Today at NPR’s food blog, the salt, there is a fabulous blog entry that builds on a topic we have covered before at OneStopGlobal, the localization of McDonald’s restaurants in different countries, and even regionally in the U.S. The entry, entitled, “Why McDonald’s In France Doesn’t Feel Like Fast Food,” discusses why “MacDo” is a popular dining choice and the ways the fast food giant has localized the menu and experience. Also, I was surprised to learn that France is McDonald’s second biggest market.

After you read about the menus and ambiance of McDonald’s in France at NPR, take a look at some of the ways McDonald’s has localized its menu to other cultural preferences and tastes:

China: In China, Chicken McNuggets come with the traditional dipping sauces, but there’s also a chili garlic sauce (very popular in China). The menu also includes crispy chicken wings (called McWings), and a seasonal Chinese New Year meal is available, including Grilled Chicken Burger, curly fries, with a horoscope of the twelve zodiac animals of Chinese astrology and traditional “red” packets, or gift bags, for good luck. McDonald’s is trying to catch up to the country’s fast food leader, KFC, by offering more Western/beef items, such as the “Quarter Pounder,” which is also localized (cucumbers replace pickles, and tomatoes and spicy sauce were added, ingredients that appeal to local tastes.)

The Netherlands: Here you’ll find McDonald’s selling the McKroket, a deep-fried roll containing beef ragouts. Also available is “American Sauce,” a yellow mayonnaise-like sauce with bits of relish – for dipping french fries.

Australia: Love the name of this item…the Kiwiburger consists of an all-beef patty, egg, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onion, beetroot, sauce, and mustard in a toasted bun. Here you’ll also find the Down Under Deluxe – a home-style burger, named via a nation-wide public contest, and a “Made to Order” menu which allows patrons to personalize their item according to their specific tastes.

United States: Even within its home country, McDonald’s localizes its menu according to regional preferences. For example, in the southern U.S., breakfast items include a country ham biscuit and a sausage gravy biscuit, which is a split biscuit served in a tray with the gravy ladled on top.

For more unique regional ‘McItems,’ an excellent round up of localized McDonald’s menus can be found here.

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It’s about that time — preparations are underway in many corners of the globe to ring in the New Year! On December 31st many countries celebrate the change from one year to the next. In the U.S., New Year’s typically begins with lively New Year’s Eve parties on the night of December 31st – and many people watching the ball drop in Times Square in NY (live or on T.V). Celebrations continue on New Year’s Day (January 1st) with most businesses on holiday and scores of people making resolutions for the New Year.

In Europe, Mexico, Central America, and South America, they also party long into the morning hours and fireworks are a popular form of New Year’s celebration. Throughout the world this custom of making noise to ring in the New Year continues. It was started as a way to scare off any evil spirits.

In addition to noise and parties, many food is a popular tradition. Our offices in Hungary tell us there are many traditional foods to eat in order to have good luck in the New Year. And, the Portuguese pick and eat 12 grapes from a bunch as the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve. This is done to ensure 12 happy months in the coming year.

But did you know that there are many different dates of the year when different countries celebrate a New Year?

New Year Celebrations Around the World

It’s the Year of the Dragon! The Chinese New Year starts on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9th. The festivities ends with the Lantern Festival, during which thousands of rice paper lanterns fill the skies and huge paper dragons are carried in parades through the city streets.

The Persian New Year (Iran, Turkey, Northern Iraq, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan) is called Noruz and celebrates two different year counts, 1391 for the Islamic count and 2571 for the Kingdom count. It falls on the Spring Equinox March 21-22. But its roots stretch back thousands of years before this to the ancient Egyptians and is a feast of the first spring day of seed planting for the summer crops.

Jewish New Year celebrations occur on September 16 this year. Called Rosh Hashanah, this festival is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. The New Year’s Eve feast includes bread, known as Challah; honey cake; and fresh fruits. Fish is also served as it symbolizes fruitfulness.

The Islamic New Year (most Arabic countries) comes from the Hijri lunar calendar. It falls on the first day of Muharram in early January, and will celebrate the 1433rd year since Muhammad entered the city of Medina.

The Indian New Year festival is called Diwali and is a festival of lights. The festival is celebrated differently in the various districts of India. In addition to Diwali, India has other New Year’s dates on its calendar, including Baisakhi, which is celebrated on April 13th.

For even more New Year’s traditions, visit: http://www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm.

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Recently, we shared news about our new offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Budapest, Hungary. Today, we’ll share how our teams in Argentina and Hungary celebrate the holiday season. Enjoy and Happy Holidays from all of us at Global Langauge Solutions!

Argentina: Our GLS office in Buenos Aires shares how they celebrate the holidays. Families gather for a big dinner during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Some of the foods that you’ll find at the dinner table are: different kinds of meat, panettone (sweet bread), wines, and champagne. At midnight, there is a toast to welcome either Christmas or the coming year, and the skies light up with fireworks. Although it is Christmas, summer is just beginning. Schools and universities are off for three months, so now it’s time for youngsters to have fun and leave their studies behind for a while. During this time of year, many people travel to the Atlantic Coast, which gets crowded with families and groups of friends.

Hungary: Our GLS office in Budapest shares how they celebrate the holidays. In Hungary, people typically decorate the Christmas tree on the 24th of December, which is the holy night and when baby Jesus leaves presents under the tree. Christmas dinner is usually fish – there is a special fish soup that some families only eat at this time of the year. Another customary food to eat is stuffed cabbage cooked from sour kraut and pork, and Gerbeaud, a cake which has walnut filling, apricot jam, and chocolate icing. The country really slows down until after the 1st of the year – anyone who can is on vacation and most offices are closed. On New Year’s Eve you are not supposed to eat any poultry, because it takes your luck away for next year, but you should eat pork, which will bring you luck in the New Year.

