The Benefits of Shopping at Local Businesses

This year, in addition to the regular Black Friday deals, major emphasis was placed on a fairly new shopping holiday known as Small Business Saturday. The event, created by American Express, was first celebrated in 2010 to encourage consumers to shop locally with small businesses on occasion, rather than allocating all their holiday shopping money to “big box retail” stores or e-commerce on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The hype surrounding shopping local is not entirely unfounded. There are benefits to shopping at locally-owned businesses. By shopping at locally-owned businesses, jobs are created and there is more tax revenue, which provides a boost for the national and local economies while lowering the unemployment rate.  There have been many studies showing that spending your money with a local business has more of an economic impact than shopping with nonlocal companies. Many local business owners create a circle of money exchange by using local lawyers, accountants, etc. as a way to “pay back” the local community, whereas large chain stores tend to outsource their work. The belief is that if the money is kept within the community, then the community benefits. The local community also reaps the benefits of locally-owned businesses paying local taxes. Locally-owned businesses are also much more likely to donate to local organizations, schools, charities and other community groups.

When shopping in a local mom-and-pop-style shop, the focus is on the customer, because small businesses have more invested in the relationship with consumers. Over the past fiscal year, Precision Language & Graphics has seen a drastic increase in local sales. Some companies in the Chicagoland area, such as Kyowa Hakko Chemical Americas, TableCraft, Hydraforce, Koshin Americas and many others, have reached out to us for linguistic support. PLG was more than happy to supplement their multilingual needs while providing the more personal experience they were looking for. These companies all received personal visits from members of the PLG team where we were able to build a relationship prior to even starting a project for them. The personal touch that local businesses provide to their products or services is simply immeasurable.

To learn more about the local businesses that have worked with PLG and read about their thoughts on working with a locally-owned business, check out this month’s project highlight at http://plgreader.plg-online.com/2011/12/project-highlight-plg-goes-local-in.html.

Christmas Time in Strasbourg, France

Many Europeans and people all over the world flock to the city of Strasbourg, France to witness what Christmas is like for this Eastern French city of 440,000 people. From November 26 to December 31st, the whole city goes up in lights and Christmas decorations, and merchants around the city put up outdoor kiosks throughout the city. It is the largest and oldest in France, dating back to the middle ages. In the local Alsatian dialect, based off of the German language, it is called the "Klausenmärik" or the "Saint Nicholas Market".

The possession of Strasbourg has gone back and forth between the French and the German so the mixture of both cultures can be most evidently seen in this city. Both German and French architecture decorate the city, and both languages are often spoken throughout. The Christmas tree, which became popular during the middle ages, has its roots in Alsace. It consisted of a fir tree covered with apples that represented the tree of paradise. Eventually, the custom of the fir tree conquered other regions of the world, including the United States. Small fir trees can be seen illuminated throughout the city, hanging off the walls or on window balconies.

As I walked through the city of Strasbourg, I could smell the aromas of "pain d'épices," a spiced bread pastry most associated with Christmas in Eastern France, or "vin chaud," spiced Christmas wine. The combination of both was intoxicating. If you are still hungry, "choucroute," an Alsatian specialty that involves dressing Sauerkraut with sausages, is probably your best option.

After a long day of shopping for local gems, the best way to finish off the day is by heading over to the center of the city to see the largest Christmas tree in Europe, towering over the roofs of Place Kerber. Enjoy looking at the tree while eating some "marrons chauds" (roasted chestnuts) and listening to some local Alsatian music played live in the square.

Project Highlight: PLG Goes Local in 2011

PLG’s local-client list has grown exponentially over the past year. It is truly a pleasure working with our neighbors, mainly because of the opportunity for personal interaction. We value each and every one of our clients, but there is a special bond that is formed when establishing a face-to-face rapport. All of our local clients have received personal visits from members of our PLG team, and we love that they can count on us as a supplier and colleague.

PLG has international clients, including: Walmart, Michaels Stores, Sears and K-Mart. Yet, our focus for the coming year is to continue fueling our local clientele’s global communication efforts. Some of our local clients include HydraForce, Inc. (Lincolnshire), Koshin America Corp. (Schaumburg), Sugino Corp. (Itasca), TableCraft Products Company (Gurnee) and TAO Trading, Inc. (Chicago), to name a few.

Below you will find some kind words that our local clients have shared in regards to their experience with PLG:

“I truly appreciate your great service and the excellent work provided by PLG.”

“Anytime discussion of translations comes up, I automatically think of PLG.”

“Thanks again for your help with this. You can’t imagine how helpful it is to have a translation service so close and convenient.”

“Thank you so much for your attention to our project. We appreciate the extra mile you have gone!”

“You have a customer for life!”

That being said, have a wonderful holiday, and we hope to hear from you soon!

Project Highlight: Thirvin International Localizes Their Business Name

A Precision Language & Graphics, Inc. client has firsthand experience with translating a company name for use in the Chinese market. Thirvin International, formerly known as East West Wine Company, actually chose to change their English company name in order to have a stronger impact on the Chinese market. After learning that the company name East West Wine would not translate well into Chinese, the executives at Thirvin spent some time trying to think of a name that was not used in commerce anywhere in the world and that would translate well into Chinese. They eventually came up with the name Thirvin, which is short for “thirsty for wine”. The Chinese name, 石玟 (pron.: shiwen), breaks down to mean “stone” (石) and “pattern of jade” (玟). This name sounds elegant and powerful and is also easily pronounced in Chinese.

PLG has worked conjointly with Thirvin to overcome any language barriers while operating in Mainland China. Services have ranged from translation of business cards, to translation of product lists… and even a product name. Stateside is a particular name for a very specific line of wine that needs to be localized for the Chinese market. In order to translate the name effectively, Thirvin International was required to explain the meaning of the name. Kim Miller, Chief Marketing Officer for Thirvin International, explained the meaning of Stateside, “[Stateside] is wine that comes from the United States. It’s meant to convey pride and honor [for] the land from which it originates.” Wines produced by Thirvin International are intended to express powerful elegance.

The translation itself has yet to be completed. If you can imagine, creating a transliteration of a name that carries a very specific connotation can be a great challenge. In the process PLG has presented Stateside translations, while Thirvin has collaborated with their China team for feedback. After working together on a few threads of emails and conference calls, the task is almost completed. When attempting to translate business or product names, one should keep in mind that it is no small task. There needs to be a willing effort from both parties to create, rather than identify, a translation.

Thirvin international’s tagline is “California Wine for Every Occasion.” In working directly with the team, it becomes evident that they wholeheartedly believe this. They strive to provide award winning, world-class California wine to Mainland China. The Chinese marketplace has recently seen a surge in wine consumption, and Thirvin aims to please every palate. For more information on Thirvin International, please visit their website at www.thirvin.com.

For more information on PLG’s marketing oriented translations, please visit us at www.plg-online.com.

Happy drinking! 

Translation Warranty, Liability and Loss Prevention: An Industry Overview

A subject of confusion regarding translation projects is liability; who is ultimately liable should an error go to print? It is important for anyone planning to have a translation done to understand liability, should an unexpected blunder occur.

One way to avoid liability arguments and/or lawsuits is to be sure that there is a liability statement in the work contract. This is especially important for projects that carry a high liability. If your translator does not state his or her liability limitations, then you should remember to ask. Many translators and language service providers include a liability statement on their work orders or have a link to a webpage stating their liability limitations. If the translator has liability information but you did not ask, you may ultimately be held responsible and required to live up to their terms.

Certain translators or language service providers choose to be insured with liability insurance specific to the translation industry, which is called Error and Omission (E&O). If a translator or language service provider has liability insurance, they will be protected and able to compensate for damages as dictated by the proper claim process. This provides an extra layer of protection to the translation users.

