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Atlas Newsletter – January 2009

Happy New Year…
¡Feliz Aňo Nuevo…
Buon Anno…
Feliz Ano Novo…
Frohes Neues…
Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku... from the Atlas Team!

We hope you all had as much of an enjoyable Christmas as we did at Atlas, which began with the Atlas Christmas Dinner on 12th December. The Atlas team would like to say a big Thank You! For all the chocolates and cards received. In return, instead of sending out Christmas cards to clients and suppliers, we made donations to three charities. The charities chosen for Christmas 2008 were: Cancer Research UK www.cancerresearchuk.org, the world's leading charity dedicated to research on the causes, treatment and prevention of cancer; BLISS www.bliss.org.uk, the special care baby charity, providing vital support and care to premature and sick babies across the UK; and Winstons Wish www.winstonswish.org.uk, which helps children rebuild their lives after the death of a parent or sibling, enabling them to face the future with hope.

Question of the month! Test yourself with our January question: Which languages make-up Gaelic? (answer can be found at the bottom of the newsletter).

Happy New Year from around the world!

Around the globe, countries have special or unusual New Year's customs. Some customs are shared, others vary from country to country, some are amusing and many are intended to bring good luck for the year ahead. This New Year, the International Atlas team would like to share some of their country’s New Year Traditions with you:

Spain - Natalia

“The 31st December, “Nochevieja”, is an important family reunion and is celebrated with a meal. We eat 12 grapes as the clock chimes twelve midnight to welcome the New Year”.

This tradition started in Spain because one year, when there was a big grape harvest, the King of Spain decided to give grapes to everybody to eat on New Year's Eve.

“Another interesting New Year’s tradition of my city, Andalucía, is to wear something red, usually underwear, which you must wear inside out and as soon as you finish the grapes you must turn them the right way round”.

Italy – Elena

“The traditional Italian New Year dinner centers on pork and lentils. Lentils are a symbol of good fortune and pork is a symbol of abundance. Italians say ‘Out with the old to make room for the new!’ So tradition has it, that you need to throw an old possession out your window....glasses, plates, clothes, books, furniture, etc.”

Portugal - Jessica

“Portugal’s New Year traditions range from taking a dip in the sea, in order to greet the New Year, to standing on a chair with a bank note in one hand, in the belief that it will encourage financial prosperity. Perhaps the most common New Year’s tradition throughout Portugal is that at the stroke of midnight people stand on their balconies, yards, or windows and bang their pots and pans with wooden spoons to celebrate the arrival of the New Year”.

Germany – Tina

“On New Years Eve, people in Germany eat a lot of the traditional "Berliner Ballen", a donut like pastry filled with jam. Where I come from, the region of Brandenburg, we eat them with mustard!”

Poland – Agnieszka

“Every New Year, the priest visits people at their homes to bless their houses and families. It is very traditional in small communities, not really as much in big cities. It is more of a Catholic Tradition and you do not have to welcome the priest if you do not want to, especially if you are not a Catholic. The altar boys write K+M+B=2009 on the front doors of peoples’ houses and the chalk used to do this is blessed in the church beforehand. These are the initials of the three wise men and confer blessings on the occupants of the house for the New Year. However, the initials may also represent the Latin Christus Mansionem Benedicat (Christ blesses this house)”.

Trados Beginners’ Workshop

Atlas Translations is pleased to announce the return of its Trados Beginners’ Workshop! Our trainer is a freelance translator who uses SDL Trados on a daily basis and therefore understands the software and knows exactly what you need in order for you to get started and to learn more. She is passionate about translation memory software and her enthusiasm is quite inspiring. The workshop includes an introduction to Trados, with a presentation on the Trados Suite and the basic functions for translators. There are still some places left for our “Voice to Picture” voiceover course on Saturday 7th February 2009, so why not take advantage of our promotion and book both courses together at a reduced rate? Hurry and book a place as places are limited. For more information, please contact Sara on sara @ atlas-translations.co.uk

Other News…

The Atlas Team would like to welcome and congratulate Tina, a new work placement who got married during the Christmas holidays. Tina is from Germany and is a student at the University of Hochschule Zittau Görlitz, where she is studying Translation with English, German and Polish. The team would also like to welcome another new work placement, Elena, from Italy. Elena is a graduate of the University “La Sapienza” in Rome, where she studied interpreting and translation.

Answer to January question:

The Irish language, the derived Canadian Irish dialect, Scottish Gaelic, the derived Canadian Gaelic dialect and the Manx language!

Thank you for your interest in the Atlas monthly newsletters. We welcome your feedback and ideas for future articles. Happy New Year once again!

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