Blogs

There are many rare languages in the world today in various states of endangerment or preservation. At Avantpage, we work with a variety of these languages to support their speakers and continue improving available opportunities for all people. When looking at supporting rare languages, and preserving them before they become endangered, education is of the utmost importance. Sharing information about a language and, more broadly, its culture can support better language preservation and cultural acceptance. With all this in mind, every month we’ll be highlighting a rare language we work with. This month we’re focusing on the Khmer language. With approximately 16 million speakers, Khmer, also called Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is spoken by most of the Cambodian population, as well as in southeastern Thailand and southern Vietnam.  There are different versions of the Khmer language. Old Khmer is the version that was used in the ancient Khmer Empire from the 9th-15th century, and it is considered a direct ancestor of modern Khmer. The Khmer language has exerted a strong influence on other languages of the region; Thai, Lao, Kuay and other languages have borrowed extensively from the Khmer language.  The vast majority of Khmer speakers use Central Khmer, a dialect of the central plain where the Khmer people are most heavily concentrated. As far as Cambodia is concerned, regional varieties exist in remote areas. There are two varieties that differ substantially from the others: the speech of the capital, Phnom Penh, and the version spoken in the Stung Treng province. Outside of Cambodia, three main dialects are spoken by Khmer people native to the areas that were historically part of the Khmer Empire:  As the earliest recorded and written member of the Mon-Khmer group of Austroasiatic languages, the Khmer language has existed in written form since the early 7th century, with the oldest inscription in Khmer dating from 611 AD. The language uses a script originating from South India and South East Asia.  The modern version of the Khmer alphabet is syllabic, with each consonant having two forms - one with an inherent /a/ and one with an inherent /o/. Vowels are indicated using either separate letters or diacritics - written above, below, in front of, after, or around consonants. Their pronunciation depends on the form of the consonant used.  Probably the most notable feature of written Khmer is that, in a Khmer text, there are no spaces between words; visible spaces are used to indicate the end of a clause or a sentence. Khmer is an analytic and isolating language, with no conjugations, inflections, or case endings. Instead, particles are used to indicate grammatical relationships. Despite efforts to fully standardize written Khmer, many words have more than one accepted spelling.   As far as the Khmer language community in the United States, there are approximately 300,000 Khmer speakers in the United States, most of whom arrived in the US as refugees in the 1980s. People of Cambodian descent are concentrated mainly in the regions of California and Massachusetts. The Cambodian community in the United States maintains a strong sense of identity, so the Khmer language is likely to be passed on for generations to come. While the Khmer language is considered rare, we work with it on a semi-regular basis in the translation work we do for varying clients around the United States. If your population includes Khmer speakers, we’d be happy to discuss with you how to reach them through translation services. Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today to get started.

Targeting a new audience with your content involves a variety of steps. Not only does your message need to undergo the process of translation, but you also need to ensure the graphics, colors, fonts, and other elements of your content effectively communicate your brand. This is where the localization process comes in. By definition, “Localization is the process of adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market.” This process addresses all aspects of your content, ensuring the elements involved will be clearly understandable to your new target audience. When you’re ready to penetrate a new market, here are the steps of the localization process that your content needs to follow.  Before beginning your localization project, your organization and your Language Service Provider (LSP) will work together to identify your target audience and their needs. This will include detailed research into the culture of your new target audience and any information that will help you to effectively reach them. The proper formatting for dates, times, graphics, fonts, and more will be determined as well. Your content will then undergo translation into the new target language. To prepare for this step, be sure that you know what language and dialect your target audience speaks. If you want your content to be clearly understood, these two pieces of information are vital, as many languages have nuances that are important to specific immigrant groups - e.g. Traditional vs. Simplified Chinese. Your LSP will translate your content into the target language, give you the opportunity to review it and make edits, and then move on to the next steps of the localization process.  Your graphics also need to be localized as you continue through the process. This step includes changing the text, colors, images, and other elements of your graphics as necessary. If your logo includes text in the source language, you’ll want to consider changing that text into the target language to better be able to reach your target market.  Next, you’ll want to ensure that your content is designed and formatted appropriately after translation. Is the text reading in the appropriate direction for the target language? Have any spacing issues been addressed? Do the headers appear in the appropriate sections of the document? These are all questions that will be addressed in this step of the localization process.  Before publication, your LSP will ensure that all units have been converted to those used locally. This includes dates, times, measurements, etc. Localizing these units will help to make the content feel as though it were originally written for the target audience.  Finally, your LSP will ensure that your content meets all local legal requirements. If there are international regulations that now dictate your content, your LSP will ensure that you’re in regulatory compliance before you publish your content so you’ll never need to worry about the legal implications of publishing your content in a new market.  These are just a few of the key points in the localization process. If you want to learn more about localizing your content, or you’re ready to get started on your next localization project, call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today.

