The Island of New Guinea

New Guinea is the world’s second largest island, and is in addition one of the world’s last, vast and remote wildernesses. With a complex political history, this great island is divided. The western half, is now referred to as Papua, a region of Indonesia, while the eastern half, Papua New Guinea or PNG, has been some an independent country since 1975.

New Guinea is step in the Pacific Ring of Fire, and endures sporadic volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and occasional tsunamis. A mountain range rises across the length of New Guinea and deep rainforest is all enveloping.

The island contains an astonishing wealth of natural features, some protected by National Parks and UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserves, but huge swathes of it are unmapped and virtually unreachable. The chief towns of both countries are, naturally, on the coast, but there’s little in the way of roads or infrastructure. Travel is mainly by boat. Rivers criss-cross the whole region or you can travel on foot, or by plane

New Guinea is inhabited by about 1,000 different tribes, speaking a similar number of languages. Tourists are few, mainly visiting the extraordinary Dani culture, in Papua’s pleasurable Baliem Valley. Despite being nominally Christians, the Dani live traditionally.

Men wear penis sheaths, women wear short skirts, made of orchid fibres, worn beneath the buttocks. This high valley, surrounded by mountain peaks, is a vision of incredibly fertile cultivated fields. The Baliem River provides fish, and pigs are essential, being eaten at every ceremony.

In PNG the major attraction is the tribal hunter-gatherers who live along the banks of the island’s longest river, the Sepik. This culture is intrinsically entwined with crocodiles, and the men’s huge scarification reflects the animal’s scales.

Living in communal longhouses, Sepik River people are famous for their wood-carvings. Varying in style from village to village, most of these find their way into the great museums of the world.

If you’re looking for cheap flights and cheap airfares to plan your family holidays, make sure you talk to Flight Centre.

Peace and Quiet in Southern Thailand

To visitors in Asia, the south of Thailand is home to hundreds of miles of shoreline, some of the most pristine in the world. Many say that many of the most popular Thai locations, such as Phuket – Thailand’s largest island – are just overrun and no longer have their original appeal and charm. But still, that hasn’t stopped the masses of tourists from descending on these beach-side towns year upon year.

While it is true that many places in southern Thailand are overcrowded and well spoilt, it is still possible to find that secluded hideaway and enjoy some rest & relaxation in Thailand. Here are a few suggestions to avoid the crowds and enjoy yourself.

Ko Rok is a pair of twin islands that are frequented by visitors for the amazing coral reefs, in a perfect setting for snorkeling and diving. There are miles of near-blinding white beaches that are relatively quiet. A great choice here is camping; you can find most supplies you need on the island and you’ll take pleasure in peaceful, quiet nights adorned by both stunning sunsets and sunrises.

Ko Tarutao is a part of the Tarutao National Marine Park. Originally developed to build a prison, Ko Tarutao made its claim to on American TV as the backdrop for an episode of ‘Survivor’. Most tourists opt for the hustle and bustle of nearby Ko Lipe, but the national park operates bungalows and camp grounds for those who want peace and quiet.

If you enjoyed this article, you may want to check out our other interesting content, such as this article on Indonesia’s diving paradise.

What linguistic challenges does your language pose. part 7

German to Dutch
In German the verb always stands at the end of the sentence. Sometimes this can be difficult.

English to Indonesian
The biggest problem is bahasa Indonesia has no tenses. We don’t know past tense or future tense. All we know is present tense and to make it past or future we simply add the time signal such as “yesterday” or “tomorrow”, etc. This shouldn’t be a problem when we do EN>ID translation, but a HUGE problem for ID>EN.

Another problem will be the vocabulary limitation. Bahasa Indonesia doesn’t have as much vocabulary as English. Therefore several English words can be translated to one Indonesian word. Here are some examples:
The food is not delicious = Makanan itu tidak enak
I’m sick = saya tidak enak badan
I smell a rat = perasaan saya tidak enak
I’m a bit reluctant to send that present = saya merasa tidak enak mengirimkan hadiah itu
totally different contexts but all are translated to “tidak enak”. This is also the concern of foreigners who learn to speak bahasa here.

Next is the articles to show quantity. English shows quantity by adding the article “a/an” or the letter “s”. In bahasa, we simply repeat the word to make it plural.
books (more than 1) = buku-buku
Students = “siswa-siswi” or “para siswa”
This becomes strange if we put it in a sentence:
Dogs are animals = anjing-anjing adalah binatang-binatang ——> this sentence is not fluent or “strange”. Therefore we omit the plural form and make it singular:
Dogs are animals = anjing adalah binatang

Turkish to English
The sentence structure in Turkish is reversed compared to English. This also holds true for all Turkic Languages and some Asian Languages. When the sentence structure of a translation is not translated correctly, the sentence in either English or Turkish can sound strange or missing words. I always start by flipping the sentence first in my mind then I begin a translation.
Another difficult aspect is the agglutive nature of the language, where all the tenses etc. are at the end of the word. It makes for long words in Turkish.

Finnish to English
What makes Finnish a bit hard for the English native speaker – apart from the complicated grammar, the numerous inflexions, the alien lexis, the lack of articles, and the lack of a future tense – is that there is no gender whatsoever (e.g. no separate words for ‘he’ and ‘she’), and this, together with the fact that utterances are often impersonalised, means that it is sometimes awfully problematic working out who is doing what to whom, and what sex they are (often necessary to know in English).

Check out our Finnish Translation Services website

English to Japanese
I studied Japanese for a couple of years and it is also interesting in that way. What a great language, verbs at the end, and different numbering systems. Like we count in thousandths (1,000) but they count with four zeros (1,0000). What a task to translate this language! The counters are also interesting – a flat item is described in a different way to a round item – and there are several different ‘counters’.

