4th Video: An Interview with a Canadian Entrepreneur in Chile

We went out there to look for foreigners doing business in Chile. What we found? A Canadian entrepreneur whose business is thriving. He owns a renowned bar and restaurant and he is about to open six drugstores in Concepcion. What does he think of Chile as a business platform, what are the pros and cons of our country and how bad is our English?

All that and much more in the following interview.

Interview by Pablo Gonzalez and Keister Jimenez

3rd Podcast - Interview

In this edition of our podcasts we offer you the possibility of listening to an interview in which one of the team members answers questions regarding our profession. She also tells us about herself and the reasons of choosing this degree. I hope you enjoy it. Interview

Word by word is not the best way to go

Sometimes, you are able to understand a certain foreign language, but not to express yourself properly enough in it. That is completely normal. If that is your case, we are here to help. In fact, many of the members of our team have already seen themselves in this situation. Today I want to talk about an issue that has happened in most cases. It can be resumed in the following question:

Why did you translate it this way? That’s not the same word that in the original.

First of all, let me assure you: we did it for a reason. It seems some people do not like paraphrasing but, actually, it is very rare to find a word by word translation. Why is that? It has been done this way because we usually use a functional scope. There are some cases when this is necessary, for example, when a word has no equivalent in the target language. Other times we take this decision after making ourselves the following questions: “What is the text trying to say? If I translate it word by word, will it make sense in the target language? Will it sound natural?” In order to translate, first we have to interpret.

Here is an example:

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres. <-- Latin text

Gallia is all divided in parts three. <-- Literal (word by word)

Gaul is divided into three parts. <-- Idiomatic (non literal)

Gaul has three divisions. <-- Functional (more paraphrased)

We are not saying paraphrasing is the best option, or that it should always be used. We are saying that this is a valid option meant to improve the efficacy of the translation while maintaining the original message.

As Maria Schwartz said, an acclaimed translator of Russian fiction, history, biographies, and reviews, our team aims to “Creating translations that are faithful, not literal”. Of course, if you have reasons to want your translation to be as literal as possible, let us know. The more information you give us for facing a translation, the better. We are here to assist all your concerns.

By: Daniela Cid

To read a really interesting interview with Maria Schwartz, follow this link: http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2010/04/04/creating_translations_that_are_faithful_not_literal/

Falling in love with Sanhattan

According to CNN, our country’s capital, Santiago, is the third most loved city in the world. Several highlights await you: the Lollapalooza festival, the majestic Andes encircling the city and of course attractive business opportunities in Sanhattan, Santiago’s financial district. Read on and find out more about why Chile is the perfect place for you and your business.

1.      Financial Advantages

Every three years UBS publishes its Prices and Earnings study. The last version was published in 2009 and updated in 2011. The result is surprising and, at the same time, important for everyone who is interested in investing in Chile: Santiago is one of the cheapest cities for foreign companies. Chile obtained 45.8 points and therefore ranks 59^th out of 73 cities. The most expensive city is the Norwegian capital, Oslo, with 103.3 points.

Another interesting study called Global Office Rents, published by CB Richard Ellis Global Research and Consulting, states that rents in Santiago are among the cheapest in Latin America. The Chilean capital ranks fifth, and is even cheaper than Montevideo, Buenos Aires or Mexico City.

2.      Low Risks

The Sovereign rating published by the Country Risk Service of the Economist Intelligence Units in May 2012 acknowledges that Chile is a low-risk country, judging it with an A, meaning that it is a stable country with a strong capacity and commitment to honor obligations. Chile is the only Latin-American country rated with an A.

3.      Legal Certainty

In the Index of Economic Freedom, published in 2012, Chile obtains the 7^th rank out of 184 countries. And again, Chile leads the Latin American ranking. The index states that contractual agreements in Chile are the most secure in Latin America, that courts are transparent and efficient and that property rights are strongly respected, and expropriation is rare.

4.      You can count on us!

Of course, moving to a foreign country and setting up a company or establishing business relations there always implies a risk. But there is no need to worry, as we are here to help you. Whether you need to overcome the language barrier, due to lacking Spanish knowledge, or whether you need cultural advice in order to avoid faux pas, as professional translators we are prepared to lend you a hand. Just contact us and we will gladly assist you.

So, why wait any longer? Leave Manhattan and come over to Sanhattan – it’s only a flight away!

Some Places to Visit

The city of Concepción was founded by Pedro de Valdivia in the year 1550. Ever since its first foundation, the city has grown more than Mr. de Valdivia himself could have ever imagined.