There are many different benefits to translating your organization’s documents, regardless of whether you’re in an industry that regulates translation. As our world becomes increasingly globalized, it’s important to ask how translation services fit into the overarching goals of your organization. Pursuing translation services through a qualified Language Service Provider (LSP) can make all the difference in expanding your organization’s reach.  Outside of the regulations you may or may not encounter in your industry, there are many benefits to translating your organization’s documents. If your organization is looking to expand internationally, pursuing translation services can support a better level of engagement with your organization in your new target market. Ensuring that your audience can fully understand the messages you’re sharing with them increases the likelihood that your audience will want to engage with the product or service you’re launching in their market.  Translation services can also help to support customer loyalty and community building. When your organization shows support to Limited English Proficient (LEP) customers through clear, understandable communications in a variety of languages, those customers are more likely to continue bringing their business to you. Additionally, when LEP customers know that support is available in their native languages, they’re less likely to seek out a new product or service provider when they encounter problems or have questions. If your organization is able to provide customer support in a variety of languages, your customers are more likely to be loyal to your organization.  Finally, translation of your documents can support your organization in finding the right applicants to fill your open job positions. Our country is increasingly multilingual and multicultural, and finding the right qualified applicants for job openings means being able to reach out to all potential applicants in a clear and effective manner.  If you’re in a regulated industry like healthcare, government, elections, or education, you know your organization needs translation services. In order to maintain regulatory compliance, there’s a variety of documents you’ll need to translate and have available to LEP consumers. While you’re regulated to do so, translating your documents still maintains the additional benefits mentioned above for your organization as well. It can even be worth looking into translating additional documents, or translating your documents into additional languages if you’re looking to reach a particular organizational goal.  Beyond regulated industries, there is really no industry that doesn’t benefit from translation services. While your organization may not be regulated to pursue translation services, it will still see the benefits of doing so. International organizations should highly consider translation, and even localization, of product and service information in order to build on current success in non-English speaking markets.  If you’re interested in finding out more about the benefits of pursuing translation services, or translation as a whole, we can help. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today to get started on your next translation project.

As you embark on your medical translation project, knowing how various laws and regulations will impact your project is important. There are many medical translation requirements put forth by various federal, state, or other administrative agencies that your organization will need to meet. Below is an overview of four major laws, standards, and healthcare regulations that may apply to your project.  The Joint Commission has communication and language standards to ensure that Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients receive a high level of care. Hospitals and healthcare organizations seeking Joint Commission accreditation must comply with these standards, which include: By creating the communication and language standards, the Joint Commission took an important step toward facilitating improved patient-provider interaction. When patients can communicate, understand, and follow instructions in their own language, there is less chance of medical misunderstandings and errors that can affect a patient’s health outcome. If your organization is at risk of non-compliance with the Joint Commission's healthcare regulations, it could hurt federal funding per Title VI regulations.  The Bottom line: Healthcare organizations need to comply with the Joint Commission’s Standards to maintain their accreditation. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires that any organization, including those in the healthcare industry, must not discriminate based on race, color, or national origin.  All 50 states have additional laws that address language access in healthcare settings. Seventeen states have language access laws for insurance providers and/or managed care organizations, some are broader than others. For instance, all California health plan providers must offer translation and language assistance services in multiple languages to their LEP and NEP enrollees. The Bottom Line: Not being able to clearly communicate with LEP or non-English proficient patients could put you in violation of these laws.  Just as your employees must be HIPAA-trained, so should your medical translators be. HIPAA specifically applies to how a healthcare organization can communicate patient-specific information with a certified medical translator. To comply with HIPAA healthcare regulations during your translation project, your LSP should have a secure way of transmitting information and documents to avoid violating the law. The Bottom line: Make sure that patient and client information is kept confidentially during the translation process. The ADA requires that businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public, such as healthcare organizations, communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities.  As a hospital or medical provider, this healthcare regulation means providing people who have communication disabilities with alternatively formatted documents. Alternative formats include braille, large print, accessible PDFs, or audio files of text being read aloud, amongst other things. The Bottom Line: Check with your translation provider about alternative formats and accessible PDFs. Healthcare regulations may seem complicated, but an LSP specializing in healthcare, such as Avantpage, can make compliance easy. We can help you get started on your next healthcare translation project. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

