Tourism is popular the world over, and Latvia is no exception. Once, at a resort in Whistler, British Columbia, I was surprised to meet a trainer with AirBaltic, the flag-carrying airline of Latvia. The trainer told me that when AirBaltic started flying in 1995, its flight attendants only knew Latvian and Russian.
Language
Are five languages enough to guarantee global success?
According to statistics from the UN, the countries of the G7 alone account for more than 46% of global gross domestic product and represent approximately 58% of global net wealth. Businesses looking for global success would do well, therefore, to start with conquering the business environments of the G7.
Kicking off the Year of Indigenous Languages with Endangered Alphabets
The United Nations has declared 2019 to be the Year of Indigenous Languages. More than 90% of the indigenous languages of both the United States and Australia are extinct or endangered.
Why US citizens should embrace Spanish
The United States has no official language. While English certainly serves as the de facto language, Spanish continues to grow as a primary and secondary tongue among the nation’s inhabitants. MultiLingual's just-released edition on Spanish details the importance of the language around the rest of the world, too.
Merry Christmas around the world
"Merry Christmas" is a phrase that people all over the world can recognize, even if they do not speak English. People have their own versions in their own languages and dialects. Here are 100 versions for you to peruse, with more here if you're curious.
Localizing a job board
The mission of any job board is to create a platform where employers, candidates and recruiters can connect. I thought that localizing a job board would not present much of a challenge, but I was pleasantly surprised with the knowledge that I gained.
Are You A Startup Sherpa Or A UX Rockstar? Don’t Believe A Word
Shopping Around For Sherpas Check out this superb article by linguist, lexicographer, columnist, and self-described “all-around word nut” Ben Zimmer (@bgzimmer) in The Atlantic. Ben discusses the cultural misappropriation of words and how sherpas, ninjas, and gurus crop up everywhere: Why Do Supreme Court Nominees Have ‘Sherpas’? Ben argues that this kind of contrived lexical exoticism hides the complex cultural...
Traditional versus Simplified Chinese
The word “Chinese” refers to a group of spoken languages which are as different to one another as French, Portuguese or Italian and to three distinct written languages: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Classical Chinese. These written forms of Chinese are written and read by speakers of all of the different spoken Chinese languages.
The Irish Language: A Cereal Troublemaker Hits the Gaeltacht
I joined my son (aged 13) for breakfast and asked him if he knew the Irish for "cereal". Officially, the term would be "gránach bricfeasta" or similar, but he simply said, "calóga" (which basically means "flakes"). But I immediately thought he said "Cellógga", my Dublin urban Irish ear already tuned into expecting to hear brand names and slang as terminology.
Vive La French Tech! Chatbots, French Style
Conversational UI, that natural interaction between human and technology, is a hot topic worldwide, and the localization requirements for creating a great contextual natural user experience are fascinating and challenging, none more so than in the case of chatbots.