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Vol. 65    May, 2006


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’Tis the Season…the conference season, that is.

Recently McElroy Translation staff has been “on the go” organizing one conference (American Translator Association’s Translation Company Division), presenting at another (ClientSide News), exhibiting at some others (BioWorld 2006 and the Offshore Technology Conference) and attending still more. (American Marketing Association luncheons, eMarketing Association West, Web Site Globalization, Austin Meetups).

We are ready to unpack our suitcases for a while, but these meetings are well worth the energy and time invested. We value the opportunity to meet our clients face to face at the meetings that we attend. Additionally, industry specific meetings allow us to stay abreast of the issues, challenges and opportunities our clients face in their respective vertical markets. Our staff is better prepared to knowledgeably offer custom solutions with a well defined grasp of our clients’ business needs, regulations, and competitive pressures. Building relationships and providing solutions is the cornerstone of solid business practice. What conferences do you attend? See you soon.

Introducing translationebuzz.com and…you.

Evan Norman, Web Specialist

If you are reading this, your opinion matters to us. We want you to share with us what is on your mind as it relates to languages, global business, or even what you do professionally, and how this is impacted by translation. What is your opinion regarding the translation of the National Anthem into Spanish, or having kindergartners learn Chinese, or the shortage of Arabic linguists in this country? Do you think the rapid increase of globalization is helping the U.S. economy, or will it hurt the economy in the long run? Or, more lightly, do you have a funny story about attempting to communicate with someone while traveling overseas—perhaps you are an authority on a certain language or culture, or someone you know is.

We want you to weigh in on what you read here, as well as on our new blog, translationebuzz.com. You might disagree with us—that is okay, because our McElroy columnists also have differing opinions among each other. Feel free to include your comments on any of the blog posts (anyone is welcome to do this, and you don’t have to be registered to do it). Do you have a lot to say about translation-related subjects, or have a lot of interesting global websites to share, ones that you feel might be useful to other E-Buzz readers? Don’t be shy. Come blog with us! That’s right! Let me know what you would like to write about, and I will set you up with a username and password to be a guest contributor.

Read more...

“

“Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of “crackpot” than the stigma of conformity.”

~ Thomas Watson (1874-1956)
American businessman, founder of IBM

”


Susan Andrus – Production Department Lead on Marketing Content Creation & Design

Susan is our resident Multimedia Designer. She started in production at McElroy over 7 years ago as a Word Processor with Microsoft Word skills. Since then her drive and her continuing education have enabled her to master her Word skills along with numerous other programs including Quark, PhotoShop, and Illustrator. Susan's skills enable her to play key roles in both the Production and Marketing departments.

For Production, Susan holds the title of Senior Document Specialist. Her duties range from assisting the Production Manager with custom formatting estimates to taking on the projects that stem from these estimates. She has become the go-to person for all FrameMaker and PageMaker documents, and assists Production with InDesign and Quark. Her skills cover both PC and Mac platforms.

For Marketing, Susan's title of Multimedia Designer really comes out. If you've ever seen a McElroy ad or admired our booth at a tradeshow, then you've seen some of Susan's work. Some of the “aesthetics” of our website, including the photos of McElroy employees that can be viewed on all the pages, are the result of Susan’s ideas and design. From mailouts to Marketing slicks and data sheets to ad campaigns, Susan always has something new in the pipeline to develop. She is bursting with creativity.

Outside of work, Susan stays busy living-up the single life with her best friend and roommate, Sarah (and of course their kitties, Mama, Rootie Tootie, and George Buddha Bing). Susan loves to travel, her furthest and most exotic trip being to Cairo and Alexandria, and her most recent trip to Big Bend, where she and her friends hiked up and camped out on the Chisos Mountains. Later this summer she and Sarah will indulge in a cross country road trip to New York, visiting Graceland, Mammoth Cave National Park, the Liberty bell, the Smithsonian, the Great Smokey Mountains, and the Ettowah mound site in Georgia along the way.

Susan pursues experience and adventure that add depth and texture to who she is and what she does. At McElroy this flows into her work. Her creativity and humor are evident as she embraces each new project.

