Your meetings are finally over and you’ve got an afternoon to kill — or rather, savor — in Boston before you catch your flight home. Instead of hitting up the airport lounge, consider spending a few hours in The Walking City. Downtown Boston is surprisingly accessible, whether on foot or via public transportation, and its eclectic neighborhoods offer countless cultural and historical treasures for you to discover.
For the first time in recorded history, the Chinese are drinking more red wine than the French. Wineries in the U.S. and Europe are looking East to reach new wine drinkers and grow revenues. But wine translation for China involves some delicate cultural and linguistic considerations. Read this post for a beginner's guide to Chinese wine translation.
April Fool’s Day used to be an occasion for telling little lies and playing harmless pranks on classmates and friends. But the pursuit of publicity and global mindshare has turned it into an entertaining battle of wits celebrated by professionals and corporations around the world.
Mardi Gras (or “Fat Tuesday” in French) is a time for eating fried foods. Though Mardi Gras doughnuts are served all around the world, these deep-fried treats take on unique shapes and flavors in each country and culture. Think of it as food localization. Read on if you're hungry for paczki, cenci, fasnacht or beignets.
Valentine’s Day isn’t just a Western affair. Like love, holiday traditions cross borders, and with them comes big commerce. The thought might count for many, but the spending on Valentine’s Day gifts really adds up.
Holidays in translation always have a localized flavor, though. Gifts vary, as do who sends them, who gets them, and when they’re traditionally sent. For some, Valentine’s Day is the smaller of the big spends.
So what’s it going to cost you to say “I love you” around the world? It depends on the gifts and it depends on the culture. Let’s take a look at how that special someone makes out in the East.
Whether online or in the mall, ‘tis the season for retail profits. If you’re someone who laments the commercialization of Christmas, stop reading now. In the United States, retailers can expect up to 50% of their annual sales to occur around the holidays. Forecasts are positive for this year’s holiday sales and look to be significantly higher than in the last ten, according to the National Retail Federation. But what about markets that aren’t closely linked to Christmas, such as China or Japan? Will Santa bring similar profits to eCommerce retailers in Asia? Today's post answers that question.
Boo! Instead of handing out candy this Halloween, we’re making a round of the globe to see how people are celebrating. Pumpkins and costumes aside, Halloween has become a marketing phenomenon worldwide. From Indonesia to France, it seems that everywhere you look there’s black, orange, and spooky sales. Want to share your experience of #GlobalHalloween? Read on for more and share your story too.
Food has a lot of cultural pull. Consider the gastronomic delights of a gourmet French restaurant, the artistic beauty of the sushi roll, or the fragrant panoply of Indian cuisine. You can be sure to find global cultures represented in restaurants such as these the world over. Sushi in Stockholm? Sure. Tacos in Tel Aviv? Yep. Pasta in Pakistan? No problem.
Today's post takes you out of the restaurant scene and into a more casual — and often more interesting — offering: snacks, specifically those found in Korea.
With an eye to an untapped market of, at minimum, 50 million new customers, Ikea has done amazing cultural engineering to open up demand-side India — including possibly manufacturing the welcome mat! It’s an amazing lesson in retooling just about everything a company does and still remain true to the brand in philosophy and practice.
Your typical Las Vegas business meeting might be followed by your typical Las Vegas night: grab a drink, hit the Strip, check out a show, wander from casino to casino, and of course, don’t forget the fountains at the Bellagio. Hopefully, you’ll still have enough cash in your pocket for taxi fare to the airport.
If you're looking for some off-the-beaten-path options, though, we've got a few options to consider in today's post.
If you’ve done business in Asia, odds are that you’ve flown to (or through) Tokyo. With two bustling airports, Narita and Haneda, Tokyo has the world’s third-busiest airport system, coming in just after New York and London. But busy as they are, Narita and Haneda have nothing on the city itself when it comes to crowds — Tokyo is the world’s largest metropolitan area, packing in over 35 million people in its 23 wards and 39 municipalities. And it seemingly has almost as many tourist destinations as people. Taking just four hours out of your travel schedule — whether it’s a layover or a few hours between meetings — means Tokyo can keep you busy.
