Merlin: Translation News, Services & Directory

Language Translation, Inc.’s over-the-phone interpreting service, SpeakEasy, has been featured in a Wall Street Journal article comparing telephonic interpreting providers.

Here at Language Translation Inc., we were pleased to see our new telephonic interpreting service featured in a recent article from the Wall Street Journal.

Written by Sarah Nassauer, Making Yourself Understood in Beijing compares four telephonic interpreting services, including our service, SpeakEasy. The over-the-phone interpreting systems were tested in various situations in different countries.

Our service got its first try in a New Delhi restaurant:

“In New Delhi, India, we tested Language Translation Inc., a U.S.-based translation and interpretation services that started a 24-hour telephone interpretation services early this year. After sitting down in a restaurant in southern Delhi, we called the interpreter to explain that we wanted a wheat-free recommendation from the waiter. After being connected quickly, we passed the phone to the waiter, who immediately gave it to a superior who spoke to the interpreter for several minutes. After a series of questions and passing the phone back and forth we decided to order a dosa (a large south Indian style crepe), which the waiter promised via the interpreter is "always, always" made with rice. All parties seemed tolerant of the back and forth.”

Subsequent tests of our SpeakEasy telephone interpreting system took place in busy New Delhi streets: a cab trip “went smoothly,’ even though a later call in an autorickshaw did suffer from loud traffic noise — as any phone call could.

The team at Language Translation, Inc. is proud of this thumbs-up from the national press. Located in San Diego, California, we have been providing language services to companies in the USA and abroad since 1989. Don’t hesitate to contact us for all of your  language translation, interpreting and telephonic interpreting needs. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for more information on language services in the business world.

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• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

A slew of North American and European magazines are making it big on the Indian market – but not without major cultural localization efforts.

A recent New York Times article points out how familiar Western magazine titles such as Vogue, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping are selling well to India’s press-hungry middle and upper classes. But although the magazines are published in English, the content is clearly Indian.

“Most of the new Western magazines being published in India are not really Western at all — they are written, photographed, edited and designed almost completely in India,” writes Heather Timmons in In India, Magazines That Translate Well. “Instead of Heloise’s syndicated household hints column, for example, Good Housekeeping runs ‘Ask Mrs. Singh.’ This month, Mrs. Singh tackles how to keep your home fresh during the monsoons that sweep through India during the summer (rubber mats and fresh flowers help).”

This is an excellent example of how localization, or adapting products or written material to a particular culture, can be necessary even within the same language. If Western magazines are hits in India, it’s thanks to their localized content, which has been carefully suited to the target culture.

At Language Translation Inc., our ten-step localization process guarantees flawless international communication. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free quote. We can also help you with all of your language translation needs, from document translation to telephonic interpreting.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for current information about language and technology in the global marketplace.

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• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

In the first of a series about different forms of language interpreting, we will take a look at the tasks involved in conference interpreting.

Conference interpreters work at conferences or large meetings that have non-English-speaking participants. Although their job can involve international business and diplomacy, conference interpreters work for any organization that deals with foreign language speakers.

Conference interpreting requires top-notch interpreters who generally have the ability to interpret from at least two second languages into their native language — for example, a native English speaker may interpret from Spanish and German into English. For some full-time positions, such as those with the United Nations, this qualification is mandatory.

Language interpreting carried out at conferences is often simultaneous; however, at some meetings with a small number of attendees, consecutive interpreting may be used. Usually, interpreters sit in soundproof booths, listening to the speakers through headphones and interpreting what is said into a microphone. The interpreted speech is then relayed to the listener through headsets. When interpreting is needed for only one or two people, the interpreter generally sits behind or next to the attendee and whispers an oral translation of the proceedings.

Language Translation, Inc. offers interpreting services, including conference interpreting and telephonic interpreting, in over 40 languages. We also provide interpretation equipment for all of your needs. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free quote.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for more information about language services and their role in today’s business world.

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• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

A lot of history, for one thing, as we can see in the current controversy about the geographical name that will be given to Taiwanese athletes competing in this summer’s Olympic Games in China.

