Blogs

At Avantpage, we're much more than just a translation company. We provide translation, localization, interpretation, language technology and much more - all with a unique sensitivity to other cultures, ethnic markets and foreign entities. Our documents and multimedia are not "just" translations - they feel and function as if they were produced in the target country. So, why the bridge? The image of the Avantpage bridge is elegant, yet powerful. Its grace and beauty belies an underlying strength that will provide safe passage to many future travelers. Our services provide a powerful bridge across which businesses can communicate, collaborate and function more effectively through many diverse languages. From localizing websites and online materials to the intricacies of international commerce, the Avantpage bridge of services reaches across language barriers and cultural differences, drawing people together and helping them to create lasting relationships with ethnic and foreign markets. Simply put, Avantpage represents a bridge to other cultures, a bridge towards more effective communication both locally and globally, and a bridge to a brighter future. Come and be a part of our journey as we travel across!

Are you aware that Avantpage is a minority-owned business? We are proud of our MBE status, and today I'd like to take just a moment to expand on that a bit ... What is an MBE?  An MBE - Minority-owned Business Enterprise - is defined as a for-profit business which is owned, operated and controlled by minority group members who are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American. At least 51% of the business must be owned by a minority to qualify, or, if the business is publicly-owned, at least 51% of the stock must be owned by one or more members of a minority. Also, the management and day-to-day operations of the business must be controlled by minority group members as well. Many large corporations actively seek to do business with MBEs, and often have internal programs in  place to contract services with a certain percentage of MBEs, in addition to their other suppliers. If you are interested in choosing a translation company with MBE status, Avantpage is certified by The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). What does MBE status mean to our clients? There is actually a two-pronged advantage to Avantpage's MBE status. First, because we are certified as an MBE by the NMSDC, we are eligible to register with major corporations in their supplier diversity programs. And that means exciting opportunities for Avantpage to gain valuable experience with new corporate clients, improve our industry recognition, expand our services and grow as an organization. Secondly, there is a more "intangible" benefit to our being designated an MBE.  In the translation industry, we deal closely with minority issues in regard to language barriers. We understand sensitive language issues, cultural differences, and diversity concerns, because our company was founded and built by minorities. Avantpage constantly seeks to further our understanding of and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of other minority businesses and individuals. While our MBE status is another advantage to working with us, our work stands by itself due to its quality, service and competitive cost.

Unless you've been traveling somewhere extremely remote where there's no radio, television, newspapers, magazines, podcasts, or Internet, you've no doubt seen - or heard - part of a FIFA World Cup soccer game from South Africa over the past four weeks.
It all wrapped up in the finale on Sunday, July 11 with Spain defeating the Netherlands for not just the European bragging rights, but for the world's title, too. So what does all of this World Cup frenzy mean to your business as it relates to using translations properly from Avantpage? As the world's greatest sports tournament, watched by an estimated 500 million TV viewers, being a football fan can be great for your company's business -- if you think globally to leverage the World Cup audience to your advantage. According to an Investopia article "World Cup: By The Numbers": On a broader scale, let's look at how companies are leveraging this gigantic global audience to drive more businesses and increase their bottom line. Sponsors: Traditional World Cup advertisers such as Adidas AG, Coca-Cola, McDonald's Corp., Hyundai, Kia, Sony, and Visa have historically benefitted from higher sales both during and following the tournament.
But for 2010, a few new relatively small enterprises launched their brands worldwide as sponsors. These included Yingli Green Energy Holding Company, a solar panel manufacturer that has a 7% share of the global solar energy market; Mahindra Satyam, an Indian IT services provider; and Seara, a Brazilian food supplier and the fourth largest meatpacking company worldwide.
Each of these newcomers was the first from their BRIC countries (Brazil-Russia-India-China) to sponsor the tournament and see a spike in awareness, which came after growth in their stock markets outpaced those of developed nations since the World Cup in 2006.
All of these advertisers could benefit from Avantpage's services for Globalization, Internationalization Localization, Transcreation and Translation for their websites, ads, and marketing communications. Musicians: Most radio and TV commercials for World Cup sponsors use music to pace the message and build their brand with mnemonic messages or jingles. These commercials are also more frequently being shown in movie theatres to different audiences. For songs, chants, and anthems downloaded by globally by soccer aficionados, the musicians could sell more singles and CDs via our Localization and Translation services. Social Networkers: If you're sending a Tweet through Twitter, writing on someone's Facebook wall, or uploading a YouTube video, it's important to speak their language so you can communicate most efficiently.
In terms of tweets, during this year's World Cup, a record was set during a Japan-Cameroon match on June 14 when tweets were sent at a rate of 2,940 per second about 30 seconds after the Japanese team scored the only goal of a 1-0 victory. And in the US-Slovenia World Cup match that ended in a draw, CNN's "South Africa 2010: Twitter Buzz" feature showed there were 174,078 tweets per minute near the end of the match, which translated to 2,901 tweets per second.
Both figures are nearly four times the average of Twitter's 750 tweets per second, which proves how big a hit Twitter has become in Japan since introducing a mobile version in October 2009. The Associated Press estimates that over 16% of Japanese Internet users tweet vs. 9.8% in the USA. It also proves that Twitter's traffic boost indicates how social media are driving the sports fan experience.
For social media, Avantpage can be the bridge advancing cross-cultural communication because of our ability to communicate in over 150 global languages. Our services for social media can include Globalization, Internationalization Localization, Transcreation, Translation and Transliteration. If you are interested in talking with us and learning more about how we can help your company expand and connect with new markets, please contact [email protected], or call 530-750-2024. Sources: SF Gate: World Cup: By the Numbers SF Gate: World Cup Investment Picks Offer One Sure Win SF Gate: Sports Fans Set Twitter Records

