Taken from October 2008 issue of Officer.com

By Carole Moore

[...]

A call for help

Twenty-six years ago, a San Jose police officer realized his department not only was fielding more calls for service from Spanish-speaking subjects, but a growing number of Vietnamese were also settling in the area. Launched originally as a non-profit, Language Line Services (LLS) of Monterey, California, acted as a kind of go-between for clients who needed to communicate with individuals who did not speak English.

Louis Provenzano, LLS president and COO, says the company partners with 911 calls, police and emergency dispatchers. LLS provides access to 176 different languages.

The concept is simple. The officer notifies dispatch of the need for an interpreter. Dispatch calls the company on a special emergency telephone line and the officer hooks up with an interpreter.

“Some cities just let the officer dial directly — [we do] whatever the police want to do to make it easier.” Provenzano says.

LLS’s most requested U.S. language is Spanish. No surprise there, but the runners’ up might make a few jaws drop: Mandarin is second, followed by Korean, Vietnamese and Cantonese. “We also get lots of requests for Polish and Portuguese,” says Provenzano.

One fascinating byproduct of this service are the trends they indicate — in the Washington, D.C., area, for example, there is a growing need for Krio interpreters. Krio is the language spoken in Sierra-Leone.

Phoenix, Arizona, has a growing need for Dari, spoken in Iran. Oromo, a language used in Ethiopia and other African countries, is showing up in Seattle, Washington, while Denver, Colorado, has a demand for the Tibeto-Burman language of Karen, and in Chicago, Illinois, Urdu is spoken by many Pakistani immigrants. Some countries, like the Philippines, have numerous dialects. They present challenges, but thus far LLS has managed to meet them.

Handling some of those calls is Susan Avila, one of LLS’s 4,000 translators. Some LLS staffers work in call centers, while others translate from their homes. Competition for Avila’s job is fierce: The company only hires one out of every 12 applicants.

Avila, who works in Fort Worth, Texas, has been interpreting for 10 years. She says one of the most dramatic cases she assisted with involved a man who had been kidnapped and managed to get hold of a cell phone to call for help. As the police were searching for him, she was asked to instruct him to kick walls and make noise so officers could find him. They did — and also found and arrested his kidnappers.

“Of course not every call is that memorable,” Avila says.

Commgap of Salt Lake City, Utah, is another company that works with law enforcement agencies and attorneys to facilitate interpretation over phone lines. Similar to LLS in structure, Commgap’s Leilani Craig, executive director, says “We’re a full translation agency and offer a whole round of language services. Part of our services are telephone interpreting on demand.”

The dynamics are pretty simple, says Craig. The agency contacts Commgap and within 30 seconds they have an appropriate interpreter on the line. Commgap routinely records conversations they interpret and, says Craig, there is no minimum, no set-up charges and no binding contract.

“Agencies can use us as much, or as little, as they want,” she says.

[...]

*************************************************************************************************************

For more information about Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, Cantonese and other Asian language translation, please visit 1-Stop Translation’s website at www.1stoptr.com or email us at marketing@1stotpr.com

*************************************************************************************************************

6. Do some testing after the initial localization is done to make sure that the site looks good and works properly. Check the visuals first. Then do some functionality testing (such as creating and filling out a test form) to see if any function was lost during the translation process. Check to make sure that all necessary pages have been uploaded and translated, all the links are working, and that the translated text can be viewed properly (your developer should change the character encoding according to the target language).

In addition, you should perform testing to ensure that your web site works well on different platforms, operating systems and browsers at this phase.

Make sure that the translator or agency understands how browsers work with special characters (diacritics). If your localizer is working or making revisions on the translated text in HTML mode, be careful to never enter characters with accents into the code itself. Certain browsers could display the web page incorrectly.

7. Some translators will try to differentiate the localized files from the source files by adding a distinguishing extension for each language (the French file for home.html will be named home_fr.html). When this happens, every link reference in every file will need to be renamed to point to the right link. This will be time consuming and it will increase the possibility of creating errors. Instead of doing this, it is better to store each language version in its own folder.

8. Almost every target language requires localization of measurement systems, date format, punctuation, the thousands/decimal system, and colours. Everyone involved in the localization process should have cultural sensitivity to avoid offensive content.

