Last week we shared a blog about the JAWS computer software for the blind. This program is a type of localization software that essentially transforms seeing people’s communication into something the blind or hard-of-sight can also take part in. This idea of changing parts of the web from one form of language to another is not uncommon; rather it is a very useful and popular tool.

To put this into perspective we can look at a hypothetical situation. Let’s say a business established in the United States is opening a branch in German. In order to sell their product they will need to transform their whole website from English to German. Instead of making a whole new website for the German branch the smart thing to do would be to invest in a website localization service. Technical and translating experts work hand in hand to ensure that the web pages, hyperlinks, navigation bars, animations, and audio/video are all at a perfect translation from the original English version.

At Monterey Language Services we can help you with all of your localization needs, as it is one of our specialties. In fact, we are currently working on an interesting project which involves localizing 14 very different languages including German, Chinese, Tagalog, Finnish, Canadian French, Turkish, and Indonesian.

In Whisper Interpretation, the interpreter whispers the interpretation into the client’s ear. The goal of Whisper Interpretation is always the same – to communicate the meaning to the client without disrupting the presentation, show, or conference.

This goal can be accomplished in one of two ways: directly, or with electronic aids. In the direct manner, the interpreter sits next to the client and literally whispers the interpretations directly to the client. This is the basic method. It is effective and requires no prior arrangement other than hiring the interpreter.

The electronic method of Whisper Interpretation involves the use of a hand-held transmitter and a receiver. The interpreter whispers into the transmitter and the client(s) hears the message through the receiver. The main benefits for this method are less disruption to others; the ability to reach out to more than one participant; and freedom of movement for the interpreter and customers.

The boardroom, professional conferences, the Oval Office, these are just a few places where Whisper Interpretation occurs on a regular basis. Monterey Language Services provides Legal Interpretation, Medical Interpretation, Conference Interpretation, and Video Interpretation services in all languages. Visit our website to find out more.
http://www.montereylanguages.com/interpretation-services.html

Monterey Language Services is thrilled that The New York Times is taking part of the global phenomenon and creating an online localized Chinese version of their paper. Translation is an excellent tool to expand business. Companies worldwide are increasingly aware of how translation can help them go global.

The expected readers for the Chinese version of The New York Times are the, according to the Times, “educated, affluent, global citizens” of China’s fast-growing middle class. The site will feature about 30 articles a day, two-thirds of which will be translated articles originally published for the English version of the paper, and the other third being original articles from Chinese journalists and freelance writers. The articles will range from international news to editorials.

Although China has some strict laws against what can and cannot be published, the Times will side-step that by not sourcing the physical site in China. The paper’s foreign editor Joseph Kahn said, “We’re not tailoring it to the demands of the Chinese government, so we’re not operating like a Chinese media company. China operates a very vigorous firewall. We have no control over that. We hope and expect that Chinese officials will welcome what we’re doing.”

This new translation service also has brought jobs to about 50 writers, translators, and editors. Chinese-based readers should enjoy the new various forms of media produced by the Times and all of the articles they would have normally not been able to read.

Most people automatically affiliate the word ‘Jaws’ with the man eating shark from the movies that chased down boats and water skiers alike. However, the JAWS referred to in this article actually helps people.

JAWS stands for Job Access with Speech, a software that uses speech synthesis technology to help the visually impaired enjoy numerous computer applications, programs, and even surf the web. The first version was released in 1989 by the American computer programmer Ted Hunter, who lost his sight in a car accident. That basic version has been updated immensely since then and now has windows support and even its own version of iTunes.

It’s nice to see technologies such as JAWS growing and getting more complex. Computers are one of our best sources of communication and should be available and easy to use for all.

Monterey Language Services watches the development of technology closely since it is such an important part of our work. In a way, the above-mentioned software localizes the computer programs for the blind. In this same spirit, Monterey Language Services offers software translation and localization services. We are currently working on a project to localize software into 14 different languages. In addition, we offer video-conferencing services for communication between two remote parties.

The blog team here at Monterey Language Services has a special place in our thoughts for endangered languages. Whether from Africa, Mexico, USA, or any country, we believe all languages should be preserved and remembered for the special place in time when they were the means of communication for a group of people. Language is what makes us unique, as well as what brings us together.

With that being said, we are sad to see that some languages are in fact going extinct. Google is doing their part as a worldwide service to provide these languages a lifeline:

As Google sees it, documenting the 3,000-plus languages that are on the verge of extinction — about half of all languages in the world — is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honoring the knowledge of elders and empowering youth. And Google sees technology’s role in strengthening those efforts through research and collaboration.

This collaboration is through a website www.endangeredlanguages.com where people can upload the languages and share the most up-to-date information about them. An example is seen in the Miami-Illinois language, once spoken by Native American communities throughout the region. Although the last known person who spoke this language died in 1960, a contributor to the project is teaching himself the language through old documents. Because of this, children in Miami are now learning the language and even teaching it to each other.

If you know a language that is becoming extinct, post it in the comments or through the website and we will all do our best to preserve the language. Also, check out the video below to learn more about the project.

