Translation Services - A Superb Tool to Effectively Communicate With Foreign Customers

If you are planning to go global by expanding your business internationally, then there are numerous factors that you would have to consider. As the internet is shrinking the world beyond belief, both small as well as big businesses are trying to grab the attention of foreign customers in the international market. You may find businesses operating in the US but dealing with wide markets in China, Japan, Africa, Iran and India. But how exactly a company running in the US is able to deal with the cultural and linguistic barriers, which divide nations and people? What exactly happens to the communication barrier when the geographical borders are crossed?

Efficient communication is undoubtedly the core of any flourishing business. Those wishing to do business with a foreign nation need to make sure that they are able to effectively communicate with their foreign customers in their native language. Some years ago, this meant appointing local people, who can help business owners communicate with their potential customers in their local language. However, thanks to technological advancements, this is not a norm or requirement anymore.

Today, there are numerous translation companies out there which can help business firms located in one part of the world to effectively deal with people in different corners of the world. But to ensure the effectiveness of communication, you have to ascertain quality of the services offered by the translation agency. Irrespective of whether you are planning to employ their services for business purposes or personal use, there are certain guidelines that should be followed.

One of the most crucial criteria is accuracy. To avoid any sort of communication gap between you and your target audience, it is important that the translation agency you hire can communicate your business message accurately. Hire a company that allows their clients to directly contact their translators. Some agencies keep their language experts under wraps, which often leads to a lot of confusion later on. Selecting a translation company, having specialist knowledge about your business niche, may not be always possible. But if you can manage to find such a company, it would indeed act as an additional benefit for you.

Choose a translation service provider having sound credentials. Linguists, who are passionate about their job, are most suitable to offer these services. A good service provider would always like to know about the work in detail before accepting any project. Besides, the reputed service providers also have an excellent backup to address sudden exigencies. The best part is that they only hire translators and interpreters who are highly knowledgeable about the social nuances and culture of various countries and frequently visit these nations to keep up to date with all rapid transformations in languages and hone their language skills. In short, translation services are indeed a superb tool to effectively communicate with foreign customers.

Translation Services - Must for Global Communication

There is a multitude of languages in the world that are rapidly emerging ever since globalization has come into the picture. To do international business, you got be well versed in multiple languages in order to reach a wider group of audience. However, gaining proficiency in so many languages is something that does not seem to be a feasible option. This is exactly when professional services for translation come in the scene. These services have now become a prerequisite for global communications. The global marketing needs effective communication in various languages to understand business documents written in different languages.

With the huge recognition of services for translation, numerous translation agencies have significantly sprouted today. You can find these services through the yellow pages and even by browsing the business directory of your area. Besides, internet too can aid your search. You can use various search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, Bing etc, to find numerous relevant listings. If not this way, then you can even seek referrals from your family, friends or colleagues. No matter which mode you choose to look for the most competent translation agency, your main aim should be to look for the one that can help you in efficiently communicating with your global customers.

Unfortunately, not all firms can pass all your standards as they all differ in terms of their features and capabilities. Sometimes, hiring an experienced company may be slightly expensive, but the services they provide are usually worth it. The translation job calls for utmost expertise and knowledge. Therefore, the translators employed by the translation firms must be highly skilled at translating all sorts of documents efficiently. However, it is not a cinch to tell whether the translators who would be handling your project are competent enough to do the job wisely.

Thus, it is advisable to always ask for a sample of their work to know what you can expect from them. If you do not like their work, then you can always ask the translation service provider to hand over your project to some other translators. If he cannot facilitate you with this, then feel free to look for another agency. When you communicate with your customers or prospects at the global level, confidentiality of your information is highly crucial. You would surely not like important messages to get leaked before they reach to your target audience. Mostly reputed companies offering translation services do have a policy which aims to safeguard the documents submitted by the clients and make sure that the information present in these documents is not revealed to any other person. So, hire a proficient translation agency and set out for effective global communications.

What Are Technical Translations - An Insight!

