For those of you who follow our social media accounts, you would have come across our 15 predictions about business & corporate training for 2015. For those that missed them – this is for you!

So, what do the Kwintessential (Consulting) team predict will happen in 2015?

#1: Globalisation will see the need for more localized training content in local languages

#2: Environmental concerns will see less printed workbooks and more training collateral in the Cloud and on Smart devices

#3: Learning Management Systems combined with analytics will lead to more personalised, individual-centred, training solutions

#4: A focus on the sustainability of learning will drive the training sector to deliver long term value

#5: Closing the gender talent gap will be a high priority for company training agendas

#6: Increasing virtual teamwork will necessitate the creation of common understandings, glossaries and collaborative platforms

#7: Emerging markets will leverage diaspora connections producing more “local” knowledge

#8: Cultural awareness will increasingly be taught to younger generations

#9: Diversity will be the antidote to groupthink

#10: Intra-generational training will grow in demand as firms seek to leverage knowledge of both young and old

#11: Compulsory training topics will increase for employers out of need to reduce exposure to litigious risk

#12: Holisitic approaches to employee welfare shall become more popular including diet, exercise and mental wellbeing

#13: Higher demands will be placed on pedagogical skills and creating an engaging, compelling, immersive and emotional learning experience

#14: Storytelling will become a more widely-used training technique because of its capacity to inspire and build empathy

#15: Mindfulness will be an increasingly sought after skill across organisations and a fundamental requirement for leaders

Understanding a country’s past helps you understand its present. XX Kathinka gives her viewpoint on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall; a physical and symbolic wall that shaped the Cold War and today still influences German culture.

After 28 years of separation by the iron curtain, a jubilant crowd celebrated the reunification of Germany. November 9th, 1989 went down in history when, followed by years of peaceful protests, the wall finally fell. It took another 11 months until the Eastern part of Germany officially acceded to the West on October 3rd, 1990 – today this date is celebrated as the Day of the German Union.

Now the German separation was over. Eventually families, friends, colleagues, and entire cities were reunited. Or weren’t we? Are we still not?! That’s a question even I ask myself as a German, born in 1987 in West Germany.

This year, Germany is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. What lessons did we learn and did we eventually become one nation again?

We are the same but different

Well, it is not as black and white as it seems at first glance. It is true, from Schleswig-Holstein to Bavaria, we are all Germans. We are from the same country and we speak the same language, but we were influenced by different cultures, music, books, authors and ideologies. The lives of thousands of people changed with the separation of Germany by the iron curtain that was basically built over night.

Families seperated by the early line which became the Berlin Wall
Photo courtesy of Once Upon a Time in War

All of a sudden, we were integrated into different regimes – the Eastern part under the control of the former Soviet Union, and the Western part mainly controlled by Western Allies. Slowly but surely, Germany became the scene of another part of history, the Cold War. There were soldiers with their trained dogs on both sides of the border who had orders to open fire on anyone who made a wrong move. There was propaganda on both sides which shaped entire generations.

One-way street to a unified Germany

Keeping this in mind, the term “reunification” might be misleading as it can be argued “the West took over the East”. On the one hand, people living in the Eastern part had had enough of oppression, dictatorship, censorship, and the numerous limitations. Many of them just wanted to be free and the West represented the ultimate goal of their dreams. When the wall finally came down, nobody even questioned the West being considered standard and the East being inferior, not only in terms of economy, finance or quality of goods but also culture-wise. The reunification was more a one-way street leading to difficulties in the West as well as in the East.

In the aftermath, people started to reconsider and to weigh disadvantages and advantages: People from the former Eastern part weren’t accustomed to unemployment, but capitalism could not provide employment for everybody. The West on the other hand was financially more stable than the East and therefore had to support the East in this aspect (e.i. alignment of currency, unemployed, weak economy, etc.). In retrospect it seems as if someone decided that in order to get rid of the Stasi (Eastern Germany security police that observed and took away potential opponents of the regime), oppression, and censorship, the East had to vanish.

What the future holds

All of these issues still have an impact on all generations in Germany. However, the way my parents and grand-parents see people from the other side of the Wall is largely different to how younger generations perceive the situation today. From my point of view, we are in the process of growing together and we’ve already come a long way. Growing together is not easy, especially if the norm is to mistrust your neighbours because they might be observing you to betray you to the Stasi.