“There is controversy between Beijing and Taipei about what the athletes of the island will be called at the Olympics.

According to an agreement between the two sides, going back to 1989, the official name of Taiwan at the International Olympic Committee is ‘Zonghua Taibei’, ‘Chinese Taipei’, but the Chinese media call it ‘Zhongguo Taibei’, ‘China’s Taipei’. In Chinese, Zonghua Minguo means ‘Republic of China’, the historical name of Taiwan. The name used in the Chinese media stems from the interpretation that Taiwan is merely a province of China…

The response from Taiwan has been immediate. Yesterday, Henry Chen Ming-cheng, spokesman of the Taiwanese foreign ministry, called ‘entirely unacceptable’ this definition that expresses the idea that Taiwan is part of China.”

(Extract from AsiaNews.it, July 11 2008)

As the 2008 Summer Olympics approach, Language Translation, Inc. is looking forward to bringing you news related to language translation and other linguistic issues surrounding the worldwide sporting event. Located in San Diego, California, we provide translation, interpreting and localization services in over 40 languages. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for more information about translation, interpreting and foreign languages.

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• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

According to a Goldman Sachs study, the current increase in the number of middle class consumers worldwide will become an explosion over the next two decades.

“The world is in the middle of an unprecedented explosion in the middle class, but the pace is set to pick up significantly further. By 2030, an astonishing two billion new people could join the global middle class, having a significant influence on spending patterns, resource use, and environmental and political pressures. This, in fact, dwarfs even the 19th-century middle class explosion in its global scale.

These are the findings of a research report by Jim O’Neill, global chief economist at Goldman Sachs. According to him, global income distribution is getting narrower, not wider. So while there is a lot of focus on widening inequality and the embattled middle class in developed countries, globally the opposite is true.

Defining the middle class as those with incomes between $6,000 and $30,000 in PPP terms, the report says the story of the Expanding Middle can be seen in two related ways. The first is the ‘shift in spending power towards middle-income economies’ (and away from the richest countries), to a point where they may dominate global spending for the first time in decades, as the largest population countries enter the middle-income group…”

(Extract from 2 billion new people may join global middle class by 2030, July 9 2008 ECONOMICTIMES.COM)

Website localization is the key to communicating across borders to new potential customers worldwide. At Language Translation Inc., specialized project managers oversee our ten-step localization process to ensure accuracy and client satisfaction. Our company offers language translation, interpreting and localization services in over 40 languages, including 10 Asian languages.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, to keep up with the latest developments in language, technology and the global economy.

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• Language Translation, Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

A new report indicates that the telephonic interpreting market is increasing, especially in the health care sector.

A new Common Sense Advisory report emphasizes the rise in telephonic interpreting as a solution to linguistic and geographic barriers. Telephone interpreting now represents over a quarter of the world interpreting market, and income from telephonic interpreting is expected to nearly double worldwide by 2012.

According to the research group’s findings, medical interpreting represents about a third of all telephone interpreting carried out in the USA. This is not surprising since hospitals that receive federal funds are required to provide language services to all patients.

 “’The mythical translation device that allows people to communicate effortlessly across written and spoken forms of all languages has yet to be invented,” said report analyst, Nataly Kelly, in a press release. “’Until that time, people can turn to telephone interpreting services that can connect them with a human interpreter for nearly 200 languages in under 30 seconds. With the availability of such services, there is no reason why people should struggle with spoken language barriers.’”

In international business, telephonic interpreting can allow your company to increase customer loyalty and reduce customer service interaction time. It also makes your products or services more accessible to non-English speakers – an important selling point even within the USA. For more information about all types of language interpreting, contact Language Translation Inc. Located in San Diego, California, we have been providing language services domestically and internationally for over 19 years. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for the latest information about the growing importance of culture and language in the business world.

See Also

• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

Some brand names, like Lego, are so familiar that we may never ask ourselves where the word came from. But sometimes the names have real meaning – in a foreign language.

