En français s’il vous plaît…
The French language is for sure one of the most interesting languages out there, with its extensive past and history. Originating from a mixture of Romanised Germanic and Celtic origin words, the true origin of the French language derives from Latin itself. French Speaking Countries French is the official language spoken in these nations: Belgium, […]
Culture and Diversity in Brixton
Having an enormous multi-ethnic community means there are a spread of languages spoken everywhere in Brixton and all at the same time. It’s crazy to think so many people across the world could be gathered in one area simply by chance. This is the main reason GoLocalise prides itself having its HQ so close to […]
The importance of localisation in business
English might often be thought of as a ‘universal language’, but the truth is, 75% of the world’s population speak no English at all – and only 6% are native English speakers. Unsurprisingly, 70% of people are more likely to buy online from websites in their native language. So as a business, if you want […]
Differences between Mandarin and Cantonese
Chinese is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world and it is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. But there are more than 200 Chinese dialects – so how do you know which one you need? Mandarin is the most common spoken Chinese language and it is […]
Jokes and puns just don’t work in translation
There are millions of jokes out there, and every country has its own repertoire of gags based on its own culture, for instance about other countries they don’t get along with, or simply on wordplay. Actually, many jokes revolve around puns, making them very difficult to translate. Words that rhyme or sound similar in one […]
The adventure of expanding your brand globally.
When brands want to expand globally, they need to be extra careful with the way their slogan and brand names are translated, as well as with the cultural implications of their choices. Even choosing a colour can have catastrophic consequences, as colours can have different connotations in different cultures. For example, Pepsi made an epic […]
Movie titles that got lost in translation
Apparently “The Happy Dumpling-to-be Who Talks And Solves Agricultural Problems” is the translation in China for the famous film for children “Babe“. Yes, that one about a talking pig who actually solves an ‘agricultural problem”. I am sure you are thinking, “Ok, this is a really bad translation.” And here goes another example: How do […]
Languages and Dialects in Italy
The dialects of modern Italian all have their roots in the spoken form of Latin, called Vulgar, in use throughout the Roman Empire. In Roman times, the Italian peninsula had already witnessed an extraordinary linguistic diversity with inhabitants speaking Latin – the official language of the State – as well as Etrurian and Greek in […]