Interpreters are amazing and make a difference in people’s lives every day!
Translationz’ Queensland office had our mid-year gathering with our Queensland based interpreters on Thursday May 2nd. At this evening of celebration, we honoured the important contribution of each and every interpreter. Thank you to all those who attended. If you couldn’t make it, we look forward to seeing you at our next gathering.
Hermès staff on Collins Street, Melbourne were pleasantly surprised by the unusually high number of people popping in to buy leather gloves last weekend. Most of these customers had come straight from the Hermès at Work event at Melbourne Town Hall, where they had observed fascinating demonstrations of the French artisans at work, while high quality interpreters from Translationz explained the techniques behind each craft. They were captivated by the iconic brand’s ethic of combining artistry with practicality – or as Hermès’ Director of Cultural Heritage, Ménéhould de Bazelaire du Chatelle described it: “giving materiality a soul.”
Have you ever wondered about the secret techniques and strategies behind the creation of your favourite Hermès products? Now you have the opportunity to watch the highly skilled French artisans at work, and even ask them questions about how they create their iconic masterpieces. During the exclusive Festival des Mètiers (Festival of Crafts) event, nine Hermès artisans will work at their craft in a public workshop at the Melbourne Town Hall from March 8 to 17. An interpreter from Translationz will stand alongside each artisan, so members of the public can ask questions directly about the artistry, technique and craftsmanship of Hermès products.
The iconic Hermès label was first established in the 19th century, originally supplying high quality carriage harnesses and bridles. Illustrious customers included the Czar of Russia who purchased Hermès saddles, and Edward, Prince of Wales (later the Duke of Windsor) who wore the world’s first leather golf jacket featuring an exclusive and innovative Hermès fastener, now commonly known as a zipper. Today, Hermès is renowned for its distinctive range of luxury items, including leather, scarves, ties, shoes, gloves, menswear and women’s wear, perfume, watches, stationery and jewellery. As part of the artistic tradition behind the brand, Hermès rejects mass-production, and all goods are created in French workshops with most items are said to be made from start to finish by one artisan. This production method ensures that all Hermès items retain their high quality and uniqueness.
- English is still top of the languages necessary for communication, especially in the business world.
- Mandarin might overtake English as the language of international communication in the not-too-distant future, as this Sino-Tibetan language is spoken by over 955 million people, all of these are native speakers. It is estimated that there are more than a billion speakers around the globe.
Mandarin is spoken in Singapore, and Taiwan as well as in China. However, as China has been recruiting native English speakers to teach English as a Foreign Language in private schools across the country, and also there are hundreds of teachers who teach online, perhaps English will remain the most spoken world language for some time yet. Translationz performs a lot of Chinese translation services so this is not a surprise. - Spanish is the third most commonly spoken language. In the US there are more than 37 million Spanish speakers, although most also speak English. Of course, Spanish is also spoken in Latin America, in countries such as Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, and Ecuador. Perhaps surprisingly, there are few English speakers in Spain. However, as in China, native English speaker teachers are employed in private language schools all over the country.
The 2016 Australian Census figures show that there are 140,817 Spanish speakers in the country. Spanish translation services also make up a significant part of our business. - Arabic is spoken by an estimated 295 million speakers around the world. It is an official language in 28 countries, although there are varieties of the language. An estimated 422 million people around the world have Arabic as their first language. In Australia, according to the 2016 Census figures, Arabic is the third most spoken language. Arabic and the various dialects is in demand for interpreting and Arabic translation services.
- German has at least 95 million people who have it as their first language. It is spoken in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Lichtenstein. Germany has the largest economy in the European Union, so the ability to speak German is extremely useful and required in the business world. We believe that it is a little surprising the amount of German translations we do given most Germans are so proficient at English.
On 23rd December 1901, Australia’s Immigration Restriction Act was introduced. It was one of the first pieces of registration that was passed by the new federal parliament. The purpose of this was to limit immigration to Australia from countries other than Britain, which, at the time was predominantly white. The law meant that non-white people who had settled in Australia before the Act came into power could be legally deported.