No matter which sector a business operates in, if it targets international audience, the business owner has to consider getting the technical content translated into the target languages. Trading internationally or expanding overseas is not a walk in the park and calls for expert services, one out of which is the services for technical translations. To establish a strong presence in the overseas market, you need to make sure that all your technical texts are easily understood by your international clients. Technical translation being a specialized form of translation, deals with content containing specialist terminology that can only get precisely translated by experienced technical translators.

The terminology which is used in technical documents has a specific nature, and thus working with translators having experience in the relevant field is paramount. They would not just have the appropriate language proficiency but also an in-depth understanding of the industry specific terms and expressions. Technical translation is required for an extensive range of documents and projects, right from print materials, such as manuals, staff handbooks and brochures, to audio-visual materials, such as pod-casts or product demonstrations. In fact, services for technical translation are also widely used to get the technical website content translated into different languages.

As mentioned above, employing language experts, who understand your industry is highly imperative, however even then, the entire process of performing technical translations can be quite complicated. It is crucial that the translators build a thorough understanding of customer's needs by collating all important reference materials and product information. Good translators employ a ntmber of techniques to ensure hundred percent accuracy and precision in the translated text.

They discuss the glossary of all translated terms and technology with their client and then deliver a work sample to them so that they can review the translated document. Creating a relevant glossary of technical terms/phrases and stating their definitions along, ensures that the preferred jargon are used consistently throughout the project. This way, irrespective of what type of technical text you want to get translated, you can effectively communicate with all your prospective overseas customers. However, as only competent translation service providers can ensure consistency in terminology and style across all the materials to be translated, make sure to choose the best translation services when you begin your search. They can provide you with a long-term cost-effective solution by avoiding many costly mistakes, such as unnecessary re-translation, grammatical errors, inaccuracy etc. So, if you have any plans to expand your local business in a foreign land, services for technical translation would indeed be a necessity.

Translation Services - Tips to Choose the Best Translation Agency

With the inception of internet era and globalization, an increasing number of businesses are quickly expanding their business operations overseas. And with this, growing demand of the professional services for translation is quite evident. If you also wish to expand the operations of your business at the global platform, especially to the non-English speaking nations, you would definitely need the services of a professional translation agency for translating your marketing or business documents, technical reports, legal documents, websites etc. A translation agency would help you in overcoming the language barricade, which comes along while doing a business globally. However, considering the fact that there are numerous translation companies operating out there, choosing the best one is surely not a cinch. So, cited below are some useful tips on how you can choose the best translation firm.

* Look for a company with a strong repute and experience. Visit their website and look for case studies, testimonials, reviews and feedback by past customers. You can also ask for some recommendations from friends, relatives and business associates.

* Do make sure that the agency you select is well-versed in different languages, particularly in the languages that are spoken in your target nations. By inquiring about the number of language combinations they offer and qualification of their translators, you can very easily know the proficiency of any translation firm.

* Choose an agency offering various services. Usually an experienced company offers services for translation in a number of foreign languages because they have customers all over the world. Instead of sticking to document translation, these companies offer many other services, like software localization, website localization and many more. By selecting an agency which offers multiple services, you can save a great deal of your time.

* Though enlisting cheap services for translation can help you in saving money, it can sometime put the quality factor at risk. The reason why an experienced and reputed company asks for a high premium is actually because they can ensure high quality and accurate work.

* Look for excellent customer service. In the business world, time is regarded as money and even a slight delay in your project, because of inept customer service, can lead to dire consequences on your business. Once your translation company begins to work on your project, they must provide regular updates to you regarding the project's progress.

By keeping in mind these handy tips, finding a competent translation service provider would be a cakewalk for you. So, go ahead and look for the one that can superbly handle your translation project.

Technical Translations - An Important Requirement for Global Launch of a Product or Service

Today, it is impossible for people to imagine their lives without technology. It is only because of the technological advancements that today they can communicate all across the world. The technology has made it possible to spread a flurry of information in any part of the globe within no time. Especially, business owners are making the most of this technological development by expanding their business to the global market. However, not all countries speak the same language and thus communicating with foreign customers in their native language is something that certainly is not a cakewalk. Learning many languages, too, does not appear as a feasible solution.

