Global Tips & Ask AAA

Keep up with the latest news and updates on doing globally-minded business in a global world.

By Susanne Evens 05 Feb, 2024
In an increasingly interconnected global marketplace, businesses are continually seeking opportunities to expand their reach and set up a presence on the international stage. Trade shows serve as pivotal platforms for networking, displaying products, and forging lucrative partnerships. However, the success of a company at trade shows is contingent upon its ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences. This white paper clarifies the importance of localizing materials for trade shows and how this strategic approach can elevate a company's global presence. Read More
15 Jan, 2024
Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusive Localization: Localization efforts are becoming more attuned to cultural nuances, with a focus on creating content that is not only linguistically accurate but also culturally sensitive and inclusive. Different cultures may have varying perspectives on gender roles and expressions. Translators need to be sensitive to these cultural nuances to accurately convey the intended meaning while respecting cultural differences.
By Susanne Evens 20 Sep, 2023
Whether you have German heritage or not, you’re likely to get caught up in the fall celebrations of Germany’s Oktoberfest. A little of its history and current German practices – To Know Before You Go – will help you to get the most out of your celebration. The Beginnings of Oktoberfest According to The German Way , the original Das Oktoberfest celebrated the marriage between Princess Teresa (Therese) of Bavaria (1792-1854) and Prince Ludwig I (later king of Bavaria) on October 12, 1810. Throughout the following week, townspeople enjoyed grand banquets, concerts, parties, balls, and a horse race. Due to its success, the Bavarian royal family held another race the following year, which became an annual Oktoberfest tradition. The royal family passed the management of the event to the Munich city fathers to create a widespread community celebration whose delights spread to neighboring country sides and expanded to two weeks or more. The Fest continued with great popularity through the years, including the featured horse race as part of the activities through 1960. Only wars – Napoleonic and World Wars – and disease – cholera, Spanish flu, and COVID-19 – have stopped the people from celebrating fall, harvest, family, food, and … beer! Oktoberfest Today The 188 th event is taking place on the Theresienwiese in Munich from 16 September to 3 October. Held on 85 acres, Das Oktoberfest is the largest folk festival in the world, set to attract nearly 5 million people this year. Make no mistake, while this is a celebration, it is also a business: nearly 900 companies have applied to be part of Oktoberfest 2023. 474 businesses were approved this year, including 140 from the catering trade, 138 fairground businesses, 196 market traders and several service businesses. There will be 39 businesses at the Oidn Wiesn, 14 of which are gastronomic, 23 showmen's shops and two market traders. Last year, 5.6 million liters of beer was served, all figures according to the official Oktoberfest website . This year, a liter of beer will cost between €12.60 and €14.90, resulting in an estimated €77M in sales. As the home page describes,, each Oktoberfest “begins with a parade led by the Munich mayor and the ‘Münchner Kindl’ (Munich child, the city’s mascot, usually portrayed by a girl). Then comes the ceremonial tapping of the first beer keg at 12 noon. That honor goes to the mayor, who shouts out the traditional cry of ‘O’zapft is!’ (‘It is tapped!’) Only then can the start flowing and the festivities begin.” The Oktoberfest grounds, which resemble a state fair, are enclosed by a fence and offer security through Die Polizei (police). Dozens of rides and attractions fill the grounds. Admission to the area is free; rides, table reservations, food and beverages are available for purchase. AAA Translation has helped many Americans who are planning to visit the Oktoberfest to fill out their applications to reserve a table at one of the many beer tents, as those are only provided in German. Visitors can easily spend multiple days at Das Oktoberfest with unique happenings every day. Organizers continue to balance tradition and enhancing the festival with new and interesting attractions. For example, this year, Paulaner Beer opted to serve all-organic hens at its Paulaner Festzelt, said msn.com . Roasted chicken has been among the most popular festival foods, but the organic hen cost 20.50 euros ($22), about 50% more than the nonorganic hen. Additional food and drink abound at various Festzelte or Beer Festival Tents, which are more like buildings. Visitors may