Why are German translations a top language in the translation market? The reason is that German is a very important language in the EU, and Germany is a leading economy with huge potential.

With an estimated 90–98 million native speakers, German is one of the world’s major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union. Standard German originated as a written language, and, even though its regional varieties are only to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct, making German a pluricentric language.

The German economy is the fifth largest in the world and Europe’s largest. It is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labour force.

Germany has one of the world’s highest levels of education, technological development and economic productivity. Since the end of World War II, the number of young people entering universities has more than tripled, and the trade and technical schools in Germany are among the world’s best.

If you need a German translation, ask SanTranslate.

Cantonese is a dialect of the Chinese language family spoken in Hong Kong, and it is an ever changing language. The forum site Hong Kong Golden Forum (香港高登) started off as a discussion forum for consumer electronics and computer hardware but became popular with more and more posts on issues in Hong Kong. This metropolis has its own slang. For example, Chok Yeung is Cantonese slang meaning to tease someone making pretentious, model-like poses for photos. Another example is 3Q, which means thank you.

Hong Kong is a place where the cultures of East and West blend: the official languages are Chinese and English. After the reunification with the motherland and the increasing number of mainland tourists in Hong Kong, as well as many Hong Kongers who do business in mainland China, more and more people in this region can speak or have learnt Mandarin (Putonghua).

As China is becoming more and more influential among nations, people learning Chinese learn simplified Chinese, the mainland’s language system. However, over 94% of Hong Kong people are still using Cantonese as their first language, and, although simplified Chinese is less complicated in terms of writing, it cannot gain the same status as traditional Chinese.

The reason for conserving traditional Chinese characters is, first of all, its long existing history, which makes it a cultural heritage worth preserving. Then, comparing the two kinds of Chinese characters, the majority of people would think that the traditional ones look more elegant and tidy. As for the oral language, it is unique. For instance, the Cantonese term “無厘頭” meaning one is telling something totally irrelevant to what has been said before can be translated roughly, but its meaning can only be understood in real life experiences, and there is no exact definition for it.

Language and culture are always strictly linked. In order not to make cultural mistakes, choose language experts for your translations. Ask SanTranslate.

Portuguese is the official language of Portugal and Brazil. With approximately 180 million native speakers, it is also the second most widely spoken Romance language, after Spanish.

The Portuguese government is focusing on boosting exports and implementing labour market reforms to try to raise GDP growth and increase Portugal’s competitiveness. According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations, incentives to attract foreign direct investment will receive more attention, and Portugal may attract some new additional investment from its close links with Spain and Latin America. Due to the limited size of the domestic capital markets, more medium-sized businesses will increasingly seek funding in the international markets.

The newspaper The Brazil Business has identified six business trends in Brazil in 2011:

1. Credit is easily available, also unsecured credit to the lower classes.
2. Politicians are turning left, and the conditions for businesses are suffering. The new president, Dilma Roussef, increased the taxes on foreign investor’s fixed-income purchases.
3. Brazilians are turning to their mobile phones and mobile broadband in huge numbers.
4. In April 2011, Facebook surpassed Orkut as the leading social network in Brazil. Over the last few years, Facebook has been quickly catching up on Orkut as the market leader in Brazil.
5. A couple of years ago, Brazil got the first Apple certified reseller in A2You, and the sale of Apple products started to increase.
6. Analysts and businessmen alike started to talk about the Brazilian bubble, a situation which may happen because of the international attention and the money being injected into the economy.