With 12 – 15% of the 3m people due to visit the region for the world’s most famous cycling race coming from overseas, thebigword has identified some distinctly Yorkshire phrases that foreign language speakers might struggle to understand.
Commonly used Yorkshire phrases* like “She’s bonny – what do they call ‘er?”, “They’ll be here while four o’ clock”, “Neither use nor ornament” or “Put wood in the hole” would bamboozle a southerner, let alone a foreign language speaker. thebigword – a global, technology-enabled language solution provider with its HQ in Leeds – has created The Big Start, a website and booklet designed to help businesses think about whether their literature, signage, marketing materials and services will be clear and easy for international visitors to understand.
‘The Big Start’ includes information around thebigword technology enabled-solutions – such as website content translation, localisation and video/media voiceover and subtitling – as well as hints and tips on how best to prepare for business on a globalscale. CEO and Founder of thebigword Larry Gould said: “The Big Start is about helping business think about and identify areas where they might communicate with international markets more effectively.
“The Big Start also challenges Yorkshire’s export businesses to think about the importance of professional translation when producing proposals, marketing materials and manuals, as well as the use of interpreting services when it comes to interacting with international prospects either face-to-face or over the phone.”
