Tågskryt

Tågskryt is a word that has gained currency fast in the last decade or so. It refers to the increasingly common practice of casually dropping a gentle little humble brag about choosing to take the train. Fuelled by a growing awareness of climate change, tågskryt refers to that little boost of social capital you get from taking the train – and from making sure everyone knows about it. If you ask us, it’s a very Swedish phenomenon. Not just because it relies on a common cultural appreciation of the virtues of train travel, but also because it is something that you mention just enough to be noticed — and never more than that. It’s gentle, caring and subtle – i.e. Swedish in every way!

Flygskam

If taking the train is worthy of boasting, then flying has the opposite effect – and that’s flygskam. Literally flight shame. This word describes the sense of guilt or social pressure associated with flying because of its environmental impact. The term emerged in response to a growing public awareness of aviation’s carbon footprint and has influenced real travel behaviour, encouraging people to question whether air travel is necessary and how they can reduce the number of flights they take. In fact, the growing aversion to flying in Sweden has even led to the launch of new overnight train routes, including a connection between Stockholm and Berlin.

Smultronställe

Literally ‘wild strawberry place,’ smultronställe refers to a personal favourite spot – often a place discovered by chance when travelling. It might be a quiet beach, a lakeside café or a hidden viewpoint. The word captures the idea of travel as something intimate and personal, where meaning comes from discovery rather than scale or distance. While the first two words in this list are relatively new, smultronställe has been around for a while and can be considered one of those classic words that provides an insight into the Swedish mentality. It is even the name of a film by legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman from 1957 – a road movie that takes us on a journey of personal discovery between Stockholm and Lund.

Upptäcktsfärd

Meaning ‘a journey of discovery,’ upptäcktsfärd describes travel driven by curiosity rather than necessity or efficiency. It can refer to an ambitious expedition, but just as often it’s used for something modest: exploring a new neighbourhood, visiting an unfamiliar island, or taking an unplanned route simply to see what lies ahead. It’s a term that sounds grandiose, yet it’s often used in everyday speech with a twinkle in the eye. It places emphasis on learning, observation, and openness to the unexpected, suggesting that the value of travel lies in what you notice and discover along the way, not in how far you go or how impressive the destination might seem.

Ute och cyklar

While trains are a big part of life in Sweden, so too are bicycles – and so it’s no surprise that cycling and bicycle culture have given rise to a fair few idioms in the Swedish language. One of the most common and most beloved is ute och cyklar which literally means to be out cycling. This one isn’t really about travel at all – instead, it evokes the image of someone pedalling off in the wrong direction, well away from where they should be. As an expression, it’s typically light-hearted and friendly rather than harsh or judgemental, and it is most often used in conversation to gently point out an error in reasoning or assumption. 

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Snakkehoved

Snakkehoved is one of those delightfully simple Danish words that means precisely what it says – somebody who talks a lot. It combines the words snakke (to talk) and hoved (head) and gives us a versatile noun that we can use for anyone who enjoys a good chat and usually has plenty to say. It’s similar to chatterbox in English – not necessarily negative in its connotations, although that of course will depend on context and intonation.

For something a bit sharper and more ironic, Danish also has sludrechatol – literally chatter cabinet, a word that’s also used to refer to somebody who talks a lot, but this time also loaded with the suggestion that what they have to say is mostly nonsense.

Træls

This Danish word quite simply describes something that’s annoying, exasperating, frustrating or even just boring. It originates from the word træl (slave) and has likely been extrapolated from the longer phrase “en træls arbejde” (a slave’s work). Specifically, the word træl was used to describe people who were captured on Viking raids in other countries and then brought back to Scandinavia and forced into labour. Nowadays, træl in this sense is considered archaic and it is rarely used in everyday speech or writing – although it does pop up in Viking settings and in Danish translations of the bible.

The word is also specific to the region of Jutland, meaning it can indicate where in Denmark a speaker is from. This can make it extra tricky to translate as it both carries information about the speaker and may also correspond to a wide range of possible words in the target language, all depending on the context in which it’s used!

Rødgrød med fløde!

If you’ve ever asked a Dane about the Danish language, chances are they’ve asked you to try and say this phrase. It’s a bit of a tongue twister and notoriously difficult for non-Danes to master. The actual phrase itself is the name of a dessert. The literal translation in English would be red (berry) porridge with cream. A delightful mix of red berries – like strawberries, raspberries or currants – cooked down with sugar and thickened with potato starch or cornstarch. It’s usually served chilled with a generous splash of heavy cream on top, making it a refreshing treat, especially in the summer.

