News archive February 2016

After an emoji was voted the word of the year 2015, now we have an app that translates words into emojis. Enter “SpeakEmoji”, currently available only in English. All you have to do is speak into the microphone on your mobile phone and watch the words translate into emojis. Then, of course, you can share the results on your social media platform of choice. The recipient is able to convert your message back into text, and reply in turn with their own emoji message.

The brainchild of SapientNitro, the app was created with the aim of helping parents and adults communicate with their generation-smartphone children, who have made the art of communicating through symbols their own. The app acts as an interpreter for this emerging universal language, a revolution in terms of the way we communicate, made possible by technology.

Researchers in Slovenia have recently come up with a sentiment lexicon and map, by studying the emojis used in 70,000 tweets in 13 European languages. Will these emotions become the new language of the future, independent of culture? Will textual communication be replaced by pictographs?

They say words are not enough, that a picture speaks a thousand words, but are we sure that we really want to regress to this primitive form of expression to communicate our sentiments and emotions? What is more personal, intimate and deep than the contents of our mind and soul? Does an emoji, a standardised representation of emotion that is the same for everyone, really suffice to express how we feel?

Even defining emotions themselves remains a thorny issue. While for some our emotions are innate to our very biological being, universal for all humankind and demonstrable through facial expressions, for others the very definition of what an emotion is remains unclear.

In any case, analysing sentiments and the computational study of opinions, sentiments, emotions and human behaviour is one of the most active research areas in the field of natural language processing and in data-, web- and text-mining studies.

One thing, however, is for sure: we will continue to hear talk of emojis as words, images and emotions, the statistics behind how we interact and communicate with other people and the web.

On 16 January 2016, the economic sanctions were lifted against Iran, thanks to the country’s efforts to curb its nuclear programme in line with the agreement signed in July 2015. After years of isolation, the country is in need of infrastructure and investment to revive its debilitated economy, making it an interesting new market prospect for exports – and not just for large commercial oil companies, but also for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

According to SACE (a company owned by Cassa depositi e prestiti, involved in export credit, investment protection, financial guarantees, surety bonds and factoring) the Iranian Government aims to attract between 30 and 50 billion dollars in foreign investment to achieve its annual macroeconomic growth target”.

With 82 million inhabitants, 68.9 million mobile users and 22.9 million internet users, it represents an appetizing market of consumers, offering new opportunities for companies in all sectors: from mechanics to manufacturing, tourism to food and hospitality, medicine to fashion and finance.

Are you ready to make the most of this business opportunity? LEXILAB can help you present your company and your products professionally in this new market, by providing translation services for your documentation into Persian/Farsi. Our mother-tongue translators are able to translate your material both from Italian and English into Persian, whether this be in Microsoft Word, DTP programs such as Indesign, or the pages of your website.

Translation into Persian is the name of the game for 2016.

Take a look at the services we can offer for translation into oriental languages on our website. Get in touch for a free estimate and open the door to new business possibilities!

Are you expanding your business abroad? Do you require translation services but find yourself puzzled as to how to go about it? Do you often request translations but always forget a vital piece of information? Here are our top 5 need-to-knows as a language service provider.

In short:

1. Languages
2. Purpose
3. Deadline
4. References
5. Feedback

Explained:

Tell us which language your file is in and the language you need it translating into. Be as specific as you can: Mexican Spanish? Brazilian Portuguese? Canadian French? We need to identify the best resource to ensure your text makes the right impact in the target market.

What will the translation be used for? Is it a snappy client brochure or website to sell your product, or a manual that needs to be clear and consistent? The same words might not be translated in the same way, depending on where they are going to end up.

What does “urgent” mean to you? In an hour? In a week? Give us as much information as you can so we can organise our resources to deliver you the best service possible. If you need it by Monday morning so it can sit on your desk until Thursday afternoon, we might be able to benefit from the extra time. If you need it for an urgent morning meeting, then we will be happy to have it waiting for you in your inbox.

You might have certain corporate buzzwords or no-go terms, or you might want a translation in the same style as existing documentation. This is information we need to know too so we can meet your every expectation. If you have specific references files, glossaries, images or videos, then send them along with your request. Your corporate language is all part of your brand; by providing us with the right context we can ensure continuity and coherence, creating a solid image in the eyes of your customers.

Tell us what you think! Did the last translation go down really well? Great, we will earmark the same resource for your next project. Did you really like a term or slogan? Excellent, we will make a note in your client profile. Your opinion matters to us; it helps us to know whether we got it right, or whether there is something we can improve on.

Translation is an intricate process that requires in-depth research, intellect, time and care; the more information we have available the better the service we can provide. We know the world is an unpredictable place and sometimes we cannot always plan ahead as we would like to, that is why we also do our best to be flexible.

If in doubt, drop us a line, send a quick e-mail or register via our portal and use the quote request form. This will help you to send us all of the information we need quickly and easily.

We will always be happy to hear from you!