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The holiday season is in full swing – a time when many traditions are initiated and repeated. Whether the holiday is Christmas, Hanukah, or a birthday, it is important to celebrate in your own way. As a special holiday-themed Tips & Tools, here are some tips for establishing family traditions.

Keep it simple. When establishing a new tradition, avoid anything elaborate. Keep planning and execution simple and inexpensive. This will help ensure that your tradition will be easy to follow through on next year.

Save the date. To remember events, keep a detailed calendar from year to year that contains important information regarding each tradition. Be sure to include lists of supplies, foods, and other details that may be easily forgotten.

Think outside of the box. Holidays can often be chaotic times within our lives, and the little fun things have a tendency to get lost. Remember that a tradition can be as carefree as a pie eating contest to celebrate the last day of school. Messy, but fun!

Happy holidays from Global Language Solutions and our sincere wishes for a prosperous 2012!

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There are more than 2,000 languages spoken in Africa, but the majority of information is not available to people unless they speak one of the world’s few mega-languages, such as English, French, or Arabic. A new study by market research firm Common Sense Advisory for Translators without Borders intends to explore the link between the availability of translated content and social issues that stem from lack of access to information.

We would like to share this survey with those of you who are translators of African languages. If you are such a person then please take the survey. Otherwise, please spread the word.

In this blog by Common Sense Advisory, they describe the importance of translators and detail more about the study on translation in Africa on behalf of Translators without Borders.

Read the press release for more about the joint project between Common Sense Advisory and Translators without Borders.

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Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Global Language Solutions! We want to thank you, not just for your business or hard work, but for your enthusiasm and positive energy. Thank you for being amazing employees, clients, and friends to this company. And, even if you do not celebrate Thanksgiving, we still would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude. It has been an amazing year full of new opportunities. Thank you!

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My XM radio switched to “Sounds of the Season” yesterday. I couldn’t believe it. It’s official, the holiday season is in full swing.

Many of us are busy preparing Thanksgiving menus – from how much stuffing to make to how big of a turkey you need, there is a lot involved in a traditional Thanksgiving feast!

As a special pre-Thanksgiving-themed post, we have compiled some contacts you can call in those frantic last moments of food preparation. Happen to forget how long it takes to thaw your 18 pound turkey? No problem. Call the experts at Butterball Turkey Talk-Line (800-288-8372) or Foster Farms Turkey Help line (800-255-7227) – even on Thanksgiving Day. Concerned about how to safely store your leftovers? The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is also open (888-674-6854).

Here is an interesting fact: The professionals at Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line assist more than 100,000 callers each year in the United States and Canada during the holiday season. It has 50+ staff members and the resources to answer questions from either English- or Spanish-speaking callers, as well as respond to questions via e-mail.

Butterball also uses several social media platforms. Connect with other Thanksgiving cooks on the Butterball Facebook page, or follow Butterball on twitter to get quick questions answered or post your own recipes/advice. Text the word “TURKEY” to 36888 from your mobile phone to receive information at your fingertips on topics such as how much turkey to buy, thawing reminders, and cooking temperatures. It doesn’t appear that Foster Farms’ social media or translation teams have caught up to Butterball, however. If you need information from them, it will have to be in English and either via a contact form or a phone call.

Happy Thanksgiving / Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

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As a translation and interpreting company, we are always advocates of using professional linguists for business documents. However, we also know that the multitude of machine translation tools available on the internet or mobile phones are extremely useful for getting information translated into other languages quickly and on the fly. We aren’t recommending these tools for, say, translating your website or marketing collateral, but they are useful when traveling, browsing the web, etc. Recently, we came across a ‘how to’ post at CNET, “Seven smart Google Translate Tricks,” which offers great Google Translate tricks that are easy to deploy. We’re sharing it with our readers because there were a couple of tricks even we hadn’t tried.

If you are looking for professional business translations, however, stop on over to our website, GlobalLanguages.com.

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First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday, but please don’t forget about Small Business Saturday. The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

To get started, you can “Pledge to Shop Small” on Nov 26th. If millions of Americans shop small, it will be huge.

Find out more at the AMEX Shop Small Facebook page. Plus, AMEX is offering several promotional tools for free – from in-store signage to $100 in Facebook ad credits. Find out more.

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What’s involved in the translation process? To do it right, a lot more than most people think. The experts at Global Language Solutions explain why creative translation projects require additional steps and expertise.

Transcreation. For truly creative pieces, translation needs to be taken a stage further, which is where transcreation fits in. Transcreation is about taking a concept in one language and completely recreating it in another language – it is normally applied to the marketing of an idea, product or service to international audiences. The aim is to get the same end reaction in each language, something that translation alone is unable to achieve.

Qualified linguists. Quality, skilled translators cost more. In addition, creative concepts involve a team of linguists who understand the local market. Specifically, what will resonate with the intended audience, as well as what could offend or even result in a litigious outcome.

Processes and procedures. A professional translation firm will have quality assurance processes in place – and follow them, as opposed to cutting corners to save money. Included in these processes are review guidelines and back translations.

Project team. Translation projects require a proactive project team that works with the client, catering to their preferences and maintaining the client’s glossaries and style guidelines. The project team consists of multiple skilled members, including a dedicated project manager.

If your creative campaign is crossing borders, on- or offline, contact GLS for more information about professional translation and transcreation services.

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