Articles for Translators
and Translation Companies
Translation Industry
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The
Google Translation Center That Was to Be
I remember about a year ago when news reached the public about a "Google Translation Center"? There was a lot of resulting hoopla from translators, tool vendors, and language service providers, and the responsible department at Google took a lot of heat. Back then I managed to talk to one of the folks in charge of the program, and it was one of the coolest conversations I ever had…
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the full article…
XTM
for Language Service Providers
There is a new generation of Computer Assisted Translation (CAT)
tools available based on the latest Web 2.0 technology. These systems
are more open, cheaper, more efficient and easier to use than previous
generation desktop based CAT systems…
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the full article…
Glearch.com
- New Global Search Engine
Globalization Partners International (GPI) has been recognized as
an innovator and talented website localization firm among localization
companies for some time. They may be the only localization company
ever to have won website design awards for their own website…
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the full article…
Translation
Buyers' Views on Technology Independence
In late mid-2008, Common Sense Advisory asked buyers of translation
services for their views on technology independence among their
software and language vendors. Over half the 30-plus respondents
hailed from North America; 35 percent were from Europe; the balance
were scattered across that amorphous continent known as “Rest of
World.”…
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the full article…
Latin
American Language Services Industry Overview
The Latin American language service industry is growing up. A clear
sign of this is that Latin America's first major international industry
event for the translation and localization industry was held in
Buenos Aires in November 2008…
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the full article…
Why
& How We Developed Our Own Translation Management System
When GlobalVision opened its doors for business 12 years ago, we
looked at the state of technology in the language industry. Coming
from software and engineering backgrounds, it was a no-brainer for
us to invest in Translation Memory (TM) tools…
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the full article…
OAXAL
As we see the ever increasing adoption of XML into the publishing
domain, it becomes more obvious that certain things were missing
from the standard perspective. As usual proprietary solutions quickly
appeared to plug the gaps, but with the commensurate draw backs:
lack of openness and transparency…
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the full article…
Open
source translation management system
It is an Initiative that aims to drive the development of GlobalSight
Ambassador, an industry-leading Translation Management System (TMS),
through open collaboration. GlobalSight is a non-captive, vendor-independent
community where participants are free to discuss, discover and build
upon a TMS that can be shared by all…
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the full article…
Currency
Exchange Fluctuation in Localization
Exchange rates have always been a concern in our industry, but in
these past few quarters, many Language Services Providers (LSPs)
have probably been checking the exchange rates of their local currencies
more eagerly than ever…
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the full article…
Supply
and Demand Analysis of Patent Translation
As the internet shortens the intellectual distance between countries,
worldwide patent information becomes easily accessible. In order
to protect novel inventions, it is important to file a patent in
patent offices and distribute patent information online. Since patents
are granted for innovations, patents reflect economic growth of
a country by illustrating creative activities and displaying the
knowledge power of that particular country or region…
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the full article…
Do
We Really Need Translation Standards After All?
The statements made and opinions expressed herein reflect only my
personal views on the topic under discussion. In no way do they
represent or convey the official position or doctrine of any official
body or organization of any country on these matters. And I take
responsibility for any error, inaccuracy, omission, or misjudgement
found herein…
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the full article…
Translations.com
- Alchemy Merger Story
CSN: Tony, I saw it mentioned that the purchase
process for Alchemy was a competitive situation and that Translations.com
was the high bidder. Was there anything else driving the Board’s
decision besides maximizing their investment?…
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the full article…
Meet
CSN's Shaun Daggett
Over the years McElroy Translation has had a close relationship
with one our industry's great resources, ClientSide News. The founder
and CEO of this organization, Shaun Daggett has not only been a
thought leader in the translation/localization industry through
this innovative organization, but has also provided insightful guidance
to McElroy Translation. We thought it would be fun for the readers
of E-Buzz to get to know him as we have”…
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the full article…
Thou
shall have Transparent and Free Translation Management Systems
According to research performed by Common Sense Advisory and published
in Multilingual Magazine in January of 2007, only 14% of 236 surveyed
language service providers (LSPs) claim that many or some of their
clients use TMS. Later in 2007, Ben Sargent of Common Sense Advisory
stated that “the market is developing faster than we predicted”.