Easy to eat, but not so easy to say!

The reason this expression is so difficult is that it features numerous occurrences of two peculiarities of Danish pronunciation: (1) Ø is a rounded vowel sound that doesn’t exist in English and (2) In Danish, Ds that come after consonants are softened and pronounced differently. Many international speakers mistake this sound for an L and have trouble producing it correctly.

Pyt

This short and sweet little Danish word has been touted by some as one of the reasons why Danes are amongst the happiest people in the world. That is because, beyond their embrace of hygge and life’s small pleasures, they are also quick to let go of small annoyances.

In just three letters, pyt tells the listener not to worry. Relax. Forget about it. Pyt med det! Whatever it is, it’s not the end of the world. In general conversation, this simple word is used to quickly diffuse tension, provide reassurance or simply move on from an unpleasant or potentially tense situation. A quick little pyt or pyt med det is all it takes to draw a line in the sand.

According to one expat who writes about his experiences in Denmark, some schools have even tried to encourage use of this word as a means of conflict resolution: https://buff.ly/Y1C4I7O

Which one was your favourite?

Return to our Nordic Hub for more insights into Nordic culture, language and everyday life.

The post Fun Danish Expressions appeared first on Comunica.

In a previous blog post, we took an in-depth look at the practice of game localisation. For this edition, we thought we would hone in on the industry in the Nordic region. Both to consider some of the exciting companies shaping the sector from northern Europe, and to look at some of the specific challenges they face.

Gaming Goes Global – and Nordic, Too

For decades, video games were strongly associated with Japan and later the United States. Huge companies like Nintendo and PlayStation dominated a market which was largely centred around bulky console and home computers.

But the global proliferation of mobile devices and developments within computer and internet technology have changed that in recent decades. Today, there are well over 2000 games development studios worldwide and the industry as a whole is worth around $220 billion at present. This is forecasted to grow to more than $580 billion by 2030.

Within the Nordic Region, Sweden is the industry front-runner with around 300 game developers. Finland comes in a close second at around 200 studios, while Denmark and Norway each have somewhere between 15 to 20 prominent studios working within games development.

These companies have largely taken advantage of market developments in order to conquer corners of the sector that exist outside of the traditional industry core. Many produce games for mobile devices, for example, latching on to the growing demand for games that can be enjoyed in on-the-go settings like the bus or train, or which boast a connected element through integration with social media.

Many are also involved in cutting-edge and emerging technologies, such as VR and augmented reality gaming, as well as multiplayer games that fully exploit the capabilities of faster internet speeds and the global reach of the gaming industry.

Top of the Leader Board

But just who are the big players within the world of Scandinavian and Nordic gaming?

Let’s take a look at some of the companies racking up points and climbing the global leader board both in Sweden and beyond.

King

Initially launched in Stockholm as Midasplayer.com in 2003, this company had a shaky start before it underwent a rebranding and transitioned into social gaming around 2009. Identifying an emerging trend for games on social media platforms – where players can share scores and use games as a conduit for interaction and connectedness – the company launched its popular game Bubble Witch Saga in 2009.

Building on its initial success and the innovative saga model it had created, the company later launched the mobile gaming sensation Candy Crush Saga on Facebook in 2012. This game quickly took the world by storm, racking up four million players in just a few weeks. The game remains popular even today and enjoys iconic status as one of the most successful mobile games of the modern era. As of 2021, it had more than 250 million users.

Rovio

Rovio is a Finnish video game developer which first began to take shape when three students from the Helsinki University of Technology entered a game development competition sponsored by Nokia and Hewlett-Packard. The students went on to sell their winning game, King of the Cabbage World, which was rebranded as Mole War and is recognised today as one of the first commercial real-time multiplayer video games.

Like King, however, Rovio is most well-known not for their first game but for one that came further down the line – in this case, their 52nd creation. In 2009, they released the colourful puzzle game Angry Birds on the iPhone App store. By 2012, it had reached a whopping one billion downloads and later went on to spawn no fewer than two movies, reams of merchandise, a mini-golf park in the US and even an Angry Birds Land in Särkänniemi, Finland.