Growing together is not easy if you feel you have to financially shoulder the others. But there is no point in moaning over the past, because we are the people – that is what we learned. The next generation is already in its way to a more unified Germany.

By Kathinka Ottenbreit. From Darmstadt, Hesse in Germany, Kathinka studies M.A. Conference Interpreting at Heidelberg University. She is also a working student for SNP AG (software solutions and consulting) in Germany. At the moment she is working with Kwintessential Consulting. Next milestones: graduating from university, working as an interpreter and definitely consolidating cultural training/cultural awareness knowledge.

As part of the 2014 Export Week, Kwintessential trainer Joyce Jenkins was invited to speak at UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) Women in Export event.

UKTI offers its services to UK based companies seeking to expand their business overseas, providing expert advice and practical support for exporting into foreign markets and understanding overseas business practices.

Their Master Class, held at Gatwick on the 13th of November, dealt with the challenges faced by women when exporting, with a particular focus on doing business in the Far East.

In addition to gaining a better understanding of the role UKTI can play in assisting companies in exporting, attendees heard from representatives of women-led businesses who had overcome barriers to trade in this region. Victoria Christian, Global Brand Ambassador for luxury goods producer Clive Christian, along with Claire Selby, Managing Director of educational materials producer Yellow House English Ltd., spoke about their respective experiences entering markets in the Far East.

Cultural Aspects of Doing Business in the Far East

The session concluded with a cultural workshop entitled ‘Doing Business in China and Japan’, conducted by Kwintessential’s Joyce Jenkins. With over thirty years of professional experience interacting in the Far East, Joyce has extensive knowledge of the cultural differences which can affect working within these countries.

The aim of her session, therefore, was to educate attendees in the importance of acquiring an awareness of these differences and ultimately to adjust their behaviour appropriately to suit the new working environment. Focusing on key areas in which the East differs from the West with regards to attitudes and norms, Joyce offered advice for the purposes of improving working relations across these cultures.

Questions asked following her session confirmed the hesitation people often experience when adjusting behaviour to suit new cultural customs for business purposes. Joyce, however, was quick to reassure that while making an effort to adapt to new ways of working is much appreciated, a perfect comprehension of new norms is not expected. Explaining that even with her wealth of knowledge she still finds herself acquiring new knowledge from her cultural interactions, Joyce concluded by highlighting that the most important factor in conducting business in any environment is the display of respect.

Some tips for doing business in China and Japan taken from Joyce’s session

The importance of Confucianism

This set of shared values places an emphasis on harmonious relationships and consequently diminishes the role of the individual. Roles are defined clearly according to society’s national inequalities and social hierarchies are obeyed. Understanding where you fit within this hierarchy will be important to the person you are doing business with. In accordance with this teaching, the characteristics of modesty, humility and courtesy are highly regarded.

Relationships

Establishing relationships prior to doing business is essential and trust is developed through actions. When you enter into a business relationship, be aware that the connection you make is considered to be long term and so it must be maintained. The concept of ‘guanxi’ refers to the system of networks in which contacts and connections are most important. This can make it difficult for foreigners looking to do new business in this region.

Face

The status and dignity of others must be preserved, therefore avoid causing “loss of face” by giving personal criticism or putting people on the spot. Instead try to be discrete when giving feedback and using ‘we’ instead of ‘you’ to solve problems.

High and Low Context

While Britain is located more towards the explicit end of the scale, both Japan and China are implicit cultures who communicate in an indirect manner. Therefore, avoid asking ‘yes’ or no’ questions and instead probe using open-ended questions. Remain patient as business and conversations usually take longer in this cultural environment. In addition, listen out for messages which may appear in cues such as tone, body language, hesitance or silence.

Business cards

Business cards must be exchanged using both hands and usually with a slight bow. Once received, the card should be carefully examined and treated with respect; place it in a case and do not write on it. Note too that cards should be printed in both languages. 

Management

A team manager is usually seen as a ‘benevolent authoritarian’ who holds the power to make final decisions. Managers should be clear when setting desired outcomes and time frames and ensure that progress points are factored into the process. Be aware that the purpose of company meetings is to announce decisions and look for consensus, rather than to conceive ideas. In addition, in China and Japan, contracts signal the start rather than the end of the negotiation process.  

