Pocketalk Introduces Mobile App for Conversational Translations Wherever You Go - PR Newswire - Translation

App Converts Phone or Tablet into Two-Way Translation Device, with Access to 82 Languages at Your Fingertips

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pocketalk, a leader in real-time language translation technology, today introduces Pocketalk App, its first mobile app, which enables use of a phone or tablet for fast, reliable, and affordable two-way translation. The cloud-based Pocketalk App translates 82 languages, supporting a global need for accessible translation solutions. Easy to download on any iOS or Android device for $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually, it provides subscribers access to the most accurate conversational translations whenever they use the app on their phone or tablet. First time users of the Pocketalk App will receive a free three-day trial that can be activated once the app is downloaded.

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Pocketalk's first mobile app which enables use of a phone or tablet for fast, reliable, affordable two-way translation

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Pocketalk App Converts Phone or Tablet into Two-Way Translation Device with Access to 82 Languages at Your Fingertips

"There's never been a greater need for accurate, fast, and accessible translations that bridge the language divide," said Noriyuki Matsuda, Founder and CEO, Pocketalk. "The Pocketalk App contributes to a deeper understanding of people and different cultures, all at one's fingertips, and meets a need for people to more easily communicate with each other anywhere in the world."

Translations for Everyday Conversations

The Pocketalk App gives people freedom to speak with more confidence during multiple language conversations, knowing the person they're speaking to will more clearly understand them, bridging language gaps when it's needed most. The app lends itself to casual, spontaneous everyday conversations, and is the ideal companion for traveling abroad, for helping build stronger connections with relatives who may only speak their native language, for chatting with international friends or colleagues, and for informal exchanges at happy hour or the grocery store.

The Pocketalk App is a complement to Pocketalk's existing suite of language translation products, including Pocketalk S and the HIPAA and GDPR compliant Pocketalk Plus that have proven success strengthening communication for travel, education, healthcare and logistics.
Once downloaded on a preferred mobile device or tablet, the Pocketalk App creates new potential for on-the-go conversations and translation support whenever multiple languages are being spoken.

Pocketalk App In Action

Once the Pocketalk App is downloaded on a phone or device, select the language you want to speak in and language you'd like to translate to. Then, hold down the "translate" on your screen and speak to activate. As you speak, the app will translate to text in the language you've asked it to translate to. Additional app features include:

• One-button translation for simpler translations in fewer steps
• Text-to-translate camera, which allows your phone or tablet camera to instantly recognize and translate digital text, written words, and signs
• Conversion feature, which computes exchanges for currency, length, width and temperature

The Pocketalk App is available for purchase in the App store and Google Play for $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually and provides subscribers a connection anywhere they go in the world. The free three-day trial can be activated following the initial app download. For more information and to view a product demo, visit Pocketalk.com.

ABOUT POCKETALK

Pocketalk is the global leader in connecting the world and facilitating conversation through the only translation solutions on the market that enable an authentic communication experience. Pocketalk, which is HIPAA and GDPR compliant, connects people of all backgrounds through language translation — fast, easy and most importantly, accurate translation. Developed, manufactured and distributed by Sourcenext, the largest distributor and creator of software, hardware, and IoT products in Japan, Pocketalk officially launched in the U.S. in 2018 with headquarters in Palo Alto, CA. The company offers translation solutions through the handheld Pocketalk collection and, in an exciting innovation, now the cloud-based Pocketalk Pair and Pocketalk App. The two-way translation solutions can translate 82 languages and be utilized anywhere in the world with an internet or data connection. To find more information or purchase Pocketalk, visit Pocketalk.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to stay in touch with our latest updates.

SOURCE Pocketalk

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Chinese dictionary buzzwords illustrate country’s transformation over past decade - Global Times - Dictionary

An elementary school student checks a dictionary. Photo: VCG

 Chinese language scholar Li Yuming was thrilled to see the new entries documenting progress in China when he flipped through the latest edition of a popular Chinese dictionary released recently.

