Language Lines - Newsletter

May 2007

I.  From the Editor

Translation and other language services are our business, and we’re pleased to share our experience and suggestions on the topic with you. That’s why Language Translation Inc. is now providing a free report entitled “Translation – Getting it Right.” It will help your company make the right decisions when considering a translation project, so feel free to download it now from our website. And you can already look forward to the June issue, where our featured topic will be the importance of translation in different economic sectors.

Professional translation quality is, in fact, increasing sharply due to smart use of new technology. This month’s featured theme, “New Technology in the Workplace,” covers how the dizzying technological advances of the twenty-first century have changed the language service sector as well as many other industries.

In our “news” section, we’ve selected and reviewed recent Web articles about planning an overseas product launch, the link between culture and employee satisfaction and, finally, the world’s best cities for overseas job assignments. All of these topics link to the best the Web has to offer – so enjoy the May issue of Language Lines!

As always, we would be pleased to receive any comments, questions and story ideas at: editor@languagetranslation.com .

 

II.  This Month's Feature: Workplace Technology Trends

 

A.   Translations More Efficient Thanks to New Technology

 

Today’s translators must wonder how they ever managed before the digital era. Thirty years ago, their equipment consisted of paper, pencils, dictionaries and a typewriter. Now language service providers give translators access to the latest technology to help them perform their work more quickly and accurately.

Indeed, a new generation of translation software has made translators’ work even more reliable and efficient. “Translation management” programs make the client’s previously-translated material available to the translator so they don’t have to “reinvent the wheel.”, reducing cost and turn-around time. Terminology management components also simplify the creation of glossaries so that specific terms remain consistent within a translation and also throughout different projects for the same company.

At Language Translation Inc., we use SDL Trados 2007, which allows us to streamline our translation management process. In addition, all of the key players in a translation job – project managers, freelance translators, editors and desktop publishers – are able to share information in real time over the Internet, from any location.

These advances mean shorter lead time, better consistency and higher translation accuracy. However, despite this use of technology, human participation remains essential. “Faced with a choice between high-quality, high-cost human translations or low-quality, low-cost machine translations, global corporations have opted for either human translation or no translation,“ explains SDL International.

Related Links:

       

From the Web:

“Knowledge-based Translation” (SDL International)

Translation (Wikipedia)

From Language Translation Inc.:

“Don’t Be Fooled – A Machine Can’t Perform an Accurate Translation”

“Humans against the Machine”

B.  It’s A Wiki World

“Wikinomics” refers to the role of mass digital collaboration in today’s economy. While some companies fear the increasing power of these new communication networks, others are successfully embracing them.

Since the release of the book “Wikinomics” in December 2006, the eponymous concept has been one of the catchwords of 2007. “In the last few years, traditional collaboration—in a meeting room, a conference call, even a convention center—has been superseded by collaborations on an astronomical scale,” explain the book’s authors Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams on the “Wikinomics” website. “Today, encyclopedias, jetliners, operating systems, mutual funds, and many other items are being created by teams numbering in the thousands or even millions.”

Business Week has just devoted a special report on Wikinomics, presenting articles on innovation, knowledge sharing systems, open source software and the use of social networking tools in the workplace. This vast subject deserves your attention, and we hope our suggested links will help you wend your way through the Wiki world.

Related Links:

From the Web:

“Wikinomics” Official Website

The BusinessWeek Wikinomics Series

“Up is down and black is white as Wikinomics changes the business world” (PC World Canada)

From Language Translation Inc.:

Our News Blog – The Latest News about Translation, Languages and Culture in Business, and New Technology

 

C. Businesses Tapping into New Uses for Internet

 

Having a company website is ancient news. Whether it’s taking advantage of viral marketing, setting up your company’s own Wikipedia-style databank, or using online business tools, the current possibilities are endless. Company managers can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options open to them in communications, marketing and information technology.

 

Fortunately, business journals such as Forbes.com help busy corporate managers sort out the most relevant trends. In a recent Forbes article, Andy Greenberg points out new ways companies can use the latest Internet-based technology to their advantage.

 

Setting up interactive online activities such as contests, blogs and forums helps create a sense of community and gets customers to come back to your site. Firms can also use the web as a powerful internal information source, creating private collective databases to share essential documents and new ideas.

 

Online business tools such as Google Apps are also making gradual inroads into the workplace and could someday even replace traditional company software.

 

If you think the last ten years have seen plenty of technological innovation, don’t worry: there’s even more on the horizon!

