JR Language will attend GALA’s 5^th annual conference at the end of March 2013. GALA’s acronym stands for Globalization and Localization Association.

We are looking forward to this conference after the fantastic experience we had last year. From Monaco 2012 we got new partners and providers, as well as a myriad of new ideas for the growth and development of JR Language in 2012. Overall we came back energized, and with new technologies to improve quality and the specialization of our translation services.

After checking the conference schedule, we are looking forward to get more insight on the maturity and new developments in Machine Translation; we have big plans for this technology in 2013. We are especially interested in post-editing techniques and measurements for TM.

GALA brings together a diverse and interesting group of people from all areas of the translation industry, among them: language technology developers, translation agencies, localization providers, consultants, and clients. Presentations will continue to focus on the tag line of the organization: “The language of business and the business of language”. This year the keynote speaker is stressing the importance of embracing technology, in general but, particularly in localization and translation services.

We are also interest in the updates on localization standards and connectivity between applications and translation tools.

Stay tuned for JRL’s summary of this important conference, which gathers representatives and players from all industries and countries of the world.

On our last article we talked about dubbing and subtitling. Coincidentally, we found a very interesting article in La Nación, an Argentine newspaper, addressing the topic. At JR Language, we deem important that the translation community is aware of what is happening in the industry around the world. Here we will highlight the facts of the issue and the opinion of the writer, Marcelo Stiletano:

One of I.Sat channels’, namely Cinecanal, announced a year ago in Argentina that they will no longer offer subtitling and that all of its programming will be dubbed. It is a controversy that is been around since and it doesn’t seem to mitigate. Up until that moment, Argentina had an almost unanimous preference for subtitling. Premium channels were subtitled constituting the main difference between paid and free TV programming. According to Stiletano: more knowledgeable viewers, eager for new things always prefer subtitles[…]it provide a wider view of the world, the opportunity to learn other languages and a greater consideration for the artist’s original work. He also point out that Spain’s Minister of Education, under Zapatero’s government, Angel Gabilondo, argued that dubbing is one of the reasons Spaniards have such a hard time learning other languages.

But, was are the channel’s grounds for implementing this drastic measure? Socioeconomic changes! They claim there is an emerging social groups that, although can now access cable TV, still prefer TV programming dubbed in Spanish and that, in order to maintain high ratings, they have to meet this requirement. It seems like subtitling “will remain in a more exclusive and expensive end of TV.”

On our previous post about dubbing and subtitling, I gave my opinion about it (I prefer subtitles); however, I was certain that my dissatisfaction was the result of coming from a country where both Spanish and English are the official languages and from a generation used to subtitling. Much to my surprise, the Argentinians commenting on this article, who come from an entirely monolingual country with a large and rich cinematographic history, shared my opinion about the cultural and linguistic benefits of subtitling and actually preferred them.

Do you prefer dubbing or subtitling better? We will love to hear your opinion.

Reading the latest issue of Multilingual magazine (Oct.2012), we stumbled upon an article about dubbing, written by Jacques Barreau, vice president of dubbing and subtitling at Warner Bros. We decided to write a post about the subject because we have received several dubbing/subtitling projects lately and we find that it is sometimes difficult for clients to grasp the importance of having the appropriate voice talent not just someone who can “speak” the language. Jacques knows this all too well having traveled the world to guide new markets in their dubbing efforts. Here are some key elements we wanted to highlight from the article that will ensure the best dubbing outcome:

1. Voice Talents- While actors with a background in theater can perform several voices, they may not be familiarized or even comfortable working with dubbing techniques. They should be the first choice especially in markets that are new to dubbing and where voice talents are scarce.  Training these actors in dubbing techniques will ensure a fast dubbing process, lowering studio time and cost.

2. Technical Elements- Music and film sound mixing are not the same techniques. This could represent a problem in countries with little dubbing experience. Fortunately, music is universal and the equipment is already there but, with music you only have to take into account the music itself whereas in films element such as character movements and special effects come into play.

3. Cultural Elements- In an English into Spanish translation there is approximately 20% text expansion. If that represents a problem in paper, imagine the consequences in lip synchronization for a dialogue. If an English speaker says “Let’s eat”, an option could be: “Vamos a comer”. Try saying that out loud with a partner or even recording yourself and you’ll notice that the Spanish takes a little longer. The translator will have to come up with something like “Comamos”, to make it work.

There is still one aspect I don’t agree with the author: the complete localization of the cultural elements (for example, the localization of jokes: taking the elements of a joke and adapting them to the reality of another culture). I still remember as a kid watching the dubbed versions of Punky Brewster, Alf, Baywatch, Knight Rider, Bewitched, etc. But it wasn’t until I was older and had the opportunity to rewatch them subtitled that I really understood and appreciated their cultural value. I was able to learn and understand a second language by making connections between the written and the spoken words and, two, I was able to learn their cultural references and enjoy them as if there where my own. A complete localization of the cultural references will let you enjoy a program in your native language but it will limit your knowledge of the original culture. For this reason, I will prefer to localize only elements that might be offensive to the target audience.

