Atlas Translations – January 2010 Newsletter
· Atlas Supplier Open Day
· New Year Traditions across the world
· The Atlas Team defies the snow!
· China-ASEAN trade area needs more translators
· What is Voiceover translation?
· Other news – saving the best till last!
Atlas would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a very Happy New Year and looks forward to working with you in 2010!
Due to the success of previous Atlas Open Days for Suppliers, we plan to hold a fourth Open Day on Thursday 28th January 2010, from 10am – 4pm. The event will give suppliers the chance to meet the Atlas team and put names to faces, to learn more about the company and the services it offers; and to listen to talks from various people including the Atlas’ voiceover trainer, Trados trainer and lots more…
The event is open to everyone, from those who already work with Atlas to those who would like to become part of the Atlas team. We look forward to meeting you! If you would like to come, please contact Marta so we can ensure we have enough space, and so we can send you details, as the event will not be held in our offices but nearby in Covent Garden.
Question of the month! Test yourself with our January question:
Q: When was the Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII?
a) 1582 b) 1697 c) 1410 (answer can be found at the bottom of the newsletter)
New Year Traditions across the world
Bangladesh & West Bengal
The Bengali New Year or Pohela Boishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in both Bangladesh and West Bengal and in Bengali communities in Assam and Tripura. Pohela Boishakh connects all ethnic Bengalis irrespective of religious and regional differences. In Bangladesh, it is celebrated on 14th April, which is a national holiday. In West Bengal and Assam it is celebrated on 15th April every year. New Year's festivities are closely linked with rural life in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Usually on Pohela Boishakh, the home is thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned; people bathe early in the morning and dress in fine clothes. They spend much of the day visiting relatives, friends and neighbours. Special foods are prepared to entertain guests and Boishakhi fairs are arranged in many parts of the country.
Brazil
The Ano Novo (New Year) celebration is one of the country's main holidays and officially marks the beginning of the summer holidays. Rio’s beach “Copacabana” is considered to host the best firework display worldwide. Brazilians usually enjoy a copious meal with family or friends at home or in restaurants. They tend to dress in white, to bring good luck into the New Year. Fireworks, offerings to African-Brazilian deities, eating grapes or lentils are some of the customs associated with the holiday. The city of São Paulo also has a famous worldwide event, known as the “Saint Silvester Marathon”. It is contested by athletes of many countries, including the Olympic star, Kenyan runner, Paul Tergat, who won it five times.
China
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the “Lunar New Year”, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th and this day is called the “Lantern Festival”. Chinese New Year is the longest and the most important festivity in the Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of Chinese New Year vary widely. People generously spend their money on presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house and sweep away any ill fortune in the hope of making way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors are decorated in red with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile forgetting all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.
Ecuador
Ecuador celebrates a unique tradition on the last day of the year. Elaborate effigies, called Años Viejos (Old Years) are created to represent people and events from the past year. Often these include political characters or leaders that the creator of the effigy may have disagreed with. The dummies are made of straw, newspaper, and old clothes, with papier-mâché masks. Often they are also stuffed with firecrackers. At midnight the effigies are set on fire to symbolise the burning away of the past year and the welcoming of the New Year. The origin of the tradition has its roots in pagan Roman and pre-Roman Spanish traditions still celebrated in Europe and which were brought to many countries of Latin America in colonial times.
Norway
Norwegians make rice pudding for the New Year and hide one whole almond within the pudding. Guaranteed wealth goes to the person whose serving holds the lucky almond.
Pakistan
New Year in Pakistan is known as Nowrooz or New Day. This day begins in March and traditionally represents the rebirth of nature after the long winter. The New Year begins the instant the sun is no longer in the astrological sign of Pisces and enters Aries. It is celebrated as a time of renewal. One of the customs of Nawrooz is the practice of burning piles of wood. The bonfires are a symbol to destroy any remaining evil from the previous year.
Scotland
Scotland celebrates New Year as Hogmanay and is celebrated across the country with several different customs, such as First Footing, which involves friends or family members going to each other’s houses with a gift of whisky and sometimes a lump of coal.
South Africa
In South Africa they welcome in the New Year with church bells ringing and gunshots being fired. For those in the Cape Province New Year’s Day and Second New Year’s Day are full of a carnival atmosphere, with people dressing-up in colourful costumes and dancing in the streets to the sound of drums.
