Translating the Christmas Spirit: festive expressions from around the world
Published 23/12/2024
It’s that time of year again! As well as enjoying the Christmas markets, pretty lights and festive foods, this season is a great opportunity to explore the richness of language and cultural variances in the celebrations that take place around the world. Let’s look at a few examples of the different expressions linked to traditions, customs and feelings that characterise this...
Artificial Intelligence*: Streamlining Data Processing and Translation
Published 04/04/2024
In today's fast-paced world, time is of the essence, especially in industries where efficiency and accuracy are paramount. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) steps in as a game-changer, revolutionising the way repetitive and time-consuming tasks are handled. Among the myriad of AI applications, ChatGPT stands out as a versatile tool with immense potential, particularly in data...
Translating songs, carols and traditions, an impossible task?
Published 22/12/2023
As the festive season approaches, preparations are in full swing all over the world. Each country has its own practices, customs and traditions that symbolise the Yuletide period. You may be surprised to learn that, in the Czech Republic, Father Christmas doesn’t exist. Instead, presents are brought by the baby Jesus. Or, did you know that in New Zealand, it’s summertime at...
Bordeaux Fête le Vin, an unmissable event for wine lovers!
Published 22/06/2023
Every year, Bordeaux pays homage to its beverage par excellence: wine! The festival is a major event in the city and, as everybody knows, its history is intimately linked with wine… so much so that its name has even become a colour! Thanks to its location, in the heart of Bordeaux next to the city hall (which yes, is still standing despite the social media reports of it...
FAQ: to hyphenate or not to hyphenate?
Published 08/02/2023
A common mistake in written English is the incorrect use (or omission) of hyphens between words. Which is correct: “high-tech” or “high tech”? “20th century” or “20th-century”? The answer is: both. The need to hyphenate two words depends entirely on the context, i.e. their meaning and their position in the sentence. Hyphens should...
Christmas expressions to use all year round
Published 21/12/2022
Some people collect stamps, mugs, thimbles or action figures. At the Home of Translation, we collect words and expressions with different meanings, origins and interpretations. But, unlike collectors of objects, we don’t like to keep them to ourselves! Today we’re sharing four quirky Christmas-themed expressions in different languages: Spanish, English, French and Italian....
CSR and the Home of Translation
Published 27/07/2022
What is CSR? Corporate Social Responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation whereby companies incorporate social and environmental issues into their business operations, in order to achieve sustainable development. As CSR policies are not required by law, it is up to the individual company to choose to engage in wider social issues, and in good, moral business practices. It is...
Machine translation: is human translation under threat?
Published 27/07/2021
In recent years, the technology responsible for machine translation has improved dramatically, mirroring other industries and raising the question of how likely machines are to replace human labour. Machine translation can take a lot of the arduous work out of more simple or repetitive translations and hugely speed up the process. Instruction manuals are an excellent example of where...
Machine translation: what is it and how reliable is it?
Published 19/03/2021
Machine translation is the automated translation of a text, based on computer algorithms and without human involvement. There are three main types of machine translation systems: rules-based, statistical, and neural. Rules-based systems use linguistic information collected from dictionaries, and grammar rules on the main semantic, morphological, and syntactic structures of a...
Museum Connections and the Home of Translation
Published 24/12/2019
Language, words… it’s an art in its own right! A few months ago we were at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles for VivaTechnology, for three fascinating days on the theme of innovation and technology. On 15 and 16 January 2020, the Home of Translation will be back, but this time to take part in Museum Connections , a major international event for the equipment and...
The Home of Translation at VivaTech: humanoids among the robots
Published 07/05/2019
From the 16th to 18th May 2019, a brand-new type of android is coming to the 4th edition of VivaTech : translators of the humanoid kind . VivaTechnology is considered as the number-one European rendezvous for the global Tech industry. It is a celebration of innovation and technology , showcasing the major groups and start-ups shaping the world of today and tomorrow. The event is...
What is interpreting?
Published 08/01/2019
What does an interpreter actually do, and what are the biggest challenges of the job? We caught up with our interpreting manager, Karl Fortier, to find out more: What’s the difference between the different types of interpreting? There are 4 types of interpreting, each one suits a different situation: Simultaneous interpreting This is the most common...
The Home of Translation at ExpoLingua 2018!