Hospitality

Accept invitations and be aware that business is not often discussed over dinner so do not bring it up yourself. Try to accept and eat any food offered to show respect. If you bring gifts, make sure they are nicely wrapped and do not expect them to be opened in front of you, or to receive a thank you. Finally, make sure you have a song ready for participating in Karaoke!

Thanks to the UKTI South East team for involving Kwintessential in Export Week. We hope those who attended found Joyce’s workshop interesting and will be more prepared and confident in their future dealings with the Far East.

by Claire Booth for the Culture Vulture.

Would you drink fermented mare’s milk with your new potential Mongolian business partners to seal a deal? Or would you politely decline? The answer may come down to the strength of your stomach or your awareness of local etiquette.

“If you were to not drink it or have any sort of reaction to that initial taste, it would definitely lower your standing within a meeting,” says Will Tindall, co-founder of Emerging Crowd. “And you’re very much expected to have a shot each time someone has spoken.”

This is one of any cultural conundrums revealed by Matthew Jenkin in his Guardian article on the role of etiquette in international business.

Tindall, experienced at navigating the cultural landscape of Asia, stresses that even with his experience it can sometimes be hard to get your head around different local customs.  

He recalls a meeting in Tokyo, Japan, where he met a senior banking official. He gave a bow, accepted the business card and then began to make notes on the card. “At that point I saw this guy’s face change to a very strange shade of red. My actions went down incredibly badly.” Writing on the card was a major faux pas as in Japan, the card is a representation of the owner.

Cultural differences go beyond etiquette; sometimes it’s much more subtle. Louis Barnett, the founder of Louis Barnett Chocolates, states that one of his biggest challenges was understanding that in some cultures business is much more than business; it’s personal.

He recalls going into a meeting in Mexico being very business-focused, driven, factual and hard-nosed. This worked against him as Mexicans prioritise personal relationships above business prowess. His lack of interaction with his hosts was interpreted as showing complete disinterest in the people.

How we communicate is also important.  Simon Duffy, Bulldog Swimcare, explains that he discovered that how you phrase things was vital to saving face in South Korea.  “One of the things we tried to avoid was phrasing questions that required a yes or no answer, as Koreans try to avoid the latter.” Asking questions in such as manner would be seen as confrontational to local sensibilities.

Remember, culture is important – wherever you go always try to read up on how locals like to do things. Are they business or relationship driven? Do they value direct, frank communication or prefer a softer, more personal approach? It’s these and many other questions that can help give you a competitive advantage when working abroad. Through appreciation of the local culture, you’ll find doors open and things happen much quicker.

Check out our free Country Profiles for some basic etiquette and cultural information from around the globe.

Working with people from different cultures is becoming increasingly more common; however it can also give rise to challenges. Thankfully, Erin Meyer has recently published a book that provides a framework on how different cultures across the globe view communication at work.

There are many books available on cultural awareness; we believe there is always room for more! This is why were were excited to learn about the latest addition to the genre, The Culture Map. 

In this book, Erin Meyer explains the differences between cultures in terms of communication at work from different parts of the globe. Contributor at Forbes Rawn Shah has written a great a great review on the book here.

In her book, Meyer shares an anecdote from Jorge da Silva. Da Silva is an engineer at a steel company in Brazil. When he and his colleagues tried to convince their American counterparts to adopt a new process, Meyer says, they found that the Americans didn’t want to hear about the reasons for the new approach, but were more interested in what the method would change. This anecdote clearly illustrates that different cultures can have a different view on doing work together, Shah says.

The Da Silva anecdote, Shah explains, is only one of the many examples in Meyer’s book that illustrate communication styles and how people consider ideas at work differently. Affiliate Professor in the Organisational Behaviour Department of INSEAD b-school in France, Meyer was on the “On the Radar” list of the Thinkers50 last year and has worked as HR director for McKesson, HBOC, and Aperian Global.

In The Culture Map, she shares the data she gathered after researching 20-30 different countries.

One of the discoveries Meyer made is that national culture is dominant over the culture in a company. Many organisations now work on a global scale, meaning  their employees are faced with different cultures. This is why Shah believes cultural awareness is a key skill for both managers and employees.

