Business Translations

As businesses become globalized, and writing takes over as the main method of communication, translations have taken on a new importance. Communication can be a delicate issue, and one must be careful, especially in business, to be clear and flawless.

According to WhiteSmoke News, some cultures prefer that a new business partner speaks in their own language instead of trying unsuccessfully to express themselves in a foreign language. Depending on the culture, it might be considered a sign of respect to struggle to honor the new language, while for others the smallest mistake could be the largest insult.

It is important to study the culture of a new potential business partner to make sure that one is properly honoring their traditions. A great way to prepare is through using online translation tools. WhiteSmoke Translator, for example, offers both full-text and word-to-word translations. A user can translate a full email, or just quickly look up words before a phone conversation. WhiteSmoke Translator also offers a human translation service, which partners with native speakers at onehourtranslation.com to ensure the most accurate translations possible.

Several months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that the sales of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab, a product similar to Apple’s iPad, were “quite small”. In fact, what the vice president of Samsung had said, although in Japanese, was that sales were “quite smooth”. Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, repeated the WSJ’s error when introducing the iPad2. The Wall Street Journal’s mistranslation was more than just a small mistake. It ended up being ammunition for competing companies.

Although translators can help one get acquainted with a new language, one must be careful to learn about the nuances and secondary meanings of words to communicate effectively and avoid insult. Language errors in business interactions can mean the difference between a successful business deal and ruined ones. 

Cool Writing Technology

In the past, if one wanted to write anything, it required paper, pen and creativity. Today, one merely needs a computer. With more writing software available than ever before and a blogosphere full of opportunity, anyone can be a writer. There are constantly new technological inventions and advancements that make reading and writing easier.

There are online dictionaries and translation tools available at the push of a button. A really great program for people looking to improve their English is WhiteSmoke 2011 with the WhiteSmoke Translator. The WhiteSmoke Translator is a great tool for translating, as it supports at least 9 languages and does both word-to-word and full text translations using statistical machine translation (SMT) technology. WhiteSmoke 2011 scans texts from nearly any application for grammar and spelling mistakes, as well as offers suggestions to improve style and word choice. WhiteSmoke even offers free online tips and English lessons.

Pearson has recently developed new apps aimed at helping kids improve their vocabulary and grammar. They showcased this new technology at the National Science Teachers Association's (NSTA) annual conference last week. The applications for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, which cover subjects of both science and English, will be available in schools for grades 3-8 starting in the 2011-2012 school year.

One no longer needs to be a literary genius to compose a play or novel. Websites such as rawscrpts.com provide free online screenwriting software. There are so many novel-writing programs that include templates and outlines to help would-be authors complete their works.  Imagine what Shakespeare could have come up with if he had such technology available to him!

From WhiteSmoke Translator to apps for kids to novel and screenplay writing programs, it has been getting easier and easier to write in English. Check out some of this cool technology today!

Communication

Most communication in today’s world is done through writing in English. Whether it is through email, instant messaging, blogging, or the media, flawless English is vital to represent one’s self and one’s business. For people who have a lesser command of the language, there are numerous solutions of how to succeed. There are classes, tutors, books, online tools, and so much more.

My personal belief is that the best way that a non-native speaker can improve their writing is by using grammar-checking tools to scan for mistakes and see what parts of speech and grammar they need to work on. The ideal tool for this is WhiteSmoke 2011 with the WhiteSmoke Translator Tab. This software supports full-text and word-to-word translations of at least nine languages. The program then has the capability of scanning the text for any grammar mistakes. The user can send his or her email with full confidence, knowing that they have successfully communicated their message without any embarrassing errors.

To be honest, WhiteSmoke is useful even for native English speakers to pick up on little mistakes that we so often simply miss in our hasty proofreading of our writing. How often do we notice misplaced commas or misspelled words only too late? We have become complacent with communicating using instant-messaging shortcuts such as “LOL” or “Thx”. While these may be acceptable if you are fifteen-years-old and texting your friend, they make a very bad impression on a potential business partner. So save your reputation and proofread before you hit send, or better yet scan with WhiteSmoke.