Guest blog entry by Daniel Tenge-Nottingham, Marketing Intern at CSOFT

Given all the media regarding India in recent times, it is always interesting to come across a skeptical opinion questioning the notion of whether or not this “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) country has become a more significant global stakeholder than ever before.

Just by comparing 20th-century India to 21st-century India, we can argue to a large extent that yes, India is rising rapidly in the global market. It is an understatement to say that India’s economic, social, and political reforms have been through a remarkable and dramatic transformation. What was once a third-world country just beginning to develop its economy to compete in the global market about three decades ago, has today transformed into the world’s fifth largest economy in terms of GDP, and only second to the United States in terms of its network of paved highways.

Today, India holds claim to being the world’s largest producer of milk and among the top five producers of sugar, cotton, tea, coffee, spice, rubber, silk, and fish. India’s role as one of the major (economic) forces in the world is all but guaranteed. It is no longer a question of whether India is going to play a major role in world economic and political arenas; it is only a question of what role India will play. Today’s post will highlight some of the main drivers that we can attribute to this awoken titan’s rise.

In keeping with CSOFT tradition, at the end of last week’s World Localization Summit our President and CEO, Ms. Shunee Yee, hosted a Friday Night Party for all of CSOFT’s internal and extended team members, some clients, friends, as well as localization industry experts. Before wine bottles were uncorked and the festivities began, we were all treated to the inaugural CSOFT International Symphony, which was a concert personally hosted by Shunee for all of her friends and colleagues.

The pieces chosen for the concert were all hand-picked around a loose tribute to classical music used in theatre, movies, and television, which made for a pretty interesting mix. And it also made for the best opening sequence to a symphony orchestra ever, which we’ve uploaded to YouTube for your viewing pleasure:

As a multinational organization specializing in localization, the effects and importance of understanding different cultural practices during business exchanges hits us twofold! For today’s Straight from the Source, we asked a few members of the CSOFT team to share some insight into cultural differences when doing business in their home country or in a country they have previously worked before.

What are some cultural differences to remember when doing business in another country?

Localization can be loosely defined as the process of adapting both textual and non-textual elements of a product or service to the needs, habits, culture, and aesthetics of various local markets. That being said, localization not only demands a great deal of linguistic and technological expertise, it also requires a proactive mindfulness of different cultural practices and customs.

Here on T for Translation, as very vocal advocates of cultural awareness, we say there’s no better time like the present to head over to your nearest music festival, fly a kite, and drink a margarita!

… but before you do that, take a moment to read on a bit—it might help put that statement into perspective.

For some, today is an ordinary Thursday in early May, the day before the day before the weekend. And yet, in other parts of the world, people right now are celebrating vastly different occasions simply because of their different cultural upbringings.

As the day of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding, today is no ordinary day in world history. If you are one of the estimated 2 billion television viewers who will be watching the royal wedding progression from around the world, read on to learn about some fun royal wedding facts, brought to you by TermWiki.com!

If you’re not one of the lucky 1,900 guests attending, then perhaps you will be the receiver of a , which are invitations sent out to 100 individuals who were randomly selected from the public to enjoy the ceremony alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton’s guests. (No trip to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory with these golden tickets, we’re afraid.)

If you want to congratulate the happy couple, instead of sending gifts, Kate Middleton and Prince William have asked well-wishers to contribute to their. The funds will be distributed to one of five causes through Prince William’s Foundation—the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Henry. These five causes have been specifically chosen by Prince William and Kate themselves, which include helping children fulfill their potential, supporting individuals who are enlisted in the services, positively changing lives through arts and sports, providing help and care at home, and supporting the wildlife conservation effort.

Guest blog entry by Sophie, Sales Assistant at CSOFT

As members of the localization industry, we talk about translation every day. But how much thought do we really give to languages and the cultures they hail from? I have to admit I’m a bid of a language junky—I already speak three languages and will have started on my fourth one by the time this is posted—but what I find even more interesting than languages is culture. The best way to learn about a culture, other than studying the language, is to immerse oneself in it. I first realized this when I studied in Bahrain last summer.

Hi everyone! If you were around last week, today’s post is the English translation of Carmen’s response to studying and working in the translation and interpretation sector.  We’re expanding the discussion to give all of our English readers a chance to participate, so don’t forget to let us know what you think!