Dubbing and localization are processes that allow people to have access and understand information that would be otherwise missed. Knowing what the goals of the project are and implementing the right resources for the job will ensure a successful outcome and an appropriate preparation of your content.

Creating and updating terminology and translation glossaries requires time and effort, especially in the initial phases of a project. Organizations and translation agencies that used those tools know that, but understand the importance and usefulness of them. Translators also know that they will save time and effort in the long run, with the additional benefits of maintaining consistency and clarity on the terms. The use of translation glossaries and terminology guide and aid the quality assurance process of the translation project as well.

Term bases and glossaries are databases where we store either the explanation of a term (as in a monolingual dictionary), the equivalence of a given term in a different language (as in a bilingual dictionary) or both. These databases facilitate the translation process particularly preserving consistency throughout all documents, websites, software, manual and user interface.

The use of terminology, term bases, and translation glossaries are very beneficial in technical translation and within subjects that require the use of specific vocabulary. Also when working on a project with a large amount of documents or with a client that returns regularly, having term bases brings benefits for both the translator and the client.

Benefits of Terminology Management:

• Reduces time to market. It reduces translation time. All terms, even internal terminology of the company, forbidden terms, acronyms and accepted translation are approved and ready to be used in the term base and in the translation glossary.
• Facilitates edition and revision of documents.
• Translation will become more and more consistent with time even if multiple translators are involved.
• By eliminating ambiguity in the terminology your message will always be clear for your reader.
• Share knowledge of your business domain with the staff of your company and with outside organizations among them, your translation agency.
• Use of the same terms consistently across the different content and  communication process that support your product or services.

Your translated content should be clear and precise. Your translators are the vehicle to achieve that, the more information and resources you provide them the more time they will to work in the creative process.

At JR Language we believe in the social and business benefits of multiculturalism, in regard to the elements of cultural diversity within organizations and, nations. As a translation agency, we promote diversity in everything we do because we have witnessed how it enriches our lives and our business.

Our multicultural, multidisciplinary and multilingual translation team is a fundamental element of our success.  Among our translators, project managers and, executive team, we have people who have lived, studied or worked abroad, studied other cultures or, both. Each one of them is an asset to our agency: thanks to them, we are able to communicate better with our clients by understanding or by having the willingness to understand their culture and where they are coming from.

Last week we read an article published in Inc. titled Travel Much? Living Abroad Tied to Entrepreneurship. The following passages were extracted from the article to emphasize the importance of multiculturalism and diversity and, the attitude one should have towards it:

• “Those who get the most out of travel learn the mental agility to see things from the perspective of both their own culture and the one they’re visiting.” – When we travel or interact with people from another cultures, our mind opens to new lifestyles and cultural realities, which gives us new perspectives.
• “To extract maximum benefit from time in a foreign land, what’s needed is a “bicultural” perspective–the ability to identity with your new home, but all the while continuing to connect with your native country too.”- We cannot expect the journey to change us; we have to be open to change, we have to analyze the differences based on its surroundings, on its own cultural and historical context. After all, one of humanity’s biggest flaws is judging what is foreign based on our own values.

We think this article’s approach on the importance of traveling, openness, tolerance and, multiculturalism, goes hand in hand with our vision.

We would like to hear your opinion. How does traveling have changed your vision of the world?

After reading Sophie Pitman’s blog post about the 2012 London Olympics’ Opening Ceremony, I can’t help but wonder: What went wrong (and what happened to Elton John)? On her post she explains how amazed she was after receiving many emails from her American friends who were totally lost by some elements of the ceremony. Maybe this is the reason why China decided four years ago to give the world a pyrotechnic show instead of one filled with historical references.

Although the United State and the United Kingdom share the English language, they do not share the same historical evolution, which creates a significant cultural gap. For this reason and, as Pitman points out, NBC should have had a British commentator to explain the elements that could have seem obscure to the American audience. Obscure as the giant baby born before our own eyes; maybe some of us did not take advanced English Literature and did not read Paradise Lost (if you read John Milton you realize that Cruella De Vil and Lord Voldemort were completely appropriate).  What surprised me the most was that her friends did not recognized Kenneth Branagh! Most of us have  read and watched countless versions of Shakespeare’s plays; I am sure the younger generations recognized him as Professor Lockhart from Harry Potter.

The Opening Ceremony was not the occasion to globalize but the perfect one to localize; after all the whole idea was to highlight what is intrinsically British, the good and the bad (very moving the commemoration of the War to End All Wars) but also, a local perspective would have helped understand what was happening.

