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A Trek through Charlevoix Quebec

Posted by Bruce on July 11, 2017 in Beauty of Quebec

Canada has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and the Charlevoix area of Quebec backs that up. This mountainous area provides scenic views of the St. Lawrence River and the small towns offer quaint little shopping districts and art studios.

Years ago my husband and I took a trip to this lovely place. We were visiting family in my home Province of Quebec and decided to take a trip to theQuebec City area. With my husband being an artist the many galleries and small art stores were definitely of interest. Pictures don’t do this area justice at all, you have to experience it. I will warn you that this is not a one hour drive. The many hills, beautiful towns, and fabulous vistas all will require time to consume and appreciate. Here is how we did the trip.

We took two or three days to do the trip just from Quebec City. Summer is the busiest time of year for many reasons from weather issues to whale watching to tourist season. Yes this time of year you can see the whales on their migration and the stunning landscapes make you want to just sit and take it all in and you will want time to stop and stroll through the beautiful towns and visit the galleries. One thing my husband appreciated was that the small gallery owners would take the time to explain their art and offer information on their studio.

We decided to book a hotel near the Baie-Saint-Paul area which was about halfway to where we wanted to reach. It isn’t that the mileage is that far but you want to stop like mentioned above. Our goal was to go as far as Tadoussac, Quebec. We made the drive from Quebec City to Tadoussac and then came back to Baie-Saint-Paul for the night. We then made our way back towards Quebec City the next day. We only stopped in the smaller towns or places that looked of interest. We were too early for whale watching unfortunately so we didn’t get to see them, but August is the best time of year for that.

Our favourite places were Montmagny, Baie-Saint-Paul, La Malbaie, and St.Simeon. If you are planning a trip to the area make sure you book early and realize rates are higher in the summer months. A well maintained vehicle is a must in this area as the region is mountainous and hilly. We only had a couple days to explore, but a week in this area would be wonderful. I hope you enjoy your trip to this area of Quebec.

To learn more about this area here is a link that can offer more information on the region. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlevoix

About the Author

Carmen Outridge owns Outridge Translation Services a Division of Outridge Enterprises Inc. offering English to French translation services for those operating in the Province of Quebec. She has been in the translation industry for over 30 years and is originally from Quebec. Services include document translation, presentation translation, web translation, and voice-over work. If you have documents you need translated then visit www.outridgetranslation.com and have your translation completed the way Quebec expects it!

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A Voice Can Make All the Difference

Posted by Bruce on May 2, 2017 in Carmen Outridge, Outridge Translation Service's News, Translation Information

With technology changing at rapid pace in today’s world it can also change the way we learn and take in information. Technology can take us from one style of learning one year to a totally different style of learning in another.

If you think back to just a few years ago normal learning structure was to teach someone through information delivered in person, possibly paired with a notebook, and then the knowledge tested with a paper test. This way of teaching is still out there and very effective.

Then video came along and more video was being used in the classroom and online instead of reading and Power Point presentations. With video came the additional use of using audio and that allowed for more variety in the training.

Any good trainer knows that everyone learns differently and a variety of training modules should be used in any program being delivered to a group. Who presents that information can drastically change how much information is retained by the participants. Language is a big part of that delivery.

Many believe that “French is French” no matter where it has originated from, but nothing can be farther from the truth. French originating in France is spoken much different than the way it is spoken in Quebec. Someone from Louisiana will speak quite differently than someone from New Brunswick. Reading language in a book may seem the same but when spoken it can be quite different. Much of this is due to the slang of the region or country, accent of the people, and much more. People from that region also are used to hearing people talk and relate better to people from their own region.

This brings us back to training. If people relate better to those where they live, then it voice over picturemakes sense that they would retain information better if it was presented in a way that they can understand it better. Have you ever watched a presentation where the presenter had a strong accent or was hard to understand? How much of the information did you retain?

So if you are developing training materials for different regions of the country and it requires audio or video included then make sure that the person doing the voice over work is from that region if possible. Your audience will appreciate it because they will retain more information and understand the presentation better. It will show that you care about the participants and the culture of the area. Try it and see!

About the Author

Carmen Outridge owns Outridge Translation Services offering English to French translation services for those operating in the Province of Quebec. She has been in the translation industry for over 30 years and is originally from Quebec. Services include document translation, presentation translation, web translation, and voice-over work. If you have documents you need translated then visit www.outridgetranslation.com and have your translation completed the way Quebec expects it!

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Saving others through French translation

Posted by Bruce on April 11, 2017 in Carmen Outridge, Interesting Stories

Hamburgers

Have you ever saved someone due to translation issues? I guess it is possible, but maybe not life or death. Let me share a story about how this could possibly happen.

My husband was a truck driver learning French with his weekly trips to Quebec. He had been learning the basics of reading signs, menus, and taking directions. All the everyday things that a truck driver would require on the road. I still remember the time he came home excited that he had saved some lives earlier that day in a remote restaurant. Originally I was horrified until ai heard the story.

He came home from his regular trip exhausted, but excited at a task he had been able to handle earlier in the day. He had taken a trip deeper into Quebec than normal to fill in for a colleague and found himself in Northern Quebec. He was sitting in a small restaurant and had just finished his meal when two people sat at a table near his.

The waitress asked the two men what they wanted to drink and they managed to squeak out coffee and then she went away leaving the menus with the men. When she returned with the coffee she began to take their orders. As the menus were in French they were unable to tell the waitress their order. This is where my husband stepped in. He asked the men what they wanted and then proceeded to tell the waitress in French what the men had ordered. He was extremely excited to have learned enough French that he was able to help someone else.