Check out our Japanese Translation Services website.

English to Hindi
I don’t translate Hindi/Gujarati, but I live with some native speakers, and they always refer to numbers in lakh (100,000) and crore (10,000,000), and I’m constantly doing mental calculations (and then dividing by 50 for rupees, too!). Different numbering systems take some getting used to.

These tips are brought to you by Translation Services UK who also offer a free translation service on their website. Remember, if you are going to get your document(s) translated then printed please make sure you use people and NOT software.

Ethans Handy Guidelines To Abide By When You Are Buying Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is a grass that grows about 1 to 3 feet a day when it is at its peak expansion cycle. It can reach up to 125 feet or more and become two feet in diameter. Bamboo reaches maturity when 5 to six years old ; at that time it stops growing and is prepared to be cropped. Bamboo does not have to be replanted as it regenerates itself.
 
 Most bamboo created for flooring and other such products comes from forests in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The government owns almost all of the bamboo forests in China, which is also the key worldwide producer for bamboo products.
 
 Giant pandas, which feed on bamboo, are in no way deprived of their food substance due to the harvesting of bamboo for flooring. This is thanks to the fact that giant pandas don’t eat the same species of bamboo that’s utilized for flooring and other products containing bamboo. Pandas basically live in various provinces and at way higher elevations than the areas which have bamboo forests for flooring and other products. Pandas don’t live in the eastern provinces of China where the best bamboo is located.
 
 There are two foremost colors of bamboo : natural and carbonized ( or fumed ). The natural bamboo is really lightened to create its light color, whereas bamboo which has been carbonized experiences a heating process which darkens the wood to a dark caramel color. However, both natural and carbonized bamboo may have several different shades.
 
 The more fashionable bamboo flooring products offer a new kind of bamboo for floors that has been stained. There is even a custom hand-scraped bamboo which is employed in floors. This kind of bamboo mixes the country appearance of hand scraping with a unique stain and finish. This give bamboo a really special new look. 

The Complete Guide To Printed Flags

Introduction

When you think of the term Paper flags do you think of the crowds of people standing at the roadside while the Queen goes by waving little flags like mad? Well believe it or not, today paper flags are big business! Can you believe our company makes millions of them every year for all sorts of firms such as theatres, building societies, councils, garages, and estate agents not to mention charities and supporters clubs.

A printed flag can be custom made with your own logo or message very cost effectively.

Paper flags can be printed on one or both sides and are mounted on a plastic stick so they can be held in the hand for waving in a crowd. These paper flags are colourful, attractive, and economical. They have become very popular, particularly over recent years, just try not to wave one as soon as it is given to you!
Some of the great advantages of these hand waving flags as promotional items is that they are environmentally friendly, really cost effective to create, and everyone loves waving them. Compared to other much more costly branded products, gifts or marketing giveaways they are always a great success.The number of re-orders we get is testament to that!

History of Paper Flags

Paper did not appear in the western world until the early 1300s so it would have been some time later that the earliest know form of small flags were cut out of paper. These were usually religious in character and today, thousands of colourful cut-paper flags which depict various mythological and religious figures are produced in China for annual festivals. Can you remember when you were a child cutting rows of patterns, sometimes figures of girls or boys from folded paper? This is the handed down tradition of Scherenschnitte which is the German for “scissors” cutting, which is often translated as “silhouette” a practise which became popular in Austria in the seventeenth century. From this time a whole tradition of cut paper craft has evolved around the world, such as the shadow puppets of Indonesia and the common tissue-paper flags of Mexico known as Paper Picado.

Current Usage

Children particularly enjoy waving flags during festivals, shows or exhibitions. Paper flags however are most often used today to advertise and promote sporting events, fund raising projects or special occasions. Promotional printed flags are a wonderful way of catching the eye and can be a profitable way of advertising for any exhibition. Colourful printed flags are attractive, economical to produce and ever popular.

Most people just can’t resist hand wavers give one to anybody and they are sure to give it a quick wave.

Whether it’s the World Championship, the Premier League, or a local cup final, supporters with their paper flags, show their true dedication. That is why paper flags for supporters are the top choice of some of the biggest clubs and soccer leagues.

Paper flags are cheap to manufacture and can be purchased at unbelievably low give-away prices. A huge range of samples of paper flags are available as printers of paper flags will generally hold back a few items from each run as examples of the kind of products available. These will all relate to real world, fund raising campaigns, promotions, product launches, and sports teams events.

There is a huge selection of artwork to choose from for custom made promotional flags because the print area is flat and a set size. The only limitations are an individual’s imagination (and the size of the flag too of course).

They can be ordered in whatever quantities required as they are usually quick to manufacture and easy to deliver.
Obviously paper flags are great for other promotional events, such as VIP visits, sales events and advertising. You can get printed flags with your own sales message or custom printed logo on one or both sides and they can also be used as promotional gifts. A distinct advantage to using printed flags for different promotional events, is that they are very easy to produce in both large and small quantities at a very low cost. Because they are digitally printed there will be the best possible quality finish to the flags and reordering is a breeze.

Conclusion

I am sure very few people will have given any consideration to small hand held flags until there is an occasion when they want to make use of them I mean it’s not generally the first thought you have when you wake up in the morning!. Then what happens? At one time people would have to go to a specialist store that stocked such things. Now they will probably look them up on the internet in Google(other search engines are available!). Such has our world evolved. Purchasers no longer have to make do with standard designs. They can select from a vast range of ready prepared ideas available, into which their personal messages can be incorporated.

By choosing a supplier that creates recycled flags you can be sure your promotional flags are eco friendly too.

So do not be restricted by the images of small children waving little flags while royalty go by, and see what exciting and differing environmentally friendly flags ideas you can come up with for your next promotional campaign.