Language | Technology | Business September 2010

Region Focus: North America Doing language business with the US government Translation industry in Cuba

Adding personalization to the localization mix

No recession for translation

Using the Review Index to measure content change

01Cover#114.indd 1 8/12/10 9:09:53 AM 02-03 Ads #114.indd 2 8/12/10 9:10:51 AM 02-03 Ads #114.indd 3 8/12/10 9:10:51 AM Know-how for Global Success

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The conference Global Business Best Practices for global business know-how. Want to venture into new international markets? Experienced business people will provide practical insights and advice Fifty informative sessions on global business best practices, to give you confidence on the global playing field. international marketing, new media, content strategies, global websites, localization and translation management. Managing Global Websites Large exhibit hall with service and technology vendors. Need to take your company’ website global? Learn from companies that have outstanding web presences: representa- tives offer their expertise for launching and maintaining your site.

Keynote speaker Advanced Localization Management Are you already involved in localization, but would like to learn more? Brian Solis, author of Engage: The Complete Guide for Industry experts provide the latest information on trends, processes, Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure technologies and influences that shape the world of localization. Success in the New Web, principal of FutureWorks Localization Core Competencies Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in Do you need to localize, but don’ know where to start? new media. A digital analyst, sociologist and futurist, This introductory track provides fundamental principles and arms you Brian has influenced the effects of emerging media with the knowledge to take your first steps. on the convergence of marketing, communications and publishing. He is principal of FutureWorks, a new Inside Track media agency in Silicon Valley, and has led interac- tive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, Interested in gaining a better understanding of topics that stimulate notable celebrities and Web 2.0 startups. collaboration and community? This new track covers a wide range of subjects to help you develop an informed global perspective.

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04-05 Ad-TOC #114.indd 4 8/12/10 9:36:17 AM MultiLingual Language | Technology | Business September 2010 #114 Volume 21 Issue 6

Up Front n Feature Articles n 6 www.multilingual.com n Region Focus n 7 Post Editing 33 Doing language business with n News the US government — Nataly Kelly n 8 News 36 Translation industry in Cuba n 15 Calendar — Arturo Quintero n Reviews 39 16 Adding personalization to the African Languages in a Digital Age localization mix — Scott Abel — Reviewed by Ultan Ó Broin Up Front 19 n Business — Reviewed by Ultan Ó Broin 45 No recession for translation 21 Through the Language Glass — Afaf Steiert, Matthias Steiert & — Reviewed by Rachel Schaffer Elanna Mariniello n Columns and Commentary n Technology 24 Off the Map — Tom Edwards 48 Using the Review Index 26 World Savvy — John Freivalds to measure content change 28 The Business Side — Adam Asnes — Silvio Picinini 30 Perspectives n — Christian Arno & Paul Sawers 52 Basics 61 Takeaway — Erin Vang n 54 Buyer’s Guide 60 Advertiser Index

About the cover This monumental inukshuk stone figure at the summit of Whistler Mountain, BC, Canada, was the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics. In the Inuit language, it means “likeness of a person.” These constructions have served as guideposts for native hunters in northern arctic regions.

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04-05 Ad-TOC #114.indd 5 8/12/10 9:36:25 AM on the web at www.multilingual.com

Resources MultiLingual #114 Volume 21 Issue 6 September 2010 Are you looking for more detailed information Editor-in-Chief, Publisher: Donna Parrish about products and services? Are you interested Managing Editor: Katie Botkin in more case studies and stories about product Proofreader: Jim Healey implementations and specific localization projects? News: Kendra Gray , Our new white papers section at www.multilingual Production: Doug Jones Darlene Dibble Cover Photo: Doug Jones .com/whitepapers can provide some answers for Webmaster: Aric Spence you. Here you will find information from various Technical Analyst: Curtis Booker technology and service leaders describing their Data Administrator: Cecilia Spence latest findings and offerings. Assistant: Shannon Abromeit This invaluable resource offers useful information Circulation: Terri Jadick from the top suppliers in our industry. There is no charge to download Special Projects: Bernie Nova these resources, so please check them out! Advertising Director: Jennifer Del Carlo Advertising: Kevin Watson, Bonnie Hagan Editorial Board Jeff Allen, Ultan Ó Broin, Arturo Quintero, Jessica Roland, Lori Thicke, Jost Zetzsche Advertising Subscriptions [email protected] www.multilingual.com/advertising Don’t let a whole year of good ideas escape. Subscribe now and 208-263-8178 keep new issues of MultiLingual on your desk. Subscriptions, back issues, customer service The print magazine is mailed nine times [email protected] a year (eight issues plus an annual www.multilingual.com/ resource directory/index) for just US $58, subscriptionInformation international $85 per year, and includes Submissions, letters [email protected] full access to MultiLingual, the digital Editorial guidelines are available at magazine — delivered in a new interactive www.multilingual.com/editorialWriter format. A digital subscription is available Reprints: [email protected] for only $28. MultiLingual Computing, Inc. 319 North First Avenue, Suite 2 Subscribe today online at www.multilingual.com/subscribe and start Sandpoint, Idaho 8384-1495 USA keeping up with one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet. [email protected] www.multilingual.com © MultiLingual Computing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. For reprints and -prints, please e-mail [email protected] or call 208-263-8178. MultiLingual (ISSN 1523-0309), September 2010, is published Stay in touch monthly except Jan-Feb, Apr-May, Jul-Aug, Oct-Nov for US $58, international $85 per year by MultiLingual Computing, Inc., 319 North First Avenue, Suite 2, Sandpoint, ID 83864-1495. Periodicals Keep up to date with all the news, thoughts and trends with postage paid at Sandpoint, ID and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MultiLingual, 319 North MultiLingual. Current news is available at www.multilingual.com/news, First Avenue, Suite 2, Sandpoint, ID 83864-1495. and the free biweekly newsletter, MultiLingual News, delivers this information to your inbox. Want to hear the latest ruminations from our editorial board and staff? Blogos (www.multilingualblog.com) is the place to look. And, newest on the list, you can follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/multilingualmag MultiLingual is printed on 30% post-consumer recycled paper.

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06-07 Masthead & PostEditing #116 6 8/12/10 9:25:59 AM Katie Botkin Post Editing

Roaming the wild west

Last Saturday evening, after dark, my three brothers, four friends, is some company to roam with. As something of a friends and I walked my parents’ land to my brothers’ summer follow-up to the last column on the United States, Tom Edwards Lcamping spot by a mountain-fed stream. Through the tall, discusses culture and gender. John Freivalds and Adam Asnes billowing grasses that surround our pond, through the marshy both have their varying takes on business in Canada. Christian low spots, up through the close evergreens, Isaiah took the Arno and Paul Sawers offer a perspective on Twitter, and next, lead, carrying a long wooden spear. We shone light into the Nataly Kelly gives an overview on doing business with the darkness past him, straining to see the outline of a great cat. US government. Then comes Arturo Quintero with an article Samuel had run into a cougar a few days before on the on the translation industry in Cuba, and Scott Abel adds US path, alerted almost at the last moment. He had returned to personalization to the localization mix. On the web at www camp with his knife drawn, sweating “like a pig,” as Isaiah so .multilingual.com/114LCDR, there’s an additional article by graciously put it. This time, we lit a fire in the circle of stones, Stephen Crowley, Sanford . Eigenbrode, Michael ’Rourke and and huddled close, looking over our shoulders. .D. Wulfhorst on cross-disciplinary collaboration in the United States. In the far reaches of North America, it’s still the wild west. Only a few days before on a hike, after I decided to run back There are also three book reviews, two by Ultan Ó Broin and to the car ahead of my compatriots, a mountain biker stopped one by Rachel Schaffer, a rundown on the recession by Afaf me and told me to be careful; he’d just seen a grizzly on the Steiert, Matthias Steiert and Elanna Mariniello, and a proposal trail. I suspected he had mislabeled a black bear sighting, but for the Review Index by Silvio Picinini. And lastly, Erin Vang’s still waited for my friends to catch up. Even grizzlies do not Takeaway points out that as comparatively homogenous as the attack a horde of girls in the midst of a good gab-fest. continent may seem, we are all outsiders in North America. The moral of the story: if you’re going to roam the wild Indeed, especially with a cougar on the prowl, you can feel west, bring some good company. It’s safer. And here, my like a foreign presence even in your own backyard.

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06-07 Masthead & PostEditing #117 7 8/12/10 9:26:00 AM Translators Without Borders gears up for expansion

Launch of new phase set for October shape,” says board member Françoise Henderson of Rubric. “Lori finally has people behind her to help out,” adds Petras. Individuals After 17 years of delivering humanitarian translations for give as much as two hours per day free of charge, and the board has free, Translators Without Borders (TWB) is gearing towards broken up into subcommittees to handle marketing, social media a massive expansion of its activities. The launch of the new and fundraising. Their goals in general are to build awareness, get phase will take place in October at Localization World in seed funding and create a sustainable business plan. Specific goals Seattle. The goal is, essentially, a broader application of what include proactive searching, not just for translators, but for non- was already in place, automated, expanded and with any luck, government organizations (NGOs). better funded. Already TWB has moved up from one million words a News The impetus for the expansion came out of the year towards its long-term goal of ten million words per surge in volunteers after the Haiti crisis. ProZ.com year. “I think in two years, we’re going to be very well built a platform to help vet the volunteers, who scaled,” says Thicke. Ten million words per year equates to numbered in the thousands, and to help with about $2 million in monetary savings for the NGOs, which project management, the historical bottleneck for they can then apply to vaccinations or other essentials. TWB. “The translator community is very enthusi- To accomplish all of this effectively, a self-managing astic about volunteering,” says TWB cofounder, community needs to be created so that volunteer trans- Lori Thicke of Lexcelera. “The ProZ.com platform is helping lators can connect directly with the NGOs. The ProZ.com us automate project management so that we can deliver platform initially set up during the Haiti crisis is being more volunteer translations to humanitarian groups.” modified as a pilot for TWB’s own platform. To volunteer Scalability is coming both from the platform and a on the ProZ.com job board, one needs to be a member new management structure with a professional board of and pass a test to qualify as a competent translator. “This directors. “The next big thing happens, and it’s hard to test is crucial to guarantee quality. With crisis translations sustain it,” notes board member Rebecca Petras of Petras there is simply no time for review before the documents Associates. But due to the continuing interest of the new TWB board go out into the field,” says Thicke. Once a volunteer has been vetted, and the pool of enthusiastic volunteer translators, it is sustainable. he or she can choose what to translate. “It’s a silver lining that came out of Haiti, which was a tragedy,” says Henderson, who wrote the initial business plan, has also been Petras. working to automate the workflow process. Currently, the project The board earned high praise from Thicke, who credited the indi- managers have to split documents for the ProZ.com job board, since viduals with much of the work currently being done. It comprises the volunteers are typically going to be working on smaller chunks “a good cross-section of the industry,” which is what TWB needs to of text. “We can’t expect translators to do 50-page translations,“ move up and broaden out — people from Facebook, LinkedIn, Lion- says Henderson. The ultimate goal is to set something in motion that bridge, MediLingua, Milengo and so on. “We have very, very sharp will reach critical mass and carry over long term. “We want to create minds in the industry. It’s really fantastic that this initiative is taking something really sustainable,” Henderson notes.

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08-09 NewsFront #114.indd 8 8/12/10 9:39:25 AM News

White House aid request for Native American languages put forth

Seeking help in strengthening Native some federal rules, specifically directed at Cultural Survival Quarterly recently re- languages with a request for a White testing and homogenizing education, cur- ported that unless dramatic action is House initiative supporting them, tribal rently impact immersion schools, which taken now, more than 70 Native American educators met for the National Native are important to some tribal communi- languages will become extinct within the Language Revitalization Summit in Wash- ties. Need was cited for $3 million to $5 next ten years. “Those who may ask why ington, D.., on July 13-14, 2010, with million for eligible institutions. Legislative the federal government has a role in revi- members of Congress and Obama admin- staffers said they would look at ways to talizing Native American languages need istration officials. The Native American address the need. only look to the sorry history of federal Languages Act of 1990 already makes it A number of reasons for increased lan- regulations and practices to obliterate a federal government policy to promote, guage aid from the federal government Native languages,” the request noted. protect and preserve the indigenous were given, chief among them the ability languages of the United States. However, to ultimately save what is endangered.

Conference in Idaho seeks to put new spin on ‘localization’

For those interested in cross-disciplinary industry, the localization industry could Expertise & innovation research, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is the venue play an important role in improving the The benchmark in legal & for the first international conference of its process. The conference provides an oppor- financial translation kind, “Enhancing Communication in Cross- tunity for those interested in this challenge Disciplinary Research” (ECCDR), to be held on to be exposed to cutting-edge ideas about Customised multilingual September 30 - October 2, 2010. Sponsored the fundamental role of language in cross- projects in part by the National Science Foundation, disciplinary research and to interact with Worldwide locations ECCDR will focus on how those interested in international leaders in the field.” practicing or facilitating this type of research Rounding out the program will be talks Unbeatable turnaround can surmount difficulties created by dif- and panel presentations by theorists and 24/7 service fering research languages and assumptions practitioners, as well as workshops designed across academic fields. to deliver practical tips and suggestions for Conference organizer efficient, effective out- Michael O’Rourke says comes. Sessions will be that interdisciplinary re- devoted to the perspec- search is now becoming tive of funding agencies “a growth industry in the methods to use in improv- United States and Europe, ing the practice of cross- with financial backing disciplinary research and from US and European more. Participation in the Union agencies increas- conference will be limited ing annually. Not only will to 200 individuals. Those www.mc-lehm.com many of the funded re- who wish to register for search initiatives involve ECCDR may do so at www members of the language .cals.uidaho.edu/toolbox/ software and translation conference.asp

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08-09 NewsFront #114.indd 9 8/12/10 9:39:29 AM News

Business a developer of enterprise software for the marketing and sales hub. The staff will include automated translation of human languages. director of marketing Richard Michie, account LTC rebrands There are no plans to make any redundan- manager Marian Arnold, and new account LTC, a provider of language technology cies in the Language Weaver business. manager Paul Green. solutions, has redesigned its brand and SDL www.sdl.com Global Lingo Ltd. www.global-lingo.com website to reflect a new corporate iden- Language Weaver www.languageweaver.com tity. In addition to the brand change, the Cogen redesigns website domain/url information has changed to Across opens UK office Cogen SA, a provider of translation and www.ltcinnovates.com Across Systems GmbH, a developer of multilingual publishing services, has rede- LTC www.ltcinnovates.com independent linguistic supply chain tech- signed its website. Cogen also offers project nology, has recently opened an office in management, translator profiling and con- thebigword relocates New York office Stratford, UK. sultancy on process optimization. thebigwordGroup, a global translation Across Systems GmbH www.across.net Cogen SA www.cogen.com and language services company, has relo- cated its US office in New York City to the Translations.com office in Bogotá Avrasya adds two new offices center of the city’s financial district. Translations.com, a provider of language Avrasya Translation Management, a trans- thebigwordGroup www.thebigword.com services and translation-related technology lation and localization company, has opened products, has opened an office in Bogotá, offices in Hannover, Germany, and Ankara, LanguageWire in London Colombia. The city’s major industries include Turkey. LanguageWire, a provider of translation manufacturing and exports, tourism, bank- Avrasya Translation Management services, has opened a new office in London, ing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. www.avrasyatranslation.com UK. The new location extends the company’s Translations.com www.translations.com footprint from Scandinavia and Germany. Sajan center in Madrid LanguageWire www.languagewire.com e2f relocates Santa Clara office Sajan, Inc., a provider of language trans- e2f translations, inc., an English > French lation technology and services, has opened Two companies acquired by SDL translation agency, has relocated its Santa a global operation center in Madrid, Spain. SDL, a provider of global information Clara, California, office. The company also has The Madrid office will work closely with management solutions, has acquired Xopus, offices in France, and Madagascar. the company’s software localization center developer of an online XML editor. The e2f translations, inc. www.en2fr.com in Dublin, Ireland. Xopus organization will become part of Sajan, Inc. www.sajan.com SDL’s Structured Content Technologies divi- Global Lingo opens Leeds office sion. A prototype integration currently exists Global Lingo Ltd., a language service pro- Crystal Hues in five new locations between SDL Xopus and SDL Trisoft. vider, has opened a new UK office in Leeds Crystal Hues Limited, a provider of mar- SDL has also acquired Language Weaver, at the Innovation Centre as the company’s keting communication and localization ser- vices, has opened five new offices in India. The new offices are located in Pune, Kol- katta, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. Crystal Hues Limited www.crystalhues.com

TransPerfect merges with AD-COM, new offices in Mexico and France TransPerfect Translations, Inc., a provider of language services, has completed a merger with AD-COM, a Montreal-based provider of technical translation services. AD-COM will become a division of Trans- Perfect and will continue to be led by founder and president Claudia Cieri. In addition, TransPerfect Translations has opened an office in Mexico City and has opened its second office in France, located in Lyon. TransPerfect Translations, Inc. www.transperfect.com AD-COM www.ad-com.ca

Apex opens Austrian office Apex Translations, Inc., a provider of translation services, has opened an office near Graz, Austria. The company also offers

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cultural competency consulting and desk- Author-it Software Corporation the transition to worldwide scalability for top publishing services. www.author-it.com their global product development process, Apex Translations, Inc. Lloyd International Translations including localization. www.apex-translations.com www.lloyd.co.uk “Translation Technology in the Cloud” IMTT www.imtt.com.ar outlines the information technology and Ccaps Translation and Localization translation requirements for using transla- www.ccaps.net tion software in the cloud. Milengo Ltd. www.milengo.com Common Sense Advisory has released Lingoport, Inc. www.lingoport.com “The Services Market” VistaTEC www.vistatec.ie and “The Indian Language Services Market” Ocean Translations S.R.. reports focused on language service provid- www.oceantranslations.com ers within the regions. The article “Why 50 Cent and Facebook Feel at Home in Turkey” Resources provides examples of cultural marketing and rebranding strategies. ELRA resource updates Common Sense Advisory, Inc. The European Language Resources Asso- www.commonsenseadvisory.com ciation (ELRA) has added two speech desktop/ microphone resources, one written corpus Products and Services and one terminological resource to its cata- log. It has also updated three terminological WikIdioms People resource databases. WikIdioms, a multilingual dictionary of ELRA/ELDA www.elda.org idioms, has gone live with more than 30 Recent industry hires languages, 100 contributors and 30,000 ■ Author-it Software Corporation, a AGM focuses on game localization expressions. developer of software for authoring, con- Active Gaming Media Co. (AGM), Ltd, WikIdioms www.wikidioms.com tent management, publishing and localiza- providers of video game localization and tion, has hired Todd Caponi as vice president movie and television subtitling, has added ROK Lingo of global sales. a new online localization research center ROK Entertainment Group, Inc., a mobile ■ Lloyd International Translations, a pro- called the AGM Media Center. The website technologies, applications and services com- vider of technical translation and software features interviews with game develop- pany, has introduced the ROK Lingo iPhone localization services, has hired Liz Athey as ers, articles on the future of localization’s application that translates text into several operations director. industry, and technical localization tips languages in both text form and audibly in ■ IMTT, a translation and training com- and tutorials. real-time, near-human speech. pany offering English, Spanish and Portu- Active Gaming Media Co., Ltd ROK Entertainment Group Inc. guese language solutions, has hired Gisela www.activegamingmedia.com www.rokcorp.com Fosato as in-house translator. ■ Ccaps Translation and Localization, a Beetext white paper Translation Plus Two language service provider with expertise in on workflow management In Every Language, a language service Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Beetext Inc., a developer of workflow provider, has designed Translation Plus Two Spanish, has hired Janayna Couto to fill its management solutions, has made available to contract with certified translators and newly created position of vendor manager. its latest white paper “The Hidden and High interpreters from economically disadvan- ■ Milengo Ltd., a provider of translation Costs of Decentralized or Home-Grown taged populations. The company considers and related localization services, has hired Workflow Management.” The paper com- Rob Davies as its new marketing manager pares information technology staff versus and creatologist. off-the-shelf workflow systems, software- ■ Lingoport, Inc., a provider of software as-a-service versus server-based licensing internationalization tools and services, has models and more.

hired Chris Raulf as marketing director. Beetext Inc. www.beetext.com NXT ■ VistaTEC, a supplier of localization Transit – just what services, has hired Jeffrey Kiser to the US Common Sense reports focus on you need, when you sales team as sales director. survey results and specific regions need it! ■ Ocean Translations S.R.L., a language Common Sense Advisory’s latest Global service provider, has added to its staff. Leaders Research report, “Global Product Federico Carroli now leads the team of Localization: Transition to Worldwide Scal- project managers. Lorena Viamonte has ability,” based on data from a survey of been promoted to project manager for 150 people responsible for global product desktop publishing projects, and Sabine localization, defines how localization is

Panneau has been hired as business devel- being transformed by market demands and Webshop STAR Group shop.star-group.net opment manager. what organizations must do to accomplish

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the program a way to deal positively with Understanding for research collaboration language engines for its Hybrid Machine the issues of language barriers and poverty. with Japan’s National Institute of Informa- Translation (HMT) system. The HMT system is In Every Language www.ineverylanguage.com tion and Communications Technologies an integration of statistical and rule-based (NICT) in Tokyo. The agreement aims to methodologies. AppTek has also made avail- DCU, CNGL, NICT sign research deepen the relationship between Ireland able its automated (ASR) collaboration memorandum and Japan in the research and development broadcast engine for Chinese — designed for Dublin City University (DCU), on behalf of computing technologies in areas such news-oriented content from either televi- of the Centre for Next Generation Localisa- as language, speech and digital content sion or radio. tion (CNGL), has signed a Memorandum of personalization. AppTek www.apptek.com Centre for Next Generation Localisation www.cngl.ie Langmanager adds feature Langmanager, a provider of interpreting bab.la dictionary services management software, has intro- bab.la GmbH, a wiki-style language por- duced a new feature in collaboration with tal, has launched an online Arabic diction- communications specialist Message-Media. ary, bringing the total languages offered to Booking officers can now view interpreter Connecting People to Enhance the Educational Process 17. Bab.la’s dictionaries are also available text message queries and reply within the on mobile phones. Langmanager application. They can also OUR EVENTS: bab.la GmbH http://bab.la send messages to interpreters from various points in the application. Tasmeem 5 Langmanager www.langmanager.com E-LEARNING WinSoft International S.A., a software ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN company, has released Tasmeem 5, a range TradHostel The 16th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning of fonts for the Middle Eastern version of Qabiria Studio SLNE, a consulting, trans- and Training Adobe InDesign CS5. The Tasmeem collec- lation and training company, has introduced December 1 - 3, 2010 • Berlin, Germany www.online-educa.com tion offers two packages — the Dubai Pack TradHostel, a translation service specializing and the Cairo Pack. in the tourism sector. Security & Defence Learning The 6th International Forum on WinSoft International S.A. Qabiria Studio SLNE www.qabiria.com Technology Assisted Learning and Training for Defence, Security and www.winsoft-international.com Emergency Services December 1, 2010 • Berlin, Germany www.security-defence-learning.com LOCALIZATION SUITE 2010 Alchemy Software Development Ltd., a eLearning Africa The 6th International Conference visual localization solutions provider, has on ICT for Development, Education introduced LOCALIZATION SUITE 2010, and Training May 25 - 27, 2011 • Dar Salaam, Tanzania a suite of translation memory products www.elearning-africa.com for localization of software applications, HIGHER EDUCATION online help systems, documentation and StudyWorld online content. The 6th International Fair for Higher Alchemy Software Development Ltd. and Continuing Education May 20 - 21, 2011 • Berlin, Germany www.alchemysoftware.ie www.studyworld2011.com LANGUAGES & CULTURE Wordfast Pro 2.4, Anywhere Wordfast LLC, a provider of translation Languages & The Media The 8th International Conference & memory software, has released Wordfast Pro Exhibition on Languages Transfer 2.4 for Windows with over 60 enhancements, in Audiovisual Media October 6 - 8, 2010 • Berlin, Germany including improved support for right-to-left www.languages-media.com and CJK languages; auto-complete feature Ingeniux CMS 7 EXPOLINGUA Berlin for proper nouns and numbers; and auto- Ingeniux, a provider of web and social The 23rd International Fair for Languages and Cultures matic fuzzy terminology recognition. Word- content management software, has released November 19 - 21, 2010 • Berlin, Germany fast has also unveiled Wordfast Anywhere, Ingeniux CMS version 7. Key features include www.expolingua.com a web-based translation memory (TM) tool in-context editing; built-in Google analytics; LANGUAGES & BUSINESS designed to enable translators and agencies asset management enhancements; interna- The 10th Conference on Languages & International access to TM assets in a secure, online trans- tional client localization language packs; and Business Communication October 2011 • Berlin, Germany lation environment. localization reporting for site definitions. www.sprachen-beruf.com Wordfast LLC www.wordfast.com Ingeniux www.ingeniux.com

ICWE GmbH Arabic and for Apptek Kinetic offers SaaS Leibnizstrasse 32 • 10625 Berlin • Germany HMT, ASR for Chinese broadcasts Kinetic.theTechnologyAgency, a provider [email protected] • www.icwe.net AppTek, a developer of human language of globalization life cycle solutions and technology, has released Arabic and Pashto services, has added software-as-a-service

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(SaaS) to its translation management and workbench environment for professional entered into a partnership with Invensys, global web-to-print offerings. translators. a global technology group, to oversee the Kinetic.theTechnologyAgency Localization Industry Standards Association localization, desktop publishing, integra- www.kinetic.thetechnologyagency.com www.lisa.org tion of web content and testing of Inven- Welocalize www.welocalize.com sys’ website content and print materials. One Hour Translation Verztec Consulting Pte. Ltd. www.verztec.com direct translation API Apex selected by INTOUCH, One Hour Translation, a web-based trans- opens office in Austria Milengo and espell choose Kilgray lation service provider, has created a direct Apex Translations, Inc., a provider of Milengo Ltd., a language service provider, translation application programming inter- translation services, has been selected and espell, Milengo’s language technol- face (API) that allows text to be sent directly by INTOUCH, an advertising and internet ogy center, have chosen to work with the from and back to a content management agency, as its translation provider. Apex has memoQ translation workflow environment system. also opened an office near Graz, Austria. by Kilgray Translation Technologies, a devel- One Hour Translation Apex Translations, Inc. oper of translation productivity tools. www.onehourtranslation.com www.apex-translations.com Milengo Ltd. www.milengo.com Kilgray Translation Technologies Clients and Partners LinguaSys signs agreements www.kilgray.com with multiple partners XTRF integrated with memoQ LinguaSys, Inc., a translation software Andrä AG and Viamedici XTRF Translation Management Systems, company, has announced its launch and develop interface link a tool for managing translation offices, has signed distribution and sales agreements Andrä AG, a manufacturer of web-based been integrated with the memoQ transla- with MAPA Group, a business development translation management software, and tion environment developed by Kilgray strategic and tactical consulting firm; The Viamedici Software GmbH, a developer of Translation Technologies. Dray Group, a provider of iPhone and iPad product information management, have XTRF Translation Management Systems applications; and Managing Worldwide, a developed interfaces that link Viamedici’s www.xtrf.eu cultural diversity consultancy. LinguaSys EPIM system with ontram, Andrä AG’s web- Kilgray Translation Technologies developed TransGen, a user-interface plat- based translation management software. www.kilgray.com form for extending its Carabao MT technol- Andrä AG www.andrae-ag.de ogy into chat, document translation, web Language and tech industries page translation and other collaboration Across gets Aston Martin contract partner in OpenTM2 project products using web services. Across Systems GmbH, a provider of cor- IBM has partnered with LISA (Localization LinguaSys, Inc. www.linguasys.net porate translation management software, Industry Standards Association), Welocal- will be supplying a translation manage- ize, Cisco, and Linux Solution Group e.. to Verztec partners with Invensys ment system to sports car manufacturer create OpenTM2 — an open-source project Verztec Consulting Pte. Ltd., a provider of Aston Martin. that provides an enterprise-level translation multilingual communication services, has Across Systems GmbH www.across.net