Was it life and death? Probably not, but his defence is that the men may have died if they didn’t eat any food, that’s the life and death part. The two men were going hunting in the area and were from New York State. My husband felt comfortable in what he ordered, but he also said he left before their order arrived so he hoped they got what they wanted. Translation may not be life and death stuff, but there are two men eating because of it. If you’re a hunter learn your French!

About the Author

Carmen Outridge owns Outridge Translation Services offering English to French translation services for those operating in the Province of Quebec. She has been in the translation industry for over 30 years and is from the Province of Quebec. If you have documents you need translated then visit www.outridgetranslation.com and have your translation completed the way Quebec expects it.

 

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Translation from Inside the Kitchen Window

Posted by Bruce on March 13, 2017 in Interesting Stories, Translation Information

Translation Frustration

As a translator you want to make sure the information you are translating will relate to the intended audience. Getting the right phrases for the region or the correct terminology are all part of the job when translating documents and presentations. Sometimes it can be more fun not to translate and let the language of French and English fight it out on their own. Here is what I mean.

We were on a vacation to visit family and friends in my home Province of Quebec years ago. My husband had been traveling to Quebec for work for a few years and was trying very hard to learn French so he could communicate with my family and friends. He had done pretty well but as many people do had problems with sentence structure and defining words in French. This is how the story played out.

The four of us had just finished a beautiful dinner outside on the patio. My friend and I cleared off the plates and were doing the dishes just inside the kitchen window listening to the conversation going on outside. My husband was asked, ” depuis combien de temps tu conduit?” This phrase in English means, ” How long have you been driving?” Here’s the problem! My husband knew that the verb “combien” meant how much. So he thought our friend was asking him how much he got paid at his job. The two went back and forth trying to understand what the other was asking. We kept doing the dishes while listening and we were laughing so hard we almost pee’d our pants. Oh I could have helped him understand, but it was much funnier letting him try to figure it out on his own.

We still laugh about that moment to this day. I tell you this story to show you the importance of getting the proper translation for your audience. Words can have multiple meanings in any language and pronunciation factors can make words seem like other similar words. You wouldn’t want a customer to mistake the message you are trying to get across because they didn’t understand the words being used. After all if you are not in the room you may not notice the laughing going on outside of the window.

About the Author

Carmen Outridge owns Outridge Translation Services offering English to French translation services for those operating in the Province of Quebec. She has been in the translation industry for over 30 years and is from Quebec. If you have documents you need translated then visit www.outridgetranslation.com and have your translation completed the way Quebec expects it.

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Quebec Homes Were Designed for Winter

Posted by Bruce on February 20, 2017 in Beauty of Quebec

Quebec house

Have you ever been to Quebec and noticed the beautiful homes? Oh there are beautiful homes all over the world, but Quebec is known for their unique design. The old designs are a mix of influence from France, England, and the East Coast of Canada. The steep roofs of Quebec have a very steep pitch with a curve at the bottom. These roof designs are becoming less prominent over the years, but you can still view many of them as you travel through the Province.

The design of the roof was based on earlier experience or knowledge, but also played an important part due to the weather of the region. Quebec receives large amounts of snow each winter and heavy rains in the spring. The steep pitch roofs in many cases were made of metal which allowed for the snow and rain to slide off to help keep the roofs free of snow build up. Over the years this has become a distinction of Quebec homes and part of the heritage of the Province.

So the next time you are traveling through the Province of Quebec look out for the steep roof homes. You will see them many times in the smaller towns and they are beautiful and stunning to look at. The red colour was a popular colour with the designs.

About the Author

Carmen Outridge has been translating for over 30 years in English and French. She is from the Province of Quebec and understands the communication process for businesses dealing in Quebec. To learn more about Outridge Translation Services or to get a quote on your next project visit their website at www.outridgetranslation.com

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Applying to the Quebec market, are you ready?

Posted by Bruce on January 13, 2017 in Carmen Outridge, Translation Information

grad photo-get your resume ready

The world is getting smaller with the internet and other electronic media. Many positions are opening up in markets across the Country and people are moving around scrambling for the right job or lifestyle. These positions are important and being prepared may be the difference between getting the job of your choice or not. That includes submitting your resume in the correct format and language.

Many may not know that their documents should be in French if applying for a position in Quebec. You may be dealing with a recruiting department that speaks English, but resumes will have to be passed on to other personnel that may not have that great an understanding of the English language.

Impress the recruiting department with this tip!

Being prepared is the first step to a successful opportunity. Prepare your resume in English as you normally would to present for the position. Once you have it set out in English then have it prepared in French as well. Caution do not use an online translator as it translates literally and can change the meaning and sentence structure of the content. Once you have the resumes created in the two languages have them bound together in to one document. If you are printing them off having them in the same folder is fine. If you are presenting them electronically using a program like Adobe PDF can put multiple documents together.

Often people forget about the French part of the process and in dealing with the Province of Quebec all documents need to be in French. Being prepared up front is the best way to show you are serious about the position and are the type of person that is prepared and organized.

About the Author

Carmen Outridge has been translating for over 30 years in English and French. She is from the Province of Quebec and understands the communication process for businesses dealing in Quebec. To learn more about Outridge Translation Services or to get a quote on your next project visit their website at www.outridgetranslation.com

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Outridge Translation Services

Posted by Bruce on December 22, 2016 in Carmen Outridge, Outridge Translation Service's News

From our family to yours Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. All the best for 2017.

Joyeux Noel et Bonne et Heureuse Annee

Christmas balls and ribbon

About the Author

Carmen Outridge owns Outridge Translation Services offering English to French translation services for those operating in the Province of Quebec. She has been in the translation industry for over 30 years and is from Quebec. If you have documents you need translated then visit www.outridgetranslation.com and have your translation completed the way Quebec expects it.

 

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