inWhatLanguage returns to DevLearn!

Best-in-class translation agency inWhatLanguage returns for a second year running to the E-Learning Conference DevLearn! After an exceedingly positive experience last year, the online-based translation company is thirsty for more.

DevLearn, the great E-Learning conference and expo that takes place every year in Las Vegas, will open its doors once again at the end of October. And once again, publicly acclaimed translation agency inWhatLanguage will have a booth in place to provide attendees and visitors with information and showcase the wide range of services and offers the company is famous for, and give them a taste of the“inWhatLanguage Experience”.

“This is iWL's second time going to DevLearn,” inWhatLanguage CEO Cody Broderick says. “We attended last year at the Aria and had a great time exhibiting. We met many new clients and forged great relationships with some of the nation's top learning and training development organizations. It's no wonder we're back!”

DevLearn is a unique opportunity for inWhatLanguage to be around the best in the eLearning and training industry. As a company greatly devoted to the industry of E-Learning, attending DevLearn allows its members to hear and see the latest trends and technologies in the industry, gather valuable knowledge and experience, and of course, get a chance to meet fascinating new contacts. “It is also the perfect chance for us to let everyone know that we provide the best translation services, prices and quality around,” adds Broderick. “With over 30 years of experience in the translation industry, we have a proven model for multilingual course development and look forward to discussing collaboration opportunities with many of the organizations at DevLearn.”

iWL team members Ty Palmer and Cody Broderick at DevLearn 2013.

InWhatLanguage has been listed by the TopTenReviews as one of the top translation firms in theU.S., and to Cody Broderick, the reason is clear: “We're one of the fastest growing translation firms in the U.S. and offer a wide array of customizable solutions for our clients that will help increase their top line revenue while decreasing cost and enhancing quality of deliverables. Our linguists are native, they work in-country, and have repeatedly demonstrated their subject-matter expertise, localization skills and technological capabilities.”

For inWhatLanguage, the industry of E-Learning is among the most important ones and definitely a top priority for the company’s business focus. As the world gets smaller and more globalized, the need for localized learning software grows exponentially, and so does the demand for qualified, technical-savvy translators ready to do the job. And inWhatLanguage is up to the task, says Cody Broderick.

“inWhatLanguage's booth number is 532, right in the middle of the action!” informs Broderick. “We will have some sweet swag to hand out, giveaways of some awesome electronics, but best of all, we will have three awesome iWL team members with over 30 years of combined experience ready to talk with you and tell you why we really are the best at what we do!”

Malay translations - Call inWhatLanguage to get the job done right!

“I used my launch to cross the lake surrounded by gecko-infested bamboo fields in search of a restaurant where they would serve cootie-free ketchup…”

Rafflesias bloom in Malaysia. Photo: Steve Cornish

In this odd sentence there are 5 words of Malay origin. Can you spot them?

Okay, here goes the answer:

Launch comes from the Malay words Malay “lancharan” (boat) and “lanchar” (velocity without effort).

Gecko comes from the Malay world “gekok”, which is an imitation of the sound the geckos make.

Bamboo stems from the Kannada word “bamboo”, which was introduced to English through Malay.

Cootie comes from the Malay “kutu”, which means “lice” (charming).

And ketchup, go figure, comes from the Malay word “kechap”, which is a fish sauce (!!).

Wasn’t that fun?

It is evident that the Malay is more closely connected to English than a lot of people think. These words of Malay origin were only some of the most-commonly used in daily English, but there is actually quite a list of examples, as you can read here, in this Wikipedia article.

Some of them are more obvious than others, like “gong” (which I would have bet it was Korean!) or “cockatoo”. But some others are still pretty surprising, like “amok” –as in, running amok- or “agar” –for foodies and gourmands, it should be a pretty familiar word-.

Point is, while Malay will probably not come up in the list of the main languages to workon in an international business strategy, it is still a very influential language. More than 215 million people around the world speak Malay nowadays, and to address this whole audience you need a good team of native translators that can speak their language. And I don’t mean that only in a literal sense; you need someone who knows how to talk to these people to attract their attention and interest.

Luckily, inWhatLanguage is always there to help you with your Malay translations!

We obviously offer best-in-class translation services in all the main languages, but we have more than 100 more languages in our database – Malay and many other rarer languages among them. If you want to go global and need to make sure that no part of the Asian continent –or the world!- is left behind uninformed, count on our skills to adapt any translation or address the audience with our expert interpretation services in the most efficient way.

Check out all the languages we work with. And if you happen to need a translation service in a language or dialect that is not listed, don’t dismiss us right away – ask us first! We are confident that we can come to a quick and affordable solution faster than you think!

Meet Lydia Aranda, iWL’s team member in Europe!

Hello there again!