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LinguaLinx, Kilgray sign agreement Call for book contributors International; and treasurer, David Smith of LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc., a Han Yu of the Technical Writing and LinguaLinx, Inc. translation and communications company, Professional Communication Department The Association of Language Companies and Kilgray Translation Technologies, a at Kansas State University has announced a www.alcus.org developer of translation productivity tools, call for book contributors for an upcoming have signed an agreement for LinguaLinx collection titled Negotiating International Awards and Certifications to offer Kilgray’s technology in its suite of and Cross-Cultural Technical Communica- solutions for localization services including tion: Stories of Technical Communicators. Any Language developer receives content life cycle authoring and localiza- The collection invites practicing technical relationship analysis patent tion and multiplatform publishing. communicators to tell their stories nego- Howard J. Bender of Any Language Com- LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc. tiating international and cross-cultural munications Inc., an applied research and www.lingualinx.com contexts, including stories in localization development company focusing on natural Kilgray Translation Technologies and translation. language understanding software, has been www.kilgray.com Han Yu [email protected] awarded a patent (USPTO number 7,739,102) for “Relationship Analysis System and Method SDL TMS integrated for Semantic Disambiguation of Natural Lan- with guage.” According to the company, relation- SDL, a provider of global information ship analysis is a novel semantics-oriented management solutions, has integrated the approach that’s able to interpret language in Microsoft Translator, a context with an unrestricted vocabulary in engine, with the SDL Translation Manage- any language and can recognize nuances that ment System. are impossible in systems based on syntax. SDL www.sdl.com Relationship analysis has been successfully tested with texts in Arabic, English, French, Announcements German, and Russian. ALC board of directors Any Language Communications Inc. E4NET celebrates 15 years The Association of Language Companies www.anylanguage.net E4NET Co., Ltd., a language services (ALC) installed its newly elected board of provider focused on the Asian market, is directors during its annual conference in Standard certifications celebrating 15 years in business. The com- Miami, Florida, on May 19-22, 2010. Members ■ Golden View (China) Technologies, Inc., pany provides localization, technical writ- of the board are president, Sandy Dupleich a language service provider, has received ing, voice-overs, transcription and testing of Dynamic Language; vice president, Craig ISO 9001:2008 certification. Headquartered services. Buckstein of Geneva Worldwide, Inc.; secre- in Shenzhen, China, the company also has a E4NET Co., Ltd. www.e4net.net tary, Kristin Quinlan of Certified Languages branch office in London, UK. ■ Merrill Brink International, a provider of language services, has received ISO 27001:2005 certification. The company has also been registered to EN 15038:2006. ■ Avrasya Translation Management, a translation and localization company, has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 and EN 15038 certificates of translation, localization and project management. ■ Ocean Translations S.R.L., a language service provider, has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification. ■ CLS Communication AG, a provider of multilingual communication services, has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality management systems. Golden View (China) Technologies, Inc. www.gvlocalization.com Merrill Brink International www.merrillbrink.com Avrasya Translation Management www.avrasyatranslation.com Ocean Translations S.R.L www.oceantranslations.com CLS Communication AG www.cls-communication.com

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10-15 News#114.indd 14 8/12/10 9:40:45 AM September October Localization Project Management Certification LISBOA 2010 Calendar September 9-10, 2010, in Cologne, Germany. October 1-2, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal. CSU, Chico Continuing Education and Research Foundation International Association Language and Business, Tradulex http://rce.csuchico.edu/localize www.ialb-tradulex.org UA Europe 2010 Editing for Translators September 16-17, 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden. October 1-31, 2010, online. Matthew Ellison Consulting, Writers UA, www.uaconference.eu Monterey Institute of International Studies www.miis.edu/academics/programs/translationinterpretationshort China Language Industry Conference 2010 September 16-18, 2010, in Beijing, China. TAUS User Conference Translators Association of China October 3-6, 2010, in Portland, Oregon USA. www.tac-online.org.cn/en/tran/2009-10/13/content_3182191.htm TAUS Data Association http://translationautomation.com/conferences/ CLEF 2010 taus-user-conference-2010.html September 20-23, 2010, in Padua, Italy. Cross-Language Evaluation Forum, www.clef2010.org Localization World Seattle 2010 October 6-8, 2010, in Seattle, Washington USA. Computers and Translation Training Series Localization World Ltd., www.localizationworld.com September 20-30, 2010, in Saarbrücken, Germany. Universität des Saarlandes Languages & The Media http://fr46.uni-saarland.de/index.php?id=103 October 6-8, 2010, in Berlin, Germany. ICWE GmbH, www.languages-media.com 1st International XLIFF Symposium September 22, 2010, in Limerick, Ireland. HLT 2010 Localisation Research Centre, www.localisation.ie/xliff October 7-8, 2010, Riga, Latvia. University of Latvia, www.lumii.lv/hlt2010 LRC XV September 22-24, 2010, in Limerick, Ireland. ELIA Networking Days Dublin Localisation Research Centre October 11-12, 2010, in Dublin, Ireland. www.localisation.ie/resources/conferences/2010 European Language Industry Association Ltd., www.networking-days.org 6th EST Congress Translation³ Virtual Conference Series September 23-25, 2010, in Leuven, Belgium. October 13, 2010, online. European Society for Translation Studies ProZ.com, www.proz.com/translation3 www.kuleuven.be/cetra/est-congress 34th Internationalization & Unicode Conference (IUC34) Certified Localisation Professional Level One October 18-20, 2010, in Santa Clara, California USA. September 27-November 11, 2010, in Brussels, Belgium. Object Management Group, www.unicodeconference.org/ml The Institute of Localisation Professionals www.tilponline.org/clp_level_1 Certified Localisation Professional Level One October 20-December 4, 2010, in Pune, India. LavaCon 2010 The Institute of Localisation Professionals September 29-October 2, 2010, in San Diego, California USA. www.tilponline.org/clp_level_1 LavaCon, Inc., www.lavacon.org W3C Workshop: The Multilingual Web — Where Are We? Translation³ Virtual Conference Series October 26-27, 2010, in Madrid, Spain. September 30, 2010, online. W3C - MultilingualWeb project ProZ.com, www.proz.com/translation3 www.w3.org/International/multilingualweb/madrid/cfp TM-Europe 2010 51st ATA Conference September 30-October 1, 2010, in Kraków, Poland. October 27-30, 2010, in Denver, Colorado USA. Polish Association of Translation Companies, www.tm-europe.org American Translators Association, www.atanet.org/conf/2010 VI Scientific and Professional Symposium of TREMÉDICA AMTA 2010 September 30-October 2, 2010, in New York, New York USA. October 31-November 5, 2010, in Denver, Colorado USA. TREMÉDICA, www.tremedica.org/jornadas-conferencias/ Association for Machine Translation in the Americas NuevaYork2010.html#englishversion http://amta2010.amtaweb.org

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10-15 News#114.indd 15 8/12/10 9:40:45 AM 16-23 Reviews#114.indd 16 16 | state ofaffairs, Osborn adoptsanecologicalPLETES(political, is this? meet theneedsofmostpeoplenorhave apositive effect.Why localization intoAfricanlanguages, software andcontentcannot connection toindigenous Africanlanguage andculture. Without the majority, however, theseare secondary languages, withnoreal (ELWCs) —are theworkinglanguagesofbusiness orthestate.For and French —orEuropean LanguagesofWiderCommunication though growing. ColoniallanguagessuchasEnglish, Portuguese A

MultiLingual To understand the complexinterplayofreason forthis sorry Localization context African localizationactivity is limitedpainfully, Digital Age to DonOsborn’s it can?Theseare thekindofissues weturn to eliminatethedigitaldivide,asweknow (ICT). So,is localizedICThelpingpositively formation andcommunications technology generally disadvantaged withregards toin- (2,000) oftheworld’s languages. It’s also fare there? Africais hometoaboutathird est continent.Howthendoeslocalization guage policy on theworld’s secondlarg- reminded meofthecomplications oflan- of theFrench languageis nowinAfrica” section of21 April2010 that“thefuture Reviews A statementin totryandfindout. sites, and he worksininternationaluserexperience. for researchonsocialexclusionand socialnetworking has beenawardedanMScfromTrinity CollegeDublin and Ultan ÓBroin, September 2010 2010 September Blogos Of value toacademics and those with an interest in African languages Reviewed byUltanÓBroin African Languages in aDigital Age The African Languagesina contributor, works forOracleinIreland.He

New York Times MultiLingual editorial board member editorialboardmember

Arts Arts

language computing opportunities for indigenous and Age:Challenges Digital cover, 176 pp. 176 cover, soft $16.87), (US R 130.00 2010. Press, HSRC Osborn. African Languages ina at this point inthebookthatOsborn’s failure touse maps, graphs ers forlocalization successandsustainability, too.However, itis connectivity onthecontinentis dealtwith,astheseare cleardriv- enous language issues. The issue ofincreasing ICTinvestment and combined withagooddealof talkandpoorexecution onindig- ized by apreference toconcentrate onELWCsforpoliticalreasons linguistically segmentedaudience? ference while still providing for effective communication across a guidelines are used? Whatis thethreshold ortolerance fordif- facilitate communication across allspeakers? Whatstylerules and which canbeplentiful?Howterminologydeveloped to West Africa)orlocalizedatthelevel of variants ofthelanguage, content belocalizedforonelanguagesuchasFula(spoken in asking hard questions aboutpractical tasks. For example, should countries are generally multilingual,forlocalizationthis means for example, Wolof,Hausa, TsongaAlthough African andsoon. on thecontinent,actuallyinfluencingindigenous languagestoo, a socialandpoliticaldimension totheintricatenature oflanguage Osborn deals wellwith languagepolicyinAfrica,onecharacter- by Don localization. Althoughcomplexandabstract, the socio-cultural) modeltoprovide thecontextforICT linguistic, economic, technological, educational and important tounderstand Africanlocalization’s com- the digitaldivide. introducing localizationasafactorinaddressing Osborn makesanimportantcontributionhere by would findtheecologicalmodeheavygoing,but ability inlocalization.Many but underlinesalso thecriticalaspect ofsustain- model illustrates notonlypolicydecision impact ing over 400languages. TheimpactofELWCsadds on —acomplexityillustrated by Nigeriaalonehav- lectical differences, indigenizedlanguagesandso while covering subfamilies, territorialoverlaps, dia- being fourindigenousAfrica, languagefamiliesin work, dealingwiththegeneral premise ofthere plex environment. Osborn relies onmuchacademic An analysis oftheAfricanlinguistic contextis [email protected] MultiLingual readers 8/12/10 9:41:28 AM Reviews

Figure 1: Amharic language option in Gmail. Figure 2: Swahili language option in Facebook (Afrikaans also visible).

and tables, especially ones of comparative different languages, so gauging the prior- Surveys of internet content show there data, to make points becomes wearisome. ity of issues is impossible. Locale handling, is relatively little African language content too, appears to be a poor state of affairs. still on the web. The content level would Technical environment The methodology for selecting the various not qualify these languages status as a and localization activity categories of ISO 639 codes appears to be minority European language. The promise The book then enters territory more less than systematic. Some (such as Amharic of Web 2.0 and user-generated content familiar to MultiLingual readers, such – am) have two codes, more (such as Coptic has not delivered much either, with con- as internationalization and localization. – cop) have three and so on. Relatively few cern expressed about the progress of some Osborn contends that Unicode is not well languages have locale data applied in the 40 African language versions of Wikipedia understood in Africa, and the dynamic com- Unicode Common Locale Data Repository, and of other Wikimedia projects in those position approach to — instead of which means problems for data sorting, languages, with relatively little actual con- providing precomposed characters — was formats for date/time/currencies, separa- tent available. not adequately assessed for the continent’s tors and so on, though efforts are under Localization projects for DOS and needs, and African languages were dis- way to address this. Windows-based software existed in African advantaged. Other issues include lack of available fonts to support the languages and storage requirements of these fonts. It would have been interesting to compare how other continents dealt with these issues, and providing examples of these African characters would have helped a lot. In fact, there isn’t a single localized inter- face shown throughout the book. The technical context continues with the encoding of the scripts used for African languages: Arabic, Ethiopic/Ge’ez, Tifinagh and N’Ko, for example. Again, Unicode features prominently. Osborn presents an of how the different lan- guages are input, stored, output, and ren- dered, though the non-expert reader has no examples or the relative usage of these

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Figure 3: Africa Day 2010 in Dublin, Ireland.

languages since the early 1990s. However, some commercial efforts such as Micro- soft’s Language Interface Pack (Swahili, for example) seem to have not lived up to their promise due to methodology, follow-up and pricing issues. There appears to be a theme emerging here with African local- Figure 4: supports Afrikaans and Swahili. ization initiatives. Free and Open Source (FOSS) projects appear more promis- Mobile phones seem to offer much the point that what’s central here are the ing, however. As of 2009, there were 15 more promise, with companies such as TMs themselves or the terminology glos- localization projects of OpenOffice (www Nokia, Samsung and Sony-Ericsson offer- saries that go with them, and these don’t .openoffice.org) under way, though again, ing some localized user interfaces and pre- appear to be freely available either. the lack of skilled localizers and know-how dictive text becoming available in Arabic, The book closes out with arguments appears to be a problem, along with how to Afrikaans, Swahili and other languages. about what is needed for sustainable foster more interest among a wider range However, this area’s potential, especially localization and for improving the uptake of potential localizers. One solution may be within the broader development context, of ICT localization in general. These range simpler tools to engage a wider community is not explored enough by Osborn. from tactical — needs of localizers — to of less tech-savvy participants. Machine translation appears to be largely strategic requirements, covering policy- Google and Facebook also support a few at the academic level, using the rule- making, environmental factors and so African languages (Figures 1 and 2), though based approach, there not being enough on. Particular emphasis is placed on the it must be said Osborn offers no insight localized content to merit a statistical role of peer interaction, conferences and other than “interesting” as to the potential approach. However, Google Translate now workshops, giving localizers opportuni- that social networking and search-driven supports Afrikaans and Swahili (Figure 4). ties for learning and networking. paradigms might have in spreading local- An odd reference to translation memory ized user interfaces or content. (TM) technology as “cutting edge” misses Summation African Languages in a Digital Age has much to commend it and is very wel- pangea.com.MT come. There isn’t enough freely available The Statistical MT customization Company material about African localization, and

ISO9001 - EN15038 this is a broad survey of that landscape. www.pangeanic.com The idea that localization’s success is not just dependent on other forces (the eco- logical model), but “it represents a new dynamic in social, economic, technologi- cal, educational, linguistic, and political development in Africa” and other parts of the world is well made. However, the book is a repurposed report of Osborn’s PanAfrican Localisation project intended for The African Network for Localiza- tion (www.africanlocalization.net), and the in association with Trade Center, Profesor Beltrán Báguena 4, 46009 Valencia - Spain limiting implications of that for the wider Tel: +34 96 338 5771 - Fax: +34 96 338 5772 Valencia - Tokyo - Shanghai readership are quite apparent.

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The objective of eliminating the digital divide and enhancing been examined, and comparative global experience — for example, development in African countries through ICT localization is a the lessons that might be applied from Asia and what it means for given, but this book raises more questions on the subject than it SMT — should have been considered. can effectively answer. Perhaps that’s a reasonable initial position, I labored through much of African Languages in a Digital Age but in general I came away disappointed. I had no sense of the only to be left with the impression that the state of localization of magnitude of challenges or the relative priorities of issues. The ICT in Africa is a basket case, whatever the potential and impera- lack of real-world examples, whether text or localized screenshots, tives to fix it. My own perusal of FOSS projects such as OpenOffice of maps with language usage, dialects, overlaps and so on, is a (disclosure: I am an employee of Oracle Corporation) and Mozilla, wasted opportunity for increasing comprehension. The sources and of Wikipedia, confirmed general low levels of activity and cov- cited seem dated at times relative to recent events (see Claire erage. Afrikaans seemed to be progressing best (see www.translate Ulrich’s “Technological developments for African languages” in .org.za for more information), and obviously Arabic had excellent MultiLingual’s July/August 2010 issue for a flavor), so whether coverage. Arabic as an African language is underplayed, but are they can be sustained even five years later as accurate, I don’t there lessons there for other languages? know. Perhaps an accompanying website of updated material We all accept the idea of progress through unity, communica- would be useful. tion and shared experiences, but the question of how to radically The lack of coverage of developments such as crowdsourcing, improve the state of localization in Africa on a general level, given user-generated content and SMT and their potential in addressing the complexities, left me pessimistic. I think African Languages in a information poverty, along with more detailed exploration of mobile Digital Age is primarily of interest to academic, conference-going phone and applications possibilities, is distinctly underwhelming for readers and those with a specialized interest in the languages of a book published in 2010. The localization of high-value, life- the continent, development issues or policy making. Sadly, most saving, development-oriented information by users should have readers will be neither motivated nor engaged by it.

Globish

Reviewed by Ultan Ó Broin

Well-detailed compendium of English nonetheless open to challenge

It’s all the fault of “insecure market- facilitated by historical and political events. The ing professionals anxious to display sup- book proceeds from extensive historical coverage of Iposed cosmopolitan credentials.” So says the development of English itself through Britain’s the Irish Times report of 17 February 2010 imperialist adventures, American advancements on the German rejection of “senseless An- and then to the impact of more “modern forces” glicisms.” Quoting Doctor Gerd Schrammen in the late twentieth century. McCrum covers the language’s history impressively and argues that of Verein Deutsche Sprache, it continues, “it the rise of American power, the collapse of Com- is perfectly legitimate to expect one’s own munism, and the emergence of China and India language to be used at home.” Seems rea- as economic and political players on the global sonable. Besides, blaming “insecure market- stage, intertwined with technological progress and ing professionals” for anything is OK by me. globalization generally, has resulted in an evolved So, it was with this in mind that I turned common variant: Globish. Jean-Paul Nerrière coined the term Globish in a jaundiced eye towards Robert McCrum’s 1995. Starting from “a utilitarian vocabulary” of Globish: How the English Language Became Globish: How the English Language Became the 1,500 words, it’s a form of English intended for the World’s Language. World’s Language by Robert non-native speakers. Globish has gone much fur- McCrum. W. W. Norton & ther since 1995 due to huge cultural and economic Globish tells us about the spread of the English Company, 2010. $26.95, events. Take the example of India: “Globish is language throughout the world and how it was hard cover, 331 pp. essential to India’s globalizing ambitions . . . [it] is

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the emerging supranational lingua franca language with freedom or any other noble Translation Matters” blog postings at that enables a call centre in Bangalore to ideal is a contention that any student http://kv-emptypages.blogspot.com). answer impossible queries, or sell a new of history and culture can easily chal- Indeed, it is when McCrum comes to product, as far afield as Cheltenham in the lenge — language is not neutral. Some any information technology that he is UK, Cedar Rapids in the United States, or of McCrum’s insights about the power- especially weak. 1990 was not the har- Co. Cork, Eire.” ful unifying properties of English (or is it binger of us all sharing information across Globish, says McCrum, is “the biography Globish?) are embarrassingly gauche. That PCs — not by a long shot. The conflation of a phenomenon, one that is both simple one Norwegian journalist’s experience in of the release of Netscape with Windows and unique . . . that Anglo-American cul- Afghanistan could somehow mean any- 95 “two weeks later” as starting the “new ture and its language have become as much thing for Globish having a positive role to Californian gold rush,” the dot.com boom, a part of global consciousness as MS-DOS play displays grand-scale historical and cul- is both disingenuous and misleading. Bill or the combustion engine.” McCrum, by tural ignorance. The reference to the Iraqi Gates got it wrong about the internet the way, seems overly enamored by Micro- soccer team uniting the country through initially, and Microsoft had to play catch- soft. The book’s back cover even posits the a “Globish event” is similarly naïve. As for up. No mention is made of the fact that equation “English+Microsoft=Globish,” but the unifying power of sport generally, well, Windows 95 was widely localized (30-plus more about that later. Apparently, Globish look at the French soccer team. versions) or that nobody could run a web is “the language of the present and the More insight is needed into the rela- server or content management system future, the world-wide dialect of the third tionship of language to other forces that with it (sorry, but EMC, Sun Microsystems, millennium.” are in flux both globally and locally. Even Oracle and Cisco Systems were needed). However, Globish is rather one-sided the political machinations over the oil spill material. It is not linguistic research, of in the Gulf of Mexico have revealed how What’s of interest to course, but a story about the English lan- a seemingly common language can mask MultiLingual readers? guage with some technology and global- more serious tensions when the going gets Does Globish mean we’re all out of ization stuff bolted on. Still, I would prefer tough. Speaking a second language might a job? No. Does it eradicate other lan- more analysis and contrast in the book. make you one of the hip and happen- guages? No. And it won’t. To be fair to McCrum’s views are reminiscent of the ing Globish crowd in Moscow, Shanghai McCrum, he acknowledges all this. But kind of arguments that Niall Ferguson and or Bangalore, but for many in California other language requirements, localiza- Thomas Friedman come out with, lapped it marks you out as one of the working tion and translation don’t figure in the up by expensive conference-going attend- poor. That some young people in Central McCrum equation at all. His Globish gos- ees at keynote addresses, leaving the rest Europe spoke English in a bizarre Ameri- pel is one spread through the missionaries of us in the real world cold. can accent that would put a 1980s MTV of capitalism and worldwide consumerism, Globish involves a world where imperial- presenter to shame as an indicator of their which includes other globally exportable ism, capitalism and globalization can be desire for freedom from Communism has cultural contrivances such as hip-hop, taken at face value as really great things, to be balanced by the Balkan Wars of the Friends, globally organized sport and the no hard questions asked, and too bad for 1990s, when a different set of priorities rest, too. Yet, we know from research that those who don’t get any crumbs from the were clearly at work. consumers prefer their own language ver- table. Beyond some glib statements about sions of websites when it comes to buy- how English can be the same language of Globish and global ing goods and services (see the Common governments and revolutionaries, Globish information poverty Sense Advisory “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” means nobody ever gets hurt or killed, McCrum prefers a macro view of how report at www.commonsenseadvisory.com nobody is poor, nobody is ever exploited, Globish is “a language for those who for more details). We know that products and everybody has equal opportunity and wish to communicate globally, regard- and services must be localized along access. However, to conflate the English less of good times or bad.” But we must with their delivery mechanisms for users remember we still have bad times. Infor- to gain access to international markets. mation poverty is globally rampant. This Even McCrum’s references to Starbucks might be alleviated through language and McDonald’s belie any local consider- technology, making valuable life-saving ations being made at all. Is the Web 2.0 and developmental information (billions consumer conversation really all in Glo- of words of it) accessible to so many in bish? I doubt it. His reference to Globish www.star-group.net their own language. This isn’t something becoming “more viral than ever” thanks McCrum is concerned with. Perhaps those to Wikipedia, I just don’t get, since people should learn Globish? And sure, it’s there are translated versions. I shudder great that the Chinese used Globish as the to think what McCrum would think of conduit for massive investment in Africa, The Long Tail. but who are the real winners there? I am Let’s be clear when we consider all this sure the people of Darfur were delighted. from our perspective. We’re not talking Computer assisted Even within multicultural societies such as about a minor Celtic language threatened translation the United States, there are issues with the with extinction by Globish. What we are

Transit with Translation Memory lack of translated content (I recommend talking about is how to deliver a digital you read Kirti Vashee’s “Why Machine content explosion (yes, the one facilitated

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by Netscape and Windows 95, allegedly) in the language of the technological insights are certainly less than impressive. The usual user; how to meet the needs of a growing demand for localization globalization anecdotes — the Bangalore development centers, and translation (for all kinds of information) either through profes- call centers, outsourcing, Chinese students learning English and sionals, community translation, crowdsourcing, fan translations or so on — are trotted out, and the cultural and political references something else. The advent of Web 2.0 means, of course, that user- (such as Slumdog Millionaire, Lost in Translation, Iranian elec- generated content meets some of these local requirements, but even tions, Aljazeera, FIFA) are well past their best-by date as food for that content needs translation for other communities, something new thought. Most revealingly, there seems to be no downside to that McCrum doesn’t take into account. Globish that I can see, so how come we have more people living in Globish will not deter anyone from learning or speaking the information and economic poverty than ever because of language English language itself or any other language for that matter. barriers? Learning Globish isn’t the answer for those people. They will continue to coexist with Globish. Language evolves, and Perhaps McCrum oversimplifies too much and has to, as lan- pidgins and creoles develop to suit communication needs. Even guage development and its interplay with the environment around in Ireland there’s a pidgin version of Gaeilge spoken by urban it are neither simple nor straightforward. He acknowledges the dwellers. Globish, in my opinion, falls into that category, basically complexities over time, but that’s not enough. I feel he makes too a pidgin, primarily instigated by the needs for globalization and smooth a transition between the English language and Globish bolstered by cultural devices. itself. Generally, Globish would make an ideal NPR, BBC World Service or PBS program. Perhaps it already has. But for MultiLin- Conclusion gual readers, language technologists and professional linguists, Globish is a well-detailed compendium of English language his- other than a good old read about the history of English, and all tory, but partial in perspective to political and cultural develop- that stuff about globalization they already know, I think they can ments, and generally very smug, especially towards the end. Many safely give Globish a miss and concentrate on more important of its arguments are decontextualized and open to challenge. The language challenges. M

Through the Language Glass

Reviewed by Rachel Schaffer

Exploration of the link between language and thought

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, also that generate animated debate and encourage called the Linguistic Relativity Hypoth- people to think more deeply about the roles Tesis (LRH), has been a staple of intro- played by language in their everyday lives. ductory linguistics courses for decades, Guy Deutscher has obviously been thinking about probably ever since the early twentieth these issues for a long time and has done a great deal century, when Edward Sapir and Ben- of reading about them. A linguist with a Ph.D. from jamin Lee Whorf first published their the University of Cambridge, he has specialized in somewhat controversial observations the study of ancient Semitic languages and cultures; on how the languages individuals his first book was on Akkadian, and his second, The speak can influence the way they think. Unfolding of Language, explored the evolution and development of language. His latest book, Through Whether one agrees with the strong the Language Glass, reflects his continued interest version of the claim, that language cre- in the interplay of history and language, tracing the ates a straightjacket that controls and Through the Language Glass: limits perceptions; the weak version, Why the World Looks Different that language influences but does not in Other Languages by Guy Rachel Schaffer has a Ph.D. in linguistics from The Ohio State absolutely determine one’s view of the Deutscher. Metropolitan Books, 2010. 320 pages. University and teaches linguistics, world; or neither, the LRH is one of $27.50. ISBN 978-0-8050- composition and literature at those eternally fascinating speculations 8195-4. Montana State University Billings.