Translation services are beneficial in nearly every industry. While some are required to translate their documents, most simply see the benefit of clear communications, regardless of regulations. Human Resources professionals can see a variety of benefits from HR translation projects. If you work for a global company, HR translation projects become even more important as you look towards building an inclusive community.  If you’re interested in translating your HR documents, but not sure where to start, there are a few key documents to look at translating.  First, consider translating your HR policies and procedures. If you have an employee handbook that sets out the expectations for how your team works, this would be a vital document to translating. If you need all of the employees in your organization to follow a single set of standards, or comply to a single policy, then a miscommunication of those standards/that policy could cost you more than just frustration; you may be looking at legal penalties, lost time, or increased overhead costs as a result. Company announcements also require translation. Ensuring that all of your organization understands what is going on internally can help to increase efficiency, create community, and prevent misunderstandings.  Finally, translating safety and benefits information should be top-of-mind. Employees need to learn about and fully understand the relevant safety information and benefits the company offers. All team members need to know how to keep themselves safe on the job, and all team members need to understand what insurance options and other benefits are available to them.  While HR translation projects are not legally mandatory, there are many different benefits that you can see from pursuing these projects.  In the United States, we’re increasingly seeing a blended workforce. A mix of nationalities, cultures, and languages currently exists in our county, and having an efficient workplace means including all people that could work for your organization. Being prepared to support a multilingual workforce, with proper training and informative materials, allows your organization to expand its recruiting efforts and even consider expanding globally.  Beyond this, translating these documents creates a culturally sensitive and inclusive work culture. This promotes a sense of loyalty among your employees and can increase your employee retention rates.  Regardless of whether your company is global or local, there’s no doubt that HR translation projects benefit your organization as a whole. We can help you get started on your next HR translation project, and build expand your organization’s hiring opportunities. Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today.

There are many different documents involved in holding an election. From your signage to your voter information guide, you disseminate a lot of information to the constituents in your district. While regulatory compliance requires translation of some of these documents into key threshold languages, there are some election materials that don’t frequently get translated.  The materials that aren’t generally translated for elections include: There may also be parts of your candidate statements and ballot measures in the Voter Information Guide that don’t always get translated. As a county, it can be challenging to get these translations from your municipalities and candidates, even though they can be immensely helpful to your Limited English Proficient (LEP) constituents.  These election materials may not be translated for a variety of reasons. Time, budget, and personnel constraints can all play a role in the effective translation of your documents. While it may seem unnecessary to expand your translations beyond regulatory demands, there are many different benefits to translating these election materials.  A more informed electorate. Providing your LEP voters with all of the knowledge they need to vote in a way that aligns with their values and ideas supports an increased sense of community. Beyond that, an informed electorate supports more active participation in the democratic process.  Increase LEP voter turnout. If your LEP constituents understand your election materials, they’re more likely to go to the polls on election day to cast their votes, allowing all of the United State’s diverse population to actively partake in elections. Accessibility of the democratic process. As an eligible American citizen - LEP, immigrant, or otherwise - you have the right to vote in elections. Making the process accessible is the hallmark of democracy; every vote matters, and no eligible voter is left out or faces discrimination.  It’s the right thing to do. All eligible voters in a democratic society should have the opportunity to make their voice heard and feel like their vote is informed. Translating your election materials creates a more inclusive society. If you have the time and budget to spare, translating your election materials into emerging threshold languages can also benefit your LEP constituents. While your district is only regulated to translate into specific languages, staying on top of the languages used by growing language communities in your area, and translating your documents for them, has many benefits.  For your organization directly, in the event that one of these languages rapidly becomes a threshold language, you’ll already be prepared to meet the new regulatory requirement. You won’t be stressed at the last minute trying to get your documents translated into the new language, and you’ll be far less likely to incur rush fees for the projects. For those in your community, these translations have all of the same benefits as translating the documents mentioned above. You’ll be actively creating a sense of community, making the democratic process more accessible, increasing LEP voter turnout, and more.  If you want to translate the mentioned election materials or any other election materials, we can take care of the project from start to finish. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today to get started on your next election translation project.

