LangX Translation Services

Translation is not for the masses, but it’s available to everyone

Target Digital Solution — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 08:13:22 +0000

In an increasingly interconnected world, translation has become an essential element of cross-cultural communication, knowledge transfer, and the exchange of ideas. With the proliferation and widespread availability of digital translation tools, it may seem that translation is accessible to everyone, and anyone can translate texts with a few clicks. But the deeper and more complex reality is that translation, while accessible to everyone, is not a profession or skill that is suitable for all audiences.

Translation is a complex art and skill
Translation is not an automated process that relies solely on replacing words from one language to another. It is a delicate art that requires a deep understanding of language, culture, context, and implied meanings. A professional translator doesn’t just transcribe the text, but recreates it, preserving its spirit, style, and connotations.

For example, translating a literary text requires good linguistic taste and a deep understanding of the culture of both the writer and the reader. Translating legal or scientific texts, on the other hand, requires extreme precision and knowledge of specialized terminology, so that the meaning is not lost or misunderstood.

Online translation tools, such as Google Translate and DeepL, have helped millions of people around the world break down language barriers and provide a quick solution to understanding the general meanings of texts. With the development of artificial intelligence, these tools have become even more accurate and efficient.

However, despite these advantages, these tools cannot be fully relied upon for professional translation, especially in fields that require accuracy and cultural context, such as media, literary, or medical translation. Translation is not just a transfer of information, it is a transfer of feelings, concepts, and traditions, which cannot be understood by a machine as well as a human being.

Translation is a responsibility.
A translator does not just transmit words, but has a responsibility to be honest in transmission, accurate in expression, and respectful of cultural differences between peoples. Therefore, translation is not a mass job that anyone can do without study or training. On the other hand, it has become more democratized; anyone who wants to learn to translate can now access countless resources to learn and develop their skills.

Conclusion
Translation is not for the masses, but it is available to everyone. It is not a profession that anyone can practice once they have the tools, but it is an open door for anyone with the passion to learn and master it. While technology helps make translation more accessible, it cannot replace the human mind that distinguishes between word and meaning, letter and spirit.

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Read the (virtual) room!

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 01:11:07 +0000

Let’s face it… we are all running into challenges re: the new virtual meeting spaces. Let’s discuss how we can create better human connection through accessing vulnerability and empathy, even through a screen, how we can level up our virtual meeting spaces, and how to improve our ability to build genuine relationships with potential clients, prospects, and colleagues alike, even when in a virtual environment. In addition, let’s share ideas on how to avoid “zoom fatigue” and stay grounded while adjusting to the shift in how we operate.

By learning a few tips and tricks, adjusting the way we read body language, and really listening, we can all benefit in this new virtual era.

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Improving your financial translation

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 12:57:11 +0000

We will help you or your team improve its translation quality in the triad of accounting, economics and finance. We will cover:

Analysis of particularities and main difficulties of this specialisation
Characteristics of economic language versus financial language
A comparison of IFRS, US GAAP and UK GAAP terms
How to choose your terminology sources
How to create reliable translation memories
Artificial intelligence applied to financial translations

The target audience are: internal translators, PMs and operational managers.

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The importance of communication in the language industry

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 12:57:07 +0000

No relationship can evolve and grow without communication. This stands for both personal life as well as businesses of all kinds.

Being a part of the language industry, an industry managing the medium, the vehicle of communication, we should be especially aware of the importance of communication. The idea of this webinar was born when Alina (ELIA Vice President/Founding Manager of an LSP) and Sara (Head of Translation Department/Senior Project Manager) crossed paths professionally in a complicated project, where more than anywhere else the importance of clear communication is highlighted.

Apart from the regular vendor-LSP-client communication, they will touch on the subject of internal communication between team members within a company as well as between respective teams of project managers cooperating on a common goal—the superb delivery that will sweep the client off their feet. The actual impact of different types of communication will be presented in case studies. The webinar will take the form of a recorded discussion/interview between Alina and Sara comparing their points of view and experience but Sara will be available for Q&A after the video.

