Writing: the key for document translation

Today I came across a pretty funny image. Irish-based non-profit organization The Rosetta Foundation tweeted, as it usually does, a picture that speaks more than a thousand words about language and the use of English nowadays.

The message that came with the picture was “Punctuation marks are free... Why don't we use them?”

It is a very good point. The anonymous author of this message would probably answer “because it’s bothersome” (or at least something to that effect), and anyway, wasn’t the message understandable enough?

Communication is all about understanding. An acquaintance of mine who is a foreign language teacher told me that, at some point, she gave up trying to make the students speak and write correctly, and just focused on them developing the minimal skills to be a able to verbally convey their thoughts – well  enough for daily survival. In this Darwinian scenario where only the most vital elements of the language survive, things like punctuation marks, connectors or complex grammar are left behind.

That is why, whenever someone asks me what are the important factors to take into consideration when becoming a translator, and expect me to automatically answer “speaking different languages”, they end up being sorely disappointed. Because the first thing that comes out of my mouth is, in fact, being a good writer. And both experienced linguists and people that have hired translators at some point surely share this thought.

Knowing languages is, obviously, a key part of being a translator. But the quality of a translator is not measured in how many languages s/he knows, but in how masterfully s/he can use them to avoid losing anything during a document translation. And that is achieved by good writing: proper grammar and complete control of the target language will be crucial to make sure that the message stays the same – not literally, but in meaning. Words may differ, sentence construction and even paragraph structure may follow completely different paths, but at the end of the day both texts must leave the same impression on the reader.

Not a lot of people are capable of such a feat. That is why inWhatLanguage takes so much care and pride in its selection of linguists, and considers proofreading an integral part of the translation process. No amount of detail is too much: we are a translation agency, one of the best out there as stated in TopTenReviews, and that can be seen in each and every one of our delivered projects.

Writing for a translator is not only an art: it’s a way of life. Of course, that comes with its set of advantages, as well. Only seasoned translators and linguists can enjoy jokes such as this one!

Subtitlers, the silent heroes

Have you ever watched a movie during which, at a certain point, maybe due to a strange accent, the speed of the dialog or simply because you just cannot believe what you just heard, you thought to yourself ‘dang it, if only there were subtitles!’? If that’s the case, you are one of the many people who recognize the value of subtitles.

Have you ever watched a subtitled movie in which, due to the subtitles not being exactly correct or slightly uncoordinated with the time code, you thought to yourself ‘I just can’t stand this anymore!’? If that’s the case, you are one of the somewhat smaller number of people who recognize the value of good subtitles.

As I was reading today this article in The New York Times, I came to realize the biggest irony of being a subtitler: the best subtitlers out there are precisely those who are least noticeable. For a subtitling job to be flawless, it has to be so in synch with the video it accompanies that it should feel part of it, not a superficial addition. Therefore, it is by definition a career where your professionalism directly depends on your name never being known.

“Train-spotter fans of foreign-language cinema recognize their names, floating in the end credits after everyone has left the theater: Andrew Litvack, Lenny Borger and Linda Jaivin are among the best known in a little-known field that helps make possible the international flow of movie culture,” writes Nicolas Rapold in the article I mentioned before. Which is a somewhat comforting thought.

But generally speaking, subtitlers are silent heroes, in the same league as translators and dubbing actors: their job is to make the works of others understandable for everyone, using their talents to the best of their ability to make their own presence unnoticeable in the transition from oral to written text, or from one language to another. And in the case of subtitling, of course, there are technical hurdles to take into account: size constraints set by different kinds of screens, word and sentence length, non-verbal communication and other noises…

The world of subtitling and captioning is definitely a world of its own, and with the currently increasing demand for this kind of job for all kinds of different media, it is good to know who to ask for a guaranteed high-quality job. inWhatLanguage is blessed to have such an amazing network of talented linguists that are capable of doing that and much more to make sure that the customer receives the best of the best. And that is why we are proud to thank them for being so awesome and for helping us keep our standards so high.

Thank you, subtitlers, for being our silent heroes.

iWL celebrates the World Cup!

Photo from FIFA.com.

The eyes of the whole world are set on Brazil, since the soccer World Cup has finally started!

For inWhatLanguage, Brazil is not just one of the most beautiful countries in the world – it also holds important ties to our translation agency, both personal and business-related. Some months ago, iWL CEO Cody Broderick had the chance to go there on a trade mission with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development to promote Utah, along with approximately 30 other people from different industries of the state. This helped Broderick develop some very interesting new business relations and discover a world of opportunities.

We also are proud to offer top-quality Portuguese translation services, highly localized and for very affordable prices, and best of all, with all the perks that come from working with a family-structured company like ours.

But that is not all: the World Cup is also a very special occasion for iWL! As we have informed you some months back, one of our most important clients is… FIFA, the international governing body of association football(soccer), futsal and beach soccer!  It feels like yesterday, but it was in fact last Autumn when we started translating its materials into 10+ languages in preparation for the upcoming World Cup. Now, the big championship is here, and we cannot help but feel proud. We contributed to its communication campaigns by making them comprehensible for the whole world!