The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese, launched in 2004, is now in its fourth edition.

The latest edition incorporates about 1,000 new phrases reflecting changes in China's socioeconomic landscapes compared with its last revision eight years ago. Among these are phrases like "new normal" and "overtaking on the bend."

"The around 1,000 buzzwords were compiled from various aspects of the society, recording the progress of the times," said Li Xingjian, chief editor of the dictionary. He added that the new edition contains more than 12,000 characters and about 72,000 phrases, presenting a comprehensive picture of contemporary Chinese vocabulary.

Documenting social evolution

Li, chair of the China Association of Lexicography, said that the timely revision of the dictionary has documented the evolution of society and satisfied users' need for reference.

Phrases such as "original aspiration," "anti-corruption," "top-level design," "new normal," "free trade zone," "the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," "ecological civilization," "pooling the strength and will," "worst-case scenario thinking" and "last-kilometer," have earned a place in the dictionary.

"The latest version of the dictionary reflects two major trends: the pursuit of green and low-carbon goals in economic and social life, and the significant impact of the internet on our daily life," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese language and literature at Peking University.

Terms like "low-carbon economy" and "Weibo," China's microblogging service, were added to the dictionary's second edition in 2010 when the two trendy concepts gained widespread popularity.

In 2014, the phrase "online shopping" was included in the dictionary after the phenomenal development of the e-commerce sector made it familiar to every household.

In this edition, new entries include "peak carbon emissions," "carbon neutrality," "cloud computing," and "mobile payments."

The national carbon market has seen a cumulative turnover of 194 million tons of carbon emission quotas worth nearly 8.5 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) since it became operational in July 2021.

In 2021, China's cloud computing market size surpassed 300 billion yuan. Moreover, the annual transaction scale of mobile payments in China, which was only tens of billions of yuan in 2011, hit 527 trillion yuan in 2021.

The abundance of new words reflects the zeitgeist of society, said Wang Fang, president of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), the publishing house behind the dictionary.

"The emergence of new phrases is a result of the tremendous transformations and outstanding accomplishments of the past decade," Wang added.

New meanings in old words 

New terms were coined, and old words also acquired new meanings. This phenomenon is another reminder of how much society has progressed. Among them is the phrase "overtaking on the bend."

The phrase refers to racers with superb skills and courage who surpass their opponents while rounding a bend. In the updated dictionary, it has gained a new figurative connotation of turning difficulties and risks into opportunities, rising to challenges and outperforming others.

From new energy vehicles to online consumption, 5G, high-speed railways, the sharing economy and artificial intelligence, booming emerging industries prove that "overtaking on the bend" is a reality in China.

One of the most salient criteria for the inclusion of new words in the dictionary is their wide use by the general public, said Zhang Shiping, who is in charge of revising the dictionary. 

"The inclusion of new words reflects the development of society, which, in turn, further enriches language."

New phrases stemming from Chinese classics are also added to the dictionary, as the preservation of traditional culture now has greater weight.

Readers can acquire knowledge of Chinese culture and improve their cultural accomplishments by looking up these words in the dictionary, Wang Fang said.

The definitions of some words have been revised under the Civil Code to keep up with the country's progress in the practice of the rule of law.

The Civil Code, which took effect on January 1, 2021, is the first law with "code" in the title since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

"Dictionaries are the collective memory of the nation," said Li Yuming, adding that as society evolves, new entries must be added to ensure this memory stays fresh.

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Parishioners reclaim Ojibwe language through hymn translation - Crux Now - Translation

ST. PAUL — Holding a wooden flute, Larry Martin stood during a recent Mass and welcomed the congregation to join the responsorial psalm. He began: “Aw ge-chi-twaaa-wen-daa-go-zid, Gi-gi-zhe-ma-ni-doo-mi-nann.”

The language was Ojibwe, and the words translated to “Our God is one who is glorious,” taken from Psalm 19.

