Monterey Language Services is offering a full-time project management position, to manage translation and interpretation projects in a large number of languages.

We are looking for a MATURE, ENERGETIC, SELF-MOTIVATED, AND RESPONSIBLE person with the following experience/requirements:

• At least one year of experience handling multilingual projects in the TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATION business
• Has a great sense of responsibility and passion about working as Project Manager
• Able to cooperate with others as well as work independently
• Good English communication skills – both written and verbal
• Experience using SDL Trados or similar as a Project Manager
• Experience using interpreter scheduling software is welcomed
• Likes working with technology and tools

If you are interested, please email your COVER LETTER, Resume and recent salary history to Mei-Ling Chen, Director of Translation, at mei-ling@montereylanguages.com

Monterey Language Services
www.montereylanguages.com

It may involve a dozen sound engineers to make preparations ahead of time.  First, several booths must be set up for the interpreters. Each will represent one language and contain interpreters all working at the same time. The location of the booths should allow all interpreters to see the speaker and the activities on stage while the booths should blend in with the conference setting.

Before the conference starts, the interpretation system has to be connected and tested to ensure each booth’s interpretation can be clearly heard from the headsets that will be provided to the audience.

When the audience gets there, each member is provided a headset connected to a radio-like device that receives the channels of interpretation in different languages (English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, etc.). Using all of this high-tech equipment makes you feel like you’re in the U.N.

The interpreters should arrive early and get as much information beforehand as possible.  Simultaneous interpretation is a very difficult and energy-consuming task. Therefore, there are usually two to three interpreters in each booth. They are like a relay race team, taking turns to interpret, 20 minutes each turn. While one interpreter is interpreting, the others must also listen to the speaker so that the next interpreter knows when it is his or her turn to interpret. The three interpreters also depend on each other for help. For example, they may need their partners to write down big numbers or look up the terms in the glossary. Teamwork is crucial to the success of the interpretation.

At the end of the communication relay race, every audience member has understood the conference. The team feels mission accomplished. Monterey Language Services is getting ready for one such conference as we speak. We look forward to helping the panel communicate to the audience.

Some of the neologisms in English are based on people’s names.  Gerrymander comes from the name of a Massachusetts governor who redrew the state’s districts to favor his party in 1812, while the Diesel engine is named after its inventor.  More often, the doctrines and policies of particular statesmen lend their names to words ending in –ism, like Leninism and Thatcherism.

Sometimes, certain words in English can take on new meanings, whether alone or in combinations.  This occurs often in popular culture, as shown by the music genres blues, folk and rock ‘n’ roll, along with the movie genres comedy and horror.

Clearly, this tongue that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England is now one of the ultimate mixtures in the world, and simply continues to evolve.  In fact, many languages have entities that regulate them, such as the Bangla Academy, which regulates Bengali; English has no official regulation.  In a way, English is no longer a sufficient name for the language.  It nowadays needs a name that emphasizes its fascinating mélange of words from around the world.

The English language spoken today is Late Modern English. Over the years English has evolved very much so in its vocabulary. Many words have been added to the language because of the Industrial Revolution and as technology has developed. Also, since the British Empire had so many colonies spread throughout the world the language adopted many words from other foreign languages.

It is particularly interesting when looking at how many different varieties of English there are. Some variations include Australian English, Canadian English, South African English and American English.

Although it may be difficult to clearly identify different variations. At the end of the day, it is all English, each with its own unique twist.

In this era of social media and instant communication, translation has stepped up to meet the needs for the Facebook generation. Most people have some friends on Facebook who speaks more than one language; personally I see posts in Spanish, Italian, French, and Croatian.

Recently, I have noticed a new feature underneath these posts in languages other than English that says “See Translation.” This is a button to click that will automatically translate the above text to English, or whatever default language you may have. I tried this out with a post in Spanish and the results were subpar. Instead of translating the text as a complete sentence, this feature translated every word individually, which can change the understanding of the post.

If I knew someone was translating my Facebook posts from English into a language of their choice, I think it could be unfortunate for them to take the post out of context because of poor translation. This could cause for a strain on a relationship with someone who is a Facebook friend, but may speak a different language.

The benefits are for those trying to learn and practice their vocabulary with a new language. It can be beneficial to follow a celebrity who posts in Spanish with proper vocabulary and translate their posts into English. Another way it can be positive is that these words that were once unknown can at least be given a general idea of what the post is about. Pau Gasol is one person who writes his posts in English followed by the same post in Spanish in order to avoid confusion.

By Sam Pereira

There are only 3,000 people that speak Ayta Magindi and they live in the hills northwest of Manila. Because so few people speak the language, and people like Valencia’s teacher prefer students speak in English or Tagalog (the native language of Manila) this language has a chance of dying out.

Ayta Magindi is not the only language that could be lost forever, according to the chief anthropologist at the Philippine National Museum, Artemio Barbosa, up to 50 of the country’s minor languages could be lost within 20 years.

Info: http://www.rappler.com/nation/4537-a-long-fight-begins-to-save-philippine-languages
Picture taken from: http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t66996.html

American Sign Language has its own set of cultural norms and its own community. The people that bridge the gap between the deaf community and hearing people are ASL interpreters. These people are highly skilled and trained specifically for this purpose.