Once again, our dear iWL linguist demonstrated their talent and translating skills as they gave their all to a project that was not only overwhelming in size, but also in content. Football, or soccer, is not only a sport: it is a whole world of its own, and it has a very specific “dialect” in each and every one of the languages our linguist had to work with. Football terminology is no walk in the park, and in order to do it right, each linguist had to have a heavy base of knowledge –which doesn’t mean that they didn’t learn anything new on the way! Just to illustrate what I’m trying to say, here is an actual Glossary ofFootball Words and Expressions taken from UsingEnglish.com.

But now we are finally reaping the rewards. All that effort was worth it, and now we can all enjoy the emotion of the games with the satisfaction of having been part of it by doing what we love and do best: translation.

Team Riley & iWL Cares: An epic combination for posterity!

Go iWL!

And the day came! As we have announced last week, this Saturday, young Riley Culley’s family had organized a race to raise money to help with the cost of medical expenses after Riley was diagnosed with bone cancer. The campaign turned out to be not only a lot of fun, but also extremely successful!

“I have been struggling for days to find the right words to express my gratitude and appreciation for all of the love, generosity, service, kindness, friendship, inspiration, and support from the most amazing community in the world. We are so blessed. This event was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced!” Young Riley’s mother, Jackey Culley, posted this message in Facebook after the event was over.

Many people answered Culley’s call for help, among whom was, of course, the inWhatLanguage family. As part of one of our iWL Cares initiatives, the members of the core team that were available ran in the race, enjoyed a gorgeous day out and got to meet some amazing people, all the while of course contributing to the fund for young Riley’s treatment.

“It was great! Such an incredible thing for us to be a part of. It was my first 5k and I may have finished last but I finished!” says iWL Office Manager Erin Millet with a big smile.

“Being involved in such a great cause is always such an amazing experience,” adds Natalie Herrera, iWL's Book Keeper. “Knowing that we where a small portion of contributing to the fight in Riley's battle was rewarding and made every step we took even more meaningful. There is something about being around others who want to do good that makes you want to thrive, to be the best person that you can be. It was a great day and we wish Riley the best!”

“It’s always great to be involved in the cause of making someone’s life better, or at least offer some relief,” says Maurice von Zutphen, iWL Vice President of Operations and Project Management. “But in the case where someone is fighting for his life, it is especially rewarding to offer support beyond the financial. The moral dedication and hope that is generated can offer great therapy. I am always impressed with how local communities (neighbors, friends, families, school, student body, rival schools…) respond in such a time of need.”

The iWL team members brought their families along, and they all enjoyed a fabulous day of exercise and fun, taking part also in the activities after the race: for instance, iWL CEO Cody Broderick bid on a University of Utah helmet that was signed by the coaches of the University of Utah and won. A little memento of a magical day for everyone!

We wish young Riley the best of the best, and we are really honored to help him in this time of need!

And now... Picture time!!

Cody reaches the finish line! Congrats!	And there goes Erin! Go team iWL!
From left to right: Natalie Herrera, Cody Broderick, Erin Millet.	Erin Millet, Cody Broderick and Maurice von Zutphen.

From left to right: (Front) Front: Vanessa and Marcus Broderick. (Back) Jackie Cullie,

Brian Bodine, Cody Broderick, Riley Culley, Mark Broderick

with Luke Broderick and Nicki Bodine.

inWhatLanguage Cares runs for Riley!

“Senior Riley Culley had his future planned out for himself. After helping lead Bingham High School’s football team to a 14-0 undefeated season and state championship, he looked forward to graduating, serving an LDS mission for two years, and attending Dixie State University with a football scholarship. These plans were interrupted, however, when Riley was diagnosed with bone cancer."

This is the story of Riley Culley, young football player who has suddenly had a dramatic change in his life, as told by The Prospector, the student news site of Bingham High School. (You can read the whole article here.) From a daily routine full of energy, football games and teen excitement, Riley now faces a daily challenge of fighting cancer, along with the adverse secondary effects that result from its treatment.

“Undergoing chemotherapy for the Ewing’s sarcoma, or bone cancer, will make a large impact on Riley’s future,” continues the article. “Not only can it affect his physical abilities, such as simple activities like walking, but he won’t be able to play football, attend college, or serve an LDS mission for at least a year and a half”.

A 5K race has been planned for the 31st of May to raise funds for the Culleys, and in hearing this, inWhatLanguage Cares hasn’t hesitated to snap into action. This Saturday, all the members of the iWL team that can make it will participate in this race, as well as their available relatives and friends, contributing to Riley’s cause not only financially, but also by spreading awareness and bringing as much people in as possible.

We would like to ask you to help Riley as well by participating in this race, where you won’t only be helping a courageous teenager to get healthy and enjoy a long and happy life, but you will also have the opportunity to do some exercise and have a lot of fun with a great number of awesome people! GO team RILEY!

How to make join the race you ask? All you have to do is next Saturday, May 31st, at 7:30 am head out to the Bingham High School (2160 West 10400 South, South Jordan UT 84095) for your sign in, registration and T-shirt pick up. Also, following the race, there will be a silent auction, raffles, giveaways, face painting, henna tattoos, cotton candy, glitter tattoos, character drawings and a massive bake sale. To sum up: fun for the whole family!

We hope to see you there!!

iWL goes to The Great Salt Lake Business Conference!

Picture -- Brian Palmer says hi!

“Time and time again Utah is ranked tops in the nation as a place to do business, including the last three years as Forbes Magazine's ‘Best State for Business and Careers.’ What makes Utah business so great? It's the people. And in an age of digital everything, you'll also discover that nothing beats a good, face-to-face conversation among great people.”

So reads the presentation text for The Great Salt Lake Business Conference that took place last week (May 13th -14th). It is a statement that rings true and very familiar: in the case of inWhatLanguage, a company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, it’s the human capital what makes our translation agency so great and unique. Hence, it is not all that surprising that inWhatLanguage, for the second time, took part in this huge Business and Technology Expo – the first time around was earlier this year in Orem, Utah.

“We had a great location in the Expo and there was a lot of foot traffic,” says iWL Sr. Account Executive Brian Palmer, who was present at the inWhatLanguage stand (as you can see in the picture) in the conference. “We were able to connect with a lot of local businesses and reconnect with a lot of contacts. It was a blast meeting with so many local businesses, small and large. We had a lot of really good discussions and we were able spread some inWhatLanguage cheer throughout the Expo,” he says with a smile.

Not only was The Great Salt Lake Business Conference an amazing place to meet tons of interesting people from different companies, but also the perfect opportunity to get some exceedingly useful pointers for our very own agency. The Expo was partly focused on new technologies such as software Apps, and that is an especially meaningful area for iWL to explore right now.

Our firm can translate all forms of multimedia, whether it's a web conference presentation, a global training video, or an interactive Flash demo for any website, and mobile Apps are a field we are currently working particularly hard in. Apps are the present and the future, and there is an undeniable demand for them in all languages all over the world with specific localization and technical know-how requirements.

Our translation team understands the importance of providing leading experts in all file types and technologies who can consistently recreate and adapt your multimedia translation project for any language and/or international market. No matter the format, no matter the subject matter, no matter the linguistic or cultural targets, inWhatLanguage will translate and localize your multimedia content with unparalleled speed and accuracy.

And in order to keep up the quality of our services, iWL will continue to attend conferences and expos like The Great Salt Lake Business Conference – not only to learn from the experts, but also… Because it’s a lot of fun!

The iWL ripple effect: the true purpose of inWhatLanguage

iWL's CEO, Cody Broderick 

As a translation agency, inWhatLanguage is definitely one of the best options out there: we deliver fast, reliable translation services in more than a hundred different languages with localized and specialized vocabulary thanks to our worldwide network of linguists. That in itself is pretty remarkable, but iWL is much more than that.

Our customers soon find out that what really makes us different is the fact that we are a team that firmly believes in what we do, that enjoys improving our skills every day, and that has a lot of fun doing what we love. And later on, they also discover something even more amazing: our true goal beyond all that. “I want the company to grow every year, and as we grow in scale, I want to use the company as a vehicle for philanthropy, for creating a positive impact in other people’s lives,” explains iWL CEO, Cody Broderick.

The young CEO likes to call it “the ripple effect”: when a drop falls on a lake’s surface, it produces a ripple that starts small and then keeps expanding. “I want to create a massive ripple everywhere around the world, starting with short-term goal and moving on to long-term successes. It’s a really big vision, but Rome wasn’t built in one day.”

One would think that, in order to make Broderick’s vision come true, the company must have a clockwork like structure and a list of everyday goals that get checked off as the day goes by. And here is the magic of iWL and its team: while perfectly structured and with very well defined goals, the staff still has time to have fun and enjoy their profession.

You want proof? Well, check these out…

Warning!! Warning!! Behold! The inWhatLanguage offices

have turned into a battlefield!

For a working environment, no one can deny that this looks like a lot of fun. And this can only happen in a place where the employees feel valued and satisfied. 

“Each team member knows that their role is really important. When you go to a company that has thousands of employees, what you do feels minimal- it doesn’t look like you are making an impact at all,” explains Broderick.

Take cover, for the attack of the Nerf
guns is imminent! :D

“But when you come to a family-oriented business that believes in its people and that clearly communicates that every single video message, phone call, email, blog or social media post or newsletter is dramatically important, the employees feel recognized – because they are. They are a vital part of the business.”

“In other words, we just love what we do. It’s so much fun!” concludes Broderick with a smile.