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evolution of the LRH from the earliest Delwin T. Lindsey have found that lan- the brain’s perception of color, there are hypotheses about the link between lan- guages spoken by people living in regions some language categories that make guage and thought to modern cutting- with lower ultraviolet- (UV-B) levels tend more sense than others; for example, per- edge research shedding experimental light to include a color label for blue, while ceptually brighter colors such as red, yel- on the issue. those living where levels of UV-B radiation low and green are more likely to receive The book is divided into two main sec- are high often lack a term for blue due to labels than dimmer colors such as blue tions, with a prologue, epilogue, appendix, UV-B’s role in aging the eye’s lens, turning or purple. But, Deutscher adds, cultural notes and index adding background. The it yellower and making blue look green- interests and concerns can override per- prologue first presents the basic question: ish. It is thus quite possible that Homer ceptual factors in naming colors. Thus, if Does the language people speak influence and other ancients (and even their modern a culture needs to talk about a particular the way they think? It then outlines the descendants) really did not perceive blue color, it will, regardless of how salient it responses given by the two main oppos- as a separate color. Later studies of other is in nature. ing points of view: The nativists believe ancient languages’ use of color terms, The four chapters in Part II, “The Lan- that much of the grammar of languages is guage Lens,” examine evidence in support innate, while the culturalists believe that of the claim that language can influence grammatical structures can be explained . . . an extremely impressive the thought patterns and worldview of its as the product of cultural evolution and as blend of history, linguistics, speakers. Deutscher begins by debunk- an aid to efficient communication. Last, ing the strong version of the LRH: “the the prologue provides an overview of the and physiology, with a delusion that language is a prison-house two following sections, which examine for thought” (p. 149). Deutscher calls this first language as a reflection of culture dash of philosophy added position “Whorfianism” and maintains and then the reverse direction of influ- for flavor. that it “has largely become an intellectual ence: culture and thought as, at least in tax haven for mystical philosophers, fan- part, a product of language. tasists, and post-modern charlatans” (p. The five chapters in Part I, “The Lan- studies of languages spoken by “primitive” 131). He blames this extreme position for guage Mirror,” trace the efforts by scholars peoples around the world, and Brent Ber- the bad reputation suffered by the LRH dating back to the nineteenth century to lin and Paul Kay’s classic 1969 study Basic and promises that by avoiding the earlier answer the question, “If we hold language Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolu- errors made by supporters, specifically, the up as a mirror to the mind, what do we tion all illustrate how over several decades, lack of evidence supporting claims and the see reflected there: human nature or the the pendulum of scholarly opinion swung belief in language as prison, a convincing cultural conventions of our society?” Wil- from one extreme — that culture (lan- case can be made for the basic notion that liam Gladstone came down on the side guage) straightforwardly reflected color language may really function as a lens of nature. His work on Homer led him perception — to the other — that differ- through which we perceive the world. to claim that, based on Homer’s use of ences in color vocabulary reflect cultural Deutscher sets about making his case color terms, particularly the absence of developments instead of biological ones. for the LRH by discussing three areas of terms for blue in his writings, the ancient Deutscher concludes that there is truth language and various kinds of evidence Greeks must have seen color differently in both positions, declaring that culture for their influence on speakers’ thinking than modern people do. While Deutscher and nature both have legitimate claims to processes: terms for spatial relations in the presents research that shows that ancient color concepts, and the balance can be native Australian language Guugu Yim- peoples in fact perceived color no differ- expressed by the simple maxim that “cul- ithirr and other languages, together with ently, he may not be aware that optom- ture enjoys freedom within constraints” how those built-in categories influence etrist Angela M. Brown and psychologist (p. 90). Based on the eye’s anatomy and perception of space; grammatical gen- der in languages and how the resulting associations have influenced metaphorical thinking about both concrete and abstract concepts; and a variety of experiments investigating the effects of color terms and categorization on color perception. For each area, he explains how the built- in linguistic features work in the language and discusses studies that provide evidence for the features’ influence on speak- ers’ responses to experimental tasks. The results lead Deutscher to the conclusion that the habits of grammar can spill over to larger habits of mind, and that while language in general may not be a prison, the built-in features of language can and do provide constraining associations that are nearly impossible to cast off.

22 | MultiLingual September 2010 [email protected]

16-23 Reviews #114.indd 22 8/12/10 9:41:43 AM Reviews

Perhaps the most compelling of the example, he calls the verb system of Mat- he observes that “a few Piraha subordinate experiments that Deutscher describes ses, a native language of Peru, “outland- clauses have recently managed to escape is the study performed by a group of ish by any stretch of the imagination” from the jungle and telegraph reliable researchers to see if color labels affected (p. 155) because it uses categories not linguists to say that reports of their death reaction-time responses to a decision- commonly found elsewhere. Additionally, have been greatly exaggerated” (p. 120). making task that required subjects to in spite of Deutscher’s insistence on evi- Deutscher is obviously addressing an audi- exclude the one square in a circle of dence to support claims about language, ence who he assumes is well educated and squares whose color was different. Sub- this is apparently a recommendation that truly interested in his subject matter. The jects were asked to focus on the center of he does not always follow himself. For book includes quotes in several different the screen so that information from each example, he acknowledges that statistical languages; those from exotic languages visual field, which is sent to the opposite surveys on subordination have not yet such as Matses, spoken in Peru, or Guugu hemisphere, would not be available to the been conducted, but still maintains that Yimithirr, a native Australian language, are same-side hemisphere. The researchers “impressionistically it seems that lan- translated, but the Notes contain several were thus able to see if the left hemi- guages that have restricted use of com- quotes from French and German that sphere, which processes language in most plements (or even lack them altogether) Deutscher apparently assumes readers will people, responded differently from the are mostly spoken in simple societies” (p. be able to understand without translation. right hemisphere. They found that with 124). Finally, the use of a separate sec- In general, the book is thoroughly enjoy- two differently-labeled colors such as tion of notes at the back of the book able and thought provoking, and it is very green and blue, subjects took less time with page numbers and partial quota- useful to have information about recent to push the button than they did when tions for reference but no note numbers research into the LRH gathered in one place. the squares were considered shades of in the chapters themselves, while typical I personally found the appendix on color the same color, for example, dark green of some academic books, makes it harder perception particularly fascinating, but the vs. light green — but that this advantage than necessary to connect the notes to book contains material that will appeal to held true only for colors presented in the the information being referenced. anyone who finds the links between lan- right visual field and processed in the left On the other hand, Through the Lan- guage and thought of interest. M hemisphere. There was no correspond- guage Glass is an extremely impressive ing advantage for the identical stimuli blend of history, linguistics, and physiol- presented in the left visual field and ogy, with a dash of philosophy added for processed in the right hemisphere, dem- flavor. Deutscher explains complex con- onstrating that the judgments were likely cepts with great clarity, and he is both a affected by the use of color category skillful, erudite writer (in a language not labels by the left hemisphere. Deutscher even his native tongue) and an engaging concludes that this “experiment provides storyteller, including as much informa- the most direct evidence so far of the tion about the lives and experiences of Jahrestagung influence of language on visual percep- the researchers he discusses as about their and tion” (p. 229). Add in the findings of findings. For example, before he gets to The world’s largest other color-related experiments that have the details of anthropologist W. . R. Riv- trade fair in the been conducted, Deutscher says, and the ers’ 1898 expedition to the Torres Straits area of technical conclusion can be reached that speakers (between Australia and New Guinea) to communication of various languages may really perceive study the mental characteristics of primi- 3rd –5th November 2010 colors differently or at least evaluate and tive peoples, he describes Rivers’ earlier Rhein-Main-Hallen categorize them differently. work in experimental psychology and as Deutscher’s case, overall, is convinc- a psychiatrist treating WWI shell-shock Wiesbaden, Germany ing, though the book is certainly open victims. He uses examples frequently and to counterargument and some minor skillfully to illustrate concepts, and he Main Topics criticisms. His description of linguists’ invents clever thought experiments to s)NFORMATION-ANAGEMENT reactions to the LRH, for example, makes support his points. s)NTERNATIONAL$OCUMENTATION them sound more uniformly in agreement Deutscher’s wit and puckish sense of s#OMPLIANCETO%5LAW than they are. The nativists are only one humor also make the book an enjoyable s0RODUCT3AFETY faction, and their claims are by no means reading experience. For example, in dis- universally agreed upon. Those linguists cussing the fact that all languages contain s)NTERNATIONAL0ROJECT who have studied multiple languages arbitrary irregularities that contribute -ANAGEMENT are probably more likely to agree with nothing to intelligibility, he points out s0ROFESSIONAL7RITING the LRH at least to some extent, having that “English, for instance, would have s4ERMINOLOGY experienced firsthand the ways in which losed none of its expressive power if some s#ONTENT-ANAGEMENT3YSTEMS a language’s built-in categories and labels of its verbs leaved their irregular past s5SER!SSISTANCE channel perception. Deutscher, for a tense behind and becomed regular” (p. s!GILE$EVELOPMENT linguist, also uses surprisingly prescrip- 106). Later, in refuting the claim that the tive terms at times to describe some of native Amazonian language Piraha lacks www.tekom.de/tagung/en the more exotic language features. For subordination in constructing sentences,

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16-23 Reviews #114.indd 23 8/12/10 9:41:44 AM 24-25 Edwards#114.indd 24 24 P | an integration of genderroles reflects theSpartan andEgyptian gender roles intermsofsegregation andintegration. Inshort, — appropriately calledtheParsons Model—thatdefinedthese In the1950s,sociologistTalcott Parsons developedamodel entrenched eitherthrough cultural customorreligious edict. out history, astheclassicmodel ofmale-femaleroles was serve incourt,andevenbecomePharaoh inspecial cases. law. Women couldownproperty, initiatecontracts anddivorce, men andwomenenjoyedcompleteequalityintheeyesof Greece, thegenderroles inancient Egyptwere similarinthat were equalinnature forboth menandwomen.Andevenbefore over theirownproperty andrelations, andmostSpartanlaws an unusualamountoffreedom andpowerforthetimeperiod city-state ofSparta(around 400BCE),womenwere accorded female havebeenperceived. Forexample,intheancientGreek that enlightenastohowdiverse theroles betweenmaleand jecture, onecanviewdifferent examplesinhistoricalcultures societies were outofbalance.Ratherthantheoryandcon- role, whileothers willclaimtheexactopposite,thatmatriarchal inance andpatriarchy forwomenbeingplacedinasecondary various cultures cameintobeing;somegroups blamemaledom- tainly emphasizevaryingaspectsofhow“typical”genderroles in origins, reasons andattitudes.Different schoolsofthoughtcer- history, andIwanttoavoidgettingintoanyspeculationsabout gender roles originatedandhavebeenperpetuatedthroughout and thusI’dliketoexplore thatnotionabitfurther. points issometimesoverlookedduringcontentdevelopment, of genderandhowthatintersects withvaryingcultural view- pathways throughout ourlives.Becauseofthis,thedimension and evenbefore, dictatingmanyactions,thoughts,patternsand rare inhumanhistory, and thusmanycultures reflected a more ological realities ofchildbearing.Suchintegration wasquite in societyare essentially identicalandequal,besidesthephysi- models mentionedabove,where men’s andwomen’s functions

Column MultiLingual Such wasnotthecasewithmajorityofsocietiesthrough- We allrealize thatthere are countlesstheoriesonhowvarious Gender definesmuchaboutusfrom theverymomentofbirth political aspectofourexistence. extends beyondanycultural, linguistic, religious or who weare ashumanbeingsis ourgender, asit Perhaps oneofthemostfundamentalaspects Off the Map September 2010 2010 September Gender andculture

strong sacred versus secularcomponenttoreinforcing segrega- tend tofollowasegregated approach togender. There isalsoa democracies, decision-makingpowerandsoforth. cational opportunities,careers beyondthehome,votingrightsin and advantage.Insuchcontexts,mostwomenwere deniededu- with menusuallybeingaccorded thepositionofgreater power segregated approach. Menandwomenwere treated differently, Microsoft asageographerand its seniorgeopoliticalstrategist. and contentstrategy. Previously, Tom spent over 13yearsat Englobe, aSeattle-basedconsultancy forgeoculturalintelligence Tom Edwards isageographerandtheprincipalconsultantof — denyingthemeducationsandopportunitiesaswellforcing Islamic societiesare typicallyperceived astreating womenharshly gender roles, andtheystrongly prefer itthatway. Forexample, above, there remain cultures maintainingtraditional, segregated the perceptions inthelocalcontext.Givenwhat wasrelated out oftheWestern assumptionofgenderequality andconsider for variouslocalmarkets,it’s oftennecessary to break ourselves but I’dliketoelucidateabitmore. Whengenerating content ditional genderissues.We’ve already talkedaboutgenderroles, It really comesdowntotwokeyissues:gender roles andnontra- in history. — thechangewithinfourdecadesorsowastrulyunprecedented — forexample,theinfamous“glassceiling”inbusinessworld persistent inequalityonthebasisofworkpayandotherissues on numerous subjects.Whilethere remains awideperception of roles ascorporate executives,mediamogulsandtopauthorities ing womenasonlyhousewivesandcaretakers ofchildren tonew gender roles haschangedradically, movingswiftlyfrom perceiv- der. Indeed,duringthistimeintheUnitedStates,notionof gender roles andalsolawsthatdiscriminatedonthebasisofgen- movement continuedwithapushtochangetheperception of of votingrights.Theninthemid-tolate-twentiethcentury, the century, thiswascharacterized byprimarilyseeingtheresolution referred tocolloquiallyas“women’s lib.” Intheearlytwentieth called thewomen’s liberation orfeministmovement,often gender roles underwentamajorshiftduringwhatistypically to subordinate womentomen.InmuchofWestern culture, the tion, assomecultures followreligious tenetsthatwouldappear Many traditional cultures thatremain inexistencetodaystill So howdoesallthisbackground relate toproducing content? Tom Edwards Tom [email protected] 8/12/10 9:46:18 AM Column

them to wear head-to-toe coverings that severity that goes beyond women’s roles. with the complex issue of genders and seem to dehumanize their appearance. Thus, the portrayal of LGBT individuals cultures as I identify myself as a transgen- Some scholars argue that the Qur’an and lifestyles must be carefully deployed der individual. It’s an inner conflict over doesn’t support such treatment, and there in content according to the local sensitivi- which I’ve struggled for most of my life are actual women’s liberation movements ties. Again, this demands that compa- in difficult silence, and although I have within some Islamic countries. However, nies know where their particular moral tried various mechanisms throughout in such locales the traditional role is still compass might reside and where they my life to cope with this challenge, most reinforced. As a case in point, there was may opt to draw a line of inclusivity. were forms of avoidance or denial. Even once a business software project in which From a practical standpoint, the con- though I’ve contemplated the option for I was involved that was targeting Middle sideration of gender roles and alternate many years, it’s only been more recently Eastern countries. One of the promo- gender lifestyles is an exercise in ensuring that I concluded I must undergo the path tional pictures featured a conference first that the company understands the of physical transition from male to female table at which men were seated, while a local market’s expectations. Once these in order to fully cope with my gender woman stood at the head of the table and have been established, decide if meet- identity and to try to feel comfortable presented a lecture. The local developers ing those expectations will compromise within my own skin. Over the past few were shocked and demanded that this be the company’s specific position or not. years, I’ve gradually begun the process of removed, as it would never be considered For some, adapting content to portray a transition, and by the time you read this acceptable for the woman to be in the more traditional society of only male and issue, I’ll have taken the next step forward room while men are conducting business, female gender roles is just part of the job and will be living as Kate Edwards. I’m let alone in such a position. of localization, but for others it can be a hoping that this knowledge will not affect Obviously, if a company maintains more real dilemma. your interest in the geocultural topic nor progressive values, where does it draw Lastly, while we’re on the subject of in this column. Other than a new picture the line on participating in a continua- alternate gender issues, I’d like to take and a new name, I look forward to con- tion of potential discrimination? This is this opportunity to relate to the readers tinuing my contributions, and I thank you often a broader question for any content of this column that I feel quite familiar profusely for reading! M development for other locales. The values of inclusion and diversity that are locally relevant to the company will certainly face challenges abroad; thus, the com- pany will be forced at times to make a moral judgment on the appropriateness of its actions. We strive to respect local cultures and their expectations in content development, but I know of companies that have struggled greatly with such issues, where the values of affirming the equality of gender roles often outweigh the benefits of a business transaction. But in recent times, the focus on gender roles has shifted to another aspect. The ques- HIGHER tion of roles and equality has expanded to those in alternative situations, namely STANDARDS the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. While each faces its „ FOCUS ON CEE LANGUAGES own unique challenges, these groups all „ share in a similar struggle over their roles ON MARKET SINCE 1995 in a modern society. The same limitations „ ISO 9001:2008, DIN EN 15038 long seen on the role of women are also „ [email protected] at play with these groups — the issue of sacred versus secular and the appearance of a threat to the “normal” well-accepted roles of men and women. Currently, while many cultures may continue to struggle with the integration of women’s roles, they are at least aware of the shifting momentum. Yet when it comes to dealing with the LGBT issues, these cultures are often even more restrictive, particularly from a religious perspective, as such issues www.aspena.com are often considered forbidden with a

www.multilingual.com September 2010 MultiLingual | 25

24-25 Edwards #114.indd 25 8/12/10 9:46:19 AM 26-27 Freivalds#114.indd 26 26 S | closer together, andhavesignagethatisbilingual(French and many UScities,liveinhouses thathavesmalleryards andare have downtownsthatare aliveandhealthycompared to la thinner, lessaddictedtocellphones,don’thavefreeways and Canadianswhenyoucross intoCanada. Canadiansare across Canada.” rich multicultural fabricparticularlyinthemajor metro areas deep affiliationwiththeirhomecountry, whichprovides fora second orthird generation they are more likelytostillhavea meanor,” saysSchnabel.“And giventhatmanyimmigrants are general are more reserved, politeandmeasured intheirde- in-your-face styleofAmericanfriendsandpeers. Canadiansin York metro area, Iamaccustomedtotheboisterous, outspoken, Canada. “SpendingmostofmyadolescentadultlifeintheNew of thoughttothedifference betweentheUnitedStatesand his timebetweenNewYork andToronto. Hehasgivenalot number ofCanadianmediaoutletsintheUnitedStates,divides

Column MultiLingual USinterstates, avoidflashybillboards, drivemuchslower, You immediatelynoticethedifference betweenAmericans Paul Schnabel,founderofDicomm,whichrepresents a population. immigrants, thefastestgrowing portionofits slang foreachculture. AndCanadastillwelcomes tive AmericanintheUnitedStates—withunique Anglo, French andAborigine—whatwecallNa- time ago.Canadaadmitstobeingtri-cultural: in MooseJaw, Saskatchewan,where Iwasashort ber ofdifferent cultures wherever yougo,even is certainlymulticultural, asyourunintoanum- parts youhearMandarinChinese,forexample.It practice multilingual,asintheurbanWestern officially isbilingual(French andEnglish),butin just across theUSnorthernborder inCanada.It do, butthere isauniqueanddifferent culture to thefarreaches ofKazakhstan, likeIusedto have areal cross-cultural experienceistotravel Some Americansthinkthattheonlywayto World Savvy World Memo from MooseJaw September 2010 2010 September

a firm JFAandthemarketingrepresentative forhisnativecountry, Latvia. John Freivaldsismanagingdirector ofthemarketingcommunications the manicculture andpoliticsoftheUnitedStates. weeks visitingWestern Canadawere apleasantrespite from he orshewouldlikelyrespond “What’s aprovince?” Ourthree if youaskedanaverage AmericantonameCanada’s provinces, Even thoughCanadaisthetenthlargest economyintheworld, tied toAmerica’s celebrityculture orpoliticsofdestruction. English). Andwhenyouwatchtelevision,Canadiansare notso of thecoffeeandbakedgoods market,andmore than40% United States.InCanada,TimHortonscommands83%share down thestreet. Ihaveneverseenthatatany placeinthe my’s.” AMcDonald’s andaStarbucks jealouslysatemptyjust more than30cars linedupby thedrive-inwindowof“Tim- long agoIwasstandinginfront ofaTimHortons andsaw — naturally, a businessstartedbyhockeyplayer. Nottoo hockey andmaybecurling,isTimHortonsitscoffee I havetogobybike.” of thepersons addressed, asin “It’s fourkilometers away, eh,so the comprehension, continuedinterest, agreement andsoon interrogation eh Canada, themostdistinctivephrase Canadiansare knownbyis a caseforlocalization.Butallthelinguisticdiversity in bilingual andimmigrant nature, soyoudon’thavetomake developing theirownproductions. ies are filmedinCanada,givingusefultraining toCanadiansfor cost filmingenvironment thantheUnitedStates,manyUSmov- homegrown productions. AndsinceCanadarepresents alower- from excessiveUSinfluencebylanguageandsupportsahostof French-speaking parts.French languagetelevisionisbuffered even onebooklastyear. you ask,atleastoneinfouradultsneitherread norpurchased Compare thattotheUnitedStates,where, dependingonwhom ing andread 17booksayear;81% buyatleastonebookayear. smallest community. Canadiansspend4.5hours aweekread- than Americans,andyouwillfindabookstore ineventhe There isnodoubtthatCanadiansappeartobebetterread The onlyobsessionstheCanadiansseemtohave,besides The languagebusinessisaliveandwellinCanada,givenits The mediaisaliveandwellinCanada,particularlythe ? According tothe eh exclusivetoCanadiansisusedforascertaining Canadian Oxford Dictionary John Freivalds [email protected] , thespoken 8/12/10 9:47:15 AM Column

of Canadians visit four times or more a Moose Jaw is about 100 kilometers who would come to Moose Jaw just for week. Asking for a “double double” (two outside of Regina, in the heart of the the springs? Enter one Deb Thorn, who creams and two sugars) has become a prairies of Canada. It is flat and feature- had the idea to build a world-class spa on part of the Canadian language. And Tim less but very fertile as endless fields top of the mineral springs. She then set Hortons is making a run at Starbucks, of wheat, canola and beans — lots of out to raise seven million dollars by offer- McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts in the beans — attest. It is statistically the ing shares to the public. The shares were United States by opening a number of sunniest spot in Canada, so people from a dollar apiece, but you had to buy 500. US outlets, particularly in the northeast. perpetually cloudy and rainy Vancouver The success didn’t stop there, for skeptical But while Canadian coffee has a — particularly from November through downtown owners began to remake their growing identity, Canadian food does March — travel to Saskatchewan just to businesses so they would attract visitors. not. Pure Canadian cuisine hasn’t see the sun! The hotel has expanded three times and changed much since KFC’s founder, I have been involved in economic now has added a casino. The heated min- Harland Sanders, visited Canada over 50 development and innovation all my eral water pool is lined with underwater years ago, when he called Canadian food life, but what they did in Moose Jaw to seats and benches, and people just come “plumb tasteless.” However, the ethnic build a world-class (ok, it’s just a four and sit; it’s one public bath like you see in Indian, Middle Eastern and Chinese food star) spa is pretty neat and something Iceland. It really has become a public park is as good as in the countries of origin. global-savvy people can learn from. In that is underwater instead of on the grass. Many firms that have tried to enter the every line of business you need several Townspeople as well as hotel guests are Canadian market have failed because elements to be successful. The Temple there. A real estate investment trust came they consider it merely an extension of Gardens resort has them all and now in and bought the spa, paying sharehold- US culture. hangs flags from the 38 countries whose ers three times what they originally paid. The most innovative sight in Canada citizens have come to the spa. So someone’s imagination and willing- has to be the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa It has a unique selling proposition: ness to put money in a venture brought Resort in Moose Jaw. Don’t know where mineral springs discovered in the 1930s. some pretty spectacular results, even in that is? Neither do many Canadians. But in that flat, forbidding environment, this far corner of the world. M

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26-27 Freivalds #114.indd 27 8/12/10 9:47:16 AM 28-29 Asnes#114.indd 28 28 I | technology affectsbusinessesexpanding theirworldwidereach. tionalization software.Heenjoys investigatinghow globalization Adam Asnes isCEOofLingoport,developersGlobalyzer interna- any otherlocalewhere youmakeadecisionto localizebased seen whathasworkedinpractice. Inthatrespect, it’s justlike citing anyspecificCanadianlawregarding bilingualism,asI’ve if you’re doingbusinessinCanada.Notethat I’mpurposelynot lutely havetoprovide French supportforyoursoftware orsite balance ofimmediacy, costs andcompleteness. reflected indeadlines,resources andscope.Thiscanaffectthe global marketinginitiativeusuallyhavedifferent needs-drivers software for“deal-based”reasons rather thanpartofabroad adaptation includingCanadianFrench. Clients whoadapttheir They hadaclient,whetherinternalorexternal,needingproduct alization wenttoCanadaforspecificmarket-partnerreasons. so polite,butIdigress. don’t jaywalk,evenwhennobodyisaround toknow. Everyoneis New Yorker, abouttheonlydrawback toCanadaisthat they also culturally committedtobilingualism.Personally, asaformer proud oftheirowneconomicstrength anddifferences. Theyare regarding USculture andcurrent events,thoughtheyare quite yes, it’s alongborder. Ingeneral, Canadians are quiteinformed most peoplelivewithindrivingdistanceoftheUSborder —and Canada, whichislessthanthepopulationofCalifornia;however, even makingaspecificeffort.Some34millionpeoplelivein in thecaseofmyownfirm,youendupsellingthere without phone numberformatting.You cangetthere easily. Often, as in Canada.Afterall,weshare timezones,languageandeven

