As more or more people from different backgrounds, countries, cultures and religions immigrate to foreign lands, those countries become an intercultural melting pot. In order for the native people and the immigrant population to blend and create a thriving and successful atmosphere both sides need to develop some sort of intercultural tolerance and understanding of the differences that may exist between them.

Urdu is part of the Indo-Aryan group, which is a subgroup of Indo-Iranian Languages. The language itself is a hybrid of Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Arabic, Sanskrit and Hindi. The biggest influences are from the Turkish and Persian languages, followed by Arabic and Sanskrit. Urdu is very similar to Hindustani (commonly referred to as Hindi). Hindi has a greater Sanskrit influence as opposed to Urdu, but Urdu and Hindi speakers can communicate easily with little effort.

At our company we often get many emails from visitors to our sites saying how much they enjoy examples of cross cultural blunders. We are constantly asked for more. Bowing to pressure we have therefore complied some more examples of how cultural ignorance can and does lead to negative (and much of the time humorous) consequences.

Persian called "Farsi" (Far-see) by the speakers, is a language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan including adjoining areas. Persian is a widely spoken language in Middle-East, parts of Central Asia and the Indo-Pak Subcontinent. Persian originated from the language of Ancient Persia around 500 years BC during the times of the Aryan rulers and the word "Iran" (like the country Iran) has been derived from the word Aryan.

Few successful businesses are now mono-cultural in their make-up. Even if a business or organization is not dealing internationally the chances are that they employ people from foreign countries.

At this moment in time, the increase in cross border human traffic has meant that companies are no longer dealing with a homogenous native community from which they recruit their staff. Companies are now facing cross cultural challenges in how they recruit, manage and develop a multi-cultural staff. One area of note where HR and management are finding difficulties is in the interview room.

Many people with knowledge of languages ask how they can get started in freelance translation. These steps can help guide you through the process of becoming a freelance translator.

Relocation can be a stressful affair. Selling or renting your home, shipping belongings, saying bye to friends and family, leaving your job and worrying about life and work in the new country are but a few of the pressures one feels before and during a relocation.

Zoroastrianism is one the oldest religions in the world. It is definitely one of the first monotheist religions. It was founded by Zoroaster and it believes in one God, Ahura Mazda. There are very few Zoroastrians in the world today but it still holds an important place. A large part of their population is divided between Iran and India. The Zoroastrians living in India are called Parsis.

Here are some simple tips to help you improve your cross cultural communication skills: