TranslatorsVillage: The Facts

Everybody loves some statistics every now and then so we thought we'd put together some geeky graphics that tell you a little bit about who we are and what we do.

As you can see from the graphs above, the large majority of our registered translators live in Spain, leaving Italy and the UK battling it out for second place.

Not surprisingly, therefore, most of our translators are Spanish, or at least work with Spanish as their native language.

As the graph below shows, the TranslatorsVillage community is incredibly versatile and skilled in many different areas and industries. In terms of specialisms, though, it is Information and Communication that comes out top with Education and Accommodation & Food Service following closely behind.

Do you have a specialism or working language that doesn't appear on these graphics? Comment and let us know what they are!

April Fool's Day Across the Globe

For one day a year, it is widely recognised and socially acceptable to be silly and play tricks on one another. In a tradition that dates back to the times of the Ancient Romans, pranking has evolved from slipping salt into tea instead of sugar to huge international companies fooling nations with their “newest inventions” (such as the PlayStation Flow) or latest “breaking news”.

As part of our mission to break down language barriers, we thought it would be a good idea to share some April Fool’s day traditions from across the globe. They say knowledge is power and the question is, will you use this knowledge wisely to avoid pranksters or will you become the prankster?

England

A straight-faced nation gets permission to be silly on the first of April every year. In England, you have until midday to play your tricks on your friends. I remember April Fool’s being especially fun when I was a child as we would add special “sugar” to our Dad’s tea which reacted in such a way that it would foam out of the cup. But it’s not just children that get involved as you have to be careful what you watch on the news on this particular day. 

One of Britain’s most famous pranks on the nation was pulled in 1957 when a BBC documentary was made on Spaghetti farming. The documentary showed a family in Switzerland growing spaghetti on ‘spaghetti trees’ and people even wrote to ask how they could grow their own spaghetti!

France

The French have a slightly more innocent trick to play on one another as they celebrate Poisson d’Avril (April Fish). The clue is in the name as children make a paper fish and stick it to their friend's back. They then have to run away and scream "Poisson d'Avril!", letting everyone within hearing distance know that they have just successfully pulled a prank. 

Portugal

If you happen to be in Portugal this April Fool's, be very weary of passersby who appear to be concealing something in their hands. Chances are it is going to be a handful of flour as the Portuguese celebrate 'Dia da Mentira' by throwing some flour in a poor, unsuspecting friend's face. 

India

India have  a tradition that is similar to Portugal's as they blow colourful powder at people to celebrate April Fool's day. Just as messy as Portugal, but in true Indian style, very colourful. Indian companies have pulled their nation's collective leg on more than one occasion but take a look at this advert for a new smartphone app that can kill mosquitoes - after all, there's an app for everything, right?

Sweden

The Swedes also love to have some fun on the 1st of April each year and much like the French, they have a short rhyme to say at the end of their pranks: “April, april din dumma sill, jag kan lura dig vart jag vill” (April, April you silly herring, I can fool you anywhere I want to). 

One of the most famous Swedish pranks pulled was in 1962 before the days of colour TV. The nation was told in a news bulletin that new software had been installed on their television sets and all they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over it to watch in colour. 

Turns out Sweden love their jokes so much that if you fail to trick someone on the 1st of April, you can try again on the 1st of May shouting “Maj, maj måne jag kan lura dig till Skåne” (May, May moon, I can trick you to Skåne) instead!

So there we go, some fun facts about April Fool's day in different cultures. I myself was perfectly fooled a few years ago as I tried to find an interesting article about Spanish festivals for homework. I came across an article on the internet about a fish and chip festival and thought I had struck gold. I even printed it out and started planning my presentation before I realised it was published on the 1st of April!

How do you celebrate April Fool's Day in your country? Or what is the best prank you have seen? We would love to hear from you!

Finally, if you're planning an office prank this year perhaps you should take some tips from the master of tricks Jim Halpert.

Katie Lovell

Webinar on Buying Translation for Beginners - Wednesday 17 February

We are pleased to invite you to our free webinar titled “Buying Translation for Beginners” which will be live on Wednesday 17th February at 15:00 (GMT time). You will hear the basic information you need when buying translation, including pricing, time scales and how to ask for a quote. With the presentation lasting 20 minutes, there will also be plenty of time for a Q&A session at the end. Can’t make it on Wednesday morning? Not a problem, write to us at translations@translatorsvillage.com if you are interested in getting  access to the full presentation, would like further information or have a specific request. Joining the webinar couldn’t be easier, simply follow this link on the day of the event: https://www.uberconference.com/translatorsvillage. We will be holding free webinars on a regular basis,so keep an eye on our social media accounts for more information. See you next Wednesday! The TranslatorsVillage Team

January 2016 News

TranslatorsVillage in 2016

2016 is here! Christmas already seems like a lifetime ago and January has already come and gone. Here at TranslatorsVillage, we have hit the ground running and are starting 2016 as we mean to go on. Find out what we have been up to over the Christmas break and what exciting news you can expect to hear from us in the following months.

At the end of December, we launched our New Year’s Wishes and Resolutions campaign to inspire and be inspired by others. Our New Year’s Resolution is to “drop what’s not working for you and move on”, something that we intend to carry with us throughout 2016 and not just for the New Year. It was great to see some of our translators getting involved with this campaign, too, and we wish them all the best with their resolutions.

Since our last newsletter, we have published another new video which features some of our translators. This video showcases just how global TranslatorsVillage is as a community, and how far-reaching our network is. You can watch it, together with our other videos, on our YouTube channel here where you can also subscribe for updates and new videos.

"Global Translators" - watch our latest TranslatorsVillage video

Over the next few weeks, keep an eye out on our social media channels as we will be hosting free webinars. Our first free webinar, “Buying Translation for Beginners”, will take place on Monday 8th February at 14:00 (UK GMT) and will last for approximately half an hour with a Q&A session at the end. As the title suggests, this webinar will be a brief overview on what you need to know when buying translation with little experience in the domain. More information will be released next week through our social media channels, including the link you will need to register. If you are not a social media fan, you can email translations@translatorsvillage.com and we will send you the link directly. We want to make your Translation experience easier, and every little helps. The webinar will be repeated every Monday in February and will be followed by the Advanced level one. Happy Chinese New Year!

Copyright © 2016 TranslatorsVillage, All rights reserved. January 2016 Newsletter Our mailing address is: translations@translatorsvillage.com Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

'Drop what's not working for you and move on'

It's that time of year again where everyone is thinking about good habits to take into the New Year. Here is our top choice for a Business New Year's Resolution:

Drop what's not working for you and move on.

All products aren't going to be super sellers, all sales methods aren't going to work for everyone, and all suppliers or contractors aren't going to be ideally suited to your business. If a technique, a product or a business relationship isn't working for you, stop using it. Don't invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable work. Move on. Something better will turn up.

We would simply like to assure you that in the event your current translation supplier is unable at any time to meet your full requirements or if you are considering obtaining alternative quotes to ensure you are receiving the best value from your translation budget, we would be delighted if you could give us the opportunity to offer our services.

We have extensive experience of providing high quality translations to businesses of all sizes and in a wide variety of sectors, especially those looking for a high quality product within a short timescale and at a cost that represents excellent value.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help with any language related issue or even for some friendly professional advice about how best to turn the cost of translation into an investment in delivering competitive advantage. Visit our website or blog to see what we have been up to.

Meanwhile we wish you every success with developing your overseas markets and a prosperous and wonderful 2016.

(Credit to: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/management/a/bizresolutions.htm)