Column MultiLingual Now, letmemakeitclearthat I’mnotwritingthatyouabso- Most companiesthatmyfirmhassupportedforinternation- From aUSperspective, there’s littlebarriertodoingbusiness wide customers. for companiesnewtoadaptingsoftware forworld- opportunities totestthewaters ofglobalexpansion for Canadarepresents oneofthemostaccessible That said,aUS-centricviewofsoftware adaptation driven first bybusinessneeds,strategies andpartners. Internationalization and ultimately localization is Internationalization andultimatelylocalizationis The Business Side September 2010 2010 September and Canada Internationalization ing andbuildingacustomerbaseusingEnglishonlythen with Canadianfirmsthatwentthrough theeffortofreleas- internationalization efforts.Atmycompany, we’veevenworked then Canadaistheperfectmarkettogetstartedwithonyour business partner/customerisusingyourproduct todothesame, the Canadiangovernmentorsellbroadly inQuebec,orifyour on businessrequirements. However, ifyou’re goingtosell but performingbatchstringexternalization operations oncethe when theprogram isrun.It’s abitofbookkeeping problem, a number),thatwillretrieve thestringappropriate tothelocale and application.Eachstringhas acall,plusuniqueID(usually in aresource fileappropriate foryourprogramming language to remove stringsfrom within yoursource codeandplacethem want tofindthestrings,seethemincontextandtakeaction. worst, it’s anevercompleteeffort thatdrags onandon.So,you’ll clean upduringtesting.Atbest,thisisanerror prone path.Atits to writeafewscriptsandgothrough pageby pageandthen otherwise pretty timeconsuming.Thetraditional approach is database calls,debugstatementsandvariablearguments —are of code—differentiated from programmatic elementssuchas ing andisolatinguser-facingstringsburiedinlarge amounts tion andworksforyourcurrent andfuture localesupportneeds. framework sothatitusesyourprogramming languageconven- ization doesn’tjusthappenbyitself.You havetocreate the externalization framework. Planchangestothedatabaseschema. summary ofbasicinternationalizationtasks: tion canhavemultiplestepsandprocesses tobesuccessful.Here’s a VAT, shippingdifferences andthelike).Butevenstringexternaliza- data input,databaseadaptations,businesslogicasneeded(such cultural formats(suchaspostalcodesortingrather thanZIPcodes), nationalize byaddingalocaleframework fortheinterface,various is similartoanymultiplelocaleadaptationinthatyouwouldinter- adapt yourproduct tobettersupportclientele.SupportforCanada French Canadiansupport. needed helpasthebusinessopportunitiesexpandedtorequire ■ ■ ■ ■ As yourCanadianopportunitiesrequire, youmayindeedneedto Internationalization tips String externalization:Oncethey’re identified, you’llneed String identification:Here’s where atoolreally helps.Find- String externalization/localeframework: Stringexternal- Design: Establishrequirements, localeselectionandstring Adam Asnes [email protected] 8/12/10 9:47:57 AM Column

strings have been identified and reviewed other processes, you’ll get something implementation experience in real jeop- will speed up the process. that at best works awkwardly. I consider ardy. Internationalization and then local- ■ Formatting changes: You can that an educational opportunity, but I’ve ization, even when only considered for get away with quite a bit for Canada. also seen this limited understanding all Canadian requirements, are still a signifi- You’ll need to support postal codes, for too often exhibited by localization firms cant product development undertaking. example, but you can get away with US who should know better. Not introduc- It will require expertise, proper forward- date-time formatting if necessary. ing a more complete scope may give a looking product development planning and ■ Database changes: Chances are good client the minimum information they a level of reconcilability with other parallel that if you are using a modern commercial want quoted, but it places a successful product feature developments. M database, even with the default setup, you have support for ISO-Latin 1 characters, which of course handle English, French and other Western European languages. Still, you’ll need to adapt your schema to REGISTER support multiple locales. Note that you EARLY will not need Unicode for Canada, but if you can swing it and if your code base TO SAVE! technologies are Unicode-friendly, then it’s a worthwhile consideration if you have SAVE THE DATE: further global release aspirations. ■ String refactoring: Inevitably, a percentage of your strings will be con- catenated or broken into sections and built with programming logic. As word orders and sentence structure will change October 18-20, 2010 . Santa Clara, California depending upon language, these strings will need to be refactored. This inevitably Immerse yourself in cutting-edge topics takes extra time. Again, string reports and new technologies, all geared for the tend to help find these faster than comb- internationalization community. ing through code manually or through The Internationalization & Unicode® Conference is the premier annual retroactive testing. ■ technical conference focusing on multilingual, global software and Web Layout issue correction: Chances internationalization. Each IUC conference features a variety of tutorials are also good that you’ll need to make and conference sessions that cover current topics related to Web and layout corrections as strings expand to software internationalization, globalization, and Unicode. support language changes. If you are unlucky enough to be concerned that The three-day conference will feature a full day of tutorials followed by your application supports ASCII charac- two days of presentations, panels and discussions. There will also be ters only, you’ll need to find the various technology exhibits and demonstrations. There will be plenty of bottlenecks for ISO-Latin characters opportunity for networking at birds-of-a-feather special interest gatherings so that you don’t have problems with and at the meeting breaks, lunches and receptions. Sessions will cover extended characters such as accents. a range of topics including internationalization, globalization, the Web, ■ Testing: Consider how long it takes security, and localization to name a few. There will be a mix of case to test your product for a major release studies, panel discussions and technical discussions geared towards and then add time for including system- beginner, intermediate and advanced practitioners. atic functional testing using pseudo- The conference attracts industry leaders from across the globe including localization for functional issues and Unicode experts, implementers, clients and vendors. The unique linguistic testing for context accuracy. interactive format makes the Internationalization & Unicode Conference You could write a whole article on the the best place to meet and exchange ideas with the experts, discover relationship of these two alone. the needs of potential clients, and gather information about new and The trap in all this is that some compa- existing Unicode-enabled products. nies make first efforts with a highly lim- ited understanding of the scope of how www.unicodeconference.org/ml this changes their application. Just in the MEDIA SPONSOR: last week, I started a conversation with a new client who only saw this effort as a

string externalization exercise and liter- For up-to-date information or to register: ally was measuring costs per string rather VISIT: www.unicodeconference.org/ml than looking at the full picture. String E-MAIL: [email protected] handling represents the bulk of the vis- Unicode and the Unicode Logo are trademarks of Unicode, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. ible effort, but without attention to the

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28-29 Asnes #114.indd 29 8/12/10 9:47:58 AM 30-32 SawersCol #114.indd 30 30 C | from OxfordUniversitywithadegreeinFrenchandItalian. Christian Arno,founderandmanagingdirectorofLingo24,graduated and priortoLingo24heworked as afreelancewriter. company Lingo24.Hehasstudied communicationandmultimedia, Paul Sawersisthecommunicationsexecutive atglobaltranslation English, Chinese and, to a lesser extent, Spanish, threatening the English, Chineseand,toalesserextent,Spanish,threatening the many animalsintheprocess,withlinguisticimperialism of earth’s resourcesforitsownendandjeopardizingthefuture of analogize humansasthedominantspeciesexploiting threat totheworld’slinguisticdiversity. Nodoubthewould which arelocalizedtoverysmallregions. vast ranges,thetropicshasthousandsofvernaculars,many of while theArctichasonlyahandfuloflanguagescovering mammalian speciesthecloseryougettotropics.Likewise, observing thatasyoutravelfromthepoles,therearemore of biologicalevolution.Hetooktheanalogyevenfurther, was immenselyinfluentialinhisfirstdabblingsthefield a commonancestorwasn’tDarwin’sbrainchild,butthetheory through agradualprocess,arecuriouslyparallel.” and theproofsthatbothhavebeendeveloped of differentlanguagesanddistinctspecies, in genealogy. Darwinevendrewadirectparallel tion wasbasedontheprinciplesoflanguage Darwin’s thinkingregardingbiologicalevolu-

Column MultiLingual Darwin wasn’t able to hypothesize on globalization and its Darwin wasn’tabletohypothesizeonglobalizationandits The notionthatallmodernlanguageshaddescendedfrom What manydon’tknowisthatmuchof and observationsovermanydecades. was theresult ofDarwin’s studies It was—andstillisaseminalpieceofwork which allsubsequentevolutionarybiologyisbased. generally considered tobethefoundationupon The DescentofMan Charles Darwin’s Perspectives September 2010 2010 September (1871): “Theformation The OriginofSpecies global tweets Tweaking (1859) is (1859) is the survivaloffittest:hegemonystemsfromsuccess.Many net technologycompanies,itcertainlyseemstobeacaseof monopolies, andwhetherit’slanguages,speciesoreveninter- thousands ofregionaltonguesontheplanet. bobble ofyourbeanieabove the parapet. and bloggersareatitthattakes alotofeffortjusttogetthe tion andsocialmedianetworking. Butsomanybusinesses chunks. Forthemessengers,there’s searchengineoptimiza- breaking downthedelugeinto smaller, moremanageable Alerts, Facebookalertsandtweetforstarters,each sage receivers.Therearekeyword searches, RSSFeeds,Google have tolookprettyhardfindthem. who aregenuinelyinterestedinwhattheyhavetosayoften less spaceandtimetogettheirmessageacross.People yearns tobedifferent.Withmoreinformation,peoplehave offer somethingnew, unique,different.Everyone,afterall, white noise—theanonymousmassofsitesthatproclaim to and loudertobeheardoverthecacophonouscrackleof who wantstobenoticedontheinternetmustshoutlouder not beanissue,however, informationoverloadis.Anyone loon, andyoumayjustgetthepicture.Whilecapacity point. Imagineanatominever-expandinghot-airbal- infinite inthesensethatit’sunlikely toeverreachtipping mind-bogglingly largethatforallintentsandpurposes,itis a finiteamountofserversandstorage,itisso be only can to claimthattheinternetisinfinitelybig,giventhere space issuestobeconcernedabout.Whileitwouldfalse species, forexample,maybeonthebrinkofextinction,but Christian Arno & Paul Sawers The oldadagethatsuccessbreedsunderpinsmost The workaroundsarefairlystraightforwardforthemes- as morewebsitespopup,therearenoreal for MotherNaturetomanage. peopleby2059.That’sa lot ofpeople billion decades, Earthwillbehometoaroundten is predictedtoslowdownoverthenextfive almost sevenbillion.Whilethisrateofgrowth doubled, fromunderthreebillionpeopleto and 2009,theworld’spopulationmorethan people arepositivelythriving.Between1959 However, unlike thisfairplanetofours, [email protected] 8/12/10 9:49:01 AM Column

German English now actively tweet, compared with less Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung speeding than 10% of Americans. Conversely, only 3% of Japan is on Facebook (they Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung speed limit prefer Mixi), compared to over 60% Büstenhalter bra of Americans. Twitter estimates that Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz federal law (re: higher education grants) around eight million tweets per day Herzkreislaufwiederbelebung CPR come from Japan, and at times the Japanese are out-tweeting their Ameri- Einkommenssteuerpflichtig liable to income tax can counterparts. So, why is Japan Einkaufen shop embracing the Twitter revolution so Verkaufen sell enthusiastically? Aufhören stop There may be a number of cultural reasons why. From a linguistic per- Table 1: German words vs. English words. spective, the often requires less space than English to However, with increasing informa- that it’s usually harder to cut down convey a message. By way of example, tion, the messages are getting shorter. a text than expand it. A physically the word information requires a mere Anyone who’s familiar with Twitter will restricted writing space also forces us to two characters in Japanese. Indeed, know all about the space restrictions really think about how we convey our while German words have a tendency placed on micro-bloggers — a mere 140 message. The principle behind platforms to dwarf English words, the opposite is characters, including spaces — to get a such as Twitter may actually help train the case with many of the Asia-Pacific message across. Difficult? Sometimes. people to write more concisely, which languages. Chinese, for example, is a far Necessary? Absolutely. You see, the can only be a good thing. denser language than English, too, and whole premise of Twitter is to keep the While writing spaces physically restrict if it weren’t for the government in China tweets short and sweet. Less is definitely the output text in many digital arenas, routinely blocking people from using more in the world of social media. Twit- the world of translation is the oppo- Twitter, English might well be in second ter is basically a simplified version of site. A short, pithy text in English may place to Chinese. After all, China has Facebook’s status update feature and become much longer when translated 30% more internet users than the United has built a highly successful enterprise into German (Table 1). Indeed, the great States alone. on it alone. American humorist Mark Twain once Twitter also has a nifty little user-gen- The “short and sweet” principle has wrote: “Some German words are so long, erated feature called hashtags — essen- been a marketing mantra for years, they have a perspective.” This can pose tially, tweeters tag their message with # with punchy slogans preferred over problems when importing translated and then a keyword (such as TDF). Tweets long-drawn-out paragraphs. But this text, especially with space-sensitive then become searchable by their rele- is even more so now. From a commer- tables and documents such as flyers and vance to a particular topic, so if someone cial perspective, Google AdWords — or posters that come with a predetermined wanted to see what people were saying “Sponsored Links” in laymen’s terms size and layout. This is why many about the Tour de France, he or she would — rely on clear, concise messages. Ten translation companies have dedicated search under the hashtag #TDF. words are good; five are even better. technical divisions, as they often have However, while Twitter’s main status The proliferation of mobile phones and, to adapt the space to suit the length of update box supports multiple languages subsequently, text-speak (L8R rather the translated text. This often requires and scripts thanks to the widespread than later) has helped drive this form in-depth knowledge of desktop publish- adoption of the Unicode standard across or organic shorthand. With commercial ing software to manipulate the space to the web, hashtags are limited to ASCII enterprises getting in on the act too, fit the text. — 128 characters based on the English some might say this is the death knell With Twitter, users can’t manipulate alpha-numeric system. So, for example, for language, but others argue that it the space, so they must adapt the text this means someone wishing to create may actually have a positive influence. to fit the space, and the extent to which a hashtag for the German word straße The British Journal of Developmental all the tweeters of the world must do (street) wouldn’t be able to because the Psychology recently found evidence to this really depends on the language. symbol ß isn’t supported by ASCII. How- suggest that text-speak may actually aid Twitter is growing at a frenetic pace ever, they could use the Swiss German children’s reading development. Short- across the globe. In February, Mashable spelling strasse. enings, contractions, acronyms, symbols reported that around half of all mes- With some languages, it seems, you and unconventional spellings all fall sages on Twitter are not in English, up certainly get a lot more bang for your under the broader language umbrella, from around one-third in the first half tweets. But as a self-organizing system, and the more exposure children have to of 2009. Japanese is the most common language is evolving to meet the needs the written word, the more literate they tweeting-tongue after English, consti- of social media platforms such as Twitter. become. There is perhaps an additional tuting around 14% of all messages on So, how do cyber surfers from Germanic benefit to be found in text-speak/tweet- Twitter. This is followed by Portuguese or Romance language backgrounds trun- speak. Anyone who’s ever written an (9%), Malay (6%) and Spanish (4%). cate their texts to gain more space to essay with a strict word limit will know Over 16% of internet users in Japan get their message across? Moving back

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to the realm of social media, however, Language Truncation Full Term/Word English how do the switched-on, tuned-in cyber surfers from the non-English- BJR Bonjour Hello speaking world truncate their texts? JTM Je t’aime I love you Well, much the same way as in English. For example, French texters and tweet- French BZ Bisous kisses ers would likely write MER6, for Merci: MER6 Merci thanks 6 in French is pronounced sees. The 2M1 Demain tomorrow French word for tomorrow, demain, is often written as 2M1 (2=deux, M=M KOI 2 9 Quoi de neuf Wassup? and 1=un). Table 2 is a beginner’s HDL Hab dich lieb I like (love) you guide to social-media speak for those OMG Oh mein Gott Oh my God! seeking to get by online in a non- English tongue. German 8ung Achtung caution Of course, even text-speak isn’t MFG Mit freundlichen grüßen with regards impervious to the dominance of FF Fortsetzung folgt to be continued English as a global language. LOL (laugh out loud), 4 (for), CU (see TMHA treff mich heute abend Meet me tonight you), PLZ (please) and OMG (oh my +o- más o menos more or less God) are all prevalent across the non-English digital community. Tq Te quiero I love you That’s the beauty of language. Just Salu2 Saludos regards as biological entities speciate, lan- Spanish Ad+ además moreover guage evolves too, though over a much shorter timeframe. Not only do =mente igualmente the same to you all modern languages descend from Xfa Por favor please a common ancestor, but in our own 8baan Achtbaan roller coaster lifetime, we’re seeing how languages are evolving to fit the dominant D8 Dacht thought mediums of our time. The internet is W8 Wacht wait now a forum for socializing, network- Dutch Pr8ig Prachtig splendid/superb ing, shopping, reading newspapers, watching television — just about G1 Geen none everything. And because the inter- L8 Lacht laughs net is global, social media affects all languages. M Table 2: Multilingual social-media speak.

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Region Focus 8/12/10 9:50:00 AM MultiLingual September 2010 Question 1: Do you have you have 1: Do Question model? business right the encountered in ourOne of the biggest misconceptions we’ve to workingFor example, do you have a sales team accustomed you prepared Are 2: Question margins? profit anorexic for Government buyers are notoriously price-driven, and as orga- nizations charged with spending taxpayer dollars wisely, federal nizations charged with spending taxpayer dollars wisely, agencies are constantly looking for a better deal. As such, when many commercial players learn how low the profit margins are — often less than 5% — they quickly turn their attention to other, more lucrative opportunities. Many of the government contracts up for the slim profits, but thatsize, they make are so large in depends on the business strategy of the supplier. topic, we present five questions that important we advise every federal government market. to ask before diving into the LSP that any translation com- is the notion conversations with LSPs the federal government.pany can instantly prepare to sell to for the government mayReality check — getting ready to work might be model. You require major changes to your business organizational structureforced to re-think everything from your to pricing methodologies. business developmentin the commercial space? Or do you have management for govern- managers seasoned in client and account ment accounts? There is a major difference between the two, and it isn’t easy to train a salesperson with a “hunter” mentality to sit back and monitor the latest contract notifications and devise the that isa winning proposal. Any LSP for writing up strategies best seriously interested in working in the federal government space will need to have people on staff with some degree of knowledge — or at least plenty of time and the willingness to learn — of fed- eral government procurement practices. This know-how cannot be transferred or developed overnight. brand new area of business. Based on our recent research on thisbrand new area of business. Based on our . Telephone Interpreting: Telephone Doing language business with the US government Nataly Kelly

Nataly Kelly, senior analyst with Common Nataly Kelly, is a certified court Sense Advisory, interpreter fluent in English and Spanish. She is the author of A Comprehensive Guide to the Profession

At Common Sense Advisory, we frequently At Common Sense Advisory, The report sparked an onslaught of follow-up inquiries. Most The report sparked services. of federal govern-For that report, we reviewed 20 years’ worth federal government market for translation, inter- for translation, federal government market In Decem- preting and other language services. Services and ber 2009, we published “Language a large-scale the U.S. Federal Government,” United States study of federal agencies in the language and their spending habits regarding field questions from language service providers field questions from language the US the world regarding throughout (LSPs) A www.multilingual.com government market appears to be an extremely attractive one. In government market use of the seeking to make fact, we noticed that many of the LSPs federal government data were ready to plunge headfirst into a US federal government contracts. A total of 379 firms earned moretotal of 379 firms earned US federal government contracts. A that same year. than US$100,000 that came seeking more of the language service providers (LSPs) information from us were lured by the idea that with a single contract, an agency can earn millions — or potentially billions of dollars — in the space of just a few years. At first glance, the ment spending data — a total of US$4.5 billion spread across 54,358ment spending data — a total of US$4.5 billion found that contracts for translation and interpreting services. We in 2009, 30 companies earned more than two million dollars from 33-35 Kelly #114.indd 33 Region Focus

consideration, if not the single- US federal government spending on language services most important factor in their Top 10 US government with D.C.-area vendors and vendors based elsewhere language services suppliers decision-making process. Question 3: Is 1. Global Linguist Solutions, LLC your office located 2. Aegis Mission Essential Personnel, LLC in the right place? Our research on the com- 3. TRW, Inc. mercial market repeatedly shows that location is not a 4. Shee Atika Languages, LLC big issue. Many buyers in the private sector do not consider 5. Metropolitan Interpreters & Translators, Inc. a local presence to be impor- Contracts awarded 6. AllWorld Language Consultants, Inc. to vendors elsewhere Contracts awarded to tant. For the government (including non-US) D.C.-area vendors market, we find the opposite 7. TechTrans International, Inc. 48% 52% to be true. In fact, we found (22,832 contracts) (24,727 contracts) that more than half of all 8. Lionbridge Global Solutions federal government contracts for translation and inter- 9. Berlitz Translation preting services (52%) were awarded to companies with 10. SOS International, Ltd. headquarters in the D.C. area (Figure 1). on their businesses. Often, we discover Figure 1: DC-area suppliers win most federal language While federal agencies also that their original business plans cover service contracts. (Source: Common Sense Advisory, Inc.) award contracts to vendors a more traditional, steady pattern of elsewhere in the United States, growth toward long-term goals, which For example, winning a large contract they do not often work with vendors out- is in direct conflict with the amount of might appear great on the surface, but side of the United States. We found that risk and instability that may be involved once the company starts diverting its 99.61% of the contracts analyzed were with government work. entire staff toward fulfilling it and scram- awarded to American firms (though this Even more commonly, we find that bling to hire new people, existing clients tiny percentage awarded internationally these companies failed to even think may start to feel neglected. When this still totaled over US$17 million), while about their growth plans beyond the next happens, an LSP can easily forget about just 0.39% of business went to suppliers 12 months, playing things “fast and loose” the foundation upon which it was built. in other countries (Figure 2). However, we and just hoping for the best. In such cases, At what cost? This is a question that LSPs did notice a tendency of certain agencies jumping into the government market can rarely ask themselves prior to bidding on to purchase more frequently from non-US end in disaster. Many companies quickly a large government contract. vendors than others. build, invest and hire as if they will be Many suppliers in the commercial space counting on identical revenue for many deplore the idea of competing on price. If Question 4: Are you ready for years to come, failing to remember that that describes your company, forget about a roller coaster revenue ride? government contracts are not necessarily working in the government space. While Many of the LSPs that say they are a renewable source of revenue. federal agencies do look at other criteria, fully prepared to receive the millions of such as qualifications, security issues and dollars that potentially come with being Question 5: Are you ready for a training, price will often be an overriding awarded a large government contract fail whole new class of competition? to give us an answer when we ask, “And Contracts for language services in what’s your revenue replacement strategy the US federal arena are truly different for when the contract ends?” The federal from commercial accounts. As such, the government is a fickle client. In the com- government-focused LSP is completely mercial space, excellent performance and different in nearly every way from a www.star-group.net client satisfaction are ingredients for a commercial LSP. Not only are the busi- long-term relationship. This is not neces- ness models geared toward these very sarily so in the world of US government different client types, but these competi- contracts in which a vendor can more tors often have several other important easily be displaced, regardless of how characteristics. For this reason, even well it performed previously. commercial LSPs that focus on the gov- Conquer the challenges For this reason, we advise vendors ernment market typically devote different of global markets seeking to play in the government space offices or business units to this space. with information to think seriously about the impact, both For example, federal agencies may

GRIPS management positive and negative, that receiving a require vendors to provide proof of their large-scale, multiyear award might have linguists’ security clearances, background

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checks and other protective measures that How are federal government language services contracts LSPs in the commercial space do not carry distributed between US and non-US suppliers? out as a routine step. Just to “catch up” in this regard can take years and significant investment. Also, small, minority-owned non-US suppliers and veteran-owned businesses often 0.39 % US$17,273,549 receive preferential status in competitive situations in the government market. And suppliers often need to have a General Services Administration (GSA) schedule, US suppliers which can be a time-consuming pro- US$4,468,289,487 cess, to even be considered for many 99.61% contracts. In addition, vendors in this space are accustomed to providing services that are 0 1,000,000,000 2,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 4,000,000,000 5,000,000,000 “non-traditional” to say the least — for example, jobs that require translators not Figure 2: Distribution of contracts between US and non-US suppliers. to translate and convey meaning, but (Source: Common Sense Advisory, Inc.) rather to summarize audio media reports in written form and make decisions about ■ Consider a partnership approach. strategy. If you do decide to go down this what items are important, or hybrid Working with other LSPs is a great way path, know that it will require significant positions that have interpreters working to gain quick entry into the government time and investment from your company. as security guards. And the languages space. Does your company offer unique Because of this, you should aim to ease required — such as Kazakh, Sindhi, Uighur language pairs, services or technology yourself into this sector slowly versus or Igbo — are not exactly at the top of that an existing government provider taking a giant leap. For the majority of most commercial vendors’ language lists. could resell to federal agencies? Identify LSPs, US federal government language Finally, another important question the suppliers that already have contracts services work is a long-term play, not a that vendors should ask themselves is where your company might easily fill a short-term tactic. M whether or not they can tolerate the gap. Approach them to discuss opportu- “yuck factor” of working with the US nities to partner. Because of the nature government. Regardless of political lean- of government contractors, partnerships TM-Europe 2010 ings, federal work often entails difficult are quite common in this arena. situations — including armed conflict ■ Start locally. If your company does — and can result in putting human beings not have experience with government International Translation into dangerous and life-threatening sce- work in any form, consider getting your Management Conference narios. If you enter this space, you’ll be feet wet with some state, county or city- competing with other firms, many of level contracts. This will give your sales which have already grappled with these team a taste of what is required to work issues and may have even suffered the in the federal space, but the requirements public relations disasters that sometimes are usually less stringent, and the pro- result from them. curement processes not as involved as .UDNyZ3RODQG For this reason, some LSPs decide those for federal contracts.  they only want to work with domesti- ■ Stay close to your niche. If you cally focused agencies, such as the Social already have a strong base of clients with Security Administration or the Depart- strong testimonials in a given industry, ment of Justice. However, this isn’t where look for federal agencies that have simi- the majority of the money lies. The most lar content requirements. For example, lucrative contracts are with the Depart- if you’ve done numerous projects in ment of Defense and intelligence groups. the environmental domain, perhaps the Figure out where your company’s toler- Environmental Protection Agency might ance level is before you start bidding on be a good target for your firm. Seek out government deals. the groups where your expertise can be leveraged in some way to differentiate A few more words of advice your company from others. If you reviewed all of the above ques- In summary, the allure of federal gov- tions and did not have any cause for ernment work is a powerful one for many concern, it is possible that the federal LSPs. Rather than throw yourself blindly government market might be a good fit into the race, evaluate first and foremost for your business. However, consider a whether it’s really a good decision that ZZZWPHXURSHRUJ few more things: aligns with your company’s business

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33-35 Kelly #114.indd 35 8/12/10 9:50:07 AM Translation industry in Cuba

Arturo Quintero Region Focus Region

The island of Cuba, just 228 miles from Miami, of paying health tourists and is growing in importance as is both very close and yet very far from the the place for conducting clinical trials. Its potential in the specific field of medical translations and life sciences in general is worth United States. This article does not aim to dwell considering. on the well-documented history of this complex Wikipedia reports that the average wage at the end of 2005 was T 334 regular pesos per month ($16.70 per month), and the average relationship. Instead, it explores the potential pension was $9 per month. According to the CIA World Factbook, opportunities that Cuba offers to the translation the July 2010 population of Cuba stood at 11,477,459 inhabitants and localization industry worldwide. with the following demographic distribution of age: 18.1% (0-14 years); 70.3% (15-64 years); and 11.6% (65 years and over). An Havana is the next place I would like to see a company open- estimated 76% of the total population lives in cities, and Cuba’s ing. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen in the near future, but percentage of gross national product that goes into education is then again, what may seem impossible now may quickly become 9.1% compared to 5.3% in the United States in 2005. This leads to a a real possibility soon. remarkably high rating of population literacy in Cuba at 99.8%. How Cuba stacks up Infrastructure under strain Cuba today has many of the ingredients that have made Some 1.4 million people in Cuba have access to the internet, other countries successful. It offers a combination of a highly according to the CIA World Factbook. However, private internet educated population, cost-competitive advantage, time-zone access is rare and heavily restricted, and priority access is given proximity, cultural affinity and possible easy access to the instead to universities, research centers and companies. Until United States. Spanish is the official language of Cuba. On the some two years ago, citizens were not even allowed to buy com- downside, while well-educated in general, it does suffer from puters. Access to the internet for private use remains effectively its general isolation and limited access to the latest develop- impossible without special authorization. Citizens could get ments and information from abroad. internet access in internet cafes, where their online activity is The country is well-known for its export of doctors and monitored and restricted. There were 3,637 hosts in 2009 at the medical personnel worldwide, for instance, with tens of thou- internet code .cu. sands of them working in Venezuela in exchange for subsidized Currently, there is no underwater fiber optic cable connect- oil deliveries. Conversely, Cuba attracts annually thousands ing Cuba to the internet, leaving the country having to rely on satellite-based internet services. Even though a US link exists just some 20 miles away, the US embargo does not allow Cuba to connect to it. A solution is in the pipeline for 2011, in the form of an underwater cable that will link Venezuela, Cuba and Arturo Quintero is cofounder and Jamaica, covering some 960 miles and providing Cuba with co-owner of Moravia Worldwide a better internet connection than currently, through a much and member of the MultiLingual wider bandwidth, effectively multiplying the current speed editorial board. 2,000-3,000 times.

