Investing in Translators: TWB Using a New Translation Tool Memsource to Better Serve Its Community - Slator - Translation

6 hours ago

The new technology integration represents TWB’s ongoing commitment to evolving its language technology and supporting its community

DANBURY, Conn., USA – Translators without Borders (TWB) announced the switch to Memsource, a new translation management system. The shift is part of TWB’s recognition that every language community should have access to best-in-class language technology and processes. 

TWB continues to expand its language services to better address the needs of people with lower literacy levels and for whom language technology is underdeveloped. Memsource allows TWB to integrate its own machine translation solutions, including glossaries, and terminology database, and improve its quality assurance processes. 

Advertisement

The new tool is available both online and offline, giving TWB’s community of over 60,000 linguists  the flexibility to work from anywhere. 

“Many translators working in marginalized languages have told us that they really struggle with online tools, mostly due to poor internet connections,” said Manuela Noske, TWB’s Community Manager. “This new translation management system will greatly improve access to all of our community members, while also giving them new skills and valuable experience to further their careers.” 

TWB’s mission is helping people get vital information and be heard, whatever language they speak. The new system gives TWB the ability to support speakers of marginalized languages in multiple formats. 

Initial feedback from TWB’s linguist community about the new system has been enthusiastic, suggesting that the shift is going to have a positive impact for everyone involved.

David Čaněk, CEO of the Memsource Group, shares “We are excited to be partnering with Translators without Borders and happy to know that our efforts and developments, especially in the area of machine translation enablement, can help contribute towards this worthy cause.” 

About Translators without Borders

Translators without Borders believes that everyone has the right to give and receive information in a language and format they understand. We work with nonprofit partners and a global community of language professionals to build local language translation capacity, and raise awareness of language barriers. Originally founded in 1993 in France (as Traducteurs sans Frontières), TWB translates millions of words of lifesaving and life-changing information a year. 

About Memsource

Memsource helps global companies translate efficiently. Ranked as the most viable Translation Management System by CSA Research in 2019, Memsource supports 500+ languages, 50+ file types, and 30+ machine translation engines. Memsource enables its customers to increase translation quality while reducing costs using its patented, state-of-the-art AI technology. With a team numbering over 180 people in offices across Europe, US, and Japan, Memsource serves thousands of global customers, including leading brands such as Uber, Supercell, Vistaprint and Zendesk. In December 2020, Memsource acquired the industry-leading software localization platform Phrase, forming the Memsource Group.

Posts falsely claim Merriam-Webster 'changed dictionary definition of anti-vaxxer' - AFP Factcheck - Dictionary

Copyright AFP 2017-2021. All rights reserved.

Facebook posts shared in May 2021 claim the US dictionary Merriam-Webster “changed [its] definition of anti-vaxxer” to include “people who oppose laws that mandate vaccination”. The claim is false: Merriam-Webster told AFP its definition of the term has not changed since its inception in 2018. Archived versions of the dictionary’s website also show its definition of the term has not changed since 2018. 

The claim was shared by a New Zealand-based Facebook user here.

A screenshot of the post, taken June 4, 2021.

The post includes a screenshot of this tweet which reads: “The Merriam-Webster dictionary has changed its definition of

‘anti-vaxxer’ to include ‘people who oppose laws that mandate vaccination’.” 

The tweet includes a screenshot of the Merriam-Webster dictionary entry for “anti-vaxxer” on its website.

InfoWars, a website renowned for spreading conspiracy theories, reported similar claims in early May.

The claim was shared as the deluge of misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic continued to circulate online. AFP has debunked some of the major claims here. 

The claim has been shared hundreds of times by Facebook users around the world, including here, here and here. 

The claim, however, is false. 

Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, told AFP the dictionary’s definition for anti-vaxxer “has not been revised since first appearing” in 2018. 

“There has therefore been no ‘expansion’ of this entry or definition,” he said. 

An archived version of the anti-vaxxer entry on the Merriam-Webster website from 2018 confirms this.

It shows the same entry as referenced in the misleading posts.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the Merriam-Webster entry from 2018 (L) and the entry featured in the misleading posts (R):

North Canton Public Library: Adult Summer Reading: Books In Translation - Patch.com - Translation

One of our Summer Reading themes is Explore Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which means it's also one of the Activity badges Adults can earn as an entry for the grand prize drawings. There are four different Activities that are part of the badge (you have to complete two to earn the badge), and one of those Activities is to read a book in translation. I will admit that I love international literature, so putting together this list of suggested books was a lot of fun for me. The translated book you read to check off this activity does not have to come from this list, but if you're unsure where to start, this list might help you out.

To create this list, I used our NoveList database, which you can also use here. I also couldn't help myself from including some of my favorites! (Dostoevsky is the best!!!! Trust me, it might seem counterintuitive, but Crime and Punishment really is a perfect summer read.) Hopefully you find a great book in translation to read this summer, and if you do, I'd love to hear about it!