Translation and Technology

McElroy Translation helps clients speak to an international audience and compete globally. But we also translate TO ENGLISH for many U.S. based companies to support their research of hot new technologies emerging in Asia and Europe. For example, Germany has been the leader in “robotic parking,” the automated shelving of parked cars. As land prices rocket in some metropolitan areas it may be financially feasible to build these high tech structures. What looks like science fiction is real, and the first American robotic garage is being built in Hoboken, New Jersey. Check out this photo from snopes.com, showing a similar process where newly manufactured automobiles are stored.

And read more about the imminent reality of this technology at roboticparking.com

Where have you been?

This month, we will begin featuring short takes on doing business in places our readers have been. We begin with our own Jessica Rathke, who most recently lived in the U.K. for two years. She shares with us some of her personal insights into that culture.

One of the most important things to remember when doing business in Britain is that, while the British and Americans understand each other’s words, it is no guarantee they will understand each other’s meaning.  We’ve all heard the old adage “two countries divided by a common language,” but how easily we can forget how much truth there is in this statement.  As Craig Storti, a noted cross-cultural expert, even more similarities than actually exist and we are therefore surprised when we find how different British people are from what we were expecting.  Don’t let the common language lull you into thinking we are the same. 

For example, the British generally restrain their emotions much more than Americans do and convey displeasure very subtle ways.  The word “sorry” in Britain can mean anything from an apology to expressing anger and indignation.  Furthermore, statements such as “did you really...” or I’m surprised that...” can indicate a Briton disapproves of your idea or tactics.  We understand the words, but do we understand the meaning?

Please share your own with us! It doesn’t have to be much. We want to know if your encounters with new cultures were similar to our “Best foot forward series,” or if they weren’t. Simply write Shelly and share your experience of traveling and/or doing business in another country, and let her know whether or not she can print your name, company, or both. Thank you!

Luxembourg

The People

Luxembourgers cherish their independence and separate identity in Europe. Modesty, friendship and strong national pride are valued. They enjoy a slower pace of life than most of northern Europe. Family is very important. Parents influence every aspect of their children’s lives; however, this is weakening as more young people leave the country to study/work abroad.

Meeting and Greeting

  • Shake hands with everyone present—men, women and children—at a business or social meeting. Shake hands again when leaving.
  • Good friends kiss cheeks, one on each side.

Body Language

  • Luxembourgers are friendly but reserved.
  • Do not put your hands in your pockets.

Corporate Culture

  • Luxembourgers take punctuality for business meetings very seriously and expect that you will do likewise; call with an explanation if you will be delayed.
  • Meetings are brief. Luxembourgers usually get right down to business.
  • People are reserved in both their business and private lives. Business/private lives are kept clearly separate.
  • Traditionally, older, more established companies have had a strict hierarchy, but union representation on the board has become more common and a consensus-oriented decision style has been implemented.

Dining and Entertainment

  • Luxembourgers insist on punctuality for most social occasions. For evening dinners, arrive 15 minutes later than what is stated on the invitation.
  • Dinner is usually a social occasion and a time to enjoy good food, wine and discussion.
  • When finished eating, place your knife and fork side by side on the plate at the 5:25 position. To quietly signify that you are not finished or that you would like more food, cross your knife and fork in the middle of your plate. Leaving food on your plate is impolite.

Dress

  • Cleanliness and neatness are very important.
  • For business, men should wear suits and ties, sometimes hats, or just a sports coat/blazer and dress pants.
  • Women should wear dresses or suits.

Gifts

  • Always bring a gift to the hostess when invited to someone’s home. It will probably not be unwrapped immediately (unless no other guests are present or expected).
  • Give: bouquets of flowers (but not chrysanthemums), bottles of liqueur (but not cheap ones, ask the retailer to recommend one), chocolates.
  • Small business gifts may be exchanged, but usually not at the first meeting.
  • It is acceptable, but not expected, to give a Christmas gift to a Luxembourger colleague, but never send it to a Luxembourger’s home.
  • Give: books, music, good quality liquor.

Helpful Hints

  • Recognize Luxembourg’s uniqueness and its nationality. Do not lump the Luxembourgers together with the French or Belgians, and especially not with the Germans.
  • Expect the pace of life to be less hurried than most of Europe.
  • Don’t chew gum in public.
Read more...

McElroy attended the BioWorld Conference in Chicago in April. Show organizers recognized the timely relevance at this show and with this group with this feature on their website at bio.org.