9. Pay attention to web site layout when localizing in a language like Arabic or Hebrew. Because these are right to left languages, it is most likely necessary to redesign the layout (especially when your web site has navigation bars on the left).

10. If you want to optimize your multilingual site you should be aware that not all major search engines are working properly with foreign pages and your web site may not be listed in many of them. Also, the terminology your translators prefer (however correct or appropriate) might be VERY different from what your customers are using to find you. You must understand how your customers search online to effectively achieve high rankings and good online results. You should do research on what the major local search engines are and what your competition is doing.

Article taken from http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/75064

*************************************************************************************************************

For more information about website localization into Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian languages, please visit 1-Stop Translation’s website at www.1stoptr.com or email us at marketing@1stotpr.com

*************************************************************************************************************

Chinese, Japanese and Korean are few among the ancient languages existing in our world. There is lot of ancient wealthy information written in these languages which play vital role in today’s technological growth. Let’s learn a little about the languages before proceeding to translation.

The Chinese language was anciently spoken by Han Chinese, habitats of China. About one-fifth of the globe’s population verbalizes some form of Chinese as their local language. Japanese language is of similar rich indexing. Japanese is associated to the Ryukyuan languages. This language is spoken by around 130 million people in our globe. Korean language is the native of North and South Korean. It’s the language used by 80 million people including the large groups of Korean immigrations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, The United States, CIS (post-Soviet states), and Philippines.

Now let’s see more about the translation service. Due to globalization language translation services are gaining upper hand. Japanese translation, Chinese Translation and Korean Translation services are more important due to the wide spread of the natives. The native have their invention in the native language. To globalize their invention we require the help of Japanese, Chinese and Korean translators.

Any translation service let it be Japanese, Chinese or Korean translator; their main service will be for Website translation, Software localization, and financial translation.

Now China and Japan are harboring most of the software and internet development and there is more Chinese and Japanese use most of the software in their own language to make work easier. Most of the websites and softwares developed by them will in their native language. Chinese and Japanese translators should be translating every word in Japanese and Chinese to The Global language English. Few of the Chinese and Japanese, natives also will need their financial translations to be translated to their native as the papers come in from the English lands. Even school and collage students will find them in need of Chinese, Japanese and Korean translation services, as there is increase in the interest for research and study of ancient Asian Culture.

Korean are wide spread in all directions, hence the need of Korean translation and Korean translators is of high necessity.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean Translators are not very expensive. After the wide spread of civilization Chinese, Japanese and Korean translators are available online. They can translate content to English or other native language within no time. Things have become very easy as the need for Chinese, Japanese and Korean translation gained more importance.

For Information and Services, Visit us at http://www.1stoptr.com

The airport’s translation phones — equipped with two receivers for three-way conversation — are installed at all 22 immigration booths, plus in the main terminal and baggage-claim areas. California-based Language Line Services, which employs 3,000 translators for 170 languages, runs the service.

Immigration officials who interview arriving passengers use the service most frequently, says Sue Hansen-Smith, Sea-Tac’s customer service manager. “I don’t know what we’d do without it. It’d really slow down the (immigration clearing) process.”

Korean is the most common language requested at the airport, followed by Mandarin, Khmer (Cambodian) and Vietnamese.

*************************************************************************************************************

For more information about Korean, Mandarin, Khmer (Cambodian), and Vietnamese translation, visit 1-Stop Translation’s website at www.1stoptr.com or email us at marketing@1stotpr.com

*************************************************************************************************************

******************************************************************************************************************

For more information about your Asian translation needs, visit 1-Stop Translation’s website or e-mail us at marketing@1stoptr.com

******************************************************************************************************************

We Test Over-the-Phone Translation Services;
Getting a Dosa in New Delhi, Contempt in Paris

By SARAH NASSAUER
July 17, 2008; Page D3

If you find yourself lost in translation while traveling abroad there are the usual fixes — gesturing wildly as if playing the game charades, using a trusty phrase book, or hoping for the help of a bilingual bystander. But interpretation companies are hoping you use another tool: your cellphone. These services aim to give you access to a 24-hour bilingual interpreter; you call the service on your cellphone, explain your dilemma in English, then hand over the phone to whomever you need to speak with — cab driver, waiter, police officer, doctor, or the object of your affection in a bar.

