By Ewandro Magalhães The Mayan civilization may have vanished, but its linguistic heritage endures. Today, up to 22 ancient Mayan languages are still spoken in Guatemala and beyond, though their survival remains precarious. Ewandro Magalhães describes the challenges facing native speakers and efforts to provide language services to those in need.…

Beyond mere compliance, accessibility for people with disabilities is a business opportunity By Bridget Hylak and Gosia Wheeler The authors argue that ensuring access to digital products and services for people with disabilities is not only a legal requirement and an ethical practice, but also a great business strategy for reaching new consumers.…

Interview by Gerald Roche Scholar and activist Abduweli Ayup was imprisoned in China for his work promoting the language rights of Uyghur people and other ethnic groups. In this interview, he discusses his background and motivations, and offers some words of encouragement for language rights defenders everywhere.…

By Deema Jaradat Deema Jaradat provides an overview of language access laws in the United States and argues that knowledge of these policies can help linguists improve not only their own employment opportunities, but also outcomes for their clients and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals across the country.…

By Sjur Nørstebø Moshagen For 20 years, Sjur Nørstebø Moshagen has led an effort to develop language technology tools for the indigenous Sámi languages of Northern Europe. While the project has produced many important tools, the limitations of commonly used hardware and software negatively affect their ease of use. Moshagen ends by proposing an “op…

A conversation with Gabriel Karandyšovský about Argos Multilingual's most recent report, Global Ambitions 2024 "Windows into the Future," which explores potential industry trajectories with a focus on the balance between human and AI symbiosis. It reflects on how today's efforts shape tomorrow's realities, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity …

A conversation with John Yunker, the co-founder of Byte Level Research, who has authored over 20 annual editions of the web Globalization Report Card. In this conversation, we are talking about his most recent article in MultiLingual magazine in the August issue of 2024, "Five web globalization best practices that have stood the test of time".…

A conversation with the head of language services at the Olympics and Paralympics Games in Paris, 2024. She is also the writer in the August issue of MultiLingual magazine of the article "Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together: Language Services at the Olympics"Av MultiLingual Media

Compiled by Eddie Arrieta and Cathy Martin. Here, we feature ten individuals from around the globe who were nominated by their colleagues in recognition of their exceptional talent and dedication. We asked them to discuss their career choices, skill development, and what drives them to make a difference every day.…

By Tim Brookes. While the traditional Ranjana script is recognized and respected in Nepal, most people can’t read or write it due to centuries of restriction and oppression. Now, thanks to local efforts at teaching calligraphy, it’s making a comeback.Av MultiLingual Media

By Pham Hoa Hiep. In the course of their work, translators and interpreters often encounter tragic situations that cause them emotional distress. Pham Hoa Hiep discusses adaptive coping strategies and calls for better support mechanisms for language professionals.Av MultiLingual Media

By Mimi Moore. We often think of international diplomacy during crises, but diplomats and their interpreters quietly work on a daily basis to maintain peaceful and productive international partnerships. To gain insight into this little-known field of interpreting, MultiLingual spoke with American diplomatic interpreter Lefteris Kafatos.…

Reviewed by Erik Shonstrom Tim Brookes’ book, Writing Beyond Writing, is at once an historical overview of scripts, a memoir about carving endangered scripts, a manifesto that takes aim at the dominance of the Latin script, and — perhaps most vitally — a clarion call to save the scripts used by marginalized peoples around the world.…

Laszlo Varga discusses trends in language technology, including the shift from Nimdzi's Language Technology Atlas to the more dynamic Language Technology Radar and its launch. The senior research consultant at Nimdzi Insights explains how AI and large language models (LLMs) are reducing human effort while creating new job opportunities and driving …

A conversation with Alexandra Jarvis, Chief Strategy Officer of Toppan Digital Language, and Christophe Djaouani, President, about TDL's recent acquisition and its impact on the global language services industry. They discuss the challenges of navigating a multinational organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, the evolution of the language servi…

