English language is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the first language for most people in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia. New Zealand, and of such newly independent countries as the Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. It is the official language of more than a dozen African countries, as well as of various British dependencies such as British Honduras, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, and numerous islands in the Caribbean, and the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. In India it has the title of "associate official language" and is generally used in conversation between people from different parts of the country. In dozens of other countries throughout the world it is the unofficial second language. English is the mother tongue of about 300 million people.
The history of the English language may be said to have begun with the arrival in Britain of three Germanic tribes, Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in the 5th century. The Angles, who came from Schleswig, settled in the area extending north-ward from the Thames as far as Scotland, and it is from them that the word 'English" evolved. They came from the "angle" or corner of land in present-day Schleswig-Holstein.
The Old English vocabulary consisted of a sprinkling of Latin and Scandinavian (Old Norse) words over an Anglo-Saxon base. Despite the great flood of words into English from Latin, Old Norse, French, and other languages later on, the heart of the language remained the Old English of Anglo-Saxon times. While fewer than 5,000 Old English words remain unchanged and in common use today, these constitute the basic building blocks of our language.
We specialize in handling different types of technical, commercial and legal English language translations, often containing vocabulary and terminology that is industry or sector specific.
We only work with English translators who have the competence, specialist knowledge and commitment to consistently and meticulously reproduce the precise meaning and message of your original document, ensuring that your translation is readable, effective and natural. We believe in building long term relationships between clients and individual translators in order to achieve the consistency and understanding that develops over years of working together.
We accomplish this because we access a large pool of international talent and skill. We work with a carefully selected team of trusted partners from around the world and allocate each individual translation project according to its own criteria in terms of the specific competence and technical expertise required.
ENGLISH: BRITISH, IRISH, SCOTTISH
if the original document is in American English, the document should be "adapted" for the target English: British, Irish, and Scottish. There are, indeed, word differences between American and the three for England, Ireland and Scotland, plus major spelling differences. Also, the British are much less loosely-goosey with grammar and verbs, more of a stickler for accuracy, preferring less hype and exhibitionism in their marketing and training materials, and having a "soft spot" for humor. For technology, there are very important word usage differences, such as "hash key" for the telephone's "pound key".
For the spoken word, each of the 3 areas (England, Ireland, and Scotland) has both a broadcast accent and a "street accent". The broadcast accent is the smooth accent accepted for advertising, multimedia and videos. The "street accent" is that which is often using in specialty commercials or comedy to lend personality to a marketing piece. In general, "street accents" are never used in business multimedia or products. Additionally, British corporate marketing pieces usually have a different "feel" from American, tend to be more modest, and materials written in the U.S. expanded to the U.K. market will often benefit from some rewrite.
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