Over-the-phone interpretation, mostly aimed at companies that conduct business in several languages, is expanding. The industry saw $700 million in sales in 2007, and is expected to grow to $1.2 billion by 2012, according to Common Sense Advisory, a research firm specializing in business globalization and the language-services industry.

We tested four companies in different countries to see if the over-the-phone interpretation services proved a good way to deal with two classic traveler scenarios — a complex restaurant order and a taxi ride. Our reporters placed restaurant orders with a twist like a vegetarian meal in France and factored in a peanut allergy in Jakarta, Indonesia. And our taxi drivers were asked to go to a destination, wait outside while we attended to our business, then head to another destination.

Our tests had some limitations — we couldn’t fake a medical emergency, a stolen passport or buying a home abroad — the types of stressful things for which interpretation companies say some customers find their service most useful.

Across the board we found the services fairly expensive. In Jakarta, we spent about $30 on dinner and the cab ride, but about $40 for 10 minutes or so of the interpretation service we used to order dinner and direct the taxi. The cheapest service we tested was chinaONEcall, at $1.48 per minute initially but cheaper as minutes are added.

And there was a lag between the moment a call is placed and the moment an interpreter comes on the phone — in one case more than five minutes. So we learned it is best to call slightly before you find yourself face-to-face with a confused cab driver waiting anxiously for your direction.

In Jakarta we tested Language Line Services, a U.S.-based translation and interpretation service and the largest telephone interpretation service in the world. Their Personal Interpretation Service was easy to sign up for and use. We never had to wait more than two minutes between the time we called and the moment an interpreter came on the line.

We called the service from a Chinese restaurant, giving the interpreter a long list of items we wanted to order, noting specifics about how we preferred each dish and informing the interpreter of our dinner guest’s peanut allergy. We found the interpreter impressive: She double-checked that the waiter at the Chinese restaurant spoke Indonesian, not only Chinese, showing local knowledge. She explained to the waiter who she was, adding “bon appetit,” to us before saying goodbye. The order came exactly as requested.

Our Jakarta cab ride also went off without a hitch and the interpreter appeared to have local knowledge, helping the cab driver get to the location we requested. But we felt the service was too expensive for casual use at $3.95 per minute. The company says the service is cheap compared with standard international calling charges, and the caller is billed only for the time actually spent with an interpreter. But the toll-free number provided by the company works only within North America.

In Paris, we tested CallUma, a new U.K.-based service that says it provides “help” abroad by offering other types of traveler services in its packages, such as special luggage tags that track baggage, concierge service, and a text-messaging feature for translations and requests.

Our efforts weren’t particularly welcome. When we handed over our cellphone to ask for a vegetarian meal at a Paris restaurant near Invalides, the waiter spoke to a thorough and polite interpreter for several minutes, then put down the phone and asked us in English “do you like trout?” with a look of almost contempt.

At a taxi stand, we had to wait more than five minutes to be connected to a French translator, causing confusion within the row of cab drivers as we passed up getting into several cars. The company says our reporter called a customer-service number, not the same number we used for our restaurant test, which delayed the connection to an interpreter.

It took some cajoling for a cab driver to let us into his car after we finally got an interpreter on the line. When the driver took the phone he didn’t know what to do with it, first looking for a text message on the screen. Eventually, an interpreter got our request across and we made the journey. The company later said it would have been easier if we had asked for written directions via text message.

The company translates from English into 18 other languages, and the cheapest package costs $38.86 per year, which includes 15 minutes of over-the-phone assistance, plus baggage tags, unlimited text translations, emergency assistance and a host of other benefits. Additional minutes are $1.89 per minute. Users can call a U.K. or U.S. number for service, but the company plans to add more local call-in lines.

In Beijing we tested chinaONEcall, a recently opened U.K./China-based company that translates only between English and Mandarin (and vice versa) and is geared toward independent users. The initial cost is $89 for 60 minutes, or about $1.48 per minute, but refills are cheaper. And users call a local Chinese number for service.

But our reporter found the quality of the interpretation lacking. We asked the interpreter to take us to the Moma Towers, but didn’t get an immediate translation, so we assumed the interpreter didn’t know the correct word in Mandarin. After a back and forth, we mentioned the Mandarin name and got on the road.

Later, the company went back and listened to a recording of our reporter’s calls. (Several companies had our calls on file when we checked in with them later to get their response to our tests.) They said the interpreter was online trying to figure out which of two Moma Towers in Beijing we wanted, causing a lag in communication. The interpreter should have been more “confident and explained to the customer exactly what they were doing but I feel they achieved the customer’s goals and managed the situation,” says Greg Sinclair, operations director for the company.

We ate at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Beijing, but when we asked the interpreter to order humus, kebab and mint tea, the interpreter didn’t recognize those foods even after we spelled out a few of the words. In the end, the interpreter asked us to tell him the numbers next to the food we wanted and he told the waiter. The company says interpreters want to complete the call as quickly as possible because customers are paying per minute, so decided that asking the customer the numbers was faster then researching a translation for the cuisine.

In New Delhi, India, we tested Language Translation Inc., a U.S.-based translation and interpretation services that started a 24-hour telephone interpretation services early this year. After sitting down in a restaurant in southern Delhi, we called the interpreter to explain that we wanted a wheat-free recommendation from the waiter. After being connected quickly, we passed the phone to the waiter, who immediately gave it to a superior who spoke to the interpreter for several minutes. After a series of questions and passing the phone back and forth we decided to order a dosa (a large south Indian style crepe), which the waiter promised via the interpreter is “always, always” made with rice. All parties seemed tolerant of the back and forth.

A cab ride also went smoothly, though when we attempted to use the service for an autorickshaw ride we found the loud street noise made it difficult for us to communicate with the interpreter, and a patchy cellphone connection meant we had to call back several times to complete our instructions to the driver and agree on a price. The company offers over 150 languages and costs $2.20 per minute.

In the end, we still prefer our old charades gestures or a good phrase book for communicating in most everyday situations, especially given the steep prices for the interpreter services. But we definitely think the services would come in handy in an out-of-country emergency or a situation where a precise translation is required.

–Max Colchester, Jackie Range, Lam Thuy Vo and Tom Wright contributed to this article.

Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121624832986259935.html

******************************************************************************************************************

For more information about your Asian translation needs, visit 1-Stop Translation’s website or e-mail us at marketing@1stoptr.com

******************************************************************************************************************

1-Stop Translation develops a global solution for going international.

The Challenge

• In the end of 2004, a renowned retail doughnut franchise was seeking entry into East Asian markets. Through a subcontract, 1-Stop Translation was presented with the opportunity to develop an internationalization scheme for the franchise’s South Korean division.

• Internal documents on various business aspects had to be translated, including technical manuals, training guides, and legal contracts.

• Marketing materials, including the logo, advertisements and website, required localization.

• Translating, subtitling, voiceover and editing was needed for fifteen promotional and training videos.

• On-site interpretation was expected for corporate meetings with possible partners in Korea.

• Beyond translation and interpretation services, localization was expected to ensure applicability and relevance.

The Solution

As 1-Stop Translation originated in Seoul, the company has expansive knowledge of the South Korean market and a large network of resources, which made undertaking this project an obvious decision.
While limited in experience working with such a broad project, our team managed the multiple aspects of localizing an entire company within the expected timeframe.

• The project’s Senior Linguist traveled to the franchise headquarters to receive a four-week managerial training session to ensure expert knowledge of all processes and terms for the duration of the project.

• Our team of language specialists and subject experts developed a common glossary as well as more detailed, separate glossaries to ease translation efforts.

• The video localization process required us to create a creative translation team for the promotional videos, and a technical translation team for the training videos. Then, we needed technical engineers and multimedia specialists to edit and dub the videos. All processes were completed by our in-house staff at our China office’s dubbing studio.

• The localization efforts for the project were carefully determined and implemented to ensure success in the variable nature of the retail food industry.

The Benefits

As the world is growing into a more global community, the Asian market is the new frontier for businesses throughout the globe. In order to find success in these new markets, the acumen of these businesses must be focused on the needs of the target audience. 1-Stop Translation offers solutions geared toward finding success in Asia by approaching the market with culturally relevant strategies. Our translation and localization services enable these strategies to be properly implemented and managed.

For more information and for Korean, Chinese and Japanese translation service, visit us at http://www.1stoptr.com

1-Stop Translation offers software localization solutions to enhance accessibility and usability.