Shelia

Alexander Valley Winegrowers Announces the Translation of Their Website into Spanish and Other Valuable Resources to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. - wineindustryadvisor.com - Translation

Advertisement

HEALDSBURG, Calif. (May 19, 2021) – The Alexander Valley Winegrowers are pleased to announce the translation of our website into Spanish for the benefit of the Latina/Latino community. We are one of the first Winegrowers Association to offer our website in English and Spanish.  

The Hispanic community has ties to the earliest years of grape growing in the Alexander Valley and throughout California. According to the latest Census Bureau data, the Hispanic population accounted for 27.2% of Sonoma County’s inhabitants in 2018. The California Department of Finance predicts the Hispanic population will become the ethnic majority in the country (51%) by 2050. This community has shaped the landscape of almost every wine bottle produced in California and here in the Alexander Valley. Included within the website is a resource page that contains an Essential Resource List where vineyard and winery employees can find topical and timely links that would benefit them and their families. Additionally, the AVWG website also offers our membership resources to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion links to assist their company efforts. 

In addition, Wine Business Monthly in 2017 identified that 31% of Hispanic consumers are wine drinkers, and this percentage has been steadily increasing each year. Many of these households have a high rate of family members identifying Spanish as their first language. We are also creating a more user-friendly Visitors Directory for our website to allow greater access to the wineries in the Alexander Valley for all consumers.

Our modest efforts in providing Spanish translation of our website permits access to important industry information for our Spanish-speaking vineyard and winery employees and expanded marketing and communications to an essential and underserved group of our customers.

About Alexander Valley Winegrowers

The Alexander Valley Winegrowers is a non-profit association representing 79 winegrowers and 35 wineries in the appellation. Alexander Valley Winegrowers is a community of winegrowers and winemakers sharing generations of family, history, and traditions dedicated to world-class winegrowing in the Alexander Valley. We are committed to the preservation and promotion of the vineyards and wineries in the Alexander Valley AVA. To learn more about the Alexander Valley Winegrowers, visit: AlexanderValley.org 

Advertisement

Rever Delivers Universal Translation for Global Manufacturing Frontline - Digital Journal - Translation

Rever Translate allows connected frontline workers to instantaneously leverage content from across the world and turn local improvements into global best practices

Today, Rever Inc., the leading Frontline Operational Excellence company for global manufacturers announces Rever TranslateTM. Rever’s SaaS platform connects Frontline Managers and Team Members through guided workflows to collaborate and improve performance by addressing acute issues, solving problems, and executing improvement ideas at the source. Language is the main foundation of human collaboration. Most international organizations adopt an official global language, but too often that excludes most frontline workers due to language barriers. Rever TranslateTM changes this by allowing anyone to seamlessly eliminate language barriers to access best practices, learnings, and standards to build true global collaboration.

“For global organizations, language is a big barrier for sharing best practices. Rever breaks this barrier with Rever Translate. Now any frontline worker, or manager, can access best practices from any site around the globe.” According to Errette Dunn, Rever’s CEO. “We are talking about immediate, on-demand translation of content created by any user in any language. Think about the power of having learnings, ideas, solutions, and instructions seamlessly move from one country’s team to any other team across the globe. This power is completely redefining how collaboration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence are executed.”

Rever TranslateTM also enables, and accelerates, collaboration among individuals and teams across borders. This collaboration results in faster innovation and the right talent being connected to any issue, regardless of location across the world. In addition, individuals develop skills across all countries to transform tribal knowledge into new standard practices.

Rever TranslateTM Features include the following:

• Translate any content from the source to any target language – instantly
• Collaborate across borders witrh translated descriptions, information, and comments
• Share and print translated content with anyone across the globe

About Rever

Rever is a Frontline Operational Excellence platform for manufacturing companies that activates their frontline employees to expose hidden losses, take action to improve, and deliver actionable insights to elevate operational performance. Rever unlocks the full potential of frontline teams to harness their talents and take actions that elevate operational performance. With Rever, enterprises are able to align, engage, and empower frontline teams to drive performance and innovation through guided workflows, collaboration, gamification, and real-time analytics. World-class companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Grupo Bimbo, MARS, Sigma Alimentos, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries use Rever technology to elevate operational excellence at the frontline. Rever has offices in San Mateo, California, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Barcelona, Spain. Learn more at www.reverscore.com.

The Legal Tech-To-English Dictionary: Law Practice Management Software - Above the Law - Dictionary

Ed. note: This is the second installment of The Legal Tech-to-English Dictionary, part of our Non-Event for Tech-Perplexed Lawyers. Jared Correia is the host of the Non-Eventcast. 

There’s a term for when attorneys use Latin and other arcane languages to describe legal processes to consumers: “legalese.”

But there’s no similar term for when vendors use technical and other arcane languages to describe their legal software operations to lawyers.

True, this dynamic may seem unfair. But now we have The Legal Tech-to-English Dictionary to help us cope.

Read on for the second installment, where we translate legal practice management software-related topics to plain English.

And for more commentary on legal tech, check out the Non-Eventcast in the Law Practice Management Software, Legal Document Management Software, and Legal Operations Contract Lifecycle Management rooms at the Above the Law Non-Event.