One of the most beautiful, smooth, and expressionistic languages in the world completely disregards sounds coming out of your mouth; rather, it features the use of your hands, eyes, mouth shapes, and facial expressions.

What language is this? Sign Language of course! Or more specifically, American Sign Language, commonly referred to as ASL. To give you a little background on ASL, here are some stats:

Here in the United States there are approximately 600,000 deaf individuals, not counting people that classify themselves as hard of hearing. Of the 600,000, many of these people would identify themselves as part of the deaf community which has its own set of cultural norms and practices. Unfortunately, this whole culture and language is ill-known to most hearing people unless they have deaf relatives, friends, or have taken ASL classes during their schooling. This often leads to misunderstandings, false assumptions, and information being lost in translation.

As with all languages, interpretation is necessary when it comes to bridging the gap between hearing people and deaf people. However, being an ASL interpreter takes a lot more than just being bilingual. This means that just because someone can speak English and also fluently sign does not mean they are fit to be an interpreter, in fact, they have a long way to go.

So what’s it take to be an interpreter for ASL? Well, in the near future you will have to at least have a bachelor’s degree. This is because you need a wide variety of vocabulary and general knowledge in order to mix and match the sometimes rough translations from word to sign. After you have prepared yourself with education and experience, you can then take the NIC, or National Interpreter Certification. The NIC has three levels: the normal certification, the advanced certification, and the master certification.

Learning ASL in itself is a commendable and rewarding experience, but taking the extra step to becoming a certified interpreter literally pays off. These jobs range from part time to full time and offer a substantial amount of cash!

Picture taken from: http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu/services/a-s-l-interpreting-services-for-campus-events/

Stats: http://research.gallaudet.edu/Demographics/deaf-US.php

Transcription is being able to take your audio, video, images, interactive content, flash, animation, and more; and type it out word for word in a format of your choosing.

Of course, it’s not easy to make your fingers talk as fast as your mouth. For most people the development of this skill comes from years and years of practice and also typing classes; as well as strong fingers and the ability to multitask.

To put this into perspective, let’s look at some numbers:

The average typing speed of adults in the United States is anywhere from 40-50 wpm, or words per minute, and the average professional typist usually types about 50-80 wpm. Now, 80 words per minute is a respectable accomplishment for the average Joe, but that’s nothing compared to people in dispatch positions and time-sensitive typing jobs who usually type at a minimum of 95 wpm. Even more impressive are advanced typists (including transcriptionists) who strive to have AT LEAST a wpm count of 120.

If 120 wpm wasn’t enough to blow your mind, this surely will. According to The Guinness Book of World Records the fastest English language typist in the world was Barbara Blackburn who maintained 150 wpm for 50 minutes, and has been clocked at a whopping peak speed of 212 wpm.

Think you’ve got what it takes to be the next Barbara Blackburn? Or maybe a transcriptionist? Put your skills to the test! And remember, the more words, the harder it is:

http://www.rapidtyping.com/online-typing-test.html

Monterey Language Services provides transcription services for audio and video files in all languages.

1. Tap into any bilingual background you may have. Most interpreters come from families where more than one language is spoken.

2. Perform well in high school, especially in English composition, foreign languages, and computers skills. Keep the option of being an exchange student open.

3. Go to college and obtain a bachelor’s degree. Majoring in a foreign language isn’t entirely necessary, but at least having a strong study in interpretation with one focused language is strongly recommended.

4. There are two basic forms of interpretation: consecutive and simultaneous. Besides these, conference interpreters could train in technical or scientific fields. These classes are offered at many colleges and universities.  Monterey Institute of International Studies is among the most famous in the United States, where the majority of us at Monterey Language Services are from.

5. Think about getting a master’s degree if considering a specialized interpretation field.

6. Think about getting certified. Many places such as the American Translator’s Association, the National Board of Certifications for Medical Interpreters, State courts and Federal courts have many legal interpretation certification programs in many languages.

7. Get a translation job for a company or business as your launch pad to a career.

8. Always network with other interpreters and employers.

Submit your translation & Interpretation resume to http://www.montereylanguages.com/send-a-resume.html

Information from the following sites fell into this post.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2057742_become-interpreter.html http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Media-and-Communication/Interpreters-and-translators.htm#tab-4

Siri, Apple’s new iPhone 4S app, is still struggling with picking up dialects and its ability to recognize language, so this application is long in the works. 

New technologies come up almost every day with ways to make life easier and more efficient, but may not cover the entire subject. For example, in the case of the new translation services the iPhone application Siri is looking to provide, they only offer services in six languages and dialects, American English, British English, Australian English, French, German and Japanese.

Here’s how the new translation technology is set to work, from the technology blog pcworld.com:

“The voice commands are recorded by the iPhone and then shipped to the cloud for interpretation. For example, when in Paris, a user’s iPhone could offer a translation to: “Quelle est la date d’aujourd’hui” and in response the user could reply in English, with the other person’s Siri translating the answer into their own language. The iPhone could use the GPS location to speed up translation by defaulting to the most likely language.”

Monterey Language Services can provide a more diversified translation experience with the highest quality. Monterey Language Services has access to over 10,000 translators and interpreters, offering translation and interpretation services for 175 languages and dialects to clients around the world. This broad range is sure to meet the needs of any who use the service. 

The fight with new technologies is usually about quality or quantity, but Monterey Language Services has them beat in both.