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Translation technology the European Union (for 90 The many barriers to the days), and can easily obtain transfer of technology to visas to the United States and Cuba affect the use of trans- elsewhere. lation technologies as well. The most widely used tool Business of translation for text recycling is Wordfast, Most large companies in although SDL Trados is used Cuba have their own transla- as well, but this requires a tion departments. It means more powerful computer that translators are full-time than those usually available. employees. As such, they would Wordfast, however, is the most not normally be concerned about frequently used tool, and it is productivity metrics, since they the one officially promoted have a fixed monthly salary at the Facultad de Lenguas and their performance is not Extranjeras — Universidad de measured by translated words or la Habana, where languages another metric. Salaries in Cuba, such as German, French and in general, are governmentally English have replaced the regulated by the category of the priority that used to be given job that a given person performs, to Russian, Polish and Czech Map of Cuba and surrounding area. and translators and interpreters 20 years ago. Chinese is also (Source: www.worldatlas.com) are no exception. on the rise. Despite the limited Such salaries are paid partly access to computers and the internet and is in force. This means any Cuban who in convertible pesos, but for the most part even unexpected electricity shortages, uni- reaches the US shore in whatever way is in national (regular) pesos, which allow versity students are extremely inquisitive allowed to stay, whereas those caught at for the purchase of the essential, govern- about how translation is done in other parts sea are sent back. Ecuador has recently ment-subsidized staple food and goods. In of the world. They try to get updated ver- become a possible route for thousands practice, this income needs to be supple- sions of their tools at every opportunity. of Cubans, after the country stopped mented by convertible pesos (the current requiring entry visas in mid-2008. This exchange rate is some 25 national pesos The barriers is in stark contrast with the rest of the to 1 convertible peso), which allow access The principal barriers to setting up a countries in Central and South America, to a wider range of food items (including translation business in Cuba at the current such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile or Costa cheese, milk or chicken meat) that are time arise from the embargo imposed by Rica, which enjoy a visa-free access to used in restaurants and so on. the United States in 1960 and strength- ened in 1962. This means if you provide your service to US clients, you cannot source your translations from Cuba. As a result, most translations, including some large projects, are done primarily for European clients. Although there are many people work- ing in translation, localization per se is relative rare and unknown. One team that does exist and has direct experience with localization, including software, UA translation and compilation, belongs to the local telecom company ETECSA, which is one of the largest technology companies in Cuba and is responsible for the communication infrastructure. The team is knowledgeable about technolo- gies and includes Grisel Ojeda Amador, author of Historia de la Traducción la Interpretación en Cuba. Another factor that continues to hin- der development in Cuba is the restric- tions for Cuban citizens traveling abroad. The case with the United States is obvi- ous, where the “wet feet, dry feet” policy

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Some translators have additional in- is unlikely this will change in the near Cuba allowed its translators to work and come by offering their services online future. In 2008, there was an attempt compete internationally, there would be or providing interpretation services by a European entrepreneur to estab- immediately a brand-new attractive pool through ESTI (Equipo de Servicios de lish a translation business in Cuba, but of qualified Spanish translators. In regards Traductores e Intérpretes) or ACTI (Aso- the barriers of this nature eventually to cost-competitiveness, there is perhaps ciación Cubana de Traductores e Intér- proved too high. The project never no other country that could compete with pretes). ESTI is the state organization materialized. Cuba in the combination of competence responsible for translation and interpret- It may be that the development in and costs. ing. Most of the activities it performs Cuba may replicate that in Eastern Europe The challenge for Cuba will be that are specific to government and official before the fall of the Berlin Wall, where until now there has been no real produc- translations. This can range from marriage translation services companies used to tivity drive. The time to deliver has not certificates to interpreting for officials of be much more attractive employers for been a major factor in translations done the island. translators than governmental entities, in Cuba. Yet if Cuba allows such compe- ESTI members are well-traveled profes- thus attracting the most talented trans- tition, it may be difficult for translators sional teams of translators, with a strong lators, which is something the Cuban from Spain to compete with Cuba, and connection to places such as Germany, government cannot afford now. the same applies to Argentina and other Spain, France and so on, but most of the Latin American nations. services are for interpreting. Anyone who Spanish — a new Although Spain has a high-volume requires a legal translation needs to go to potential export? and growing language industry, Cuba the ESTI. The organization also sets the The way that Argentina today can has a high potential with perhaps an rates for translation services. emulate Iberian Spanish is a proof even bigger opportunity with life sci- ACTI is a similar organization aimed that Spanish for Spain can be done ences translations. If such dramatic at individual translators, an equivalent outside of Europe. Given the high level changes take place in Cuba as they did of the American Translators Associa- of education of Cubans and their strong in Europe, Cuba has all the potential to tion in the United States. ACTI organizes cultural heritage, there is perhaps no build one of the strongest life sciences events and training for translators. reason why Cuban translators could not translation competencies for Spanish The most active members are also very provide Iberian Spanish as well. by 2020. Because of its emphasis on experienced, and some have worked for In general, the written Spanish used medical sciences, Cuba would still be companies abroad or have localized. in Cuba can pretty much be understood one of the most competitive places in There are no international companies in all Latin American countries. It is not Latin America and one with the highest currently providing translation services too far from Iberian Spanish or other education and literacy levels. Certainly, in Cuba and no private company at the artificial flavors of Spanish requested with the large community of more than moment doing translations. Because trans- today labeled either as Neutral Spanish, two million Cuban exiles currently living lation is a politically sensitive activity, it International Spanish or LA Spanish. If in the United States, there would be an opportunity for a rapid access and devel- opment of this potential. One area where Cubans do excel already today is terminology. They have developed one of the largest medical ter- minology databases, and the university in Havana is well connected with other universities that work in the area, such as in Barcelona. Despite the limitation in terms of access to the internet, they have built very good internal glossaries, and they understand that it is fundamental for quality translations. Future If Cuba allows for the privatization of the business of translation, it is going to immediately challenge Argentina, Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries. It will challenge the price we pay for Span- ish today. There will be an immediate wave of proofreaders and editors hired by translation buyers, LSPs or clients and integrated to their teams to work remotely. The potential is — potentially — huge. M

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Region Focus 8/12/10 9:53:30 AM MultiLingual September 2010 .com), is a popular online resource for technical Scott Abel is a content management strategist Scott Abel is a content management strategist writers with an interest in content management. At the moment, North American marketers are leading the At the moment, North American marketers personal getting means Localization one localization is nothing more than Simply put, content Survey conducted by ChoiceStream The 2008 Personalization The Content Wrangler (www.thecontentwrangler Content Wrangler (www.thecontentwrangler The and blog, content evangelist. Scott’s structured XML resonate with each person you’re targeting — before you local- resonate with each person you’re targeting most organizations, your if you’re like ize it. Unfortunately, business task. firm probably sucks at this extremely important not alone. Pretty much every organization But don’t fret. You’re on the planet sucks at content personalization. for an way in personalizing content (see www.vdpweb.com today), but we in the example of a firm that is doing this work it comes to address- United States often fail miserably when we want everyone ing localization and translation because that localization and else to speak English or we just don’t get issue we translation also mean addressing the personalization pros could really thought we’d tackled. Of course, localization firms that serve global be useful to personalization/marketing customers. very small ingredient in a successful content personalization initiative. It’s “low hanging fruit” for those who are trying to worldwide sales or improve their global product marketing, distribution channels, but it’s not really providing the value most organizations need in such challenging economic times. to see the One only has to look to the world of retail marketing value of personalized communication. found 39% of consumers overall are (www.choicestream.com) Adding personalization Adding mix localization to the Scott Abel

Localization is a hot topic among softwareLocalization is a hot topic among manufacturers with tools they claim can helpmanufacturers with tools they laser-targetedprovide customers with relevant, it seems, these firms are content. More than ever, attention. Fromhyper-busy trying to get your trial softwarewebinars to white papers, from free text messagesto conference presentations, from vendorsto Twitter tweets, localization software in hopes you’llare vying for your attention the move to localized content. finally make Localization software and services vendors usually hail from What these software and service vendors can’t do is provide www.multilingual.com

the translation industry. Some claim to have created entire the translation industry. suites of tools designed to assist you in adapting your products — and product information — for nonnative customers, espe- cially those from other nations and cultures. This type of service their home in this space are and the software tools that make indeed valuable. They can aid in the adaptation of products and services for specific regions of the world and help you address of text and locale-specific concerns, including the translation that’s not solving the real other content types. Unfortunately, problem: delivering the wrong information, to the wrong people, at the wrong time and often, in the wrong format. personalized content designed for individual people in your existing customer base. Sure, some of them have acquired or built systems that manage content and are happy to sell you the type of software you’ll need to manage personalized content, the effort to discover everything you but it’s up to you to make audience and to use that member of your target can about each information to create relevant personalized content that will L 39-44 Abel #114.indd 39 Region Focus

more likely to click on an ad if it is personalized, while that number rises to 58% among those who shop online at least several times a month. The more personalized those ads are, the better chance retailers have of connecting with those consumers. The survey also found that the bigger the spender, the greater the interest in personalized ads. Half (50%) of those spending more than $250 online over the past six months indicate that they are more willing to click on ads that are personalized. This compares with only 32% of the smallest spend- ers. If you’re like most consumers, you don’t want to receive mass marketing messages masquerading as personalized content. The only ones who apparently think this approach is a good strategy are old-school marketers who believe a 2%-5% response rate is something to be proud of. Hint: It’s not! Consumers don’t find content valuable unless it meets their individual needs. According to the ChoiceStream survey, 45% of consumers reported receiving personalized recom- mendations that were a poor match based on their tastes and interests in Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union provides personalized website experiences to its 2008 (vs. 46% in 2007). The most often- members based on data about each individual customer. Personalized campaigns cited reasons for why recommendations such as this one yield four to seven times traditional marketing response rates. were considered to be poor were that (Source: JFM Concepts) they were “inappropriate” (51%) or that they didn’t match their personal prefer- ences (48%). It’s not just advertisements that consum- ers want personalized. According to the ChoiceStream survey, consumers continue to recognize the value of personalization in other types of content. Interestingly, 71% of respondents said that personaliza- tion would improve their social network- ing experience by introducing them to other members with similar interests and preferences. What is personalization, exactly? The term personalization, unfortu- nately, is often misunderstood. Personaliza- tion does not, as many seem to think, mean inserting the name of the person into a web page or e-mail message or emblazoning it on a direct “junk” mailer. Personalization is an explicit attempt to accommodate the differences among individuals by provid- ing content based on the characteristics of each individual in a target audience. Characteristics used to determine what types of personalized content is appro- priate include individual attributes such as interests, faith, context, locale, gender,

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This example shows postcards, but virtually any marketing piece can be created using this technique.

Each advertisement features industry-specific and recipient-specific content. Arrows indicate variable content.

eDocSecure used industry-specific content and individual customer data to create personalized direct-marketing pieces. Each mailer included photos, statistics and an offer specific to the customer. A personalized URL tracks individual responses and campaign success. (Source: JFM Concepts)

sexuality, previous behavior, marital status, home ownership, financial status, area of study and so on. In her best- selling book Managing Enterprise Con- tent: A Unified Content Strategy, intel- ligent content maven and CEO of The Rockley Group, Ann Rockley defines personalization as “content assembled to meet users’ specific needs, providing them with exactly what they are looking for, when they are looking for it, and in the format they are looking for.” Personalization requires us to know our audience, not just pretend we do, and to develop relevant content of value to each individual, based on what we know about them. That said, when developing a content personalization strategy, it’s also important to consider what is not known about each individual and to address this lack of information by find- ing creative ways to learn (or discern) this missing data. Language and cultural differences — things content localization tools were built to address — are what we often assume are similar characteristics of members in a target group. That’s sel- dom the case. However, even if we are correct, when we only address these two factors, chances are we’re still produc- ing lots of content that doesn’t resonate with many of the individuals who make

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up our audience. This is one reason why that should serve as a proper warning do this themselves. This type of nonsense localizing content without incorporat- here: “When you assume, you make an was excusable a few years ago. It isn’t ing personalization is nothing more ass out of you and me.” any longer. If you’re a localization or than putting a bandage on a bullet hole. CMS vendor and if you have the nerve Failing to incorporate personalization Making content resonate to tell your prospects that response rates, in a localization project is a huge waste with content consumers customer satisfaction and content qual- of content creation dollars and a lost As a gay, Caucasian, 46-year-old ity are improved dramatically when you opportunity to improve our communica- American male, I certainly don’t share localize (and by extension, personalize), tion effectiveness. There’s an old adage the same characteristics as everyone then it makes perfect sense that you else, either on the surface or upon closer should adopt the same tactics for your inspection. I recently relocated from marketing messages. Indianapolis, Indiana, to Palm Springs, I don’t say this to be offensive. I say California, a city that is both dispro- this because in the social media-powered portionately gay (more than 50% of the world we find ourselves in today, there’s residents in Palm Springs self-identify as no excuse for hiding your head in the sand. gay or lesbian) and Hispanic. I run my If you’re still marketing your localization/ own business from a bedroom in a house translation/global information product I rent. I have a blog. I am starting an management software or any one of a internet radio program. I bought a new number of CMSs — web, component, car last year. I shop at Nordstrom — a learning, digital asset or otherwise lot! I have a cat. I have a dog. I prefer — expect a fair amount of public scrutiny cash over credit. I will drive out of my from folks like me. Scrutiny and public way to go to a mall that has an Apple humiliation may be exactly what you Store. I have a VOIP telephone line. I also need to force you to begin personalizing have Skype. I’ve lost over 100 pounds in your content. And it’s likely the only the last year. I need new eyeglasses. My way you’re going to get the budget you mom and dad are still alive and well. need to make the same changes you’re So are my three younger sisters. I am asking your potential customers to make. an uncle. I am learning Spanish, albeit Such a change is not going to be easy, slowly. I mix dance music. I plan to buy but just wait until you see the return on a house in the next five years. And yet, investment (ROI). I still get the same old junk mail in my post box as everyone else, regardless of It all depends on the aforementioned facts that describe how you define success me, the public records that document Savvy marketers know that the tra- many of these events, the data contained ditional “spray and pray” approach to in the repositories of all of the compa- marketing can’t compete with highly- nies I interact with, and the many other targeted, personalized content market- pieces of data about me not included in ing. Let’s look at the typical marketing any easy-to-access information portal. approach data to gain an understanding The same holds true for e-mail. I still of the concept of direct marketing suc- get exactly the same uninteresting, ill- cess. According to the Direct Marketing conceived mass e-mail messages that I Association, the typical response rate received when I lived in Indiana, despite for a direct marketing campaign in 2007 having moved 2,000 miles, three time was between 2.15% and 5.35%. Catalog zones, and six agricultural hardiness shopping promotions came in at 2.24%, zones away. To add injury to insult, the direct mail fundraisers at 2.1%, lead gen- biggest violators seem to come from two eration e-mails at 4.09% (although this camps: marketers pushing localization may be an exaggeration depending on services and/or software and makers of your definition of lead), and website or component content management sys- in-store traffic building at 5.35%. With tems (CMS) — companies whose tools the economy in a downturn the past few

Your Vision. Worldwide. can actually aid in the management years, response rates in many sectors are and delivery of personalized content. actually much lower. Frankly, it’s laughable (unless you’re an Do these numbers sound impressive investor!) that the same companies that to you? Before you decide, let’s flip those want to sell you tools and technologies Direct Marketing Association numbers that can help you segment your audi- around. Here goes: In a typical direct mar- ence and deliver relevant, personalized keting campaign, 94.65% to 97.85% of dynamic content don’t have the time to those who were targeted will not respond

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stories are made possible because JFM marries information its customers know Everyone in Palm Springs Everyone in Palm Springs about their clients (contact data, sales history and so on) with information collected from public sources (including the National Consumer Database) along Who own their own home Who own their own home with behavioral data (tracking data such as responses to previous offers) to cre- ate what they call their Profile Complete And have a small lawn And have a large lawn Real Time Personalization Service — a real-time content matching engine that can provide personalized content to an individual based on their personal pro- With grass on it With grass on it file. It’s like Match.com for marketing. It’s getting lots of attention from Caterpillar, Marriott and other big name global cor- porations because it works better — much Don’t use a service Don’t use a service better — than old-school approaches. to maintain it to maintain it And still, even the major players in the enterprise content management arena And therefore might be And therefore might be have yet to see the value of personalized interested in a push mower interested in a lawn tractor URLs in their own marketing, nor have they realized that their customers need the same capabilities. Your color almost, but different In my college years, I was a newspa- per reporter whose job it was to locate The people in Palm Springs you haven’t upset by sending them useless information! unusual feature stories. One afternoon I accompanied a group of female imper- Personalized content leverages locale-specific data and combines it with sonators on a shopping adventure. They information about each individual customer to create laser-targeted content. Data were hunting for low-priced, high- sources include public records, customer databases and other data repositories. quality wigs from a popular Korean wig Personalization can include localization and translation. market on the east side of Indianapolis.

to the offer. Wow! That doesn’t sound like a good use of marketing dollars, and it isn’t. It’s not acceptable, especially DO MORE WITH THE POWER OF when it doesn’t have to be this way. One- to-one marketing is the purview of com- panies such as JFM Concepts, makers of SYSTRAN the enormously successful personal- SYSTRAN ized URL (PURL) marketing solution VDP Web. While leveraged primarily as Enterprise Server 7 a web and direct marketing campaign creation and management tool, PURLs outperform old-school direct marketing Translate more for less with a powerful hybrid MT by leaps and bounds. A PURL program Reduce costs engine combining the strengths of rule-based and for Strike Yachts (www.tcw.vdpcomplete Improve effi ciency statistical MT. .com/casestudies/strikeyachts.aspx) yielded an incredible 14% response rate, Achieve quality ›› 52+ language pairs while a PURL campaign for ThermoSpas translations ›› Self-learning techniques for users to train the (www.tcw.vdpcomplete.com/casestudies/ software to any domain thermospas.aspx) pulled 15.5%, yielding ›› Customization tools to manage dictionaries and TMs streamline post-editing $187,000 in revenue per mailing and an ›› APIs for easy integration with enterprise applications ROI in excess of 10,000%. JFM Concepts is one of a handful of companies helping marketers gain Viisiit us onlliine att www.ssysttransofft.ccom a new understanding of success in the direct marketing arena. These success

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I thought the story would be interesting. that no one was producing relevant adult content from a plurality of content According to my editor, it wasn’t. The content for the millions of Mexicans sources, the personalized content being article never saw the light of day, but who have found their way into the based on user input; receiving a person- something the wig store owner said to her United States. It’s not about language, alized advertisement based on user input; female impersonator customers relates to he said, as there are already a plethora and creating a customized publication the point of this article. Each time one of adult films translated into Spanish. including the personalized content and of the guys tried a wig on, no matter “It’s about telling the story in the way the personalized advertisement.” The where she was in the store, she would Mexican consumers can relate,” he said. need for such a patent, Google explains, shout out the same marketing mantra: “The adult flicks produced in the United is because consumers are often provided “Your color almost, but different.” Today States for recent immigrants don’t reso- content that doesn’t resonate with them: I think back on her approach to making a nate with them.” He had an idea to use “Since consumers have no control over sale and think it’s pretty much the same the mega-popular novella story format publication content or advertisements, tactic used by almost everyone who to create adult-themed films that are they may purchase a publication that isn’t using personalized content. Let’s not only delivered in localized Spanish, contains at least some content and just put something out there, something but also attract a loyal base of fans who advertisements that may be of no interest that might be of interest to some people can’t wait until the next episode to see to them.” And while the Google patent in our target audience. Maybe it’s not what will happen next. focuses on providing relevant content exactly what they want, but it’ll be their The “Your color almost, but different” to readers, it also addresses the needs of color . . . almost. problem is something the folks at Google content publishers and advertisers. “Pub- This problem is not limited to market- have been working on for some time lishers often lack insight into the profiles ing. It’s a problem for every organiza- now. In November 2007 the company of consumers who purchase their pub- tion, in every industry, in every country received a patent from the US govern- lications, and, accordingly, miss out on on the planet. There are few exceptions. ment entitled “Customization of Content subscription and advertisement revenue An adult film producer recently bumped and Advertisements in Publications.” due to a lack of personalized content and into me in a coffee shop and overheard The patent claims Google has developed advertisements.” In other words, Google my conversation with a client. He told me a “method of receiving personalized knows the “Your color almost, but differ- ent” approach is a big, fat failure. Localization without personalization is really missing the point. Transla- tion and localization of interfaces and products/services are indeed needed, but (IILFLHQF\ there’s really no good reason to translate content until you know exactly what you 2XWZLWKWKHROGLQZLWKWKHQHZ6RXQGSURFHVVHVDQGVPDUW need to say, how to say it and to exactly WHFKQRORJ\DUHDWWKHKHDUWRIDQ\WUXO\HIàFLHQWORFDOL]DWLRQHIIRUW whom you’re speaking. Localization in 6XERSWLPDOSURFHVVHVPHDQZHOO\RXQHYHUJHWWRRSWLPXP isolation is not going to solve your prob- SHUIRUPDQFH8VHRXU3URFHVV2SWLPL]DWLRQ3UDFWLFHWRDGGUHVV lems, and, in fact, it may create an entire \RXUODQJXDJHWHFKQRORJ\FKDOOHQJHV%HLQJVPDUWDERXW new set of problems once you realize the HIàFLHQF\LVDOZD\VWKHVPDUWRSWLRQ error of your ways. Translating generic PRUDYLDZRUOGZLGHFRPHIêFLHQF\ content that is not optimized for the personal needs of individual customers means you don’t respect your customers enough to care about what they really want and need. It also means your idea of respect is limited to providing trans- lated content that doesn’t address the needs of the individual human beings you are targeting. If your organization is serious about saving money, eliminating waste and developing profitable customer relation- ships that last, take the promised ROI from translation and localization sav- ings and content reuse, factor in the ben- efits of personalization, including, but not limited to, improved response rates, higher sales figures and enhanced cus- tomer satisfaction ratings, and you’ll PRUDYLDZRUOGZLGHFRP$0(5,&$6(8523($6,$ soon see how much better you could be doing. M

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Business 8/12/10 9:55:29 AM MultiLingual , Wooten described how , Wooten September 2010 Identifying Web-based Opportunities to Serve the Identifying Web-based The first data pertaining to LSPs was recorded quite recently, was recorded quite recently, The first data pertaining to LSPs only general predic- information, of concrete to a lack Due of all tools necessary for the successful transfer of information transfer of information of all tools necessary for the successful from one language into another. the US Bureau of Labor in the late 1990s, by the US Census and and statistics, this is fairly Statistics. In terms of record keeping Sev- on the industry. late to have begun collecting information the most poignant of eral factors can be attributed to this delay, simply not created a which being that these organizations had records. Translation translation category in which to file these stated that another important cause Wooten specialist Adam and interpretation that “most translation for the delay was to divulge very little agencies are privately held and willing have a few companies information. . . . Only in the past decade (not typically by grown large enough through acquisitions organic growth) to be publicly traded.” tions can be made on the size of the industry prior to 1997. In an predictions by cited Wooten analysis of the translation market, Communications Corporation that Nevil M. Garrett of Weidner to $20 billion was spent annually on translation. a total of $10 In his book Translation and Interpretation Industry the Ovum Report had a vastly lower estimate of the industry in 1995, around $0.6 billion for services in localization. He attributed these discrepancies to the varied definitions of what While it is customary to define the transla- constitutes an LSP. not everyone tion industry in terms of all aforementioned LSPs, are those that technologically aid a user in learning or honing honing learning or those that technologically aid a user in are consists industry LSP the short, or her language skills. In his Afaf Steiert (left), president and cofounder of Afaf Translations, works as a conference works as a conference Afaf Steiert (left), president and cofounder of Afaf Translations, She holds an M.Sc. in molecular biology from the Arabic interpreter and translator. specializes Matthias Steiert (center), cofounder of Afaf Translations, Basel. of University in German pharmaceutical translations. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Basel. Elanna Mariniello (right) is the projects coordinator based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. for Afaf Translations,

No recession for translation for No recession & Elanna Mariniello Matthias Steiert Afaf Steiert,

The ideal situation for any industry is that is that The ideal situation for any industry The translation industry is generally considered under the The translation industry is generally considered under the reality, especially in the current economic cli- reality, years, however, mate. In the recent fortuitous from this the translation industry has benefited rare case of consistent expansion. are to exploring theOne might wonder what the benefits it may experience a rapid and steady growth. steady growth. it may experience a rapid and is rarely the case and is This, unfortunately, than a an industry aspiration rather more likely www.multilingual.com of one language so as to become understandable in the target of one language so as to become understandable in the target language. Internationalization is the process of organizing data so that it may become localized, and supporting technologies broader umbrella of language services. Thus, when analyz- ing industry data, translation is grouped with other language Addi- and discussed as a single entity. service providers (LSPs) are interpretation, localization, tional services provided by LSPs internationalization and supporting technologies. Interpreta- and immediate translation of one tion involves the spoken Localization requires adapting the text language into another. growth of this industry. On the most basic level, the progression of growth of this industry. step towardssocietal a reflection of the industry is translation the shows an increasingglobalization. The demand for translation information exchange to cross cultural barriers and necessity to that translators areon a much broader level. Statistics show promptly changing the way we access information. T 45-47 Afaf #114.indd 45 Business

to around $25 billion by 2013, a 10.8% to expand their audience reach to the Asia Scandinavia increase in the five-year interim. In United States and Europe. $106.3M (2.8%) $130.8M (3.4%) a report generated by MyGengo, Inc., Furthermore, the internet has drasti- authors Matthew Romaine and Jen- cally widened the scope of language Rest of Europe nifer Richardson state that the 2006 US services due to the creation of machine $637M (16.8%) Department of Labor predicts a 24% translation (MT). The industry has UK increase in the number of US translators become much more mainstream as the $565M (14.9%) by 2016. To further understand these general public takes advantage of online United States statistics and the rise of the industry, instant translation sites and community $2,345M (62.1%) the authors also provide a breakdown translation forums. Today, any person of the revenue generated by the top 30 with the desire to translate from a differ- language service companies, according ent language only has to input his or her to region. Figure 1 shows the direction message, and within seconds he or she

Figure 1: Industry revenue breakdown by region. Comprehension Native level includes the full gamut in his or her stud- ies. Definitions of language services get English undeniably blurry and tend to fluctuate based on personal opinion. Despite these conflicting statistics, Spanish MT Non-translator English we can predict that the true value of the translation industry was somewhere between $0.6 billion and $15 billion — an admittedly large range, yet one Japanese MT English that leaves no doubt that the industry is Translator on the rise. Even without the numbers to prove it, the prominence of LSPs in society is much more noticeable than Native Sense Gap it has been in the past. This expansion can be perceived by the general public Figure 2: What a native speaker has trouble understanding from MT. in a variety of everyday experiences. A web page now has the option of being in which the translation industry is mov- is provided with a fairly comprehensible immediately translated by Google Trans- ing and the associated growth. It shows a text. This technological advancement later; a customer service representative market clearly dominated by the United has completely revolutionized the way will inquire if one would like to continue States and Europe; however, a slice is we communicate, and never before has in English or in Spanish; and an on-site dedicated to Asia, as they have begun to it been so accessible. interpreter will interpret television news have a larger effect upon the industry. The internet has even created an interviews from abroad. It would certainly be accurate to entirely new sector of the language According to Common Sense Advi- attribute this growth to globalization; service business. Translators are now sory, the global language services market however, globalization and the language being employed to correct MT in situ- totaled $14.25 billion in 2008. Common service industry cannot be considered ations when a less accurate translation Sense expects the industry to increase without acknowledging the internet. The is sufficient. Translators are becoming internet has revolutionized the way that the middle man, refining machine out- we exchange information and infinitely put so that it may become intelligible has expanded the amount of informa- to the reader of the target language. tion we are able to access. In turn, it Post-editing services are now a popular has drastically increased the database of way for businesses to reduce costs and content available for translation. Figure turnaround time. These post-editors are www.star-group.net 1 demonstrates the surge in US and needed to fill what MyGengo, Inc., defines European revenue that large companies as the “Native Sense Gap” — that which are generating in their efforts to reach a native speaker has trouble discerning out to foreign audiences. This escalat- from an automated translation (Figure ing success is largely due to the role of 2). Languages that have more in common the internet. Translated information can have a smaller gap, thus requiring less of reach the far corners of the globe with an actual human translator. Technologi- only the click of a button. The industry cal efforts are consistently being made Process automation in continues to grow as other countries, to create MT that comes ever closer to

information handling CLM STAR specifically those in Asia and the Middle bridging that gap, cutting out the need East, follow this example in an effort for a human translator altogether.