The Culture Map, he says, shows that it is possible to gain understanding of the differences in work behaviour across cultures. To do so, Meyer gives a framework of eight different scales, ranging from communication and evaluating to scheduling and persuading.

These scales don’t have a wrong or right side, Shah says, but simply show how different cultures handle the concept. Here, Meyer gives the example of the Chinese and Brazilians versus the Danish and the Dutch when it comes to trust: while people in China or Brazil will base trust on personal relationships, people in Denmark and the Netherlands tend to focus on business activities. These cultures are on the far sides of the scale, which means they often view each other’s standpoint as wrong. Thus, before they can successfully work together, both cultures should understand that the opposite view has value as well.

To differentiate between different cultures, The Culture Map seems to presume all people in the same country share the same view. Shah wonders whether it is useful to stereotype people of the same culture. Meyer has also thought about this and responds to it by saying that if you don’t take people’s national culture into account, you will look at them from your own point of view, which can lead to misjudgements.

Shah agrees that national culture matters, but for a different reason: he believes national culture is a great starting point to understand an individuals.

Next to giving an overview of the book’s most important feature – the framework, – Shah also shares his opinion on the book with his readers. He applauds the real stories included in the book that illustrate culture clashes from different points of view. These anecdotes plus Meyer’s personal stories equal a “fascinating read,” he says.

The book is now available on Amazon!

Traditionally, Japanese video games were only intended for players in the country itself. Now that gamers are broadening their scope, more games make it to the international market. However, as the Japanese culture is very different to that of Europe and the US, localization is in order.

Japanese video games are not always launched in the Western market. Take for example the game “God Eater 2.” 

In an article on the Japan Times, Jason Coskrey explains that this action role-playing game was released in Japan in November last year, but its creator, Bandai Namco Games, had no plans to release the game anywhere other than Japan.

This has led to protests from fans all around the world: according to Coskey, the petition “Bring ‘God Eater 2’ to North America and EU” that can be found on Change.org has already been signed by over 700 people.  

According to Croskey this wasn’t the only game at the Tokyo Game Show that will remain within the Japanese market. He believes this practice has been common for quite some time now, to the frustration of gamers abroad.

Reasons to refrain from international releases are manifold, Croskey says. At TGS, Tsuyoshi Oka from D3Publisher, for example, stated that because the Japanese culture is so different from that of the rest of the world, Japanese content sometimes isn’t suitable for foreign gamers.

However, Oka does believe the Japanese market is growing. In fact, Croskey points out, D3 has published two previous titles of popular series (“Onechanbara” and “Earth Defence Force”) in the western market. Although the company has no intentions to release the latest versions of these games, that were playable at TGS, in Europe and the US any time soon, Oka predicts that Japanese games will reach increasingly the West.

There’s more to releasing games in another market than shipping disks overseas:  language barriers must be overcome as well.

This can be quite costly for Japanese companies, especially for role-playing games that feature a lot of text. After all, cultural aspects often have to be translated too.

Croskey gives the example of the game “Ryu ga Gotoku” (or “Yakuza,” as it’s known internationally) that was released by Sega. This game is set in Japan today, which means cultural references have to be localized for players abroad.

Former game journalist and co-founder of localization company 8-4, John Ricciardi, states that games in the Yakuza series have very large scripts because the number of characters you can interact with is very large and players’ decisions influence the scenario and what characters say.

Ricciardi claims localizing great amounts of text can cost game makers millions of dollars. This can be a big risk for games that don’t sell that great in the US. However, Ricciardi says this sometimes is a risk worth taking.

Croskey reveals that gamers’ tastes have changed over the years. This is the reason why dating sims, romance games aimed at women, are now launched internationally by gaming companies such as Voltage Inc. A number of translation companies have jumped on the localization bandwagon: Sunflare, for example as it launched its game-localization service earlier this year.

Concluding, Croskey believes gamers simply like good games, no matter where they come from. He thinks it would be a great victory for the Japanese gaming industry when Japanese games are launched all over the world. And the industry might soon experience this victory: Ricciardi, for one, believes gamers’ tastes have broadened, meaning most Japanese games will be launched beyond the country’s borders.