Martin, a 79-year-old director emeritus of American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, worked with another language expert to convert the English to Ojibwe, the traditional language of many of the American Indian Catholics who worship at Gichitwaa Kateri in south Minneapolis, Martin’s parish.

Most of them can’t speak their ancestors’ language, but it’s meaningful to pray in it, he said. “It helps them give voice to their Indian identity,” he said.

Gichitwaa Kateri is home of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Indian Ministry. Since 2018, Martin and fellow parishioner Rick Gresczyk have translated into Ojibwe most of the responsorial psalms used in the church’s three-year Sunday Mass cycle. Their work built on a project they began years earlier to translate popular hymns such as “Ode to Joy,” “Hail, Holy Queen” and “How Can I Keep from Singing?”

Their accomplishments caught the attention of Catholics planning Pope Francis’ visit to Canada this July. At the request of the visit’s organizers, Martin submitted a few hymns for consideration, including “Wezhitooyan Gakina Go” and “Hymn for Kateri Tekakwitha.”

The first, an Ojibwe creation song Martin and Gresczyk composed, was inspired by three sources: an Old English creation hymn, an Ojibwe creation story and a hymn attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great.

The second hymn was created by Father Jan Michael Joncas, a well-known liturgical composer and recently retired priest of the archdiocese. In 2012, he collaborated with the Gitchitwaa Kateri community to craft a hymn to celebrate the canonization of the parish’s namesake.

Although the hymns he submitted were not ultimately used during the papal visit, Martin thinks that might be partly due to regional difference: The Ojibwe dialect spoken in Canada differs from the dialect Martin and Gresczyk use, he said. He feels it was an honor for the hymns to even be considered.

In addition to translating popular Catholic hymns and psalms, the two men have set to music Ojibwe-language prayers of Bishop Frederic Baraga, the first bishop of Marquette, Michigan.

Like elements of Pope Francis’ Canadian pilgrimage, Martin and Gresczyk’s translation initiative is tied to culture reclamation efforts underway in the U.S. and Canada, in response to the Indian boarding school era, where American Indian and Indigenous children were removed from their homes and sent to government-funded schools, some run by Catholic religious orders and dioceses, where they were often not allowed to speak their native languages or express their cultures.

“The church is responsible for damage to language, so we thought we should do something about bringing it back,” said Martin, who is Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe.

For the translations, Martin credits Gresczyk’s deep knowledge of Ojibwe. Martin doesn’t consider himself fluent, but says he can tweak grammar and align Gresczyk’s translations with the chosen melodies.

Gresczyk now lives in northern Minnesota, so the two mostly collaborate by phone.

Shawn Phillips, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Indian Ministry and pastoral minister at Gichitwaa Kateri, said the translations help parishioners pray and learn more about their culture and heritage. He hopes one day there will be a similar effort to translate prayers into Dakota, so both of the primary Native American cultures in Minnesota would be represented, he said.

The translation effort is important, Phillips said, because “God will speak to them in their own language.”

“That was the Pentecost message,” he said. “It wasn’t that the Gospel be in Greek or in Roman, but … all of these people could understand it. It’s that God cares about us and speaks to us in our own language and knows us intimately.”

– – –

Wiering is editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

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Chinese dictionary buzzwords illustrate China's transformation in past decade - Xinhua - Dictionary

*The latest edition of the Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese incorporates about 1,000 new phrases reflecting changes in China's socioeconomic landscapes compared with its last revision eight years ago.

*The latest version of the dictionary reflects two major trends: the pursuit of green and low-carbon goals in economic and social life, and the significant impact of the internet on daily life.

*The emergence of new phrases is a result of the tremendous transformations and outstanding accomplishments of the past decade.

BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese language scholar Li Yuming was thrilled to see the new entries documenting progress in China when he flipped through the latest edition of a popular Chinese dictionary released recently.

The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese, launched in 2004, is now in its fourth edition.

The latest edition incorporates about 1,000 new phrases reflecting changes in China's socioeconomic landscapes compared with its last revision eight years ago. Among these are phrases like "new normal" and "overtaking on the bend."

