We don’t think anyone really needs an introduction to Iain Lindsay, the UK’s Ambassador to Hungary. Thanks largely to his social media endeavours he is extremely well known in the country. We can find him on the street wearing his kilt to present memories of Hungarian-Scottish relationships, but also see him reciting Hungarian poems on YouTube.
A multilingual ambassador, we asked him about his personal background with languages, and delved into the complex, serious, and unknown world of diplomatic translation and interpreting.
Iain, how many languages do you speak, and what was your first encounter with a foreign language?
I’ve learnt four languages: French, Japanese, Romanian and Hungarian. I can still get by in the first three, but I find that I am very much a ‘one foreign language in the brain at any time’ linguist. Two of my most embarrassing moments while learning Hungarian at the University of Debrecen were when I tried to hold conversations in Japanese and Romanian. I learnt French from an early age, probably 6 or 7 years old.
We need to ask you as a Scot, do you speak Gaelic?
No, I’m afraid to say that I don’t, although I have tried learning. I have a few Gaelic textbooks at home. It’s a lovely language and I am glad that there has been something of a Gaelic revival in recent years.
We understand learning foreign languages is compulsory for UK diplomatic staff. If it wasn’t would you still learn, and why? Which language would you most like to speak?
Learning languages is not compulsory as such, but it would be unusual to find a British diplomat who has not had to learn a foreign language. For jobs overseas in non-English speaking countries we decide whether the diplomat needs to speak the local language to do their job, so-called ‘speaker’ positions. If they do, then to what level? B1, C1, C2?
For example, among the several British diplomats at the British Embassy in Budapest only I and my deputy need Hungarian (to C1 level) for our jobs. So both of us have had intensive full-time pre-arrival Hungarian training, in my case 7 months, in my deputy’s case a year (the length of time it takes a full-time learner to get to C1 Hungarian).
However, we offer optional language training to all diplomats (and their spouses/partners) being posted overseas into ‘non-speaker’ jobs, which provides a basic level of language training intended to help with day to day living. The number of hours allocated will depend on the degree of difficulty of the language, but will range between 110 and 250 hours. So we really take language training seriously.
If I didn’t have to learn languages I would still do so as it not only enables better communication but opens up a whole world of insights into another country, its history, its culture and its people. The next language I would like to learn is Italian, but my greatest regret is that I did not learn Arabic when I was Ambassador in Bahrain, because it was not necessary for my job given that 95% of Bahrainis speak English and, as some of my friends pointed out, the Bahraini Royal family and government ministers speak better English than me!
How much do you use your languages in your working life?
Not as much as you might think. In the Embassy I speak English and just occasional social Hungarian. External meetings are usually in English with some social Hungarian at the start and finish. When I give a speech some it will be in Hungarian, depending upon the event and the audience. Interviews are usually in English, with a few Hungarian sentences thrown in, although I have given some recent interviews in just Hungarian, like with Nők Lapja and RTL Klub for example. Social media interviews are usually in Hungarian, and I write bilingual Instagram stories.
For which occasions do you take an interpreter, and when do you manage alone?
Only very occasionally for meetings given that they are usually in English! All the TV stations will provide an interpreter, although I have promised ATV that I will give an interview once just in Hungarian.
Have you ever noticed your interpreter making a mistake and subtly corrected it?
No! I have been very fortunate with my interpreters, most of whom I now know well.
What value does good quality translation and interpreting provide for you as Ambassador, and within the Embassy as a whole?
It’s essential! Without it I would be lost! All my Hungarian staff are bilingual so they provide me with excellent English language briefing for meetings and events. The only time they do produce work for me in Hungarian is writing speeches, parts of speeches or simple speaking notes. So it’s not really translation work as such, although some of the material they work with, e.g. lines to take from London, they will have translated into Hungarian.
Are you good at accents?
Yes, also I’m a reasonably good mimic, which I think helps. But it has taken me a long time to develop a Hungarian accent, and I’m still not there. By comparison, I think I picked up Japanese and Romanian accents reasonably quickly.
