It's Valentine's Day All Around the World

After the Christmas and New Year festivities, another occasion people look forward to is that sweet day for the lovers and even would-be lovers popularly known as Valentine's day.


Many stories has been told about the origin of Valentine's day. Instead of dwelling on these, let's go global and feel the love across cultures and nations:


Australia


During the Australian gold rush period, miners who were suddenly in possession of money from the new-found wealth of the Ballarat Mines were willing to pay a princely sum for elaborate valentines and merchants in the country would ship orders amounting to thousands of pounds at a time. The most extravagent Australian valentines were made of a satin cushion, perfumed and decorated in an ornate manner with flowers and colored shells. Some might even be adorned with a taxidermied humming bird or bird of paradise. This treasure, contained within a neatly decorated box, was highly valued, being both fashionable and extremely expensive.


Austria


Austria has some rather obscure courtship customs that may or may not be associated with Saint Valentine's Day. Nonetheless, it is customary for a young man to present his beloved with a bunch of flowers on February 14.


America


In the United States of America, there have been many varieties of cards given over the course of the years, some of which have often been rude or even quite cruel in their humor. In the times of the Civil War, cards were flagged with rich colors accompanied by patriotic and/or political motifs. Early American valentine cards were especially lithographed and hand-colored, beautiful and distinctive in design, produced with intricate lace paper and decorated with such ornaments as beads, sea shells, cones, berries and all manner of seeds. Cards were also available decorated with seaweed or moss, in addition to dried and/or artificial flowers, all of which were attached to a string which was pulled and could then be suspended, thereby creating a three-dimensional picture. Many early American cards were imported from abroad, given the poor quality of American paper at the time which was not particularly suitable for embossing. Today, American children usually exchange valentines with their friends and there may even be a classroom party.


Britain



The poets of Britain have probably penned the majority of the best-loved romantic verses associated with Saint Valentine. Different regions of the nation celebrate their own customs to honor this day, although the sending of cards and gifts of flowers and chocolates is standard procedure throughout the entire country. One uniform custom is the singing of special songs by children, who then receive gifts of candy, fruit or money. In some areas, valentine buns are baked with caraway seeds, plums or raisins.


Denmark

The Danish valentine card is known as a "lover's card." Older versions of this greeting came in the form of a transparency which, when held up to the light, depicted the image of a lover handing his beloved a gift. One custom in Denmark is for people to send pressed white flowers called Snowdrops to their friends. Danish men may also send a form of valentine known as a gaekkebrev (or "joking letter"). The sender of this gaekkebrev pens a rhyme but does not sign his name. Instead, he signs the message with dots...one dot for each letter in his name. If the lady who receives the card guesses the name of the sender, then she is rewarded with an Easter Egg later in the year.


France

In France, a custom known as "drawing for" once occurred. Unmarried individuals, both young and not so young, would go into houses facing each other and begin calling out across from one window to another, pairing-off with the chosen partner. If the young man failed to be particularly enthralled with his valentine, he would desert her. As a result, a bonfire would be lit later where the ladies could burn images of the ungrateful sweetheart and verbally abuse him in a loud tone as the effigy burned. This ritual was eventually abandoned since it left much room for nastiness, ridicule or even outright malice and the French government finally handed-down a decree officially banning the custom. Elegant French greetings cards known as cartes d'amities, which contained tender messages, were given not totally as a Valentine but chiefly as a result of a fashion which was popular in England at the time.


Germany

In Germany, it has become customary for the young man of a courting couple to present his beloved with flowers on February 14. Valentine gifts in Germany are usually in the shape of love tokens, complete with endearing messages. However, these are not distributed solely on Valentine's Day, but on any occasion. Even early German baptismal certificates or marriage certificates were considered at one time to have been valentines, but were more likely simply decorative and pictorial documents which contained lovely verses.


Italy

In Italy, Valentine's Day was once celebrated as a Spring Festival, held in the open air, where young people would gather in tree arbors or ornamental gardens to listen to music and the reading of poetry. However, over the course of the years, this custom steadily ceased and has not now been celebrated for centuries. In Turin, it was formerly the custom for betrothed couples to announce their engagements on February 14. For several days ahead of time, the stores would be decorated and filled with all manner of bon-bons.


Japan

In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated on two different dates...February 14 and March 14. On the first date, the female gives a gift to the male and on the second date...known as White Day and supposedly introduced by a marshmallow company in the 1960s...the male has to return the gift he received on February 14. Thus, strictly speaking, a Japanese female has the luxury of actually choosing her own gift. Chocolate is the most popular gift in Japan. However, since most Japanese females believe that store-bought chocolate is not a gift of true love, they tend to make the confection with their own hands.