"The around 1,000 buzzwords were compiled from various aspects of the society, recording the progress of the times," said Li Xingjian, chief editor of the dictionary. He added that the new edition contains more than 12,000 characters and about 72,000 phrases, presenting a comprehensive picture of contemporary Chinese vocabulary.

Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2021 shows the venue of China 5G+ Industrial Internet Conference in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)

DOCUMENTING EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY

Li, chair of the China Association of Lexicography, said that the timely revision of the dictionary has documented the evolution of society and satisfied users' need for reference.

Phrases such as "original aspiration," "anti-corruption," "top-level design," "new normal," "free trade zone," "the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," "ecological civilization," "pooling the strength and will," "worst-case scenario thinking," and "last-kilometer," have earned a place in the dictionary.

"The latest version of the dictionary reflects two major trends: the pursuit of green and low-carbon goals in economic and social life, and the significant impact of the internet on our daily life," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese language and literature at Peking University.

Terms like "low-carbon economy" and "Weibo," China's microblogging service, were added to the dictionary's second edition in 2010 when the two trendy concepts gained widespread popularity.

In 2014, the phrase "online shopping" was included in the dictionary after the phenomenal development of the e-commerce sector made it familiar to every household.

An exhibitor promotes food products through livestreaming at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

In this edition, new entries include "peak carbon emissions," "carbon neutrality," "cloud computing," and "mobile payments."

The national carbon market has seen a cumulative turnover of 194 million tonnes of carbon emission quotas worth nearly 8.5 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) since it became operational in July 2021.

In 2021, China's cloud computing market size surpassed 300 billion yuan. Moreover, the annual transaction scale of mobile payments in China, which was only tens of billions of yuan in 2011, hit 527 trillion yuan in 2021.

The abundance of new words reflects the zeitgeist of the society, said Wang Fang, president of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), the publisher of the dictionary.

"The emergence of new phrases is a result of the tremendous transformations and outstanding accomplishments of the past decade," Wang added.

A "Fuxing" high-speed train runs on the Beijing-Tianjin intercity railway in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

NEW MEANINGS IN OLD WORDS

New terms were coined, and old words also acquired new meanings. This phenomenon is another reminder of how much society has progressed. Among them is the phrase "overtaking on the bend."

The phrase refers to racers with superb skills and courage who surpass their opponents while rounding a bend. In the updated dictionary, it has gained a new figurative connotation of turning difficulties and risks into opportunities, rising to challenges, and outperforming others.

From new energy vehicles to online consumption, 5G, high-speed railways, the sharing economy, and artificial intelligence, the booming emerging industries prove that "overtaking on the bend" is a reality in China.

One of the most salient criteria for the inclusion of new words in the dictionary is their wide use by the general public, said Zhang Shiping, who is in charge of revising the dictionary. "The inclusion of new words has reflected the development of society, which, in turn, has further enriched the language."

New phrases stemming from traditional Chinese classics are also added to the dictionary, as the preservation of traditional culture now has greater weight.

Readers can acquire knowledge of Chinese culture and improve their cultural accomplishments by looking up these words in the dictionary, Wang Fang said.

The definitions of some words have been revised in the dictionary under the Civil Code to keep up with the country's progress in the practice of the rule of law.

The Civil Code, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2021, is the first law with "code" in the title since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

"Dictionaries are the collective memory of the nation," said Li Yuming, adding that as society evolves, new entries must be added to ensure this memory stays fresh.  ■

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Dictionary of Trail Lingo: SOBO Days 51 - 58 - The Trek - Dictionary

You can spot a hiker from a mile away. And that’s if you don’t smell them first. If the pack isn’t a dead giveaway, maybe it’s the ball caps and fanny packs and their strange way of speaking.

What Do You Mean?

There is certainly a sub-culture for thru-hikers. As with any sub-culture, thru-hiking comes with a plethora of words that only make sense to a small group of people.

