How Language Affects Our Perception of the World
Ask someone to describe a smell, and you will often receive an answer that is vague, confused, overly simplified, or uses other odors as a comparison. Studies aiming to determine how well people can identify smells around them have only seen success rates of 50%, even when using common scents such as coffee, bananas, or […]
Cultural Competence is Key for Language Professionals
Key Points Why Cultural Competence Matters Language competence is a set of attitudes, skills, behaviors, and policies that enable international companies to effectively communicate and interact with overseas partners and clients. When employees of international companies possess cultural competence, they are better able to adapt to the country’s market and customer base. Cultural Linguistic Competence […]
The Role of Language Services in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics
Importance of Language Services at the Sochi Winter Olympics The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics demonstrated the pivotal role of language services at the Olympics in creating a seamless experience for athletes, officials, and fans from around the world. With official languages of the Olympics being English, French, and Russian, these services ensured effective communication across […]
Headers and Footers in Word: The Basics
Key Points Welcome to this week’s Tip of the Week! If you’ve missed our previous Tips of the Week, be sure to check them out here. Today we’re going to tackle the basics of headers and footers in Word. We’ll be going over how to insert headers, how to insert footers, how to remove headers […]
Simultaneous Interpretation Series Part 6 of 6: Skills Simultaneous Interpreters Should Bring to the Profession
Welcome to the final article in our six-part series on simultaneous interpretation! By now you’re familiar with many of the requirements necessary to be an effective interpreter or to evaluate an interpreter’s work, but we thought it’d be helpful to summarize these points. Interpreters who want to convey language meaning and cultural nuance must be […]
Simultaneous Interpretation Series Part 5 of 6: Handling Humor During a Simultaneous Interpretation Assignment
Key Points Navigating the Challenges of Simultaneous Interpretation Humor can present unique challenges for simultaneous interpreters during assignments. It happens to everyone: we’ve all felt out of place at one time or another. Whether you’re in an unfamiliar city needing to ask for directions or feeling uncomfortable at an unexpected social gathering, such situations can […]
Why Should I Learn Italian?
“La bella lingua” is appreciated all over the world as one of the most beautiful spoken languages. It is the 8th most spoken language in the United States largely due to a high rate of immigration of Italians during the late 19th century. It is also the 2nd largest ethnic market in the United States […]
Valentine’s Day Around the World
There are various traditions of Valentine’s Day around the world, but the holiday has a universal theme of “Love” and for many is a special day to express their feelings. Showing how you feel about others with roses, chocolates, gifts, and cards are pretty standard, but let’s take a look at some interesting customs that […]
Understanding and Using Form Fields in the Word Developer Tab
Introduction to Form Fields in the Developer Tab in Word Welcome to this week’s Tip of the Week! In today’s post, we delve into the Developer Tab in Microsoft Word with a special focus on how to create and use form fields to enhance your document customization. If you’re unfamiliar with the Developer Tab or […]
Businesses Need Networks, Too: How To Network With Other Language Companies
When people talk about networking, it’s often on an individual level: one person making or renewing connections in their industry. But networking can function on a larger scale. Businesses also stand to benefit from networking strategies. As an employee or leader of a language service company, you can connect your company to other companies to […]