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One lesser-discussed part of the translation process is that of quality analysis. While high-quality translations start with certified translators, they’re completed by a rigorous quality analysis process that allows your organization to have full confidence in the completed project.  Once the translation or localization of your document is completed, it will need to be run through a quality analysis process. While this process will look different for each Language Service Provider (LSP), its foundation is the same across all LSPs.  At the completion of a project, the quality analysis process helps to ensure that your translations are of the highest quality, and appropriately tailored to your target audience. While one translator, or a group of translators operating off of the same Translation Memory, will translate your original document, the process of ensuring quality demands bringing in an additional translator. This linguist’s sole job is to ensure that the translation is an accurate representation of what was written in the original text, with no spelling or grammar errors that would make the document challenging for your target audience to engage with.  This process of Linguistic Quality Analysis (LQA) is a direct evaluation of your document and the translation that came from the original one. If any errors are found in the document, they are corrected before handing the final product off to your organization. LQA is one of many quality analysis processes that your LSP is likely to employ. If your document underwent formatting through Desktop Publishing (DTP), it will also need to undergo Design Quality Analysis (DQA). This process ensures that the formatting is appropriate after DTP, and that the document looks and feels as though it were originally written in the target language. This step is also of importance in the process of quality checking your localization projects, as localization projects are generally design-heavy. Finally, at Avantpage, we evaluate our linguists for each project they do - each of our linguists goes through their own quality analysis process. There are many criteria that we evaluate them on - from their language skills to their deadline compliance. This helps us to ensure that we’re working with linguists who can provide your organization with the best possible translations for your end-users. Quality analysis processes are an important part of translation projects, and you should partner with an LSP who takes them seriously. If you’d like to get started on your next translation project with quality in mind, call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today.

As the 2020 election draws near, voter turnout is top-of-mind for election professionals. Increasing voter turnout, particularly in your Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities, should be one of the top goals of your county. Regardless of your threshold languages, translation services can help to improve voter turnout in your county.  There are many ways that translating your documents leads to increased voter turnout come election day. Prominently, translating your documents allows your LEP community members to fully understand who and what they are voting for. When people have a deep understanding of the ballot measures, candidates, and voting processes, they are more likely to participate in an election.  Beyond this, translation allows LEP community members to feel like they are a part of the democratic process. When counties and candidates translate their election materials, LEP community members feel as though they are cared for. They are also more likely to feel as though their community cares about their voice and what they have to say. Creating an environment like this for LEP populations can lead to increase LEP voter turnout at the polls come election day. Increased voter turnout also occurs through translation due to a simplified voting process. When all of your county, including LEP community members, understand how the voting process works, they’re more likely to turn out to vote. Part of this is ensuring that your community members know what they need to bring in order to vote, what materials will be available, and what support will be available when they arrive at the polling place. Interpretation services can also increase voter turnout in your community. If your community members need help with instructions at the poll, having bilingual staff or community members volunteering at the polls can help. Making the process of voting easier by supporting your community will increase voter turnout as a whole. If you want to translate your documents to help increase voter turnout in your county, we can help. Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today to get started on your next election translation project.

As your organization looks into translation projects, it’s important to ensure that you have the proper people translating your documents. While machine translation may seem appealing and quick, and using your bilingual employees may seem like it saves you time and money, neither are ideal if you want accurate, high-quality translations. Partnering with a Language Service Provider (LSP) gives you access to qualified and certified translators who will be able to effectively translate your documents and reach your target audience.  A certified translator is a linguist who has passed an exam that assesses their ability to accurately translate from one language into another. There are three main organizations that certify translators in the US: There are other organizations that provide certification for translators as well, but these three organizations are the most well-recognized in the language industry.  The process of becoming a certified translator involves a series of tests, as well as a track record of success in translation projects. If you want to be sure that your translations will be beneficial to your end-users, working with certified translators can definitely help. You can have confidence that your translation team has a proven track record of providing excellent translations, as well as a proven knowledge of both your source and target languages.  Pairing with an LSP gives you access to a host of certified translators specializing in a variety of languages and domains. If you need your healthcare documents translated, an LSP will have a certified translator available with relevant experience in the healthcare domain to translate your documents.  Having certified translators available for your translation projects can make the difference between a high-quality translation and a translation that does not reach your target audience effectively. If you’d like to get started on your next translation project with certified, qualified translators, we can help. Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today.

There are many different documents that your healthcare organization needs to translate in order to meet the needs of your target audiences. These medical translation projects can take on many different forms, and they’re all necessary to comply with the varying healthcare regulations. Not only this, but your medical translation projects also help to ensure that every patient or client you have fully understands their health care and insurance options.  There are six types of documents that must be translated, according to Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These are considered vital medical translation projects. A vital document translation is one that is required for your healthcare organization to continue receiving federal funding. The vital documents that your organization needs to translate include: Federal regulations from the Office for Civil Rights require that these document types be translated into the threshold languages of your community. Every LEP language group that constitutes 5 percent, or 1000 persons – whichever is less – of the population served is a threshold language into which you need to translate your medical documents. Health plans will want to translate a variety of documents as well. For your insurance clients to effectively understand their coverage, your organization will need to translate the following documents: Not all of these documents are considered vital documents, but having these as part of your medical translation projects can help LEP language groups to better understand their healthcare coverage. This not only benefits your LEP community members but can provide a host of benefits to your health plan as well. You may find that translating additional medical documentation can be beneficial to your organization and LEP community members. Deciding how much you should translate as a healthcare organization is heavily dependent on the needs of your LEP patients and clients. At a minimum, you’ll want to translate any document that your patient or client needs to fully understand in order to effectively follow-through with healthcare recommendations. Other documents or materials your organization may need to translate include: To ensure the accuracy and quality of your medical translation projects, you’ll want to look for a Language Service Provider like Avantpage with a proven track record in the healthcare field. Ready to get started on your next medical translation project? Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

Machine translation has come a long way in the last decade. While new Neural Machine Translation (NMT) tools are continuing to be developed and enhanced every day, there really is still no substitute for human translation. Hiring human translators for your projects provides multiple benefits to your organization, your projects, and the Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations that you serve.  There are numerous examples of languages that have words that do not correspond to words in your target language. This is especially true of words that you translate from English to any other language. Hiring human translators means they’ll read the whole text before they start translating, while machines will translate word-by-word, regardless of syntax, logic, or context. Human translation will sound more natural due to understanding of the document’s context. Machines can translate the substance of the subject matter at hand, but they cannot effectively implement the creativity that human translators can and lose the meaning. Your human translators, with expertise in your source and target languages, will understand the nuances of each language and be able to effectively communicate the meaning from your source document. Each culture has different values and norms. These values and norms are interwoven in the language that the specific population uses. When starting translation projects, it’s important to consider and be sensitive to these cultural aspects. Machines do not fully understand the culture of the people who speak language, but human translators are immersed in these societies daily. They will effectively translate in a way that creates a supportive tone which avoids offending any of your target audience. Human translation provides a superior level of accuracy in your translation projects as compared to machine translation. While machines are able to do the job quickly, they won’t take into consideration the context of the document or any language nuances. Because of this, machine translation lends itself to inaccuracies in translation. Using human translation for your translation projects can help to ensure the accuracy and quality of your projects because it is the translator’s job to do so. Machine translation is not run through a quality assurance process. Human translation, on the other hand, goes through a quality assurance process. When you hire a Language Service Provider (LSP) like Avantpage, your translations are put through a rigorous quality assurance process that helps to ensure complete accuracy. Not only this, but the quality assurance process will also help to ensure that your documents are translated consistently over time.  Human translation provides a wide variety of benefits to your organization. If you want to learn more about the benefits of human translation, or start your next translation project, we can help! Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote today.

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 Persian (Farsi) language. Approximately 110 million people worldwide speak Farsi, with populations of Farsi speakers concentrated in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. In Afghanistan, the language is officially known as Dari, and in Tajikistan, it is known as Tajiki. Farsi is the official language of each of these three countries but is a prestigious cultural language in many other regions of Western, Central, and South Asia.  Linguists classify Farsi as a continuation of Middle Persian, which was the official literary and religious language of the Sasanian Empire. The Sasanian Empire was the last kingdom of the Persian Empire before the rise of Islam, and it ruled from the 3rd to the 7th century.  Farsi has had a considerable influence on the languages of neighboring countries, particularly in Central Asia, Anatolia, and Caucasus, but also on other Indo-Aryan languages, especially Urdu, and even Arabic (Bahrani Arabic). With its rich literary history and famous works, Farsi is also considered to be the first language in the Muslim culture to break through Arabic’s monopoly on literature writing. Farsi is written right to left in the Persian alphabet, which is a modified version of the Arabic script. A notable feature of the language is that its writing system (abjad) includes letters only for consonants. Vowels, when indicated, are written using a combination of consonants or with diacritics.  As far as the Farsi language community in the United States, approximately 500,000 people of full or partial Iranian ancestry (unofficial sources even give estimates over 1 000 000) currently reside in the U.S. Experts distinguish three phases of Iranian emigration to the United States.  While the Farsi 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 Farsi 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.

As the 2020 election draws near, it’s important to remember how much of a role language and language services play in an election cycle. While democratic elections are based on the free ability to vote, many Limited English Proficient (LEP) immigrants and citizens may struggle to effectively partake in the democratic process. Language barriers can create a lack of understanding as to how the voting process works, and insufficient translation of ballots and other election materials can prevent LEP voters from effectively understanding who or what they are voting for.  Democracy, and the ability to effectively partake in the democratic process, is not to be taken for granted. We asked our team members what democracy means to them, in an effort to illuminate the experiences of varying people with different languages and cultures, who live in different countries. We hope that, in this exercise, we may all come to value the democracy the United States provides for the true privilege it is.  Monika Wiatrowska, our Operations Manager, has voted in numerous elections. Her home country, Poland, is democratic and she feels “it is necessary and important [to participate in elections].” While this is true, Monika has a mix of feelings about elections in Poland, and whether her vote makes a difference.  Of elections in Poland, she says “there is no actual opposition to the right-wing government, which is very traditional, racist, and does not believe in climate change. [Participating in elections] is basically choosing the lesser evil.” Because the right-wing government has been prominent for a lengthy period of time, the general population struggles to believe that any positive changes will come out of elections. “The experience is more or less like fighting a losing battle. The opposition is weak, not united, and chaotic.”  All of that being said, Monika still believes in casting her vote and does so in every election. As to whether her vote makes a difference, Monika is conflicted. “Yes and no. Yes, because thinking my vote doesn't make a difference is ignorant and because it is my right to vote. No because, in Poland, the young people who should vote and make a difference are disinterested in politics.”  Monika feels lucky to not have experienced issues, language-based or otherwise, when going to cast her vote. Overall, she feels good about her participation in elections, nothing that she feels “fair to herself” by going to cast her vote regardless of the complicated system in Poland. Most importantly, Monika urges others to get involved with the democratic process. “People need to be involved so democracy can evolve and not become endangered. If you have the right to vote, it means you can care for what is happening in your city, your country, and the world.” To Monika, the most important aspect of voting in elections is voicing your opinion for a better world, and having your government see you show up. “I think that governments need to see that citizens care and are present in the decision making. There should be constant communication and transparency between both parties: the citizens and the government, so we can feel that we make a positive difference.”  Ensuring that every eligible voter gets to participate in the democratic process begins with ensuring all eligible voters can understand how to vote, and who they are voting for. If you’d like to prepare your election materials for the upcoming 2020 election, we can help. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today. 

One of the key sets of regulations your healthcare translation projects need to comply with is, believe it or not, is the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - aka ‘Obamacare’. The ACA regulations set out requirements built to prevent Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations from being unable to access healthcare and insurance programs that are available under its umbrella.  A few different aspects of language accommodations are covered by ACA regulations. These rules predominantly expand on previous mandates which require translation and interpretation services be available for LEP populations.  The threshold for language services under the ACA is similar to the thresholds set out by other healthcare regulations. If the population of LEP patients from a specific language group is more than 10% of the population in a county, then your healthcare organization must provide translation and interpretation services to that language group.  There are ACA regulations that particularly address interpretation - the transformation of the spoken word among languages - as well. Section 1557 requires that federally funded healthcare organizations hire qualified interpreters rather than competent interpreters. According to this regulation, a qualified interpreter is one who: Beyond this, the ACA also distinguishes between qualified bilingual staff and untrained bilingual staff members. A qualified bilingual staff member has: Qualified interpreters and bilingual staff members are allowed to provide interpretation services to patients in healthcare settings under the ACA regulations. Those that are unqualified, or competent rather than qualified, are not allowed to provide interpretation services.  While the ACA regulations necessitate ongoing adaptations to your organization’s translation and interpretation projects, these are easily accomplished. If you’re in compliance with other healthcare regulations, you may even find that you’re already compliant with the ACA regulations. If you want to get started on your next ACA-compliant translation project, we can help. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

In every industry, there are some key terms that you should know. Not only do these key terms make it easier to understand your project, they also make it easier to communicate with any vendors you partner with. Translation terminology is no different - knowing the terms that your Language Service Provider (LSP) will use can help to streamline the translation process and make it easier to complete your organization’s projects.  There are many different language services that an LSP provides. Knowing the difference between each language service can get you started on the right foot with your language projects!  Translation is the process for converting written text from one language (the source language) to another language (the target language). Translation projects can help to increase the reach of your written documents, and make your organization’s programming more accessible for all of your audiences.  Localization is “the process of adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market. Translation is only one of several elements of the localization process.” Localization also involves adapting graphics, fonts, colors, and other textual items to ensure that the content feels like it was created for the target audience.  Interpretation “is the facilitation of spoken or signed language communication between users of different languages.” Interpretation can be done in-person or remote, either over-the-phone or on a video chat software.  Desktop Publishing (DTP) is the process of reformatting your documents after they are translated. Translation can change the layout of your document, which is why reformatting with DTP is important. Your DTP team will adjust the text for any sizing/graphics issues, and ensure that it is as functional in the target language as it is in the source language.  There are a variety of different technological tools that can support your translation projects as well. The technology used by each LSP can be different, but there are two main types of translation technology that you should know:  Computer-Aided Translations (CAT) Tools are “software systems that human translators use during the translation process to improve their productivity.” This translation tool is particularly used for the creation of Translation Memory (TM) databases, which allow your translators to check your current project against saved translations to make the process more efficient.  Machine translation (MT) “refers to fully automated software that translates content into target languages without human intervention.” These tools are used less frequently by LSPs, but are still employed by them for different purposes. At Avantpage, we do not use machine translation for your translation projects. There is other translation terminology you should know, but having these in the back of your mind can help to streamline your projects and make communications with your LSP that much easier. If you’d like to further discuss translation terminology or get started on your next translation project, we can help! Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

There are many moving parts to a translation project. Whether you’re new to translating your organization’s documents or you’re a seasoned veteran, streamlining the process can be challenging. That’s where translation tools come in to help. Linguistic assets can help to organize your translation projects by making your translators aware of your linguistic preferences before beginning your projects.  Linguistic assets indicate key style preferences for your organization’s translation projects. Translation Memories (TMs), glossaries, and style guides are all considered linguistic assets.  Translation Memory reuses past translations to increase translation efficiency. When your translation project is completed, the language from the original (or source) document is stored along with the language from its translated counterpart in a secure database. This occurs with every project as you begin to build a translation memory. Glossaries, another linguistic asset, include a set of key terms and their approved translations. They’re particularly useful for indicating approved translations of industry-specific terms, and terms you want consistently translated across your documents.  Style guides, the last of the linguistic assets you should be aware of, inform your LSP and translators about your organization’s look, voice, and general identity. This is also a great place to address practical questions for your translators, such as how to handle translating acronyms and what words should be left in English. Creating and using linguistic assets in concert with your LSP has a variety of benefits to your translation projects and your organization.  Using linguistic assets can help to support your efforts to streamline your translation projects. We can help you create style guides, glossaries, and Translation Memory databases. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

As the 2020 election draws near, it’s important to remember how much of a role language and language services play in an election cycle. While democratic elections are based on the free ability to vote – many Limited English Proficient (LEP) immigrants and citizens may struggle to effectively partake in the democratic process. Language barriers can create a lack of understanding as to how the voting process works, and insufficient translation of ballots and other election materials can prevent LEP voters from effectively understanding who or what they are voting for. Democracy, and the ability to effectively partake in the democratic process, is not to be taken for granted. We asked our team members what democracy means to them, in an effort to illuminate the experiences of varying people with different languages and cultures, who live in different countries. We hope that, in this exercise, we may all come to value the democracy the United States provides for the true privilege it is. Fernanda Aguilera, one of our Project Coordinators, lives in Mexico where voting is “not as technologically advanced as in other countries.” For every election she’s participated in, she’s had to follow a specific process that she notes would make it easy to manipulate the vote count. “We still use pen and paper, deposit our ballot in an urn, and the vote-counting is done manually by the people in charge of each voting place, city, etc.” Beyond the hand-counted votes, it’s important to note that the Mexican government isn’t an active hand in this aspect of the democratic process. “Government employees are not the ones in charge of the logistics of the voting place, but they recruit and train citizens to volunteer.” Fernanda goes on to describe her feelings about voting in a system like this, where most politicians and political institutions are seen as corrupt. “The general feeling in Mexico is of choosing ‘the better of the worst’. We do not trust our politicians due to corruption. Sometimes I feel as if my vote doesn’t matter, but I always keep informed anyway about the candidates and proposals.” While Fernanda feels discouraged about whether her vote counts in this system, she notes that she has never experienced issues when going to vote, including language access issues. She’s been able to vote at her polling place every time she’s gone to participate in an election. Though she experiences her fair share of doubt as to whether her vote matters, she feels strongly about participating in elections and being informed about all possible candidates and voting matters. “Voting is a right we all have, but it is also our responsibility. And part of that responsibility is being informed about the parties, candidates, and how the system works.” She urges others to get involved beyond voting in the election. “Try to get an insight into the system, so you can know how to create a real change.” Ensuring that every eligible voter gets to participate in the democratic process begins with ensuring all eligible voters can understand how to vote, and who they are voting for. If you’d like to prepare your election materials for the upcoming 2020 election, we can help. Call us at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote today.

Translation services are valuable to many different industries, regardless of whether they are regulated and required or not. Some industries, like the legal industry, don’t have regulated requirements for translation, but benefit from it all the same. Legal translation can benefit all parties involved in a court case, and help to make the legal system more accessible to those who may need it.  There are many different parts of the legal process that benefit from translation services. If you’re in the process of discovery, having documents translated by a qualified, certified legal translator can help to make the documents more accessible if you wish to submit them into evidence. In a hearing, having an interpreter can be necessary if the defendant, prosecutor, or any other involved party is Limited English Proficient (LEP). There are many other documents, like a will or power of attorney, that benefit from legal translation as well.  While the needs of your firm will be different from the needs of other firms, there is a host of documents that are commonly translated for law firms. These include:  Beyond document translation, the legal industry benefits from other language services. Interpretation, either in-person or remote, can benefit LEP populations should they be called for a deposition or hearing. ADA-compliant translation can also be of benefit if your client has a communication disability. Finally, localization can be of benefit if you’re a legal firm working globally or trying to expand into a new target market.  In order to be sure that your legal documents are accurately and appropriately translated, you need to use subject matter experts as translators. Your legal translation projects should be handled by certified, qualified translators who have experience in the legal industry.  We can help you with your next legal translation project. Our qualified, subject matter expert translators can meet all of your legal translation needs. Call us at 530-750-2040 or request a free quote to get started with your project today.