Do These Things Before You Travel:The opportunities available in doing business abroad are vast. Whether you are looking into emerging markets or one of America’s major trading partners, a successful foray into international business can be a major profit center for your company. Quite often, this means that someone from your company will eventually need to travel to the country in which you are now doing business. Whether that individual is you or someone else, there are some important tips every business traveler should follow to make sure their trip is both safe and successful: You Keep Using That Word. I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means.By now, we’re all familiar with Inigo Montoya his infamous line from The Princess Bride. But truer words may never have been spoken, and that could very well be the reason for the popularity of the Internet meme. English is alive, as are most languages we translators come across in our work. And because of that, not only do we need to be aware of different meanings between languages, we also have to be aware of how meanings change across time. Some words that used to mean one thing, now mean something quite different. Here are a few. Some of these you may be using correctly, and a few you may be surprised by. How Do You Say… So your meeting went well, and it is looking like your business trip to Shanghai will be a successful one. You decide to celebrate by going to a restaurant recommended by one of your Chinese business associates. Unfortunately, when you get there you realize that you never bothered to learn any Mandarin restaurant phrases! As you frantically flip through your phrasebook trying to find the relevant section, your impatient waiter goes to serve someone else! Somewhat embarrassed, you eventually remember reading this article, and are finally able to order your celebratory dinner! Language and Food — The Base of Any CultureOur passion is not only for foreign languages, but also for the cultures of other countries. Since food is the base for any culture, we decided to embark on the search for endangered dishes that the average American may never have the chance to taste.
You May Need To Learn a Language — FastThere are many reasons to learn a language: for work, for a promotion, because you want to travel, and sometimes, for love. Some people just want the challenge (Tim Ferriss is a good example of this.) But whatever the reason, you can accumulate all the tools you need, but if you don’t know how to use them, you’ll be slogging along for countless hours. Probably more than a little frustrated.
|
Get a Free QuoteArchivesCategories
All
|