Congratulations to our client, California-based AltaMed Health Services Corp.! HISPANIC BUSINESS Magazine has ranked it as the number one nonprofit in the nation based on spending in service to Hispanics. "Since 1969, the organization has provided health services to the underserved population in Los Angeles County, with special focus on the Mexican-American segment. Today it operates more than 20 facilities including five clinics, a youth center, and several HIV treatment centers. From prenatal testing to senior care, AltaMed has a program to address the need." Read more about their ranking, and how AltaMed helped pioneer the practice of bilingual and bicultural healthcare for the Hispanic market. We're glad to work with this great company as they strive to improve care and services for their members

Being a technologist myself, I always look to the advances our scientists and engineers make with awe and wonder. As a society, we owe much to them. I also know better than to give absolutes like "Machine translation will never replace human translators". Human capacity and ingenuity knows no bounds as of yet. That said, we need to remember that as we apply machine translation to medical information, there are legal implications and, most importantly, the basis for medical choices and treatments. Mistakes and inaccuracies with medical information are simply not acceptable. In our medical translation workflow, the legitimate role we have for machine translation is for terminology research, and to see how others have translated text that is new for us. Please note that this is more than in the past, but still quite limited. Otherwise, because of legal, contractual and ethical requirements, we do not have or see any other role for machine translation in a medical context at this time. We will continue to follow the development of the technology, and as it evolves, evaluate how it can improve quality, lower costs and reduce turnaround time for our human translators. Luis Miguel, CEO tel: 530.750.2040, ext. 1

This past weekend I had a great opportunity to spend time at NYU in a course through their School of Continuing and Professional Studies. I gathered with a small group of other professionals talking about ethnic marketing and ways to reach multicultural communities. Such interesting discussions and data--and truly invigorating to be with other professionals eager to make those vital connections to important communities in the U.S. Why is multicultural marketing something to pay attention to? Ethnic markets are gaining in population and buying power. They are the fastest growing segment in the U.S.! The majority are in largest cities, and growing in small cities too. While we may all think we already know this, it's great to get back to basics and see the data. The Hispanic, Asian, and African American markets combined already comprise 50% or more of top 10 urban areas, with annual purchasing power of $2 trillion. This population is 10 million larger than baby boomers demographic group. And it's so important to be mindful of the diversity within diversity. For example, 15% of the U.S. population is Hispanic. Of that market, 63% are Mexican, while 35 other cultures contribute to the balance--such as Puerto Rican, Spanish, Venezuelan, Columbian, Panamanian, Guatemalan, and more. The same diversity is, of course, true with Asian and Arab cultures. Guess what, it's even true with "Americans." When communicating with these groups, we can't assume a lack of English proficiency. It's important to know the appropriate times to use in-language marketing tactics. But when your communication is in-language it tells the community you care about them, you understand them, and they are important. I'd love to talk more and share my insights into how language translation is a vital component in the process of creating a multicultural marketing program with cultural relevance. Call or email us today and let's continue the discussion!

Avantpage joined the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) in taking action to support translation of prescription drug labels--we encourage you to take action also by May 13, 2010. CPEHN writes, "Despite public outcry, the Board of Pharmacy continues to advance weak regulations that do not ensure the readability of prescription drug labels. These next two weeks are our final opportunity to write the Board and demand strong patient-centered prescription labels-- labels that are in a 12-point font size and translated in other languages." Join us in sending your comments to the California State Board of Pharmacy asking for culturally appropriate labels. Comments are due by May 13!  CPEHN recommends telling the Board: Please direct comments to: Carolyn Klein Manager, Legislation and Regulations California State Board of Pharmacy 1625 N. Market Blvd., N219 Sacramento, CA 95834 Fax: (916) 574-8618 For information or to let us know you took action, email Marty Martinez. Additional information is available at the Board of Pharmacy website.