By Ewandro Magalhães When it comes to adopting AI, Ewandro Magalhães advises a balanced approach: taking it slow to avoid overpromising, but also keeping an open mind to possibilities. He argues that, ultimately, speaking openly about our fears and hopes will help us determine ethical ways to move forward with AI.…

By John Yunker Lessons from 20 years of website dos and don’ts By John Yunker For 20 years, John Yunker has benchmarked the websites of the leading global brands in the annual Web Globalization Report Card. In this article, he highlights the best practices that resonate as strongly today as they did two decades ago.…

By Domenico Lombardini How can a language service provider (LSP) create real value for customers, beyond just tailoring workflow tools or utilizing AI? Domenico Lombardini argues that offering synergistic services in specialized sectors can position an LSP as a go-to resource in the eyes of the customer.…

The Globe-Trotting Journey of Translated 9 Interview by Cameron Rasmusson For eight months, an 18-member crew from Italian language service provider Translated competed in a sailing race around the world using only a sextant and stargazing as guides. Co-skipper Marco Trombetti describes the ups and downs of the voyage, the invaluable lessons learne…

Language Services at the Olympics By Nathalie Greff-Santamaria Translation and interpreting are central to the Olympic and Paralympic Games to facilitate communication among athletes, coaches, spectators, and journalists from around the world. Nathalie Greff-Santamaria, head of Paris 2024 Language Services, delves into the tools and techniques her …

By Shirley Yeng In the months after ChatGPT’s release in late 2022, Shirley Yeng often woke up at night worrying about the relevance of her localization business. Here, she tells the story of how she overcame her fear of a changing industry and learned to embrace the promises of AI.Av MultiLingual Media

We talk about his career path and RWS linguistic AI solution Evolve, which recently won the Machine Translation Innovation Award at the 2024 AI Breakthrough Awards.Av MultiLingual Media

We chatted with Veronica Hylák, co-founder and co-CEO of Metalinguist, curator of the popular AI vlog, The AI Almanac. Veronica shares her secrets for staying informed in the fast-paced world of artificial intelligence, and her thoughts on the recent Apple Intelligence launch. You'll also learn about her favorite AI tools and how the future of the …

In this interview, João discusses his career path and the guiding principles behind Unbabel's innovative technology, including their recent launch of Tower LLM. We talked about the future of AI-powered language solutions, the unique collaboration between humans and AI at Unbabel, and the secret sauce that makes Tower LLM a multilingual translation …

By Kate Edwards “Allegorical distance” is the amount of effort required for a player to perceive the real-world inspiration behind an allegory in a game. Kate Edwards gives examples of short, medium, and large allegorical distances and urges game developers to intentionally determine the distance that best serves their narrative and players.…

By Diego Perez Video game translators were never meant to be ghostwriters. Diego Perez argues that the significant amount of uncredited work not only hinders translators’ bargaining power, but also undermines their moral rights as creators of derivative work. This article analyzes the current state of translator credits in gaming and suggests ways …

By Cameron Rasmusson Three decades ago, the work of translating popular Japanese video games for Western audiences often fell to just a few people using rudimentary technology. In this article, Rasmusson explores the ups and downs of game localization in the ‘90s and how this chaotic period influenced the industry moving forward.…

By Mimi Moore The integration of AI into video and computer game localization is transforming how developers approach their work and how players experience gaming. Mimi Moore explains AI’s impact on inclusivity, indie developers, real-time localization, and game quality across languages and cultures.…

Michelle Rabie considers the concept of “African time” and delves into the real reasons behind missed deadlines — from the challenges of working with low-resource languages to the lack of support from language service providers.Av MultiLingual Media

Tim Brookes poses the question, “How can a script that serves a language spoken by millions be endangered?” At issue is the traditional Kulitan script, employed by the Kapampangan people of the Philippines. Brookes discusses its decline, efforts at revival, and what’s at stake.Av MultiLingual Media

Compiled by Eddie Arrieta and Cathy Martin With GenAI in its nascent stage, language companies that use this emerging technology are in uncharted territory. In this article, ten of the most influential companies in the industry explain how they are leveraging GenAI to improve outcomes for their teams and customers.…

