Welcome to the team, Karlie!

This week we have the pleasure of introducing yet another new member of the iWL Team, Karlie Bodine!

Here is a little autobiography:

“My name is Karlie Bodine. I grew up in Cottonwood Heights (less than 4 miles from some of the best ski and snowboard resorts in the world) with my parents and one younger brother. I graduated from Brighton High School in 2012. 

I’m a 19-year-old Honor Roll and Dean’s List student at the University of Utah. I’m studying Psychology and minoring in Sociology-- I’ve always been fascinated by other people and passionate about social and civil rights. After receiving my Honor’s BA in Psychology, I plan on attending S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.

Growing up in Utah, it is hard not to develop a love for the outdoors! In my spare time, you can find me climbing, swimming, wakeboarding, backpacking, hiking, fourwheeling, doing yoga or doing just about anything outside! As I mentioned before, I have lived about 4 miles away from what are considered to be some of the best ski resorts in the whole world for my entire life. 

Ironically enough, with my love of the outdoors but my dislike of the snow, I never practiced ski or snowboarding until I was 18 years old. I went skiing at Alta and instantly loved it! I’m sad I missed out on it all those years growing up, but I did start wakeboarding and fourwheeling at a very young age. Most of my early memories involve being at Lake Powell or the Sand Dunes.

My parents have always valued traveling and experiencing other cultures and I consider this is one of the greatest gifts they could give me. I have been to 19 countries- mostly in the Caribbean and Central America. As a result, the ocean is one of my favorite things in the entire world. My favorite place that I have visited so far is La Romana, Dominican Republic. Not only were the people kind and the food delicious, but the ocean and scenery was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. In the future, I hope to travel even farther and visit as many places as I can! I love experiencing other cultures.

I’m so excited to start my new journey at inWhatLanguage! I’m looking forward to all of the opportunities IWL has for me to grow and learn! I’m happy to be a part of this team.”

Karlie has started by organizing our latest iWL Cares campaign, to which you can also contribute!

“This month we are doing a Coat Drive and looking to collect all the coats we can to give to those in need as these cold fall and winter months are approaching! We are collecting up until October 31st. Please, if you live in Salt Lake City or the neighboring area and you have any old and gently used adult coats laying around, contact me so I can pick them up. Thank you so much!”

Localization and dialects: Is it worth it?

According to Infoplease, nowadays there are around 6,500 languages currently being spoken around the world. Of course, as one can read in this article from the Linguistic Society of America, counting languages is practically impossible, as new varieties appear every day, the same way as some other languages go extinct. But for the sake of argument, let us say that there are 6,500 languages in the world. Our first question should be: what is a language? Does a dialect count? Does a different accent of a language count?

“Consider the facts of negative sentences, for example,” says the article from the LSA. “Standard Italian uses a negative marker which precedes the verb (Maria non mangia la carne‘Maria not eats the meat’), while the language spoken in Piémonte (Piedmontese) uses a negative marker that follows the verb (Maria a mangia nen la carn ‘Maria she eats not the meat’). Other differences correlate with this: standard Italian cannot have a negative with an imperative verb, but uses the infinitive instead, while Piedmontese allows negative imperatives; standard Italian requires a ‘double negative’ in sentences like Non ho visto nessuno ‘not have I seen nobody’ while Piedmontese does not use the extra negative marker, and so on. The functioning of negation here establishes a parameter that distinguishes these (and other) grammars. (…) scholars have estimated that somewhere between 300 and 500 of these distinct possibilities are actually instantiated in the region!”

 There are more distinctive cases, though. Take Spain for example: a country where Spanish is the official national language, but where “dialects” – which are, as a matter of fact, whole new languages themselves, and some of them older than actual Spanish and with no similarities whatsoever- are co-official in their respective regions, taught in schools and proudly spoken both on the streets and during official events. These people love their language, or “dialect”, and appreciate being addressed in it. They will certainly pay closer attention to a document or speech in their regional language than in common Spanish.

From an international business’ point of view, this might sound like something not worth taking into consideration – we are talking about extra costs that could be avoided just by translating all communications into the national language, which supposedly everybody understands.

But translation – or, more specifically, localization – is not just about making communications understandable. It’s about achieving the biggest impact on your target audience. About getting their attention and making them feel connected to you and your company.

So back to the question “is it worth it?” the answer is: it depends. Obviously, if you are in charge of finding different translators and negotiating rates with them, you probably would want to hire only a few people you can trust with the least amount of work – the less trouble for you, the better. 