Ben added “if they [LSPs] expect to be competitive in 2010,
we recommend that they invest in process automation technology within
the next twelve months.”…
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the full article…
The
evolution of localization tools
Some time ago, only few people knew about software localization
tools, but now such tools have become an essential part of software
development process. This article tells about transformation of
localization software from simple tools developed in-house to powerful
software suites that support multiple platforms and languages, provide
advanced functionality and make software localization affordable
to any company…
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the full article…
Driving
Growth through Entrepreneurship within the Organization
Merger and acquisition activity has dominated corporate growth in
the GILT industry over the past year. One of the companies heavily
involved in the M&A process has been Translations.com. Translations.com
is actually the combination of nine different brands that all operate
harmoniously. The company is financed from its own cash flows, meaning
it has managed to sustain its growth without the aid of outside
investors…
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the full article…
How
Eastern Europe fits into the European Translation Market
As the American CEO of one of the fastest growing localization companies
in Eastern Europe, and having lived in the region for more than
13 years, you might expect a unique perspective. However, my observations
will probably seem quite standard and actually apply to translation/localization
companies all over the world…
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the full article…
Maltese
translation in transition
Some may argue that the word ‘translation’ simply means ‘the skill
of accurate rendering of a document into another language’; however
for most of us who do this work on day to day bases it means more
than this. Apart from providing us our daily bread and butter, it
is an artistic expression that some of us are capable to do while
others don’t…
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the full article…
Consolidation
continues in language services
The business of providing language services like translation and
localization is critical to global commerce, branding, and other
communication. Globalization has made interpretation, dubbing for
TV and film; and translation of documents, software, product information;
and websites commonplace items on any knowledge worker’s task list.1
But as a US $10 billion industry…
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the full article…
At
Arm's Length or Close to the Vest?
The Optimal Relationship between Clients and Vendors
The relationships between vendors and clients go through their ebbs
and flows (more insourcing, followed by more outsourcing, followed
by…). As predictable as the swings of a pendulum, all of us – clients
and vendors – go through our normal gyrations back and forth…
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the full article…
Controlled
language: the next big thing in translation?
Many global organizations are beginning to see the productivity
indicators for their translation and localization processes reach
a plateau. That’s an inevitable fact even for those organizations
that use what’s currently billed as the latest and greatest in translation
technology, such as translation memory with automated workflow components
or globalization management systems…
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the full article…
Translation
Management System: Is Bigger Really Better?
For people who are deciding on a Language Service Provider (LSP)
or which software is needed to manage translation projects within
their organization, there are mounds of data and hype to wade through
before you are able to make your choice…
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the full article…
GMS
Spotlight. Staying ahead of the curve
Working in the translation and localization industry is like constantly
working in a pressure cooker. Customers want to get more content
translated into more languages with higher quality on faster schedules.
And, while the volume of content is scaling up, the costs of translating
that content cannot scale up at the same rates…
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the full article…
Localisation
in The Netherlands: Training and Career Opportunities
This article gives an overview of localisation in The Netherlands,
both in education and industry. The discussion on education is further
narrowed down to the area of training institutes that offer courses
on the translation aspects of software localisation; the discussion
on industry comprises the whole spectrum…
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the full article…
Ranking
of Top 20 Translation Companies for 2006
Since 2005 we have published an annual list of the largest language
service providers (LSP). The guiding principle for which LSPs we
consider for this year’s Top 20 is simple – companies or divisions
of companies that make most of their revenue by providing language
services, be it in written or verbal form, on paper, over the web,
in person, on video, inside software applications, on any continent…
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the full article…
Why
ISO Certification (still) matters
The age-old question of “translation quality” tends to run in cycles
in the language services industry. Regardless if it is at a peak
or a trough, it is always lurking below the waterline. The approaches
used by service providers to “guarantee” quality are myriad, which
is a direct result of the enigmatic nature of the issue…
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the full article…
Why
the Irish Eyes are Still Smiling...