As Chinese consumers have more and more money to spend, they expect more from the hotels they visit – inside their own country and abroad. Hotel chains can thus seriously benefit from localization efforts.

When thinking of hotel chains that are opening new additions to their company abroad, localization might not be the first thing that comes to mind.

In an article on China Daily, however, Jiang Wanjuan states that the hospitality design industry must keep in mind that their creations appeal to the intended audience. Over the years, travellers have become more sophisticated, Wanjuan says, and hotels are used for more than just sleeping. For an optimum hotel experience, she says, guests should be reminded of exactly where they are.

Of course, this applies to hospitality design in China as well. Even though international companies used to transfer their hotel designs directly to their Chinese locations, this practice has long been abandoned, Wanjuan says.

Now, there are even conferences on subject of localization for the Asian market! At the 2014 Asia Hotel Forum, for example, discussions were held on how to adapt hotels to fit the market and strategies to attract more Chinese guests. At the conference, Wanjuan spoke to two experts on hospitality design: Christian Low and Eric D. Ullmann.

Wanjuan started off by asking the two why some hotels alter their design for new markets, while others employ the same design all over the world? Low, Asia Pacific regional director of hospitality with designing provider AECOM, replies that traditionally, large hotel chains liked to maintain a uniform look all over the world. However, he says this trend is changing – now, most hotels are trying to offer their guests a localized experience for every country their hotels are in.

Of course, Low says, the design is a very important feature of a hotel. He claims successful hotels have their own “design soul” and that localization and uniqueness have always played a big role in the works of innovative design firms.

Ullman, who is the president and design principal of DMU, a global leader in hotel interior design, adds that people also travel to see the city; hotels have to incorporate the country’s culture in their design to provide the best experience possible. Designers must keep the users in mind, he says, in hopes that guests will tell others about the great time they had at the hotel.

Ullman also claims companies are now trying harder to understand the Chinese customer: after all, there is a lot of money to be found on the Asian continent! Hospitality design has greatly been influenced by China. Now, he says, Chinese companies expand overseas, and Chinese people travel abroad as well.

This means international companies are trying to design hotels that appeal to the Chinese consumer. Wanjuan asks Low and Ullman what the Chinese actually like when it comes to hotel designs: Low states that the travelling Chinese are more and more sophisticated, meaning they are looking for unique, ingeniously designed hotels that incorporate the culture of the country they are in. Ullman adds that the Chinese also value a private dining area and lounge very highly. He does point out Chinese travellers have become more demanding: in fact, some simply travel to see hotels!

When asked about the average Chinese hotel, Low says that compared to overseas equivalents, the Chinese were often not that innovative in their designs. He believes this can be attributed to the fact that China simply didn’t have the monetary resources to do otherwise. However, this has changed in recent years, he says, and there are now a number of innovative hotels to be found in China. He also states that recent studies on China’s demographic and economy reveal a demand for budget and mid-market hotels, but Low believes there is room for growth in all segments. However, as the Chinese are increasingly sophisticated, he says, innovation is an important feature regardless of the prince range.

Concluding, Low says it is worthwhile to keep a close watch on the Chinese hospitality market – which includes both these hotels that are located in China and those aimed at Chinese guests travelling abroad. He believes the innovation, cultural sensitivity and the increasingly demanding Chinese consumers will raise the industry’s standards.

Films have had many languages designed especially for them. Some have been ignored and been lost in history whereas others are used today by diehard fans and have dictionaries and translators online. Here are some of the more popular that are used amongst fans.

We’ll start with a language that has gone down as one of the most widely used and popularised fictional languages ever. Klingon was first used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 although only 11 short phrases were used.  Marc Okrand and James Doohan (Scotty) created the famed language in the mid-seventies and is centred on the Klingon principles of spacecraft’s and warfare. It has been used on several occasions in other films and on TV shows including The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, Paul (2011) and Kill Bill (2003). Klingon is so popular that it has its own dictionary and classic plays such as William Shakespeare’s Hamlet have been performed in the language and even the Bible has been translated in to Klingon.

In 2009, James Cameron released the record breaking Avatar which had its own language called Na’vi. The Na’vi language is spoken by the tribe of the same name who live on the planet Pandora. It was created by Paul Frommer in 2005 who worked on set with the actors to help refine their pronunciation and understanding of the language even though the script contained Na’vi before the cast was assembled. Na’vi hasn’t had any notable uses in other films or TV shows but it is still a growing language that only contains around 1,500 words as of 2011.