buy ox roasted on a revolving spit, famous “fish on a stick” or Steckerlfisch , pork Bratwurst , Knödel (Bavarian dumplings), or cake and pastries. Two popular beer tents are Hofbräu-Festzelt , run by the famous Hofbräuhaus and Löwenbräu-Festzelt , the “lion’s brew” tent, displaying a large lion above the entrance to welcome all – specifically soccer fans. Three other tents of note are: Wiesn-Festzelt is the largest and oldest tent. Rich with history, it features hearty brass music and dance floors for polka-ing and beer from stone mugs. Hacker-Festzelt is warm and welcoming, featuring many familiar scenes from Munich daily living in the city. Marstall Festzelt honors the equestrian roots of the Oktoberfest, following in the “gallop-prints” of the Hippodrome. The Marstall, a court riding-school built by Leo von Klenze, gathered aristocratic equestrians 200 years ago. Oktoberfest Throughout Germany and Beyond For those who would like to experience a true German Oktoberfest outside Munich, try: The Cannstatter Volksfest ( Cannstatter Wasen ) in Stuttgart is the second largest beer festival and fair in Germany, with about 4.5 million annual visitors. It starts a week later than Oktoberfest. Also consider the Cranger Kirmes in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia; the Rheinkirmes in Düsseldorf, and the Freimarkt in Bremen in northern Germany. An estimated 100 Oktoberfest events happen around the world, happening in areas as far-reaching as Yokohama , Japan ; Windhoek, Namibia ; Melbourne , Australia ; Cordoba, Argentina ; and Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, says Nice News . Wherever you travel, k eep in mind AAA Translation for culture and localization questions to best enjoy your cultural interactions.
By Susanne Evens 22 Aug, 2023
Athletic competition has been universally appreciated around the world and throughout time. Since early recorded history, audience members have been entertained by events such as the Aztec’s Ullamaliztli in Mexico and the long-distance races of the Olympic Games in Greece. These types of sport laid the groundwork for modern matches, like the recent Women’s World Cup soccer games in Australia. Today’s audiences are drawn to the drama, athletic prowess, and excitement surrounding the soccer game – before the players hit the field, as they play, and after the countdown clock finishes. In the finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Spain opposed England in an all-Euro match. Both teams faced challenges ahead of the game: Spain dealt with the team’s protests against their head coach and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF); then it lost several key players who didn’t advance to the last game after qualifying to play. England too, was missing principal players when the Lionesses’ all-time leading goal scorer and the starring midfielder announced their retirements. However, the match held promise with extraordinary returning talent on both sides. During the game, dashing plays – such as Spain’s single goal and England’s near-goal – kept the interest of the fans high, while they lamented the significant injuries to players in both uniforms. Post-game, the euphoria on Spain’s side held controversy with the unanticipated kiss from RFEF president Luis Rubiales on midfielder Jennifer Hermoso. Meantime, England’s Manager Sarina Wiegman showed obvious misery at her second consecutive World Cup final loss. The entertainment value of games like these has increased the popularity of soccer worldwide, bringing with it the demand for materials to learn this game, teach it, and coach teams. Players and coaches find it critical to learn secrets of successful athletes and staff by studying their performance careers, especially in sports manuals and other books. For more than 20 years, AAA Translation has been translating hundreds of sports books for Meyer & Meyer Sport Germany. The topics of these range from fencing to yoga, yet the majority have been about soccer. These books are intended for those with casual interest in the game as well as players, trainers, and coaching staff wanting to shape high-achieving players and teams. One example of our book translation projects is Pep Guardiola: The Philosophy That Changed The Game, found on amazon.com here . Since the inception of the brand-new St. Louis City Soccer Club (STL CITY SC), AAA Translation has been translating editorial articles for the club and provided German interpreting services when hosting Bayer Leverkusen for CITYPARK'S Historic Inaugural Event in 2022. Sharing the enjoyment of this game and other sports has been part of the mission of our company, as it unites the world’s citizens. If you or your company are interested in translation of materials related to sports or sporting events, we would be glad to assist you.