Wales
Welsh celebrations on New Year's Eve are known as Calennig. The tradition of giving gifts and money on New Year's Day is an ancient custom that survives even in modern-day Wales, although nowadays it is customary to give bread and cheese instead. Thousands of people descend every year on Cardiff city centre to enjoy live music, catering, ice-skating, funfairs and fireworks. Many of the celebrations take place at Cardiff Castle and Cardiff City Hall.
The Atlas Team defies the snow!
Even though the heaviest snowfall in 20 years has closed thousands of schools and caused transport chaos throughout Britain, with London and the surrounding areas the hardest hit, Atlas has still managed to carry on with business as normal. Thanks to a new server, Project Managers are able to access the network from home and therefore defy the snow and resulting chaos!
China-ASEAN trade area needs more translators
Chinese translators of Southeast Asian languages are earning top dollar as demand for their skills has boomed with the launch of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). "We need many more ASEAN languages translators," said Ruan Jingping, general manager of Kunming Renyida Translation and Exhibition Cooperation in the Yunnan Province.
The CAFTA, comprising the 11 member states of China, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, was launched on 1st January. The CAFTA area holds a third of the world's people, a ninth of its GDP and the third largest trade volume after the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"Qualified translators of Southeast Asian languages are lacking," said Ruan. To cope with the shortfall, Ruan hired students to translate, but many did not posses the necessary skills. The company paid translators of Southeast Asian languages an average 44 U.S. dollars for every thousand words translated from Chinese, compared with 39 U.S. dollars paid to English translators.
However, China and ASEAN countries are making efforts to overcome language and cultural barriers. Since 2008, China has signed agreements with Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to allow them to recognise each other’s academic qualifications and to increase educational exchanges. Hao Ping, China's vice education minister said on 6th August 2009, that more than 10 Chinese universities had expanded their language courses to include languages of all ASEAN countries.
Atlas Translations has an extensive range of qualified and experienced translators who work into and out of Southeast Asian languages. We recruit the best linguists and will only work with translators who can prove their background and competency in the service they provide.
What is voiceover translation?
Voiceover translation is an audiovisual translation technique in which dubbing is recorded over the original audio track, which can be heard in the background. This method of translation is most often used in documentaries and news reports to translate words of foreign language interviewees. In some countries, most notably in Eastern Europe, it's commonly used to translate all kinds of movies. A typical voiceover is fast paced, though fully intelligible, usually trailing the original dialogue by a few seconds. The original audio can thus be heard to a large extent, allowing the viewer to grasp the emotions in the actors' voices, as well as hear the actors' musical performances if the film contains singing. The voiceover artist also reads out any text appearing on the screen.
Atlas Translations has a large database of voiceover artists working in a multitude of different languages, dialects and accents. Our artists are located throughout the world, so we can always find suitable artists as close to your venue as possible.
We can also work on all other aspects of your recording including:
· transcribing the original master
· translating the script
· inserting time codes
· use of our recording studios in London
· supplying technicians and producers
· checking existing subtitles on-site in all languages
Our rates are calculated by the hour (plus travel costs) and depend on the language or languages required. We can also advise on usage fees if a voiceover artist's work is going to be broadcast.
Atlas Translations offers a full and comprehensively priced studio service – using all the latest digital technology. Our voiceover artists can work on:
· TV/radio commercials and trailers
· computer games
· corporate videos
· TV features
· training and educational materials
· telephone announcements
· airport messages
· lift announcements, and so on
Our Project Managers will help you to cast and select voices, arrange translations/script transcription in English as necessary and schedule studio sessions right through to the delivery of the final media.
If you need prices for studio work, please do not hesitate to contact us. We just need to know a few details about the project.
Atlas is also hosting two Voiceover Courses for Beginners’ on 27th February and 27th March 2010 and there are still some places left, so hurry up and book! We are also selling a great book about working as a Voiceover artist - contact Gilles for more information!
Atlas would like to welcome new work placement Ceris, from Monmouth in South Wales. Ceris went to the University of Leeds to study Italian and Linguistics. She then lived and worked in North East Italy for a couple of years before returning to the UK to do a Masters in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Westminster. She hopes to pursue a career in medical translation and she is also interested in becoming a public service interpreter for the NHS. Atlas is now proud to say it has a full house!
And finally…we thought we’d save the best news till last! We would like to congratulate Atlas Manager, Anna Davies, who is expecting her first baby! After Madeleine, we look forward to meeting the second Atlas baby in March! Anna plans to start her maternity leave in mid-February.
Answer to January question:
a) 1582
Compiled by Sara Roden-Scott
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