Body Bags

Almost as good as the confusion among English speakers over the term Fanny Pack, is the humor raised by the German equivalent for knapsack. Companies often use or “borrow” words from other languages to give their product names a certain cachet. Sometimes their choices are a bit odd. German makers of knapsacks refer to them as “Body Bags“.

Global Proverbs and Idioms

 Here the donkey falls

- German idiom meaning this is the important part

To count stars

-Russian for twiddling your thumbs

To lose the stirrup

-Italian, Spanish for losing your temper

Become famous, then go to sleep.

- South American proverb

Festival of the Sun

Inti Raymi, the festival of the sun, was celebrated by the ancient Incas during their winter solstice (on June 24) in honor of the Inca god of the sun. Although it was banned during the period of the conquisadors, it was revived by the Peruvian Quecia Indians in 1944. Today it is a major Peruvian festival which begins in the mountain city of Cusco and proceeds to an ancient amphitheater a few miles away.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has become one of the world’s largest and perhaps most powerful tools to access information. However, until recently it had one major drawback: Most of the content is available only in English. To date, there are approximately 3.4 million articles in English, while only one-third as many articles are available in the second most prevalent language, German.

Chuseok Festival in Korea

Chuseok is a popular Korean festival that occurs during the harvest season. During this time, families visit their ancestral homes and feast together. The festival is also a time to show respect to elders. Offerings are made of newly harvested foods among which crescent-shaped rice cakes stuffed with sesame seeds, chestnut paste or beans is a favorite. During this festival, Koreans also hold memorial services at the grave sites of family members. A traditional ceremony is observed on the night ..read more

From the Hispanic PR Blog…

“If you or your company haven’t thought about how to reach the Latino audience, now is a good time, especially with the release of the Census data in early 2011. According to recent reports, the buying power of Hispanics in the U.S. will reach $1.3 billion by 2014 – or twice as fast as the general market. An amazing convergence is happening in marketing today: the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population is coinciding with the growth of digital media. ..read more

Linguistic Borrowing

Freign words that become part of our language:

Malay & Tagalog Words ketchup:from kicap, meaning “fish sauce” launch:a type of boat orangutan:from orang, meaning “man” and hutan, “wilderness, jungle”

Tagalog (northern Philippines) boondocks:from bundok, meaning “mountain.” During the U.S. occupation of the Philippines, the word was adopted by American soldiers, who used it to refer to any far-off or wild place. Later it passed into the general vocabulary.

Linguistic Borrowing

Ann-Marie Imbornoni writes in her article “Gung ho, Tycoon, Amuck” about the linguistic borrowing that has occurred over many centuries. Ms. Imbornoni notes that it occurs “whenever English speakers have come into contact with other cultures, whether through conquest and colonization, trade and commerce, immigration, travel, or war. Many of these borrowed words no longer seem foreign, having been completely assimilated into English.”

Cantonese (southern China, Hong Kong)

chop suey – from a word meaning “miscellaneous bits.” chow – ..read more

Delicious Indian Food

Indian cuisine has become one of the most popular choices for eating out in the world. The UK alone has over 10,000 Indian restaurants, and Indian cuisine continues to increase in popularity in the United States. The use of fragrant, flavorful spices makes it a favorite all over the world. If you plan to do business internationally, it is important to be familiar with this exciting and delicious cuisine.

Most Indian restaurants offer a variety of appetizers. The ..read more

International Business Card Etiquette

If you plan to do business internationally, it is important to understand the cultural significance of business cards and the etiquette that surrounds them in each country. Rapport International, a foreign language translation company based in metro-west Boston makes some good recommendations. A good rule is to view the business card as a personal representation of one’s self. In North America and the United Kingdom, business card etiquette is easy to understand and quick to learn. ..read more

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