The ancient language of Mayan has been put centre stage in a new TV soap opera in Mexico. The soap’s producers hope their new 21-episode series, Baktun (pronounced bak-Toon) will help immortalise the indigenous language of the Yucatan Peninsula, southeast Mexico – or at least save it from impending extinction. The Yucatec Maya language is […]

With the preservation of local dialects and endangered languages being a hot topic in news and research, we turn our sights to the disappearing German language and dialects of the US. German Americans (Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States who were either born in Germany or are of German ancestry. Today, they are the […]

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan measures prosperity by gauging its happiness levels, not GDP. The term Gross National Happiness was first uttered as a casual suggestion in 1972 by Bhutan’s fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck (who introduced significant political reforms during his reign). But his concept was taken seriously and the Centre for Bhutan […]

Arsenal coaches use universal language of football to teach French, German and Spanish to children Football is an international sport and a universal language. “Patea!” [“Shoot!” (Spanish)]… “Elfmeter!” [“Penalty!” (German)]… “Quel but !” [“What a goal!” (French)] Today, Arsenal football club’s Emirates stadium is abuzz with even more languages than usual. But they won’t be […]

The languages of British monarchs across the centuries. William the Conqueror (reigned 1066 – 1087) established French as the official language of England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. English remained the language of the people, while the Norman dialect of the northern French language called Langue d’oil  now became the official language of the […]

Kate Middleton delights the crowds and is applauded for Welsh lessons Kate Middleton’s singing of the Welsh national anthem on her first official visit with Prince William has been praised. Prince William’s fiancée smiled as she sang Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau at the launch of a new RNLI lifeboat in Anglesey, North Wales. Meirion Prys […]

Investing in international brand name research prevents disastrous, costly international marketing blunders, and preserves global corporate credibility. Sometimes a brand flop can be purely down to the name… and when it comes to naming a new car, you would think that all car manufacturers would aspire to the early wisdom of Rolls-Royce’s international brand name […]

When it comes to translation, tour operators and luxury resorts need to be careful in the promotion and planning of overseas wedding ceremonies for their customers. Failure to do so can have far-reaching implications. Especially if your resort is in a tourism-dependent economy. The Maldives Islands Government announced today that it will soon regulate tourist […]

Some phrases just don’t translate… Take, for example, “bad hair day”. An everyday phrase familiar to native English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. But try to translate it into another language, and you’ll be stumped. Whether you use it for its literal meaning, or to describe a day when everything seems to go […]

Kiss and Fly! This year Etymax was in Cannes for the International Advertising Festival (20-26 June 2010) It was a vibrant turnout, and the best of the best in the Advertising industry were awarded for their magnificent global campaigns. Captains of industry and newcomers alike. World class advertising. Being “globalist” by nature, we always take […]