Think “tail press to nose butter” and “method grab” for snowboarding or “send it” and “smear” in rock climbing.

For Reference

A good friend of mine joined me from Killington to Bennington. She boosted my energy, provided positivity, and gave updates on Canadian news throughout most of Vermont.

Joining for just a section though, I had to let my friend in on all of the trail lingo so that she knew what we were talking about.

For Puddles’ reference, and for others, I present to you the unofficial dictionary of trail lingo.

Unofficial Dictionary

AT: Easy one. Abbreviation for the Appalachian Trail.

Blue blaze: Side trails that generally spur off from the AT. This often includes trails that lead to parking lots, shelters, water sources, or viewpoints. Purists always make sure to take the blue blaze back to the main AT exactly where they got off to walk every mile of the AT continuously.

Bubble: Used to describe a relatively large group of hikers moving along the trail at approximately the same pace. Not to be confused with a tramily.

Camel up: Used both to describe drinking an excess of water at a water source and the action of filling up a couple water bottles for water on the go.

Deli blazing: Similar to blue blazing, this involves taking a side trail to a deli. Commonly practiced throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey where delis are plentiful and near to the trail.

Dialed in: An elite form of backpacking where the thru-hiker carries few, if any, extra luxury items. Their pack weighs very little, with a minimum amount of strategically chosen items. Unfortunately, this is definitely not me, as you’ll know from my post What I’ve Learned About Ultralight.

Flip flop: A form of hiking the trail that involves doing different sections in a non-continuous order, but still hiking all sections. Common practice is to hike North from Harper’s Ferry to Katahdin and then South from Harper’s Ferry to Springer.

Hiker hobble: Usually after sitting for too long, a hiker loses all ability to walk normally for a few steps due to stiffened muscles, sore ankles, and tight hips.

Hiker trash: An all-encompassing term for the breed of humans that choose to thru-hike this, or any long, trail.

Leap frogging: A social way of spending the day, passing fellow hikers, stopping for a break only to have them pass you, and so on in a loop. This occurs a lot within a bubble or tramily.

Nearo: An almost-day-off where few miles are hiked and the remainder of the day is rest. The threshold for a nearo depends on the person. I used to say sub-5-miles, now I’d say it’s closer to sub-10-miles, personally.

NOBO: A Northbound thru-hiker going from Georgia to Maine. The most common way to hike the trail. But not the only way, see flip flop, SOBO, and section.

Packs off: Often used in the context of a “packs off break”, typically meaning a slightly longer break where the packs are dropped momentarily.

Ramen bomb: A calorically dense trail dinner favourite (but not for me). Boil ramen and use the excess water to hydrate instant mash potatoes. All in one pot. Bonus points if you add hot sauce, ranch, mayo, taco seasoning, and/or Frito’s.

Section/sectioning: Self-explanatory. Hiking just one particular section of the AT. Anything less than the full length. Some will refer to multi-state sections as “long sections”.

Slackpack: Hiking without the full weight of your backpack. This involves sleeping off-trail before and afterwards, typically, since the pack probably only contains food, water, essential layers, and necessary emergency supplies.

SOBO: A Southbound thru-hiker going from Maine to Georgia. The right way. Oops, did I say that out loud?

Stealth site: Contentiously used to describe dispersed camping sites along the trail. This is any site that is not at a recognized tentsite or shelter. Others argue that this term only applies to dispersed sites that are not visible from the trail.

Trail angel: Someone who performs trail magic.

Trail magic: The best. Trail magic is usually food, but sometimes water, or a hitch, or supplies, given for free or by donation by a trail angel. Water and fruit are my personal favourite kinds of trail magic!

Trail name: A non-government name assigned to thru-hikers by other thru-hikers. Typically references a funny incident, a good story, or a unique part of their character. I’m Ducky!

Tramily: Unlike a bubble, a tramily explicitly chooses to hike together for extended sections of the trail. Generally this involves planning to stay at the same shelters, sharing hotel rooms in town, and generally looking out for each other.

