“Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony. Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don’t we?” so sang Stevie Wonder. Indeed, the world is constantly grappling with the age old issue of racial harmony. Until today, even as we progress, we still find ourselves being challenged by racial prejudices almost everyday.

As most parts of the world become increasingly cosmopolitan, we find ourselves having to learn to live and work alongside our counterparts from other races and countries, who may not share the same culture, beliefs and values as us. But the inevitable phenomenon of globalisation has brought about an unexpected amount of tolerance amongst different groups of people, whose lives become entwined together through their social or business network. In fact, some have found love in another race.

As the world celebrates love in this month of February, we are reminded once again about how powerful love can be. Love can transcend all barriers to bring two very different people together to share their lives and thoughts. In fact, it can even bring together people from very different cultural backgrounds.

In this time and day, it is amazing how many inter-racial relationships we are witnessing over the years. The world has become a melting pot of different cultures, religions and values. From the far west to our own backyard in Singapore, inter-racial couples have become the norm of modernisation. It doesn’t matter whether they share the same national language or not, these inter-racial couples are not lost in translation as they immerse themselves in the world’s common language – love. Let’s toast to love this season as we set aside our own prejudices to embrace one of the greatest gifts on earth.

Here are some of the most prominent inter-racial couples of our times:

• 46-year-old renowned Hong Kong celebrity, Maggie Cheung and 39-year-old German architect beau, Ole Scheeren, the man behind Beijing’s CCTV Tower and Singapore’s new iconic development, The Interlace condominium.
• Richard Stanley, the late ex-CEO of DBS and Singaporean wife, Koh Li Peng
• Singapore’s Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan and Australian wife Dr. Sheryn Kaye Von Senden
• Singer and guitarist, the late John Lennon, who was a member of the illustrious English rock band, the Beatles; and his Japanese artist-cum-musician wife Yoko Ono
• Bruce Lee, the martial arts legend and American teacher, Linda Cadwell
• Prominent Indian political figure, Sonia Gandhi, who is an Italian and late husband, Rajiv Gandhi, son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
• Former US Defense Secretary, William Cohen and journalist Janet Langhart

After been in the piles of work for some time, we need to stop ourselves for a break, to take a look at the world around us. Because amidst the busy-ness, time never does stop for anyone. So when we stopped to look around, things have already changed so much that one may not be able to recognise or follow up.

Same goes for the world of translation… 5 years ago when you want to look for these companies to assist you in translation, you can only find a few under yellow pages. However now if you were to look into yellow pages again, you will find more of such providers, big or small.

Does this mean the pie is getting smaller?

According to “The World is Flat”, it seems that now the world has become more globalised and that even smaller companies can compete with the large corporations in the business world, and they not only can compete within their home country, they can also compete globally, thanks to the availability of the world wide web.

And of course with globalisation, comes the need for people to communicate more with counterparts who may not understand one’s own language. So the need for translation and interpretation increases.

However with the increase in the demand for such services, there is also a need to ensure that the quality provided is maintained at its highest. Translation is a skill which not many people, although whom seem to be able to speak a couple of languages, are apt in. Same like the world, translators also need to keep improving and changing and look at the bigger picture – the World.

And anyway, that’s why we’ve also changed our blog outlook.

I’m not too sure what kind of jobs do not require constant upgrading. Nowadays, with the economic situation, it would be great to sit back, slow down and do some reconsolidation of your current skills, your work, your life and your future. What do you really need to move on in life, or in your work?

Take translation for example, it seems like the colloqualism of languages are always increasing, and with the internet, more lingos are added day by day. Are there any old words that are being phased out? Yes of course. And also, I realised that the way that we write our books, are becoming more and more conversational. No longer do we need to stick to standard English. Often, you get to see words like “don’ts” or “gals”, which only exist in a book as a conversation.

As we broaden our horizons, our experience go UP, and so you can only get better. So I think we all should read more, see more, listen more and learn more. Translation is no longer just translation, but also an experience or a story behind the words.

Often,  I have seen people worry about the loads of things  to do for tomorrow.  Some get so stressed up that they just wish tomorrow will not come so quickly.  They would find themselves living in fear.  Fear of the unknown.

On the other hand, I have also noticed people complaining that they should have done certain things in the past.  They would often say “if I knew that things would turn out in this way, I would have done it better” or “I should have knew it, I would not have done it”.  These people are living in guilt.  Deep inside their heart, they feel guilty because they thought they could have done better.

So the best way to live our life is to treasure every moment of it.  We should feel grateful and rejoice for the each day as long as we live.  We should “seize the day” just as Professor John Keating (played by Robin Williams) inspires his students in the movie Dead Poets Society.

We should never let these 2 days – tomorrw and yesterday, to trouble us again.  Instead, we should concentrate all our effort and energy to make each passing day as the best day in our life.  In fact, all of us should resolve to make each passing day as their best day – giving oneself wholeheartedly in his family, his work and interest.  The joy and purpose of each day will give whole new meaning to our life.

If everyone of us would give their best shot for each day, no longer living in fear of tomorrow or guilt about their past, I truely believe this world will be a better and happier place to live in.

With regards to dermatoglyphics, we also realise why some people are so good with words, others are good in athletics. These abilities are inborn, since the day we were fetuses in our mothers’ womb. However having those kinds of qualities do not  necessarily translate you into a genius in those areas. One must still have a nurturing environment to help you develop those qualities.

Back to translation. For those who are learning a third language, it is also important to immerse yourself into that environment so that you can pick it up faster. Non-native linguists who stay for long in a country would tend to understand even the localised terms. A language comes together with the culture. Thus building language bridges would allow one to build culture bridges as well!