There are many rare languages in the world today in various states of endangerment or preservation. At Avantpage, we work with a variety of these languages to support their speakers and continue improving available opportunities for all people. When looking at supporting rare languages, and preserving them before they become endangered, education is of the utmost importance. Sharing information about a language and, more broadly, its culture can support better language preservation and cultural acceptance. With all this in mind, every month we’ll be highlighting a rare language we work with. This month we’re focusing on the Hmong language. The Hmong language, or Mong, is a Hmong-Mien language, a group that consists mostly of minority languages spoken in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Apart from Hmong and Mien, this language family includes Hmu, Qo Xiong, Bunu, Pa-heng, She, Mun, and Biao Min. Hmong is used primarily in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, the United States, and French Guiana. While the exact number of speakers worldwide is unknown, it’s estimated that 2 to 3 million people use the language.  The standard dialect of the language is Western Hmong, a group of dialects spoken in southwestern China, Northern Vietnam, Northern Thailand, and Laos. The two major varieties that comprise this group are Hmong Daw and Hmong Njua, named according to the traditional colors worn by women of the different groups - White for Hmong Daw and Green or Blue for Hmong Njua. Outside the above-mentioned areas, the language is spoken by relatively substantial groups in Burma, France, and the United States; the most predominant population of speakers is found in China. Today, most of the over 260,000 people of Hmong descent residing in the United States speak the dialects White and Green Hmong, White being the predominant version with 60% of speakers using it. The key differences between the dialects are in the pronunciation/phonology and vocabulary. Interestingly, the Hmong language has no official status in the countries in which it is spoken. As a matter of fact, it consists of a number of dialects, many of which are unintelligible to speakers of other Hmong varieties. Linguistically speaking, each dialect is considered to be a separate language, since the definition of a dialect assumes it is a mutually intelligible language variety.  There are numerous writing systems used for writing the language, with Phahawh considered the most linguistically aware of them. It was developed mid 20th century by Shong Lue Yang, a spiritual leader honored among Hmong people as the Niam Ntawv (Mother of Writing). The most common Hmong orthography became, however, the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), devised by missionaries in the 1950s.  While Hmong is a rare language, we work with it on a semi-regular basis in the translation work we do for varying clients around the United States. If your population includes Hmong speakers, we’d be happy to discuss with you how to reach them through translation services. Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today to get started.