If you had to retire to a non-English-speaking country, which one would you choose and why?
I really, really like Hungary….but my wife and I have often talked about living in Italy. We love the place, the ambience and the people. And the food and wine aren’t bad either!
*Iain Lindsay joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1980 and has spent much of his career in Asia Pacific, serving in Tokyo (twice), Hong Kong and Canberra. He was Deputy Head of Mission and Political Counsellor in Bucharest from 2003-2007, working on Romania’s accession to NATO and the EU. Prior to that he served as a foreign policy adviser to the Romanian Foreign Minister. He was Deputy Head of Mission and Director, Trade and Investment at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong from 2007-2011. The Queen awarded him an OBE in 2002.
He was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Hungary from 30 March 2016.
Transcreation – How Cross-Market Copywriting Helps Businesses Globally
in Languages Without Borders, Multilingual Lifestyle, The Language of BusinessIndustries evolve over time. It’s a must, because if you don’t, or can’t, you find yourself left by the wayside.
While transcreation isn’t a new concept in global business, it is certainly now much more in demand by our clients at EDMF. Let’s take a look at why.
What is transcreation?
Coined from the words “translation” and “creation”, transcreation could be construed to mean creative translation, or perhaps cross-market copywriting. In reality, you have translation on the one side, transcreation on the other, and between the two you will find marketing translation.
Sometimes, just translating the words you see in front of you is the right idea. This can be the best approach when translating a technical manual, when what matters is that the reader understands what the exact equivalent of a particular component is in their language.
Yet other times, opting to translate like this will bring you up very short indeed. It’s not only the meaning that needs conveyed, you have to take into account cultural differences and harness them for mostly marketing purposes. It is no surprise that this is often required mostly with advertising or promotional texts, and also with websites. A complex website translation, for example, may well require translation, marketing translation and transcreation, and can involve several translators working together.
Why do I need it?
When you ask for a text to be translated, you obviously want it to have the same impact on your target-reader audience as it does with your original audience. That’s a given. But sometimes finding the equivalent word is not enough. Transcreation digs that bit further and looks at the emotional reaction triggered by a text, with a view to eliciting the same response in the translated language.
This is where the language professional is given freer rein than they might with conventional translations. Since it’s not so much the words and their literal meaning that count, but what effect they have on the reader, the transcreator is able to stray from the original text in order to achieve that goal, possibly even recreating everything if need be.
Transcreation in practice
One good example of transcreation is Intel, who changed its English slogan, “Intel: Sponsors of Tomorrow”, to “Intel: In Love with the Future” for its slogan in Brazil, because they had realised that in Portuguese this would otherwise imply the company would not deliver promptly as promised.
Transcreation in websites can also involve using different colour schemes or layouts, and sometimes it can even impact on the product. Red Bull, for example, changed the colours of its energy drink when entering the Chinese market. It switched to red and gold because these colours are deemed to bring good fortune in China.
I need transcreation. Where should I go?
There are many examples of companies who failed to do their research and had to rebrand newly launched products as a result, throwing money out of the window in the process. But with a bit of forethought, and the right partner, you can avoid the pitfalls with taking your product or service to other countries.
Contact EDMF today to find out more about how we can help promote your brand in today’s global market.
Untrained Translation Businesses Dilute Busy Market
in The Language of BusinessIf you’re interested in the current state of the translation businesses in Hungary then we recommend you read this article published by the Budapest Business Journal, where our managing director Douglas Arnott also gives his professional views on the business.
Untrained Businesses Dilute Busy Market
Read more:
Why is multilingualism vital for your business?
in The Language of BusinessEnglish is a widely known and spoken language both in business circles and in private life. Nowadays, however, English alone is not enough to reach every potential market. It is crucial for multinational companies to communicate with their partners and clients in multiple languages.
Customers often do not necessarily decide based on the price of a product or service, but on the language the company communicates in. Put more simply, you can reach more people if you know what language to address them in. This reads particularly true for smaller companies, who are constantly competing with one another to attract the attentions of the market and make their brands known.
