HOW TO AVOID MISTRANSLATION WITH CALL CENTER.

Jul 8, 2014 | Blog

Call-Center and Mistranslation. *Lack of language skills On one hand, the employee’s accent has to be easy to understand for your customer. You can achieve that by resorting to accent neutralization training. On the other hand, the employee has to be able to understand the caller perfectly as well. This is essential and they must be able to communicate effectively to avoid any mistranslation. *Lack of training Employees need to have sufficient knowledge of the product or services involved that they are selling, all the more if they are not available in their home country. It is important that they are experts of your industry, not to rely too much on scripts, and are able to manage efficiently the requests of the clients who are calling to avoid mistranslation or misunderstood. *Cultural differences Many behaviors your clients expect from a customer service employee (extra-politeness, empathy, etc.) are not common among foreign employees. You have to train them so that these behaviors become natural for them. *Poor location In some countries, the wages are low, which can be attractive. However you also have to take into consideration the government stability and the economic situation to make sure that hiring employees from those countries will not affect your business in the long term. *Lack of security The call center should have security guards on-duty 24/7 to provide a safe workplace for employees and to protect your data. You should also have the employees sign a nondisclosure agreement. If you are planning on outsourcing your call centre overseas and need documents translated, call LingoStar today or send us an email for a...

Website Translation for Global Markets

Jul 7, 2014 | Blog, Language Services, Tips, Translation

How valuable is website translation? Do you know how much international traffic your website gets? Have you ever asked yourself how much more it might receive if it was translated into multiple languages? A world class translation service with linguists and professional translators at its disposal can be worth its weight in gold. The fact is, in today’s global markets, a multilingual website is increasingly valuable. Its importance is such that it requires the dedication of professionals–human and not simply machines–to craft and perfect its message to appeal to local markets and effectively market to them. On the importance of human, professional translators There are many benefits to a well-translated website. Firstly, it has an authoritative advantage over competitors who may not rely on a professional service. They may rely on crowd-sourced or automatic translation. This is risky, however, because incorrect and even improper translation can undermine a company’s authority by making them appear ignorant or inept. Few would call the Coca-Cola brand and its marketers inept, of course, but even such major companies have endured language faux-pas and accidental mistakes that actually made headlines. Not so long ago, Coca-Cola spent a considerable amount of money printing signs that sounded like their brand name in Chinese but the wording actually told consumers to ‘bite the wax tadpole.’ Why use a translation agency? Some companies may choose to hire their own translator, but there are added benefits to working with a translation service. For one, website translation typically requires ongoing maintenance. Each time you add new content to the site, it will require professional translation. A translation service has teams...

SCAMMERS IN THE LANGUAGE INDUSTRY

Jul 4, 2014 | Blog

Scammers: A real danger? What is their basic mode of operation? Scammers steal resumes from professional translators. They replace the email address on the resume with their own and even change the name for a fake one sometimes. They also replace the phone number with an IP (Internet Protocol) phone number. Once this is done, they respond to online job offers with this fake CV or spam clients in order to get translations jobs. How do scammers find those translators’ resumes? They create fake translation companies with fake names, addresses, emails, etc. in order to receive resumes from new potential employees. Once they have them, they attempt to get translators to sign authorizations to use their resumes. Translators have to be very careful. On one hand, because their names can be used without them knowing it to do all sort of things they cannot control. Their reputation of being good translators can be severely endangered on the internet. On the other hand, because fake agencies try to appear legitimate by asking translators for test translations and having fake profiles on translation forums. How do those fake translation agencies work? They either translate with Google translation or send the job to the cheapest translator they can find, who is likely to be a poor translator and not to get paid in the end.  This is why they either deliver nothing or a useless translation to the client. In the end, the invoice is sent from an unidentified PayPal address and if the client refuses to pay, the fake agency starts to threaten them. This is why clients should turn to...

ENDANGERED LANGUAGES AND CURRENT EFFORTS TO SAVE THEM

Jun 13, 2014 | Blog

Endangered languages. Endangered languages, are those languages that are at risk of falling out of use, as their speakers die or start to speak other languages. Nowadays, languages are becoming extinct at an accelerated rate due to globalization. Economically,  powerful languages dominate others that eventually disappear. Since this truly arms the cultural diversity of the world, measures are implemented to save them. Many projects are aimed at preventing or slowing this loss by revitalizing languages. This means having adults acquire the language, creating a population of active speakers and encouraging literacy and use in education, in the workplace and in government services. This is above all implemented in countries that have indigenous communities. Areas of the world with a high number of languages nearing extinction include Siberia, Northern Australia, Central America, Southern South America, the Northwest Pacific Plateau and Oklahoma. Here are some examples of endangered languages throughout the world: Dumi in Nepal, Ongota in Ethiopia, Njerep in Nigeria, Lemerig in Vanuatu, Kaixana in Brazil and Taushiro in Peru. Here at LingoStar, we unfortunately do not have translators for those endangered languages, but we do have translators for over 100 languages as well as English. Call us today or send us an email for a free...

Is Your Online Video Translation SEO-Friendly?

Jun 12, 2014 | Blog, Language Services, SEO, Tips, Translation

Everyone is concerned about search engine optimization today. Whether based on Main Street or in foreign capitals near and far, businesses and organizations value their page ranking immensely. Every company would prefer to be found on page one of a Google search and not buried ten pages deep where few searchers take the time to reach. Therefore, companies that want to maintain their ranking or climb to that number one spot must regard SEO seriously. While the placement of video content on a website is a great way to diversify content, and most likely the best way of interacting with your potential audience, that video might not be working as hard as it can if its translation isn’t prepared with SEO in mind. Just like text-based content, your online video translation can benefit from SEO where it can better support the website ranking. Many companies wish to have their video content translated for use in international marketplaces. The most professionally wrought translations, of course, can be obtained by working with professional translation solutions providers. Not only can you expect accurate translations, you’ll benefit from their SEO know-how. The fact is if you are going to have your video content translated, you may as well make sure the translation is SEO -friendly in order to better enhance your online presence. Whether it is voice-over translation or use of multilingual subtitles, your online video translation will support your website when that translation is made with SEO in mind. Because search engines like Google will index the video translation, this translated text can influence page rank. With more traffic to your website...

FRENCH: THE LANGUAGE OF DIPLOMACY – French Translation

Jun 9, 2014 | Blog

History of French throughout the centuries – French Translation In the 13th century French was the most spoken language throughout Europe and it started to be used for diplomatic affairs between several countries. During the next centuries, as France became a world leader, people tended to learn more and more French, and little by little, the language replaced Latin. In the 17th century, the pre-eminence of Louis XIV (the “Sun King’) consolidated the position of French. It became the language used for international communication and it started to be referred to as the language of diplomacy throughout the world. Its strict rules of syntax and its vocabulary supervised by the Académie française allowed speakers to produce discourses that were both precise and accurate. However, after 150 years of French diplomatic predominance, the popularity of the English language rose and it took over the role of the international language of diplomacy in many parts of the world. Nowadays, the French language still plays a part in international relations: it is one of the UN official languages and is the official language of many countries. In addition, most diplomats in the world have a good knowledge of French. If you want to travel or work abroad you may need to have a french translation of your documents. Many documents are written in French, and whether they are diplomatic documents, legal documents, business documents… Here at LingoStar, we can offer a high quality of services from and to French. Call us today or send us an email for a free...