Excerpt from How to Say

How to Say is a website with information geared toward people who are interested in learning different languages. It features vocabulary sets for over 10,000 words and phrases in ten different languages. It also includes posts about languages, travel, and related topics.

The following is a guest post reprinted with permission from How to Say.

Improve Your English Pronunciation

Let us be honest with ourselves. Reading about pronunciation is not going to take you anywhere. You have to speak English to master the pronunciations, and it doesn't matter if you go wrong. You fall down; you learn to get up.

Every English speaking country has its own form of English. There is the American English, British English, Australian English, etc. And then we have our own Indian English. Pronunciations are different in each country's English. Learning them all would be inane. Start with clarifying and neutralizing your own regional English accent and then move on to learning the accents and slang of other countries.

Learn the phonetics

There are phonetic symbols which indicate whether a word should be pronounced as "cat" or as "cut." These symbols are often found in dictionary. It is advisable to have a dictionary by your side all the time for quick meaning and pronunciation references.

Watch movies, and listen to songs and radio

The best way to improve pronunciation is not through reading grammar books, but by watching native English programs and movies with subtitles, and listening to English songs with the lyrics in front of you. Listening to the radio is another excellent way. You have less distraction visually and your entire concentration is on what is being said.

Understanding stress

Words that can be split into two or more syllables will have distinct stress. The shift in stress changes the pronunciations and in some cases their meaning. Stress markings can be referred to in a good dictionary.

Miscellaneous tips

If you have to communicate in English with another person and you are not sure about your pronunciation, it doesn't matter. Just give them a background of what you are going to talk about so that they can tune in.

For example, it will be a good idea to ask, "Can you help me? I need directions to this address," rather than jumping directly to the address.

Write down the words that trouble you often. There are plenty of websites where you can listen to pronunciations.

Just a word to conclude: "Practice makes perfect." Speak good English taking cues from the above-mentioned tips, and make your way up the ladder of mastering English.

Meet Costa Vasili, CEO of Sydney Translations

Costa Vasili is the CEO of Sydney Translations, a premium translation agency in Australia providing NAATI accredited and certified professional translation services in over 150 languages. The people at Sydney Translations believe that communication is at the very core of a well-functioning society and because of this, they work with the private and public sector to ensure communication can occur across linguistic barriers.

1. As a translation service based in Australia, what languages are you most commonly asked to translate?

At Sydney Translations, the languages that we get the most requests to complete translation projects in are largely influenced by the migrant populations that have moved to Australia over many decades. Our top ten languages that we work in are Malay, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Croatian, Thai, and Portuguese. These languages are in keeping with large migrant populations that have moved to Australia.

2. How do you find the best translators to work for your company?

The best translators that we work with are ordinarily found through our industry contacts and through recommendations. The best translators conduct themselves in a professional manner, meet their deadlines, and check for accuracy before submitting translation deliverables. Building a strong relationship with your translation team helps to build trust and mutual respect, leading to a long and successful partnership. For example, an Arabic translator in Sydney that we work with has never missed a deadline in over 100 assignments and has always received positive feedback from our clients.

3. What are some factors that keep your services so affordable?

Utilizing the latest in technology to drive process improvement and efficiency is absolutely essential to ensuring that we can provide an extremely affordable translation service. At Sydney Translations we operate an extremely lean delivery model to ensure that there are no unnecessary overheads being added to our clients' invoices.

4. When it comes to effective translations, what helps translators achieve speed in their work while also maintaining a high degree of accuracy?

There are a number of Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools that translators can use to improve translation accuracy and speed up work. CAT tools help to predict translations, remove repetition, and utilize glossaries to improve translation accuracy.

5. For people seeking translation services, what would your advice be in terms of how to find the best translators for their specific job?

To find the best translation service for your needs, ensure that you work exclusively with translation professionals (not bilingual friends or colleagues). Just because someone can speak two languages doesn't mean that they can effectively translate for you, particularly when it comes to technical subject matter. Seek out translation agencies that work with accredited translators and that are able to explain to you how their unique translation delivery model can help you maintain translation accuracy whilst meeting deadlines and working within your budget.

Thanks, Costa!

Document Translation: Finding the Right Words

The following is a guest post, courtesy of LanguageLine Solutions, a company which offers a range of translating and interpreting services.

With so much international communication these days, it is often necessary to use a document translation service. If you find yourself in this position, before clicking on the first online company you see, think about what your specific needs are. Choosing a company unsuited to your particular job can be both unsatisfactory and expensive, and in worst case scenarios can lead to serious misunderstandings with legal, health, or business consequences. It may be necessary to provide technical drawings or photographs along with the text so that the translator can fully understand the meaning of the words in context.

The first thing you should ask yourself is how long you can wait for the translation. Speed comes at a premium, so choosing a company that offers fast online document translation may cost you more. The other factor with regard to price is word count. This is generally based on your original document, whichever language it is written in. However, you might want to compare how different companies calculate the job: some simply charge for the overall number of words, while others discount not only repetitions of the same word but also common words and phrases which the translator knows by heart, rather than needs to spend time working out. This could be a big advantage.

What kind of document do you want translated? It is obviously a more straightforward task to translate documents in everyday English, for instance, rather than one which contains many technical terms, such as medical or legal. These generally require specialist translators and may cost more, unless the document is identical to one they have previously dealt with.

Most online document translation companies will offer a quote if you send them a copy of your document. You still need to ensure that they are trustworthy, however. A company that is used by many multinational corporations is likely to come well recommended. Other companies may state that their work is recognized by official bodies, such as the Foreign Office or other government department of the country to which you wish to send the translation. It is well worth doing a bit of research at this stage to ensure that you are choosing the best possible document translation service for your purpose. If you are dealing with foreign property, for instance, or have business abroad, you are sure to need an accurate translation of such official documents as wills, house deeds, licenses, and contracts.

After finding a fast online document translation service that seems to fit your needs, don't forget to read the small print. This outlines how soon they want to be paid, what they guarantee to do, and how they would recompense you if they either fail to deliver on time or do an inadequate job. Some companies offer to redo all, or part, of a translation if it is not to your satisfaction. Do not expect the translation to be different from the original, though. They will not turn your factual copy into a sales pitch, or love letter into a Valentine's Day poem!