Korea

The traditional gift of candy takes place in Korea on February 14, but only from females to males. There is another special day for males to give gifts to females and this is celebrated on March 14. Very similar to the custom in Japan, March 14 in Korea is known as "White Day." On "White Day," many young men confess their love for the first time to their sweethearts. For those young people who have no particular romantic partners, the Koreans have set aside yet another date...April 14, also known as "Black Day." On that date, such individuals get together and partake of Jajang noodles, which are black in color, hence the name of the day.


Scotland

In Scotland, Valentine's Day is celebrated with a festival. At this festival, there is an equal number of unmarried males and females, each of whom write their name (or a made-up name) on a piece of paper which is then folded and placed into a hat...one hat for the ladies and one for the men. The females then draw a name from the hat containing the men's names and vice versa. Of course, it is highly likely that the two drawn names will not match, in which event, it is usually expected that the male partner with the female who selected his name. This rite having been completed, the company split up into couples and gifts are given to the ladies. The females would then pin the name of their partner over their hearts or on their sleeves. A dance often follows and, at the end of the festival, it is not unusual for marriages to take place. According to another Scottish custom, the first young man or woman encountered by chance on the street or elsewhere will become that individual's valentine. Valentine's Day gifts in Scotland are frequently given by both parties in the form of a love-token or true-love-knot.


Spain

In Spain, it is customary for courting couples to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day and for husbands to send their wives bouquets of roses.


Taiwan

Valentine's Day is celebrated in Taiwan on February 14, but there is also a special Valentine's Day on July 7 of the lunar calendar, based on an ancient Chinese folktale (**). Both dates are equally as important. Many men purchase expensive bouquets of roses and other flowers for their sweethearts on these days. According to Taiwan tradition, the color and number of the roses holds much significance. For example, one red rose means "an only love," eleven roses means "a favorite," ninety-nine roses means "forever," and one hundred eight roses means "marry me."



Love truly extends across cultures. Same thing goes for translation and interpretation. Be able to reach different cultures and be global through language.


-- YJ (Reference: http://www.novareinna.com/festive/valworld.html)

I Love You... in Different Languages

In the spirit of the love month, it seems romantic to grace the occasion in an Elizabeth Barrett Browning fashion. Just like in her poem “How do I love thee? Let Me Count the Ways,” let us not only count the ways but also say I Love You in Different Languages:

Foreign Language	Translation
Afrikaans	Ek het jou lief / Ek's lief vir jou
Albanian	të dua
Arabic (Egyptian)	To a man - (ana uħibbuk) ٲنَا ٱحِبُّك To a woman - (ana baħibbik) ٲنَا بَحَِّك
Arabic (Modern Standard)	To a woman (uḥibbik ) To a man (uħibbak) أحبك
Armenian	Սիրում եմ քեզ: (Sirum em kez)
Azerbaijani	Mən səni sevirəm
Belarussian	Я цябе кахаю (Ja ciabe kakhaju)
Bulgarian	Informal (Обичам те (Običam te)) Formal (Вас обичам (Vas običam))
Catalan	T'estimo
Cebuano	Gihigugma ko ikaw
Chinese (Mandarin)	我爱你 (Wo ai ni)
Croatian	Volim te
Czech	Miluji tě
Danish	Jeg elsker dig
Dutch	Informal ( Ik hou van je ) Formal (Ik hou van jou / Ik hou van u)
Estonian	Ma armastan sind
Faroese	Eg elski teg
Fijian	Au domoni iko / Au lomani iko
Filipino (Tagalog)	Mahal kita
Finnish	Rakastan sinua
French	Je t'aime
German (Standard)	Ich liebe Dich
Greek	Informal ( Σ΄αγαπώ (S’agapó)) / Formal (Σας αγαπώ (Sas aghapó))
Hawaiian	Aloha Au Ia 'Oe, Aloha No Au Ia 'Oe
Hebrew	(Ani Ohev Otach - to a woman) אני אוהב אותך (Ani Ohevet Otcha - to a man) אני אוהבת אותך
Hindi	मैं तुम्हैं बहुत चाहता हुँ (Maiṅ tumhaiṅ bahut cāhatā hūṅ) - Male मैं तुम्हैं बहुत चाहता चाहती हुँ (Maiṅ tumhaiṅ bahut cāhatī hūṅ) - Female
Hungarian	Szeretlek
Icelandic	Ég elska þig
Ilocano	Ipatpategka
Indonesian	Cinta kamu / Saya mencintaimu
Irish	Gráím thú
Italian	Ti amo
Japanese	愛してるよ (aishiteru yo)
Javanese	Aku tresnasliramu
Korean	사랑해 (sa rang hae)
Latin	(Te amo) טי אמו
Latvian	Es tevi mīlu
Luxembourgish	Ech hunn dech gär / Ech si frou mat dir
Malay	Saya sayang kamu / Aku cintakan kau
Maltese	Inħobbok / Inħobbok hafna / Jien inħobbek
Mongolian	Би чамд хайртай (Bi chamd khairtai)
Nepali	म तपाइलाइ माया गर्छु। (ma tapainlai maya garchu)
Norwegian	Jeg elsker deg (Bokmål) / Eg elskar deg (Nynorsk)
Persian	(asheghetam) عاشقتم In poetry and songs - (dūset dāram) دوست دارم
Polish	Kocham Cię
Portuguese	Amo-te, Eu te amo, Eu gosto de você, Eu amo você
Romanian	Te iubesc
Russian	я тебя люблю (ja teb'a l'ubl'u)
Serbian	Волим те (Volim te)
Slovenian	Ljubim te (m/f), Rad te imam (m) Rada te imam (f)
Tamil	நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (nān unnai kādhalikkiren)
Thai	ผมรักคุณ (phom rak khun) - m ฉันรักคุณ (chan rak khun) - f
Tongan	'Oku ou 'ofa 'ia koe
Turkish	Seni seviyorum
Ukranian	Я тебе кохаю (Ja tebe kochaju) Я тебе люблю (Ja tebe liubliu)
Vietnamese	Em yêu anh (m) Anh yêu em (f) ; Tôi yêu bạn
Yiddish	(Ikh hob dikh lieb) איך האָב דיך ליב (Ikh libe dikh) איך ליבע דיך
Zulu	Ngiyakuthanda

