Do you use AI systems to generate machine translation?
Sometimes it’s a bit risky right? What could possibly go wrong?

• Lack of culture nuances
• Limited in technical and specialized domains
• Less precise in specific fields

We can assist with proofreading the translated documents as proofreading is the last step of editing before a document is published or used—your last chance to make sure your writing is as good as it can be.

And failing everything, we can translate your documents to make them look good and easy to understand.

Test us! Ask us about a quote.

Hola, ¿cómo estás? Hallo, wie geht es Ihnen? Prisma translates financial documents into: Spanish, German and Hungarian. It is time to learn some facts about these popular languages.

Spanish

Spanish is a truly global language. Did you know?:

• In 2023, our most common documents to be translated into the language were: PRIIP KIDs, financial reports and shareholder letters.
• The language has more than 500 million speakers and is an official language in 20 countries.
• The first grammar book was written in 1492.
• Have you enjoyed “sobremesa” lately? It is the joyful time spent after dinner to talk and relax.

German

I believe my pig whistles (meaning: This is unbelievable). Can you believe these facts?:

• Did you know that our biggest financial report translated into German has more than 1100 pages?
• German is an official language in 6 European countries.
• Fernweh (literal “far-longing”) is the opposite of homesick. Other languages use it as well (maybe it is time to travel again?) Other German words used internationally are Autobahn, Leitmotiv, Wunderkind and Zeitgeist.
• The most used letter in German is the “E”.

Hungarian

Hungarian is supposedly a difficult language to learn for English-speakers (category IV language according to the Foreign Service Institute). Alternatively, here are some some Hungarian language facts to learn instead:

• It is the largest language by speakers in the Uralic family. 
• The language has 14 vowels.
• Regional language status in Austria, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. 
• There are 13 million Hungarian native speakers. 
• PRIIP KIDs and many other financial documents: We can handle your translation needs for Hungarian and many other languages. 

Are you looking for a financial translation into German and many other languages? Contact us.

FAQ to Prisma: What is the difference between proof-reading and proof-checking/quality checking?

Proof-reading is done by a professional translator who understands the language in which the text is drafted. The proofreader reads line by line and ensures that there is no mistake in the wording. He/she examines the final text carefully to find and correct typographical errors and mistakes in grammar, style, and spelling.

Proof-checking/quality checking is done by a person (project manager) who does not necessarily have to understand the language into which a document has been translated to. The person checks for instance that all the headers, paragraphs are in the target document.

Two similar jobs and yet very different.

Both play a very important part for our translation and typesetting services. Check out our services here.

The Prisma team collected their favourite idioms from Iceland, Northern Germany, Luxembourg, Scotland and Mauritius. These idioms are rarely used in financial translation. Anyway, we still like them a lot and would like to share our favourites with you.

Iceland

Áfram með smjörið.

On with the butter. Meaning – get back to work.

Rúsínan í pylsuendanum.

The raisin at the end of the hot dog. Meaning – the cherry on top.

Blindur er Bóklaus Maður.

Blind is a bookless man. Meaning suggests – those who don’t read are ignorant to the world around them.

Leggja Höfuðið Í Bleyti.

Lay Your Head in Water. Meaning – you need to think about something a bit longer.

Bonus fun fact: When you are lost in an Icelandic forest all you need to do is stand up. (Psssst it’s a joke: There are barely any trees in Iceland and the ones that grow in these so-called “forests” are so young that you can easily see over them).

Luxembourg

Wien Karotten esst, dee kritt schéin Aan.

Eating carrots will get you beautiful eyes.

Duerch d’Fale léieren d’Kanner goen.

Children learn to walk by falling. Meaning – you should not give up when you fail at something but rather stand up and try again.

Do fënnt keng Katz hir Jong méi erem.

No cat will find her kittens. Meaning – it is so messy, that nobody can find anything.

Wien op d’Kiermes geet, dee verléiert seng Plaz.

Whoever goes to the fair, loses his place. Meaning – if you leave your seat, you will lose it.

Deen huet d’Klibbersuen nach an der Täsch.

He still has the money earned from “Klibberen” (a Luxembourgish Easter tradition) in his pocket. Meaning – he does not like to spend his money.

Northern Germany

Besser ein Spatz in der Hand als eine Taube auf dem Dach

A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on your roof (A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush). Meaning – you should be content with what you have.

Nu ma Butter bei die Fische!

Now put the butter to the fish. Meaning – speak clearly!

Wat de Buur nich kennt, dat frett he nich.

What the farmer doesn’t know he will not eat. Meaning – that someone is not open for new ideas.

Schieß den Döspaddel in Wind!

Shoot the idiot into the wind. Meaning – it’s time for a new beginning.

Scotland

Yer aff yer heid

You’re off your head. Meaning – you’re crazy.

Haud yer wheesht

Hold your tongue. Meaning – to be quiet.

Dinnae teach yer Grunny tae suck eggs

Don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs. Meaning – do not teach or tell someone how to do something they already know.

Bonus carrot fact: Britain has a similar saying to the one from Luxembourg above: ‘Eating carrots helps you see better at night’. The rumour started in WWII when the Royal Air Force had developed a new Radar technology. To hide their success, a big campaign claimed that they just ate a lot of carrots. Nowadays, the saying is used to get children to eat their vegetables.