Your feedback or thoughts on the subject will be much appreciated.

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Together 2023

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 03:14:53 +0000

Dates

February 23, 2023 — February 24, 2023
Location

Giza, EGY

Together is LangX’s initiative dedicated to bringing together freelance language professionals and language service companies for constructive dialogue and mutual growth. Our aim is to provide a unique venue for all stakeholders in the language industry to openly discuss how to improve relationships and efficiency.

The post Together 2023 appeared first on LangX Translation Services.

Focus on Project Management 2022

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 03:14:14 +0000

Dates

December 1, 2022 — December 2, 2022
Location

Cairo, EGY

LangX’s Focus on Project Management is calling industry project and production managers in Cairo for a two-day event to learn and develop practical skills, try out new approaches, cultivate their mindset and help them become a truly unstoppable force for their companies.

The post Focus on Project Management 2022 appeared first on LangX Translation Services.

About Our Events

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 03:14:06 +0000

LangX has a full calendar of events to support all aspects of your business and to help you take your place in the language industry. We are constantly hard at work building and shaping our events, so please be sure to check back regularly to stay fully updated about all developments.

The post About Our Events appeared first on LangX Translation Services.

5 Truths About Court Interpreting

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 05:54:42 +0000

Both our interpreting students and beginning court interpreters colleagues pursing certification regularly ask us about what it’s really like to be a working court interpreter. As Judy is a federally certified Spanish court interpreter, she is going to (partially, of course) answer this question with 5 cold, hard truths that you might not have learned at university or during your training. In no particular order, here they are:

1) You will be scared/intimidated at times. It’s fine. Tennis great John McEnroe is not known for his deep insight, but rather for his tantrums on the court (tennis court, not justice court!), but he did once say something along the lines that if you don’t have butterflies in your stomach before a match (or in our case, a court hearing) you simply don’t care enough. Judy still has occasional butterflies, and the situation usually merits it. A lot is at stake in court, and they are somber and serious occasions with real consequences for people who are right next to you. It’s not for the faint of heart. You might have become complacent when you don’t feel any sort of nervous tension at all, ever. Embrace the butterflies. Your work is important and relevant, and sometimes the weight of it will affect you.

2) Stopping proceedings is not really a (good option). It’s true that we are taught that you should interrupt proceedings and ask the court (meaning the judge) for permission to look up a word if you don’t know it, as guessing is never an acceptable alternative in court. While this is, in theory, true, Judy hasn’t seen it done once in 10 years in court. Things move so fast, are so hectic and often so contentious that there usually simply isn’t a good time to say: “The interpreter requests permission to look up a term.” So the best thing you can do is to train your brain to not have that “out” and be prepared. Overprepare. Obsess about terminology. You must know it once you enter a courtroom. Realistically, you won’t have time to look up terminology, so you better know your stuff. If this thought scares you, that’s a good thing. Fear is a good motivator. Go and study some more terminology.

3) Sticking to the code of ethics can be a significant challenge. Codes of ethics are key, but they can also be confusing and too general, and, no pun intended, they are open for interpretation. Being impartial is one of the key aspects of the codes of ethics for court interpreters in all states, and it can be harder than it seems. It’s also about avoiding the appearance of impartiality, which includes not talking to non-English speakers unless you are interpreting. It takes three people for interpreting to take place, and you are not to have side conversations with anyone. This is oftentimes harder than you think, as witnesses and defendants may want to have a friendly chat. Avoid it. If an attorney asks you to explain something to his or her client, say that you will interpret anything they want, but that you will never explain (the lawyers do the explaining, while the interpreters do the interpreting). When in doubt about the code of ethics, go for the strictest interpretation of it possible. You don’t want to have the reputation of not being impartial. Your career very much depends on, in part, sticking to the code of ethics. It’s better to be a stickler for the rules than to be dragged in front of the ethics committee.