Published 02/11/2018
On 16 and 17 November, the Home of Translation will be at ExpoLingua in Berlin, the international fair for languages and cultures! The programme will include seminars, workshops and performances with exhibitors from all over the world presenting their products and services for travel, language learning and plenty more! The two fun-filled days will be packed with diversity and discovery!...
A look into the life of a translator
Published 17/04/2018
Cloé Crétal Translator from English and Spanish into French, Project Manager Born in : Lille, France Why did you decide to become a translator? I was born into a 100% French-speaking family (to say the least!), meaning that I didn’t at all inherit the polyglot gene... But that’s not to say I couldn’t develop a passion...
5 Similarities between Translation and… Dance?
Published 22/03/2017
Translation and dance… what on earth do they have in common, I hear you say? One is very physical and involves a lot of moving around, while the other usually happens at a desk in front of a computer screen, the only apparent similarity being the translator’s fingers hopping and gliding over the keys on the keyboard… In actual fact they have more in...
And then there were ten…
Published 27/09/2016
The Home of Translation is pleased to announce the recent addition of Dean Frances and Jayne McKenzie to its team of in-house translators. Find out more about Dean and Jayne below, and go to the ‘ Who are we? ’ page to meet the rest of the team! Dean Frances Translator and proofreader Born in : Leeds, England Most likes...
10 funny idioms in French and Spanish
Published 08/09/2016
One of the skills of a good translator is being able to render an idiom in the target language by conveying the meaning of the sentence and keeping the tone and style of the text. Not always easy! Just as well we like a challenge! Here are a couple of our favourites in French and Spanish: French: Les doigts dans le nez Literal translation: fingers in the...
Brexit Special Offer: 25% off
Published 12/07/2016
For all Brits living in France, or French people living in Britain… After the result of the Brexit referendum the Home of Translation is offering 25% off sworn translations of birth certificates, passports or other documents required for your administrative applications for residency. Sworn translations are now charged at €36 per page instead of €48!* To take advantage of...
Champagne all round at the Home of Translation
Published 30/05/2016
There was champagne all round a couple of weeks ago at the Home of Translation, as we celebrated our certification in two ISO norms: ISO 17100:2015 Translation services and ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management systems. We were certified by our auditor at the end of his visit to our offices and after months of careful preparation. Another audit will be carried...
Linguali-IS: brand new translation technology put to the test
Published 11/04/2016
Last Friday (8 April), the Home of Translation provided interpreters for an unusual event as part of the Semaine digitale #SDBX5 week in Bordeaux, organised by Bordeaux Métropole and the City of Bordeaux. During the “La Grande Jonction” conference at 11am, the brand new Linguali-IS system was used in the place of traditional translation equipment. It was the...
An important mission for the Home of Translation
Published 22/02/2016
The French Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research recently entrusted us with the task of translating the official in-depth national report titled “ Higher Education and Research in France, facts and figures ”. For the first time in several years this major publication is available in both French and English. It presents data and statistics concerning...
The Home of Translation is helping protect the planet!
Published 11/12/2015
In the past six weeks we have translated as many as 200,000 words on climate change and the environment through articles, press releases and official reports relating to the COP21 event. The Home of Translation is proud to be taking part in the international work to protect the Earth and promote the renewal of its natural resources, and at the same time our translators have...
France, international races and... Gordon Bennett!!
Published 03/12/2015
Who was Gordon Bennett? How did his name become an expression of surprise and astonishment in the English language? In fact, there were two Gordon Bennets: father and son, and the expression is thought to be an amalgamation of the name and the already existing phrase “Cor Blimey” (a euphemism for “God blind me”), as a result of their...
A great place to go in Bordeaux
Published 20/11/2015
A great place to go for a drink or meal in Bordeaux : Le café des jours heureux , au 54 rue Camille Sauvageau. This little café-bar in an up-and-coming part of Bordeaux offers French dishes (steak tartare, charcuterie etc.) and wine of an excellent quality, and it's not too expensive! The bar itself is small with a really French feel to...
What's the best way to drink tea?
Published 04/11/2015
To avoid an outcry from all the tea-lovers at the Home of Translation after our article title Coffee: why translators love it , we thought we had better write an article about tea too. Packed full of healthy nutrients, tea is an extremely versatile, and somewhat controversial berverage... in the kitchen in our agency alone there is a whole host of varieties and...
Different celebrations, one theme: Death
Published 30/10/2015
Death is not a very cheerful topic. People are often afraid of it or treat it with a certain reverence, but our relationship with it throughout history has led to the development of various traditions and festivals, and in this article we will to have a look at three ways of celebrating death today: Halloween, All Saints’ Day and the Mexican celebration “Día de los...
Translation: back to the future!
Published 22/10/2015
Yesterday, 21st October 2015, was ‘back to the future day’, when Marty McFly arrived ‘in the future’, summoned by Doc to come to the aid of his and Jennifer's children children and… well, we won’t spoil it for you! No, the aim of this article is not to ruin the film for the few who might not have seen it (although let's face it, who...
Coffee: why translators love it
Published 15/10/2015
In the middle of the morning at the Home of Translation there’s always plenty of hustle and bustle in the kitchen as the smell of coffee wafts through the office. Our translators love to sit down to a translation project with a good espresso or mug of coffee to hand, but some recent projects made a couple of us stop and think about what kind of effect coffee...
Are fruit juices and smoothies the answer for combatting cognitive decline?
Published 28/09/2015
Wouldn’t it be great if we could stave off stress just by drinking a smoothie? Is all the hype about ‘natural’ products just a marketing ploy or are they really effective? Could ‘functional beverages’ provide an answer to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease? Today’s society is faster-paced and more demanding, and as...
Top tips for a tip-top holiday
Published 22/07/2015
It’s that time of year when the sun is shining and you’re counting down the days to your holiday… but going away can sometimes be tiring (we often come home feeling like we need another holiday to recover!) or stressful to organize. To get the most out of this year’s vacation The Home of Translation has been doing some research into top holiday tips. Here are our three...
Eureka! Or not…
Published 24/06/2015
Some of the world’s best inventions were created by accident or complete chance, such as the Tarte Tatin, the famous French pastry that was made when a traditional recipe went wrong at Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron; other inventions seem to be completely crazy ideas that in the end take off, and still others result from careful planning, innovation and savvy entrepreneurship....
Bordeaux, much more than wine!
Published 02/06/2015
Not far from the French Basque Country and just 250 km from Spain is a city that has achieved something that none other has: it has given a name to a colour. I’m talking, of course, about Bordeaux, from where I’m writing. The Home of Translation was born in Bordeaux and is a blend of nationalities from all over the world (see Who are we ?). Bordeaux has been voted European...
Art and Translation: “Anyone can do it!”
Published 30/09/2014
It’s back to work and September has brought with it a goodly pile of translation projects. One of these projects, about the restoration of a work of art, inspired us for this blog…but don’t worry! We’re not going to give you a lecture on technical translation! We’d just like to share a few thoughts with you. Artists (generally speaking, including graphic...
Google Translate: holidays at your own risk!
Published 12/08/2014
Yes we know you’re on holiday and very busy relaxing! But as you are taking a break looking at our blog, let us reassure you that if your holidays or those of your guests visiting France are going well, it is certainly partly due to translators who remain on call during this highly risky period, the summer holidays! You don’t believe us? Have you noticed that your holidays are...
French cinema, like it or loathe it!
Published 22/05/2014
No, French cinema does not boast of a moment comparable to Marylin Monroe’s famous dress flying over a subway vent, or the international legacy left by popular, iconic movies such as Grease! But, they are the hosts of the Cannes Film Festival whose Palme d’Or is internationally renowned and they do have epic cinematic achievements such as the hilarious yet deeply touching duo...
Time for Spain to change time zone?
Published 19/11/2013
What does Spain mean to you? Eating later, going to bed later, having a siesta and partying all night long in the streets of festive cities… In other words, making the most of Spain’s rather different concept of time. But do you know where this originally came from? It goes back to the Second World War. At that time the countries of Western Europe aligned with the times in...
Its time to picnic!
Published 24/04/2013
Over the past two weeks in Bordeaux we have been enjoying the arrival of spring with gloriously sunny days and the weather warming up to 25° (and even 30°!) Bordeaux’s inhabitants have been flocking to its parks, nearby beaches and outdoor spaces to enjoy the sunshine and… have a picnic! Enjoying a delicious spread seated outdoors on a blanket or bench is a popular...
Editorial
Published 22/01/2013
Hello and welcome to our brand new website! Here you are at the spiritual “home” of translation specialists Peter Hancock and Garry Hutton . Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a long-standing customer, here you’ll find a whole bunch of new information about us and what we do. We’ve even included a few (rather fetching) photos of the team. More importantly,...
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