This is not by any means my first post on this blog; in fact, 99% of the posts here have been written by me. One of the first ones, actually, was my very own introduction to the company. Back then, I had been already a Spanish translator for inWhatLanguage for a while, and had also been recently appointed as the newest Marketing and Social Media Manager.

Why, then, three years later, does my face appear here again? Well, I am extremely happy to announce that I am now one step further into the iWL team core. I recently moved to Dublin, Ireland, to work for inWhatLanguage not just as a Social Media Manager anymore, but also as a Content Writer for the new website, and as a Project Manager.

So once again, let me write a little bit about myself.

I was born in Spain almost 30 years ago, and have never really gotten out of my motherland until my third year of college. I studied Journalism, and I thought my life was pretty much as good as it could get back then. That was, until I traveled abroad for the first time.

I spent a summer in England working as an intern for an English Academy (ironic, I know), and it was a real eye-opener. Not only because I got to see so many new things and gather once-in-a-lifetime experiences that would change me forever, but also because I got to meet my future husband. Who lived in Germany. And for whom I’d move two years later to Germany.

Around that time, I started freelancing for iWL as a translator, audio and video editor. The company was just starting, back then, and thanks to that I got to work directly with the CEO, Cody Broderick. We got a very good rapport right from the start.

As years passed by, two things started to develop: on the one hand, I started getting an urge to move from Germany and seek new adventures in another country - namely, Ireland, a country I fell in love with since the first time I visited on vacation three years ago. On the other hand, iWL grew and Cody started wondering how he could go about opening a branch in Europe.

The good rapport was still there, and as we got to work more closely with the passing of the years, Cody asked me to be the person to do it. And, well… Anyone can guess what my answer was!

So here I am now, in Dublin, trying to start a new life, and working with a company I love, trying to help it grow even further on this side of the Atlantic. Life is just fantastic sometimes, isn’t it? ;)

iWL Cares, closer to the people in need than ever

Maurice von Zupthen, Veronica Johnson and Ryan McCann
walking down the street, looking for people to help.

During our last iWL Cares initiative, the iWL team walked around downtown Salt Lake City, visiting some homeless people and giving food and money to those who needed it. 

It was quite an experience for the iWL team members that were present, and there is no better way to describe it than just listening to their very own words. Here are a couple of testimonials.

Maurice von Zutphen, iWL Vice President of Operations and Project Management:

I was an eye opener to say the least. It is striking to be exposed to circumstances so on the fringes of society. It is hard to see a fellow human being relinquished down to pan-handling and survival subsistence. I have to admit it was uncomfortable and sad to see so many needing the services offered by various church services. 

Brian Palmer rushing to action.

I was struck by two other aspects. As we were passing out food, the police showed up in an instant and the officer quickly dispersed the crowd from the street corner. He was even calling out individuals by first name, revealing that some must have been on our streets for some time. The other really gripping sight was seeing what appeared to be a young woman curled on the pavement along a fence, barefooted and passed out. 

Truly sobering to see that life can take such a downturn.

Erin Millet, iWL Office Manager:

It was an unexpected experience for me. The unexpected part was the hopelessness that we saw.

We will call the first gentleman we came across “Joe”. Joe seemed to be very… Eccentric. He let us know that he was studying for his psychology dissertation and he had obtained a lot of information through his time spent on the “streets”. When asked where he was from, he flat out refused to answer and said “I cannot tell you that.” He was grateful for the food we gave him and accepted it with “God bless you.” Later on, (iWL Project Manager) Veronica Johnson and I went back and gave him some money.

We will call the second gentleman “Bob”. Bob was sitting by himself on a bench when we approached him. He seemed a little wary. There were 5 of us approaching him and he was very quiet. (Executive Sales & Account Manager) Ryan McCann asked him if he would like some food and his comment was “depends”. We left him some food and a few dollars but did not stay to talk with him.

Erin Millet and Veronica Johnson with "Joe".

Our next stop was a group of about two dozen men and women. They were outside of a Christian shelter. We approached them and all they really wanted was the food we were giving out. Apparently, their mind frame was “Free food? I’ll take all that you have.” This stop was sobering to say the least. It was very sad to see fellow human beings at that point in their lives. One woman kept whispering “Hide me please, hide me please.”

At a stop light, (Sr. Account Executive) Brian jumped out of the car to hand some money to a woman on a corner who was holding a sign. She was more worried about Brian going in front of the turning cars than about what he was trying to give her.

We weren’t able to get any stories from anyone besides the few comments we got from Joe. It seems as though their social skills are gone and they were not able to communicate with us. They were leery and suspicious of us. Very untrusting in regards to what our motives were. For this same reason we did not take any pictures of them.

Once again, the iWL team members were reminded of the reason of the existence of the iWL Cares program, and felt the need to work even harder to make the lives of these people a little better. 

And with your help, we can do it.