Bad Translations Can Be Embarrassing and Offensive
One of our French colleagues forwarded us some sad (and hilarious) examples of how poor translations can be very embarrassing--and even offensive--to customers.
Results-Only Work Environment Brings Radical Shift and Significant Growth to Choice Translating
What do 2 entrepreneurs, a staff of ten full-time employees, and over a thousand highly
educated linguists around the globe have in common? They all now enjoy living and working in a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) at Choice Translating, a language services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Click to download the case study from CultureRX.
Puto...an Unfortunate Branding Blooper
Puto was found recently on the shelf of a Washington, D.C. grocery store.
Puto is a traditional Filipino food... you can eat different variations of it at any time of day. There are no negative connotations of the name "puto" in the Philippines. However, in the USA that is another story. In Spanish, "puto" means "male prostitute or sexually promiscuous man."
For Spanish/English bilinguals in the United States, this is the messaging on the package:
White King
Male Prostitute
Filipino Favorites
It is a Filipino Favorite. You can eat a puto any time.
5 Ways Smart Companies Take on the World
Here are five techniques smart companies are using to narrow their focus and adjust their global market strategies. (CNN Money)
25 Handy Words that Simply Don't Exist in English
While English is the most widely spoken language, there are still a few areas it falls down on (strange and bizarre punctuation rules aside). This article looks at 25 words that simply don’t exist in the English language (and yet after reading this list, you’ll wish they did!)
UNCC's Business and Society Program Interviews Vernon and Michelle Menard
Episode: The Translating and Interpreting Industry: Why Every Word Counts
In this episode of UNCC's Business & Society, Dr. Rosemarie Tong, Ph.D., sits down with Michelle and Vernon Menard of Choice Translating, Inc. to talk about ethics in a business environment where every word counts.
Speak to Global Customers in Their Own Language
Do you struggle to reach customers beyond your own country's borders? If targeting clients in other countries seems daunting, there is one simple step you can start with.
Study - Interpreters in ER may limit medical errors
Having professional interpreters for non-English-speaking patients were found to reduce mistakes which could have "clinical consequences" according to a recent US study. "The findings document that interpreter errors of potential clinical consequence are significantly more likely to occur when there is an "ad hoc" or no interpreter, compared with a professional interpreter," said lead researcher Glenn Flores, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. To read more about the results of this study, click here.
Choice Translating Featured in FORTUNE Magazine
Choice Translating is featured in Verne Harnish's FORTUNE Magazine article "5 creative ways for a small business to save." To learn about ways to save money in your business, click here.