The Localisation Research Centre (LRC) and MultiLingual Computing, Inc., have produced Localization Reader 2004-2005 for the International Third-level Localisation Teaching, Training and Research Network (LttN).

The reader is available in PDF form at http://www.localisation.ie/publications/reader/2004/index.htm and at http://www.tilponline.org/LttN/annual_localisation_reader.shtml

The reader consists of articles published in the magazines MultiLingual Computing & Technology and Localisation Focus from October 2003 through September 2004. It is intended for use by teachers and students of localization and translation.

Localisation Focus is published quarterly by the LRC at the University of Limerick, Ireland. LRC director Reinhard Schäler is its editor.

Localisation Research Centre, University of Limerick, CSIS, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland, Tel: 208-263-8178, Fax: 353-61-20881, E-mail: LRC@ul.ie, Web: http://www.localisation.ie

MultiLingual Computing, Inc., 319 North First Avenue, Suite 2, Sandpoint, ID 83864-1495 USA, Tel: 208-263-8178, Fax: 208-263-6310, E-mail: info@multilingual.com, Web: http://www.multilingual.com

They are four people who signed confessions to murders written in a language they said they don’t understand…

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“Translation is an enterprise demanding a heart that could abide loneliness.” This is a refrain constantly heard in the Fifth Session of the Council Meeting of Translators’ Association of China (TAC), held in Beijing from November 4 to 7.

“The nature of a translator’s work requires us to render a message and disappear,” said Betty Cohen, president of the International Federation of Translators who honoured the conference with her participation. “We are so accustomed to disappear that we forget how indispensable we are.”

It is estimated that since the 1990s about 30 per cent of the books published each year in China are introduced from abroad. But while the translated books are jostling with each other on bookstores’ shelves, their translators appear to be increasingly remote from the public focus.

As a result, the TAC’s decision to hold a ceremony to pay homage to 41 translators with long and outstanding literary translation career during the council meeting, held once every five years, is considered as one of the much-needed steps to hopefully secure the profession from public indifference.

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Elroy Ness, a resident at Sage Towers in Billings, kindled a friendship with a French woman while stationed near Paris during World War II. After he was discharged, they lost contact and he married and raised six children.

Then, after his wife’s death several years ago, the pair reignited their correspondence with the help of translators from West High’s French classes

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Having published 10,000 translations a year for nine consecutive years and offering a more diversified translation market fueled by increased international communications, China can now claim to be a translation giant.

Many translation experts, however, recently expressed concern over the unsatisfactory level of literary and day-to-day practical translations, and said China’s translation industry is “big but not strong.”

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China’s translation industry aspires for more standardized translation service and more efficient translator management, as the country’s fast economic growth and increased international communication have fueled a billion-US-dollar market for translation.

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Foreign language translation software producers have made headway into China in a bid to cash in on its growing translation market, which has been fueled by the country’s recent acceptance into the World Trade Organization and the opening up of its markets to foreign competition.

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BBC Wales has developed a computer programme that enables English translations for users of Welsh language websites.

The programme, Vocab, is available free of charge to Welsh-language websites. When users hold the cursor over a word, its translation appears.

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Localization World — a conference devoted to localization — will be held on November 15 – 17, 2004, at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. The three-day event consists of one day of preconference workshops and two days of conference sessions, exhibitions and networking.

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Who needs a pocket translator? Just send an SMS to the TOMP (Translation On Mobile Phones) service from A3UK at 88800 stating the word TOMP followed by the languages to translate from and to (choose among English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch) and then any word or phrase, e.g. TOMP ENGLISH SPANISH TWO PAELLAS PLEASE, and within seconds you’ll receive a reply. e.g. DOS PAELLA POR FAVOR. Hat tip: Smart Mobs.

Ectaco, Inc., the world leader in the development of electronic dictionaries, translators and linguistic software, announces free customization of the SpeechGuard (TM) PD-4. Using technology developed for the U.S. military, the SpeechGuard (TM) PD-4 has been modified to help first responders and others in law enforcement communicate with victims or others who do not speak English.

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With the European Union’s expansion to 25 countries, companies are facing new challenges and opportunities. The upcoming GALA seminar brings together experts who will discuss strategies for success in this changing environment.

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In yet another example of government-endorsed multilingualism gone awry, election officials in San Diego County, Calif., are recalling more than 8,000 copies of the Spanish edition of the local Voter Guide after discovering that the translations were, according to one translator, “horrific.” The 8-1/2 x 14 booklet is being taken from local libraries and city halls after a host of errors were found, including missing words, absent accent marks and incorrect spelling.

“The San Diego voter guide represents just one of thousands of ballots, election handbooks and voter information materials that have been translated for this election,” said U.S. English Chairman Mauro E. Mujica. “There is no telling how many other translation errors have been made, or how many more will crop up between now and Nov. 2. One can only imagine the effect these may have on what is expected to be an extremely close election.”

The rise in translation errors is tied to the rise in multilingual materials as required by recent additions to federal law. The Department of Justice has been relentless in its pursuit of enforcing the unbalanced act, which mandates multilingual voting materials for languages such as Spanish and Japanese, but not others such as Arabic and Italian. In all, more than 300 counties nationwide have been forced to offer ballots in as many as six languages.

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The Nebraska Supreme Court will be examining the accuracy of a Spanish translation of the Miranda rights.

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Justice Department auditors found that 123,000 hours of untranslated material in languages used by terrorists remained unreviewed in July, and that the FBI is having trouble organizing its workload to focus on the agency’s highest priority cases. The agency has reacted to media reports on an audit with denials and objections, often sidestepping the primary criticisms.

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