Arabic language is official in 26 countries, spoken by around 240 million people all over the world and is the second language of 50 million more. Being so peculiar and unusual to Europeans, it is considered one of the most ancient and mysterious languages.

Translations from Arabic used to be made relatively early. According to different sources one of the first evidence of that dates back to as early as the 7th century, and the period between the 8th and 13th century was marked by a real bloom in the translation of various Arabic texts. The science of Arabic translations developed in quite a specific way. A huge volume of works were translated, however the Muslims hesitated with translating their main book – the Quran – because it was forbidden to read it in any other language. It was not until the 12th century that the Quran was translated into Latin for the first time, and later on – into Italian, French and Russian.
Read more ...

Japanese is a living reflection of the nature of this ancient Asian culture. The sensorial perception of the world and the avoidance of dull logical explanations based on detailed clarifications and quantitative data is transformed into the distinctive brevity and reserve of the speech. Silence and pauses are perceived as virtues and are preferred to the frequent use of adjectives, and the main point of an expression is found in its context.
Often when translating from and to Japanese, it is recommended to avoid literal interpretation. Of course, this is not valid for all kinds of texts, especially legal ones, but even those are about 50% more compact than legal documents drawn up in Bulgarian.
Read more ...

Interpreting is a responsible and complicated task. The interpreter must instantly choose the appropriate words and has no right of mistakes. That is why the successful interpretation requires great experience, solid knowledge in the field of the topic and skilful handling of the vocabulary that would reflect right the cultural characteristics of the target language.

There are two types of interpretation – synchronized simultaneous interpretation and consecutive successive interpretation.
Read more ...

Throughout the world this day is known as a day to celebrate love and how much you cherish your significant other. But here in Bulgaria, this day has another meaning. It is known as the day for celebration of wine – the Day of St. Tryphon (since the 70s of the last century it is even an official professional holiday of wine producers and vine growers). On the Balkans (in Bulgaria and Greece), St. Tryphon is known as patron of the vineyards.
Read more ...

Here are two other of the most common gestures along with their meaning.

Okay
Made by using thumb and forefinger in the shape of the letter O, this gesture is mainly used in underwater diving to say they're OK, in countries like USA and UK this gesture is also used to say someone what a delicious meal they've made (you know it's rude to talk with your mouth full). There are however some countries, such as Brazil, Germany, as well as some of the Mediterranean countries where this sign is used to insult someone, calling them a 'zero' or the more cynical 'asshole' and even 'homosexual'.
Read more ...

You may think that the sign language is a universal tool for communication all over the world. Well, that's not quite right. It may help you to get closer to new culture, to express your thoughts and talk without using words, but it can also cause you a great deal of problems if you accidentally insult someone in whose culture signs don't have the meaning you are used to.

So, when you are somewhere abroad, be careful with the air-sawing, because you can get yourself in a pretty awkward, uncomfortable, and even hostile situation. Bulgarians, as typical hot-blooded Balkan people, have it in their nature to talk with their hands. It's not like that everywhere, though. Some people are more collected; others use facial expressions more often and third are even more expressive than us. The signs are in some way like the nodding of the head for 'yes' and 'no', which differs in the different countries.
Read more ...

The Oxford University Press selected "omnishambles" as the word of the year 2012. The precise definition of the word is "a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations".

Each year the Oxford University Press monitors how the English language is changing and selects a word that best describes the spirit of the year. Usually it chooses different words for British and American English.
This year the winner for America is "gif" – abbreviation for an image file format used for images on the internet. The word "omnishambles" was coined by the script-writers of the satirical TV show "The Thick of It". It is already used for everything from state PR blunders to the Olympics preparation abounding in crises.
"Omnishambles" was chosen from a shortlist including words such as "mummy porn" – the genre of "Fifty shades" bestsellers, "green-on-blue" – military attacks made by forces regarded as neutral, for example attacks by Afghanistan army or police against foreign military forces. The Olympics offered shortlisters such as "to medal" and the victory dance of runner Mo Farah – "Mobot".
Read more ...

One of the key for a successful business is communication. And as a communication tool, translation can also play a vital role in the development of your business. The quality of business documents translation has its specifics and depends on several factors — timely execution, broad scope of translation languages and precise performance. There also is a set of requirements for the performance of the translation project to be followed regardless of the size of the project. Such translation needs to be performed accurate, on time, correct and to comply with the background business, legal etc. frame. Business translations are also characterized by the short deadlines, but that in no way must affect the quality of the translated text. Sometimes business translation covers wide range of translation services — translation, legalization, localization, desktop publishing etc.

Translation Agency arte.doc works with a team of experienced professionals (translators, editors, proofreaders etc.) that can carry out any business documentation order. We work with clients from all business levels — from small through medium-sized business to government agencies and ministries. We are also ISO 9001:2008 and with that ensure that your order will be processed on first class quality level.

New Year's Eve is considered as one of the prominent times of the year. Everyone walks with a smile on their faces, enthusiastic and excited for the upcoming celebration. A great part of people choose to celebrate away from home, near the sea or up in the mountain, also in all types of party places. Others prefer to gather friends and family at home and to welcome the New Year in coziness.

Different cultural an sports event are also being held at this time of year – there are many music concerts, carnivals, processions, bazaars, etc.
Read more ...

Christmas is one of the greatest Christian holidays. It celebrates the birth of Jesus, the Saviour. It also has pagan roots, since it was noticed that at that time of year the days start growing again, i.e. the sun is born again. In time the holiday changed its customs and meanings. The Church chose to blend the celebration of Jesus' birth with the old traditions to establish and strengthen the Christian values and morals.

The Christmas celebrations begin on December 24th and end on December 26th.
December 24th is also called Small Christmas (Christmas Eve), December 25th – Great Christmas, and December 26th is the holiday of Jesus' family.
Read more ...