There’s a simple reason why a lot of different business fail today – poor economy that’s affecting the whole world. But, there’s also a simple way to save your business, which many don’t consider. No matter how much we’re afraid of changes and find it difficult to adopt them, this is a sacrifice we need to make in order to save our business and withhold a certain quality of life.

The obvious thing to do when it comes to improving your business and helping it survive the tough competition is a change, and not any kind of change – you need to go online. But, be aware of the fact that having a website and a Facebook page isn’t enough anymore, because that doesn’t make you any different from the rest. Doing consistent research and always being updated will help you determine which pieces of software you should adopt and which to dismiss as irrelevant. Check out what Oracle has prepared for the business world, which shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The Oracle Family

Every leader who plans on creating a strong foundation for the future of his or her business must’ve heard of Oracle. They’ve been releasing many useful tools that upgrade the way to do business by making it more efficient, especially if a business is strictly related to having and maintaining a database. So, if you’re not ready to give up and let the economic crises consume you, you should consider using this piece of software.

Toad for Oracle

Being a part of Dell Software’s Information Management group, you can expect some big things from it before even checking its reviews. What makes this so special is that it’s capable of connecting a wide group of specialized experts that can all communicate and help each other solve their problems. If we take a look at the past, we can remember the former idea of creating an open source website, like Wikipedia, for example. This is very similar to that, with only one exception that makes it unique – exclusive.

Now in Simplified Chinese

The twenty-fourth of July was when Oracle released a new edition of Toad for Oracle translated to Mandarin. Being aware of the fact that up to this date, Toad for Oracle had over two million users, and only then was it released on a new market that counts a large number of potential users. Along with a completely localized installer, personalized interface, and all documentation, this new product came with about 6-8 hours of free training for the new users. They’ve stepped up here, haven’t they?

The perfect time to strike the market

Higher and more efficient IT equipment should be considered necessary in China – their pricing for labor increases by about 10 percent each year. This requires that all establishments, at least the ones that want to stay in business, need go to the next level when it comes to the IT products they use. The modern way of working with a database has most of the standards already set – it needs to be fast, there’s no room for mistakes, and efficiency is considered a priority. All those things are implied when using Toad for Oracle. It’s expected that the growth of database management will be increased by 9 percent in China only in 2014, and Oracle will represent an amazing 43 percent of the whole market.

Toad for Oracle is getting so much attention for a good reason – they are capable of connecting you with a strictly oriented group of people sharing your expertise, so you can communicate with them with no one reason to worry. Your data will stay private, and it’ll be shared only with people you intend to share it with. Besides, accurate and efficient communication is very important in business today, and Toad for Oracle can guarantee it. If you need to make the workflow of your company more productive, this innovative piece of software is the right solution to your problem.

For further information, you can contact Dell Software on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube, where you’ll be greeted with more useful information.

Linguistics expert and blogger Haonowshaokao has recently come up with a map of Europe that boasts amusing literal Chinese translations of names for European countries. “This is not a serious translation by any means,” the blogger explains. “I’ve translated the names in a pedantic, literal way, character-by-character, which wouldn’t make sense to most Chinese people,” he told Buzz Feed news.

Where did inspiration for the map come from? Well, Haonowshaokao, who is originally from the UK, studied applied linguistics in London. After living around the world teaching English, he eventually moved to Beijing, where he now lives with his wife and children. He’s always been amused by words and by language and thought the map would be an opportunity to have a bit of fun.

Literal Translations

Of course, the map’s main source of humor is its amusing literal translations. France, for example, is translated to “Lawland,” while Italy is translated to “Meaning Big Profit.” Germany is “Moral Land,” and Ireland is “Love Your Orchid.” Haonowshaokao’s wife, who is a native Chinese speaker, helped him to develop to the clever translations.

All in Good Fun

The map did attract criticism, with some calling it diminutive of the Chinese language. However, Haonowshaokao insists it is all in good fun. “I don’t want to make fun of Chinese people or the Chinese language, it’s just a funny way for me to remember the names of countries as I learn the language. Chinese people don’t really think of America as Beautiful Country or the UK as Brave Country any more than we think of Turkey as a bird,” he explained. “Any language unlike your own looks strange from the outside, but I hope people can use this as a stepping stone to learning Chinese rather than laughing at it.”