There is in important global lesson in the story of the coffee bean. Whatever it is called or however it is served, it can be found in most every part of the world. While it may have some vastly different disguises, its essence is pretty much the same. Its flexibility to adapt to local cultures is key to its success.
We can draw a similar metaphor for establishing yourself in international markets. Just as one person’s latte is another’s café au lait, he best way to expand globally is to maintain a consistent identity while adapting to the specific cultural and regional needs of your users. Today’s post takes a casual look into coffee culture in Italy, Israel, and Finland.
Among the 40 million Star Trek fans worldwide, die-hard Trekkies have more in common than pointy ears and Star Fleet insignias. While Klingon language localization campaigns have yet to go mainstream, there are new Klingon language tools, such as audio books, dictionaries and the new Microsoft Bing Translator tool Klingon features for transliterated and Kronos script. Klingon is more than just a gimmick, and today's post explains a bit of its history and place in popular culture.
South Korea, nicknamed the “Land of Morning Calm”, is anything but sleepy these days. Most East Asian business travelers have the opportunity to land in Seoul International Airport, so why not take four hours to explore the sights. Hide-out at ICN, the world’s best airport — with golf, spas, a casino and much more — to reenergize for the next leg of your trip, or go on over-drive and explore Seoul’s historic, high-tech or traditional landmarks, from Gangnam Style or the DMZ to the herb market, royal palaces and museums. Any block of four hours will be efficiently and enjoyably spent in one of the world’s “newest” 21st Century cultures.
A giant monster terrorizes a city, leaving a trail of… art in its wake. Playful and provocative, Bangkok's Bukruk Street Art Festival has literally marked this city in a whole new way. Curious to find out what European and Thai graffiti artists can do when they put their minds to it? Read on to see how their art acts as a global language that pushes boundaries. Think of it as graffiti meets localization on a (literally) massive scale.
Ah, Iceland. It's the land of fire and ice, Björk, and seemingly-unpronounceable volcanoes. The country's breathtaking beauty has put it firmly on the travel map and we're surprised this northern gem stayed secret for so long. Where else can you learn about Vikings, see whales, relax in geothermal spas, and ski all in one day? Read on for things to see and do in this land of strange contradictions.
Work cultures can have different meanings around the world. In America, we talk about having a 9-to-5, 40 hour a week job, According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) rankings in 2011, the top three countries in terms of hours worked, based on a combination of paid and unpaid hours, were Portugal, Japan, and Mexico. Strikingly for Japan's 9 hours of work, almost 3 of those are unpaid, whereas in Mexico, the work day is closer to 10 hours with a little over 4 of those unpaid.
In some countries, it's not just the length of the workday that matters, but how those hours are spent, and the all important work/life balance. Read on for some other considerations for businesses around the globe.
You don’t have to be a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu or a fan of Julia Child to know that French dominates the language of cooking. Words as familiar to English speakers as restaurant, gourmet, and cuisine all came to us from French. And if you are a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, or any other cooking school, you may have noticed that almost the entire culinary vocabulary is French, no matter what country you’re in or what language the instructor speaks. From au gratin to zest(e), French is the lingua franca of the kitchen. So how is it that French became so inextricably linked with the culinary professions?
On this day last year, we told you all about Valentine’s Day in Japan, and the related holiday of White Day. This year, we look to Denmark and the custom of gaekkebrev, or "joke letters", that are part romantic declaration and part riddle. While more traditional Valentine's Day traditions are now in vogue throughout Denmark, gaekkebrev are definitely unique, and we wanted to give them the spotlight today.
Sunday, February 10th marked the beginning of the Year of the Snake for many people around the Asian world. And continuing a global business trend, international retailers took notice as snake-themed items hit the shelves (both digital and otherwise). Not only is this a timely move for marketing and advertising teams, but a smart one, as this is a major gift-giving season for millions of people.
Smart, fun and useful. Acclaro shares news and tips on translation, localization, language, global business and culture.