The best option that business owners opt for is hiring professional services for their translation needs. Especially if you sell products or services in the international market, then getting your technical documents translated in the native language of your target audience is utmost important. Technical translation entails translation of specialized text pertinent to scientific or technical subject areas. Therefore, translation of such texts needs to be handled by someone, holding excellent knowledge about the technical terms and jargon related to different businesses.

Whether it is construction, computing, aircraft or some other subject matter, technical translation should be perfect, no matter what. This is the reason why only highly specialized and experienced translators should be hired for the job of technical translations. They make use of large terminology glossaries and databases to make sure that the translated text is error-free. As the wide technical sector is rapidly evolving and new technical terms are continually emerging, it is quite challenging to find equivalent terms or words for those which have been created recently. In such cases, proficient translators perform a comprehensive documentary process that involves investigating about the specific technical field that is being handled, the social nuances and target culture to discover the most appropriate terms.

Technical translation services are a must have for the global launch of any product or service. Those, who wish to take their business to the international market to earn more profit, should pick a reliable translation service provider, specializing in all forms of technical translations. For instance, they should be able to offer translation for documents, such as scientific reports, data sheets, electronic manuals, guides, handbooks, technical documentation etc. Since, translation of technical documents is a crucial element in successfully launching and exporting products or services, it is advisable for all business owners to always choose the best translation agency. Hiring an experienced company means pushing your business in the right direction.

Professional Services for Language Translation

There are different languages spoken all across the world. However, to promote a business at the global platform, communicating with people speaking different languages is important and this is exactly what has made services for translation a must have for businesses. Considering such a high demand, there are loads of translation companies out there, which offer services to translate text written in one language to another, so that the target audience can easily read and understand the main message.

Unfortunately while enlisting professional services for language translation, most businesses have no idea about what to expect with regard to quality, delivery time and price for a project. There are scores of small translation agencies out there which may seem to be an excellent choice at first but may lead you to a huge business loss later on. To make sure the upshot of your investment in these services is good enough for you to impress your foreign customers, it is advisable to choose a reputed company even if you have to pay a little extra.

Before assigning the job to any firm, look out for what exactly they ask you. For instance, they may want to know about the language of your target nation, your industry, the style or format you want your document to be written in and so on. This would not only help them to determine which translator in their network can best handle your project but also you, as a client, can know how professional and dedicated they are. If you already have a specific time frame in mind, then do not forget to convey your need to them. Sometimes, for an extremely quick turnaround, they may charge you extra money. But they can guarantee quality; so do not hesitate to spend a little extra.

Besides, the proficiency of the experts hired by these companies would also decide if you are really in safe hands or not. So, before going ahead with any firm do make sure that they have highly qualified and experienced translators and interpreters, who are capable of accurately and precisely translating the business documents. Your ultimate goal while looking for a translation agency should be to get best quality that can help you communicate easily with your customers and prospects. Low quality translations have no place in the global world. Sooner or later low quality translation services would break down the communication between buyers and sellers, residing in different countries. So, regardless of whether you are seeking services for technical, business, medical or legal translation, make sure to hire a reputable translation service provider who can guarantee to offer you top quality.

How To Say "To Become" In Spanish And Verbs of Change

In this lesson, I will cover the topic of how to say "to become" in Spanish. Many of my students have also asked this same question. This question doesn't have an easy answer, because Spanish has different words according to what kind of change we are talking about. This Lesson is about Verbos de Cambio, the different verbs that we use to explain the change from one condition to another condition.

Ponerse: Is a verb used to speak about a change that is sudden, involuntary and temporary. For example, if the teacher asked you something in front of the class, you can say:

Me puse nervioso, porque no sabía la respuesta. (I became nervious because I didn´t know the answer.)

Typical expressions with Ponerse are: Ponerse colorado/a, Ponerse triste, Ponerse contento/a, Ponerse verde de envidia, Ponerse mal.

Volverse: Is a verb used to speak about a change involuntary but not temporary, it is permanent. For example:

Después de las crisis mucha gente se volvió pobre. (After the crisis, many people became poor.)

You can use Volverse + Adjective or Volverse + una persona + Adjective.

Typical expressions with volverse are: Volverse loco/a, volverse una persona arrogante, volverse una persona introvertida, volverse paranoico.

