How language is processed by your brain

By Gaia Vince, Mosaic (CNN) – If you read a sentence (such as this one) about kicking a ball, neurons related to the motor function of your leg and foot will be activated in your brain. Similarly, if you talk about cooking garlic, neurons associated with smelling will fire up. Since it is almost impossible […]
The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts

These seven maps and charts, visualized by The Washington Post, will help you understand how diverse other parts of the world are in terms of languages. Read the full article here: Washington PostThese seven maps and charts, visualized by The Washington Post, will help you understand how diverse other parts of the world are in […]
India as a Global Consumer

Companies are now paying attention to India as a global internet buyer/consumer of goods, services and content. There are 1.2 billion people in India and are increasingly affluent, savvy internet users and buyers. So it makes sense to reach out to India. The official languages in India are Hindi and English. The languages that are […]
An interesting article from Ted.com about what food tells about the culture

This phrase resonated in me: “What you want to cook and eat is an accumulation, a function of your experiences — the people you’ve befriended, what you’ve learned, where you’ve gone. There may be inbound elements from other cultures, but you’ll always eat things that mean something to you.” For someone who has lived in […]
Grammar – see

Having lived in Gramercy Park, in New York City for a time, I thought it might be sweet to name this topic like so. Or maybe not…. Elvira Medina, CadenceTrans.com “All is” vs. “all are” Q: I was momentarily confused by this. Is it: “All is returned to normalcy” to “All are returned to normalcy.” […]
Reviewing translations

When you need to check a student’s test results, let’s say, a biology exam, do you ask your cleaning lady to do it? Of course not. I had a client a while back and my best Chinese translator translated the document. A few days later, this client complained that the translation was bad. The first […]
Global Packaging: What’s the difference?

CADENCEtrans’s Comment: This article discusses the pitfalls to a brand strategy that does not address the uniqueness of a market like China. Very few companies have had success in introducing their brand without localization. By Randall Frost Global marketing for packaged goods involves greater product and branding differentiation. When a brand owner seeks to appeal […]
Chinese Simplified or Mandarin?

THE PRODUCTION BRIEF: ( A series of commentaries on day-to-day issues) IF IN CHINA, …. WELL, IT DEPENDS…. A client asked for Chinese translation and said that they wanted to publish the document in China as well as in Taiwan and Hong Kong. I gave the client an estimate for Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional. […]
How Translation Services Can Turn Negative into Positive

It is interesting how phrases from a different language have come to be used a great deal in English. Consider, for example, the Latin phrase “carpe diem,” generally translated as “seize the day.” Perhaps if this phrase had originated in English, it may have sounded a little odd. How do you “seize” a day? “Seizing” […]
I celebrate the translator as an ARTIST
People tell me the translation industry is doomed by Google Translate. I have more faith in the human process than the naysayers suggest. I use the analogy of artesanal products as what translation is all about. I look at our process and what we do is like digital embroidery and I celebrate the uniqueness of […]