Our world wasn’t as we see it today. It has undergone major changes through centuries to reach this stage. From demographic to life on planet, a lot has changed. Humans created boundaries and divided the land into collection of different countries, with each country having its own culture and language.

Every language spoken in the world has its own history associated with it. In this post, we are going to discuss about Vietnamese language and learn how it has evolved over the years through some interesting facts about it.

Native Language

Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam. Besides being the native language of the Vietnamese (Kinh) people, it is also first or second language of a lot of ethnic minorities of Vietnam. As a result of migration, the language has crossed the Vietnam shores and reached to other parts of the globe.

World-wide Reach

The immigration of Vietnamese nationals over the years has resulted in Vietnamese speakers being found in East and Southeast Asia along with North America, Australia, and Western Europe. Today, it is estimated that about 90 million people on the plant speak Vietnamese.

Chinese Influence

Vietnamese vocabulary is influenced by Chinese language. The language uses a formal modified set of Chinese characters like chữ nôm. There are also traces of Latin influences, as some Vietnamese alphabets being used today have additional accents for tones & certain letters.

6 Different Tones

The diacritics written above and below the vowel determine the tone of the Vietnamese letters. Based on the influence and use of diacritics the Vietnamese language has six different tones. This makes it difficult for a non-native to master the language. In comparison, Mandarin Chinese has four tones (including neutral), while Cantonese has eight.

Periods of Vietnamese Language

Since the language has evolved over the years, there have been different periods of Vietnamese language, which are:

–          Pre-Vietnamese
–          Proto-Vietnamese
–          Archaic Vietnamese
–          Ancient Vietnamese
–          Middle Vietnamese
–          Modern Vietnamese

Modern Vietnamese is what people around the world speak today.

Final Word

While catching the accent is a little difficult because of different tone types, Vietnamese is definitely an interesting language to speak and learn. If you are expanding your business in Vietnam or need translation of medical or assignment papers, dial 888-670-3369.

A language that is known for its beautiful words and charismatic sentences, Urdu belongs to the Indic group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily and the Indo-European family of languages. Urdu is also one of the 15 languages recognized in the Indian constitution. About 100 million people of Pakistan and India understand Urdu and the language is also the official tongue of Pakistan.  In this article, we have focused on the popularity of Urdu in Asia and beyond Asian sub-continent.

Popularity in Pakistan

–          Pakistan is believed to be a home to about 10 million Urdu speakers.
–          It is the official language of all providences of Pakistan.
–          Urdu is mandatory for students.
–          Besides Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Balochi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Brahui, and Siraiki, Urdu is also a mother tongue of the country.

Popularity in India

–          There is a considerable Indian population that can effortlessly communicate in Urdu.
–          In India, Urdu is mostly spoken in various cities including Lucknow, Bhopal, Hyderabad, and Delhi, to name a few.
–          There are some schools where Urdu is taught as first language. Indian madarsas teach Arabic as well.
–          In India more than 2900 daily newspapers in Urdu are read. Newspapers such as Daily Pasban, Munsif Daily, Inqilab, Siast Daily, and Daily Salar are distributed across Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mysore, and Mumbai.

Popularity in Other Asian Countries

Afghan refugees who are believed to have made Pakistan their home in past, learned Urdu. After moving back to their country they took the language along; thus widening the horizons for the language.

Popularity beyond Asian Sub-Continent

–          Outside the Asian sub-continent, the language is spoken by a large population of workers who moved to major urban centers in Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia.
–          Urdu is also gaining popularity in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Norway, and Australia, where it is spoken by a substantial numbers of immigrants who moved to these major urban centers for better livelihood.

Final Words
Initially, it may not be possible to understand and catch hold of the language as well as you want to, thus, you will need assistance of experienced Urdu translators. Dial 888-670-3369 to talk to professionals.

Know any interesting facts about Urdu? Share with us in the comments’ section.

Every year Oxford English Dictionary expands its knowledge base by adding new and interesting words. While Flash Mob, Mouseover, Young Adult etc. were some of the exciting new words added in the year 2013, there are some more such words added to the dictionary in the year 2014 and 2015. Let’s take a look at these interesting new words.

Duck Face

Though the word is not new to the current generation, it is new for traditional English speaking people. Smartphones made it possible for people to access the internet while on the go and take as many selfies as they are willing to with the help of front cameras. Young girls and boys took it to new level with their duck face photos.