Concepción is nowadays the second largest conurbation of our country, constituted by the municipalities of Concepción, Talcahuano, San Pedro de la Paz, Hualpén, Chiguayante, Penco, Tomé, Lota, Coronel and Hualqui. Therefore there are plenty of places to visit in the center of the city and its surroundings as well. If you are considering to come to our city, here is a list of some of the places you will certainly find interesting and worthy of visiting.

·         The fishing cove of Lenga: located in Hualpén, this place is great for the gastronomic tasting of fish and shellfish. Nevertheless, not everything in Lenga is about the food. Hiking and water sports like kitesurf, windsurf and sailing are also a possibility, along with visiting the Estuary of Lenga, the habitat of wild birds like black-necked swan, coscoroba swan, cormorant, coot and pelicans.

·         Ironclad Huáscar: nowadays a museum located in Talcahuano, this former Peruvian warship was captured by the Chilean navy in the year 1879 during the War of the Pacific. Currently is one of the most appreciated historical relics of our navy.

·         Alessandri Park: the Parque Educativo Jorge Alessandri, founded on the year 1993, is located in Coronel. It counts with a wide variety of native wildlife and expositions. The admission is free of charge and it is open from Tuesday to Sunday.

·         Stom Museum: located in Chiguayante, this museum has collections of objects related to Chilean ethnic groups, history, optics and sound, and Mapuche silverwork.

·         Lota touristic circuit: this includes tours to the places of historical interest of Lota, the greatest coal mining city of our country during the 19^th century. There you can visit the History Museum of Lota, the buildings where the miners used to live, the Chiflón del Diablo mine and the Isidora Cousiño Park; all places related to the rich mining economy and social atmosphere of the 19^th century Chile.

·         Tomé: in its entire coast, Tomé offers several beaches of white sands and fishing coves, great places for tasting delicious fish and shellfish dishes.

·         Laguna Grande: located in San Pedro de la Paz. Although this lake is not suitable for swimming, it is the ideal place for water sports like kayak, sailing and rowing (there even is a rowing club that has won prizes in national and international competitions). Also, it is a beautiful spot for hiking and it is relatively close to the Amphitheater of San Pedro, where big musical and cultural events are held.

·         University of Concepción’s Campus: also called University City, this place is the cultural cradle of the region. Here you can see the different museums, sculptures, parks and squares. The most iconic buildings of the campus are the University of Concepción Arch (Arco Universidad de Concepción or Arco de Medicina) and the bell tower (Campanil).

Hope you have enjoyed reading this article! J

By Rocío Viveros Ibáñez.

Our Third Video: A short view on the Translation Process

Hi everyone! this is Translate-In-Chile's third video, so you can learn a little bit about the translation process. Of course this is only a short view of a process that actually takes several days! If you have any doubts or are in need of any translation or interpreting services please contact us in our e-mail adress translateinchile@gmail.com .

Thank you for watching!

Manners and Behaviors in Business Environment

The most important thing that foreign people ask themselves about business meetings when coming to Chile is: How should I behave in a formal situation? What should I do? What should I say?  As we all know, each country has its certain rules and etiquette that people should know in order to make the communication effective. If you want to learn more about these conventions, keep reading.

First, you need to understand how to behave during an appointment. As a recommendation, do not panic if you arrive and the person is not there. It is part of Chilean culture to keep people waiting for a while but, if the person is important, you cannot let them waiting for you. However, you can apply this only in a national company because in Chile there is a wide range of international enterprises and you should adjust yourself to the company cultural manner, for example, if there is a German company in Chile, you should take into account the German cultural backgroung.

After the greeting it is not recommended to go straight to the topic. Chilean business people like to have a polite conversation before about general matters topics such as family and Chile itself for example, and then you can address the main topic of the meeting. As an advice, it would be good for you to do a little research about Chile, so that you can talk about topics as wine, mining and activities that characterize the country during the conversation.

Lastly, but equally important, is dressing etiquette.  In business environments there are no formal rules of how you should dress but it is recommended to dress formally because appearances are very important in our country.  Talking about clothing, while on the one hand, men should wear suit and soft colored ties, on the other hand, women should wear skirt or trousers.

Something that is very important as well is to know how business relationships work in Chile. You need to know that in our country Chile relationships and status are vital, in fact, sometimes it is difficult to get a job in a company if you do not know anyone who works there. In Chile we talk about “pitutos”, that is when someone who knows you talks to a superior and tries to create a connection between the boss chief and the person that wants the job; the people that create the connection are often relatives, friends, etc. So, if you want to come here it would be a good idea to start making connections and getting to know people.

By Vanessa Urra