The Challenge

Our client was the Korean division of a major German maker and manufacturer of medical equipment. This project required localization of the software that runs their equipment as well as the translation of related manuals and marketing materials.

We were dealing with sensitive content that had the potential to affect people’s lives. One mistake in translation or localization had the possibility of resulting in an unsafe and liable outcome.

Our work was limited by strict regulations, as the product had to be approved for import. Furthermore, all translated documents required a review by the government to confirm compliance with Korean laws. If the document was found to be inadequate, the incurring delay could cost millions of dollars for both the importer and manufacturer.

As the software was in a raw file format, we were required to disassemble, reassemble, and then test all aspects of the software, from executable files to re-sizing windows.

The localization process required the use of separate Korean extraction software. However, the software was unable to fully support Korean character codes, and the maker of software could not provide updated solutions in time.

The Solution

It was necessary to follow a careful and thorough approach in order to accomplish this project’s goals. We made certain that our results allowed for impeccable understanding and complete relevance.

Equipped with vast resources, we were able to find reviewers with relevant doctorate degrees as well as experience working in laboratories with similar equipment.

Our language experts analyzed the source material and extracted translatable tags/units from the executable files. The separate units were individually translated, recompiled, retested, and then debugged to ensure top-notch quality.

Despite dealing with software shortcomings, our engineers found precise solutions to support the Korean character code within the software files.

Other issues included adjusting window sizes and carefully translating help files to guarantee that they would be understood by individuals using the software for the first time.

The Benefits

As businesses are transcending national boundaries, technology and innovation follow similar paths by crossing borders in order to benefit all global citizens. The growing availability of medical technology in new markets means that the quality of life can be uplifted and improved for all people. However, availability can only translate into effective usage if these products are localized for language barriers and cultural differences. 1-Stop Translation is dedicated to providing accessibility so that all people can benefit from the development of new technologies.

(For more information about how 1-Stop Translation can fulfill your company’s needs, please contact us at marketing@1stoptr.com)

1-Stop Translation strives to be a team of Asian experts bridging the gap between Asia and the US, working to achieve a client-centered culture that balances success in business with the growth of individual employees.

1-Stop Translation was founded in 1994 in Seoul, Korea with a dedication to high-quality translation, interpretation and multilingual desktop publishing services. Since then, 1-Stop Translation has been involved in some of the most historic events in Asia: the Asian Economy Crisis of 1997, the Korean President Kim Dae Jung’s Nobel Prize ceremony in 1998, and the 2002 World Cup.

In 2001, 1-Stop Translation became 1-Stop Translation USA, LLC and spread its reach to China. These three offices (including Korea) in three different time zones work together as one team to realize your multilingual project in the most competent and cost-effective way possible.

(For more information regarding Asian Languages, please visit http://www.1stoptr.com)

San Francisco, CA, May 14-17, 2008―The 6th Annual ALC Conference was held at the Hotel Nikko, located in beautiful Union Square. It was a wonderfully organized event which combined a range of events covering various issues that pertain to language service providers and specifically to their owners and senior managers.

1-Stop Translation is once again represented by our CEO, Don Shin and our Director of Marketing and Business Development, Francesca Riggio. On top of participating as a platinum sponsor to the event, Don Shin was also selected as one of the few speakers that were provided with the chance to share their years of knowledge and experience in the industry to the general ALC audience. Don delivered a successful presentation titled “Simple IT Solutions for Small Business.” His presentation received a generous and positive feedback from those who attended.

For those of you who were unable to attend the event, we have uploaded the presentation to our website in PDF format, for easier use and access. Please click on the following link to view the presentation: http://www.1stoptr.com/Articles.asp

From a single page document translation to an entire internationalization project, 1-Stop Translation has all the tools you need to make it happen.

Did you know in Korea it is rude to refer directly to someone as “you”? Careful language and cultural assessment is an integral part of successful Asian translations. We pride ourselves in our knowledge and experience of the language, culture and traditions of the East.

Our commitment to quality and accuracy is reinforced by the 400 other translation companies that trust us to fulfill their Asian language project needs.

1-Stop Translation will be there to help you find a unique solution to serve your unique needs.
For more information and for Korean, Chinese and Japanese translation service, visit us at http://www.1stoptr.com