By Susanne Evens 09 Aug, 2023
The $1.03 billion in ticket sales* at the global box office confirms that the new Barbie movie has done a lot of things right to please its audiences. Higher ticket sales in the United States were anticipated because of the multi-generational appeal of the 60 + -year-old toy, but to the surprise of some movie critics, it has generated mass interest worldwide. Several of the movie’s themes translated cross-culturally, such as the role of men v. women in the modern world – as well as “ordinary,” real-life struggles women have – resulting in high ticket sales in Mexico, China, Australia, and the U.K. One item that did not translate well, however, was a seemingly avoidable one – and one likely remedied with video-editing. The offensive film clips caught the attention of the Vietnamese government, specifically the head of the Department of Cinema. This organization oversees licensing and censoring of foreign films. The administrators were not offended by the references to the objectification of Barbie, Ken's role or the inclusion of Asian actors, feminist themes or that the 'Ordinary' Barbie in Vietnam may look different than what was presented in Barbieland. Instead, it was something visually simpler with more complex interpretation. Their statement, presented in Vietnam's state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper, said that the Barbie movie would not be released – in fact was barred – because of this: “We do not grant license for the American movie 'Barbie' to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line,” says CBS news . Within the movie’s plotline, Barbieland is separated from real-life land of the rest of the world. On the map the audience sees repeatedly water separates various countries and islands, with dotted lines indicating some borders between them. In this fictional film, the countries are not drawn to shape or scale, yet they were close enough to have the censors take notice and raise their sensitivities. The Department of Cinema was referencing “the nine-dash line” which China has promoted as a delineation of its territory but contested by Vietnam, who claims more of these lands in the South China Sea are its territory. This line is not officially drawn, but China presents it as “Off the coast of China's Hainan Island, and runs close to the coast of Vietnam, deep into the South China Sea, enclosing the Spratly Islands. North of Borneo, near the coasts of Malaysia and Brunei, the line turns and runs to the west of the Philippines and ends just to the south of Taiwan,” defines CBS news. The sensitivity of this border conflict is well-justified, with many decades of dispute between the countries, and not to be taken lightly. Indeed, this is a prime example where a localization firm could have been consulted to use their knowledge of localization and cultural nuances to avoid provoking ill will. In the case of these maps, had the image been drawn another way, it may have easily passed the censors and enabled more interested movie-goers the chance to enjoy Barbie’s iconic pink world, her friends, and goodwill. With international releases, using cultural experts should be a regular step in that process of release to avoid challenges like these. *According to official Warner Bros. estimates as reported by Barrons .
By Susanne Evens 27 Jul, 2023
If you’ve ever wondered why you have trouble reaching your international colleagues, check your calendars. With different paid vacation time, it may seem that some professionals are out of the office more than others. Knowing more about their policies can help you understand when the best time is to schedule your communications. The length of total paid leave that full-time employees are legally entitled to varies country to country. Several policies are described here, including the minimum amounts defined by government labor laws, with some employer-specific requirements. According to the 2023 figures on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country , South Koreans enjoy the highest number of paid days, at 30-40 annually. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s policy requires its workers to begiven 26-36 paid days yearly, depending on years of service and seniority. China has a range that varies between 16-26 for different industries. Singapore offers between 18-25 days. India’s workers enjoy 35 paid days per year. In Pakistan, employees (except contract and temporary workers) receive a minimum 14 days of paid annual leave after one year – which ranks among the lowest in the world. Across Europe, the majority of countries guarantee workers a minimum of 20 days off every year. Spain provides 22 days guaranteed (and up to 36) days annually. Germany is slightly lower at 30 vacation days per year, while France offers 5 weeks. Within the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland mandate 5.6 weeks off annually. Denmark offers 25 days. In Scandinavia, Swedes experience 34 days of paid annual leave; Norwegians experience 35 days and Finns, 36 days. In most provinces of Canada, employees receive a minimum of 2 weeks of vacation for every year of employment. In South America, Brazil offers 26-34 days. In Argentina, paid leave ranges from 14-35 days based on time with the company. Australia and New Zealand have generous policies as well, offering 30 and 32 days, respectively. In South Africa, the policy is a little more complicated, entitling workers 21 consecutive days, or 1 day for every 17 days worked, or 1 hour for every 17 hours worked. In Egypt, employees may take up to 21 days of paid leave but must wait 6 months before taking their first day off. [As a comparison, federal law in the United States does not require companies to provide any paid vacation time, though most employers to offer 10-14 days off per year as part of their compensation package.] Knowing some countries offer significant paid leave, be sure to build in extra time when anticipating responses from international colleagues. If you are curious about other countries’ paid leave policies, go to the List of Minimum Annual Leave by Country on Wikipedia .
