LOTE Blog

How your language manipulates your eyes. In last week's article, we discussed different symbolic meanings that people attach to colours around the world. But the topic of colour goes beyond that. Did you know that there are colours taken for granted within one culture...

Symbolic meaning of colours. Is there anything more natural in our lives than colour? Colours are among the first things every child learns.They surround us in the environment and they are closely linked to our psychology. We choose which colour to dress in depending...

Council: City of Greater Dandenong KMs from CBD: 27km Population: 25,785 Top languages spoken other than English: Vietnamese 3,126 Khmer 2,173 Mandarin 1,508 Cantonese 1,051 Turkish 637 Keysborough is in the locality of Greater Dandenong, which is the most culturally...

Even after my fifth month living in Southeast Asia, I still never dared to drive. Many travellers will agree that for someone spoiled by driving on the well-ordered European roads, Asian traffic is chaotic, to say the least. When I moved to Indonesia, I made a...

If the title caught your attention and you decided to read on, I assume that you either want a better understanding of foreign business culture, or you like to cook. Whatever the reason is, keep reading and we’ll help you decode some key cultural behaviours and...

Can you recall a moment when a good joke helped you break the ice with a new client, despite a language barrier? Or when a witty one-liner defused the tension during negotiations with a tough partner from overseas? Or when a shared sense of humour turned a foreigner...

From the decorated eggs, fireworks and different dates, Orthodox Easter or ‘Pascha’, is distinctly different from the Easter many Australians know. Why is Orthodox Easter celebrated on a different day? Easter is the most important date in the Orthodox Church’s...

A recent ABC article posed the question, why are we still asking people where they come from? Australia is a multicultural nation, home to the world’s oldest continuous cultures as well as Australians who identify with over 270 ancestries[1]. Over 7 million people...

Before launching into any communications project, you need to decide what your message is and who it’s targeting. This is particularly important if your targeting a multicultural audience, as using a one-size-fits-all approach to a CALD audience is destined to fail....

Are you confident that your message is reaching your multicultural audience? To effectively translate a message, it’s not enough to just translate the literal word. An understanding of cultural nuances is required so that the true meaning is understood. The Harvard...

Australia is a multicultural nation that continues to expand its cultural diversity.  In fact, when you look at the population clock, one migrant arrives in Australia every 59 seconds! This growing part of our population indicates that now is a relevant time for...