Blogs

Desktop Publishing (DTP) is an important component of Avantpage’s linguistic suite of services. Through DTP, we format and re-create foreign language page design/layouts both for print and Internet use, without compromising the message and feel of the original material.  We support more than 150 languages and a wide variety of software applications.  We handle every nuance of the process, thoroughly detailing documents and online materials to reflect a culturally accurate and appropriate message. Translating files into other languages can wreak all kinds of havoc on original layouts, graphics and formatting. Captions to photos, graphs or other illustrations may be inadvertently repositioned, truncated or even lost altogether. Because some languages take up more space than others when written, the ratio of text to white space can vary wildly from language to language.  Bulleted lists, hyphenation, paragraph breaks, spacing and other graphic design elements may all be negatively affected in the transition from one language to another. Our multilingual DTP services ensure that your translated file is completely aligned with the target language’s visual layout and design requirements.  Formatting, hyphenation, captions, graphic design elements – we ensure that every detail of your file will be reproduced accurately when presented in the target language.  You can be certain that our DTP services reflect local cultural norms, provide accurate text-to-white-space ratios, and ensure that order forms, feedback forms, client contact forms and hyperlinks are fully functioning in the new target language. For more information on our DTP capabilities, call 877-ANY-LANG or email [email protected] today!

Recently, the federal government indicated that Sacramento County must print ballots and other voting materials in Chinese in time for the next election.  Only 15 other counties throughout America are required to print ballots in Chinese. New census data has shown that there are about 39,000 Chinese (all ages) living in Sacramento County, and of those, about 15,500 speak English “less than very well.”  The U.S. Voting Rights Act requires ballots to be translated into a foreign language when more than 10,000 voting age residents or 5% of a jurisdiction don’t speak English fluently. Currently, Spanish is the only other language voting materials are translated into in Sacramento County.
This election year, Chinese voters will be able to read ballot information in their first language, an important step in getting more Chinese Americans to visit the polls.  While many Chinese-speaking voters do read and speak English (albeit “less than very well”), they prefer to read and respond to voting information in their own language.  Sacramento County’s move to translate ballots into Chinese will give Chinese Americans a larger local political presence and voice –– something they may not have felt they possessed in previous election years. Avantpage’s team of highly skilled translators is ready to step in and deliver high-quality, accurate, affordable translation to meet ballot requirements in Sacramento County and elsewhere. We can translate voting information into Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Russian, Vietnamese, Hmong and many other languages. Read more about how our election translation services can help your county.

Russian is a language with a long and varied history, and today, approximately 147 million people speak Russian as their first language, and 113 million speak it as a secondary language. In the United States, large concentrations of Russian speakers make their homes in Alaska, New York, California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Russian is the official language of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is one of three East Slavic languages, along with Ukrainian and Belarusian, although more people speak Russian than any other Slavic language. Standard Russian spoken today is called modern Literary Russian, and first appeared at the beginning of the 18th century. During the end of the 18th and into the 19th century, (the “Golden Age” of Russian literature), grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation were standardized. The Russian writing system is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. Today, in the United States, there are more than 90 Russian-language publications, more than a dozen Russian language radio stations and four Russian language television channels. There are approximately 4 million Russian speakers living in the United States. From ballet and painting to architecture and literature, Russians have made immense contributions to world culture and art. Russia has also produced some of the world’s top scientists, physicists and mathematicians (not to mention chess players). Russian literature, including works by such highly respected authors as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Nabokov, is taught in US high schools and colleges, and Russian ballet dancers and choreographers such as Baryshnikov, Nureyev and Balanchine have made their artistic mark on the US stage. Avantpage receives many requests for Russian translation, and we have a team of expert Russian translators in place to handle documents, media, localization requests and more.
For information about Russian translation, click here.

