First of all, thanks to Riccardo for
inviting me to write a guest post about the Stridonium conference in Cambridge
this year.
For readers who aren’t familiar with Stridonium,
it was set up in 2009 as a venue for professional language specialists. Originally
a private site for professional exchange and support for translators, it is now
exploring alternatives to further the interests and raise the standards of the
translation sector.
Most of the Stridonium site is open to members only, but you can get more information by visiting our Home Page, or our Mission Statement.
The Stridonium 2014 Conference
Communicating in Business – Getting Language Right
Stridonium will host this conference on 24
March 2014 at the Møller
Centre in Cambridge.
The aim of the Stridonium conference is to engage with businesses. It will
emphasise to an audience of businessmen and language specialists the importance
of getting language right and – maybe more importantly – point out the pitfalls
of getting it wrong.
When corporations spend so much time, money
and effort on texts in their own language, isn't it only logical that they be
as meticulous about the quality of communication in other languages?
Unfortunately, as many of us know, that
doesn't always follow. Translation in particular is too often an afterthought
or an “add-on”, with everything from marketing texts to crucial legal documents
being bundled off unceremoniously by a hapless secretary to the first
translation agency she can find on Google.
So this conference will help businesses and
at the same time raise the profile of quality services as a distinct segment
within the language industry. It will emphasise the benefits of giving language
higher priority, getting the right language specialists on board and making
them a more integral part of the team
and the process. With more and more companies trading across borders, this
message has never been more important.
Stridonium's initiative has the support of
some high-calibre speakers with backgrounds in politics, business and diplomacy,
including:
- Sir Colin Budd KCMG, former British Ambassador to the Netherlands
- Charles Grant CMG, Director of the Centre for European Reform and Vice Chair of the Executive of Business for New Europe
- Jeff Heasman, Director at the Pyramid Group
- Andrew Wood, Consultant at Birketts LLP and member of the Executive Board of the Dutch-British Chamber of Commerce
All of our speakers will draw on their wide
knowledge and a wealth of anecdotal experience to illustrate the importance of
using the right words – and the consequences of using the wrong ones.
They will explain the benefits of:
- setting company-wide language policy
- effective legal and business communication
- using the right language for effective advertising campaigns
- avoiding cultural pitfalls
- saving money by buying wisely
To register for the conference, click here.