STAR TS Translation Services Blog

Damian Scattergood discussing IPad translation with Pat Walsh of Diaryplan.

Yesterday we got our hands on one of the first iPads in Ireland at the Guinness Enterprise Centre’s open enterprise day for new software development startups.

It was a tough day 8:30 to 7:30, and probably one of the most exciting days we have been to in a long time , so congratulations to all involved.

The keynote speaker was Jonathan Siegel, founder of the consultancy ELC Technologies. ElC build cool applications from FunnyOrDie to ESPN and Nascar.  Jonathan showed a great passion for software application development and how the iPhone and iPad had broken the mould and opened up some very exciting development opportunities for software companies.

He demoed the new iPad and some of their applications. Already Apple have sold over 1 Million iPads worldwide. The iPhone technology currently has an installed user base of some 80 million users.

We discussed iPad Localization and iPhone app translation and how this was the next challenge for the platform.

Pat Walsh from http://www.diaryplan.com/ and Damian Scattergood Managing Director of STAR Translation, Dublin discuss the iPad localization process.

Let’s Make an iPad App!

The interactive session with Collin Ruffenach took a brief look at the iPhone and iPad marketplace and then dived into the dirty work of building an iPad application. With the help of a few iPads in the room, a brief overview of XCode and the iPhone SDK we got a glimpse of how to build your first application.

The apple ipad developer kit is available for download here.

If you would like to learn more from the experts in Jonathan’s Team at ELC visit www.icodeblog.com

If you are developing an application for the iPhone or iPad and are looking at localization we would be really interested in partnering with you in this area. Call Damian Scattergood our Managing Director directly on Dublin +353 1 8365614.

Anys…

As document authors, these little text particles often give us a hard time, whether it is for writing reports, original documents or translating into another language.  Let’s have a look at the most common “any” errors:

• “Anytime” VS “Any time”

The word “anytime” is often compressed into a single word by analogy with “anything” and similar words.

Writing tip: Think of “anytime” as a contraction of “at any time”. It will become easier to know when to use one, or the other.

• “Anyway” VS “Any way”

Anyway is an adverb meaning regardless. Any way is just the word way modified by the word any, meaning “any manner”.

Writing tip: Try to replace it by in any case. If it fits, use anyway. If not, use the two words.

• “Anymore” VS “Any more”

“Anymore” should be used when you mean “does no longer”. Ex: I don’t live here anymore.

“Any more” should be used when the words “any” and “more” can be used separately in a sentence. Ex:  I can’t eat any more cheesecake.

The English language contains so many contractions that it is easy to get confused. Let’s go over some basics:

• “Some time” VS “Sometime“

When should you use “some time” and when should you use “sometime“?

Tip: “Some time” refers to “an amount of time “, whereas “sometime” means “eventually”.

• “Into” VS “in to“

“Into” is a preposition, and means “to the inside of”  (ex., “When she walked into the room, she realised the meeting had already begun.”) whereas the words “in” and “to” are respectively an adverb and a preposition.

Tip: Try speaking the sentence concerned aloud, marking a pause between “in” and “to“. If it sounds weird, you should probably  write “into”.

• “Who’s” VS “Whose“

“Who’s” is a contraction of “who is“, whereas “whose“  is a possessive pronoun.

Tip: Replace “who’s” by “who is” in your sentence to see if it fits.

As part of our language services STAR provides English Proofreading Services to clients.

On our internet travels we came across this interesting site the other day.  Our managing director is a Star Wars fan and is interested in Japanese.

It’s certainly an original method of learning a language so we wanted to share the fun and the learning with our users.

Have fun learning Japanese…

If you need professional Japanese Translation Services give our team a call on +353 1 8365614 or upload a file for translation here.

www.star-ts.com

• Languid or Limpid

Languid means something listless, weak or sluggish whereas limpid means something clear or transparent.

• Pretense or Premise

Reviewing a ecommerce website the client claimed, “Our site has been built on the pretense that customer service  is our priority.”

The marketing team obviously meant premise, i.e. “the basis for” the company’s devotion to customers…

The word pretense means “pretending, a false claim, insincere or false profession “. This is certainly the last thing the marketing team wanted to imply!

Proofreading Advice: Spell checkers don’t pick up on these errors, so remember to always have your new copy proofread.

Writing clear English is always hard but spelling can also be a challenge. Some spellings are particularly tough.  Here is a quick test for you.

Choose the right word in each set of parentheses:

1. The central meeting room can ______________________  more people.

[accomodate/accommodate/accommodate]

2. Success requires _______________.
[committment/comittment/commitment]

3. I was _________________________when the plate fell on the floor.

[embarrased/embarrassed/embarassed]

4. I’ve _______________ so much on business I don’t know which country I’m in.
[traveled/travelled)

5. We are looking for  __________________ suggestions for designs for our new brochure.

[inovative/innovative]

Answers:

1. accommodate.

2. commitment.

3. embarrassed.

4. Both spellings are correct

“Traveled” is more used in the US, and “travelled” in Europe.

5. innovative.

For something so small, apostrophes can cause a lot of trouble. Many people find it difficult to be sure when to use them, while some others think that their misuse is one of the worst mistakes that you can make when writing English. The rules are actually very simple.

What are apostrophes used for?

Rule 1: To denote one or more missing letters

The first use of apostrophes is to show that a letter has been left out. The apostrophe stands in for the missing letter(s) to avoid confusion.

-Cannot -> can’t

-Do not-> don’t

-It is-> it’s

Rule 2: To denote possession

The second use is to show who owns something.

-The boy’s dog

-The girl’s cat

-The doctor’s coat

If the item is owned by more than one person, the apostrophe goes after the “s”.

-The boys’ dogs

-The girls’ cats

-The doctors’ coats

If the plural doesn’t have an “s” at the end, the apostrophe goes before the “s”.

The children’s ice-creams.

What are apostrophes not used for?

Rule 3: Apostrophes are not used to denote plurals.

Rule 4: The exception that isn’t an exception

But what about its and it’s?

To recap, it’s is the shortened version of it is.

-It’s raining cats and dogs.

Its is the possessive form, just like mine, yours, his, hers, yours, ours and theirs, and does not have an apostrophe. Although at first glance it looks like an exception to Rule 1, it actually isn’t.

-The dogs chased its tail and the cat shook its head in disgust.