One of the best ways to save time, money, and to improve the quality of your translation project is preparation. Preparing for translation can support your longterm language access goals, and help to keep all of your translation projects organized and manageable. When your patients understand the material, the risk of adverse medical events decreases, and patient satisfaction increases. Using words and images that are easy to understand, and simple, inviting presentations encourages your patients and their families to understand the document better. Preparing for translation by following these guidelines will help to ensure your translated documents are accessible to all of your patients and members. Have a logical sequence of ideas. If the ideas have a logical arrangement, such as chronological order or cause-effect, the text will be easier to understand. Preparing for translation with graphical elements and short-form text. Sentences and paragraphs don't communicate your whole message. Using images, lists, charts, and diagrams (A.K.A. short-form text) can help your patients understand your translated medical document better. Here are some examples you can use: Write in an active voice. The passive voice is less concise and can be confusing. A simple way to identify the passive voice is to look for the verb or action of a sentence. When the subject of a sentence directly performs an action, the sentence is in the active voice. Preparing for translation with short sentences. Long sentences lead to misunderstandings and confusion. To avoid long sentences, use short, plain words and phrases. Use common, everyday language. Use simple phrases and words to explain your ideas, which will be easier to translate. Try to write as conversationally as possible. For example: Preparing for translation by using pronouns. Pronouns can replace proper nouns in a sentence. They make your sentences less repetitive while keeping the meaning intact. Avoid Idiomatic Language Often, documents that contain idioms and expressions that are natural to a native speaker don't translate well. The phrase "don't throw out the baby with the bathwater!" has cultural and historical meanings that may not be understood in a different language or culture. Avoid phrases like these and use clear language whenever possible. Preparing for translation by maintaining simple formatting. Simple formatting on the original document means less formatting in the translation—resulting in lower costs. Some basic formatting guidelines include: Know the reading level of your audience. Your documents need to be written at a reading level that's appropriate for your audience. It's easier to translate your documents into that reading level if the original is also written that way. Keep in mind that most of the content for your patients or members usually needs to be written at a lower reading level. However, document purpose and function can influence the desired reading level. Preparing for translation doesn't have to be challenging. If you walk through your documents with these elements in mind, you can help to ensure the success of your medical translation project. If you'd like to get started on your next translation project, call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

Reaching a new target audience with your website content is dependent on a variety of factors. The language, culture, color standards, use of graphics, and so many other pieces of your content play into whether you’ll successfully target your organization’s desired audience. One way to increase the success rate of reaching out to a new audience is to pursue website localization.  Website localization is the process of adapting your web content to a specific locale or market. It involves the adaptation of graphics, content (including idioms, jokes, etc.), design and layout, measurements, dates, and more. The goal of website localization is to make your online presence feel as though it were originally written and created in the target language/culture. While undertaking a new website localization project can seem overwhelming, there are a few key best practices that can help to reduce the stress surrounding them.  Identify your target region, culture, and language. Going into a localization project with all of the information you need about the target audience your organization is trying to reach will help to ensure you don’t waste time and money on your localization project. Be sure you have an understanding of the dialect(s) used in the area, the predominant culture in the area, and the target market for your product or service. Gather your brand assets. Before starting a website localization project, gather your logo, stock photos, downloads, and any other content that you’ll want to be on the localized version of your website. If you have the native, editable files (from InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), those are of the most benefit to your localization team, who will take great care to ensure the colors, fonts, and messaging of your assets will reach your target audience.  Define your project scope. If your website has a wide variety of pages or a lot of content, it’s of benefit to your organization and your project to determine which aspects of your website will best reach your target audience. If you don’t know where to start with identifying the content that would be best for your localization project, you can work with your Language Service Provider to help make that determination.  Make use of linguistic assets. Translation style guides and glossaries can benefit your website localization project positively, increasing the consistency of your translated terms across the website. Additionally, Linguistic Assets help to streamline the process by letting each of the translators working on your project know beforehand what should and shouldn’t be translated, and if there are official translations for particular brand language. Be sure to work with a provider who uses Translation Memory software as well, so these assets are saved and used across your projects. Additionally, Translation Memory ensures consistency across documents, streamlines the translation process, and can save you money on repeated content. Hire an expert. You know your industry, but localization experts can help you to reach that new market more effectively than localizing in-house. Your combined expertise will allow the project to be completed in a more timely and effective manner.  We can help you get started on your next localization project. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