The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. This was the
famous quote of the then aging and now deceased American writer
Mark Twain. But Jeff Brink, Chief Operating Officer of Merrill Brink
International, thought it would be an apt metaphor for the neglect
that Ireland has been getting in the localization field. “All eyes
seemed to have turned to India and China, but Ireland is as strong
as ever,” notes Jeff…
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the full article…
Stopping
the Word Count Insanity
In the localization industry, there is a total lack of consistency
among word or character counts, not only between rival products,
but even among different versions of the same product. The same
can be said for word processing software: word and character counts
differ among vendors and versions. An additional problem is that
none of this software provides any proper verifiable specification
as to how the actual metrics are determined. You have to accept
them as they are…
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the full article…
Deconstructing
an Industry Institution
It was a long day of travel. You finally made it to your hotel,
checked in, and dropped your luggage on the bed. It’s time to decide
whether to order room service and stay in for the night or to venture
out of the room, perhaps to the lobby or lounge, to look for someone
you know that might join you for dinner…
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the full article…
My
Xmas Wish List
Dear Santa,
So far this year I have been a very, very good single language vendor
as I have managed to survive to the dramatic pricing pressures and
budget cuts affecting us, small- and medium-sized localization vendors,
without losing any branches of our tree, although making absolutely
no profit. For this reason, I have a special request for you this
year. But let me tell you a story first…
When
Suppliers Merge: A Survival Guide for Clients
Merger season is upon us once again in the localization industry.
Since last year, there have been several mergers, including SDL
and Trados, which has renewed the M&A buzz. The good news is that
mergers and acquisitions are a sign of a healthy, growing industry.
Such activity demonstrates that companies need greater resources
and capacity to meet the needs of the market…
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the full article…
An
Emerging Giant in the Global L10n Arena
With its notoriously laid-back population and its stunning landscape,
Rio de Janeiro might not seem like a major center for localization.
But what many CSN readers don’t know is that Rio de Janeiro has
long positioned itself as a hub of talented and specialized localization
engineers, developers, and project managers—all with extensive experience
in complex multilingual projects…
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the full article…
A
Localization Revolution
During this month when Americans celebrate their Independence Day,
I think about our industry and the changes that continue to reshape
it, and I see some commonalities resulting from the revolutions
of then and now. Similar to what happened in 1776, our own Internet
revolution has had a liberating effect on economic entities of all
scales and types, regardless of their location. And, similarly,
the consequences of this liberation will take some time to reveal
themselves and to be fully comprehended, developed, and exploited…
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the full article…
Translation
standards - who needs them?
There once was a time when translation was largely undertaken by
individuals, for individuals. Then globalisation arrived, with businesses
seeking to market worldwide, and national populations becoming increasingly
heterogeneous: external and internal globalisation, as it were.
With this, the demand for translation has increased way beyond what
any individuals can provide; to avoid embarrassment and worse, translation
clients have to be certain their message is being conveyed in other
languages…
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the full article…
Bringing
It All Back Home
After years of outsourcing, offshoring, even “nearshoring,” leading
companies are reversing course, bringing their R&D processes,
including localization project management and engineering, back
in house. They’re doing it for the following reasons…
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the full article…
Will
technology ever replace human translation services?
The Internet has connected translation technologies with consumers
at a pace that feels threatening to many of the million plus linguists
around the world. Will they lose their role in globalization?…
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the full article…
Just
Translate Please: a Message to the Industry
Ah, life in the localization industry ain’t easy. For twenty years
now we have been preaching and proclaiming how important and precious
our profession is. And still our customers won’t listen. They keep
driving the prices down and now they also want everything to be
done quicker and quicker. Where does this end?…
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the full article…
Ranking
of Top 20 Translation Companies for 2005
So which are the biggest language service companies? This time around
we decided to list the top 20 translation and localization firms
doing business in North America and Europe. Next, we introduce the
top interpretation firms in the United States as we begin our coverage
of the speech-to-speech market. Finally, we discuss the emergence
of the LSP business in other regions. This report draws on information
from our more detailed research on the language industry…
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the full article…
Translation
of Internal Reports & Communications
In today's global economy, it is not only trade that is international.
It's the companies and their employees too. Therefore it's increasingly
common to have companies with a variety of languages spoken in the
divisions. So perhaps we should expect that translation of internal
reports and communications is a regular occurrence?…
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the full article…
Translation
Accreditation Boards/Institutions in Malaysia
Presently there are no Translation Accreditation Boards in Malaysia.