Minionese is the fictional language spoken by the Minions in the Despicable Me franchise. It can also be called the Banana Language as a reference to their colour. While it is a new language, it already has more online translators than any other fictional language. While it is an official language with its own dictionary and words, it does borrow some English words in order to help the younger viewers understand what is being said. It even has some phrases that are Spanish – “Para tú” meaning “for you” – and Italian words such as “Gelato” meaning “ice cream” and that’s only naming a few languages. There are also examples of Korean, Filipino and Chinese. It was both made and voiced by the directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud.

Writer George Orwell created Newspeak for his novel “1984” without knowing that one day it would be used in the film adaptation 1984 which was released in 1984! To represent the totalitarian future, Newspeak didn’t contain words for freedom or free because the concept of freedom with literally unthinkable. Newspeak contains no antonyms, so words such as warm and good become unwarm and ungood because it limited the thoughts of the subjects. The word equal is used in Newspeak but only means equal on a physical level rather than social rankings, class and economic wellbeing. And anyone who tries to use “oldspeak” (Normal English from before the totalitarian regime) would be sent to a “joycamp” (forced labour camp). While as a language it sounds simple, Orwell explained in a BBC interview how complicated it was to create and develop so that it wasn’t too complex for a reader and eventually a viewer too.

How could you talk about languages in film and not reference at least one language from Middle Earth? J. R. R. Tolkien was a philologist and so could construct a language at will by merging prehistoric languages to create a new language. He created Elvish as his first language for the series and didn’t stop there. He created different dialects and languages within Elvish as a whole. As a written language, Elvish has 7 scripts although most of them are only used in a certain area or city. Gondolinic Runes are only used in the city of Gondolin and Sarati is only used within the Second Clan. Many of Tolkien’s languages have ties with Latin, Spanish, French, German and English.

Star Wars is another franchise that has developed a reputation for creating an obscene number of languages but a favourite amongst fans is Huttese which is spoken by the Hutts of Evocar. While it has no ties to any current languages, it does share similarities with long dead languages such as Mayan and Nahuatl (spoken by the Aztecs in Mexico). It was created by Ben Burtt and Larry Ward. It is used in 4 of the 6 films and most famously used by Jabba the Hut, although a young Anakin Skywalker uses it to communicate with people on Evocar who don’t use English. It was first seen in Star Wars – later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Han shot first) – when used by Jabba the Hut and it astounded audiences in 1977 and it still does to this day. It is rarely used in other media but was referenced in the final series of How I Met Your Mother.

The Harry Potter series also contains many fascinating languages but none are more interesting than Parseltongue. Parseltongue can only be used by certain gifted witches or wizards in order to communicate with snakes. It was first seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). Speakers of the language are referred to as Parselmouths and it is commonly a sign of Dark Magic and evil. The final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), explains why Harry has the ability. If you haven’t seen it already I won’t tell you any more in case I spoil it for you. Although Parseltongue was referenced in the books it was written in Standard English to reflect the fact that the character knew what was being said.

Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange contains the Nadsat language. It is a Russian influenced English language where the name is derived from the Russian prefix “teen”. It contains some Russian words and phrases, some English slang such as “sod off” and there are some child-like elements to it including “appy polly loggy” which mean apology. Burgess himself created it as, not only was he a novelist, but he was a linguist too.

Disney also provided us with some memorable languages but by far the most popular was Atlantean from the film Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It was based on the language of the ancient Babylonians and is mixed with Biblical Hebrew, Latin, Greek and Chinese. Disney tasked the creation of the language to Marc Okrand – the guy who helped create Klingon – who took 5 years to develop the language. According to Disney mythology it was written down as the film was created and it wasn’t until its release in 2001 that it was written down how it should be using the Atlantean alphabet and phonetically so that it could be spoken outside of the studio too.

The 1997 film The Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis came with the Mondoshawan language, sometimes called the Divine Language. It was created by director Luc Besson and Willis’ co-star Milla Jovovich who had to speak the language on screen. It only contained 400 words and Besson and Jovovich wrote letters to each other and spoke to one another in the Divine Language so that they could practice using the language. It has a total of 78 letters and its native speakers, called shape shifters, can only speak it as they can change their vocal cords instantly in order to create the correct sound.