Oxford defines the word as “An exaggerated pouting expression in which the lips are thrust outwards, typically made by a person posing for a photograph.”

Some examples to use the word are:

• That’s another of her duck faced profile pics.
• Purse your lips into duck face for a photograph.

Hawt

Hawt is a very common word among youngsters these days. This is one word that is considered to be ‘cool’ by the tech-savvy generation of today.

There’s no formal definition for the word, but this is what Oxford has to say about Hawt “Informal spelling of hot.”

Let’s see how you can use the word to frame sentences:

• She’s looking really hawt in that dress.
• It’s getting extremely hawt these days.

Fone

Just like hawt, fone is also another way of writing ‘phone’. It was needless to write ‘ph’ to describe a fone and Oxford obliged by including the word in the dictionary.

No formal definition has been provided by Oxford apart from –“ Fone is a different spelling for phone.”

Some ways of including the word in daily use are:

• Put your fone on silent mode.
• I’m just a fone call away.

So these are some really interesting words added by Oxford. What do you have to say about them? Let us know about your views in the comments’ section.

Want to remain ahead of the crowd? Make sure that your ads and business campaigns use correct translations and the words that may relate to the young generation. For translation services, dial 888-670-3369.

Television has a huge influence on our lives. From the way we dress up to the way we talk, we try to copy our favorite stars, act like popular television characters, and wear t-shirts that are printed with popular quotes and logos of TV series. There are some phrases and words that have become popular due to TV shows. Here is a list of words that own their popularity to TV series –

Boom-boom

Boom-boom is a popular word that is used to draw attention to a weak or obvious joke or pun. It gained popularity in Britain as a catchphrase when it was used by a children’s television puppet Basil Brush, which first appeared in 1953.

Cowabunga

The word first gain popularity in 1950s after it was used by a character on the US television program Howdy Doody. After that, it was used in a US TV cartoon program Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-96), which made it common among people.

D’oh

The phrase was used by a highly popular character Homer Simpson from the hit American cartoon series The Simpsons (1989). Whenever things didn’t go well the character used to exclaim ‘d’oh!’

Mind-meld

In terms of Science fiction, the phrase points to a technique meant for psychic fusion of two or more minds, which permits deep understanding or unrestricted communication. It was originally used in the famous TV series Star Trek. However, the use of the word has extended beyond original sci-fi context.

Omnishambles

Used in the satirical TV program ‘The Thick of It’, the word points to a situation that has been widely mismanaged via strings of blunders and miscalculations. Omnishambles has also made it to Oxford Dictionary and the word was selected as Oxford Dictionary word of the year 2012.

What are your favorite words from your favorite TV series? Do let us know in the comments’ section. Need English translation? Dial 888-670-3369.

Grammar, for ages has been the most difficult subject to study for a lot of people. During childhood, most of us must have got scolded by our English teacher on numerous occasions to get those ‘commas’ and ‘apostrophes’ right. In addition to this, who can forget tenses, they were like albatross around the neck for some. If scolding wasn’t embarrassing enough, seeing the entire class having a laugh at your expense added salt to the wound. These are surely memories that no one will ever forget.

You must be wondering why we are recalling these childhood memories. Well, with this blog we are trying to show that some have issues in framing grammatically correct sentences even after growing up. Here’s a glimpse of how challenging grammar is for some people.

#1)

Looking at this error, you must have realized the level of difficulty people have with correct grammar. Putting comma can indeed save someone’s life.

#2)

This image depicts the importance of hyphen. What’s your say ‘is the squirrel eating pumpkin’ or ‘is it a squirrel-eating pumpkin’?

 

#3)

Avoid your girlfriend? It isn’t that easy–especially when your girlfriend starts correcting your grammar.

#4)

Wondering where to find such a human who is ‘disabled elderly pregnant children’? Either we haven’t seen all of mankind or someone needs to correct their grammar.

#5)

Agreed, that’s really creepy! It’s time people take grammar seriously, period.

#6)

Nothing left to say, the image says it all.

#7)

Different genders, different ideologies. Both tried to prove they are superior, but girls nailed it! Did anyone say ‘Powerpuff Girls?’

#8)

Don’t worry; even we’re trying to figure out what the person meant here. Start proof reading what you write people!