Law Practice Management Software

1. A database for managing law firm clients that organizes primary case information under matter files.
2. A platform for systematizing client data collected from integrated systems via software integrations.
3. Client files organized by email subfolders … in 2002.

Lawyer 1: I just bought a new law practice management software, and I’m spending so much less time looking for everything because it’s all in one place now!

Lawyer 2: Yeah, you should see this Excel file I put together. It’s badass.

Lawyer 1: Just … stop.

Cf. Organization porn. 

Relational Database

1. A software that recognizes relationships between segments of data.
2. A system based on the relational model of data, created by Edgar F. Codd.

Cf. Law practice management software

Cf. The Oracle of (Kevin) Bacon.

Client Portal

1. A software system feature that allows law firms to share certain data with clients via an in-system, encrypted holding container, which clients can access using a unique password or PIN (personal identification number).
2. The means by which unwieldy assignments can seamlessly enter your workflow. 

Lawyer 1: The good news is that my clients can send me stuff via our portal. That’s also the bad news.

Lawyer 2: Ba-dum-cha.

Lawyer 1: Thanks. I’m here ‘til Thursday. Try the veal.

Cf. Online document drives, most of which are de facto customer portals, also allow users to share information with others in a secure format. Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, et al. offer such features. These can also be connected to law practice management software via integrations.

Cf. Like how in action movies, there’s always a portal with all these aliens coming in to invade the planet. Honestly, I don’t know which portal is worse: that one, or the one that drops a 90-page contract in your lap for review.

Integration

1. Connecting two softwares via an API (application programming interface) that allows each software system to share data with the other.
2. Connecting two softwares via an intermediary program (like Zapier) so that the two programs can share data without the need of an API.
3. A primary reason modern practice management software can be life-changing, particularly for those currently using a combination of dictation machines, hard-copy markups, and the Logo turtle.  

Cf. Linking a law practice management software to a productivity software (email, calendar) allows users to sync emails, events and tasks with client files within the law practice management software, cementing that program as a holistic solution for law firm data management. Linking an accounting program to a law practice management software allows users to push expense and invoice data into the accounting program.

Business Intelligence

1. A method for collecting and aggregating data into a digestible format that allows software users to make data-driven business decisions.
2. Reports generated from software systems focused on specific business metrics, including key performance indicators.
3. You know, pretty much everything your law school neglected to tell you about. But, hey: You still know what the Rule Against Perpetuities is!

Lawyer 1: How’s your P&L statement looking for the last quarter?

Lawyer 2: Uh. Um. Res Ipsa Loquitur.

Lawyer 1: Say what?

Cf. NOT the Edsel.

This is the second installment of The Legal Tech-to-English Dictionary, part of our Non-Event for Tech-Perplexed Lawyers. Read the first installment here.

---

Jared Correia, a consultant and legal technology expert, is the host of the Non-Eventcast, the featured podcast of the Above the Law Non-Event for Tech-Perplexed Lawyers. 

Topics

Artificial Intelligence, ATL Non-Event, Automation, Jared Correia, Legal Operations, Legal Tech-to-English Dictionary, Legal Technology, Non-Event, Non-Eventcast, Practice management, Technology

Lost in the beautiful art of literary translation: Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton shows how a new language can provide a new perspective – Laura Waddell - The Scotsman - Translation

Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton recounts her experiences in Japan as she learns the language and becomes a literary translator (Picture: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)

Anyone who works with a writer’s manuscript has a responsibility to serve it and its author well. From the commissioning editor who champions the book’s potential, through to the structural editor who unpicks its knots, and then to the proofreader, cover designer and publicist.

All these people and more make their mark on how the raw material is eventually received by readers. The text might be the most important thing, artistically and substantially, but quite a bit of work goes into getting a book polished up, dressed in a fetching jacket and ready for its debutante’s arrival on the bookshop floor.

Sign up to our Opinion newsletter

Sign up to our Opinion newsletter

Translation, however, will always be semi-shrouded in mystery to me, somewhere between a science and an art, but with quite possibly a pinch of magic in the mix. What I do understand is that good translation isn’t simply flipping words over to their literal equivalent, but striving to capture something of the essence of the original usage: preserving the tone, the in-jokes, the cultural context. This takes deep reserves of knowledge as well as flair.

Read More

Read More

Found in translation: insightful feminist books on male violence – Laura Waddell

In her recent book Fifty Sounds, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, Polly Barton recounts her experience as a learner of Japanese, teaching English as a foreign language at a small island school, and later becoming a literary translator. This is no “what I did on my summer holidays” book – although there are plenty of humorous mishaps along the way. Barton has clearly dedicated her life to working language like it is clay.

Fifty Sounds demonstrates Barton’s belief that to understand another language – to really, truly, get it – she had to immerse herself within it, building up a library of sensual associations to draw on. Every adventure she has – culinary, sexual, or emotional – adds to the depth of her vocabulary.

The book is testament to the thoughtfulness that goes into translation: the weight of choosing one phrasing over another. At times, these dilemmas verge on neurotic, spiralling off anxiously.

But for the most part Fifty Sounds is a delightful, granular account of communicating across languages, as Barton gradually becomes able to consider the world not in a new light, but with new words.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.