Posts

Showing posts from February, 2018

The language you speak could determine the shades of colour you see

You think you can distinguish all the shades of green in the world? For most of us, it’s a ridiculous question to ask. Of course yes, I can distinguish the different shades of green - I can effortlessly distinguish army green from lime green with no trouble. But did you know your language is preventing you seeing other colour shades? That is an audacious statement to make. But yes, your mother tongue, national language or official language maybe a hindrance to how you perceive your immediate environment. Be it the encounters of early Christian missionaries, explorers, or traders. The world is full of interesting stories of people being stunned, upon finding people who conceived and interpreted reality differently because of language. The Kindergarten teacher and the subsequent art lessons may have exhaustively exposed you to the different colours, but you might be shocked to learn that; there are some colours you probably may never see. But, there is someone somewhere in the wor

5 reasons to start targeting ethnic audiences

Today’s consumers are enjoying more power thanks to online growth and increased trends in globalisation. With plenty of choice in the marketplace, ethnic consumers more often exercise this power to break free from brands that do not address their cultural needs. Ethnic media outlets such as ethnic newspapers provide a higher ROI on advertising than mainstream outlets due to their highly targetted/niche audiences. ADDRESSING THESE CULTURAL NEEDS HAS MANY BENEFITS: 1 By catering to cultural needs such as  translated content  and multilingual staff, brands can gain the loyalty of ethnic consumers fast. 2 Ethnic consumers (who speak little or no English) tend to promote “ethnic ready” brands to others in their community and word of mouth spreads faster. 3 Ethnic advertising and marketing is highly targeted, therefore Return On Investment (ROI) is much higher than traditional advertising and marketing. 4 Costs associated with ethnic marketing are significantly lower than the

Kintsugi: the cool way to repair broken pottery

Image
Through Kintsugi, a broken object acquires diverse perspectives both from an artistic and symbolic point of view - it’s the Japanese technique of preserving the sentimental value of broken ceramics during repairs, by literally giving them new life, when they assume new form. From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s creatively highlighting where the damage occurred. However, figuratively, the symbolic interpretation of picking up the broken pieces espouses a different meaning altogether. Our imperfections, scars and wounds that we acquire in the course of time are not meant to be hidden, but rather to be proudly displayed. Kintsugi is a combination of two words where kin designates gold, while tsugi means to join. This involves using a special lacquer mixed with mainly gold or silver to repair broken ceramics. This 500-year-old Japanese technique seeks to accentuate where breakage has occurred. This is not an effort simply geared to put the damaged piece to their original state. O

How speaking another language translates into higher relational intelligence

Image
Become a better leader, gain a competitive advantage, win and influence people. What do they have in common? All are luxuries that come along with having a high RQ (Relational Intelligence), and if you speak another language, then you’re in luck. Through a combination of rigorous mental and social conditioning, one of the factors that favours the development of good communication skills, is the process of learning a language. Specifically, how the process of switching from one language to another during our childhood positively impacts our social awareness. There are social aspects to language - that is an undeniable fact. That is why understanding another person’s perspective requires the constant application and sharpening of our cognitive and social skills, even in adulthood. “One of the most pressing concerns in daily communication is to understand others and to be understood”. But did you know that if you can speak more than one language, you are more predisposed to h

Think chess is strategic? Try its Thai cousin, Makruk

Image
Makruk is the most engaging strategy game out there, but not for the reasons you think. You see, games need not to be solely about drama, passion and theatre. There is a place for Creativity, intuition and yes, logic. That’s right, there are games out there that will demand a perfect blend of these two diametrically opposed human nature archetypes. Thus, the notion of strategy games. Strategy games, have been part of modern man’s evolution, we love to plan ahead. In fact, we have entire tenses developed to describe hypothesis, conditional situations and the future. It’s for this reason why, board games will never go away. They will continue to intrigue us. Undeniably, it is the Godlike need to read other people’s minds or anticipate another person move that drives us to play such games. For instance, the ancient Chinese noblemen and military leaders were obsessed with such games which were so complex in in their nature that, for some games. They possess probabilities that are

Persian gardens. Yes, you read right. What are they and where to find them.

Think of one thing that perfectly defines the notion of paradise. To many of us, one of those thoughts evokes the idea of a tranquil, well kept garden. It might be new for you to hear that the reason you see paradise through the prism of a garden could be because of the Persians. Although Babylonian mythologies are full of allusions to a garden, the Persians took this idea to a whole new level given that their legacy endures to this day in popular imagination one way or another. Persian gardens (in Persian باغ های ایرانی) refer to a tradition and style of garden design that has its origins in Persia (currently Iran). Indeed, Greek historian Herodotus noted that; the Persian kings liked gardening. What makes a Persian garden a Persian garden? High walls, trees for shade, streams and fountains set apart Persian gardens from the rest. It is important to reiterate this point that Persian gardens are walled in which is a huge departure from Chinese, French, Zen or English gardens.

Lexigo is a leading cloud-based translation

Lexigo is a leading cloud-based translation, localisation and multicultural communication agency for business, enterprise and government - enabling global brands to communicate with confidence and boost time-to-market in 96 languages. Awarded as one of Australia’s most innovative companies in the Smart 100 and a Top 10 SME in the DELL Business Excellence Awards, Lexigo is leading the way in better translating, localizing and managing multi-language content for hundreds of organizations each month. For More Information Please Visit My Site : https://lexigo.com