Multilingualism is a must on the web. Read on and learn why your company needs a multilingual website!
This map clearly underlines that the number of English speakers is not nearly as high as you might think, even in European countries such as Italy or Spain.
source: telegraphtravel.carto.com
This shows that unless you want to deprive your company of considerable revenue, it is vital to communicate in more than one language, whether we are talking about business documentation, or digital marketing texts such as articles and blog posts. Although English is essentially spoken all over the world, it is often more effective to provide certain texts, for example promotional materials, in the mother-tongue of your prospective customers. This not only shows you are obliging, it also helps to convey the meaning of your communication to the fullest extent.
At EDMF we help our partners with this, and can ensure your company’s texts published in multiple languages reach your target audiences, thereby keeping your existing customers and acquiring new ones.
New Year’s Honours 2019: Douglas Arnott receives British Empire Medal
in The Language of BusinessWe are extremely proud to announce that the owner of EDMF Language Services Kft., Douglas Arnott was awarded a British Empire Medal in the UK’s New Year’s Honours List for services to charity and UK-Hungary relations, which he received at the end of April.
This year the British Empire Medal was awarded to a total of 358 people. Apart from those living in the British Isles only four people received this prominent award, including Douglas, a Scot living in Budapest, who has been working at the Robert Burns International Foundation helping sick and underprivileged children for seven years, five of which as Chairman.
Proficient in four languages, including Hungarian, Douglas graduated from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland with an honours degree in translation and interpreting, before settling in Hungary and establishing EDMF. For more than seven years he has been involved in charitable activities, for which he was recognised with a BEM in the New Year’s Honours List. You can read an interview with him here.
The presentation of the medal in April at the Residence of the UK Ambassador to Hungary was followed by a garden party at Buckingham Palace hosted by Prince Charles. Here are a few photos of the event:
Douglas Arnott elected onto Council of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary
in The Language of BusinessAt the 2019 Annual General Meeting held on 7 May 2019 the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary elected a new Council.
We are proud to announce that our owner Douglas Arnott was elected onto the Council and will now be responsible with his fellow members for influencing the direction of the BCCH in the forthcoming period.
The BCCH is an independent non-profit organisation, which has been serving its members since its foundation in 1991 by British investors.
Their mission is to represent British, Hungarian and international companies with the overarching principles of British business values and promote trade and investment flows between the UK and Hungary.
For more information about the BCCH and its activities, please click here: https://www.bcch.com/
Why is proofreading important in business communication?
in The Language of BusinessThe success and prestige of a business can frequently depend on sophisticated wording. A thorough review and correction of a text is crucial when concluding an important contract, but it can make a huge difference for websites, publications, articles, books and marketing materials as well.
Whatever your line of business, communication is everything, and well-composed texts, besides impacting on clients, can immediately form and convey an image of the company itself.
Proofreading may seem simple at first sight, but not everyone is cut out for the job. Professional expertise is not necessarily enough though, as minor errors, typing mistakes and missed words need to be spotted too. The fact the human mind automatically corrects errors that it detects while reading a text makes the task even more difficult. Generally speaking, after writing a long text it is worth having it read by someone else, who can read it with a fresh mind and spot the mistakes that the author simply overlooked.
A minor typo or an inappropriately used word may lend a totally different meaning to a sentence or even the entire text, which may cause misunderstandings.
Not to mention that overlooking such errors suggests that the author did not pay enough attention to the task, making it less appealing for existing or potential clients. Grammar and spelling mistakes divert attention from the content of the text, making it difficult to read and thus casting doubt on the authenticity and expertise of the author.
For business texts it is important to think ahead not only with regard to the content but also in terms of the format, so it is worth sending a contract to a proofreader for example to avoid possible financial losses in the future. With accurate and correct wording you can ensure your prospective client will consider your newly established partnership to be professional and focused, but also reliable
There are several types of proofreading, for example native or professional proofreading.