By Susanne Evens 27 Jul, 2023
As worldwide supply chain challenges resolve themselves, now is the time for visionary thinking about broader expansion. An earlier blog centered on the importance of effective international communication in negotiation around constriction of services in import and export businesses. Channels of communication and transport for goods and services are opening widely – and effective exchanges are becoming the foundation of future multi-national growth or deeper presence in a specific locality. To manage the increased global appetite for consumer goods, businesses must realize and address the opportunities currently presenting themselves through widespread interconnectedness. Clear communication between partners, manufacturers and other suppliers is essential to take advantage of innovation in transport and logistics, increased shipping capacity, and leadership changes. In short, culturally-appropriate sharing of ideas in the client’s or buyer’s native language can drive business growth. Expressing new concepts can be difficult on its own – regardless of the language. Skilled translators will seek to understand the context of the words before creating translations of concept descriptions and the correspondence that accompanies them. When global business entities explore growth options and act on them purposely with timely and efficient communication, they can lead their competitive landscape. Professionally-formulated global business correspondence helps to accomplish this, avoiding errors in word choice, meaning, or word order. Precise writing in translation leads readers to grasp particularly important details of export and import workflows, personnel, or timelines in existing relationships, creating deeper bonds and desire to further business dealings. Likewise, when establishing new relationships (especially in a new region or country), creating communication that is thoughtful, in the correct tone, and with the correct business terminology will set the stage for fewer mistakes and misunderstandings – which can happen anywhere, even with the Subject line of emails or the opening lines of formal printed documents like Letters of Credit or Partnership Agreements. In fact, some business relationship failures can be directly tied to mishandling of respectful titles, courtesies, expectations, or permissions – which can be well managed when professionals involved with the correspondence are versed in business etiquette. Don’t leave this to chance. Rely on us if you need help structuring, writing, or editing culturally-appropriate correspondence to fuel business expansion.
By Susanne Evens 28 Jun, 2023
The workforce today is more diverse than ever before. According to recent research from the U.S. Census , the number of people in the United States that spoke a language other than English at home nearly tripled from 23.1 million (about 1 in 10) in 1980 to 67.8 million (almost 1 in 5) in 2019. Furthermore, based on the 2019 data, between 30-50 percent of those individuals that are in the workforce had not yet mastered English. It is evident that despite the widespread globalization of the workplace, organizations have yet to adopt a standard practice of providing multilingual training for learning and development. Read More
By Susanne Evens 25 May, 2023
Kaliah and I met in 2020 through the St. Louis Hillman Scholars Program, becoming the first translation industry mentor for an aspiring interpreter for this particular program. Kaliah, an incoming freshman at Loyola in New Orleans, has a strong desire for a career in interpretation. Despite Covid restrictions, we communicated via Zoom and met in person when she visited her home = St. Louis. During our last meeting, she shared her excitement about leaving for a study abroad exchange program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but expressed her nervousness about communicating in Spanish. I encouraged her, saying that immersing herself in the language was the best way to learn it fluently. Read more
By Susanne Evens 25 Apr, 2023
Recently, our team has been managing a significant volume of proofreading projects that are generated by free online translation tools, website plug-ins, and machine translations. These projects often require extensive rewriting or even complete recreation from scratch, with only a small number needing minor adjustments. As an example of the critical nature of our work, our Spanish team recently reviewed, proofread, and rewrote a highly important document and their response was as follows: "Machine translation was used for this document. It only translates words literally without understanding the meaning of sentences. Grammar differences, idioms, gender, tense, voice, and singular/plural distinctions are not considered, resulting in hilarious or nonsensical translations. The entire translation needed extensive rewriting, as this is very common in machine translations." Read more
