PORTUGUESE There are two main Portuguese languages: Brazilian and European Portuguese. The two are not simply a difference in pronunciation. There are major word usage differences between the two, and verb endings (such as "ing") are not the same. Thus, a document from one or the other is immediately identifiable. Because of the grammar and word differences, translators from the target region must be used. The spoken accent between the two regions is as marked as the accents in the United States compared to Australia or England. @International Services translates in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and in Lisbon, Portugal with technical and marketing translators of highest caliber, and review services by engineers, doctors and other professionals. Additionally, professional voice talents are recorded in Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon for use with multimedia, CD Roms, video and voice products. Full lip sync recording services are also available, performed by the same voice actors who replace the voices of American hit movies into Portuguese. ENGLISH: BRITISH, IRISH, SCOTTISH, AUSTRALIAN, NEW ZEALAND, AFRICAN, OTHER If the original document is in American English, the document should be "adapted" for the target English: British, Irish, Scottish, Australia, New Zealand, African and other. U.K. English: There are, indeed, word differences between American the three European English (England, Ireland, Scotland), and major spelling differences. Also, the British are much less loosey-goosey with grammar and verbs, more of a stickler for accuracy, preferring less hype or exhibitionism in their marketing and training materials and having a "soft spot" for humor. For technology, there are very important word usage differences, such as "hash key" for the telephone's "pound key". For the spoken word, each of the 3 areas (England, Ireland, Scotland) have both a broadcast accent and a "street accent". The broadcast accent is the smooth accent accepted for advertising, multimedia and videos. The "street accent" is that which Americans often use in specialty commercials or comedy to lend personality to a marketing piece. In general, "street accents" are never used in business multimedia or products. Additionally, British corporate marketing pieces usually have a different "feel" from American, tend to be more modest, and materials written in the U.S. expanded to the U.K. market will often benefit for some rewrite. Australian and New Zealand English: Australian and New Zealand English have different word usage and spelling from American and British. Although the "character" words from Crocodile Dundee are not used in business transactions, there is a major difference in the spoken accent, which is enormously different and flavorful from American and British, and a difference in accent between Australian and New Zealand. Contrary to American commercials, not all Aussies sound like the beer commercials made by U.S. producers, although the Aussies enjoy a good characterization and hearty laugh. Both Australia and New Zealand have broadcast accents and "street accents". The broadcast accent is used for advertising, multimedia and videos. "Down Under" corporate marketing pieces usually have a different "feel" from American, and materials written in the U.S. expanded to the Australia/New Zealand market will often benefit from rewrite and re-record. African and Other English: There are 14 other dialects of English in Africa, Asia and the Americas. @International Services offers adaptation services in most areas for documents and multimedia, plus specialty consultants. RUSSIAN Both neutral Russian translation (for Moscow) and expatriate Russian translation (for the United States) are provided for documents, technical papers, human resources and marketing. Neutral Russian is the target market Moscow and the Russian federation areas. "Expatriate" Russian is generally for Russian populations living in the United States, who may have come from the country of Russia or other Russian-based areas, and whose use of Russian language has been adapted to living in an English-based culture, and whose children are often educated in English, speaking Russian at home. Translation for documentation, software, marketing materials and web sites in Cyrillic are surprisingly easy to handle when client and translation company work closely together. Voices are recorded in Moscow and also Russian anchors for CNN and BBC. The Russian culture does not respond well to marketing hype, but does respond well to modernity, cutting-edge applications, and technical teamwork. For web sites and web work, once the browser has been properly set to Cyrillic Russian characters, the site will appear in lovely Russian for viewers properly equipped for Russian. POLISH Translation for both Polish for Warsaw and expatriate Polish for the United States are provided for documents, technical papers, human resources and marketing. Polish translations for Poland are translated in Warsaw, and voices are recorded in Warsaw. The Polish language has changed immensely in the recent years, due to technology and the break with the Russian block . "Expatriate" Polish is generally for Polish populations living in the United States, whose families have come from Poland, and whose use of Polish language has been adapted to living in an English-based culture, and whose children are often educated in English, speaking Polish only at home. Translation for documentation, software, marketing materials and web sites in Polish are surprisingly easy to handle when client and translation company work closely together. Although Polish is based upon A-B-C letters, there are very special accented letters that are not available in English based graphic