How Avantpage provided translation services in 25 languages –– accurately, quickly and with exceptional attention to detail and quality The Task
The California Department of Education (CDE) needed a translation project completed within seven days. This project was a survey piece intended for parents, entitled “A School Climate Survey for Parents and Guardians.” This piece would be used by the CDE to determine how parents felt about a particular school and the education process within that school. The CDE asked that Avantpage translate a portion of the survey into 25 different languages –– 11 core languages (languages usually required by the CDE) and 14 others including Japanese, Farsi, Somali, Punjabi, Urdu, Hebrew, Portuguese Brazilian, Continental Portuguese, and Samoan. Avantpage’s Solution
Avantpage's project manager choose 25 translators, sent them the specifics of the project, waited for them to confirm availability, sent the files to be translated, received and proofed the files, and delivered the finished project to the client. Avantpage was able to work with our “preferred” translators for this project –– 25 dedicated vendors who have all worked on previous CDE projects, and were familiar with their preferences and requirements. This project demanded an extensive amount of teamwork from everyone involved. Trust played an important role as well –– it was critical that Avantpage be able to rely on translators who they trusted implicitly to perform this job quickly and accurately. “This project was challenging in terms of the quick turnaround and sheer number of languages involved. To maintain quality and keep on top of the project’s daily progress, everyone involved in this project –– the Avantpage team, the translators and the CDE’s point person –– had to fully commit to working together every step of the way.” – Vera Hooijdonk, Avantpage Lead Project Manager The Outcome
Avantpage was able to deliver this project on time, completing all 25 translated language pieces within the time frame indicated. Avantpage translators for Samoan, German and Hebrew did notice discrepancies in survey text they were asked not to translate, but to leave intact from a previously translated document. Even though our translators were not required or expected to look at this part of the document, they did, and made suggestions for changes that would bring the entire document up to Avantpage standards of quality. The CDE agreed to these suggestions, and these files were also delivered within the 7-day turnaround. Avantpage’s work with the CDE ensures that schools are able to communicate effectively with parents who are not fluent in English, giving them a voice and involving them fully in the education process. Research has shown that parent involvement in education improves student achievement across the board. Students with the most to gain from parental involvement in their education are children from low-income and culturally and racially diverse families—and these families may need documents translated into their first language to fully participate in their children’s education process.
Avantpage was proud to be a part of this survey project, and looks forward to working with the CDE to improve educational opportunities through translation in the future.

Recently, on their blog forum Room for Debate, The New York Times invited contributors to discuss strategies for educating immigrant children and helping them to meet rising academic standards.  The conversation stemmed from a report on Cecil D. Hylton High School, a school in Virginia that is separating immigrant children from the general student population in an effort to teach them English. The practice had mixed results:  many of the children did master English, as well as American history and other subjects required to meet high school test standards. However, some students felt isolated in their “school-within-a-school” –– unable to relate to or communicate effectively with their English-speaking peers, and hampered by so much daily contact with others like themselves who did not speak English fluently.  Contributors weighed in with their posts, and the result is a fascinating discussion of this hot-button topic. While there is no single answer to the question of how best to educate immigrant children in our country, educators nationwide are striving to discover what works, what doesn’t, and which methods provide the best hope for limited English speakers to eventually master English and go on to earn college degrees. As more immigrant children are educated within our school system and strive to create a life for themselves here in the United States, they are creating a generation of bilingual, educated achievers … people who are building a future for themselves, their families and future generations. At Avantpage, we strive for similar goals—to connect with other cultures through language, to make understanding and comprehension of key concepts easier and more intuitive through translation, and to offer ways for organizations to reach out more effectively to non-English speakers. Even though many children of non-English speakers are assimilating fully into U.S. culture and language mastery, their parents may still be struggling with language and communication issues. This is where Avantpage can offer expertise and assistance:  translating critical information into 150 languages, website localization, interpretation, linguistic engineering, and much more. Industries we specialize in include healthcare and life sciences, banking and finance, education, marketing and public relations, gaming, government, human resources, insurance, manufacturing, and technology.  When you choose Avantpage for your linguistic needs, you’re partnering with an industry leader with over 15 years of experience!

As you know, at Avantpage we take translation seriously, and pride ourselves on our unfailing attention to detail, our absolute dedication to our clients and their projects, and the incredible work ethic practiced by every member of our team. The flip side of that? We love the lighter side of language as well, and we'd love to share a book that recently came to the attention of the Avantpage team. It's called I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears and Other Intriguing Idioms from Around the World, by Jag Bhalla, published by National Geographic and available on Amazon.  You'll discover priceless sayings like, "To live like a maggot in bacon," (German for "to live in luxury"); "ant milker" (a miserly tightwad in Arabic); "When frogs grow hair," ("never" in Spanish); "Fine words don't feed cats," (Italian for "talk is cheap") and of course, "I'm not hanging noodles on your ears," (Russian for "I'm not pulling your leg"). Also fascinating was a chapter on how the meanings of English words have transformed over the centuries. Did you know that nice originally meant foolish, ignorant or senseless, bully meant darling or sweetheart, and silly meant happy or blessed? This book comes highly recommended by the Avantpage team, This fun collection of idioms is guaranteed to elicit a smile from linguists, writers, editors, translators, and language lovers from all walks of life.

At Avantpage, our project management team is indispensible. We thought we'd take a moment to reveal just what our PMs are responsible for and why they're so critical to our success. At Avantpage, our project managers are the liaison between our clients and translators. They are responsible for ensuring that projects progress smoothly, that everyone is on the same page when it comes to expectations, and that communication between all project team members and client representatives is flowing freely. What are the characteristics our project managers share? For starters, the ability to think on their feet and change focus midstride is paramount. Add to that, a knack for solving problems in an instant, staying calm during crises and the ability to handle multiple requests without breaking a sweat. Project managers for Avantpage are familiar with all aspects of language translation, customer service, billing issues, and technical support. They act as troubleshooters, expert communicators, quality control specialists, production coordinators, sales support, and tech advisors. Our project management team is responsible for assessing and distributing workloads, organizing client meetings, monitoring performance and productivity, organizing training and support for team members, communicating client needs to the translation team, overseeing AvantFlow, AvantMemory and other translation technology tools, ensuring that processes and procedures remain cost-effective throughout the life of a project, and keeping tabs on quality issues. Our PMs keep your projects on track, on target and moving forward, every step of the way! To find out more about Avantpage's PM team, call 877-ANY-LANG or email [email protected] today!

At Avantpage, each translation project is closely aligned with our quality assurance process. Each translation request goes through several quality assurance stages: Editing The editor checks the translation for accuracy and compliance with the client's specifications; looks for typos, grammatical mistakes; and checks style, consistency, and more. Terminology Control The translated text is processed with a QA tool to make sure all the terms match the terms on the client's terminological database or glossary. There are several tools available for this purpose. Review/Proofreading This is a target-audience review to ensure cultural appropriateness. This review is made by people familiar with the target community. Correction The translation goes back to the translator and/or editor with the client's feedback, and the changes can be accepted (or rejected). Back Translation This is an optional stage, where the translated text is back translated into the original language to ensure the customer that there were no omissions, additions, or any alteration to the main message or meaning of the text. Client Review The client has the opportunity to review the translation and make any preferential changes. The translator approves (or rejects) the changes. Desktop Publishing After all linguistic steps are completed, we typeset the file so that it matches cultural appropriateness, specific client preferences, selection of images, character sets, page size, etc., according to the target language. Proofing In this final stage, a proofer evaluates the final file against the original file looking for compliance with the project specifications. To find out more about Avantpage's our QA process, call 877-ANY-LANG or email [email protected] today!

As a health care provider, you know that clear, open communication with your clients is critical.  If your LEP (Limited English Proficient) clients don't fully understand discharge instructions, insurance information, consent forms, applications, and other written materials, you may be putting them - as well as yourself and your organization - at risk. When you make an effort to communicate with your clients in their primary language, the benefits are enormous. You will improve understanding of insurance and plan guidelines; reduce medical misunderstandings, billing errors and potential malpractice charges; and provide the opportunity for more positive health outcomes across the board. At Avantpage, we specialize in translation for the healthcare industry, and work closely with some of today's largest healthcare organizations. To discover how Avantpage can provide affordable, accurate, high-quality translation services for you, click here.  To get a quote for translation services, click here. Don't let inaccuracies in translation hinder the effectiveness of your message, drive off potential business, or compromise patient care.

If not, maybe it's time to take another look! Our clients who use it, love it and here's why: AvantFlow--our signature online translation management system--is a free-of-charge, easy, systematic way to request quotes and projects from us. It also serves as a secure online central repository to store and retrieve all your translation project files. In addition, you can also use AvantFlow to instantly check project status, give detailed project instructions, upload source files, assign due dates and deadlines, and much more. To schedule your 15-minute demo, call me at 530-750-2040, x3, or email me at [email protected]. The demo will give you an idea of how AvantFlow works, how simple it is to use, and how effective it can be in requesting/storing projects and monitoring ongoing work.I look forward to hearing from you! Laura Kujubu, VP of Customer Relations

Pre-Qualification Translators can apply for work via our Careers page on our website or they can be referred by translators who already work with Avantpage. Translators must submit their Request for Qualifications form to qualify; they must perform sample tests in their areas of expertise; and they must send a sample of their work along with the original source document, and a valid Certification of Membership to ATA, a Court Certification, or a Certification from an equivalent Professional Translation Institution. Qualification Once the translator is pre-qualified, we interview them, and our Project Management team works with him/her in a "test" project to evaluate quality, responsiveness, and turnaround times. The translation is reviewed by the Lead Translator to check accuracy and quality with the original file. If these stages are completed successfully, the translator signs the nondisclosure agreement, and they are monitored for 3 months by our PM team and the Lead Translator for that language. Permanent Team Members Translators receive training on our online project management systems (AvantFlow and AvantForum), Translation Tools (SDLX, Trados), AvantMemory/XTM, teamwork, Avantpage quality control process, and Avantpage customer service guidelines. All our translators receive permanent feedback and training in order to continuously be updated in their performance. Each language team has access to AvantForum to share best practices with the rest of the Avantpage Translators' team. Continuous Evaluation and Skill Updating Translators are periodically evaluated to ensure they have been performing well for our customers. In addition we survey them for new skills or tools they have acquired, continuing education courses, and ask them how we can improve our systems or processes. To find out more about Avantpage's translators, call 877-ANY-LANG or email [email protected] today!

Health Benefit Exchange Gives Uninsured Consumers Access to High-Quality, Affordable Health Care In accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed in March of 2010, the California Health Benefit Exchange is slated to go into effect on January 1, 2014. The Health Benefit Exchange is essentially a health plan "marketplace" where uninsured individuals and small businesses can shop for and purchase high-quality health insurance. Individuals with low to moderate incomes, and small businesses of less than 100 employees will be eligible for federal tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies previously only available to those with employer-based heath insurance. Through the California Health Benefit Exchange, consumers will be able to shop for and purchase health insurance on the private market. They will gain greater purchasing power due to a more stable risk pool, increased competition among insurers, and the ability to "comparison shop" for healthcare. The Exchange will operate as a web-based service that acts as a "portal" for numerous health plans, enabling health care plan shoppers to compare coverage, offerings, rates, services and more. The Exchange will provide clear, easy-to-understand information to consumers through their website, which will offer standardized, detailed information about the plans, access to health plan experts, and a toll-free number to call for more information. If you would like to learn more about the California Health Benefit Exchange and its impact on translation needs, download our Special Report. Although the Exchange will not go into effect until 2014, many health care organizations are already laying the groundwork for ramped-up translation efforts utilizing numerous threshold languages.  Starting the translation process now will ensure that LEP healthcare consumers have the information they need to make informed decisions once they are using the Health Benefit Exchange website.