International Biotech Takes Off at BIO 2006

Jessica Rathke of McElroy Translation explains their latest services to client Stephen Wilkie of Eli Lilly’s Global External Research and Development division, at BIO 2006.

CHICAGO, IL (April 12, 2006)—In 1968 when Ralph McElroy incorporated McElroy Translation the world’s first biotechnology company wouldn’t be formed for another eight years. Then, in 1976 Herbert Boyer and Robert Swanson formed Genentech, starting the biotechnology boom.

And what a boom it has been. Jessica Rathke, the company’s manager of sales strategy and development, explains “That’s why we decided to come to BIO 2006 this year.” She adds, “With the international nature of the industry BIO 2006 is a perfect place for us to exhibit.” Rathke wouldn’t be wrong— more than 60 countries are represented at BIO 2006 meaning that approximately one-third of the particpants are international.

If one needs hard data, as of yesterday the most recent numbers are in. Ernst and Young released their annual global biotechnology report titled, “Beyond Borders,” at BIO 2006. According to the report biotechnology is growing all over the world. In Europe growth has increased by 28%. And growth in Asia has far outstripped that of the rest of the world, increasing by 46%.

With growth rates like that, businesses like McElroy Translation can only continue to boom.

McElroy’s Vision Statement
Setting the industry standard in customer satisfaction

McElroy’s Mission Statement
McElroy Translation provides translation and localization services in all languages to business and government clientele enhancing their ability to compete in global markets.

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ClientSide News Expo

McElroy Translation was represented by General Manager Shelly Orr Priebe, Marketing Manager Lisa Siciliani and Manager of Sales Strategy Jessica Rathke at the annual ClientSide News (CSN) conference held in Miami. For those who aren’t familiar with ClientSide News, it is a client-focused translation/localization industry organization. CSN produces a monthly e-zine and newsletter, as well as hosting this annual conference and industry awards for both language service providers, translation tools vendors and clients managing translation/localization.

As an event sponsor, McElroy was entitled to a booth which was donated to Austin Community College to promote their localization program. McElroy was also charged with planning one of the many content rich sessions. Derek Woodgate, President of Futures Lab, was McElroy’s guest speaker for the session. You may have read about Derek in the April issue of E-Buzz. He did his homework, researching our company and the industry, and offered his thoughts about some of the trends and technologies that are going to impact the future of the translation industry. The session was an unqualified success. As one long-time industry insider who attends conferences world-wide put it, “This session was unique. I’ve never ever heard anything like it at any translation industry conference.”  Derek’s future vision and progressive ideas created quite a stir.

How many of us grew up with Sesame Street? According to my unofficial research Big Bird had a pretty wide sphere of influence. As the world becomes smaller that influence grows.

From InttraNews:

Sesame Street goes Arabic

Washington, USA (VOA): Since its debut in 1969 in the United States, the children’s television show Sesame Street has spread around the world, reaching youngsters in 120 countries. Now the colorful, furry puppets known as the Muppets will educate and entertain in even more of the world’s 22 Arabic-speaking countries. The show’s Egyptian version is being dubbed into Simplified Classical Arabic.

For more information, please visit:
voanews.com


OTC 2006

McElroy Translation has worked with the oil & gas industry for nearly 40 years, and the importance of this industry led to the creation of a business unit focused solely on the needs of this industry. A native of Russia, Olga Pechnenko Kopp works specifically with this vertical market, with their technical and business translation needs.

She attended OTC 2006 in Houston with Marketing Manager Lisa Siciliani and web specialist Evan Norman. Olga reports:

People say everything is bigger in Texas and OTC 2006 was strong evidence: held at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas, there were 59,000 attendees, hundreds of technical sessions, and 2200 exhibitors from all over the world. The number of attendees and exhibitors steadily grows every year as this successful conference draws more and more acclaim.

The professionals of the O&G industry are polite, kind, open, optimistic, and smart. Building and valuing relationships is fundamental to doing business in this industry. Networking with colleagues from all over the world is easily done at OTC, and I met many professionals with a keen interest in translations. If you are reading this and attended OTC this year, drop me a line! Let me know what you thought of the conference and what international challenges and opportunities your organization is facing.