Sports inspire universal values: Unity, Friendship, Equality, Patriotism and, maybe, this is where the Ceremony failed. Maybe they were too patriotic; maybe they failed at conveying a more global message that not only gave the world an in-depth vision of the United Kingdom but made the world feel welcome and part of it.

Fortunately we, at JR Language, know the difference between globalization and localization, and can help in deciding which is best for each situation so that our clients can benefit from it and prevent their copy from getting lost in translation.

JR Language attended Monaco 2012 for the GALA’s 4^th annual conference. GALA stands for Globalization and Localization Association.

Needless to say we had a great time and had fantastic exchange with people from all over the world in a great setting. It was a good opportunity for attendees to sense trends in technology supporting the translation industry, clients’ needs and how some companies like Dell, Paypal, and Lego are handling their multilingual content.

There were representatives from different sectors within the translation industry, namely: language technology developers, translation agencies, localization providers, consultants, and clients. Presentations focused on “the language of business and the business of language”, the slogan of the conference.

Machine translation was an important topic of discussion and the theme of several presentations. The evolution of machine translation and technology was tackled from the point of view of:  providers, users, and researchers. There was a lot of concern regarding quality, turnaround time, and language combinations. JR Language will be evaluating providers of this technology in the upcoming months.

Another highlight of the conference was the importance of Localization Standards for the industry and all its players. There were several relevant initiatives that were discussed that are worth mentioning:

• Gala Standard Initiative is focusing its approach in two core projects:

(1)Lingoport (The Language Interoperability Portfolio)which is defining standards for sending and receiving translation material to help overcome the fragmentation in which each tool has its own packaging format and, (2) model service elements and continues activities to educate about key standards bodies.

• W3c Multilingual Web founded by the European Commission to best practices and standards that are aimed at helping content creators, localizers, tools developers, and others meet the challenges of the multilingual Web.
• ASTM f43 – Consensus Standard for the language Industry and products link to http://www.astm.org/COMMIT/COMMITTEE/F43.htm

The conference gave us a boost in creative fuel that will improve the strategies and priorities of JR Language Translation Services as an industry leader in 2012 and 2013.

JR Language Translation Services Inc.  will be attending the 2012 GALA Conference in Monaco from March 25^th to the 28th. GALA 2012 is the fourth annual Language of Business conference hosted by the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA). GALA promotes communication between its members, 275 companies in 50 countries .The conference will be a great forum to display multilingual strategies and proven tools to aid  global business efforts.

The conference will be covering important subjects  for the Language industry, some of the relevant topics of the gathering are: Machine Translation, Localization Standards, Globalization and content development, Quality in Translation, Multilingual and International SEO Strategies, cloud-based and server-based translation technology among others.

Jackie and Sergio from our company will participle in the CEO Forum, will go to the conference workshop “TAUS” Open Source Machine Translation Showcase on Sunday and will attend the 3 days of sessions.

If you are interested in meeting up with someone from JR language Translation Services during the conference, please contact jacqueline.dempaire@jrlanguage.com or sergio.ruffolo@jrlanguage.com

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, to translate is to:

(1) turn into one’s own or another language and,

(2) transfer or turn from one set of symbols into another: transcribe.

The first is a bit general, but it delivers the meaning. The second one gives us a clue of the instruments the translator uses to convey the message: the written language. There is yet another division within translation; the many fields in which professional translators can specialize.

And as with any other field, professional translators must have a certain set of characteristics and fulfill a number of requirements that qualify them to provide superior translation services. They should:

1. Be attentive to details (date formatting changes with language, double-check names, spelling, syntax, etc)
2. Have the ability to convey the message of an original text into another language  as if it were originally written in that second language
3. Have a thorough mastery of both the source and the target language
4. Have experience in both, general translation as well as in their field of specialization
5. Have native speaker proficiency in the target language
6. Be familiar with current terminology, idioms, vocabulary, etc.
7. Be able to grasp nuances rapidly
8. Have access to translation tools
9. Have excellent writing skills
10. Have a researcher spirit and always work on getting better in the art of translation

And just in case you are asking yourself, why is this job so important? Just as you wouldn’t trust your life to a person who isn’t a doctor, your important documents shouldn’t be treated differently. Accuracy in legal and medical translations, for example, can make the difference between solving a problem and making it worse. In marketing, it could mean winning or losing a campaign or even insulting your potential clients.

The job of professional translators, translation agencies and services is to make the process easier, faster and accurate. When you are in the process of communicating messages and ideas, getting your message across just as you intended is of utmost importance.

Throughout our years of service, our main goal has been to help clients get the service they need with the highest level of quality. But, we have realized that there is a great deal of information that needs to be shared about the different aspects of translation and localization and the need for multilingual communication.

That is why we, at JR Language Translation Service, decided to make a raid into the powerful world of Social Media to help people.

We really hope everyone at the other side of the screen find this blog both, interesting and helpful.

Enjoy,

The team at JR Language