Amy Grace O'Brien, Sr. Linguistic Quality Manager at Adobe, and Roberto Silva, Terminology Program Manager at Amazon Web Services talk about the crucial role of terminology in the language industry.Av MultiLingual Media

We talked about their approach to innovation at Bureau Works and participation in the product innovation challenge at LocWorld51.Av MultiLingual Media

A conversation about innovation in the language industry and how specialized translators will play a pivotal role in the future of the industry.Av MultiLingual Media

André Köhler, CEO of Lingo Systems, talked about how software development has transformed the industry in the past few years and their approach to innovation and constant software development in the language industry.Av MultiLingual Media

With Luis Lopes, we got to discuss Trados, Trados Studio, and the history that's taken the company to where they are right now.Av MultiLingual Media

At LocWorld51 we got to talk to Richard Sikes, Senior consultant, we talked about business services, the business services team, and many other stories from memoQ.Av MultiLingual Media

Gráinne Maycock, Chief Revenue Officer at Acolad, and Adam Blair, VP of Sales at DeepL talked about their most recent partnership.Av MultiLingual Media

By Adriel Maroni How can language professionals help improve healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals? Adriel Maroni argues that using gender-neutral terminology, allowing for self-identification, and exercising open-mindedness goes a long way towards fostering inclusive and culturally competent care.Av MultiLingual Media

By Bridget Hylak Bridget Hylak reflects on the reasons for the deep divisions in the language industry — providing context, perspectives, and examples from both sides — and encourages linguists and technology experts to reconcile.Av MultiLingual Media

Interview by Cameron Rasmusson Through her work advancing the Saudi translation and publishing industries, Dr. Hailah Alkhalaf aims to share the country’s diverse cultural heritage with the world and help foster understanding between nations.Av MultiLingual Media

By Jourik Ciesielski Prior to the introduction of LLMs, NMT defined the computer-assisted translator’s toolset. And to some degree, it still does. But many in the industry have recently taken steps to promote LLMs to the new default. In this article, leaders from six of the world’s most influential language companies share their perspectives on the…

By Ewandro Magalhães In the annals of interpretation, few names shine as brightly as Andre Kaminker. Savant, trailblazer, and linchpin in the world of international communication, Kaminker’s life was a testament to the art and science of language — a craft he mastered with a blend of genius and unmatched techniques.…

By Kajetan Malinowski Content marketers are asking themselves: should they continue to create content in one language and then localize it for many markets, or should they leverage generative AI to produce customized content for each market in the local language? Kajetan Malinowski weighs in.Av MultiLingual Media

In this conversation with the Co-CEO of memoQ we go into the experience and learnings that took him to be in the frontline of the MT conversation in 2024Av MultiLingual Media

By Cameron Rasmusson By analyzing the frequency of letters in an Arabic text, ninth-century scholar Abu Yusuf al-Kindi established a framework for identifying patterns that laid the groundwork for both cryptography and machine translation.Av MultiLingual Media

By Rodrigo Corradi. This year marks 70 years since the first public demonstration of MT, which arguably sparked the language AI revolution that we see today. On January 7, 1954, a team from Georgetown University and IBM automatically translated 60 Russian sentences into English.Av MultiLingual Media

Ana Sofia Correia discusses the challenges and expectations of both sides of the language services coin — agencies and freelancers — suggesting ways to ease tension and calling for increased understanding of the roles each party plays in the industry.Av MultiLingual Media

Luciana Ramos argues that the symbiotic relationship between AI-driven solutions and human expertise is crucial in navigating the complexities of medical and scientific content and in improving the output of localization in these fields.Av MultiLingual Media

By Karen Combe and Mimi Hills. After reading the Globalization Strategy Playbook, Inés Rubio San Martín and Satoko Yuda were inspired to utilize data analytics to refine their company’s globalization strategy. Now a year into the project, they share their progress and the successes and challenges they’ve faced along the way.…