Travel is Rewarding! Whether it is done for business or pleasure, travel expands our world literally and figuratively. To make the most of every travel opportunity, it’s essential to know something about the language of your destination country. Language, along with an understanding of a country’s culture, holds the key to successfully communicating abroad whatever the situation. Managing a global business adds a special urgency to acquire language familiarity – spoken or written – quickly and conveniently. The experts at Global LT can provide language training, translation, and interpretation whenever and wherever you need it... that’s our specialty.

We hope you enjoy receiving Global LT’s Language & Landmarks in your mailbox. We hope they demonstrate our expertise so that, when the need arises for language training, cultural training, translation or interpretation services at your company, you’ll think of Global LT as your solution provider. Please feel free to forward these tips to others within your organization who can benefit from them.

Just like Cultural Insights, Language & Landmarks are posted on our website. Visit www.Global-LT.com and read past insights as well as all the services we offer to help your business achieve more globally.

Global LT’s Language & Landmarks for this month focuses on the Namdaemun Gate.

Bom dia and welcome to Iguacu Falls or Cataratas do Iguacu located in Republica Federativa do Brasil, or Brazil. This amazing natural formation is breathtakingly huge and Brazil’s Iguacu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Brazil, the giant of South America, is a country of superlatives. It contains the most expansive rain forests, the world’s biggest reserves of industrial and precious metals, the mightiest river system on the planet and exports more coffee and sugar than any other country. Iguacu Falls, larger than Niagara, straddles two South American countries: Spanish speaking Argentina and Portuguese speaking Brazil. The Portuguese conquered and settled Brazil in the 16th century. So the people of this country might be considered Latin, but they are not Hispanic. European Portuguese is the written language taught in schools, but because of the variety of cultural influences and individuality of the Brazilian people, the Portuguese spoken here has its own flavor, its own personality. A word written in Brazilian Portuguese may be identical to one written in standard Portuguese, but the pronunciation and possibly the meaning of the word may be quite different. It has been said that sometimes it is easier for Brazilians to understand speakers of Spanish from other Latin-American countries than to hear “continental Portuguese”. This has great implications for document translation, and especially for translating text into Portuguese for the Brazilian market. Knowing the differences can be critical. The value of acquiring, translating, and interpreting a foreign language can’t be underestimated in global business and give the non-native speaker a chance to express (in superlatives of course!) the beauty and wonder found in the host culture’s natural world. -- Mary Beauregard, Global LT Intercultural Consultant Global LT’s Cultural Training Programs - Travel is Rewarding Iguacu Falls Global LT - Language Training, Cultural Training, Translation Solutions