Well 28 pages of Google and 12 pages of Bing results later and there are no more languages to write about. So there you go, a run-down of all the major notable languages used in films.

Written by Aiden Froud.

What can movie trailers teach us about cultural differences in advertising and marketing? A lot argues interculturalist, Désirée Gergen, in her blog for the Culture Vulture.

In the last few decades, culture and cultural differences have gained importance not only in the academic but also the business field, specifically international marketing.

The world is becoming more and more globalised and international trade is inevitable; thus the question of how a successful marketing and advertising strategy should be planned and established, has become inextricable.

Standardised vs Adapted Strategies

We know that marketing and advertising strategies can be either adapted or standardised. That means that marketers use a strategy specific to a country’s or culture’s preferences or a  globalised strategy.

Some business and marketing professionals will be in favour of a more globalised and standardised advertisement while others will opt for a more tailored way of communicating and advertising.

In regards to cultural values, adapted advertisements have been identified as more effective as they address specific topics in a certain way and style which is unique to certain cultures, countries or groups. In the print media for example, not only the text but also the pictures are perceived differently depending on one’s cultural background.

How Movie Trailers Expose Cultural Differences

Recently, differences in film advertising have been identified and it has been demonstrated that movie trailers in particular show differences based on cultural values.

In the specific case of France and Germany, differences in movie trailers can be linked to some of the most influential theories in the field of intercultural communication and marketing and advertising.

According to the ‘femininity/masculinity framework’ of Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist,  France ranks more ‘feminine’ than Germany and

•    favours quality of life rather than professional achievement and wealth like Germany
•    focuses on family and close relationships,
•    avoids aggressiveness and violence and favours negotiation in conflicts.

Germany ranks more ‘masculine’ and

•    accepts conflicts and aggressiveness  
•    tends to have a direct, unemotional and concise communication style.

In regards to communication style, E.T. Hall, an American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher, identified a difference between low-and high-context cultures, classifying France as high-context and Germany as low-context culture.

This means that French communication style tends to

•    express a low amount of information
•    and base the communication on the context while it is assumed that the listener has some knowledge.

German communication style tends to

•    favour an explicit and very detailed communication style
•    be based on what needs to be said and how in order to successfully communicate.

A recent study compared original French movie trailers with their German counterparts for the same film, and it was found that:

German trailers

•    are shorter,
•    present little change of music
•    mostly consist of one part without clear introduction
•    communicate a lot of information and avoid uncertainties
•    combine vocals with visuals to make sure the viewer understand the message.
•    show more violence
•    lack humour
•    tend to be more dramatic, expressed through visuals and music
•    and tend to give additional information, e.g. prior engagements of actors etc.

These findings are congruent with the theories by Hofstede and Hall previously discussed. So next time when you are thinking of internationalising your marketing campaign, keep in mind that in France the advertising style is not explicit and informative like in German but rather dreamlike.

In regards to trailers for example, French trailers are longer than German ones, but contain less information. The viewer still needs to interpret what they sees as well as he/she is assumed to have more knowledge on a particular topic (e.g. French Fashion) when compared with their German counterparts.

Some things are also only slightly evoked through visuals or vocals but not clearly expressed. Violence is avoided and the focus is put on families and friendships rather than on wealth and business achievement. Humour is widely present and language plays are an important factor too.

All in all we have to remember that these different advertising styles based on communicative and cultural differences can lead to different interpretations and expectations of the story. Therefore it is crucial to be aware of cultural differences even though the internationalisation of the world may seem to favour global strategies.

It is important for marketing professionals to remember these differences as they are a vital part of a successful international advertising campaign, not only in the film industry.

In order to communicate its purpose, an advertisement should be adjusted to the culture’s and country’s advertising style and preferences. Should this not be the case, the advertising campaign is very likely to fail and send the wrong messages as it has happened on several occasions in the past.

Author bio: Désirée Gergen is about to graduate in an MA in Intercultural Communication for Business and Professions at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is currently working with Kwintessential (Consulting) in Cultural Awareness Training.