Sources:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/here-are-european-countries-with-literal-translations-of-the

On July 29^th 2014, the world witnessed the launch of The China Academy of Translation in Beijing. The opening ceremony was attended by the likes of Zhou Mingwei, head of the China International Publishing Group and first official president of the academy, Cai Minghzao, the State Council Information Office chief, as well as over 150 government officials, professional translators, professors and members of the media. It was well-received and garnered quite a bit of attention from both local and foreign academics and translation experts.

The event marked a new age for China’s foreign relations and a clear break from its reclusive policies of the past. The academy is the only such establishment in the country and a testament to the big efforts that China has put into opening up to the rest of the world. Even with its borders open for a good part of the last century, the Chinese language barrier has kept the country somewhat secluded – its rich culture and storied history are still somewhat of a mystery to outsiders.

China sharing its culture with the world

The main goal of the academy is to enable improved communication with the rest of the world as well as to serve as a key instrument in bridging cultural differences on a global level. It will involve domestic experts and those currently living abroad, and will be a training ground for aspiring translators. It has been a long time coming, but it seems that one of the oldest civilizations on earth has slowly started to shed its reputation as a xenophobic culture. It also means that internet websites delighting in the extremely poor Chinese-to-English translations seen on signs across the country – known as Engrish on the web – could be put out of business within the next few years.

The academy’s mission statement

The China Academy of Translation president has outlined several points that the organization will strive to address.

The academy will play the role of a workshop where a large number of translation industry experts can brainstorm ideas for the improvement of industry standards and practices, and be the go to place for licensed and administrative associations, providing guidance and advice.

The next issue it will tackle is the creation of official guidelines for translating all the major keywords related to the most important topics in modern Chinese culture.

Another big priority is identifying and educating a substantial number of promising young talents in an effort to build up a society of skilled translators. This would enable them to create a large collection of common expressions with features unique to the Chinese language, such as terms that are difficult to understand outside their cultural context and archaic terms like the ones used in traditional Chinese martial arts, philosophy and medicine.

To add to these efforts, a number of training programs will be created that will allow expert translators from China and abroad to interact, exchange ideas and keep up with the latest language trends. This will involve starting teaching programs for translating more exotic languages like Thai, Vietnamese and some Indonesian and African languages for which there are currently very few competent translators in China.

The academy will also create prestigious and nationally recognized awards for professional translators in an effort to raise quality standards within the translation industry. Improving the current translator evaluation system is an important step in advancing the translation industry and achieving higher levels of quality.

A big leap forward for China’s foreign relations

The keynote speakers were academic heavyweights and respected authorities – presidents and vice presidents of various universities, translating associations and institutes – Tang Wensheng, Yan Guohua, Zhong Weiheand others.

China already plays a big part in the global economy and is economic and political force to be reckoned with. With the opening of the China Academy of Translation, China has now made its first big steps towards becoming an important part of the global culture. The academy will serve as a focal point of China’s efforts to modernize and improve the Chinese translation industry, which is just an interlude to the country opening up to the world, sharing its culture and promoting cross-cultural relations.

This blog has previously discussed China’s globalization efforts, and even how companies from other countries are considering setting up shop in the Asian powerhouse. More recently though, China is changing its university offerings, and creating schools in countries such as Laos and Malaysia (know more about selling in China).

According to an Associated Press article, China is working toward improving its secondary education options by creating more institutions in other countries. The goal is for the country to garner more globalization clout and encourage businesses to expand to China.

Programs Abroad

Palamy Siphandone is a 19-year-old student who is taking part in the program in Laos, and she spoke with the AP over the phone about her reason for participating.

“There are a lot of companies in Laos that are from China,” Siphandone said. “If I can speak Chinese, I get more opportunities to work with them.”

The news source explained that China has typically offered language lessons in foreign countries, but it was mainly to assist the Chinese nationals living in the area. Having campuses that offer degrees designed to promote the country’s culture and language though are new but are gaining support.

Chinese Translations

Chen Mei, a university official for the Laos branch of Soochow University, told the AP that part of the national policy is that “the internationalization of education comes with the globalization of economy.” He added that his campus is looking to raise money to increase its student size to 5,000.

As this situation proves, understanding language and culture is essential, especially in the business world. For entrepreneurs who are branching out into new countries, partnering with a firm that specializes in document translation services can be helpful. With technical Chinese translations, a company can rest assured that nothing is overlooked in the move and a business can start off strong.