McElroy Translation appreciates the business of the following clients and announces the anniversaries of these client relationships:

15 Years

  • Chiron

5 Years

  • Advanced Bionics
  • Carroll Co
  • Cook, Alex, McFarron, Manzo, Cummings & Mehler
  • Covance
  • Dorsey & Whitney LLP
  • Dunlap, Codding & Rogers, P.C.
  • Johns Manville Corporation
  • Rad PharmAdvanced Bionics
  • Smith, Gambrell & Russell


Introducing translationebuzz.com and…you.

(continued)

Does this mean that translationebuzz.com will be a free-for-all like you might see on a Yahoo! commenting board? Of course not. McElroy will experiment with the moderation of posts, and we expect a certain level of civility and constructive debate from our contributors, but we say, why not let everyone contribute? The online world is no longer one where information is simply passively received and digested by everyone. We are all participating (not just those under 25) at an increasingly rapid rate when we go online to comment, blog, network, share, create, review and modify the web.

This is one of the key takeaways from the eMA 2006 West Conference I attended recently in San Francisco. Of course, if you spend any time at all on the web, you are bound to stumble upon a site where you can leave your opinions and insights. One speaker glibly called these invitations for users to participate “dressed up chat rooms that we control better.” Do you remember the old chat rooms circa 1996? The conversation would inevitably devolve into the lowest common denominator, certainly not the kind of quality content a business or advertiser would want to be associated with.

Now we have blogs, MySpace, Wikipedia and podcasting. All of these outlets allow instant and mostly free opportunities for anyone to stake out their claim to being a foremost authority on a subject, or simply being uniquely themselves. But that is all kids’ stuff, right? Think again. Type in “Business Blogs” into Google. At the time of writing this article, that search phrase, in quotes, yielded me 4,480,000 results. A lot of companies out there are banking on this being more than a fad for young people. What about Wikipedia, the infamous encyclopedia that anyone can contribute to? The popularity of Wikis has spread into the corporate environment as well. I must admit I was surprised to learn about podcasting as being a viable marketing outlet. Surely, a company couldn’t benefit from participating (in what I thought amounted to) sharing lists of songs with friends? They even have a conference for corporate podcasting now. What will they think of next?

Back at the office here in Austin, I was determined to begin making the McElroy experience online more engaging. We certainly aren’t slouches at this, by the way. If I may allow a sentence for horn-tooting, we’ve introduced more ways to share our content, offered different kinds of translation-related games, and run a gazillion promotional campaigns that focused on engaging our users. However, there was work to be done.

Almost two months ago, I started translationebuzz.com as a marketing-related test bed. Since then it has appeared inside Washington Post articles via a script provided by Technorati. If you ever read articles at the Washington Post website, look to the right of the article. Accompanying many of the articles, there is a little Technorati-powered box that says “Who’s Blogging.” Anyone in the world with a blog can make his or her blog appear briefly in that box. Think about it.

The Washington Post is read by millions of readers, and your blog is right there within a mainstream news article. This isn’t the Post toying with a fad. They have jumped out in front of many other publishers to let everyone participate in a way that makes sense for them. Rather than having comments on the article turn into an angry name-calling match, as the commenting feature often seems to do at Yahoo!, or simply denying the users an opportunity to talk about the news piece at all, the Post has realized a wonderful compromise that works for them and their readers.

And so, readers of E-Buzz, we too have begun trying to make the online world of McElroy a place that engages you and allows you to participate a little more with the unveiling of translationebuzz.com. In future issues of our newsletter, we hope to publish some of the comments and posts that will, in turn, invite further discussion. If you would like to be a guest columnist at translationebuzz.com, but are unsure of what you would write, don’t hesitate to ask me for tips, or read through some of the sample entries. As you can see, blogging doesn’t necessarily consist of the most verbose entries. If you disagree with something I or another McElroy person has posted to translationebuzz.com, don’t hesitate to voice your opinion! We welcome open, civilized forum for discussing translation and, most importantly, how it impacts you, and what you do professionally.

We think that your contributions will make E-Buzz a little more exciting, relevant and, well…engaging.


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Luxemborg

(continued)

Especially for Women

  • Foreign women will have no problem doing business in Luxembourg.
  • A foreign woman does not have to think twice about inviting a Luxembourger man to dinner.
  • Make arrangements in advance with the waiter to pay for business dinners.

-- Excerpted from the “Put Your Best Foot Forward” series by Mary Murray Bosrock. These publications are available for the U.S., Asia, Mexico/Canada, Russia, Europe and South America.

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