Seeing that translators are now becoming the up and coming industry, this shows how closely knitted our world has become. The need to communicate with our counterparts in other parts of the world has made this industry boom over the past few years.

Translation has now become a BIG part of our lives, knowing that with globalisation and migration of people, culture and businesses, it is ever so important to know other languages.

I used to learn French, and while I dragged my feet to the language school ever twice a week, I used to wonder whether I would ever need the language, since most people that I come into contact with at that time speak English or Chinese. However decades down the road, I master the courage to take up the language again, because now the need has come for us to communicate with clients overseas! Well, everything starts and happens for a reason, isn’t it?

The article in TIMES magazine has really pleasantly amazed me, and I see this industry still growing as the need to reach a wider network of people increases. Thus we are in a very exciting role, with more opportunities to translate different kinds of materials, and learn much more than what 1 culture can offer to another.

3 Cheers to the Translators in the World! 

As I was reading the latest issue of Times magazine, I came across an article that talks about “ideas that are changing the world”. One of them would be our jobs being the new assets now.

It used to be when we are trying means and ways NOT to work, and making passive income and investments, such that we can have more free time to ourselves. Times when we talk about the new properties whether they are worth investing, or when the latest designer brand or clothing is out and comparing whether who has more collector items.

Somehow, it seems like we got more materialistic and everything we own is more of a shown off and a signification of our status. We forgot our roots and how some of us started out less well-to-do, forgot our humility that we once started with little or nothing. Slowly as we climb up the ladder we decided that we want to work less for more, and our payroll does not justify the amount of work we do. So we start to source for other means of getting riches. We start investing on bonds and properties, and thinking that one day we can depend solely on investments we can stop work for good. We think we were smart, until the collapse of the economy. Now it seems that those who are still hold a job are having the last laugh.

Many times we fail to realize that our greatest asset is ourselves. We have knowledge and skills that cannot be taken away from us until the day we die. Upon discovering that, we begin to look at our jobs differently. What we do now could be our only source of income. We need to relearn what we have learnt, back to where we began. Only this way will we be able to look at our jobs from another angle, learn to appreciate and enjoy what we go.

After all, simplicity makes one more content with what is laid on the table for them.

I have just finished reading “The Fifth Mountain” by Paulo Coelho.  For those who do not know him yet, he is the same author who wrote the international bestseller “The Alchemist”.  This book “The Alchemist”  has been translated into over 60 different types of languages and has sold over 75 millions copies!

As I am reading “The Fifth Mountain”, I found that it is immensely intriguing and it keeps me reading on to find out what will happen to the main character, Elijah.  It is a story about a person finding his own courage and commitment to his higher purpose.  All of us have our higher purpose when we are born, but many of us choose to ignore or defy that purpose.

Well for me, this book brings a great sense of inspiration to me.  I will follow my instinct and achieve my higher purpose in life – to serve mankind through better communication and education.

Because Paulo is a Brazillian writer, so I assume that the book is written in Portugese and translated into English and other languages.  Kudos to the translators who did a marvellous job.  The whole book is very well written and the principles behind it are timeless.  I believe the team of translators and editors have spent lots and lots of time doing research, translating, proofreading, re-editing and proofreading the content before it is good enough to be published.  The team effort and synergy is enormous.

I guess the translators and editors have a great responsibility to the author and the readers.  The writing style and flow must be consistent  without losing any flavour as compared to the original copy.

We are in the midst of doing a book translation.  Hence, we can share their feelings and responsibilities.  We will definitely keep you update on our new book launch.

For those who would like to have a read of the reviews or to get the book, here’s it:

Recently, I just watch this movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. It is a very compelling movie illustrating a man’s journey in finding his own dreams, true love and destiny.

It strikes a deep thought for me. We will never know our true purpose until we step out and start this self-discovery journey. We just gonna keep on believing and taking actions towards our dream.

When I first joined my friend’s translation company, a lot of my people (even my family members) start to question me. Are you making the right move? What if the situation does not turn out the way that you want? Are you getting enough to spend each month? Blah…Blah…Blah. Lot of negativities being thrown to me.

I have been with my company for almost 2 years now. Looking back, it has been a very fruitful experience for me. We have led our company to new heights each year. Our team of translators has also grown in size to over one hundred till now. This is definitely a more challenging experience than my previous engineering job. Besides equipping with good translation skills, I also need to do project management, sales and marketing and leading my own translator teams. The true joy is seeing your company and yourself growing daily.

If you ask me, what it takes to be a Successful Translator? Is it…
a) Passion
b) Perseverance
c) Continuous Learning
d) Continuous Improvement

Well, my answer is all of the above. Hopefully at the end of our journey, we would become a better person to our society and this world. And not forgetting, to fulfill our ultimate destiny and purpose in life.

Well, some said it is written.

Often, we will get client inquiring for translation service when in fact, they require interpretation service. Then we will spend the next few minutes explaining to them what is the difference between the two terms.

So why people get mix up with the 2 terms? People associate translation as “converting” from one language to another language. So anything to do with language conversion, it will mean translation whether it is for document or verbal. Interestingly, interpretation means oral translation.

I will usually explain to them that if anything that is to do with writing or brochure, it is translation. And if anything that is verbal, it is interpretation. Upon hearing this, our client is more aware of the difference. Hence they can tell their inquiry to us clearly. In this way, we can also tend to their inquiries faster.
This is what we call effective communication and good services to our clients.

So do you know the difference between translation and interpretation now?