Hacerse: With this verb we speak about a change gradual and voluntary. For example: Juan Perez se hizo rico vendiendo computadoras. (Juan Perez became rich selling computers.)

Also, with Hacerse we make reference to religious and ideological changes.

Madonna se hizo judía. /Manuel se hizo socialista cuando se fue a vivir a Argentina. (Madonna became Jewish. / Manuel became a socialist when he moved to Argentina.)

Convertirse: Is like Hacerse, a gradual change but sometimes it is voluntary and sometimes is not voluntary. We use it generally to speak about professions or places.

For example: Después de mucho estudiar, Marcela se convirtió en médica. (After a lot of studying, Marcela became a doctor.)

Cuando Steve Jobs murió, Tim Cook se convirtió en el presidente de Apple. (When Steve Jobs died, Tim Cook became Apple's CEO.)

Esa ciudad se convirtió en un lugar muy inseguro desde que se instalaron muchos narcos. (That city became very unsafe after many drug dealers came.)

Mi restaurante se convirtió en un sitio muy popular desde que salió en esa revista.

(My restaurant became a popular place after it was mentioned in that magazine.)

Quedarse: This verb is used many times to speak about the result of an accident.

For example: Después del accidente Francisco se quedó ciego. (After the accident Francisco became blind.)

It is also the result of a process, and in this case we don´t use Quedar like a reflexive verb. Después de dos días de trabajo: la pared quedó pintada. (After two days of work: the wall was painted.)

Mónica fue al salón de belleza y quedó muy linda. Monica went to the salon and ended up very pretty.)

Quantifiers in the Spanish Language

Quantifiers in the Spanish language are Spanish words that are very useful when we want to speak about statistics. Some of them use the distinction between female and male but others don't do it. Remember that when we don't put the noun after the adjective we are speaking in general, and it will always be masculine.

Let's take a look. To give some examples we will talk about the work world in Argentina. You can think if it is similar in your country.

Todos/as: Todos los trabajadores en relación de dependencia cobran un Aguinaldo, que significa un sueldo extra annual. (All workers as employees take on a Christmas bonus, which means an annual extra salary.)

Casi todos/as: Casi todos los trabajadores tienen 15 días de vacaciones. (Most workers have 15 days of vacation.)

La mayoría: La mayoría toma el transporte público para ir a trabajar. (Most take public transportation to get to work.)

La minoría: La minoría puede trabajar desde su casa. (A minority can work from home.)

Muchos/as: Muchos tienen una hora para almorzar dentro o fuera de la oficina. (Many workers have an hour for lunch inside or outside the office.)

Bastantes: Bastantes trabajadores usan las redes sociales en sus trabajos. (Many workers use social networks at work.)

Demasiados/as: Demasiados trabajadores toman el subte cada mañana. (Too many workers take the subway every morning.)

Varios/as: Varias mujeres guardan su licencia por maternidad para después de tener a su hijo, en lugar de tomarse algunos meses previos. (Many women keep their maternity leave after having their son, rather than taking a few months prior.)

Pocos/as (unos/as pocos/as): Pocas mujeres dejan de trabajar después de tener niños. (Few women stop working after having children.)

Casi nadie: Casi nadie tiene piscina en su lugar de trabajo, aunque algunas empresas modernas la incluyen como un beneficio para sus empleados. (Hardly anyone has a pool in his workplace, although some modern companies include it as a benefit for their employees.)

Casi ningún/a: Casi ningún trabajo permite tomar alcohol durante el horario de trabajo. (Almost no job allows the drinking of alcohol during working hours.)

Casi Nadie and Casi Ningún means the same in this context, but remember that we only use Nadie for people and Ningún or Ninguna can be used with different things and we aways use it before a noun.

Hopefully this lesson was a good review of quantifiers for you. They are an important part of the Spanish language and are very useful in many situations.

5 Grammar and Punctuation Tips for Clear Writing

When it comes to writing, especially in the English language, there is much confusion surrounding classic grammar rules and punctuation problems often arise. Writing is something everyone uses every single day, whether you are in the professional world, the workplace, in a collegiate atmosphere, or simply when you are writing lists or notes. Therefore, grammar is epically important to making your point clear and expressing your thoughts in a concise way so others can grasp your meaning and purpose for writing. Here are five tips to writing grammatically correct and keeping your punctuation in check.