With native proofreading the reviewer corrects both the style and the language of the text. Sometimes there is a specific requirement to have a target text that is not a word-by-word translation of the original. Such is the case, for example, with slogans, marketing texts, literary texts, or texts that mediate between two different cultures.
Professional proofreading is carried out by a recognised professional, for instance a doctor, an engineer or a programmer, who is well-versed in the specialist field but is also a qualified translator. With documentation, tenders, professional publications, information leaflets, user manuals, financial, legal, medical and technical texts, it is extremely important to involve a proofreader.
Alongside grammar errors, style is of paramount importance too since you need to meet the requirements of the target audience and the communication context as well.
Ask for a free tailored quote for our proofreading services. Our native proofreaders are all highly trained professionals.
Interview with Iain Lindsay, the UK’s Ambassador to Hungary
in Languages Without Borders, Multilingual Lifestyle, The Language of BusinessWe don’t think anyone really needs an introduction to Iain Lindsay, the UK’s Ambassador to Hungary. Thanks largely to his social media endeavours he is extremely well known in the country. We can find him on the street wearing his kilt to present memories of Hungarian-Scottish relationships, but also see him reciting Hungarian poems on YouTube.
A multilingual ambassador, we asked him about his personal background with languages, and delved into the complex, serious, and unknown world of diplomatic translation and interpreting.
Iain, how many languages do you speak, and what was your first encounter with a foreign language?
I’ve learnt four languages: French, Japanese, Romanian and Hungarian. I can still get by in the first three, but I find that I am very much a ‘one foreign language in the brain at any time’ linguist. Two of my most embarrassing moments while learning Hungarian at the University of Debrecen were when I tried to hold conversations in Japanese and Romanian. I learnt French from an early age, probably 6 or 7 years old.
We need to ask you as a Scot, do you speak Gaelic?
No, I’m afraid to say that I don’t, although I have tried learning. I have a few Gaelic textbooks at home. It’s a lovely language and I am glad that there has been something of a Gaelic revival in recent years.
We understand learning foreign languages is compulsory for UK diplomatic staff. If it wasn’t would you still learn, and why? Which language would you most like to speak?
Learning languages is not compulsory as such, but it would be unusual to find a British diplomat who has not had to learn a foreign language. For jobs overseas in non-English speaking countries we decide whether the diplomat needs to speak the local language to do their job, so-called ‘speaker’ positions. If they do, then to what level? B1, C1, C2?
For example, among the several British diplomats at the British Embassy in Budapest only I and my deputy need Hungarian (to C1 level) for our jobs. So both of us have had intensive full-time pre-arrival Hungarian training, in my case 7 months, in my deputy’s case a year (the length of time it takes a full-time learner to get to C1 Hungarian).
However, we offer optional language training to all diplomats (and their spouses/partners) being posted overseas into ‘non-speaker’ jobs, which provides a basic level of language training intended to help with day to day living. The number of hours allocated will depend on the degree of difficulty of the language, but will range between 110 and 250 hours. So we really take language training seriously.
If I didn’t have to learn languages I would still do so as it not only enables better communication but opens up a whole world of insights into another country, its history, its culture and its people. The next language I would like to learn is Italian, but my greatest regret is that I did not learn Arabic when I was Ambassador in Bahrain, because it was not necessary for my job given that 95% of Bahrainis speak English and, as some of my friends pointed out, the Bahraini Royal family and government ministers speak better English than me!
How much do you use your languages in your working life?
Not as much as you might think. In the Embassy I speak English and just occasional social Hungarian. External meetings are usually in English with some social Hungarian at the start and finish. When I give a speech some it will be in Hungarian, depending upon the event and the audience. Interviews are usually in English, with a few Hungarian sentences thrown in, although I have given some recent interviews in just Hungarian, like with Nők Lapja and RTL Klub for example. Social media interviews are usually in Hungarian, and I write bilingual Instagram stories.
For which occasions do you take an interpreter, and when do you manage alone?
Only very occasionally for meetings given that they are usually in English! All the TV stations will provide an interpreter, although I have promised ATV that I will give an interview once just in Hungarian.