Vortex: Broadly used to describe spending too much time in one place with a risk of not getting back on trail. Often used to describe time spent somewhere comfortable or with beer. Example: I’m really vortexing at this pub, I might not get back on trail tonight.

Yo-yo: A unique form of hiking that involves hiking the entire AT twice. Usually from Georgia to Maine and then immediately from Maine back to Georgia.

Zero: A glorious, but usually antsy day in town. These days involve hiking zero miles on the AT and are typically seen as rest days and days to accomplish town chores like buying new sneakers, calling family, and cleaning your water filter.

Closing Vermont

After oodles of trail magic, summiting Mount Killington, lovely hostels, and cute trail towns, Vermont is coming to a close. From Bennington, the Massachusetts border is just ahead! And with that, over a quarter of the trail, over 500 miles, and 3 states complete.

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The Most Popular Google Translate Desktop App Is Malware - Review Geek - Translation

Nitrokod

A Turkish-based malware campaign, called Nitrokod, has infected thousands of machines with cryptomining malware. And oddly enough, Nitrokod spreads this malware through unofficial desktop versions of popular web apps, such as Google Translate.

Note: To be clear, Google doesn’t offer an official Translate app for PC. If you’re using an unofficial Google Translate app, I suggest uninstalling it and relying on the Google Translate website instead. You can pin the Transalte website to your desktop and pretend its an app, if you want.

The malware scheme was detected by Check Point XDR and publicized by Check Point Research. Essentially, Nitrokod distributes free software versions of Google Translate, Microsoft Translate, and various MP3 downloaders. These applications contain a timebomb—they slowly install encrypted RAR archives that contain the building blocks for a cryptominer.

By the time this cryptominer is installed on your PC, all evidence of wrongdoing is erased. Plus,  the malware’s file location is whitelisted by Windows Defender. This process can take months, but in the end, hackers will utilize your system resources to mine cryptocurrency.

Nitrokod’s software is available on platforms like Softpedia and uptodown. And if you search for “Google Translate desktop app,” Nitrokod occupies the first few results. Check Point Research believes that NitroKod began spreading malware way back in 2019.

To create its software, NitroKod hackers simply take a Chromium app framework and force it to display an embedded version of a webpage. These hackers aren’t building apps from the ground up, although they may have developed (or adapted) the script that automatically installs malware.

We suggest that you avoid third-party versions of popular web services. And if you see an app that’s described as “100% clean,” or any other suspicious nonsense, run away! Those affected by Nitrokod should uninstall any associated software and block known cryptomining pools from your network.

Source: Check Point Research

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Yasmin Moslem on Using Large Language Models to Custom Train Machine Translation - Slator - Translation

Machine Translation (MT) Researcher, Yasmin Moslem, joins SlatorPod to talk about her research on Domain-Specific Text Generation for Machine Translation — a project she conducted with Rejwanul Haque, John D. Kelleher, and Andy Way at the Adapt Center in Dublin.

Yasmin shares her experience working as a translator, discovering translation productivity (CAT) tools, and experimenting with translation memory to improve MT. She breaks down the paper’s approach to domain-specific MT training using back-translation for data augmentation.

She discusses how some LSPs are already implementing this approach in real-life, customizing it for different use cases. She explains why they used a combination of BLEU, Comet, and other quality evaluation frameworks as well as human evaluation to rate machine translation quality.

Yasmin concludes the podcast with her advice for those in the core industry looking to enter the machine translation space, from the spiral learning process to reading research papers.

First up, Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, including how a streaming platform used propriety machine dubbing technology for its film offerings in the first quarter of 2022.

Over in London, TransPerfect acquired a virtual data room (VDR) tech company to proactively address the VDR market. In transcription news, VIQ Solutions’ shares dipped by 20% despite reporting strong, half-year revenue growth of 45% year on year. Meanwhile, multilingual captioning provider Ai-Media turns EBITDA-profitable as a 2021 acquisition drives revenue growth.

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