Today Rovio focuses mostly on making games related to Angry Birds. They have five studios and employee around 480 people.

Resolution Games

What unites both King and Rovio is that they were quick to spot emerging markets within the industry and create fun and unique content for that corner of the market. Resolution Games is now set to continue that trend by focusing entirely on the latest facet of the games sector – VR and augmented reality.

Founded in 2015 and based in Stockholm, Resolution Games has won multiple awards over the years. It has been named one of the top-five hottest companies in Sweden and it has been celebrated for their innovation within VR and AR. In the words of the company itself, their mission is to bring players inside the game through a “world-class catalogue of titles that brings players into the richest VR and AR worlds possible.”

Bringing Nordic Games to the World

The Nordic region has proven to be a fertile environment for video games development thanks largely to its great digital infrastructure and creative heritage. But it takes deft translators to bring these creations to the world and allow them to flourish. And they will always face plenty of challenges along the way. To name just a new examples:

Conserving Creativity

One of the reasons why Angry Birds and Candy Crush are so beloved is they have their own unique and quirky identities and universes. But playful and idiomatic language is notoriously difficult to translate, especially when space restrictions may apply. One of the key skills a video game translator needs to possess is therefore a creative flair and an ability to think outside the box.

Untangling Code

Familiarity with code and how video game files are structured is also important. Agencies need to be able to cleanly separate in-game text from code so that nothing gets disrupted in the process. Otherwise, you run the risk of having bugs introduced or your UI layouts disturbed at the translation stage. So make sure to work with an agency that understands these pitfalls and has solutions in place.

Multiplayer Support

As well as challenges, the sector is also brimming with opportunities. One of the most interesting areas to watch is multiplayer support. Many games today host entire communities and social spaces, allowing players to connect with fellow gamers from across the globe. New translation tools and methods can help support this process and we are very excited to see what possibilities may open up here for translators and translation technology.

Are you a video game developed in the Nordic region or elsewhere? Why not get in touch to hear more about how we can help bring your creations to the world, or to chat about a possible collaboration? Contact us today!

The post Translation and the Nordic Video Game Sector appeared first on Comunica.

Some quick facts and figures:

• Danes spend 46% more per trip than the European average, while Finns spend 25% more and Swedes 8%.
• Before the pandemic, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway ranked in the world’s top five for outbound travel frequency, with Finland at #1.
• Nordic travel and tourism spending is projected to reach US$20.8 billion in 2025, with growth to nearly US$28 billion by 2030.
• After the pandemic, Nordic outbound travel spending rebounded faster than in Germany, France, or the UK, showing resilience and strong demand for international experiences.

Investments made on marketing and localising for this group will therefore be returned handsomely in the form of more bookings, bigger spends and an enhanced reputation. We have already helped numerous clients to target Nordic travellers, and below you can read some tips and insight on how it’s done best!

Searches Start Local

The first thing you need to understand when targeting Nordic travellers is an apparent paradox at the heart of what they want and how they go about finding it. The thing is, Nordic travellers often seek authentic experiences – they want to feel immersed in another culture and context, and they don’t necessarily like it when everything is handed to them on a silver platter. They want to eat paella in Valencia and Bouillabaisse in Marseille, surrounded by locals, without feeling like they’ve been sucked into a tourist trap.

At the same time, however, studies consistently show that their searches begin in their own language. Despite high levels of English proficiency, the quest for authenticity begins not in a lingua franca or in a foreign tongue, but in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or Finnish. This means that websites that cater to these languages will be in prime position to soak up those initial queries, even if they then direct visitors onwards to subpages in English. The important thing is to catch web users at the beginning of their search, and to do that – you need to speak their language.

Information Is Gold

Another defining characteristic of Nordic travellers is that they like to be well informed. Rather than simply pick a place and wing it, they tend to research their destinations more thoroughly, carefully plan out activities and take steps to make sure they will get as much out of their holiday as they possibly can. This means the more information they can find on your website, the more likely they are to fall down a rabbit hole and remain on your page for longer, building a stronger relationship with your brand and perhaps ultimately making a booking.

 Of course, the quality of this information is also important. Nordic consumers are discerning, and quick to become mistrustful of anything that might betray a lack of seriousness. Typos and confusing language will quickly be interpreted as red flags, making Nordic users reluctant to trust your brand, product or service. It is therefore important to make sure the text on your website is polished, fluent, up-to-date and free from grammatical errors, typos and other warning signs that might risk eroding confidence.