#9)

Being over smart is not always fruitful. Putting an apostrophe anywhere isn’t the way to get the things right.

#10)

That’s called a bad beginning. Wonder what the kid will learn.

If you are learning English, it is imperative to pay extra attention to grammar. Also, if you are looking for translation services, then you need to find a reliable service provider with knowledgeable professionals to ensure that you don’t have to face such grammatical blunders.

Have similar examples or stories to share? Let us know in the comment’s section.

English language has been evolving for a long time. There are many words in English that are adopted from other languages and a few of them are mixtures of different words. Here is a list of foreign languages that have influenced English.

French

French language is believed to be a high contributor to English, as nearly 30% of English words are believed to be of French origin. Legal, military, political terminology, words for meat of an animal, words referring to foods are mostly inspired from French. For example, chair (from chaise), bottle (from bouteille), stranger (from étranger), lizard (from lézard), etc. are some famous English words of French origin.

Latin

A lot of scientific and technical words, medical terminologies as well as academic and legal terminologies in English have been derived from Latin. For example, mind (from mens), water (from aqua), dog (from canis), rainbow (from iris), etc. are famous Latin to English words.

Dutch

Dutch words have a wide influence on English language. Words like skipper (from schipper), landscape (from landschap), forlorn hope (from verloren hoop), cookie (from koekie), the very famous Santa Claus (from sinterklaas), etc. are English words that originated from Dutch language.

Indian Languages

Indian languages contributed to English in many ways. Various words related to culture, mathematical terminologies, and others have originated from the colonial era. For instance, Bungalow (from bangla), Shampoo (from champo), cushy (from khusy), juggernaut (from Jagannath), mother (from mater), etc. have been derived from Indian languages.

Spanish

Many words relating to warfare and tactics that are a part of English language today have been derived from Spanish. For instance, albatross (from alcatraz), cannibal (from caníbal), cockroach (from cucaracha), galleon (from galeón), etc. are famous English words that are derived from Spanish.

You see there’s a big influence of foreign languages on English. Hence, if you are finding it difficult to appropriately translate your documents in English, it is advisable to contact a translation service provider for correct translation. For further information, dial 888-670-3369.

Most of us must have read that the Polish language has its roots in Slavic group of languages, mainly in Eastern Europe, expanding from the Baltic States on the Adriatic and going up all the way to the Black Sea. But, this doesn’t explain how Polish is different from other ‘Slavic’ languages and how it has developed over the years to become what it is today. In this post, we will help you know about Polish, its history and origin.

Slavic Languages: The Term

Slavic language refers to a group of languages that were developed together with other languages of the dominant groups in mainland Europe. These languages are spoken by around 315 million people and are related closely to various other languages such as Lithuanian, Latvian, and the now-extinct Old Prussian.

Changes in Polish Language

Polish language started to witness changes in around 9^th Century AD, which is now marked as ‘Old Polish’ period. For approximately six centuries, numerous political, cultural, historical, and religious influencers played a part in altering and molding the language. This resulted in something similar to what we know today as ‘Modern Polish’ language.

Modern Polish Language

Today, it is estimated that the language has 200,000+ words and around one-third of these words is associated, in pronunciation and sound, with old Slavic originals. On the other hand, the rest of the words are adopted from various other languages. Also, the modern Polish language is vastly influenced by globalization. Not only it has become an identity of Polish people, but it is also the second most widely spoken language of the Slavic group, behind Russian. Furthermore, the modern Polish Language has a lot of influence of English-American words that are increasingly being adapted into the Polish system.

If you are planning to expand your business to a Polish language dominant country and are not well-versed with the language, then you need help of translator. Dial 888-670-3369 to know more.

Spain, the birth place of Pablo Picasso is one the world’s oldest cultures with right heritage. The country hosts millions of tourist every year who want to explore the beautiful culture of Spain and learn more about its rich history. Besides the eminent painter and rich history, Spain has a lot more to offer to the world; from chorizos and matadors to flamenco dance and Spanish guitar, the country is a paradise for travelers.

 

On this note, let us take a look at some known and some unknown, yet interesting, facts about Spain and its official language Spanish.

Fact #1: Spanish People Traditionally Have Two Surnames–The First From Their Father And Second From Their Mother.

For instance, your name is John Martin Garcia and your wife’s name is Emilia Gonzalez Lopez, then the kids’ surname will be – XYZ Martin Gonzalez.