systems and font choices. Thus, compatibility for fonts and character sets is an important issue to be handled quickly at the beginning of any project. Or, @International Services can provide all documents as PDF, or artwork as bitmap files to avoid preparing the client's machine for Polish compatibility. For web sites and web work, once the browser has been properly set to each language set, the site will appear with proper text and accents for properly equipped viewers. CZECH, SLOVAK, HUNGARIAN AND EAST BLOCK The East Block languages include Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Rumanian, Lithuanian, Estonian and Latvian. Translation and localization is provided for documents, product and software localization, marketing, and human resources. Professional voice talents are recorded in Hungary, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Although these languages are based upon A-B-C letters, most have very special accented letters that are not available in English based graphic systems and font choices. Thus, compatibility for fonts and character sets is an important issue to be handled quickly at the beginning of any project. Or, @International Services can provide all documents as PDF, or artwork as bitmap files to avoid preparing the client's machine for compatibility. For web sites and web work, once the browser has been properly set to each language set, the site will appear with proper text and accents for properly equipped viewers. ARABIC There are several dialects of the Arabic language. Fortunately, there is one "neutral" Arabic, called "classical Arabic", for use across borders. Additionally, there are several spoken dialects of Arabic with different pronunciations, but again, there is a neutral broadcast Arabic for use on multi-country projects. @International Services translates in several Arab countries, and records voices in several Arab countries as well. Handling the Arabic language for the first time poses some difficulties because it is not only a massively different "font", but also because most of its letters change shape and size according to their position in a word. Additionally, Arabic reads from right to left ("backwards" from Latin based languages). Thus, the first Arabic experience does involve preparing the client computers for this new approach. Or, @International Services can provide all documents as PDF, or artwork as bitmap files to avoid preparing the client's machine for Arabic compatibility. Web work is less complicated, and once the browser has been properly set to Arabic, a web site will appear in good Arabic for viewers properly equipped for the language. HEBREW Full range of Hebrew services are provided, performed in Israel and reviewed in the United States by Hebrew professionals. Voices are recorded in Tel-Aviv for multimedia, videos, television and training materials. Handling Hebrew for the first time poses some difficulties as it is not only a different "font" but is a language that reads from right to left ("backwards" from Latin based languages). Thus, the first Hebrew experience does involve preparing the client computers for this new approach. Or, @International Services can provide all documents as PDF, or artwork as bitmap files to avoid preparing the client's machine for Hebrew compatibility. On the other hand, web work is less complicated, and once the browser has been properly set to Hebrew, a web site will appear in good Hebrew for viewers properly equipped for the language. TURKISH Turkish projects are translated in Istanbul for documentation, product localization, web sites and marketing. Turkish voices are recorded in Istanbul for multimedia, CD Roms, videos and voice products. Translation for documentation, software, marketing materials and web sites in Turkish are surprisingly easy to handle when client and translation company work closely together. Although Turkish is based upon A-B-C letters, there are very special accented letters that are not available in English based graphic systems and font choices. Thus, compatibility for fonts and character sets is an important issue to be handled quickly at the beginning of any project. Or, @International Services can provide all documents as PDF, or artwork as bitmap files to avoid preparing the client's machine for Turkish compatibility. For web sites and web work, once the browser has been properly set to Turkish, the site will appear with proper text and accents for properly equipped viewers. Turkish for technology products has special requirements, and is translated by@IS professionals in Turkey from engineering and technical fields. Turkish is especially tricky for technical matters. Example: a major California telephone company used a professional translation agency (not @IS) for their Turkish telephone voice prompts, such as "For English, press 1". The translation looked beautiful, with squiggles and impressive accents. Unfortunately, there are two words for "press" in Turkish: one used in telephony (which the translators did not choose); the other a colloquial expression for the f... word (which they chose). Istanbul rejected the product on the spot. TAGALOG Tagalog (also known as "Tagalong") is the main language for the Philippines. There are quite a few dialects of Tagalog, and other island languages spoken in the region, as well. But for a Philippine audience, Tagalog is the language of choice. Tagalog uses A-B-C characters which makes it easy to manipulate by clients in documents and software. @International Services records Tagalog voices with broadcast accent accepted throughout the Philippines for marketing CD Roms, telephone systems and other voice uses.   More information on specific languages: Spanish German Chinese German Asian European Scandinavian Other