Google Wins Machine Translation Showdown
Earlier this month I wrote an article in Global By Design on Google’s ambitious machine translation (MT) plans. While Google is still very much in pre-beta stage with its home-brewed …
Translation
Taking Harry Potter Global
When I heard that the latest Harry Potter book was expected to sell 10 million copies in the first day, I assumed that this number included editions in various languages. …
The 2005 Web Globalization Survey
If your company offers a multilingual Web site (or plans to offer one), I encourage you to take a moment to complete our landmark Web globalization survey. You can participate …
“Transcreation” Gaining Momentum
The term “transcreation” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it is getting used increasingly by a new wave of firms seeking to distance themselves from translation firms. This article …
The EU Adds Gaelic; Translation Costs Grow
According to this AP article, the European Union has promoted Gaelic, Ireland’s native tongue, to “official” status. This is good news for Gaelic translators, as the EU will have to …
DITA Becomes a Standard (Now What Is It Exactly?)
The standards organization OASIS recently approved Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) version 1.0 as an OASIS Standard — a “status that signifies the highest level of ratification.” So what exactly …
China: A $1.3bn Translation Market?
According to this article China’s translation market is anywhere between US$1.3bn and US$2.5bn; this is according to the Translators Association of China. Also according to the assocation, there are 3,000 …
Will Google Kill the Translation Industry?
Last week I received a “Factory Tour” invite from Google but didn’t give it much thought. I wish I had because I missed a preview of the company’s ambitious machine …
The Book is Flat: A Review of “The World is Flat”
Perhaps I expected too much. I loved The Lexus and the Olive Tree, and when I heard the title of Tom Friedman’s new book back in the fall, I got …
Is There a Translator in the House?
This article in the New York Times about the lack of language support in four New York City hospitals is as sad as it is maddening: When a Spanish-speaking hospital …
SDL Asks Companies to “Switch”
In a page borrowed from Apple’s playbook, globalization services/software vendor SDL is asking prospects to switch over to SDLX. What is SDLX? It’s a computer-aided translation (CAT) software tool used …
eBay Launches Kijiji, Challenging Craigslist
eBay has launched of an international classified ads Web site called Kijiji, which the company says means “village” in Swahili. Kijiji is available for 50 cities in Canada, China, France, …
Getting to Know Global IA
I’m at the IA Summit in Montreal and have been pleased to find that IA (information architecture) professionals are tackling the challenges of content globalization in a big way. And …
English is THE Second Language
Newsweek International has published an article on the rise of English around the world. English instruction is a billion-dollar business and growing. But what’s most fascinating is that non-native English …
Web Globalization Gone Bad
The US Department of Defense is launching local “news” sites in an effort to counter what it believes is “misinformation” about the United States in the foreign media. One Web …