This week I read an engaging and informative survey report released by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) detailing Americans' usage of personal health records, or PHRs. What's a PHR? According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), a PHR is "a tool that you can use to collect, track and share past and current information about your health or the health of someone in your care." A personal health record is different from a medical record because it is the patient's responsibility to compile and maintain a PHR. The survey indicates one in 14 Americans has used a personal health record, double the number of users from a year earlier. This number is almost certain to continue growing as the adoption of electronic health records, or EHRs, becomes more widespread. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included up to $29 billion to support providers' adoption and meaningful use of such records. Highlights of the survey showed that more than half of PHR users learned something about their health as a result of their PHR and a third of users used the PHR to take action to improve their condition. In addition, low-income PHR users (60%) tended to feel more connected to their doctor as a result of using a PHR. While private companies offer PHR solutions, over half of respondents to the survey said they felt most comfortable using a PHR provided by their doctor or insurer. PHR Translation Is Urgently Needed... Since the results of the study showed that low-income PHR users stand to benefit greatly from PHR use, and in many areas of the country, the limited-English and low-income demographics overlap, it makes sense that PHR providers should expand PHR offerings to other languages as soon as possible. People who primarily speak Spanish or another language should not be denied this service. If something as simple as maintaining a personal health record can help people feel more connected to providers and be more proactive about their health decisions, then everyone should get one! Do you have a PHR? Luis Miguel, CEO tel: 530.750.2040, ext. 1

Avantpage Translations recently released a special report called "Translation Technology 101: How It's Changing The Business and How We Use It". The new technologies used by companies such as Google have made computer, or machine, translation more accurate than ever. But just how reliable are these translations? Are translation companies going to start "cutting corners" by using machine translation software? How does machine translation work? As companies consider these questions related to translation technology and the way it may impact their business, Avantpage has created this report to help answer some of these questions. In Part II of the report, Avantpage discusses the ways that they use technology to make their "human" translation services more efficient on a daily basis-without sacrificing quality.

That was our response upon receiving our census form in the mail. After all, the country of origin question goes a long way in determining what kind of language services an area needs to provide for local residents. Well, it’s sort of on the census. You see, under Question 9 about race, there are boxes for “white, black, American Indian, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Other Asian, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian/Chamorro, Samoan, Other Pacific Islander, or “Some Other Race.” So one can glean some information about national origin and languages spoken from this version of the census, but there are some notable categories missing here. Arab-Americans are often divided about how to fill out this item—most choose “white,” but feel oddly doing so. In the same way, this form doesn’t accurately count Russian-Americans or Americans of Polish heritage, since those groups also self-identify as “white.” Here’s the answer to the “missing ethnicity question,” straight from the Census Bureau: “The 2010 Census isn’t designed to capture data on a person’s ancestry. We capture that information on the American Community Survey (ACS), which is part of the official census but conducted throughout the decade on a rolling sample of about 2.5 percent of the population every year. In Census 2000 and earlier decades what is now the ACS was commonly called “the long form” of the census; the 2010 Census is the first to use a short form only.” Time will only tell whether the ACS provides us with an accurate accounting of the many ethnic and linguistic groups within America, and whether this experiment with a “short form” proves costly in the long run for historically underrepresented groups.

Research shows that the per-patient costs of Language Assistance are low, while providing services in a culturally and linguistically appropriate (CLAS) manner leads to better patient outcomes and significantly lower costs to the system. With minorities providing most of the growth in California's population today and in the future, offering CLAS is a key factor in growing your patient base. Avantpage offers quality language access solutions at the government, insurer, provider, and individual level. We also have specific recommendations on how to start and implement a professional Language Assistance program. To learn more about how the cost benefits of language access, and the benefits to patients and community, contact Avantpage at 530-750-2040.

Today Avantpage Translations released a special report called "Translation Technology 101: How It's Changing The Business and How We Use It". The new technologies used by companies such as Google have made computer, or machine, translation more accurate than ever. But just how reliable are these translations? Are translation companies going to start "cutting corners" by using machine translation software? How does machine translation work? Read Part I of our report here, as we discuss the evolution of translation technology, specifically machine translation. We also explore the benefits and drawbacks of using this technology, as well as potential applications.