The researcher was informed of this by Puan Siti Rafiah bt. Sulaiman,
the Head of the Translation Section of the Malaysian National Institute
of Translation (ITNMB). According to her, ITNMB is still in the
process of drawing up translation programmes with the help of translator
certification office-holders in America, New Zealand and Australia,
i.e., the American Translators Association, New Zealand Translators
Association and the Australian Translators Association…
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the full article…
Government Business Intelligence
and Translation
In a recent TIME Magazine article about Iraq there was a disturbing
quote. It regarded the amount of captured documents that military
intelligence could not analyze since they couldn’t be translated.
“You should see the warehouse in Qatar where we have this stuff,”
said a high-ranking former military official. “We’ll never be able
to get through it all.” This highlights the importance of translation
to business intelligence and the public sector…
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the full article…
We
Now Have Concrete Proof: Software Quality Issues Drive International
Sales
Software developers will often spend large sums on Quality Assurance
(QA) and marketing for the U.S. and Canada in order to deliver a
quality product with high sales potential. Product releases may
be accompanied by a media blitz and promotional deals, often followed
by a number of very quick minor product updates to resolve the inevitable
issues that arise after a product hits the market. Most developers
do a good job of making updates and patches available and of responding
to customer feedback, even if they cannot resolve problems…
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the full article…
Ranking of Top 20 Translation Companies for 2004
Financial analysis is the mother of invention. We do not mean cooking
the books, but instead figuring out how to assess entities for which
there is little direct comparison. Faced with a small pool of language
services providers that release financial data, we had a tough time
late last year when we analyzed the business fundamentals of two
publicly-traded LSPs. That made benchmarking these companies against
comparable firms a real chore. On top of that Bloomberg had pronounced
these LSPs to be a computing services and a network products firm,
respectively. That wasn’t a good start for our relative valuation
of LSPs…
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the full article…
The Other Shoe Just Dropped: Lionbridge Acquires Bowne Global
The rumors were true: Lionbridge announced that it is acquiring
Bowne Global Solutions (BGS) "for at least $180 million (excluding
cash received), in a combination of cash and common stock. The transaction
is expected to close in the third quarter of 2005 and is expected
to be accretive to Lionbridge earnings within the first full quarter
of combined operations, excluding restructuring and related expenses…
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the full article…
SDL/TRADOS Reactions Mostly Positive
Last week, I asked for your reaction to the SDL/TRADOS acquisition
and boy did I get an earful, most of it positive and most if it
from translation agencies.
I'm still talking to buyers of translation services to get their
reaction to the deal; so far the responses have ranged from neutral
to positive. Most clients aren't terribly concerned about who makes
their software, just so long as standards are supported, price is
held in line (or reduced), and usability continues to improve…
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the full article…
Lionbridge & Bowne: Waiting For the Other Shoe To Drop
So now that SDL has announced its plans to buy TRADOS, the buzz
around the industry is when Lionbridge is going to finally pull
the trigger on purchasing its larger competitor Bowne Global Solutions
(BGS). Based on what I'm hearing, the question isn't "if" but "when"…
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the full article…
SDL to acquire TRADOS
SDL International, the world's third-largest translation/localization
agency announced today its plans to acquire TRADOS, the maker of
the world's most popular machine translation software. In the translation
industry, this is very big news…
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the full article…
The EU Adds Gaelic; Translation Costs Grow
According to AP article, the European Union has promoted Gaelic,
Ireland's native tongue, to "official" status.
This is good news for Gaelic translators, as the EU will have to
churn out official documents in this language, in addition to the
20 other official EU languages. The EU translation bureau is easily
the world's largest translation agency…
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the full article…
China: A $1.3bn Translation Market?
China's translation market is anywhere between US$1.3bn and US$2.5bn;
this is according to the Translators Association of China. According
to the assocation, there are 3,000 registered translation companies
in China, although the article mentions that there could be more
than 10,000 agencies (primarily mom and pop types) in all…
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the full article…
"Transcreation" Gaining Momentum
The term "transcreation" doesn't exactly roll off the
tongue, but it is getting used increasingly by a new wave of firms
seeking to distance themselves from translation firms…
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the full article…
English is THE Second Language
Newsweek International has published an article on the rise of English
around the world. English instruction is a billion-dollar business
and growing. But what's most fascinating is that non-native English
speakers now outnumber native English speakers…
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the full article…
Translation Problems in Modern Russian Society
The development of trade and industry has always given rise to changes
in the evolution of communities, bringing about new social forms
and stratification of society. This in its turn accelerated the
appearance of businesses and factories, arrival of new professions,
and urbanization. Since the times of Perestroika (which was started
in 1989 by Mikhail Gorbatchev) Russian society has been experiencing
dramatic changes that affected the country's politics, economy and
social life. In the past 15 years people's attitudes to certain
things have changed gradually but profoundly…
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the full article…
The EN-15038 European Quality Standard for Translation Services:
What’s Behind It?
