way back when??) Ahem, anyway, we wanted to put together
something that is informative, yet light-hearted. Presto
(another good Italian word!), Translators Ink is born. Yippee!
So, each month, we will send you tidbits that have to do with foreign
languages, foreign places and foreign, well, everything. So read
on and enjoy...even if it's all Greek to you. Ciao.
Brazilian Carnaval
 Last
month the streets of Rio de Janeiro were jammed with revelers,
tourists and Samba school members wanting to showcase their elaborate
costumes, dances and songs.
Much like Mardi Gras in the U.S., Carnaval in
Brazil is celebrated 40 days before Easter, and serves as a last surge
of "carnal" pleasures before the period of Lent is observed, during
which time, people abstain from them.
There are many different versions of Carnaval held
all over Brazil, but the most famous by far is in Rio, where the
modern Carnaval traditions began in 1845.
While the pageantry and partying during Carnaval
are famous, many businesses are now also discovering the great
opportunities the Brazilian market offers.
Lately we have seen a significant increase in Brazilian Portuguese
translation requests. Business is booming in the only country in
Latin America where Spanish is NOT the national language.
The surge in automobile sales (Brazil is a major manufacturer for
Fiat, Ford, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, Honda and others) during the
month of January was 34% above the same period for 2007. The
waiting period for those wanting to purchase a car in Brazil can be up to three months! Moreover, the country's currency, the 'Real' is holding steady at 1.77 to 1.79 to the U.S.
Dollar, making this stable economy very attractive to exporters.
Churrascarias (Brazilian steakhouses): world's newest restaurant fad
One lesser known attraction in Brazil is the outstanding cuisine. There are some great ones in the U.S.
and probably one near you (Fogo de
Chão,
Texas de Brazil, etc.).
If you have
never experienced a Churrascaria, make it a point to do so soon, but
be prepared to eat...a lot!
Sometimes hearing strange
voices can be a good thing
 Isn't
it funny how gobbledygook to one man's ear can be
music to another's? We all know that the world is full of
foreign tongues and that everyone speaks their own language, but what
many businesses are now slowly starting to realize is that with the
right professional partner, they, too, can easily "speak" the
languages of their customers easily and effectively.
Many businesses have taken advantage of new media
(Internet, eLearning, Webinars, etc.) to reach more customers (and
their own employees and colleagues). It doesn't take a whole
lot more to reach them in their own language. The trick to
good voiceovers is finding the right voice and the right technical
folks to record it and make your final production smooth.
Some DOs on any voiceover project:
As a professional foreign language firm with almost 20 years of
experience, we have completed hundreds of successful voiceover
projects in many languages. To hear some samples of our voice
talent,
please click here.
Translator vs. Interpreter
One thing that really causes us to cringe is
seeing a news report on TV in which a talking head is speaking in his
own language with another speaker talking over him in English, and
there is this text on the screen:
"VOICE OF TRANSLATOR"
That's the real news to us. We didn't know
'translators' actually did that sort of work. You see, a
translator is someone who works with written projects, whereas,
an interpreter works with oral assignments. An even more
interesting note is that a good translator does not necessarily make a
good interpreter and vice-versa.
Translation requires skills that take years to
master, and the skill set needed is far different from those that a
good interpreter must develop. A translator has the luxury of
sitting down at his or her computer and crafting each word to fit with
all the others. It takes time to write something well in a
language other than the one it was written in originally. That
stands to reason, because a written document lasts much longer than
spoken words and so many more people can see and scrutinize it.
On the other hand, spoken words are fleeting.
An interpreter's job is to convey words that are spoken by one or more
people to an audience in a different language. Interpreters must
be able to think quickly in multiple languages and convey meanings in
one or more on the fly.
So the next time you see a news story with "VOICE
OF TRANSLATOR" on the screen, just smile and realize that you know
what they really mean is "VOICE OF INTERPRETER".
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