 

Related links:

From the Web:

 

“Use the Web to Boost Your Business” (Forbes.com)

 

Slideshow: Web tools for Your Business (Forbes.com)

 

Google to add presentations to Google Apps

 

From Language Translation Inc.:

E-commerce and Localization Merge

Multilingual Publishing and Website Globalization to Expand

III.  In the News:

A.  First Steps to Successful Overseas Expansion

 

The world is one big place. So if your company wants to sell its products internationally, where and how do you start? A recent article by Gene T. Barton Jr. and Harold Horgen, published in Mass High Tech, outlines some basic concepts to keep in mind when considering an international sales strategy.

 

“Companies looking to establish themselves abroad face a variety of challenges,” write Barton and Horgen. “The language barrier, cultural differences, currency exchange issues, conflicting laws, and the difficulty and costs of international travel all combine to make it difficult to sell in one -- let alone multiple -- foreign countries.”

To overcome these barriers, the authors advise companies to choose their starting point carefully. For example, too many firms decide that it would be easier to do their first European launch in the English-speaking United Kingdom – but economically, this may not be the soundest decision

Next, the question of how to structure overseas sales needs to be carefully studied. Will your company have a sales team on-site in the new market, or will you sell through local distributors? Another popular solution is to “bundle” your product with existing goods already sold in the target country.

Although this article gives only a broad overview of issues relevant to an international product launch, it provides a cogent introduction to the topic.

Read the entire article

Related links from Language Translation Inc.:

Chinese Consumers Especially Open to Online Marketing

 

Tracking Website Traffic Key to Localization Decisions

 

B.  Culture Influences Employees’ Perceptions of Workplace

A recent study by the Kenexa Research Institute shows that despite multinational firms’ efforts to establish a common company culture, their staff members do not share similar perceptions of the workplace. The employees’ native culture plays a role in whether they feel “positive” about their work experience within a U.S. or European multinational.

In its “Employee Experience” study, Kenexa found that Indonesian employees topped the list of the most satisfied employees with a “positive employee experience” rating of 77%. Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, and the Philippines rounded out the top five, at between 72% and 74%. In contrast, Japanese employees of the same multi-national organizations reported the least favorable perception, at 45%. The world-wide average came in at 62%.

“A number of conclusions can be drawn from this survey data;” stated Jeffrey Saltzman, New York Practice Leader for Kenexa.  “For example, one could surmise that in Indonesia, an employee perceives more advantages to working for a U.S. or European multi-national compared to Japanese employees of a U.S. or European multi-national. Additionally, we could surmise that a U.S. or European company in Indonesia is offering compensation and benefits similar in magnitude to what is offered in their other locations, which might be exceptional in Indonesia, but average in Japan.”

In conclusion, it is clear that culture and nationality continue to be key factors in employees’ feelings and behavior, even in a globalized economy.

Read the entire press release from Kenexa

C. World’s Top Cities for Overseas Jobs

Interested in an overseas job assignment? Recent research released by Mercer Human Resource Consulting points out the plum picks for a big move. In the 2007 version of the group’s yearly study, Calgary, Canada scores the highest for health and sanitation, whereas Zurich, Switzerland is ranked as the best major city worldwide for overall quality of living. Not surprisingly, locales in Western Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan dominate the top fifty in both lists.

Mercer’s “Worldwide Quality of Living Survey” covers 215 cities ranked against New York, which is assigned a base score of 100. The research reveals separate rankings for “health and sanitation” and “quality of living.”  The survey results can help companies determine remuneration packages for potential expatriate workers. “Organizations can struggle to find suitably qualified local staff when operating overseas and so rely on benchmark data to ensure the rewards they offer encourage employees with transferable skills to accept international assignments,” explained Yvonne Sonsino, principal at Mercer.

Honolulu is the highest-ranking American city in the health and sanitation category, pulling down second place overall after Calgary. Minneapolis takes fifth place on this list and Boston, Lexington and Pittsburgh tie for tenth.

American cities do not fare so well, however, in the quality of living category. Readers must scroll far down the “Top Fifty” to finally find Honolulu in 27th place and San Francisco in 29th place. European cities dominate this list, representing 13 of the 20 highest-ranking cities.

Related Links:

From the Web:

Summary of the 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey

The Survey’s Top Fifty Cities

Slideshow: Asia’s Most Livable Cities (Business Week)

From Language Translation Inc.:

“How to Snag a Job Assignment Abroad”

 

For more news about languages, translation and localization, and international business, visit our news blog, updated three times a week.

For previous newsletters, visit our archive.

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