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.

Video streaming website Viki has recently launched a new programme to help keep endangered languages from disappearing. By having their users translate the shows they stream, the company hopes to aid language preservation.

The National Geographic Newswatch draws our attention to a recent press release by Viki and the Living Tongues Institute, in which it reveals that subtitles for endangered languages are currently being crowdsourced.

According to the press release, less than 5% of all languages spoken in the world can be found online. 

Moreover, for the other 95% the world wide web can both be a way to revitalise a language or kill it. Video streaming website Viki is going for the revitalisation option by asking its 33 million users to subtitle the videos they watch.

Dr. K. David Harrison, Ph.D., who is the and Director of Research for the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages and assistant Professor of Linguistics at Swarthmore College, states that languages cannot solely rely on technology to prevent extinction. People have to be proud of their languages, he says, and have to be willing to creatively expand its use, for example by the Viki initiative.

The Viki platform has been used by linguists, scholars and the like to create subtitles in endangered languages for quite some time. In fact, the press release on Newswatch reveals that the TV shows on the website have already been subtitled in 20 emerging and 29 endangered languages. This adds up to almost a quarter of all languages featured on the service! Viki CEO and co-founder Razmig Hovaghimian explains that in the last two years, many language preservation organisations have asked the company to add their language to their collection in order for young students to practice and learn the language. And Hovaghimian is happy to assist: “We want to help ensure that these languages are not forgotten or lost, but live on in a tradition that has carried them for generations–through storytelling.”

Want to know more about Viki’s Endangered and Emerling Languages Program? Visit their website.

Even though automatic translation tools can be lifesavers when you’ve lost your way in a foreign country, Ian Henderson believes they are not accurate enough to be used by businesses.

According to Henderson, chairman and CTO of global language service provider Rubric, a lot has happened in the auto-translation industry recently.

In his article on Wired, he mentions a few new developments, such as the new voice translation service Microsoft invented for Skype and Twitter’s new translation tool with which soccer fans from all over the world were able to tweet to one another during the World Cup in Brazil this summer.

He also elaborates on Google’s acquisition of an app called World Lens which enables users to translate signs or menus in foreign languages. Henderson argues that World Lens merely gives an estimation of what a sign or menu says, not what it actually says.

He has tried out the app himself and came to the conclusion that it was what he expected: a great app for tourists that are struggling to get around in a foreign country, but it is definitely not suitable for businesses.

After all, who would want their product to be accompanied by the Spanish-to-English translation “Take to end the following procedure?”

Are Computers Becoming Translators?

Henderson believes Google Translate has caused automatic translation to become a mainstream phenomenon. Moreover, as huge developments are made in the technology in general, many people believe it won’t be long until an automatic translation service is created that can tear down all language barriers.

Henderson disagrees: languages are more than just words, he says, which means translation machines not only have to do mathematical calculations, but should be able to carry out abstract thinking as well. Thus, he says, businesses must think twice before they decide to use automatic translation when entering the global market.

There is a difference between consumers’ expectations of free tools and products they have to pay for, Henderson states. He compares translation technology to Youtube:  this video service started out as a way for people to show their homemade videos to the world, but over the years, the website has seen a transition to more professional videos.

Henderson believes apps such as World Lens are also right in between homemade and professional. It might make choosing a restaurant in a foreign city a little easier, but it won’t be of any use when you are trying to assemble  manufacturing equipment.

Similarily, Google and Bing Translate take the same position in the translation field: according to Henderson, this became very clear during the live demonstration of Skype’s real time translation tool. When Skype’s vice president Gurdeep Pall called one of his managers in Germany to demonstrate the service, their conversation was hindered by delays in the translation, he says. Henderson believes the confusions that occur because of these delays don’t matter in casual conversations, but are harder to overcome in business meetings.

The Positives of Machine Translation

Even though it has its downsides, Henderson thinks machine translation can be of great help to human translators. Many global language service providers use machine translation to create translation memories that can be used by humans to speed up the translation process. This creates a situation which has the best of both worlds: the human translator brings his cultural knowledge to the translation, while the automation technology ensures the task is carried out quickly.

The human translator’s cultural knowledge is exactly what is missing from automatic translation services, Henderson states. A casual graphical theme, for example, can work great the US, but will probably fail to appeal to a German audience, which expects a something a little more formal.

Thus, Henderson concludes, automation technologies might be of great help for consumers that are looking for a quick translation, businesses should look for other options. Marketing strategies differ per audience, and the nuances accompany this cannot be translated by using translation technologies. As long as automatic translation tools cannot spot cultural elements in a text, Henderson says, translation machines won’t be able to translate language completely.

Linguists have long been interested in the origin of language. How did languages evolve? And what did the very first languages spoken on earth sound like? Linguist Gretchen McCulloch is hoping to give you some answers!

On Slate.com, Gretchen McCulloch dives a little deeper into the origins of spoken language.

McCulloch states that according to a TED Ed video [below], languages belong to language families that have the same ancestor, or proto-language, but as these languages have evolved in different directions, for example because of migration, people today can no longer understand each other.

It is also stated that language families are determined based on grammar, syntax and words such as pronouns and numbers.

The relationships between languages is what interests her most in the video, McCulloch says. The video tells the viewer that by comparing the abovementioned language features, linguists cannot only determine what languages are related, but also how they have evolved and what language preceded them. 

However, she states that similarities aren’t always that easy to spot. She gives the example of English and Ancient Greek: the Ancient Greek words for father, foot, far and five are pater, podos, per and pente. In English, all words start with an F, while all words in Ancient Greek start with a P; linguist are able to construct a proto-language based on if similar parallels in a number of languages.

The proto-language to many European and Indian languages, such as Latin, Gaelic and Hindi, is Proto-Indo-European. A more recent ancestor of English, McCulloch says, is Proto-Germanic, which encompasses Germanic languages such as Norwegian and Dutch.

The main difference between Proto-Germanic and the other Indo-European languages lies in sound. The sound changes that have taken place when language evolved from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic have been discovered by the Brothers Grimm (more commonly known for their fairy tales). An explanation of their discoveries can be found in the video below.

According to McCulloch, linguists have done a fairly good job in devising proto-languages – in fact, they have already recreated 50 different proto-languages! However, she says the further researchers go back in time, the more difficult their work becomes. As all human societies in the world today use language, McCulloch believes the first genetically modern humans probably already had some form of language to communicate in. However, as writing was only invented 50,000 to 300,000 years later, there is no evidence on which research can be based.

The fact that language investigation is based on what McCulloch calls “pretty darn flimsy evidence” has long been known. In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris already banned papers on the topic. Of course, people can now write freely about languages, but views on the origin of language or features of the first languages still vary. McCulloch does state that recently, interesting evidence has been brought to the table: new research has shown that new languages, like Nicaraguan Sign Language, are created by children that are given inconsistent linguistic input which they then try to organise. It is impossible to find out how languages were formed centuries ago, but McCulloch suggests that the ways of creating a new language might not have changed since then.

When you are a top simultaneous interpreter, you basically deal with world leaders on a daily basis. Three interpreters give a little insight in what it is like to interpret for diplomats and presidents.

Interpreting might sound like a boring job: you have to spend hours confined in a small booth listening to boring speeches, right? Not according to Luke Harding! In his article on the website of The Guardian, he states that interpreters have “a front-row seat to history,” and often interpret for the leaders of today’s world.

It is true that interpreters often spend their work days in soundproof cubicles. However, interpreters work in same-language pairs, which is necessary because interpreters perform their jobs in short, 30-minute bursts.

Very often, an interpreter has to listen and speak at the same time, which, according to Harding, is even astonishing to the interpreters themselves. He also states that interpreting is like acting: a good interpreter mimics the personality of the speaker.

In addition, he believes interpreters don’t aim for a literal translation, but try to translate more idiomatically. Interpreters try to become invisible when working, Harding says, which doesn’t mean they don’t have to meet specific demands from time to time.

He claims that an interpreter working for Ralph Lauren once was asked to wear black clothes and was told to wear her hair a certain way. The real challenge, though, lies of course in the interpreting job itself; this is why Harding gives the stage to three different interpreters that give a little insight in their jobs.

Elena Kidd

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Elena Kidd interpreted for Mikhail Gorbachev. Later, she also worked as an interpreter for Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was sent to jail by Vladimir Putin in 2002. Now, she is the course director of the MA interpreting and translating at Bath University.

Kidd states that when Gorbachev’s foundation moved into the building where she was working, the interpreters there were told that they could apply for a job at the foundation. She and three other interpreters were eventually hired. Kidd interacted with Gorbachev on a daily basis and believes him to be very friendly. She flew to America with him and met many famous people via het job. Interpreting for Gorbachev was easy, Kidd says, as she found him easy to understand. His sentences, however, were very long, which meant paraphrasing was in order.

According to Kidd, Khodorkovsky, whom she worked for in 1995 and 1996, was very organised and in control. As a consecutive interpreter between Russian and English, Kidd says, you have to analyse every word that is spoken. Moreover, you can only start interpreting when the entire sentence has been uttered. This is why she asks her students to think before they speak – they have to listen first and then make the utterance their own by using their own words. This will also lead to a more interesting speech, she says. After all, you shouldn’t bore your audience!

Victor Gao

Victor Gao worked for the Chinese Foreign Service in Beijing and the United Nations Secretariat in New York from 1983 to 1989. He also interpreted for the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Currently, he is working for a Beijing private equity company and is a commentator on international affairs.

Gao entered university in 1977, the year in which the Chinese universities reopened after a shutdown of ten years due to the Cultural Revolution. After graduation, he began his training at the UN to become a simultaneous interpreter. At 21, he was one of the youngest people working at the Chinese foreign ministry. Gao first interpreted for the important cabinet ministers of Deng’s government before he moved on to the great leader himself. He states that Deng didn’t speak much, but that when he did, his utterances had great force. Deng spoke in his native Sichuan dialect and used colloquial speech and  metaphors, which meant everybody could understand him.

Gao was involved in many important diplomatic meetings. In the 1980s, Deng was regarded very highly as people believed he would reform China. Among other important leaders, Gao travelled to the UK to meet Margaret Thatcher, with whom Deng had discussions about handing over power in Hong Kong. He also met Ronald Reagan, whom he thought to be very refined. In 1985, Gao also interpreted for another US president, Richard Nixon. Deng, Gao says, believes focussed on peace and “brought China out of the darkness.” This is why he believes his world view is still important today.

Banafsheh Keynoush

Having spent her childhood in London, Banafsheh Keynoush moved to Tehran after the revolution. She is a self-taught simultaneous interpreter that acquired her skills by listening to the BBC, and with great results! She has interpreted for four different Iranian presidents, of which Hassan Rouhani is the most recent one.

Many of Keynoush’s relatives have worked for the Iranian foreign ministry before the revolution. She has been interested in politics since she was a child, with a particular interest in foreign politics. She lived in Tehran when the Iraq war was taking place, and as a child, she used to dream about getting into the diplomacy field. When she found out diplomats used earphones to listen to simultaneous translation, she finally found a way to do so. As Iran did not have any interpreting schools, she translated BBC broadcasts simultaneously to practice.

After a BA and MA in English, Keynoush worked both as a university teacher and a simultaneous interpreter. She worked as a freelancer for presidents Rafsanjani and Khatami, and also interpreted for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for nine years. She quit her interpreting job in 2010, but when she received the request to interpret for the new president Rouhani last September, she agreed to take on the job. Keynoush reveals that all Iranian presidents had their own way of speaking: Rafsanjani, for example, spoke very informal. It was a little harder to interpret for Rouhani, she says, as he speaks a little English and thus carefully listened to her translation.
 
Keynoush believes translators should be invisible. The audience should get the impression that they are listening to the speaker himself instead of the interpreter. She states that translators might get to experience history, it is a difficult job as they realise how much is actually “lost in translation.”

Did you think all people in Sweden speak Swedish? Wrong! Next to their wonderful official national language, there are five minority languages officially recognised in the country.

In an article on The Local, Isabela Vrba tells us that according to the Langauge Council, Sweden is the home of about 200 different languages, making it one of the most multicultural countries on the European continent.

However, she states that only five of these languages hold the status of an official minority language: Finnish, Meänkieli, the Sami languages, Yiddish and Romani.

Here’s some background on each of these languages:

•    Finnish: Finnish, Vrba says, comes from a completely different language family than Swedish. However, as there are 70,000 Sweden Finns living in Sweden, who are mostly located around Stockholm and the Mälaren Valley, the language has been awarded an official status.

•    Maënkieli: this language, that is also called Torne Valley Finish, is closely related to Finnish. According to Vrba, 55,000 Torne Valley Finns living in Sweden and speak the language: 50,000 of them live in the north of the country and 5,000 are based in Stockholm.

•    Sami languages: this language is spoken by the Samis that are mainly located in the northern part of Sweden, Vrba states. The languages are at least 2,000 year old and are spoken by about 20,000-35,000 people.

•    Yiddish: in the 18th century, thousands of Jews relocated to Sweden. Now, Vrba says, this minority mainly lives in the country’s largest cities. Currently, there are about 20,000-25,000 Jews in the country.

•    Romani: in Sweden, there are about 50,000-100,000 Roma. The language consists of different variations, and according to Vrba, the language has been spoken in Sweden since the 16th century.

Vrba states that these five languages were awarded the status of official minority language in 1999, when  parliament entered the framework convention for the protection of national minorities in Europe.

She also explains that languages can only become an official minority language when they are spoken in Sweden for three generations or 100 years and when they are regarded as a language, not a dialect.

Karin Skoglund, who coordinates the national minority issues in Stockholm, states that when a new law came into effect in 2010, the national minorities were given the right to language and culture protection. Moreover, since that time, they were also  given the right to access political matters. She tells Vrba that in Stockholm, for example, there is a Finnish administrative board, giving the Finns more rights to preschool and elderly care. In addition, Vrba says, the law keeps the languages alive by protecting and representing them. Skoglund does admit that strengthening the position of the minority languages has been no easy task, though, which has to do with the fact that the law is too vague about the guidance that should be provided.

According to Christian Mattsson, who works at the Institute for Language and Folklore as a project leader, measures are taken to keep the minority languages from becoming extinct.

Projects concerning the revitalisation of the languages can receive a grant of 3.5 million kronor (509,000 US dollar), for example. In addition to the grant, the Institute is also involved in the creation of Romani and Meänkieli dictionaries.

Vrba states that even though Swedish sign language has also been a minority language candidate, it has not been made a minority language because of European criteria. As Mattsson points out, speakers of the Swedish sign language do not make up a political majority, which is a requirement for an official minority language.

He also states that a language can only become an official language when it is “traditionally” spoken in a country. This means a language such as Arabic, that has only been spoken in Sweden since the 20th century, cannot be awarded this status.