The Comtec Blog

China, Russia, Brazil - the opportunities are certainly out there, but is language a barrier to the UK’s success in these markets? The research suggests so. As Roland Rudd, Chairman of Business new Europe states in a recent paper published by the Education and Employers taskforce, ‘our national language deficit effectively acts as a tax on trade’. As he quite rightly points out, this is a tax businesses can’t afford to pay.

Tags: EC, business, international trade, employment, employers, graduates, Europe, language learning, language skills, exporting, tax

Las Fallas is a local festival celebrated every year at the beginning of March in Valencia, Spain. It attracts a huge number of visitors every year. During this two-week period Valencia transforms into a city of flames. I can assure you this is an amazing and unforgettable event and that you have never seen anything like this before!

Tags: las fallas, fiesta, festival, bonfire, Spain, customs

We’re all talking about the lack of skills in our young people. Work placements are a good idea in theory, but how can we ensure it’s a win-win for both the pupil and the business? We’d like to share some advice from our own experience of offering placements.

Tags: work placement, work experience, business, language, translation, students

We all admire linguists and people who are able to learn and speak a foreign language. Sometimes, we are not aware of how much time and dedication is required to achieve it. It is important to remember that learning a language is not only about being able to speak it. We should not forget about reading, writing and listening comprehension. Moreover, there is grammar. I know this is not our favourite!

Tags: pronunciation, comprehension, SITA learning system, Callan method, grammar, linguist, language

Have you heard of transcreation but aren’t really sure what it is? Well, transcreation, or creative translation or international copy adaptation as you might have heard it be called, is the art of adapting a message from one language to another while keeping the key message, tone and style intact.

Tags: transcreation, translation, creative, slogan, strapline, advertising campaign, international