All of us who are involved in the translation and localization world
know perfectly well that we are in a deregulated industry, in which
we institute our own standards, if they are not already imposed
for us by our direct or end customers. We also know that every business
has its own procedures, sometimes similar, and on other occasions
absolutely the opposite. But all these procedures seek the same
purpose: to achieve the translation or localization of a product
with the highest possible quality…
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the full article…
Branding Is a Lot Like... Translation
Are we communicating clearly the value of what we (can) deliver?
Or do we concentrate too much on what we do and how we do it, thus
downplaying the why, the ultimate benefit – which is the value of
enabling organizations to reach and service new regions of the world?
This is an issue for all of us (clients, service and tools providers,
consultants, academics, etc.) because all of us have internal and
external customers and stakeholders who depend on our expertise
to enable them to do business and/or to communicate cross-border.
The discipline of Branding can help. LISA Member Q. Malandrino,
Chairman and CEO of BrandLink Corporation, suggests that Branding
is a lot like… translation. In the following article, he presents
Branding as a discipline and explains why it is important to the
Language Services Industry…
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the full article…
Enterprise-wide Content Convergence
Many companies position themselves as Enterprise Content Management
vendors today. But in the eyes of the analysts, the Enterprise Content
Management market consists of vendors that at least have capabilities
for Web Content Management, Document Management and Digital Asset
Management. Documentum is considered the leader in this space…
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the full article…
Translation Technology Failures and Future
Because of improvements in technology designers, graphic artists,
accountants and many other professionals can accomplish in an hour
what used to take them a day. In other words, technology has improved
their performance by as much as 800% and it has improved the quality
of their work at the same time. So why don't we see 800% performance
gains in the translation industry?…
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the full article…
Europe's Language Industry in 2003
Europe must have one of the world's most heterogeneous language
markets. It includes segments in which people speak one variety
of today's dominant English tongue, a scatter of alert, culture-conscious
speakers of languages with a few million speakers such as Danish,
Dutch and Catalonian, a country such as France with a strong tendency
to legislate language usage, and a mix of both Latin and non-Latin
scripts…
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the full article…
Winning the War of Words (Part 2)
Many translation and localization companies have marched to Washington,
D.C. to try and win business, but with the exception of Language
Weaver (In-Q-Tel, Inc., a private investment company funded by the
CIA, has an investment in Language Weaver), Berlitz and Systran,
they have been largely unsuccessful…
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the full article…
Is Gutenberg Guilty? A South American Adventure Through the Word
Counting Standardization Jungle
I work in Brazil at a translation agency, so we are very accustomed
to handling multiple language pairs, albeit mainly European ones,
e.g., English-Portuguese, Portuguese-Spanish, English-German, etc.
But the world has changed. Just a short time ago, the Brazilian
president went on a six-day trip to China to sign trade agreements
between the two countries – the developing world's two biggest economies…
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the full article…
Machine
Translation: Ingredients for Productive and Stable MT deployments
- Part 3
This is the final part of the first in a new series of articles
on how to achieve successful deployments of machine translation
in various use cases…
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the full article…
EN15038
- Awareness and Implementation
The EUATC conducted a survey ahead of its annual conference in Paris
to gauge awareness and the rate of implementation of EN15038, the
translation standard. It also tested awareness of the standard among
purchasers…
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the full article…
Financial
crisis brings new reality to the translation industry
The economic downturn is bringing a new reality to the profession
according to industry insiders. In a series of off-the-record briefings
given to Communicate by leading figures in the Association of Translation
Companies, a number of key changes appear to be taking place as
a result of the economic downturn…
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the full article…
Prioritising:
key in face of economic downturn
Negative world economic prospects are a great opportunity for focusing
on business aspects that are usually given second priority. So says
Penny Marinou, President of the European Union Association of Translation
Companies, who outlines below how prioritisation can increase comparative
advantage during these tough times…
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the full article…
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