As I read the article that Eugenia recommended to us last week, it was almost like going back in time. Coincidentally, I also started a degree in Translation and Interpreting Studies in autumn 2005 and could have been one of the students surveyed in Professor Calvo’s study, in which she asked various first year students from different universities in Spain about their choice to study translation and interpretation.

Guest blog entry by Carmen, Translator for EU Spanish at CSOFT

Last week, when we congratulated the Juvenes Translatores winners, commenter and Translation Studies teacher, Eugenia, kindly shared an article about why students in Spain are choosing Translation Studies over others areas of study. Word got around, and the article was passed to Carmen, our fabulous in-house Spanish-English translating fashionista. Realizing how relevant the article was to her own experiences, Carmen decided to share her thoughts on the situation:

Leer el artículo que Eugenia nos recomendó la semana pasada ha sido casi como hacer un viaje en el tiempo. Casualmente, yo también empecé la carrera de Traducción e Interpretación en otoño de 2005 y podría haber sido una de las estudiantes encuestadas en el estudio de la profesora Calvo. Seis años después, ya no me acordaba de lo que era una nota de corte y prácticamente había olvidado también los motivos que me llevaron a escoger la carrera de Traducción e Interpretación en primer lugar. Conforme iba leyendo, todos estos recuerdos han vuelto de golpe. Me identifico por completo con esos estudiantes de primer año que no sabían muy bien lo que querían, pero que se sentían atraídos por la perspectiva de viajar al extranjero, conocer gente de todo el mundo, y que tenían siempre la palabra “ONU” rondándoles la cabeza.

Just this past Wednesday, Starbucks released the official redesign of their classic logo. In a bold move somewhat reminiscent of The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, they dropped the name of the company from their logo, freed the iconic, spread-finned siren from her circular prison, and zoomed up on her face (which, according to the senior creative manager at Starbucks, also went through a few fine calibrations of its own). While there’s been no small amount of outcry over this “travesty” of branding from loyal Starbucks enthusiasts (one of whom babbled about her gold-card status in a not-so-subtle threat), I for one think that the new wordless logo is a brave and applause-worthy maneuver toward true globalization on Starbucks’ part.

Straight from the mouth of Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, “our new brand identity will give us the freedom and flexibility to explore innovations and new channels of distribution that will keep us in step with our current customers and build strong connections with new customers.” From one angle, it’s pretty clear that Starbucks is going to move beyond caffeinated beverages, hence the removal of the word “coffee” from their logo. From another angle, though, by liberating their brand from the confines of language, building strong connections with new customers is precisely what they’re going to achieve in international markets.

A few months back, a new buzz word started popping up among language professionals in cyber space: globality. Described as the “end-state of globalization,” globality is essentially the ultimate goal of companies engaging in globalization/localization, a state in which their brand and products are equally and accurately represented across countries, cultures, and languages. (Side note: I’ve tried and tried to coin the word “localicious” for this very concept, but it never seemed to catch on.) In this respect, the new Starbucks logo is a huge leap over what may have otherwise been an alienating hurdle. They’re now a lot closer to globality than ever before.

Consider this: in a country like China, which is where I live, there are some 300 Starbucks locations. Traditionally speaking, the Chinese are not a coffee-drinking people; many of the older generation won’t touch the stuff. But coffee consumption, since the opening of the first Starbucks in China in 1999, has become a popular (if not expensive) pastime among younger Chinese people and businessmen.

Guest blog entry by Petra Held, European Business Development Manager and Localization Expert at CSOFT

Apart from having the special technical knowledge required to sell a product or service, sellers also have to take into consideration different aspects of mutual interaction, like specific cultural knowledge of your target market(s), which should be used to develop a brand of tailored charisma that is indirectly reinforced through such knowledge.

Europe is a multilingual and multicultural geographical area, rather small compared to some countries, and the sheer amount of diversity between the Northern and Southern parts cannot be more pronounced. The climatic differences alone are severe, and over the course of the centuries, have doubtlessly influenced the various mentalities of inhabitants throughout the continent. Even if globalization has helped to modify the insular way of thinking among European cultures, practically nobody inside the community is really eager to give up their identity, nor their culture, regardless of material advantage.