A good idea might be to include some original copy on your website with texts that directly target Nordic readers. These could cover practical details such as currency exchange rates and information about the local transit system, or they might explore local attractions, tips on when to visit certain sights, and recommendations for great places to eat, drink or sleep. Texts that are designed from the outset to address Nordic concerns and tap into current travel trends in this region will have excellent chances of convincing and converting.

Reviews Build Confidence

We know from our own experience that Nordic travellers place a lot of trust in reviews, and so by making them more accessible on your website, you can do a lot to eliminate doubts and nudge visitors along in their customer journey.

There are various ways you can do this. One is to use an AI feature to automatically translate reviews. This is quick and convenient, and it means that new reviews can be made automatically accessible to users in any language. However, odd turns of phrase and mistakes in the translation can quickly erode the value of these reviews, causing them to be ignored.

Another option is to have a selection of reviews localised professionally on an on-going basis and included in a widget on your website or featured as standalone testimonials. This can be done as part of a post-editing workflow, meaning that AI does the heavy lifting to keep the process quick and affordable, while a human linguist reviews each text to make sure it can serve its purpose. This strikes a good compromise between speed and efficiency, while also taking measures to raise quality and thereby protect the value of these reviews.

Target the Nordics with Us

If you would like to deploy some of the tactics described above and target Nordic travellers, we can help you in a range of different ways. For example, we could begin with a market entry consultation in order to help you better identify your target group on the basis of your existing web traffic, current industry trends and your objectives for the coming year. Next, we can proceed to localise all or parts of your website, and/or create  original copy that addresses specific Nordic concerns or opportunities. We can also help you to create content for a Google Ads campaign, and provide advice on what channels to use and what angle to take.

For more information, check out our case study which shows how we helped a holiday home platform in the Nordics to grow, or head over to our contact page where you can book a free, no-obligation consultation to talk through the options.

We are your linguistic gateway to the Nordics – and we’re ready and waiting to help connect the dots between you and lots more lucrative Nordic travellers!

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Context Is Crucial

E-learning texts are usually intended to be read within their visual context, and they may take on new meanings when seen together with the graphics and images that appear alongside them. It is therefore important that translators have access to these materials, and that they possess the right expertise to interpret them correctly. Entirely automated solutions or translators flying blind may miss crucial details, resulting in a confusing or cumbersome user experience that, in some cases, may be worse than no translation at all.

Beyond the visual and graphic context, knowledge of the subject area is also important in order to make sure that the translated text fits naturally within its wider academic or professional context. Translators who are not familiar with central concepts, seminal texts and standards procedures within the industry may struggle to know how to position certain terms or phrases. The same is often true of automated solutions as well.

Target Audience

Is it a beginner, intermediate or advanced course? How familiar will the students be with specialised terms, jargon and references to other theories or skills? It is not necessarily a given that terms in the target language will be as widely known or as obvious as they are in the source language, especially when it comes to abbreviations borrowed from English. Translators therefore need to carefully consider the suitability and accessibility of the terms they choose. This requires both a masterful command of both languages as well as knowledge of the subject matter and an ability to gauge its level.

Cultural considerations may also come into play here. In some cases, it may be necessary to add explanatory information or to pad out the original so that it is clear. This is the case for texts that assume a certain degree of knowledge from their target readership that may not be present in the new context in which the translation will be read. In some cases, cultural adaptation may also be necessary in order to avoid causing offence or alienating the user.

National Bodies and Regulations

Many vocational e-learning courses often make references to local bodies and regulations which are very familiar to readers from the country in question, but perhaps alien to outsiders. These may require a bit of extra explanation or information in translation, all depending on the context and the objectives of the e-learning course. The same goes for local authorities, associations, unions, etc.

At Comunica, we work with a number of vetted and trusted linguists who specialise in e-learning translation, and we can help you perfectly localise and export your materials for a seamless user experience. Visit our e-learning area of expertise page here to read more, or head straight to our pricing page to book a free consultation or request a quote.

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And the thing is, after years of working and after-working together, her wisdom and zeal have rubbed off on the rest of us. We’ve all heard so much about antioxidants, vitamins and dietary fibre that we could just as well consult on the benefits of getting your five a day and how best to grow everything, from grapes and bananas to chirimoya and lucuma, as we can on the Nordics and localisation workflows. 

