Mother Tongue

For this month's Employee Spotlight, we'd like to introduce you to the lovely Eloise C.! 🌻 Eloise works as a Senior Account Manager in our Singapore office and loves languages as a way to connect with cultures around the world 🌏 Get to know her better below 👇

It's Word Wisdom Wednesday, and this month we're combining three of our favourite things - interesting words, chatting with colleagues, and Spanish food! The word sobremesa describes a key part of Spanish culture and cuisine. Translating loosely to ‘over the table’ sobremesa is the tradition of staying at the table long after a meal is finished to relax, digest and enjoy conversation with friends, family or colleagues 👪 Sobremesa means that it's normal for lunches to go on for several hours, long after all the food is gone - which is also why in Spain you won’t be offered the bill until you ask for it! We love this word and its meaning and can't wait to try this tradition out - not least because it's an excuse to tuck into some tapas! 🥘😋

Ciao! We’re sailing through beautiful Venice for September's Cultural Catch-Up! Since the 13th century, Venice's Regata Storica has taken place on the first Sunday of September and is one of the city's most popular events, for tourists and Venetians alike 🚣 Gondoliers parade along the Grand Canal in traditional costumes and masks before engaging in fierce competition, racing through the canals for cash prizes and traditional regatta pennants 🚩 Planning to visit Venice to catch a glimpse of the action next year? Remember to pack your traditional Venetian costume! 🎭 Fun fact: the word "regatta" comes from Venetian dialect and was first used in the 17th century to describe gondoliers racing along the Grand Canal 💡

Last week, Mother Tongue's London crew took a well-earned break to enjoy the last of the summer sun in style! ☀️ The team dressed to the nines in their finest white-themed outfits to celebrate their hard work over the busy summer period 🕊️ A special night filled with sunshine, smiles and stunning views over the river, it was a truly fitting way to see out the season ☁️

It's Employee Spotlight time and this month, meet Hadis Javanmardi! 🤝 Hadis works in our London office as part of the Talent Team, where she helps connect top linguists with exciting brands 🚀 A native Farsi speaker, Hadis is a lifelong language enthusiast— and we love having her on the team! Get to know her better below 👇

Hey early birds, this month’s Word Wisdom Wednesday is for you! Gökotta is a Swedish word which loosely translates to getting up early to enjoy the stillness, birdsong and other sounds of nature which are unique to the small hours of the morning 🌅🕊️ The word originates from a combination of the Swedish words gök - (the sound of a cuckoo) and otta - (early morning). No longer just a word, gökotta now symbolises the whole concept of hopping out of bed in the small hours and appreciating nature's symphony 🌿 In fact, there are several studies that show that this appreciation for nature and tranquillity reduces stress levels and improves happiness over time. Let us know in the comments if you’re an early bird who wants to give it a go, or a night owl who’s going to stay tucked up in bed instead! 🤪

Earlier this month, Mother Tongue welcomed Women in Localization - United Kingdom to our London office's rooftop space for their summer networking event. This is the third time we've had the pleasure of hosting this fabulous event and as ever, it didn’t disappoint! 🌇 After warm welcomes from WIL's Anikó Pető-Mordovski and our very own Chris Hodgson Castillo, everyone enjoyed an evening of new connections, lively conversations and laughter, accompanied by delicious drinks and snacks 🥂 It’s always a delight to meet other women in the localization industry— a big thank you to Women in Localization who make this possible. We had a ball and hope you did too! It was great to see familiar faces and lots of new ones too, thanks for coming everyone 🙌 Alessandra P., Shrushti Chhapia MCIL, Aida Chueco Ochando, Marta Di Manno, Fabio Rossini, Lauriane Provost, Giulia Parker, Amy Au, Evgenia Alekseeva, Olga Nikitina, Buket Karakus, ANNA JD PECHON, Viviana Lagoudi, Laura May, Aglaia Pavlerou, Laura Waddington, Dung Truong, Ana Beard, Yanan Pu, Lusine Hanson, Nathalie Reis, Sarah Turpin, Christavie N'dah, Nancy Pollini, Monica Foresi, Eva Hausammann, Hadis Javanmardi, Adelaide Zappatore, Pippa Southern, Marco P., Flo Foster-van der Laken, Davide Calabrese, Katerina Nikita, Cara Dobinson

Summer fun at Mother Tongue 😎 Our teams around the world have been making the most of the summertime with some spectacular socials. The Long Beach crew had a blast cheering on the LA Dodgers and singing their hearts out at a baseball game, while over in Singapore the team got creative building their own terrariums 🧢🌱 In London, the team enjoyed a guided stroll around Bankside, learning about the LGBTQIA history of the area (spot the classic British summer weather!☂️) Check out all the fun we had!

This month's Cultural Catch-up is pretty juicy! We're diving head first into the messiest festival there is - La Tomatina! This unique festival is happening on the last Wednesday of August in Buñol, Spain, and 20,000 people from around the world will gather in the main square to take part in the world’s biggest tomato fight. It really is as crazy as it sounds! 🤯 The festival dates back to 1945 when a small tussle next to a market stall of vegetables in the square turned into a food fight, which snowballed into a huge annual celebration that thousands now attend. At around 1pm, a firework is the signal for hundreds of tons of overripe tomatoes to be poured from trucks into the square for people to engage in an hour long, frenzied but cheerful tomato battle 🍅 What do you make of the fruity madness— have you ever been to La Tomatina or think you'd like to?

Meet this summer's Mother Tongue interns! We've had the pleasure of working with our newest group of interns across the Singapore, Long Beach and London offices this summer ☀️ Javier - Javier recently finished his 10-week internship with us and was a real asset to his team thanks to his proactive approach and positive attitude. Best of luck with the rest of your studies at NTU, Javier! 🧑🎓 Sue - Sue is a first year Master's degree student at Middlebury Institute of International Studies, where she is earning her degree in Translation and Localization Management. Sue speaks Chinese, English and Japanese and loves to practise yoga whenever she gets the chance 🧘 Emily - Emily is bilingual in English and German and working towards her BA in Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge, where she is also studying Russian as part of her degree. Her interests include singing in choirs, so she's in great company in the London office 🎵