Mauritius

Dife dans lanka.

Problems are cropping up.

Ti kouto koup gro ziromon.

A small knife cuts a big pumpkin. Meaning – a small action can have a big consequence.

Prisma translates

Financial reports, PRIIP KIDs, SFDR documents, prospectuses, shareholder documents and many more documents are in our service offering. Contact us for more information.

Buon giorno or Hei! Prisma translates financial documents from and into many languages. Here are some fun facts about Italian, Icelandic and Finnish.

We translate into Italian 

• Speakers worldwide: around 85 million people 
• The language evolved from Vulgar Latin. 
• It is an official language in Italy, San Marino, Vatican City and Switzerland. 
• The Italian speaking Swiss cantons are called: Ticino and Grisons. The largest Italian-speaking city outside of Italy is Lugano. 
• Standard Italian is based on Tuscan and the Florentine dialect. 
• The word “ciao” comes from the Venetian language. 

We translate into Icelandic 

Around 314,000 people speak the West Scandinavian language. 

• Faroese is the closest relative. 
• Icelanders regulate loanwords. New terms should be coined from existing Icelandic words. 
• Did you know that Icelandic speakers can read Old Norse easier than other Scandinavians?
• Have you ever seen the Northern Lights? In Icelandic, the term is: “Norðurljós”. 
• Jólabókaflóð (The Christmas Book Flood) – Following the release of many new books before December, books are a popular present on Christmas Eve. It only gets cosier when enjoying the books with hot chocolate during cold winter nights.  

þetta reddast

Live by the Icelandic motto “it will all work out okay”. 

We translate into Finnish 

• Finnish is a Uralic language in the Finnic family. 
• Helsinki’s nickname is Stadi, from the Swedish word for city. 
• Sauna – a Finnish term – is used in many other languages. 
• It is considered as a Level III language, meaning Native English speakers will have a tough time learning the language. 

J.R.R. Tolkien was fascinated by Finnish and described it: “like discovering a complete wine-cellar filled with bottles of an amazing wine of a kind and flavour never tasted before.” The language even influenced his fictional languages. 

Financial translation at Prisma

Are you looking for a financial translation into Italian, Icelandic, Finnish and many other languages? We work with experiences financial translators and offer all Western European, most Asian and Middle Eastern languages. Contact us at https://www.prisma.lu/contact/ 

Did you know that we translate into Japanese? Japan or 日本 (Nihon) also known as the country of the rising sun. The island nation is home to a wonderful language and vibrant culture.

Here are some facts that you might not know about Japanese:

• Speakers worldwide: 125 million
• Descended from: Proto-Japonic
• Three writing systems are used
• The language reflects the hierarchical nature of the society in Japan
• Kawaii means the concept of cuteness – and kawaii (cute) handwriting exists

• Although the word ‘Bon-sai’ is Japanese, the art it describes originated in the Chinese empire
• The language uses Chinese characters, however the language isn’t based on Chinese
• There are no articles or plurals
• It is a very fast language
• Thank you means: Arigatō

Translation services at Prisma

At Prisma, you have a dedicated project manager that guides you in every translation project. Are you looking for advice? Don’t hesitate to ask.

We translate into many languages worldwide with experienced financial translators and proof-checkers. A quality check ensures that your high expectations are met. Are you looking for a financial translation into Japanese or other languages? Contact us

… many languages worldwide. Your financial translation is handled by a dedicated Prisma Project Manager.

French

Speakers worldwide: approx. 76 Million

Language family: Indo-European.

French is a romance language.

Descended from: Colloquial Latin

The language is spoken in 29 countries.

How to say “Nice to meet you”: Enchanté de vous rencontrer

Swedish

Speakers worldwide: approx. 10 Million

Language family: Indo-European.

Swedish is a North-Germanic language.

Descended from: Old Norse

It is spoken in Sweden and in parts of Finland

How to say “Hello”: hallå or hej

Japanese

Speakers worldwide: 125 million

Japanese uses three writing systems

Descended from: Proto-Japonic

The language reflects the hierarchical nature of Japanese society

Are you looking for a financial translation into French and many other languages? Contact us!

We are finally going out more in the summertime which could lead to small talk. Here are your favourite fun facts about languages to help you impress people at parties:

• The world’s rarest languages have just a few speakers: among them are Hanti or Njerep.
• The constructed language Toki Pona has only around 120 words; and promotes positive thinking.
• There are many fictional languages – The one with the most speakers is probably Klingon.
• The Prisma team speaks on average 4.5 languages. (Unfortunately, no one speaks a fictional language yet)

• Language families Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan have the most speakers worldwide.
• Esperanto, the biggest constructed language, was created in the 1800s to foster harmony around the world.
• More than half the world’s population is bilingual.
• Start learning a new language by memorizing the 1000 most important words. It will lead a lot faster to fluency.

Do you learn languages easily? Would you learn a fictional language?

Learn more about our translation services.

Did you know that:
The walkie-talkie in French is the other way around: talkie walkie.

To commute means in German to swing around: pendeln.

The Icelandic word for computer means prophetess of numbers: Tölva (tala= number; völva=prophetess).

If you want popcorn in Afrikaans, you ask for jumping corn: Springmielies.

Did you also know that Prisma translates millions of words every year?

Find out more about our services.