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Speed is of the essence in everything, it seems.  We know it.  We are in a hurry and we multitask. We invented hands free options so we can drive and talk and drive and text (isn’t voice to text amazing?).  We hate delays, avoid long lines, and even abbreviate “r” words.  And, we’re willing to pay a premium for speed. (By the way, this is not a judgement.  I, for one, couldn’t wait to get married

Language interpreting and translation are fundamental for caring for Limited English Proficient Patients. But creating a truly positive experience for your LEP patients and their loved ones takes more than just language assistance. In a recent article for Strategic Healthcare Marketing magazine, Vocalink Global’s in-house Compliance Counsel reviewed two factors beyond interpreting and translation that significantly impact patient experience for LEP populations: Staff Cultural Competence Wayfaring and Signage Click here  to read the full article.

Transcreation is a language industry buzz word that may sound a little intimidating. But really, it’s a pretty simple concept. Transcreation is Translation + Creativity. What do we mean by this? “Translation” is transforming text from one language to another. Transcreation is creating a unique message in a target language to convey a specific message to a specific audience. Typically, translation starts with a “source document” in a “source language,” which is given to a

In this Blog Series, we’re exploring the many aspects of assessing translation quality. So far, we’ve discussed the importance of assessing translation quality (Part 1), learned how to measure errors or defects (Part 2), gained an understanding of the categories and severity levels of errors (Part 3), surveyed ten critical success factors for planning quality translations (Part 4), and distinguished between the subjective and objective (Part 5), and looked beyond the words assess whether the finished product

Vocalink Global sends its on-site interpreters out to interpret around 170 times every day, on average. Most businesses that use interpreting services see only a small slice of the interpreting world – the minutes or hours spent with the interpreter at their own appointments. It’s always fun to “peek behind the curtain” to gain new knowledge and perspective. With that in mind, Vocalink’s American Sign Language interpreter, Brittany Charles, offers this look at a day

In the first part of this two-part series, we discussed the importance of accuracy to achieve quality translations, including the use of subject matter experts and involving the right translators and reviewers who understand terminology, technical instructions, and units of measurement. In this second part, we’ll discuss some strategies for ensuring accuracy in technical translations. Accuracy in technical translations begins well before a document is submitted to a translator. It starts with ensuring the right

Translation Quality Assessment: Quality that Fits (Beyond the Words) In this Blog Series, we’re exploring the many aspects of assessing translation quality. So far, we’ve discussed the importance of assessing translation quality (Part 1), learned how to measure errors or defects (Part 2), gained an understanding of the categories and severity levels of errors (Part 3), surveyed ten critical success factors for planning quality translations (Part 4), and distinguished between the subjective and objective (Part 5). In

Thirty years ago, someone made a translation mistake. Since then, Kuwait has been incorrectly implementing items into its construction projects … all due to an error in translating technical terms from English to Arabic. The cost? Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on unnecessary construction work. I read the above news story and wondered, “what caused this error?” and, more importantly, “how did no one discover it for more than 30 years?!?” We often discuss

There’s no question that there is a direct correlation between a company’s success and the engagement of its employees. Consider a few statistics: Organizations with highly engaged employees average 3-year revenue growth 2.3 times greater than those with employees engaged at “average” levels.[1] Disengaged workers have 37% higher absenteeism, 49% more accidents, and 60% more errors and defects.[2] Organizations with low employee engagement scores experience 18% lower profitability, 37% slower job growth, 16% lower productivity,

Translation Quality Assessment: From Subjectivity to Objectivity So far in our Blog Series exploring the why, what and how of assessing translation quality, we’ve discussed the importance of assessing translation quality (Part 1), learned how to measure errors or defects (Part 2), gained an understanding of the categories and severity levels of errors (Part 3), and surveyed ten critical success factors for planning quality translations (Part 4). In this Part 5, we’ll turn to a

Those familiar with language access issues in healthcare have probably heard about the famous “intoxicado” case. If you’re not familiar, here’s a brief recap: 18-year-old high school sports star, Willie Ramirez, arrives comatose to the ER. None of his Cuban friends and family members speak English (either at all, or at least not proficiently). One of them tells the ER staff that Willie is “intoxicado.” In Cuban Spanish, “intoxicado” means “I got sick from something

This Blog Series explores the why, what and how of  assessing translation quality. In Part 1, we discussed the importance of assessing translation quality. In Part 2, Translation Quality Assessment: Measuring Defects, we began our deep dive into the “how” of translation quality assessment with discussion of how to measure errors or “defects.” In Part 3, Translation Quality Assessment: Error Categories and Severity,  we learned how to categorize errors and measure their severity. Now that we