Have you ever noticed your interpreter making a mistake and subtly corrected it?
No! I have been very fortunate with my interpreters, most of whom I now know well.
What value does good quality translation and interpreting provide for you as Ambassador, and within the Embassy as a whole?
It’s essential! Without it I would be lost! All my Hungarian staff are bilingual so they provide me with excellent English language briefing for meetings and events. The only time they do produce work for me in Hungarian is writing speeches, parts of speeches or simple speaking notes. So it’s not really translation work as such, although some of the material they work with, e.g. lines to take from London, they will have translated into Hungarian.
Are you good at accents?
Yes, also I’m a reasonably good mimic, which I think helps. But it has taken me a long time to develop a Hungarian accent, and I’m still not there. By comparison, I think I picked up Japanese and Romanian accents reasonably quickly.
If you had to retire to a non-English-speaking country, which one would you choose and why?
I really, really like Hungary….but my wife and I have often talked about living in Italy. We love the place, the ambience and the people. And the food and wine aren’t bad either!
*Iain Lindsay joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1980 and has spent much of his career in Asia Pacific, serving in Tokyo (twice), Hong Kong and Canberra. He was Deputy Head of Mission and Political Counsellor in Bucharest from 2003-2007, working on Romania’s accession to NATO and the EU. Prior to that he served as a foreign policy adviser to the Romanian Foreign Minister. He was Deputy Head of Mission and Director, Trade and Investment at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong from 2007-2011. The Queen awarded him an OBE in 2002.
He was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Hungary from 30 March 2016.
15% discount on privacy policies and other GDPR-related translations
in The Language of BusinessThe looming deadline for GDPR compliance, 25 May, has come and gone.
Judging by the flood of emails we have received in recent days and weeks it seems that everyone has been focusing on making sure they are as ready as they can be for the new European data protection law. We hope you made it through unscathed.
Does that signal the end of your preparations? Possibly. It really depends on your business. If you focus only on companies and clients in your own country then the likelihood is you can sit back and relax, you’re finished.
If, however, your clients, partners and employees come from different countries, the chances are you now need to get your privacy policy and many other GDPR-related documents translated. This will make sure that everyone understands exactly what data you use and for what purposes, regardless of where they are or what language they speak.
If we can help you with the languages you now need to complete your preparations, please send us a mail at [email protected].
Refer to this short article and we’ll give you a 15% summer discount as well until the end of August.
Business translations: a client’s perspective…
in The Language of BusinessIn our new series of interviews we ask company owners, senior executives and leaders how foreign language, translation and interpreting affect their daily lives and work.
Globalisation means that working with international clients, customers and partners is more common than ever before. But is it possible to work in a foreign market without the right tools? Are professional translation services important to businesses?
We sat down for a chat with Stuart McAlister, Managing Director of Inter Relocation, one of Hungary’s leading providers of relocation destination services, to find out what it’s like coming to a new country where you don’t understand a thing the locals are saying, and how knowledge of the language can impact on a business.
When you came to Hungary 23 years ago, can you remember your first impressions of the country?
1995 and 2016 in Hungary
I moved to Hungary in the summer of 1995. My first impressions were a mix of amazement, excitement and probably a little fear as well. It was my first time living away from the north of England and to say that Hungary came as a shock is an understatement. Of course a shock to any system can have a positive influence and I think that is true in my case.
I think I know what you’re getting at, Hungarian has a reputation for being a difficult language to learn? How did you find it?
I certainly struggled at first. Back in those days it was far more difficult to be an expat without speaking Hungarian at least at a reasonable level. Nowadays almost every shop and business and certainly every restaurant and bar, has English speaking staff, but back in the mid-90s there were only limited and usually expensive options if one wanted to live an expat life without learning the language.
My good fortune was having a flatmate for 4 years who did not speak English. My American flatmate and I had a spare room and ended up letting it to a friend of a friend who only spoke Hungarian. Being forced to attempt communication with someone every day was an incredible experience and gave me the boost so that I could at least have conversations. Once I had the foundations of language knowledge, building on top of that was far easier.