Whatever the occasion is, let the other person get your message correctly and accurately.

Translation & Interpretation: What's the Difference?

"Do you have an interpreter? I have a certificate that I need to be translated to Chinese."

Working for a translation and interpretation company, we usually have clients who confuse one to the other. This is very apparent especially here in the Philippines where translation and interpretation are not popular fields yet.

As the Monterey Institute of International Studies defines the two in their documentary on the life of an interpreter, the difference is indeed "very basic." In the words of Iciar Gomez, an experienced Translator/Interpreter, "Interpretation is ORAL [while] Translation is WRITTEN."

However, Nancy Nicholson of Cambridge University eplains that "Many scholars and practitioners (the terms are not mutually exclusive), however, choose the generic 'translation' to include both oral and written product, some referring more specifically to 'interpretation' as 'oral translation' and to 'simultaneous interpretation' as 'simultaneous translation.'"

No matter how the two terms are loosely used, it still pays to know the basic difference between them.

Kinds of Interpretation

Knowing the difference between the two is not enough though. In the case of Interpretation, it is important to now the nature of the request to determine whether Simultaneous, Consecutive, Guide/Accompanying or Whisper Interpretation is needed.

Simultaneous interpretation, from the name itself, is interpreting messages simultaneously or at the same time. It usually requires the use of an interpreter's booth and headset for the client. This kind of service is mostly done for big conferences or in occasions where immediate relaying of message is needed such as in international media coverages and 'multi-lingual meetings'. Two interpreters usually alternate the work every after 30 minutes as this involves a lot of concentration and non-stop processing of messages.

Consecutive, on the other hand, requires the linguist to sit or stand, whatever the case may be, beside the guests who need the service. The interpreter delivers the message afer the speaker finishes talking. For accuracy, notes are taken down. The usual interval is after every 15 minutes, where the speaker pauses while his message is being interpreted. This type of service is usually used for events with smaller number of guests, interviews, or for instances where the use of simultaneous interpretation equipment is an inconvenience or may not be possible.

As for Guide/Accompanying, this usually applies to informal settings and/or may simply need the interpreter to assist the guest for whatever business he may have. Exhibits and Trade events usually require this service.

Lastly, Whisper interpretation is normally seen in short meetings where the interpreter sits beside the delegate or guest and whispers the messages. It may sound easy however, it can be as tedious as simultaneous interpretation is and may be uncomfortable or exhausting for the guest as well.

From the things mentioned, interpretation, regardless of its kind, requires a lot of concentration, quick processing of information, and fluency on the language pair they cater to. As Gomez puts it, "You are not a parrot. You have to listen to the speaker. You have to assimilate what the speaker is saying. You have to process it, transfer it to another language, say it, and [make sure that your delivery is gramatically and factually correct]."

She concludes, "The better you are, the more invisible you are. They don't realize that you are one of the main actors in the whole scene and without you that wouldn't be able to happen."

Translation as a Profession

As compared to Interpretation, Translation is a more 'relaxed' kind of job, although this does not mean it is any easier. Since the translator deals with documents and not with a live person, he has the chance to go back and correct any errors on his work. Accuracy can be guaranteed at 100% with the time given to them to translate and proofread.

This profession, however, goes beyond one's knowledge of certain language pairs. As documents for a wide variey of topics may be worked on, expertise and professional background are usually required. This specifically applies to translation of Medical, Technical, Engineering and Legal documents.

There are instances though that translators get claims from their clients over the use of certain terms. Since translation is not an exact Science, there are words, terms, and phrases which may be translated in various ways. It is in this case that both parties need to discuss properly the guidelines in every project.

One of the perks of this is that you can do it freelance while having a full time job or better yet, if you hate to be confined in the office, you can also be a full time freelancer. With the growing demand for globalization, more and more businesses want to connect to various cultures across all continents. A lot of translation agencies are constantly looking for linguists to fill in their equally growing number of projects.

Philippines: Language Services at Present

In the Philippines, where Filipino and English are widely used, language services are not usually needed. However, with the foreign investors, exchange students and tourists going to the country and even OFWs seeking fortune overseas, the need for translation and interpretation is being realized.

Private clients usually need their certificates, employment papers, clearances, diplomas etc. to be translated to the language of the country they will go to. Meanwhile, corporate clients require their website to be seen in different languages, also known as Website Localization, or their brochures, company profiles, contracts and other marketing materials to cater to different nationalities. This is where a translation agency or translation company steps in.

-- The writer, Yvonne Javier is a project manager of Lexcode Inc. For inquiries, you may reach her at yvonne.j@lexcode.com -- YJ

Top 7 Communication Barriers

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Top 7 Communication Barriers

By: Eric Garner

Many people think that communicating is easy.

It is after all something we've done all our lives.

There is some truth in this simplistic view.

Communicating is straightforward.

What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating

are the barriers we put in the way.

Here are the 7 top barriers.

1. Physical barriers

• marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed

• closed office doors, barrier screens, separate areas for people of different status

• large working areas or working in one unit that is physically separate from others.

Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness to others aids communication because it helps us get to know one another.

2. Perceptual barriers

The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate: something like extrasensory perception would take its place.

The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts, assumptions and perceptions shape our own realities:

A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man from the next town. "Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight. Can you tell me what the townspeople are like?"

"Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in the last town you visited?"

"Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a fool. Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very poor service."

"Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the same here."

3. Emotional barriers

One of the chief barriers to open and free communications is the emotional barrier. It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion. The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught to be careful what we said to others.

"Mind your P's and Q's"; "Don't speak until you're spoken to"; "Children should be seen and not heard". As a result many people hold back from communicating their thoughts and feelings to others.

They feel vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what others might think of us can stunt our development as effective communicators and our ability to form meaningful relationships.

4. Cultural barriers

When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the behaviour patterns of the group. These are the behaviours that the group accept as signs of belonging.

The group rewards such behaviour through acts of recognition, approval and inclusion. In groups which are happy to accept you, and where you are happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interest and a high level of win-win contact.

Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high level of game-playing replaces good communication.

5. Language barriers

Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words and jargon. When we couch our communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a global market place the greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk in their language.

One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev saying to the Americans at the United Nations: "We will bury you!" This was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation.

However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev's words would have been: "We will overtake you!" meaning economic superiority. It was not just the language, but the fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union that led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.

6. Gender barriers

There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man and those in a woman. A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks between 7,000 and 10,000. In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys.

The reason for this lies in the wiring of a man's and woman's brains. When a man talks, his speech is located in the left side of the brain but in no specific area. When a woman talks, the speech is located in both hemispheres and in two specific locations.

This means that a man talks in a linear, logical and compartmentalised way, features of left-brain thinking; whereas a woman talks more freely mixing logic and emotion, features of both sides of the brain. It also explains why women talk for much longer than men each day.

7. Interpersonal barriers

There are six levels at which people can distance themselves from one another:

1. Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both refusal to be in touch and time alone.

2. Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real contact.

3. Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial activities.

4. Working activities are those tasks which follow the rules and procedures of contact but no more.

5. Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about winning and losing. They include "rackets" and "stamps".

6. Closeness is the aim of interpersonal contact where there is a high level of honesty and acceptance of yourself and others.

Working on improving your communications is a broad-brush activity. You have to change your thoughts, your feelings, and your physical connections.

That way, you can break down the barriers that get in your way and start building relationships that really work.