If ever the machines really do take over, you’ll probably find more than one of us transitioning into the fruit space – and definitely Paula, whose dream is to one day set up her own mango farm.

And it’s thanks to Paula we know everything we do about just how amazing one fruit in particular is – the incredible pineapple – not just as a source of nutrition, but inspiration. In this article, we’d like to share with you what we know – and tell you all the many ways we’ve realised that we ourselves are just as awesome as this amazingly versatile, robust and delicious fruit.

Bromelain – Breaking Down and Building Up

If we’re going to talk about the benefits of pineapple, we have to start with bromelain! This is a group of protein-digesting enzymes that is essentially unique to the pineapple plant, and can be found in all parts of the fruit and its flesh. It is especially highly concentrated in the stem, and it is extracted primarily from this part of the plant to be used in dietary supplements.

Bromelain has anti-inflammatory effects and aids digestion. In traditional South and Central American medicine, pineapple preparations containing bromelain were used for wound healing and digestive support long before modern science confirmed its properties. Today, it even has industrial uses such as tenderising meat and improving dough used in baking (meaning that pineapple is not only great on a pizza, but also in a pizza!)

What makes bromelain so special is its ability to break things down – and that’s where we see the parallel with our own operation. We are the magic enzyme of global communication, deconstructing texts as intricate as the most complex of proteins, unlocking meaning the way bromelain unlocks potential, and transforming the result into something versatile and powerful. Where others see barriers, we, like bromelain, see a path forward – and opportunities to spark innovation.

Sweet on the Outside, Strong at the Core

Perhaps the one thing we all know about pineapples is that they are about as tough as they come. It takes a pretty hefty knife to cut through that spiky outer shell, and perhaps for this reason, it’s one of the fruits that is most widely sold in preprepared form. This armoured exterior makes the pineapple robust, helping to keep it protected from pests and diseases. It also reduces the risk of fungal or bacterial infections, which is key in the humid and tropical environments where the pineapple grows.

In other words, it’s tough and serious – it knows its environment and it does everything it can to keep itself protected. Much like we understand the risks our clients face and adopt rigorous safeguards to protect them – from the QA procedures we implement to protect against errors to the privacy safeguards we deploy to protect against the unauthorised disclosure of sensitive information. These tools are our spiky outer shell.

Of course, the pineapple’s exterior is also deceptive. Because while it might seem tough, it hides an immensely sweet interior that is packed full of Vitamin C. The same is true of Comunica – our warm and personal approach is one of the things that makes us special, and like the pineapple, it’s something we package perfectly together with rigour and seriousness. The Vitamin C is the massive health boost we give to our clients, allowing them to grow their businesses abroad and improve their bottom line.

Full of Fibre for Balance and Flow

A medium pineapple contains up to 13.6 grams of fibre. That might not be as much as you get from super high-fibre fruits like raspberries, but it’s a substantial dose nonetheless, and one that will help keep everything nice and regular. The fibre in pineapple slows digestion, helping keep you fuller for longer on relatively few calories, it supports healthy cholesterol levels and reduces cardiovascular risk, and it provides fuel for beneficial bacteria that improve gut balance.

But essentially the prime benefit of fibre is that it keeps your digestive system flowing smoothly – and that’s what we do as well. Our localisation workflows are engineered to make sure that nothing gets stuck or overlooked, and that all parts of the localisation process can work together in perfect harmony. From automated tools that make hand-offs seamless to slick communication channels that keep everyone informed and in the loop, so that they can take action quickly and keep your project moving through the pipeline.

Learn More from Paula

If you’re interested in hearing more about pineapples, fruit in general, or how we take inspiration from the amazing things they do when building our systems and evolving in our work, there are plenty more pages on our site you can check out.

Head on over to Paula’s page, for example, to learn more about her passion for pineapples and the role she fulfils at Comunica. As our Partnerships and Quality Manager, she’s responsible for a lot of what makes us great – from picking the ripest talent to nurturing growth and safeguarding quality at all times.

Be sure to also check out our pricing and contact pages, where you can find out more about the wide range of services we offer, request a quote, or book a quick chat to discuss your needs. Whether you’ve got a project in mind, a market you’d like to target, or you’re simply curious to hear more about bromelain or the best ways to prepare pineapple (we love it barbecued on the grill and served with meat or prawns) we’ll always be happy to have a chat!

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