Have you ever thought of translating the brand name Lego? Or Nestle? Dr Haslina Haroon has. Haroon, a lecturer in Translation Studies at a School of Humanities in Malaysia, reveals the meaning of these world-famous brand names in a recent article entitled “Lost in Translation.”

According to Haroon, the term “Lego” derives from two Danish words: “leg godt.” Literally, they mean “play well.”

The language translation of “Nestle” is a different story. The company’s founder was named Henri Nestle, so in that respect, the brand name is not a translation. But the company’s logo, a bird’s nest, was created because “Nestle” also means “nest” in German.

As Dr.Haroon puts it in the conclusion to her article: “Welcome to the fascinating world of translation.”

Betty Carlson

Language Translation Inc. is specialized in language translation, interpretation and localization. Based in San Diego, California, we have been working in the language service industry since 1989. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for current information on language translation and interpretation.

See Also

• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

Increasing global mobility means that translation, interpretation and localization are in demand worldwide – not just in China, Europe and North America.

According to a recent article on the Common Sense Advisory blog, there is a growing demand for language services across the globe – and in a vast array of tongues.

“When you think about countries with a booming demand for language services, places like Uganda and Sri Lanka may not be top of mind,” writes Nataly Kelly in her June 12^th post  entitled Language Services Needed – Wherever There Are People. “However, these nations are experiencing a phenomenon that has become quite common in immigration-”friendly” Europe and the Americas — an increased need for multilingual communication.”

Kelly goes on to analyze the different reasons for the growing demand for communicating across languages, from increased tourism to legal decisions granting the right to interpreting services. Her conclusion: as long as people want to – or must — communicate with others who speak different languages, the need for language services will continue to grow.

At Language Translation, Inc. we offer language translation services, interpreting, including telephonic interpreting, and website/software localization in over 40 languages. Each service meets a different need in today’s connected and communicative world.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, to keep up with the latest developments in language, technology and international communication.

See Also

• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

The London memorial, located on the roof of the British Broadcasting Corporations headquarters in London, honors journalists, translators and interpreters who have lost their lives on duty.

“U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dedicated a soaring glass and steel sculpture to the memory of journalists killed in the line of work at a somber gathering in London Monday evening.

The sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa sits on the roof of the new wing of Broadcasting House, the British Broadcasting Corp.’s corporate headquarters in central London. It will be illuminated for 30 minutes every night as the BBC broadcasts its 10 o’clock news bulletin. Relatives of some of the journalists killed in action listened to Ban, who said the memorial is ‘a solemn reminder of those who have lost their lives giving voice to the voiceless…’

The International News Safety Institute that co-hosted the event with the BBC said more than 1,000 journalists and assistants, including translators, drivers and fixers, have died in the past 10 years.”

(Extract from the Associated Press, June 17 2008)

Language Translation Inc. recognizes that some translators and interpreters work in very dangerous conditions, far from the offices of global corporations, and honors their courage.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for the latest news about the growing importance of language services in the business world.

See Also

• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.

In an exclusive interview with a Japanese newspaper, the popular modern novelist points out how translation influences his own works.

Haruki Murakami’s novels have been translated into well over thirty languages, and some of his works, such as Norwegian Wood and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle; have become modern classics. But not everybody knows that the famous Japanese writer has drawn plenty of inspiration from his own language translation work.

Murakami has recently worked on new translations of American classics into Japanese: J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  While recognizing the influence these works have had on his own writing, the author also points out some of the challenges of translating from Japanese to English.

"’Japanese and English are structured differently, so if you just translated directly, it’s hard to get the rhythm right. It’s up to the individual translator to work out how to get the right rhythm,’" he says in an interview with The Mainichi Daily News. "’Translating from English into Japanese is like solving a math problem. Just like there are some math problems that people can spend an entire day trying to work out, it’s possible to spend a long time thinking about why particular words are used the way they are.’”

Language Translation Inc. in San Diego, California is specialized in legal, medical, technical and business language translation, and we strive to keep up with all of the latest translation news. Our company has provided translation and interpreting to companies worldwide since 1989. “Let us show you how good translation should be.”

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for more information about the importance of language translation today.

See Also

• Language Translation Inc.
  Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.