But consider this: if you hire a translation agency with years of experience and a vast network of in-country native translators that, on top of that, offers discounts for large volumes on their translation services… That is worth it. At the end of the day, you will have a localized translation that will have a much greater impact on your audience, and the long-term benefits will be significant.

So… yes, it depends. It depends on whether you want to risk it going solo, or you decide to trust the best to take care of it. inWhatLanguage is always there to help – keep us in mind!

The conundrum of branding

Branding a product is always a tough decision, especially when it is aimed at an international audience. Words that sound perfectly logical in one language can mean something completely different –and sometimes unfortunate- in others. An example that often comes to my mind when thinking about branding fails: the detergent Barf, which in Persian means “snow”, but in English… Evokes everything but crispy, white sheets.

It would be like branding a cute line of lipsticks “Kiss”, which would be very becoming… Until it reaches Sweden, where “Kiss” means “pee”. Not something you usually want to put in your lips!

Today I found this interesting article in The Economist. “Branded a fool” talks about this specific problem, namely international branding. There is a whole industry dedicated to this field, and there are strategies and guidelines here and there. And they make all kinds of sense, too: 

• “People avoid extra effort every chance they can; a name that is hard to spell or remember is harder to Google and buy from”: well, a brand is, after all, something created to make the product stick in our minds so that we feel like purchasing it. And every day we have increasing difficulties remembering even our phone numbers. So yeah.

• “Pronounceability in a wide variety of languages may be more important”: duh, try pronouncing “Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän” – hard even for German natives! Certain languages have spelling systems that can be a nightmare for foreign speakers, and words like this one are certainly not going to stick.

• “An evocative name sets off a chain of associations in the mind”: yes… to an extent. Like I said, a lipstick brand called “Kiss” is certainly evocative, but depending on which country we are in, the perception might change dramatically!

While the process of coming up with a brand name for a new product is absolutely fascinating and it has a lot of strategy and know-how involved, taking it abroad without any risk can be just as easy as contacting a good language agency. One that is specialized in the languages spoken in the regions you want to launch your campaigns in, and that have excellent localization services and cultural adaptation skills.

In inWhatLanguage, we can proudly say that we have the best team for these situations. With our worldwide network of native, in-country translators, we can assure that, if a brand has the slightest chance of causing a misunderstanding in the region due to the language, culture or even regional dialects, we can save you the trouble.

Let us help you overcome language barriers and conquer the business world without worries!

Customer service: the key to our success

inWhatLanguage is a fairly young translation company, but even so we have a long list of clients who stick with us for their translation projects. Their loyalty is what allows us to maintain our position as a leading translation agency, and what gives us the incentive to keep improving ourselves and our services. So much so that it is practically thanks to them that we have earned a place among the best translation companies in the US.

But why is that? In this extremely competitive industry of translation, full of capable companies everywhere, how is it that a young company has been able to gain such a standing, to keep growing every year and to look into the future with great optimism?

In other words, why do our customers keep coming back?

The short answer is: our customer service. The long answer?

1. Because, above all, we deliver high-quality services that our clients appreciate and distinguish us from the average jobs done by less professional companies.
2. Because we are consistent with our translations and never break our promises.
3. Because we are FAST, but the speed of our translations and interpreters does not affect the quality of our services.
4. Because we are always happy to talk to our clients; they feel welcome and supported from the moment they make first telephonic contact, or they get the first reply via instant chat, or they receive a response mail in a matter of minutes after sending their original request.
5. Because we reward the customers who commit to us with large projects offering tasty volume discounts.
6. Because we reward loyalty by offering better prices to long-time customers, as well as for client referrals.
7. Because we are always there during the whole translation process, ready to listen to last-minute demands and ask for details to make the end result as accurate and localized as possible.
8. Because we proofread our translations to make sure that we are delivering the best service possible and to save our clients all the trouble.
9. Because we go to great lengths to make sure that what the end translation looks like a mirror image of the original, with the format as intact as possible.
10. Because, even when the project is finished, we stay in contact to make sure that everything is going well, and of course to apply any corrections if necessary.

What our customers think of us is the most important thing, at the end of the day. Their feedback is what drives us in the right direction. 

And for that reason, when we receive comments such as “Thank you for your service. It was timely and everything was performed at a high quality level,” or “Great customer service and delivery. Ryan and Erin were a pleasure to work with,” (those were our latest feedback comments), we feel more excited than ever to continue moving forward!

So thank YOU, our dear customers, for pointing us in the right direction!

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? ;)