The work we do is centered around creating opportunities for those that do not otherwise have them. We work so the immigrants, multilingual, and Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations in our society can fully comprehend the information they receive from the organizations they acquire products and services from.  An LEP individual is officially defined as an individual “who [does] not speak English as their primary language, and who [has] a limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English…” In many cases, LEP individuals are entitled to language assistance in their interactions with particular kinds of services, benefits, and experiences.  There are a wide variety of laws that govern communication to LEP populations, regardless of the organization doing the communication.  Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin and has been expanded to include discrimination on the basis of English proficiency. Under Title VI, Limited English Proficient individuals must be provided with meaningful access to programs and all their services. Executive Order 13166, which affects federal agencies, says that “people who are LEP should have meaningful access to federally conducted and federally funded programs and activities.” This Executive Order demands that Federal agencies examine the services they provide, identify any contact points with LEP populations in those services, and then develop/implement a system for LEP people to have substantial access to them.  Limited English Proficient also includes those that have communication disabilities – visual, hearing, or speech impairments. For these people, the ADA and Section 504 require that services and programs in integrated settings must meet the needs of those with communication disabilities without discrimination on the basis of those disabilities. All of the laws regarding communication with LEP individuals mention “meaningful access” without directly describing what that looks like. Meaningful access is based on a four-factor analysis from the U.S. Department of Justice: In its most basic form, providing meaningful access to LEP populations is simply making your benefits/products/services as accessible to Limited English Proficient individuals as they are to native English speakers. The most successful way of achieving this goal is to work with a trusted Language Service Provider who can translate, format, and localize your documents. We can help you reach more LEP individuals with your services through our high-quality, accurate translation services. To learn more, or to get started on your next translation project, call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today. 

There are approximately 7,000 languages in the world. While half of the world speaks the largest 16 languages, it’s estimated that about 40% of those 7,000  are now considered endangered. Endangered languages fall on a spectrum of five categories which are used to define how at risk the language is: According to the Endangered Languages Project, there are many different factors that impact the vitality of a language. Languages enter into endangered status when they are passed on less to further generations. If your mother tongue is not passed down, and older generations are the only speakers, the language begins to pass away as the older generations do.  Some of these languages, particularly Indigenous Languages, are isolated from the rest of the world. While there may be hundreds of speakers in these insular communities - the lack of outside contact with the language creates the situation in which the language is endangered.  When we lose a language, we also lose part of the culture attached to it. Languages allow us to see the world from another perspective, and communicate in a new or different way. Languages are a transmission vehicle for culture, and as languages die, the cultures they represent also begin to die.  Preserving languages allow us as a collective to preserve the cultures they represent. More and more, the issue of endangered languages is being considered as a critical one. Many new projects have emerged which promote the preservation of these languages, and thus the cultures they represent.  For more information on preserving endangered languages, the following sites provide a variety of resources: Linguistic Society of America
UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
Endangered Alphabets
Endangered Languages Project If you’d like to start a translation project in an endangered language or any other language, give us a call at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

Language technologies continue to advance as the translation industry becomes increasingly popular and more organizations look towards translating their documents. While there are many different language technologies, there are a few common ones used by Language Service Providers (LSPs), and a few that are commonly used for other commercial purposes.  Machine translation (MT) is a translation technology that doesn’t involve the use of human translators. All translation work done is completed by machines. This can be grouped into four main categories:  While MT has come a long way, it isn’t ideal for translating legal documents, or documents that you’re using to reach a particular target audience. Frequently, these language technologies will produce translated documents with errors that are easily spotted by your target audience. This can not only create a poor social image of your organization but can also decrease your target audience’s likelihood of engaging with your product or service.  MT can be used by LSPs but is primarily only used to check the accuracy of a translated document in the quality analysis stages. At Avantpage, our QA is done by human linguists to ensure that your document will appropriately reach your target audience with no language errors.  A CAT tool is a “Computer Aided Translation” tool. These tools are designed to help the translation process run more efficiently. A CAT tool essentially functions to create a Translation Memory (TM) for your organization.  A TM is a database of past translations, which are used to increase translation efficiency. When your translation project is completed, the language from the source document is stored with its translation in this database. Over time, your database grows, and any new translation projects you start are run against the database to find matches.  Using a CAT tool to create a TM allows for increased efficiency in translating your documents, as well as increased consistency across your translated documents. If you have words, phrases, or sentences that are repeated across your documents - they’ll always be translated in the same manner. The consistency of your translated documents can also be increased through the use of linguistic assets like style guides and glossaries. These inform your translators of how certain words and phrases should be translated before they begin working on your documents.  At Avantpage, we use a CAT tool to increase the efficiency of your translations and help keep your projects in-budget. If you’d like to get started on your next translation project, or want more information on how language technologies benefit your translation projects, call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.