Merlin: Translation News, Services & Directory

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In another cross cultural howler to cherish, Spanish fashion chain Zara has withdrawn a handbag from its stores after a customer in Britain complained swastikas were embroidered on it.

Read more: Zara

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Friendster may no longer be the newest, coolest kid in Silicon Valley, but the company is hoping to captivate the socially un-networked in Taipei. Friendster today launched a version of its site in Traditional Chinese, the form of the language used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many Chinese communities overseas.

Read more: Friendster

As the evolution of the Internet continues, b-to-b marketers are reaching a crossroads in determining what tactics have worked in the past to attract traffic to their sites versus what approaches will work in the future. According to Internet World Stats, two-thirds of global Internet users are non-English speakers. This growing volume of search activity means that marketing opportunities will continue to evolve on both regional and global levels.

So how can b-to-b marketers capitalize on this trend? Is the answer as simple as translating all Web pages to the targeted country’s language?

Translation is one component of optimizing for international markets, but it’s in no way the end-all answer. A word-for-word translation of a Web site is ambiguous. Instead, Web sites should be translated according to concepts. A simple translation does not take into account cultures, customs and preferences specific to various countries. Additionally, a simple translation loses targeted keywords.

For instance, you wouldn’t think there would be any disparity between a U.S. and U.K. Web page because both countries speak English. However, consider the differences between dialects. In the U.S., speakers use the word taxi, while in the U.K., it’s car hire—both meaning the same thing and both completely different keywords.

Any translation, whether it’s keyword ads or site content, must be relevant to the specified culture. Additionally, human translators will greatly influence the success of your Web page. While automatic translations are easy to use, they have the tendency to kill the keywords that you implement as part of your optimizing campaign.

Read more>  Internet

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A survey released today suggests that intercultural skills would have helped troops in Iraq. In stark contrast to the ‘Rumsfeldian’ “shock and awe” approach promoted in the run up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the results demonstrate an appreciation by the layman that the “hearts and minds” approach will ultimately see success in the country. The shift also reflects the increasing priority for the modern day military to understand and communicate effectively with locals when in foreign countries rather than simply exercising force.

Read more> Intercultural Skills in Iraq

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Kwintessential have today released their latest translation tool - a keyword translator. The tool is designed to help website professionals such as webmasters and SEO consultants research keywords in foreign languages.

Visit the tool > Keyword Translator

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Kwintessential are currently running a survey asking people if they believe intercultural skills (or training) would have benefited troops in Iraq.

In the short time they have run the survey they have received a decent response but now want to drive the numbers up in order to get an accurate reflection of people’s beliefs.

The idea behind the question the survey poses is to examine whether people appreciate or believe that the “hearts and minds” approach is now also crucial to winning conflicts in the modern age, rather than “shock and awe”. The situation in Iraq all will agree has not been ideal, but moves from the U.S. military seem to suggest that they are now appreciating that providing troops with skills to communicate with people are more and more crucial.

Read more: Iraq and Intercultural Skills

language translation posted a photo:

In another cross cultural howler to cherish, Spanish fashion chain Zara has withdrawn a handbag from its stores after a customer in Britain complained swastikas were embroidered on it.

Read more: Zara

language translation posted a photo:

Friendster may no longer be the newest, coolest kid in Silicon Valley, but the company is hoping to captivate the socially un-networked in Taipei. Friendster today launched a version of its site in Traditional Chinese, the form of the language used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many Chinese communities overseas.

Read more: Friendster