This is a cautionary tale that we hope will give you food for thought when you get an offer that is ‘too good to refuse’. James was looking to expand his business into overseas markets and when he was researching the best place to start, came across an … [Read more...]
What did you say?
Translation is not a precise science – there are so many phrases that simply don’t translate literally and it’s so easy to use a word that sounds right, but turns out to be something completely different. There are many colloquial sayings – not only in English … [Read more...]
Linguistic gymnastics
If your school English lessons are lost in the mists of time you probably know what grammar is all about, but what about syntax, semantics, synonyms, antonyms, rhetoric, not to mention punctuation? Even people who are good at English struggle with some of these … [Read more...]
Cultural hazards
When you visit another country, you need to be aware of their culture and the behaviour that is expected. There are so many pitfalls to negotiate and it’s easy to offend your business connections by simply being unaware of a cultural taboo. For instance, did … [Read more...]
When is a bow not a bow?
A huge percentage of translation work involves English, one way or another. And there lies a challenge. English is a complex and rich language, with many irregularities with many words with similar, but subtly different, meanings and also words that look the … [Read more...]