1. Commas

This form of punctuation is perhaps the most important element of any paragraph or sentence. In fact, the misuse of commas is one of the most common problems in sentence and paragraph writing. This is so important that it has made number one on my list of tips. First, it is imperative not to overuse commas. This is a classic mistake that even the most experienced writer can make. Sometimes you can get so carried away with this part of punctuation that you neglect other forms such as the period, the exclamation point, the semicolon, the colon, or even the question mark. All of these need to become your friends if you would like to write effectively. Also, it is important to not use too few commas. This is another common comma conundrum. Often times, people forget about commas altogether or have no idea how to use them correctly so they do not even attempt to use them at all. This is certainly a mistake. Omitting commas from your writing is a sign of an amateur writer. That is obviously not how you wish to come across in your writing. It is also a sign that you have no idea how to use a comma properly, so you have simply given up on that piece of punctuation. The bottom line here is that commas are absolutely essential because they signal your reader when to take a breath. Without this, your reader will be reading a run on sentence and that will compromise the clarity of your whole composition.

2. Steer Clear Of Weak Words

This means do not overuse weak adjectives like "very" or "really." These are well-known filler words and should basically never be used in a professional writing piece. It makes you sound either over eager or unintelligent. Use more descriptive adjectives that are tailored to your meaning.

3. Avoid Passive Voice

Passive voice in writing is using verbs that you do not take responsibility for. Eliminate this from your writing, and try to use only active voice. This shows that you are being assertive and taking ownership of what you are saying. Hiding behind passive voice is a cowardly thing to do and makes your writing boring.

4. Keep It Straight

Make sure you have a solid grasp on the meaning and usage of these homophones: they're, their, and there. If you misuse any of these words and you have lost all credibility as far as your reader is concerned. Think about it, if someone does not even know how to use these common words, how can you trust them to be accurate about anything they are writing about. Keep the they're, their, and there straight and you show you are educated and knowledgeable.

5. Always Clarify

This is the most basic tip of all. When it comes down to guessing whether your reader knows exactly what you are describing, always assume your reader knows nothing about the subject you are writing about. Make everything as clear as possible, so as to avoid confusion. This technique will also keep the reader hooked on what you are writing.

Why Proper Nouns Are Proper Grammar

Proper nouns are one of the most important parts of the English language. It shows great disrespect when you don't use proper nouns. For example, if I were writing a letter to a man named Jim, and I wrote 'jim' on the envelope, he would be very upset. If you ever plan on working in a professional environment, you need to make sure you have the best possible word usage. Remember, when you are working in the professional arena, this is key to landing that dream job you have always wanted.

How you handle these shows a level or respect and can be a symbol of status. For example, you would not call the President of the United States by his first name, anymore than you would spell his name using all lowercase letters if you were addressing mail to him.

What is more, with the evolution of technology and the internet, email has become an increasingly important form and mode of contact for professionals, employees, coworkers, and their employers. This is where your proper noun skills can really come in to play. When addressing an email, using all lowercase letters is a huge no-no. It makes you sound completely and utterly unprofessional and absolutely not the person for a job at any notable company. What kind of employer wants their employee sounding or coming across as ignorant and disrespectful via an email message? Even if you are currently employed or have no interest in obtaining a job, correct proper noun usage still pertains to you.

In every day life it is of utmost salience to hone good grammar skills. Teaching your kids to use proper nouns well is also a subject worth discussing. First, this will undeniably give your child a head start in their education. By teaching them the basics (capitalize the first letter of someone's first and last name, etc.) is a prime way to ensure they will have a good educational future.

The bottom line here is actually quite simple: when it comes to getting ahead in the workforce, in the schoolroom, or just in your daily life, proper nouns are very important. If you remember to capitalize proper nouns, you are likely to have a strikingly successful future ahead of you. Do not underestimate the power of the proper noun. It is a powerful tool when applying for job positions, and simply serves as a sign of respect.