Is the internationalisation of sport helping or hindering language preservation? This is the question Kwintessential intern, Aiden Froud, investigates in his first blog for the Culture Vulture.

Louis Van Gaal was appointed the new manager of Manchester United in July 2014. This was met with a positive response from both fans and players alike after his success with the Dutch national team.

It was barely a month in to his reign when midfielder Juan Mata revealed that the players had been instructed to speak English to each other whenever they were together – even if their native language wasn’t English.

Many people saw this as an attempt to eliminate cultural identity from sports despite Van Gaal informing Sky Sports that he was only attempting to remove linguistic obstacles between players and officials.

However this shows how foreign sports stars are trying to embrace the culture of the country that they are playing in. Alan Pardew also asked 5 French signings to learn and speak English or face hefty fines ranging from an intense press up routine to monetary fines. However, is this taking away the right to speak you own language? Given the multi-cultural society that we live in it is key that we keep all languages alive.

This cultural embrace isn’t shared in all sports though. One example is Andy Murray. Whenever he gives an interview after playing in a country where English isn’t the primary language, he doesn’t use the local language, whereas Novak Djokovic, the current world number 1, speaks Serbian, English, German, French and Italian and uses them when he has to. Murray, who lived in Spain for two years, admitted to the Daily Record “It’s something I regret not doing when I was actually over in Spain. I wish I had learned the language. I can understand a fair amount, I’m just not comfortable speaking it.”

One of the most outstanding moments on a tennis tour was in 2013 at the Italian Open when Serena Williams gave her entire victory speech in Italian much to the delight of the locals and the confusion of the TV crews.

Many governing bodies within sport are trying to preserve native languages within their sport and are offering language courses to those who would like it. UEFA- the Union of European Football Associations- have brought out a dictionary which contains key footballing terminology in the official languages of UEFA (English, French and German) and it can be brought by all but is given to all officials who are officiating matches with foreign teams.  The pocket dictionary contains 1,800 phrases in all three languages and is endorsed by the world football body FIFA.

Each country has a specific style of play in all sports, whether it be tika-taka in football, the Spanish national team, or using your wingers as much as possible – the Welsh rugby team – just like each country has its own unique language or languages and by not embracing these languages it will only contribute to the 25 languages that fall silent each year.

Project International deliver an Elite Sports Academy at Epsom College which is attended by teenagers from all over the world. They offer two courses. One is a sports only course and the other is a sports and TEFL course. The TEFL course offers 12 hours of English tuition each week alongside the hours of sport also on offer to them. This course has been both highly praised and criticised because English is being taught and the sports coaches only speak English. The English being taught is praised for spreading a language but, like Louis Van Gaal, criticised for almost forcing the students to speak English.  

If you watch 6 Nations rugby and listen to what the referee says to players in the England-France match, he will speak English to everybody. Many players have pleaded for this to be altered as some see it as an insult that the referee isn’t even attempting to speak in the native language.

Sir Bradley Wiggins also caused some upset amongst French nationals when he won Le Tour de France because the first thing he said in his victory speech was, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll speak English,” suggesting that he can speak French but didn’t want to at the time. On the other hand some people praised him for at least acknowledging the native tongue of the majority of his audience rather than speaking English immediately. The list of incidents like this could go on for an extensive period of time and include such names as Mauricio Pochettino, Fabio Capello, Steve McClaren, Robert Pires and Carlos Tevez.

To help combat the elimination of languages, many feel that Van Gaal, and others, are wrong to make all the players talk in English when, for example, Daley Blind, Robin Van Persie and Van Gaal himself can communicate in Dutch and Angel Di Maria, Juan Mata, David de Gea and Ander Herrera can all converse in Spanish. However as a collective group, such as in training, then all players should at least try to speak in a common language.  And in a recent interview with Geoff Shreeves, Angel Di Maria required some help with translating from Juan Mata. This not only made Manchester United fans grin even more after a 4-0 victory but triggered one of the largest sporting trends on Twitter that originated in the UK.

Sport is helping preserve native languages by teaching languages to the younger sports stars and the top stars learning them as well but it is also hindering it as some franchises are trying to enforce a common language throughout the players and coaching staff at all times.  Everything that can be helped can also be hindered, it’s up to you what happens next.