Remember, translation is a human derived service, and even the highest quality translators could err. Liability discussions should not be a scary thing, but they are important in order to protect yourself from damages in the unlikely event that a critical error is made.

To view Precision Language & Graphics, Inc.’s limited liability policy, please visit http://plg-online.com/limited_liability_statement.html. PLG is a bonded and insured firm, through Underwriters at Lloyd's of London.

Translation vs. Transliteration: Adapting a Business Name for the Foreign Marketplace

Many companies choose to enter the Chinese market because China is a global superpower. An important note for such companies to remember is that the company name is often converted into Chinese, and this can be very challenging. Because company names and taglines are created by professionals to have specific appeal, direct translation does not always have the intended effect.

There are many examples of bad translations or literal translations that have the wrong meaning. A couple famous examples include Pepsi and KFC. When Pepsi created the tagline “Come Alive: You’re in the Pepsi Generation,” the straight translation into Chinese took on a very different meaning with “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead.” KFC had a similar problem when their tagline, “Finger-lickin’ Good,” was translated as “Eat Your Fingers Off.”

To avoid such errors, it is recommended to use a transliteration instead of a direct translation. Transliteration is the process of converting a sound from the source language (e.g., English) with a corresponding character in the target language (e.g., Chinese). Although this process appears to be a simple phonetic conversion, it differs in that it converts a sound to a character. This helps avoid the problems caused by similar sounds in Chinese having very different meanings. For example, the word “gao” in Cantonese can mean dog, nine or penis depending on the tone. Phonetic conversion caused problems for Coca-Cola when the phonetic conversion of their name translated as “Bite the wax tadpole”. When this was noticed, Coca-Cola decided to use transliteration to come up with “ko-kou-ko-le” which still sounds similar to the English name while retaining a meaning that makes sense, “happiness in the mouth”.

There are a few simple ways to avoid such gaffes. The key thing to remember is to use a native Chinese speaker to do your translation. Using a native speaker also helps to avoid potential problems that stem from local slang. Double-check the translation by having a second translator do a back-translation to check the English meaning of the Chinese business name and/or tagline. If your company name and/or tagline carry a specific meaning that may not be clear, it is crucial to convey the meaning to the translator so that they may try to keep a similar connotation with the translation.

Image source: http://www.foodchannel.com/articles/article/la-area-mcdonalds-goes-feng-shui/

The BBC Gets Bashed, Thanks to Subtitling Blunders

                Deaf BBC viewers are frequently noticing some comical errors in the corporation’s subtitles/captions. The errors are so common that there is a website dedicated to recording them so that people can have a good laugh. Some of the slips include calling the leader of the Church of England the “arch bi***” of Canturbury, requesting “a moment’s violence” during the Queen Mother’s funeral, and describing pigs that enjoy nibbling on “wellies” (boots) as pigs that enjoy nibbling on “willies”.

                A number of groups are critiquing the BBC for the increasing number of mistakes and believe that the network should raise its subtitling and captioning standards. The captioning process usually involves a person viewing the program while speaking into a microphone that is connected to a computer. The computer then uses speech recognition to change the spoken words into captions for the hard of hearing. Speech recognition software is not perfect, and this is where the majority of the errors come into play. Such errors can occur on any network that is providing captioning; the reason that the BBC is under harsher criticism than other networks is because the BBC is the only broadcaster in the world to subtitle all of its programs.

                Despite the statements from a BBC spokesman that they “endeavor to ensure it is as accurate as possible,” they continue to receive regular complaints and demands to monitor the quality to reduce the number of mistakes.

If you would like to view some fun, intentionally incorrect dubbing, visit: www.badlipreading.com.

(Credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047283/Deaf-viewers-complain-standard-BBC-subtitles.html#ixzz1bhegyMdF)