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Tools & Services Showcase

The growth of the industry, as well as the role the internet plays in promot- ing expansion, only perpetuates this upward trend. With the online market- place getting more diverse, the demand Europe’s No. 1 for translation is ever increasing. More- More Than Quality — over, young potential translators are Greek Localizer becoming inspired to work freelance With Efficiency! Since 1986, EuroGreek has been providing high- in the varied niches of language ser- vices, and universities are spearheading We offer fast, reliable translations for global quality, turnkey solutions, encompassing a whole programs that specialize in translation players. With two decades of experience we range of client needs, for the following language studies. Altalang.com reports their picks are a leading international company for high- combinations: for the top five graduate programs in quality localization into German and traditional • English into Greek translation: Gallaudet University; Kent translation services into most Western • Greek into English State University; Monterey Institute; European languages. Our team’s expertise lies • German into Greek SUNY Binghamton; and the University in the fields of software, hardware, medical • French into Greek of Texas, Dallas. These programs cover engineering, finance, technology, legal and All EuroGreek’s work is produced in our Athens translation and interpretation from marketing. Tight deadlines, large volumes production center and covers most subjects: every angle imaginable. Students can or projects requiring technical specialists are earn various degrees, from a master’s in • Technical translation and localization management our core competence. Rheinschrift is • Medical/Pharmaceutical or interpretation to a Ph.D. in translation EN 15038:2006 certified. • IT/Telecommunications studies. • Economics/Legal The language services industry is All EuroGreek’s work is fully guaranteed for becoming an ever-growing presence Rheinschrift Übersetzungen, quality and on-time delivery. in the global market, and it has never been more necessary than in our pres- Ursula Steigerwald EuroGreek Translations Limited ent-day society. More and more, people Cologne, Germany London, UK • Athens, Greece are grasping at just how vital transla- [email protected] • www.rheinschrift.de [email protected] • www.eurogreek.com tion is to making everyday life easier. What existed as an officially unrecorded industry up until 20 years ago is now a thriving industry with an expected value of $25 billion in the coming years. From whichever angle you look at it, translation will inevitably grow due to mankind’s need to communicate with one another. M Your Polish Production Center Medical Translations References MediLingua is one of Europe’s few Since 2000, Ryszard Jarza Translations has Beninatto, Renato S., and Nataly Kelly. companies specializing in medical translation. been providing specialized Polish translation, We provide all European languages (36 today “Ranking of Top 30 Language Service localization and DTP services, primarily for life Companies.” Common Sense Advisory, May and counting) and Japanese as well as the sciences, IT, automotive, refrigeration and other usual translation-related services. Our 250-plus 2009. www.commonsenseadvisory.com technology sectors. Jes. “Top 10 U.S. Translation Schools.” translators have a combined medical and ALTA Language Services, Inc., 23 September We work with multilanguage vendors and language background. 2009. www.altalang.com/beyond-words/ directly with documentation departments of We work for manufacturers of medical 2009/09/23/top-10-us-translation-schools large multinational customers. We have built a devices, instruments, in-vitro diagnostics and Romaine, Matthew, and Jennifer brilliant in-house team made up of experienced software; pharmaceutical companies; medical Richardson. “State of the Translation linguists and engineers, who guarantee a publishers; national and international medical Industry, 2009: Smarter, More Casual.” high standard of quality while maintaining organizations; and medical journals. MyGengo, Inc., Translation Industry Report, flexibility, responsiveness and accountability. Call or e-mail Simon Andriesen or visit our 2009. http://mygengo.com/report/ website for more information. translation-industry-2009 Wooten, Adam. “Appendix B: Discerning Ryszard Jarza Translations MediLingua BV T&I Market Size.” From Identifying Web- Wrocław, Poland Leiden, The Netherlands based Opportunities to Serve the Translation [email protected] [email protected] & Interpretation Industry. 2006. www.jarza.com.pl www.medilingua.com

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45-47 Afaf #114.indd 47 8/12/10 9:55:32 AM Using the Review Index to measure content change Technology Silvio Picinini

Virtually every time someone writes a piece Source Translated Reviewed Distance of content, there could be a review of it. In the Salários a Remuneraç¯oes wages payable 1 localization industry, the most notable one is pagar a pagar a review of the translation performed by a V damages Danos Sinistros 1 translator. The name may vary, with many discounts Descontos e Descontos e 1 people calling this editing. This task is part of and deductions deduç¯oes abatimentos standards used for certification, such as EN supplies Suprimentos e Suprimentos e 15038. It would be interesting to have some and external 1 servicos Ext. serviços Ext. kind of measurement of the review task, a num- services in tangible Em activos fixo Em activos ber that could be compared across reviewers, 1 projects, products, clients or any other parame- assets tangíveis fixos tangíveis ter of interest for analysis. This article intends to Figure 1: A report of issues found in a linguistic review. propose a way to measure reviews and proposes an actual numeric index for that measurement. Word Count Distance Review Index per 100 words The concept is simple, and the measurement can 81,320 336 0.41 provide a deeper visibility into the review work and prompt proactive actions. These actions Figure 2: Review Index calculated from changes and word count. improve the quality delivered and increase customer satisfaction. by the reviewer in relation to the number of words in the text reviewed. Therefore, the definition of the Review Index is the The basic concept is that if there is a text, the reviewer will number of words that were changed by a review of 100 words of make changes and produce a reviewed version. By comparing the reviewed text or the percentage changed by review. The formula reviewed text and the original text, it is possible to identify and to get this is measure the number of changes made by the reviewer. In order the number of words changed by the reviewer to create an index that is comparable across different parameters, × 100 it is necessary to take into account the number of changes made total number of words reviewed

To obtain the number of words changed, we used the con- cept of the edit distance (or Levenshtein distance), which is Silvio Picinini is a quality manager at the amount of operations necessary to transform the initial Lionbridge Technologies. Prior to string into the final string. In our case, we chose to measure Lionbridge, he worked as an in-house the number of changes in words instead of characters. Basi- translator for Oracle. Silvio holds degrees cally, if the reviewer adds, removes or changes one word, it is in electrical and electronic engineering. counted as one change. The number of words seems definitely

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File Word Count Distance Review Index Initial Final per File Quality Quality File 1 9,885 79 0.80 Review Improvement File 2 51,435 92 0.18 Low High File 3 20,000 165 0.83 QUALITY

Figure 3: Review Index detailed for each file. Figure 5: Quality improvement introduced by a review.

more appropriate to measuring review Was the review of File 2 less careful than the final quality after review is good. than the number of characters changed the review of Files 1 and 3? The Review Index shows us the “shift” by the reviewer. Words relate better to In another set of results, the Review in quality caused by the review, from the number of errors. One mistranslated Index was calculated for a set of languages. point A to point B, but it does not tell word is usually one error, but it could Figure 4 shows that there were more us where point A or B is. It is a relative be a word of four or ten characters. The changes made by the reviewer in Estonian measurement. longer word with ten characters is not a and Lithuanian. The interpretation of this To make it an absolute measurement, worse error than the shorter word with result could lead to other questions for we need to combine it with another mea- four characters. investigation: Was the review of the lan- surement, which can be one of the usual For our implementation, we have guages with lower index performed prop- measurements of quality already used, such some automation. We run a comparison erly? Was there any schedule issue rushing as the LISA QA model or the SAE model. report between the reviewed and the it? Has the translator for Lithuanian done Those measurements give you a score that translated versions of the content. The a good translation, considering that there allows you to pinpoint either the final qual- issues listed in the report may be any was a significant amount of changes by ity or the initial quality (before review) of kind of issue usually reported in linguis- the reviewer? Or was the reviewer making the translated content (Figure 5). tic reviews, such as typos, punctuation, a lot of preferential changes? The combination of the Review Index mistranslations or wrong terminology. plus a language quality measurement will An example of a report for European Does the Review Index give us a better scenario of the transla- Portuguese can be found in Figure 1. tell the whole story? tion. Here is a hypothetical example: An Figure 2 shows the Review Index being The Review Index tells us if there initial translation had a score of 50 out calculated. were significant changes made or not, of 100. Then a review was performed The Review Index by itself is not a but it does not tell us if the initial qual- with an index of 19.2, indicating that conclusive indication that there is or there ity of the translation was good or if many changes were made. Finally, the isn’t a problem with the review. However, it can give us a deeper insight into the case. In Figure 3, the Review Index cal- Belgium Bulgaria culated in Figure 2 is further detailed for Czech Republic each file and had fewer changes made Estonia Germany during the review compared to the other Translation services: Hungary Latvia two files. The interpretation of this result Lithuania China could lead to other questions for inves- Communicate with clarity. Slovenia Russia tigation: Was there a different translator Slovakia Poland working on File 2 than in Files 1 and 3? USA

Edit Individual needs call for individual Count Review Index % Distance solutions. We customize our Language Total Word Word Total approach to meet your translation Turkish 0.13 9 6,829 needs in a cost effective way. . Network of 3,000+ native linguists Croatian 0.07 6 8,168 . Diverse expert subject knowledge Latvian 0.32 34 10,537 We deliver languages. Worldwide. . Comprehensive quality assurance . Experience in handling large Estonian 1.32 130 9,812 volumes with short deadlines +1 212 858 7561 Lithuanian 9.48 1034 10,904 [email protected] www.skrivanek.com Figure 4: Review Index per language.

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quality of the translation was measured applied. Other aspects of localization and the content will create a “reviewed” ver- as a score of 93 out of 100, indicating content creation could be measured by sion of the content. And the comparison good final quality. a Review Index. The general idea is that of this reviewed content to the initially if you measure the amount of changes translated content provides a Review Other applications made to something, you could evaluate Index. In this case, the In-Country Review The concept of a Review Index was the impact made by the review and make Index is a measurement of how many applied in Figure 6 to the review of trans- informed decisions about the return on changes resulted from the In-Country lated content. However, this is not the investment of the review task. This may Review. This may be used as an indication only review where the concept could be answer questions such as “How much of the thoroughness of the reviewer or the post-editing effort am I making on my quality of the translation. It is also pos- machine translation (MT)?” or “Is it worth sible to trend the Index, to spot potential doing proofreading?” and others. special cases. If the in-country reviewer ■ MT Post-Review Index — can be usually contributes 47 changes per 1,000 used for content that was machine trans- words, and in one project the contribution lated. Although MT can be used without drops to 4 changes per 1,000 words, this any review for gisting applications, in may prompt questions or indications such Machine many cases the content goes through as “Did the reviewer have enough time to a post-review process to improve the do the review?” or “A change in translator Translation quality to acceptable levels. These levels resulted in fewer changes.” may include a basic level, which requires ■ Proofreading Index — can be used in the a minimum of post-editing to make the to measure the impact that the task of content intelligible, and a human level, proofreading has on the quality of the Production where MT can be considered as a starting deliverable, supporting decisions if this point to produce a human-quality trans- task is worth having, for example. lation. In that case, a heavier post-review International standards call this task Pipeline effort is required. The index would com- by different names, and the acronym pare the reviewed (post-reviewed) version TEP (translation/editing/proofreading) of the content to the raw output from MT. is relatively well-known in the industry. Register now! The index measures the effort added to Here we are considering that there is one amta2010.amtaweb.org the review to achieve a certain quality. task that reviews the content looking at The post-review effort is usually sub- source and target content, and there is jective, since the answer to “What is intel- another review after that that looks only Case studies of ligible-quality level?” may vary from one at the target content. The latter is what commercial and post-reviewer to another, and even the we call proofreading. Some people in the government MT users assessment of what is human-level quality industry contend that proofreading is a may vary. With the MT Post-Review Index step that is not necessary. By measuring Translation it is possible, for example, to compare the the Proofreading Index and consistently Technology Showcase review efforts from different post-reviewers obtaining low numbers, this would be a on the same content to achieve the same numerical evidence that proofreading is level. The average effort can be used as not adding value. Tutorials and a measurement for that level. This could ■ Established Score Index — here are workshops reduce or eliminate the subjectivity usu- indexes based on the number of errors and you can’t miss ally associated with the task. An example on the categorization and weighting of of the measurement of an MT Post-Review these errors, leading to a score that repre- Index could be: basic level = 30 changes sents the quality of the content reviewed. per 1,000 words, and human-quality level The LISA QA model and the SAE are scores = 150 changes per 1,000 words. This would of this kind. Language service providers allow the estimation of cost and time nec- have internal scores, and customers have essary for an MT post-review task. their versions as well. The issues found go ■ In-Country Review Index — can through an arbitration process, and a final Invited presentations by: be used to measure the impact that the result is agreed. Jost Zetzsche in-country review has on the quality of How can we measure the impact Nick Hartmann the deliverable and also could serve as of these language quality reviews on Jaap van der Meer an indication of the quality of the trans- the overall content? There is an initial Philipp Koehn lation. When translated content goes to translated content. This content goes Tom Haines In-Country Review, the feedback from through the language quality review, the the in-country reviewer may be marked issues are reported and arbitrated, and a in a separate report or in the content final conclusion about them is reached itself. The implementation of the sugges- between the reviewer, the translator and tions from the in-country reviewer into the customer. The implementation of

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■ Source Language Quality Index Quality of Review Final quality Possible conclusion — before being translated, a certain translation Index of translation content is created, and it is reviewed. Therefore, it is possible to use a Review Index to evaluate the impact of the review The reviewer saved the day, bringing Low High High in the content creation environment. The a poor translation to a good quality resulting numbers may be an indication of a good writer, a good reviewer or something else. This removes a great deal The initial translation was already of the subjectivity around the process, for High Low High good, and the reviewer did not example by giving the review to different have to add much to that reviewers, or by giving the work of differ- ent writers to the same reviewer. Poor translation and even a lot of review Low High Low changes did not make it much better Conclusion The use of a Review Index can give a deeper visibility into the translation and Low Low Low Poor translation and poor review review work. A language service provider can use it to have a better insight into the quality of its translators and reviewers or Many preferential changes into the quality of other language provid- High High High made by the reviewer ers working for them. In combination with a measurement of final quality, this index can help identify any risk that affected the Figure 6: Quality scenarios with translation and review. translation or the review. The review is widely considered a crucial step towards arbitrated results of this review creates issues. A global issue may affect, for the quality of the delivered translation, so a reviewed version of the content. By example, 1,348 words of the content, we should try to know more about it, by comparing the reviewed version with while an individual issue may affect one measuring it. The concept of a numerical the initial translation, it is possible to or two words. The use of an Established index obtained from the comparison of a define a Review Index for the impact of Score Index allows capturing a number “before review” and “after review” version the Established Score. that represents the total benefit resulting of content may have many applications, It is interesting to note that in these from the language quality review. A pos- some of them outlined here. The Review reviews sometimes the issues are reported sible outcome of the measurement could Index concept may fit into the scenario, once, counted once and marked as global be Established Score Index = 89 changes as the industry becomes more and more issues. Other issues may be individual per 1,000 words. metrics-driven. M

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48-51 Picinini #114.indd 51 8/12/10 9:57:00 AM Basic terminology Basics

This section offers terminology, abbreviations, acronyms and other resources, especially as related to the content of this issue. For more definitions, see the Glossary section of MultiLingual’s annual Resource Directory and Index (www.multilingual.com/resourceDirectory).

computer-aided translation (CAT). Computer techno­ #collegefootball, #Beatles or #oilspill. Hashtags can occur logy applications that assist in the act of translating text anywhere in a tweet. from one language to another. internationalization (i18n). Especially in a computing content management system (CMS). A system used context, the process of generalizing a product so that it to store and subsequently find and retrieve large amounts can handle multiple languages and cultural conventions of data. CMSs were not originally designed to synchronize (currency, number separators, dates) without the need for translation and localization of content, so most of them have redesign. been partnered with globalization management systems. lingua franca. A language that is adopted as a common crowdsourcing. The act of taking a task traditionally language between two speakers whose native languages performed by an employee or contractor and outsourcing it are different. to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form localization (l10n). In this context, the process of adapting of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to a product or software to a specific international language or develop a new technology, carry out a design task, refine culture so that it seems natural to that particular region. True an algorithm, or help capture, systematize or analyze large localization considers language, culture, customs and the char­ amounts of data. acteristics of the target locale. It frequently involves changes to the software’s and may change keyboard use eXtensible Markup Language (XML). A programming and fonts as well as date, time and monetary formats. language/specification pared down from SGML, an interna­ tional standard for the publication and delivery of electronic machine translation (MT). A technology that trans­ information, designed especially for web documents. lates text from one human language to another, using terminology glossaries and advanced grammatical, syntactic globalization (g11n). In this context, the term refers to and semantic analysis techniques. the process that addresses business issues associated with launching a product globally, such as integrating localization personalization. Sometimes referred to as one­to­one mar­ throughout a company after proper internationalization keting, personalization involves using technology to accom­ modate the differences among individuals. Web pages are and product design. personalized based on the characteristics — interests, social gross domestic product (GDP). One of the measures of category, context and so on — of an individual. Personalization national income and output for a given country’s economy. is a means of meeting the customer’s needs more effectively The most common approach to measuring and quantifying and efficiently, making interactions faster and easier, and, con­ GDP is the expenditure method: GDP = consumption + gross sequently, increasing customer satisfaction and the likelihood investment + government spending + (exports ­ imports). of repeat visits. hashtags. A community­driven convention for adding quality assurance (QA). The activity of providing evidence additional context and metadata to tweets. Hashtags have needed to establish confidence among all concerned that the hash or pound symbol (#) preceding the tag, for example, quality­related activities are being performed effectively. All

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those planned or systematic actions necessary to provide a sentence­by­sentence basis. The database matches source adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy to target language pairs. given requirements for quality. QA covers all activities from Translation Memory eXchange (TMX). An open stan­ design, development, production and installation to servic­ dard, based on XML, that has been designed to simplify and ing and documentation. automate the process of converting translation memories return on investment (ROI). In finance, the ratio of money from one format to another. gained or lost on an investment relative to the amount of money translation unit (TU). A segment of text that the trans­ invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be referred lator treats as a single cognitive unit for the purposes of to as interest, profit/loss, gain/loss or net income/loss. establishing an equivalence. The translation unit may be rule-based machine translation (RBMT). The application a single word, a phrase, one or more sentences, or even a of sets of linguistic rules that are defined as correspondences larger unit. between the structure of the source language and that of the tweet. A post or status update on Twitter, a micro­ target language. The first stage involves analyzing the input blogging service. Tweets are text­based posts of up to 140 text for morphology and syntax — and sometimes semantics characters displayed on the author’s profile page. — to create an internal representation. The translation is then Twitter. A social networking and microblogging service, generated from this representation using extensive lexicons owned and operated by Twitter, Inc., that enables its users with morphological, syntactic and semantic information, and to send and read other user messages called tweets. large sets of rules. Unicode. The Unicode Worldwide Character Standard search engine. A program designed to help find informa­ (Unicode) is a character encoding standard used to repre­ tion stored on a computer system such as the World Wide sent text for computer processing. Originally designed to Web or a personal computer. A search engine allows a user support 65,000, it now has encoding forms to support more to ask for content meeting specific criteria — typically those than one million characters. containing a given word, phrase or name — and retrieves a list of references that match those criteria. Resources search engine optimization (SEO). A set of methods aimed at improving the ranking of a website in search engine list­ OrganizatiOns ings. SEO is primarily concerned with advancing the goals of a American Translators Association (ATA): www.atanet.org; and website by improving the number and position of its organic its Language Technology Division: www.ata­divisions.org/LTD search results for a wide variety of relevant keywords. Project Management Institute: www.pmi.org simship. A term used to refer to the simultaneous ship­ Translation Automation User Society (TAUS): ment of products, usually software, in different languages or www.translationautomation.com with other distinguishing differences in design. Publications source language (SL). A language that is to be trans­ Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th edition), Raymond . lated into another language. Gordon, Jr.: www.ethnologue.com/print.asp statistical machine translation (SMT). A machine trans­ The Guide to Translation and Localization, lation paradigm where translations are generated on the published by Lingo Systems: www.lingosys.com basis of statistical models whose parameters are derived Index of Chinese Characters With Attributes, George E. Bell, from the analysis of bilingual text corpora. SMT is the 2006: www.multilingual.com/eBooks translation of text from one human language to another Globalization Handbook for the Microsoft .NET Platform, Parts I - IV, by a computer that learned how to translate from vast Bill Hall, 2002­2006: www.multilingual.com/eBooks amounts of translated text. Translation: Getting It Right, published by the ATA: www.atanet.org/docs/getting_it_right.pdf target language (TL). The language that a source text is being translated into. Translation: Standards for Buying a Non-Commodity, published by the ATA: www.atanet.org/docs/translation_buying_guide.pdf translation. The process of converting all of the text or words from a source language to a target language. An references understanding of the context or meaning of the source lan­ CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ guage must be established in order to convey the same mes­ the­world­factbook sage in the target language. Omniglot — Writing Systems & Languages of the World: translation memory (TM). A special database that stores www.omniglot.com previously translated sentences which can then be reused on Unicode, Inc.: http://unicode.org

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52-53 Basics #114.indd 53 8/12/10 9:57:55 AM AssociAtions 54 AutomAted trAnslAtion 54 conferences 54 and grammar checkers, electronic references, and multi- desktop publishing 54 lingual search engines. Licensing to hundreds of entities, enterprise solutions including Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and the Canadian enterprise solutions 54 government, has created a worldwide user base of over 200 internAtionAlizAtion tools 55 million people. Integrating natural language processing, mul- tilingual search and statistical methods, NoBabel™ Translator locAlizAtion services 55 is a major breakthrough in computer-aided translation. Without human interaction, NoBabel creates new translation multilinguAl softwAre 57 memories (TMs) as well as cleans, grades and increases lever- Across Systems speech technologies 58 aging of existing TMs. Automatic and accurate, the easy-to- Multiple Platforms use NoBabel Suite maintains a familiar work environment. Languages All Description Across Language Server is the trAnslAtion mgmt systems 58 With NoBabel you lower costs and increase productivity. world’s leading independent linguistic supply chain tech- KCSL Inc. 150 Ferrand Drive, Suite 904, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3E5 nology. It provides a central software platform for corporate trAnslAtion services 58 Canada, 416 -222-6112, Fax: 416-222-6819, E-mail: customer_info language resources and translation processes. The all-in-one @kcsl.ca, Web: www.kcsl.ca See ad on page 7 enterprise solution includes a translation memory, a termi- trAnslAtion tools 60