Fact #2: Spain Is A Constitutional Monarchy, Just Like the United Kingdom.

The country is also acknowledged as the Kingdom of Spain. The head of state of Spain is Felipe VI (succeeded his father King Juan Carlos I) and the prime minister is Mariano Rajoy Brey.

Fact #3: Spanish is the Third Most Popular Language In The World, With 417 Million Native Speakers.

Spanish is the official language of 22 countries. The list includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Fact #4: Spanish is one of the World’s Most Phonetic Languages.

This means that if you know how to spell a word in Spanish, you can almost pronounce it correctly. Though, the reverse isn’t true.

In the End

It is wonderful to know some interesting facts about a country and its language and if you are planning to visit Spain any time soon, the information might have increased your excitement level.

If you need Spanish translation, call 888-670-3369. Been to Spain? Share your experience with us in the comments’ section.

Also popular as Sinhalese, Sinhala is an official language of Sri Lanka. The language is of Indo-Aryan origin of the Indo-European languages that are spoken by around 16 million Sinhalese people, which make up to 74% of the population in Sri Lanka.

Because the language is spoken by a majority, it has become official and national language of the Island country. Apart from Sri Lanka, Sinhala is also spoken in various other countries such as United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, and Canada.

The Origin

The origin of the language comes from Sanskrit and the meaning can be translated to lion blood, or lion killer.  Sinhala, along with another language named Pali, played an imperative role in the formation of Therevada Buddhist Literature. The literal meaning of Therevada is ‘the Teaching of the Elders.’

The Alphabet

Sinhala alphabets are considered to be a descendant of the Brahmi Script, which is the ancestor of about 40 modern Indian alphabets and various other alphabets including Tibetan and Khmer. It is also believed that the Sinhala alphabet first appeared from 3^rd and 2^nd centuries BC in the Prakrit Inscriptions. The direction of their writing is in horizontal lines from left to right. In the language, when the vowels appear at the beginning of a syllable, they are often written as independent letters. Also, the Sinhala alphabet resembles some features of modern alphabets of various other countries.

Learning the Language

Regardless of whether you are planning to visit Sri Lanka or just in a mood to learn a new language, Sinhala is a great language to learn. In fact, learning the language would be the key to get a Sri Lankan visa.

It is interesting to understand a new language and culture; however, your documentation and business translation require much more than just learning the basics. Hence, it is advisable to hire a pro for any translation requirements.

Have you been to Sri Lanka? Share your excursions with us in the comments section!

Most of us have a gentle chuckle when we listen to amusing mistakes that Germans make while speaking English. Learning a language is difficult because you need to struggle through a dense new jungle of vocabulary and think twice about a sentence before speaking. Speaking errors may be funny and they can always be ignored during casual communication. However, we cannot avoid the errors that people make while translating German documents to English. In this article, we have mentioned top 3 German to English errors that translators can easily avoid while translating documents.

GmbH is Different from Ltd.

According to German law, GmbH means ‘company with limited liability,’ while translating a company name from German to English; you cannot convert GmbH into Ltd. In fact, you may face some serious legal consequences if you mistakenly translate GmbH to Ltd.

Tip: To avoid any legal action due to incorrect translation, it is recommended to consult a certified translation company.

Do not Capitalize Every Word

Keep in mind that Germans capitalize all nouns; however, in English, only proper nouns are capitalized. Therefore, it is important to know the difference and capitalize a word only when it is required, not because every noun is capitalized in the source. In English, if you need to capitalize all the words, your copy isn’t just considered grammatically incorrect, it also loses interest.

Tip: Do not translate everything as it is from German to English. Use grammar rules and common sense.

Do not Ignore a Word

Sometimes, German has very long and difficult words and translating them can be a task. However, if you do not know a word and its English meaning, it is advisable to research it. Do not leave the word in German because it will complicate the meaning and make the sentence difficult to understand.

Tip: If you are unable to find English translation of a German word, it is advisable to consult an accredited translator.

Bottom Line

Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur planning to expand your business overseas, a medical professional or a student, the lesson learned is simple – If you do not consult experienced professionals, your documents will not just be a source of embarrassment but you may also face legal actions.

If you have any queries regarding German to English translation or vice-versa, dial 888-670-3369. Have any translation horror stories to share? Let us know in the comments’ section.