Many people no doubt have had similar experiences to you. In your business you deal a lot with expats coming to Hungary from all round the world. How daunting can a lack of Hungarian be when living and working in Hungary?
I think it’s far easier now. Many or perhaps even most of our customers join international workplaces, so communication at work is easy. Likewise it is possible to shop, eat, drink and get a wide range of services in Budapest, without the need to speak Hungarian.
However, that also makes it far harder to learn Hungarian because there is far less motivation and frankly far fewer opportunities where an expat is forced to build a basic knowledge and then develop that.
I actually like to meet expats living in other parts of Hungary. They remind me of the struggles I went through in the early years and I admire their efforts to learn the language.
What about translation in your business? What kind of translations do you regularly need? Why is it important that these are done professionally?
“This requires a far more complex set of skills and we know we can rely on EDMF for this kind of support.”
We have two types of translation requirement. Firstly, we are obliged to request official translations for any immigration application we make for a client.
Secondly, we generally need editorial content or marketing texts, some of which we commission for our sister publication, Expat Press Hungary. For this kind of work we turn to EDMF and for a very good reason. Any article that is written for Expat Press in Hungary must read as if it were originally written in English and for that to be possible, we need far more than a simple translation and copy editing service. The translator must actually feel what is trying to be communicated in the source language and change the editorial text in English so the message is the same but the words sound like they were originally written in English. This requires a far more complex set of skills and we know we can rely on EDMF for this kind of support.
That’s good to hear! Translation can be a tricky business, especially when you don’t understand the target language. Before working with EDMF did you ever have any bad experiences with translation for Inter Relocation, can you tell us what impact this had?
Absolutely. Several years ago, we decided that a German language version of our website would be good for business. We had an agency translate the text into German and I was told this had been copy edited as well. No one on our team spoke German at the time so I could not check it.
Whilst I trusted the agency I decided to get a second opinion on the text and asked a German friend to review the translation for me. That friend completed a quite extensive round of copy editing, which certainly raised concerns in my mind about how “German” the German language version of the site sounded.
My fears were confirmed when some time later a partner and friend from the relocation industry in Germany called to tell me that he had read through the German version of our site and to say the least, it needed a lot of work.
How to improve your international SEO strategy? – Part 3
in The Language of BusinessAs promised in our earlier articles, we now continue our analysis of the importance and benefits of localisation and SEO translation.
A company that is growing around the world has an increasing number of international requirements to satisfy. How can it create a global website for this? Should it keep an existing one, or create localised versions?
Here are a few tips to improving your international SEO strategy.
Know your target audience
The majority of web users do not speak English. The quality of your translation, localisation and international SEO strategy determines whether or not you will win business. Know your audience’s language, slang, concerns and everything they prioritise.
Quality translation
Improving international SEO depends heavily on the quality of the translated web pages. Despite dedicating a lot of time to planning and reviewing translations, leaving the actual job to machines will likely result in localisation errors. Efficient and quality translation requires more than just loading words into a software programme, which focuses just on their literal sense. Involving human expertise in the translation process is very important. This is the only way to ensure proper syntax, meaning and consistency in your translated content.
Optimising keywords
Anyone visiting your website does so via regional search engines (Facebook pages, Twitter hashtags, etc.). Different audiences find your company in different ways, so you are best advised to use the most appropriate keywords and expressions. After compiling your list of keywords and expressions, you can integrate them into your online content, and use them in the meta data.
Of course, this not a one size fits all scenario, multilingual websites can be created in many different ways, and what you ultimately choose depends on your given situation.
Localisation and multilingual SEO are not easy to blend either, and if you take the wrong path this can cost you time and money. That said it is important that you know all of the options out there in order to make an informed choice.
Fact is that multilingual online content helps companies grow and be competitive. Optimising and localising websites as well as SEO are key parts of this. This is all impossible without quality translation.
An experienced translation agency saves you the hassle of addressing these problems as it is capable of blending these aspects into the translation process for your website.
CONTACT