Buyer’s Guide Buyer’s nology system, and powerful PM and workflow control tools. It allows end-to-end processing so that clients, LSPs and conferences translators collaborate seamlessly. Open interfaces enable ssociAtions the direct integration of CMS or ERP solutions, among oth- A The 34th Internationalization & ers. Across clients access the Language Server via LAN, WAN Globalization and Localization Association Unicode Conference or web, or as a hosted service. Across customers include Description The Globalization and Localization Association Description The Internationalization & Unicode Conference Volkswagen, HypoVereinsbank, SMA Solar Technology and (GALA) is a fully representative, nonprofit, international (IUC) is the premier technical conference focusing on mul- hundreds of other leading companies. industry association for the translation, internationalization, tilingual global software and web internationalization. Each Across Systems GmbH D-76307 Karlsbad, Germany, 49-7248-925- localization and globalization industry. The association gives IUC features a variety of tutorials and sessions that cover cur- 425, E-mail: [email protected] Across Systems Inc. Glendale, CA 91203, 877-922-7677, E-mail: members a common forum to discuss issues, create innova- rent topics related to web and software internationalization, [email protected], Web: www.across.net See ad on page 64 tive solutions, promote the industry and offer clients unique, globalization and Unicode. Internationalization and Unicode collaborative value. experts, implementers, clients and vendors are invited to at- Globalization and Localization Association 23 Main Street, tend this unique conference. The interactive format makes Andover, MA 01810, 206-329-2596, Fax: 815-346-2361, E-mail: the IUC a great place to meet and exchange ideas with leading [email protected], Web: www.gala-global.org experts during birds-of-a-feather gatherings, find out about the needs of potential clients, or get information about new TAUS and existing Unicode-enabled products in the exhibit hall. Lingotek Collaborative Translation Platform Description TAUS is a think tank for the translation industry, The Unicode Consortium P.O. Box 391476, Mountain View, CA 94039- Multiple Platforms undertaking research for buyers and providers of translation 1476, 781-444-0404, Fax: 781-444-0320, E-mail: kenberk@omg Languages Supports all language pairs Description Lingotek services and technologies. Our mission is to increase the size .org, Web: www.unicodeconference.org/ml See ad on page 29 is a software company in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have and significance of the translation industry to help the world developed the world’s first Collaborative Translation Platform. communicate better. To meet this ongoing goal, TAUS sup- The software platform incorporates translation memory ports entrepreneurs and principals in the translation industry storage and retrieval, terminology management, machine to share and define new strategies through a comprehensive translation, project management and workflow engine, all program of events, publications and communications. sitting on top of a massive data warehouse of centralized lan- TAUS Oosteinde 9-11, 1483 AB De Rijp, The Netherlands, 31-299-672- 028, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.translation guage data. We deliver our software to our customers in a tra- automation.com Localization World ditional enterprise software install and software-as-a-service Description Localization World conferences are dedicated (SaaS) model via the web. In many ways, we’re enterprise to the language and localization industries. Our constitu- software with a social twist. We’re focused on delivering com- AutomAted trAnslAtion ents are the people responsible for communicating across mercial grade productivity software to companies to engage the boundaries of language and culture in the global mar- their social and customer networks. ketplace. International product and marketing managers Lingotek 15 Scenic Pointe Drive, Suite 325, Draper, UT 84020, participate in Localization World from all sectors and all 877-852-4231, 801-727-1580, Fax: 801-727-1581, E-mail: sales geographies to meet language service and technology pro- @lingotek.com, Web: www.lingotek.com See ad on page 51 viders and to network with their peers. Hands-on practitio- ners come to share their knowledge and experience and to Human Language Technologies learn from others. See our website for details on upcoming Multiple Platforms and past conferences. Languages Arabic, Bahasa, Dari, Dutch, Egyptian dialect, Localization World Ltd. 319 North 1st Avenue, Sandpoint, ID 83864, English, Farsi/Persian, French, German, Hebrew, Iraqi dia- 208-263-8178, Fax: 208-263-6310, E-mail: info@localizationworld Advanced Leveraging Translation Memory lect, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, .com, Web: www.localizationworld.com See ad on page 4 Multiple Platforms Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Traditional Languages All Unicode languages Description MultiCorpora, Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Description AppTek is esktop publishing celebrating ten years as the language technology experts, is a developer of human language technology products with d dedicated to providing language technology solutions to a complete suite for text and speech (voice) processing and enterprises, language service providers and governments. Its recognition. AppTek’s product offerings include hybrid (rule- flagship product, MultiTrans, pioneered the advanced lever- based + statistical) machine translation (MT) and automatic aging TM concept that features hassle-free document pair speech recognition (ASR) for a growing list of more than alignment, recycles past translations with context at a granu- 23 languages; multilingual information retrieval with query lar level and provides an on-the-fly view of how ambiguous and topic search capabilities; name-finding applications; and terms were previously translated. MultiTrans is an innova- integrated suites providing ASR and MT in media monitor- Your closest DTP team wherever you are tive client-server application with a best-in-class terminol- ing of broadcast and telephony speech, as well as handheld Languages 70+ including Middle Eastern and Asian lan- ogy management system, designed to transform translation and wearable speech-to-speech translation devices. guages Description Global DTP, s.r.o., based in the Czech expenses into a growing repository of reusable assets. The AppTek 6867 Elm Street, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22101, 703-394-2317, Republic, offers professional multilingual desktop publish- Translation Bureau of Canada, UNESCO, Toys “R” Us, Kraft, Fax: 703-821-5001, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.apptek.com ing and media engineering solutions to the localization HSBC and many others have selected MultiTrans as their industry. Since 2003, we have been delivering high-quality, multilingual asset management solution. cost-effective services worldwide. With extensive localiza- MultiCorpora 102-490 St. Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec, tion experience and knowledge of the pre-press, media and J8Y 3Y7 Canada, 819-778-7070, 877-725-7070, Fax: 819-778- publishing industries, our team of 20 in-house professionals 0801, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.multicorpora.com handles more than 400 projects every year. Our core ser- See ad on page 27 vices are multilingual desktop publishing and Flash, video and HTML engineering. Search industry events at KCSL Inc. Global DTP, s.r.o. Videnska 125a, 619 00 Brno, Czech Republic, Languages All Description KCSL has developed many suc- 420-533-440-021, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.global- www.multilingual.com/calendar cessful commercial products, including international spell dtp.com See ad on page 22

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English into Greek and Greek into English. EuroGreek’s aim is to provide high-quality, turnkey solutions, encompassing a whole range of client needs, from plain translation to desk- top/web publishing to localization development and testing. Over the years, EuroGreek’s services have been extended to STAR Group Alliance Localization China, Inc. (ALC) cover most subject areas, including German and French into Multiple Platforms Languages Major Asian and European languages Description Greek localization services. All of EuroGreek’s work is pro- Languages All Description STAR Group was founded in ALC offers document, website and software translation and duced in-house by a team of 25 highly qualified specialists Switzerland 26 years ago with the exclusive focus of facili- localization, desktop publishing, and interpreter services. and is fully guaranteed for quality and on-time delivery. tating cross-cultural technical communications in all lan- We focus on English, German and other European languages EuroGreek Translations Limited guages. The company has grown to be the largest privately to and from Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian London 27 Lascotts Road, London, N22 8JG UK Athens EuroGreek House, 93 Karagiorga Street, Athens 16675, held multilingual information technology and services languages. We use TRADOS, CATALYST, SDLX, Transit and other CAT tools, as well as DTP tools including Corel- Greece, 30-210-9605-244, Fax: 30-210-9647-077, E-mail: production@ company in the world with 42 offices in 32 countries. Its eurogreek.gr, Web: www.eurogreek.com See ad on page 47 advanced technology developments have propelled STAR to DRAW, FrameMaker, FreeHand, Illustrator, InDesign, Page- its current market position. Core services: information man- Maker, Photoshop and QuarkXPress. Our customer-oriented agement, translation, localization, publishing, on-demand approach is supported by strong project management, a team printing, consulting. Core technologies: Transit (translation of specialists, a large knowledge base and advanced method- memory), TermStar/WebTerm (terminology management), ologies. We always provide service beyond our customers’ GRIPS (product information management), MindReader expectations at a low cost and with high quality, speed, (context-sensitive authoring assistance), STAR CLM (corpo- dependability and flexibility. iDISC Information Technologies rate language management), STAR CPM (corporate process Alliance Localization China, Inc. Suite 318, Building B, Number 10 Languages Spanish (all variants), Catalan, Basque, Galician Xing Huo Road, Fengtai Science Park, Beijing 100070, P.R. China, 86- management), i-KNOW (competence management), and Description iDISC, established in 1987, is a privately-held 10-8368-2169, Fax: 86-10-8368-2884, E-mail: customer_care@ translation company based in Barcelona that focuses on SPIDER (Interactive Electronic Technical Manual). allocalization.com, Web: www.allocalization.com STAR Group Wiesholz 35, 8262 Ramsen, Switzerland, 41-52- localization into all variants of Spanish (European, Latin 742-9200, 216-691-7827, E-mail: [email protected], Web: American, USA and Neutral) and the other languages spoken www.star-group.net See ads on pages 11, 20, 34, 46 in Spain (Catalan, Basque and Galician). Services range from translation and localization to engineering, testing, DTP and consulting. Specialization fields are software localization, internAtionAlizAtion tools technical and telecom documentation, ERP, automotive and Beijing E-C Translation Ltd. related marketing material. We have all commercially avail- Languages Asian Description Beijing E-C Translation Ltd., able tools and experience using many different proprietary one of the largest localization and translation companies in customer platforms and solutions; internal workflow portal- China, focuses mainly on software and website localization; based tools to reduce management costs and increase quality, technical, financial, medical, patent and marketing transla- consistency and on-time deliveries; and continuous support Advanced Leveraging Translation Memory tions; and desktop publishing services. We use TRADOS, to the client PMs and process optimization to achieve the best Multiple Platforms SDLX, CATALYST, TTT/PC, STAR Transit, Robohelp, project results and establish long-term honest partnerships. Languages All Unicode languages Description MultiCorpora, FrameMaker, PageMaker, InDesign, QuarkXPress, MS Office iDISC Information Technologies Passeig del progrés 96, 08640 celebrating ten years as the language technology experts, is and other graphic and DTP tools. Having more than 150 full- Olesa de Montserrat, Barcelona, Spain, 34-93-778-73-00, Fax: 34- dedicated to providing language technology solutions to time employees located in Beijing, Taipei, Singapore, Seoul, 93-778-35-80, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.idisc.es enterprises, language service providers and governments. Its Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenyang and Chengdu, we can han- flagship product, MultiTrans, pioneered the advanced lever- dle English/German into and from Simplified Chinese/Trad- aging TM concept that features hassle-free document pair itional Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Thai. We guarantee that alignment, recycles past translations with context at a granu- clients’ projects will be handled not only by native speakers, lar level and provides an on-the-fly view of how ambiguous but also by topic specialists. Clients can expect and will terms were previously translated. MultiTrans is an innova- receive high-quality services, on-time delivery and low cost. tive client-server application with a best-in-class terminol- Beijing E-C Translation Ltd. 2nd Floor, Hua Teng Development ogy management system, designed to transform translation Building, No. 23, Xi Huan Bei Road, BDA, Beijing Economic- expenses into a growing repository of reusable assets. The Technological Development Zone, Beijing 100176, P.R. China, 86- Translation Bureau of Canada, UNESCO, Toys “R” Us, Kraft, 10-67868761, Fax: 86-10-67868765, E-mail: service@e-cchina HSBC and many others have selected MultiTrans as their .com, Web: www.e-cchina.com multilingual asset management solution. MultiCorpora 102-490 St. Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec, J8Y 3Y7 Canada, 819-778-7070, 877-725-7070, Fax: 819-778- 0801, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.multicorpora.com See ad on page 27 Binari Sonori ocAlizAtion ervices Description Binari Sonori is a leading provider of interna- l s tional media localization services since 1994, with a unique team of project managers, studios, engineers and selected lin- guists spread over 30 countries worldwide. Solid procedures and transparent relationships with clients guarantee high quality of text, audio and video, timeliness and flexibility. We are accustomed to working for global companies that need to reach a broad range of markets with their media and ADAPT Localization Services entertainment products. Specialized support for any media Languages More than 50 Description ADAPT Localization localization activity, from effective audio localization to Services offers the full range of services that enables clients international content creation. Highly professionalized one- to be successful in international markets, from documen- stop shop supporting today’s media localization projects. tation design through translation, linguistic and technical Binari Sonori S.r.l. Viale Fulvio Testi, 11, 20092 Cinisello Balsamo, localization services, pre-press and publication management. Milano, Italy, 39-02-61866-310, Fax: 39-02-61866-313, E-mail: Serving both Fortune 500 and small companies, ADAPT [email protected], Web: www.binarisonori.com See ad on has gained a reputation for quality, reliability, technological page 38 competence and a commitment to customer service. Fields of specialization include diagnostic and medical devices, IT/telecom and web content. With offices in Bonn, Germany, Stockholm, Sweden, and Barcelona, Spain, and a number of certified partner companies, ADAPT is well suited to help cli- ents achieve their goals in any market. ADAPT Localization Services Clemens-August-Strasse 16-18, 53115 EuroGreek Translations Limited Bonn, Germany, 49-228-98-22-60, Fax: 49-228-98-22-615, E-mail: Language Greek Description Established in 1986, EuroGreek [email protected], Web: www.adapt-localization.com Translations Limited is Europe’s number one Greek local- See ad on page 41 izer, specializing in technical and medical translations from

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e-learning solutions and online applications. Other globaliza- tion services include quality assurance testing (hardware and software), integration of content management solutions, inter- pretation (170+ languages), cultural training and assessment, and internationalization consulting. Lingo Systems has never Interpro Translation Solutions caused a late release. No other firm makes this claim. For a free MO Group International Languages All modern languages Description Since 1995, copy of our award-winning book, The Guide to Translation and Languages 40+ Description MO Group International is a Interpro Translation Solutions has been providing world- Localization — Communicating with the Global Marketplace, Brussels-based company with many years of experience in class language translation, software and web content lo- visit www.lingosys.com or call 800-878-8523. translation, localization and testing in 40+ languages. We are calization, desktop publishing and project management Lingo Systems 15115 SW Sequoia Parkway, Suite 200, Portland, OR dedicated to achieving high-quality translations for all your solutions, enabling our clients to deliver multilingual prod- 97224, 503-419-4856, 800-878-8523, Fax: 503-419-4873, E-mail: multilingual needs in a wide range of fields such as video ucts to their global audiences. Adapting products, services [email protected], Web: www.lingosys.com See ad on page 8 games, software, automotive, medical and marketing collat- and corporate messaging to each potential target market’s eral translation. With our streamlined localization and QA language requires an experienced team of professionals in processes, experienced project managers, and native transla- order to get it done right the first time because you don’t tors, testers and QA professionals, your translation/localiza- always get a second chance. Our mission is to assist our cli- tion projects will be a success on budget and on time every ents in gaining revenue, market share and user satisfaction time. We strive to become a strong and proactive partner by providing the highest quality and most comprehensive LinguaGraphics — Multilingual DTP; Web, with all our clients. language services available in the market. MO Group International Gulledelle 94, 1200 Brussels, Belgium, 32- Interpro Translation Solutions 4200 Commerce Court, Suite 204, Flash and Software Localization; Engineering 2-771-19-12, Fax: 32-2-772-20-97, E-mail: [email protected], Lisle, IL 60532, 630-245-7150, Toll-free: 877-232-3277, Fax: 630- Languages All, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, Web: www.mogi-translations.com 245-7155, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.interproinc.com Greek, Hindi, Hebrew, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Punjabi, Russian, Thai, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese Description LinguaGraphics is a leading provider in the area of multilingual desktop publishing and web/soft- ware/Flash localization engineering. Our seasoned DTP professionals and localization engineers are working with the latest tools on top-of-the-line equipment to produce a wide Moravia Worldwide The Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish partner range of projects in InDesign, FrameMaker, QuarkXPress, Languages Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish, French, Languages All Description Moravia Worldwide is a lead- Photoshop and Flash. We specialize in typesetting high-end ing globalization solution provider, enabling companies Italian, German, Spanish, English Description Intertrans- marketing and communications-type material in difficult lations Ltd is a leading Greek translation and localiza- in the information technology, e-learning, life sciences and rare languages at very competitive rates. For a quote on and financial industries to enter global markets with high- tion service provider, established in 1995, with extensive your next project, please visit us at www.linguagraphics.com. experience in medical and pharmaceutical products and quality multilingual products. Moravia’s solutions include You have our word that we will never compromise on quality localization and product testing services, internationaliza- equipment, legal, financial, mechanical, automotive, engi- and do the utmost to make your project a success. neering, electrical, technical, software, media and market- tion, multilingual publishing and technical translation. LinguaGraphics, Inc. 194 Park Place, Brooklyn, NY 11238, 718- ing, tourism, health and nutrition, the food industry and so Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems 623-3066, 718-789-2782, E-mail: [email protected], Web: and Symantec are some of the companies that depend on. Among the tools used to ensure the quality of our pro- www.linguagraphics.com jects are TRADOS, Transit, SDLX and other CAT tools and on Moravia Worldwide for accurate, on-time localiza- for DTP, InDesign, PageMaker, Photoshop, QuarkXPress, tion. Moravia Worldwide maintains global headquarters Illustrator, CorelDRAW and FrameMaker. We proudly have in the Czech Republic and North American headquarters acquired the following certifications: ISO 9001:2000, DIN in California, with local offices and production centers in EN 15038:2006-08 and are members of ATC, GALA and Ireland, China, Japan and throughout Europe. To learn more, LISA. We provide free samples upon request. please visit www.moraviaworldwide.com Intertranslations Ltd 4 El. Venizelou Street, 176 76 Athens, Greece, Logrus International Corporation Moravia Worldwide 30-210-92-25-000, Fax: 30-210-92-25-500, E-mail: a.arvanitis@ Languages EE, EA, ME, WE, rare languages Description USA 199 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, intertranslations.gr, Web: www.intertranslations.gr Logrus offers a full set of localization and translation services 805-557-1700, 800-276-1664, Fax: 805-557-1702, E-mail: info@ moraviaworldwide.com, Web: www.moraviaworldwide.com for various industries, including top-notch software engi- Asia 86-25-8473-2772, E-mail: [email protected] neering and testing and DTP for all languages, including Europe 420-545-552-222, E-mail: [email protected] bidirectional and double-byte ones. The company is proud Ireland 353-1-216-4102, E-mail: [email protected] of its unique problem-solving skills and minimal support Japan 81-3-3354-3320, E-mail: [email protected] New markets for your See ad on page 44 products and solutions requirements. The company offers all European and Asian languages as well as many rare languages through its offices Janus Worldwide Inc. and established long-term partners. With its production site Languages Russian, ex-USSR and Eastern European lan- in Moscow, Russia, Logrus provides a winning combination guages Description Janus provides translation, localization, of quality, experience and affordability. With over 14 years Your Vision. Worldwide. DTP and linguistic consulting for Russian, Ukrainian and in business, the company has received multiple awards for other European languages. Our deep expertise, flexibility, excellence from its long-time customers, including IBM, diversity and exceptional value of services are recognized by Microsoft, Novell, Oracle and others. Worldwide Localization and Translation many industry-leading customers and partners worldwide. Logrus International Corporation Suite 305, 2600 Philmont Ave- Languages 60+ Description Net-Translators specializes in Our uniqueness is a solid team of the best professionals in nue, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, 215-947-4773, Fax: 215-947-4773, software localization and translation into more than 60 lan- all relevant areas — localization engineers, language special- E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.logrus.ru guages. Our localization, internationalization and multilin- ists, QA officers, DTP and software engineers, and more. We gual testing services instill the confidence that the product is do it end-to-end — from servers to handhelds, from ERP to accurately and consistently localized, translated and tested. automotive solutions and from interface specifications to legal Our translators are industry specific and have amassed a notices. Janus is ISO 9001:2000 certified. Company activities wealth of experience in their particular areas of expertise. including translating, localizing, DTP and linguistic consulting We have a proficient in-house multilingual staff of project were subjected to audit. Loquant Localization Services managers, QA professionals and DTP specialists who provide Janus Worldwide Inc. Derbenevskaya nab., 11B, Office 113, Moscow Languages English, Brazilian Portuguese Description Loquant world-class service to our customers. Our staff remains on the 115114, Russia, 7-495-913-66-53, Fax: 7-495-913-66-53, E-mail: bases its operations on the experience of its founders and cutting edge of CAT, QA and DTP technology. Net-Translators [email protected], Web: www.janus.ru See ad on page 10 collaborators, professionals who closely follow the ongoing is ISO 9001:2000 certified, and we maintain branch offices in evolution of technology and the latest processes in interna- the United States, United Kingdom and Israel. tionalization and localization of information. Adhering to Net-Translators Worldwide rigorous processes that were developed by the software local- USA 1250 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 210, Sunnyvale, CA 94085- ization industry during the last few decades, Loquant is able 4037, 408-501-8839, Fax: 408-212-8956, E-mail: salesusca@ net-translators.com to prepare the most diverse products for the primary world Europe 44-20-3393-8385, E-mail: [email protected] markets. To do this, Loquant counts on the best project man- Israel 972-3-5338633, Fax: 972-3-5336956, E-mail: salesil@net- Lingo Systems, Translation & Localization agers, native translators, engineers and desktop publishers to translators.com, Web: www.net-translators.com See ad on page 42 Languages 170+ Description Lingo Systems, powered by guarantee a quality control recognized internationally by the Language Line Services, provides customer-focused sole-source main international standards organizations. solutions for global companies in 170+ languages. We special- Loquant Localization Services Rua Luís Carlos Prestes, 410/114, Stay current. Stay informed. ize in the translation and localization of technical documen- 22775-055, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 55-21-2104-9597, Fax: 55-21- www.multilingual.com/news tation, software, multimedia applications, training materials, 2104-9597, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.loquant.com

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technical translation, PTIGlobal provides turnkey localiza- Ushuaia combines state-of-the-art technology with top- tion services in 30 languages simultaneously for software, web notch experienced native translators, editors and software applications, embedded devices, wireless applications and engineers. Our mission is to work together with our clients, gaming technology. Projects employ our expertise in end-to- thereby creating a flexible, reliable and open relationship end project management; internationalization consultation; for success. Greek Localization Experts Since 1983 glossary development; native language translation; multilin- Ushuaia Solutions Rioja 919, S2000AYK Rosario, Argentina, 54- gual web content management; translation memory mainte- 341-4493064, Fax: 54-341-4492542, E-mail: info@ushuaia Languages Greek Description Founded in 1983, ORCO S.A. solutions.com, Web: www.ushuaiasolutions.com See ad on page 37 is a leading translation and localization service provider, spe- nance; localization engineering; linguistic and functionality cializing in software localization and technical translations testing; desktop publishing; complete multilingual video and (IT, telecommunication, medical, automotive, engineering, audio services; as well as onsite managed services. marketing, financial). ORCO deals primarily with English- PTIGlobal 4915 SW Griffith Drive, Suite 200, Beaverton, OR 97005, 503-297-2165, 888-357-3125, Fax: 503-352-0729, E-mail: info@ into-Greek projects, although translation from several other ptiglobal.com, Web: www.ptiglobal.com European languages can be taken aboard. With its experi- enced in-house personnel, ORCO offers all language services at the highest quality level, including localization, product VistaTEC Languages All Description VistaTEC is a leading provider testing, engineering, DTP and so on. Our client list includes of globalization services and specializes in the localization many IT companies such as Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft and and testing of enterprise, mobile and desktop applications. Oracle, as well as international corporations such as Abbott, VistaTEC provides translation, technical consulting, engi- Ford, Nokia, Sony, Kaeser and Hitachi. Localization and Globalization Partner neering and testing during the design, development and ORCO S.A. 6, Vas. Sofias Avenue, 106 74 Athens, Greece, 30-210-723- marketing cycles of software products. VistaTEC has head- 6001, Fax: 30-210-7249124, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.orco.gr Languages 50 languages including English, Chinese, Japa- nese, Korean Description Saltlux was founded in 1979 as the quarters in Dublin, Ireland, and satellite offices in the United first localization and globalization service provider in South States. Additional information on VistaTEC is available at Korea. With over 30 years of accumulated experience and www.vistatec.ie know-how, Saltlux is an ideal and esteemed global techni- VistaTEC cal communications partner. We specialize in multilingual Europe VistaTEC House, 700 South Circular Road, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, Ireland, 353-1-416-8000, Fax: 353-1-416-8099, E-mail: translation and DTP, technical writing services, software [email protected], Web: www.vistatec.ie Pangeanic & PangeaMT localization, web globalization and so on. We provide our USA East 2706 Loma Street, Silver Spring, MD 20902, 301-649-3012, Languages Spanish (all variants) and all Spanish state official clients with a one-stop production line, starting with the Fax: 301-649-3032, E-mail: [email protected] languages, EN/FIG/other EU languages, all other languages authoring of documents and going on to localizing, de- USA West 131 Shady Lane, Monterey, CA 93940, 831-655-1717, signing and editing, digital publishing, two-way electronic Fax: 831-372-5838, E-mail: [email protected] including Asian ones on demand Description Pangeanic is manual production and database establishment. With this See ad on page 17 an independent Spanish LSP with sister offices in Tokyo and business direction, we are striving to grow into and excel as a Shanghai working for the global enterprise market (major leader in global technical communications. accounts in the electronics and computing fields) as well as Saltlux, Inc. 5~7F, Deok-il Building, 967 Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, for smaller organizations, MLVs and cross-national institu- Seoul 135-848, South Korea, 822-379-8444, Fax: 822-379-5996, tions. We offer a wide range of GILT services always adher- E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.saltlux.com ing to stringent quality standard procedures — EN 15038 and ISO 9001. Pangeanic has an experienced team devoted to MTPE (post-editing of machine translation output). WhP International PangeaMT, our customized open-source SMT technology, Languages All European and major Middle Eastern and Asian enables us to offer domain-specific MT engines that are fully languages, including local variants Description Established tailored to the clients’ needs, helping them become more in 1994, WhP offers a wide range of linguistic and tech- productive cost-effectively and rapidly. nological solutions, designed to match each client’s needs. TOIN Corporation WhP has over several years become a renowned player in Pangeanic Trade Center, Profesor Beltrán Báguena 4, Suite 106, Languages Japanese, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, 46009 Valencia, Spain, 34-96-338-5771, Fax: 34-96-338-5772, the localization world, with a yearly average growth rate of Korean, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese and European languages 20% since 2005. By committing huge efforts and best prac- E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Web: Description TOIN is a solidly established Asian MLV with www.pangeanic.com, www.pangea.com.mt See ad on page 18 tices, WhP has gained the loyalty of international accounts more than 45 years’ experience. Our services encompass in the fields of IT and telecom, industry, business and web translation, localization engineering, DTP, MT post-editing, applications, training and e-learning, video games and workflow/process consulting and project management. more. WhP has its headquarters in France with local offices TOIN offers global reach and exceptional strength in Asia, and production centers in China and Slovakia. with headquarters in Tokyo and additional operations in the WhP Espace Beethoven BP102, F06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, United States, Europe, China and Korea. The company has France, 33-493-00-40-30, Fax: 33-493-00-40-34, E-mail: enquiry been helping Global 1000 companies in industries such as @whp.net, Web: www.whp.net Promova automotive, IT, telecommunications, life sciences, e-learning, Languages Major European languages into Russian and computer software/gaming, semiconductors and consumer Ukrainian Description Promova is a translation and local- products. multilinguAl softwAre ization company based in Ukraine providing a full scope of TOIN Corporation language-related services including translation, localization, Japan Shiba 1-chome Building, 1-12-7 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo QA check, DTP, linguistic testing, copywriting and consult- 105-0014 Japan, 81-3-3455-8764, Fax: 81-3-3455-6514, E-mail: ing. We focus on large-scale, long-term projects for clients [email protected], Web: www.to-in.co.jp with unique requirements. We offer professionalism and ISO North America Minneapolis, MN, 612-926-0201, E-mail: aki-ito@ 9001-certified quality, integrate best-technology solutions on to-in.co.jp, Web: www.to-in.com the market, and ensure effective management and best time Europe London, UK, 44-20-8644-8685, E-mail: michael-stephenson @to-in.co.jp, Web: www.to-in.com Unitype Multilingual Software — frames while adhering to even the tightest budgets. China Shanghai, 86-21-3222-0012, E-mail: [email protected], Promova Velyka Goncharivska 9, 18, Kharkiv 61052, Ukraine, 38-057- Web: www.to-in.com Type a World of Languages 760-14-13, Fax: 38-057-372-89-27, E-mail: [email protected], Languages Over 100 languages Description Unitype multi- Web: www.promova.com.ua lingual products — Global Writer, Global Office and Global Suite — run on Microsoft Windows and include over 100 modern and ancient languages — Middle East, Far East, India, other Asia, Africa, Europe and more. Unitype Global Writer is a standalone multilingual word processor; is fully bidirectional; creates Unicode-compliant documents; and Ushuaia Solutions imports/exports international encoding standards. Unitype Languages Spanish (all varieties), Portuguese (Brazil) Des- Global Office is a plug-in product allowing the user to type PTIGlobal cription Ushuaia Solutions is a fast-growing Latin American Unitype languages directly into Microsoft Office Word, Ex- Languages All commercial languages for Europe, Asia company providing solutions for translation, localization and cel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Unitype Global Suite includes and the Americas Description PTIGlobal is committed to globalization needs. Ushuaia Solutions is focused on being both Global Writer and Global Office. See www.unitype.com developing ongoing, long-term partnerships with its clients. creative and proactive to meet tight time frames with a high- for more information and a complete language list. This means a dedication to personal service, responsive- quality level and a cost-effective budget. Customizing its pro- Unitype, LLC 116-A Mockingbird Lane, Lockhart, TX 78644, 512-620- ness, high-quality output, and sensitivity to clients’ cost cesses, Ushuaia assures project consistency and technical and 0384, Fax: 512-233-0094, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www goals and timelines. Backed by over 30 years of experience in linguistic accuracy, thus reducing clients’ time-to-market. .unitype.com

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Project management, invoicing, quotations, ISO 9001 reports in business since 1992. Our clients come from all areas of speech technologies and CRM are the main fields covered by the system. Designed industry, but for the past few years our work priorities have by translation and localization professionals and created by concentrated on the following areas of expertise: life sciences, the best IT team, this powerful tool will reduce the time spent legal, IT, cell phone, automotive and technical industries. Our on repetitive tasks and increase a company’s effectiveness. work has focused on Eastern European languages. We work XTRF ul. Walerego Sławka 3, 30-653 Krak´ow, Poland, 48-12-2546- according to the EN 15038 standard. We utilize the following 126, Fax: 48-12-2546-122, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.xtrf.eu programs in our work: MemoQ server, Trados SDL Synergy, Across Language Server and Transit XV. Biro 2000 d.o.o. Jerebova ulica 14, 1270 Litija, Slovenia, 386-1-513- AppTek trAnslAtion services 18-20, Fax: 386-1513-18-21, E-mail: [email protected], Web: Languages Arabic, Bahasa, Dari, Dutch, Egyptian dialect, www.biro2000.si See ad on page 13 English, Farsi/Persian, French, German, Hebrew, Iraqi dialect, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu Description AppTek is a developer of human language technology products with a complete suite for text and speech (voice) processing and recognition. Arcadia Translations AppTek’s product offerings include hybrid (rule-based + sta- Languages English, Spanish (all variants), Brazilian Portu- CETRA Language Solutions guese Description Arcadia Translations, a translation agency tistical) machine translation (MT) and automatic speech rec- Languages All Description CETRA gives you peace of mind based in Argentina, provides translation and localization ognition (ASR) for a growing list of more than 23 languages; because it delivers high-quality, on-time, cross-cultural com- services from English into Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. multilingual information retrieval with query and topic search munications and professional, friendly, responsive service. We value quality, words and communication, and we offer capabilities; name-finding applications; and integrated suites CETRA follows the ASTM Quality Assurance in Translation integral linguistic solutions that include a wide range of ser- providing ASR and MT in media monitoring of broadcast and and Language Interpretation Services standard guides. As vices such as translation, editing and proofreading of docu- telephony speech, as well as handheld and wearable speech- a member of the US delegation to ISO, CETRA is actively mentation, software localization, web solutions, voice-over to-speech translation devices. involved in developing an international translation qual- and DTP services. We have an experienced in-house staff AppTek 6867 Elm Street, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22101, 703-394-2317, ity standard. CETRA is involved in the language industry Fax: 703-821-5001, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.apptek.com who guarantees our high standard of quality. Our values as at the highest level, with the company president serving in a company are cost-effectiveness, responsiveness, customer- leadership positions at the American Translators Association, oriented service, reliability and fast turnaround. rAnslAtion American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation, t Arcadia Translations Marcelo T. de Alvear 1671 piso 8 dpto 50, and Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs. Buenos Aires 1060, Argentina, 5411-5353-3390, Fax: 5411-5353- AnAgement ystems 3395, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.arcadia-t.com CETRA, Inc. 7804 Montgomery Ave., Suites 8-10, Elkins Park, PA m s 19027, 215-635-7090, 888-281-9673, Fax: 215-635-6610, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.cetra.com

Aspena Plunet BusinessManager Languages CEE Description Since its establishment in 1995, Diskusija – Baltic and CEE languages provider Multiple Platforms Aspena has built up a stable position as a reliable language Languages Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Bosnian, Bulgar- Languages All Description Plunet BusinessManager is the service provider with focus on CEE languages. Besides pro- ian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slo- complete management solution for the translation and viding first-class translations and interpreting in more than venian, Ukrainian Description Founded in 1993, Diskusija documentation industry. On a web-based platform, the sys- 50 languages, we specialize in large-scale localization projects specializes in technical translation and localization services tem includes business management as well as process and and DTP. The guiding factors of our business strategy are from Western European languages into all Central and East- document management and integrates translation software, quality, speed and flexibility. As an ISO 9001:2008 certified ern European languages with a strong focus on Baltic lan- financial accounting systems and existing software environ- company, we are continuously striving to provide services guages (Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian). Our experienced ments for LSPs, translation and documentation departments, that meet ever higher standards. team is able to handle projects of any complexity. We guar- organizations, institutions and government agencies. Plunet Aspena, s.r.o. Gorkého 15, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic, 420-541- antee a professional and personal approach to our clients’ BusinessManager impresses with its significant time and 242-186, Fax: 420-541-424-217, E-mail: [email protected], Web: needs, the use of state-of-the-art industrial technology, qual- money savings, unrivalled high adaptability to individual www.aspena.com See ad on page 25 ity management at all stages of a project, on-time delivery, workflows, optimal quality control and effective project, competitive rates and flexibility. We have extensive expertise time and contact management. Functions include quotation in the following industries: IT, software, hardware, telecom- costing, order/job/workflow management, schedule manage- munications, medical equipment, medicine, pharmacology, ment, document management, invoicing, financial reports, accounting, finance, automotive industry, electronics, legisla- contact management and customer acquisition. tion, and EU documents. Plunet GmbH Prenzlauer Allee 214, 10405 Berlin, Germany, 49-30- Diskusija Seimyniskiu g. 1A, Vilnius LT-09312, Lithuania, 370-5- 322971340, Fax: 49-30-322971359, E-mail: [email protected], Web: 2790574, Fax: 370-5-2790576, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.plunet.de BENEXtra Korea Languages Chinese, Japanese, Korean Description BENEXtra www.diskusija.lt Korea, one of the top quality localization/translation vendors in Asia, enjoys an excellent reputation and wide recognition among world-class players such as Dell, IBM, Microsoft, CA, Google, Autodesk, Cisco and the California state government. With our hands-on, practical experience in IT marketing collateral translation, software localization, Asian language XTRF Translation Management Systems localization, and our accumulated expertise in audio trans- Eriksen Translations Inc. Multiple Platforms lation, we are ready to work together with you, helping you Languages All Description Eriksen Translations Inc. is a Description XTRF is a global management system for trans- sustain growth and create and capture new value. leading provider of multilingual services, including transla- lation agencies. With built-in cutting-edge Java technology, BENEXtra Korea Second Floor, Gukdong Building 1163-7, Gaepo- tion, interpreting, typesetting, project management, web XTRF is a flexible, customizable and web-based software, Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-960, Korea, 82-2-572-4987, localization and cultural consulting. For over 20 years, enabling web access for a company’s suppliers and custom- Fax: 82-2-3462-4987, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www Eriksen has helped a broad range of organizations in both ers. It’s designed to help translation companies to streamline .benextra.com See ad on page 14 the public and private sectors excel across print, desktop and all of their daily activities, and it guarantees smooth manage- web environments in the domestic global marketplace. With ment of the company while reducing administrative costs. a worldwide network of over 5,000 linguists, a commitment to leading technologies, and an in-house staff dedicated to tailoring our proven project management process to the 2010 Resource Directory available at individual needs of each client, Eriksen is your globalization Biro 2000 — Your partner for Eastern partner. www.multilingual.com European Languages Eriksen Translations Inc. 32 Court Street, 20th Floor, Brooklyn, NY /resourceDirectory Languages Eastern European languages Description Biro 11201, 718-802-9010, Fax: 718-802-0041, E-mail: [email protected], 2000 is located in the heart of Europe (Slovenia). We’ve been Web: www.eriksen.com

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companies in Central Europe. Having the capacity to offer services in virtually all world languages, we specialize in Central and Eastern European languages. LIDO-LANG spe- cializes, above all, in technical translation, but, thanks to our network of over 2,000 translators specializing in different Follow-Up Translation Services branches, we also work in IT and telecommunication; adver- Languages English, Brazilian Portuguese Description Our tising and marketing; economics and finance; law; technol- Neotech company was founded in 1989, with the purpose of offer- ogy and industry; medicine and science. The quality of our Languages From major European languages into Russian, ing pure translation work in technical and scientific areas. services is enhanced by over 50 years’ experience in the trans- Ukrainian, Kazakh and Azeri Description Neotech is the Along the way, we have developed several other skills in the lation sector and by the quality certificates of ISO 9001 and largest translation company in Russia and CIS countries, translation world, which involve specialized knowledge of EN 15038 standards. offering a full range of linguistic services to global corpora- IT resources and localization tools. We also master patent LIDO-LANG Technical Translations ul. Walerego Slawka 3, 30-653 tions. Neotech is the first translation company on the Russian translations in fields such as biochemistry, mechanics, medi- Kraków, Poland, 48-12-2546-123, Fax: 48-12-2546-122, E-mail: market that has certified its quality management system to cine, pharmaceutics, oil and gas, and telecommunications. offi[email protected], Web: www.lidolang.com international ISO 9001:2000 standards. Neotech’s key areas of Today, we are capable of taking on virtually any translation/ expertise are in the oil and gas industries, auto manufacturing, localization project from English into Brazilian Portuguese, medical, information technologies and telecommunications. and we treat each and every customer with the maximum The business techniques introduced and applied by the com- care and attention. Our clients’ trust is our greatest asset and pany currently serve as the best practice within the transla- our greatest pride! tion industry. Neotech is leading the drive to continuously Follow-Up Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 351, Sala 815, Rio de Janeiro, develop translation market standards and to implement new RJ 22410-003 Brazil, 55-21-3553-7223, Fax: 55-21-3553-7223, levels of business and interpersonal communications into the E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.follow-up.com.br LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc. Languages All Description LinguaLinx is a full-service trans- translation industry within Russia and abroad. lation and localization agency specializing in the adaptation Neotech 23/1 Matrosskaya Tishina, Moscow, Russia, 7-495-787- of marketing and communications materials into most of the 3331, Fax: 7-495-787-1189, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www world’s languages. Our enterprise language solutions range .neotech.ru from glossary development and maintenance to translation memory deployment and global content management. In ForeignExchange Translations today’s highly competitive global environment, it is becoming Languages 42 languages and growing Description Foreign- increasingly difficult to differentiate one translation agency Exchange is the global leader in providing translation ser- from another. We stand apart by taking the most proactive vices to life sciences companies. We work with many of the approach to quality in the industry, utilizing stringent project biggest pharmaceutical companies, medical device manu- management procedures, offering one of the most aggressive Rheinschrift Übersetzungen, Ursula Steigerwald rate structures available and applying a sincere dedication to facturers, biotech companies and CROs. Our proprietary Language German to/from major European languages providing the best possible service. Multilingual Compliance Process combines expert linguists, Description Professional globalization requires experience. best-of-breed technology and measurable translation qual- LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc. The LinguaLinx Building, 122 Over the past two decades, we have developed into a top ity in a process that is both robust and completely scalable, Remsen Street, Cohoes, NY 12047, 518-388-9000, Fax: 518-388- 0066, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.lingualinx.com international company specializing in the precise tuning of ensuring your projects are finished on time and within bud- your documentation and texts to the standards and mentali- get. For more information on how we can help meet your ties of the German-speaking world. Our strength lies in our translation requirements or for a quote on your next transla- work for well-known software and hardware manufacturers. tion project, please contact us directly or visit our website at Furthermore, we also offer traditional translation services for www.fxtrans.com the business, technology, legal and medical sectors. Our team ForeignExchange Translations 411 Waverley Oaks Road, Suite 315, of competent employees provides the very best quality within Waltham, MA 02452, 866-398-7267, 781-893-0013, Fax: 781- the respectively agreed time frame, even if matters are a little 893-0012, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.fxtrans.com Mc LEHM Language Services more urgent. Languages All European languages Description With over Rheinschrift Übersetzungen, Ursula Steigerwald Rolshover 12 years’ experience, Mc LEHM Language Services is the Strasse 99, 51105 Cologne, Germany, 49-221-80-19-28-0, Fax: 49- legal and financial reference point in the Spanish market. We 221-80-19-28-50, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www render services all over the world, and over 1,500 companies .rheinschrift.de See ad on page 47 place their trust in us. Our core values are client satisfaction, quality and fast turnarounds. These form the driving force KERN Global Language Services behind our 24/7 service, after-sales attention and personal- Your language partner ized approach to our clients. Languages All Description KERN Global Language Services Mc LEHM Language Services García de Paredes, 88 Bajo Dcha, 28010 is a leading provider in the area of global communication Madrid, 34-91-702-27-97, Fax: 34-91-702-31-37, E-mail: mc-lehm with over 35 offices worldwide. With more than 30 years of @mc-lehm.com, Web: www.mc-lehm.com See ad on page 9 experience, our services include translation and interpreting Translation and localization into Polish in all languages; software, multimedia and website localiza- Language Polish Description Ryszard Jarza Translations tion; terminology management; multilingual desktop pub- is an established provider of specialized Polish translation, lishing; and individual and corporate language training in all localization and DTP services, primarily for life sciences, IT, major languages. KERN has established itself as a preferred automotive, refrigeration and other technology sectors. We insourcing and outsourcing solution provider for language work with multilanguage vendors and directly with docu- services. We serve clients in all industry sectors, including Medical Translations Only mentation departments of large multinational customers. the automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, IT and Languages All European languages and Japanese Description Our in-house team (12 full-time specialists) is comprised financial services industries. To learn more about us, please MediLingua is one of the few medical translation specialists of experienced linguists with medical, engineering and visit www.e-kern.com in Europe. We only do medical. We provide all European IT backgrounds. We guarantee a high standard of quality KERN Global Language Services languages (36 today and counting) and Japanese as well as while maintaining flexibility, unparalleled responsiveness USA 230 Park Avenue, Suite 1517, New York, NY 10169, 212-953- translation-related services to manufacturers of devices, and reliability. 2070, Fax: 212-953-2073, E-mail: [email protected] Ryszard Jarza Translations ul. Barlickiego 23/22, 50-324 Wrocław, Europe Kurfuerstenstrasse 1, 60486 Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 49- instruments, in vitro diagnostics and software; pharma- ceutical and biotechnology companies; medical publishers; Poland, 48-601-728018, Fax: 48-71-3414441, E-mail: info@jarza 69-7560730, Fax: 49-69-751353, E-mail: [email protected] .com.pl, Web: www.jarza.com.pl See ad on page 47 China Right Emperor Commercial Building, Unit B, 11/, 122-126 national and international medical organizations; and other Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong, SAR China, 852-2850-4455, customers in the medical sector. Projects include the transla- Fax: 852-2850-4466, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.e-kern.com tion of documentation for medical devices, surgical instru- ments, hospital equipment and medical software; medical information for patients, medical students and physicians; Participate in discussions scientific articles; press releases; product launches; clinical about the global language trial documentation; medical news; and articles from medi- cal journals. industry at MediLingua Medical Translations BV Poortgebouw, Rijnsburger- LIDO-LANG Technical Translations weg 10, 2333 AA Leiden, The Netherlands, 31-71-5680862, Fax: 31- Languages All Description LIDO-LANG Technical Trans- 71-5234660, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www www.multilingualblog.com lations, based in Poland, is one of the leading translation .medilingua.com See ad on page 47

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adapting technical documentation and marketing communi- MadCap delivers solutions optimized for Microsoft Win- cation materials covers a wide range of industries, including dows, Visual Studio, and the .NET environment. Free trial biomedical and health care; building and construction; finan- downloads are available at www.madcapsoftware.com cial services; food and agriculture; high-tech and manufactur- MadCap Software, Inc. 7777 Fay Avenue, La Jolla, CA 92037, Skrivanek s.r.o. ing; and hospitality and leisure, as well as government and 858-320-0387, 888-623-2271, Fax: 858-320-0338, E-mail: info nonprofit organizations. Using a total quality management @madcapsoftware.com, Web: www.madcapsoftware.com See ad Languages All, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe on pages 2-3 Description Skrivanek is a world leader in providing a wide process and state-of-the-art software and equipment, our team range of language services, specifically translations spanning a of foreign language professionals delivers the highest quality multitude of languages and the effective localization of prod- translations in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. ucts on international markets. Established in 1994, Skrivanek TripleInk 60 South 6th Street, Suite 2600, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 612-342-9800, 800-632-1388, Fax: 612-342-9745, E-mail: info@ has managed to dominate the European translation market, tripleink.com, Web: www.tripleink.com creating a network of 53 branches covering 14 countries. Its Advanced Leveraging Translation Memory well-stocked staff of professional translators, experienced Multiple Platforms project managers and dedicated software engineers and DTP Languages All Unicode languages Description MultiCorpora, specialists has enabled Skrivanek to provide outstanding qual- celebrating ten years as the language technology experts, is ity translation and localization services in any conceivable lan- dedicated to providing language technology solutions to guage and volume, creating an enviable clientele representing enterprises, language service providers and governments. Its major leading corporations in various industries. Skrivanek’s flagship product, MultiTrans, pioneered the advanced lever- quality of service is backed by EN ISO 9001:2001 certification. The Specialists aging TM concept that features hassle-free document pair Skrivanek s.r.o. International Project Management Centre, Na Languages From major European languages into Polish De- alignment, recycles past translations with context at a granu- Dolinách 22, CZ 147 00 Prague 4, 420-233-320-560, Fax: 420-241- scription Wratislavia Translation House Sp. o.o. is a Polish lar level and provides an on-the-fly view of how ambiguous 090-946, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.skrivanek.com translation agency established in Wrocław in 2005, comprised terms were previously translated. MultiTrans is an innovative See ad on page 49 of 15 in-house translation professionals and in cooperation client-server application with a best-in-class terminology with numerous seasoned, properly selected and prepared management system, designed to transform translation translators. Our comprehensive service portfolio includes expenses into a growing repository of reusable assets. The translation, editing, proofreading and project management in Translation Bureau of Canada, UNESCO, Toys “R” Us, Kraft, the following fields: IT, technical, legal, financial and business. HSBC and many others have selected MultiTrans as their We are experts in SAP translation — SAP systems, documen- multilingual asset management solution. SpanSource tation, training materials — and related services, including MultiCorpora 102-490 St. Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec, Focus on Spanish and Portuguese, other langu- preparation of documentation using SAP Tutor. Graphic ser- J8Y 3Y7 Canada, 819-778-7070, 877-725-7070, Fax: 819-778- Languages 0801, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.multicorpora.com age combinations through partners Description SpanSource vices include DTP, transcreation and graphic preparation. Our See ad on page 27 provides translation, localization and related services from strict quality procedures and usage of CAT tools allow us to Western European languages into all regional varieties of deliver high-quality products within tight deadlines. Spanish as well as other language combinations through our Wratislavia Translation House Sp. z o.o. ul. Powstan´c´ow S´l. 28/30, network of select SLV partners. Our domain focus is on health 53-333 Wrocław, Poland, 48-1-33-50-512, Fax: 48-71-33-50-511, care and life sciences, software and IT, heavy machinery and E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.wth.pl automotive, legal and financial, oil and gas, corporate train- ing and educational materials. Our comprehensive service trAnslAtion tools SYSTRAN portfolio also includes unparalleled desktop publishing and Multiple Platforms multimedia localization engineering support for e-learning Languages 52 language combinations Description SYSTRAN materials. 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Advertiser index Across Systems GmbH 64 ICWE GmbH 12 Pangeanic 18 ADAPT Localization Services 41 Internationalization & Unicode Conf. 29 ProZ.com 63 Arabize 32 Janus Worldwide Inc. 10 Rheinschrift Translation Services 47 Aspena, s.r.o. 25 KCSL Inc. 7 Ryszard Jarza Translations 47 The Association for Machine Lingo Systems 8 Skrivanek s.r.o. 49 Translation in the Americas 50 Lingotek 51 STAR Group 11, 20, 34, 46 BENEXtra Korea 14 Localization World 4 SYSTRAN Software, Inc. 43 Binari Sonori S.r.l. 38 MadCap Software, Inc. 2-3 tekom 23 Biro 2000 d.o.o. 13 Mc LEHM Language Services 9 TM Europe 35 E4NET 55 MediLingua Medical Translations BV 47 Ushuaia Solutions 37 EuroGreek Translations Limited 47 Moravia Worldwide 44 VistaTEC 17 The Gilbane Conference 62 MultiCorpora 27 Global DTP, s.r.o. 22 Net-Translators 42

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Takeaway 8/12/10 10:01:26 AM MultiLingual Erin Vang September 2010 on a language-industry issue, send a Takeaway Over dinner in Korea one night I learned what I’d never noticed one night Over dinner in Korea familiar with Chinese food until North Americans think we are Erin Vang, PMP, is principal pragmatist with GlobalPragmatica. She is principal pragmatist with GlobalPragmatica. PMP, Erin Vang, spent 20 years in statistical software development and is passionate about facilitative leadership. offer your own To contribution to [email protected] strikes me about Japan, for example, is its quiet, compact order quiet, compact order strikes me about Japan, for example, is its home and upon returning attention to manners, and elaborate big, messy and casual Japan I’m always startled by how from of taking a sip of a beer as think nothing We we Americans are. just “Cheers!” it’s soon as it arrives, and if we pause for a toast, no attention to whose with much noisy banging of glasses and walk down office hallways talking We glass clinks higher or lower. into to shout something sarcastic likely more in full voice; we’re busy; whether they’re than to notice our colleagues’ open doors offices, we’ve people’s by the time we’ve gone past three and Japanese comparable space than a dozen walked past more it is messier. would use, and all of office workers music, dance and theater: of sampling Korean in years before long history is full of Korea’s millennia of sadness. that it reflects clas- deprivation. Korea’s loss and great cultural invasions, wars, wary sadness of a people the reserved, sical and folk arts express in every direction. for tens of centuries by neighbors ravaged attending an arts festival in North America would be A Korean frolicking laughing, dancers smiling, actors stunned to see singers of all types making joyful eye contact with their and performers and perseverance loss, record arts remember audience. Korean about daily challenges. offer perspective thing. with the real confronted we actually visit China and are by us- making the most of scarcity is a cuisine of poverty, Theirs using plants we call weeds, ing parts of the animal we call scraps, . North America the outside from Norway: Culture Norway: Culture it? Isn’t

In 1998 I planned a trip to Norway and pickedIn 1998 I planned a trip to Norway I’ve since had the privilege of traveling quite a bit in Asia and I’ve since had the privilege of traveling Well, duh! That’s normal, isn’t it? duh! That’s Well, up in the snow belt of mention that I grew I should probably I enjoyed the book, but it felt inside-out and back- I enjoyed the book, but it felt inside-out and All kinds of behaviors to me somehow. wards ex- normal were details that I considered cultural completely bizarre. plained as if they were the book wentIt was astonishing to me that, for example, up a copy of Elizabeth Su-Dale’s up a copy of Elizabeth Su-Dale’s and etiquette Shock! A survival guide to customs

www.multilingual.com I I learned more about which Norwegian customs seem odd to an I learned more Asian and in turn what the Asian norms are. What particularly manager. as a localization program Europe Norwegian and German immigrants and still populated mostly by Norwegian and German immigrants their descendants, who tell Ole and Lena jokes and would call a Norwegian-Swedish couple a “mixed marriage.” It turns out that up with a Norwegian sensibility about things. Eventually, I grew I noticed that the author of this book was an Asian woman who So it was had married a Norwegian man and moved to Norway. inside-out for me! Ostensibly it described Norwegian customs, but open-faced sandwiches, a variety of side dishes, perhaps some fruit soup, and at least an assortment of cookies if not cake for will be leftover dumplings and ham, there lucky, dessert. If you’re sliced and fried up together. part by North America in a series of small towns settled in large to the trouble of explaining that you shouldn’t ask Norwegians of explaining that you to the trouble expect Norwegians shouldn’t how much money they make. You or even for that to divulge much about themselves to strangers home, you family’s matter to friends. When visiting a Norwegian af- and only relent at first of food and drink should decline offers doesn’t an offer of “coffee” made. Further, are offers ter repeated with “Coffee” means a full lunch spread, mean a hot beverage. 61-62 TakeawayVang.indd 61 Takeaway

and employing elaborate techniques and starting to blur in the age of national earth for? What good are the flowers richly layered flavors to make them all and global television, radio and internet, going to do anyone? Where I’m from, palatable. We might think that American but the potential for cultural conflict and we make a tuna noodle casserole with food would seem simple or decadent misunderstanding is far greater than many crumbled potato chips on top, and we to Chinese visitors, but in fact they are people realize. bring it over to the house, hot and ready as perplexed by our foods as we are by When I left my Norwegian enclave in to serve, in a dish carefully labeled with theirs. Our foods come in big hunks and the snow belt and arrived in Chicago for our last name on a piece of masking separated piles — think of a dinner at a graduate school, I couldn’t figure out why tape. We do this whether we like tuna typical US steakhouse where your plate my friends never offered me anything noodle casserole or not because it’s what comes with a huge hunk of meat, an to eat or drink when I visited. It wasn’t is done. enormous baked potato and a pile of until some fellow Norwegian-Lutheran I spent about a dozen years working vegetables. Minnesotans from my alma mater joked for SAS and traveling frequently to cor- What most North Americans probably about our common tendency to turn porate headquarters in Cary, North Caro- don’t consider is that we are all outsiders things down three times before accepting lina. Much later I found a book on the in North America. Our planet’s third larg- that I realized what the problem was. My American South and finally began to un- est landmass after Asia and Africa is home friends did offer me drinks and snacks, derstand some of my experiences there. to 20 nations besides Canada, the United but out of Norwegian-American habit, I When my colleagues had responded to States and Mexico. We are all outsiders in always said something along the lines of one of my ideas with “Bless your heart!” 22 of those countries. US history is one “Oh, I’m fine — no, thank you.” But that they weren’t gratefully commending my of myriad immigrant and native cultures was that! My friends didn’t realize that cleverness. They were saying, approxi- settling tiny pockets of a vast continent. the first three times you offer something mately, “Oh, you poor baffled freak. You Cultures have blended to a certain extent don’t count! just don’t understand anything.” When with those of the other peoples in the And when a friend of yours grieves a they called me “Yankee,” it wasn’t a slight vicinity, and the resulting regional identi- death in the family or is recovering from as I thought; they were just acknowledg- ties persist to the present. The lines are surgery, do you send flowers? What on ing that I was different. M

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62 | MultiLingual September 2010 [email protected]

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64 Across #114 .indd 64 8/12/10 10:03:54 AM