Information from: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/endangered-languages-project-supporting.html

Image from: http://www.endangeredlanguages.com

The UEFA Euro 2012 tournament is one of soccer’s biggest tournaments. First, all of the nations in Europe go through a qualification process, battling it out in groups until the top 16 teams emerge. When those teams are selected the tournament has officially begun, along with the necessary broadcasts to over 80 different countries around the world, including the United States!

However, we know that 80 different countries doesn’t necessarily mean 80 different languages. In order to reach the intended population the broadcasts have been translated in 203 different languages. This means the translators working the tournament have to be literally perfect, or else things could go horribly wrong as we saw after Croatia’s 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland Last Sunday.

After the game Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic’s post-match commentary was translated to “I like to jump a lot, this is what I do best.” He then said, “We are jumping well, we are very motivated.” It’s safe to assume this was not what Mandzukic was trying to say. Now his words will be forever lost in translation, in the United States at least.

Now Euro 2012 is halfway through the quarter final stages, which means only a handful of matches remain. Do you think we will witness any more translation problems?

With video conferencing through Monterey Language Services, you experience high-definition video and high quality audio in a comfortable environment.

Last week, Monterey Language Services helped a client to interact with a court in the Midwest via video conferencing. In order to have a video conference with the court, we need to meet all their requirements.

Our professional video conferencing services include high-quality industry-standard equipment, conference rooms, privacy and security, fiber optic internet connection, IP-to-IP, and technical support.

Video conferencing programs such as Skype are everywhere, yet they don’t comply with the industry standards required by the court.

Check out our webpage: http://www.montereylanguages.com/video-conferencing-services.html

Triqui (de la baja) is an indigenous language spoken in Oaxacan Mexico. Because the area is increasingly dangerous and violent most native speakers will eventually not only leave the area but also leave the language behind with it.

There are an estimated 40,000 people who are fluent in Triqui worldwide. More than half of them no longer live in Oaxaca and around 10 percent of them live right next door in the Salinas Valley.

Although institutions like Monterey Language Services provide translation services in courts and hospitals, there is still worry that this rare language will not survive.  Any attempt to save a language will have to be in large numbers in order to succeed.

Barbara Hollenbach, who works with the Summer Institute of Linguistics, is working on a Triqui-Spanish dictionary with 6,000 entries. She believes this is a step in the right direction but says, “The only way to keep a language alive is oral transmission between generations.”

Source : http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/jun/07/speaking-minds/

Note:

The picture, which shows traditional Triqui weaving patterns, is from one of our colleague’s private collection. The artwork was created by a Triqui artisan group here in our area of Monterey County.     

In our community, other languages indigenous to Oaxacan Mexico are spoken, including Mixteco, Zappotec, Chatino, & Nahuatl, etc. These languages need to be preserved as well.

Today, a hot topic around the world is environmental sustainability. The terms such as sustainable business, ethical business, resilient business, green business, conscious capitalism, collaborative consumption, sustainable brands… etc have been created to keep up with the new ways the business world explains their environmental endeavors. But exactly what do these terms mean?

How do translators deal with these terms? How do they communicate the newest information on the issue in terms that everyone can understand? How do you build a “green building” in Thailand without the building being painted green?

Freya Williams, a columnist from the Guardian Professional, noticed the miscommunication when she visited multiple business conferences.

“…the lack of alignment on a common [sustainable business] language can lead to meetings in which some participants are left wondering what exactly they are discussing, while others are talking at cross purposes, and some are trying express ideas for which a name may not yet exist.”

In a conference as such, interpreters/translators have to convey the same level of vagueness or specificity or pragmatism, as the situation may be. Translators have to recognize the term coined in the target language, which might tend to be a literal translation of the English term. Hence, translations to these concepts may be just as vague as expressed in the original language.

New words are made to keep up with the changing times, but not everyone is on the same page with these changes. Perhaps it’s time for the world community to work together on the definition of the new vocabulary, so everyone can truly understand and communicate in an environmental conference.

Info: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/articulating-sustainability-language-green-business

Image: http://sustainablebusinessincubator.com/

The future of English is unclear, however, that won’t stop us from taking some educated guesses about what it could turn out to be.

First, it’s probably safe to say that our language will continue to not only evolve, but also continue to mix and meld with other languages. We’ve all heard the term “Spanglish” which is the slang word for the end product of someone attempting to speak one or the other, but then certain terms are replaced when the correct word is not known. Naturally, this is most commonly spoken in high school classrooms.

We think of this informal process of mixing languages as fun and games even though, realistically, other languages being smelt together with English is very likely. There are over 80 countries which have English listed as one of if not the only official language. Like most, English is not set in stone. New dialects and slang will continue to sprout and eventually “bridge the gap” between our English and other languages it comes in contact with.

Of course, no drastic changes are bound to appear for a while. Still, we will be able to see slight changes among the English language in our lifetimes. Each generation brings new words (Or old words with different meanings) to the table, which keeps us on our toes. One example of this we have all experienced can be found when taking a look at one of our most common forms of communication here in the states: text messaging. “LOL” is no longer an awkward sounding nonsense word; instead we see this is “Laughing Out Loud.” Others such as “BRB” for Be Right Back, “SMH” for Shaking My Head, and “OMW” which stands for On My Way, are all commonly used in texts between virtually anybody.