4) It will be heartbreaking and difficult. You will see grown men cry, you will see teenagers get sentenced to 10 years in prison, you will see families get ripped apart. You will witness injustice, incompetent lawyers, petty disputes between the prosecution and the defense, needless motions, angry judges, overworked bailiffs, upset family members and much, much more. The American justice system is very much imperfect, but it’s the one we have. As a court interpreter, your job is not to change it or to advocate for anyone, but rather to interpret. You do it if everyone is crying (and you don’t cry). You do it even if it’s hard or if something is happening that you completely disagree with. You solider on and do your job. No one cares about what you think and about how it affects you. This may not be what you want to hear, but it’s the reality of the profession. And yes, you may interpret for child molesters, wife killers, and those who deal meth by the kilos. Be ready.

5) Respect is earned. As a new interpreter, you might find the pace impossible, and we hate to tell you this, but no one will slow down for you. Attorneys, courtroom administrators, law clerks and all other players in the courtroom are busy people, and their dockets, desks and calendars are full. The last thing they need is a struggling interpreter, and while that seems unfair for beginners, that’s the way it is. Be ready to perform at a high level after getting certified, and don’t rush into interpreting in open court until you really are ready. Being certified is great, but it’s the minimum requirement. All parties usually have high expectations of court interpreters, as they should. Earn their respect by going above and beyond: arrive early and impeccably dressed in business attire, put away your cell phone, be prepared for your case, don’t interrupt, know where to sit, stand and hand in your paperwork, be respectful to everyone, don’t take sides, don’t give advice, introduce yourself to attorneys you don’t know, etc. Court interpreters are an integral part of the American judiciary and of everyday court proceedings, but oftentimes we hear interpreters complain that they don’t get the respect they deserve. The flip side of this coin is that attorneys oftentimes complain that interpreters are late and poorly dressed, which is unacceptable. Who’s right? We don’t know, but we have certainly witnessed plenty of tardiness and (yes, really) completely inappropriate apparel. When in doubt, wear a black suit. It’s quite a thrill to get mistaken for the judge, which happens to Judy on a regular basis.

We hope you have enjoyed these five short truths! We’d be delighted to hear your thoughts.

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Interpreting depositions via Zoom

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 05:54:39 +0000

It’s been a while since we have posted, and we hope you forgive us. After more than 10 years and 500+ blog posts, we’d run out of ideas a bit, and there are now so many other excellent blogs for translators and interpreters that we thought we’d take a break. But now that we are in lockdown due to COVID-19, we have some new ideas for topical issues. Today’s topic is about interpreting depositions via Zoom and whether that’s possible and how it all works. Here’s Judy’s experience from the United States, where she’s a court-certified (Nevada, California, federal) Spanish interpreter and a veteran of more than 1,500 depositions. Please note that depositions seem to be unique to the U.S. legal system, but this information is still useful for other types of proceedings that now have to be interpreted remotely.

We’d love it if this blog post could serve as a repository for information and tips on how to best interpret via Zoom, so please share your comments below. Please note that this blog post is not about interpreting using Zoom’s simultaneous interpreting function, as we have not yet tested it and clients haven’t requested it. For better or for worse, this is about consecutive interpreting via Zoom.

The basics

It took clients, mainly law firms and court reporting firms, a few weeks to get systems set up to hold depositions remotely. Most of my clients use Zoom or Remote Counsel that also runs on Zoom. I did my first depositions via Zoom in mid-March and have been doing one a week or so since then.

Download Zoom. If you have never used Zoom before, make sure you download the software here. It’s super quick and easy, but it’s your responsibility to make sure everything works. If you need tech support, consider hiring someone to help (remote, of course). If you don’t know your way around Zoom, be sure to watch a quick tutorial. First order of business: locate the “mute” button and remember that you are on camera unless you switch it off. You don’t want to make news like this one (humor is much needed these days). You may have read about some Zoome privacy issues in the last month or so, and our friends Alex Drechsel and Josh Goldsmith over at techforword have a great summary here.
Basic computer set-up. Many interpreters have never done any sort of remote work, and that’s of course absolutely fine. If you are ready to take remote work during this crisis (and now that in-person work is basiscally non-existent), make sure you have the basic set-up. You don’t need much other than a computer and a camera (most laptops have an integrated camera). If you use a desktop computer, you can purchase an inexpensive external video camera. I also have a small cover for the camera so I can slide the cover into the closed position on my laptop when I am not using it (for privacy reasons). Mine is similar to this one. Make sure you have a quiet space to work, even though I know this can be a challenge these days. I have a dedicated home office and I put my dogs away before starting as they love, love, love to bark at inconvenient times.
Headset. In order to have good incoming and outgoing audio, you should wear a headset (the other option is a good free-standing mic, but most won’t have that). I use an older model of this Jabra that I purchased years ago to do RSI (remote simultaneous interpreting) and it’s served me well. Our lovely colleague Alex Drechsel has an amazing blog post on headsets here (a must-read). In addition, Tamber Hilton did excellent video reviews of headsets for both Mac and PC. I’m currently thinking about upgrading my headset because I want integrated hearing protection (such as PreservEar) to prevent acoustic shock, and I am currently exploring options. We will report on this journey in another blog post.

Who’s in charge of tech issues? Some of our clients, mainly court reporting firms, have put together handy informational sheets on how to best use Zoom and how to guarantee audio quality. This usually gets sent to all parties, but not everyone follows these suggestions. Other times, individual lawyers have contacted us asking for help because they’ve never done this before. We usually say that it’s ideal that all parties use Zoom online (computer or mobile devices) rather than calling in, which is unfortunately also an option that makes for bad audio and no video. We don’t like to make things too complicated for clients who may be overwhelmed by this process, but we emphasize that it’s ideal if all parties wear a headset and to avoid cell phones that get put on speakerphone (I’ve had to make that work, too). None of my assignments have gone so badly that we’ve had to log off, but some have been tough. In general, I’d say that everyone is in charge of their own tech, but you can’t interpret what you can’t hear, so if the audio quality is poor, you must speak up. The court reporter will want that, too, but she/he will usually have the added benefit of a recording, while you need to make it work in real time.
Identify yourself. I recently took a fantastic webinar with Steven Mines about interpreting via Zoom, and I learned that you can change your default name in Zoom (by right-clicking on your name, instructions are here). This is great because I add “interpreter” in front of my name so everyone easily knows who I am. So now I am “Interpreter Judy Jenner.”
Ask participants to speak one at a time. For those of you who have done quite a few depositions, you know that this is a challenge. I’ve rarely been in one where people DON’T talk over each other. This has been surprisingly better when doing depositions remotely, but it’s a good idea to briefly remind the parties before you start that speaking one at a time is crucial. Ask the attorneys for their permission to communicate the same thing to the deponent in the other language.
Consecutive only (but there is a simul function in Zoom). Yes, we know: In most depositions, we whisper interpret the question into the deponent’s ear and do sim-consec or straight short consec for the responses (preferences vary; but that tends to be the method that most interpreters and attorneys favor). Online you will have to do everything in consecutive mode, which is quite a challenge for those of us who don’t do a lot of long consecutive. Some deponents are long-winded, but in person they will make natural pauses to allow you to interpret. In may experience that hasn’t been the case much online. I’ve realized that I go through a lot of paper (I used recycled paper) and that my note-taking technique is average at best, which is why I’ve signed up for an AIIC course with David Violet this coming Saturday (held via Zoom!). If you are a bit hestiant to do consecutive, you might want to practice first using Speechpool videos (among other fantastic resources).
All the normal rules and the codes of ethics still apply. The setting will be more informal because you are at home, but the rules are the same. Arrive early (I still shoot for 15 minutes and hear crickets for most of the time, but it’s always good to be early!) and well prepared. Have water, paper, pens, etc. nearby. Dress appropriately. Interpret in the first person and when you speak to ask for repetition, use the third person. You all know the drill, but sometimes it’s good to remind yourself of the basics. Ask for breaks if you need one — just like in real life, it’s unreasonable to go for three hours without a break.
Team interpreting. Unfortunately, I have yet to do team interpreting for any deposition, ever. I work mostly in Nevada and we sadly haven’t been able to convince clients that team interpreting is the standard. Now we have the chance to do it with online depositions, which are indeed more exhausting than in-person events. I’ve brought this up to several clients and have made a case for team interpreting while also presenting the great argument that having two interpreters online is ideal in case one has tech problems. No one has agreed to this yet, but I will keep on asking. In accordance with best practices and recommendations from all leading T&I associations, we really should only interpret 30 minutes at a time before switching with a partner, which can, by the way, be more of a challenge online.
Same or increased rates. This is not the time to lower your rate — quite the contrary. It might be a good idea to increase your rate a bit to reflect the extra tech effort and cognitive load that’s part of interpreting online. I know it is tempting to reduce your rate now that you have less work, but I strongly advise against it. Of course you should also enforce your usual cancellation rules. I’ve had several depositions cancel at the last minute and I’ve always been able to enforce my 24-hour cancellation policy.
Unexpected. During in-person assignments, you don’t have time to look up terminology (unless it’s during a break), but turns out that in spite of the additional cognitive load, I did have the time to briefly double-check a term or two during the assignment, which was something I didn’t expect. I have many fantastic online versions of dictionaries installed and also via subscription, and the one I use the most is Wordfinder (fee-based) as it allows me to search across many different resources at the same time.

Final impressions (for now)

Even though I’ve had some audio issues, including a deponent who was clearly outside on a cell phone speaker phone in what sounded like heavy traffic and having to rip my headset off my head a few times when high-pitched noises came out of nowhere, my experiences interpreting depositions via Zoom have been mainly very positive. I was afraid of how we’d handle exhibits and sight translation, because when interpreting in-person you usually get a copy of the document you are asked to sight-translate and that can’t be easily done via Zoom unless someone puts the electronic document in the chat box, but it seems that most attorneys have adapted their process and I haven’t seen many exhibits. Of course the worst-case scenario is for an attorney to read from a complicated document that you don’t have in front of you and you having to take detailed notes to interpret that for the deponent. This could be very, very tough, but I haven’t come across that situation yet. Something I also really like about interpreting depositions via Zoom is that I don’t have to drive anywhere, which usually decreases my hourly rate as here in Nevada we usually don’t bill for driving time. So I’d say that my hourly rate is now higher when you strip out the time for driving, which is a great thing. Overall, there are of course drawbacks to interpreting via Zoom, but I am grateful that it exists as an alternative. This blog post isn’t meant to be exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination, but we hope you find this information useful if you are considering taking some of these assignments.

As we mentioned before, please do share your ideas, experiences, tips, tricks, and best practices below. We’d very much like for this blog post to serve as a reference point for what we’ve all learned about deposition interpreting via Zoom in the times of COVID-19. There have been excellent discussions about this on Twitter, but a blog post is a bit more permanent and easier to read. Speaking of reading: thanks for reading!

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New Client, New Payment Practices

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 05:53:56 +0000

Oftentimes we only hear bad news about payment practices in our profession, so we figured we’d share some good news instead.

Earlier this week, we received a phone call from a well-known firm we know that had not previously been a client. Their translation needs were urgent and required us to drop everything, cancel dinner, and work a few hours in the evening to get it done. We usually ask for a deposit for new clients, but this was a last-minute and urgent request, so we used the highly scientific method known as gut feeling (which mostly works) and started working on the project right away. It was a small, yet intense team effort, and we delivered the project the next day a few hours before the agreed-upon deadline. We e-mailed the invoice at the same time as the project, and we received payment in the form of a check the very next day, which is a new record. We’ve received electronic transfers the very same day, but never a check from a brand-new client the very next day. We are not quite sure how they got it to us so quickly except that they must have prepared the check as soon as they received the quote (talk about trust!). Either way, we are very grateful for the quick payment and sent the client an e-mail to thank them.

So in spite of the many negative comments about client payment practices you may read, there are some great clients out there indeed. What about you, dear colleagues? We’d love to hear your best payment-related story!

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