Show More
Have a question about translation & localization, interpreting? We are here to help. PLEASE CLICK HERE


Earlier Articles:

By Susanne Evens 08 Mar, 2023
AAA Translation is dedicated to expanding its growth through advanced technology and a team of highly skilled interpreters. By leveraging our powerful systems and unmatched talent, we can now provide quick and reliable remote interpreting services with superior accessibility. Whether you require visual or audio interpreting services, third-party dial outs, virtual meetings, or telehealth capabilities, AAA Translation has a solution to meet your company's needs. Utilizing the AAA Translation mobile app in conjunction with Zoom, WebEx, Doxy, Doxemity, ECW, and other platforms, you can experience the same high-quality service and accessibility while reducing costs and improving your bottom line. Read more
By Susanne Evens 02 Mar, 2023
"It's important," Susanne Evens said about communication in her exclusive interview for Social Capital. As the founder and CEO of AAA Translation, which provides translation and interpreter service to countries globally, she speaks from personal experience when she says, "The world is so much smaller and we need to be able to communicate with each other, no matter where we are in this world; even in the Midwest where I am and the middle of Ukraine, we need to be able to communicate." Read more
By Susanne Evens 07 Feb, 2023
Is Artificial Intelligence a valid option for mission critical translations? Artificial Intelligence uses machines and computer systems to simulate the processes of human intelligence. It requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing and training machine learning algorithms. AI makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust accordingly to new inputs, and perform human-like tasks. Things such as computerized chess games and self-driving cars rely heavily on deep learning and natural language processing. But who teaches the machine? Read more
By Susanne Evens 19 Jan, 2023
The start of a new year is a perfect time to take inventory of your employee documentation. This is the time to determine if any internal operations changed over the past year. Are you implementing new policies or procedures? Have you kept your employees informed? Employee handbooks are invaluable for building consistency for your brand and operations. Depending on how they are written, they may also protect an employer against employee lawsuits. They can be a very strategic risk management tool. Small enterprises earning $1 million spend approximately $20,000 annually on employee lawsuits, while Fortune 500 companies spend an estimated amount of $2 billion in settlements alone. Continue Reading
By Susanne Evens 23 Dec, 2022
The Holiday Season, a period of quiet reflection, of warmth and love. A time of looking back at the year gone by… and ahead, into the future. And that’s what we do. Both privately and professionally we look back on the past twelve months, take stock and thank our clients, employees, business partners and colleagues all over the world who have contributed to what turned out to be a successful year. It's been great working with you all and we look forward to working with you again in the next year! Read the rest of the article
31 Oct, 2022
You love all things pumpkin, ghost and trick-or-treat related, but do you know the origins of this spooky fall celebration? Halloween traditions evolved alongside the Celtic festival of Samhain, a pagan holiday marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “darker half” of the year. The pagans believed that during Samhain the barriers between our world and the spirit world were at their weakest, so they would light bonfires and dress up in costume to ward off wayward spirits. Read the rest of the article
By Bill Sholar 18 Jun, 2022
It is no secret: Remote work is not going anywhere anytime soon. With this trend beginning even before COVID-19/Corona, a little over 16% of companies worldwide now exist entirely outside of the office, and studies show... Click here for the rest of the story
By Bill Sholar 10 May, 2022
Around the globe, more people are beginning to travel as COVID-19/Corona restrictions continue to lift and spring and summer vacations get scheduled. Click here for the rest of the story
By Susanne Evens 11 Apr, 2022
Over the past few weeks, our team has received numerous inquiries to proofread everything from websites to technical manuals to highly sensitive documents... Click here for the rest of the story
By Bill Sholar 15 Mar, 2022
If you are doing business globally, it is crucial for you to be able to effectively communicate with your wide, diverse customer base. Did you know that nearly 75% of the internet's three billion users do not speak English? Click here for the rest of the story
Share by: