In today’s global market, where companies are expanding all the way to the stratosphere, superb translations are fundamental. They help build loyalty and trust among historic and new customers, and the consequent sense of reliability and connection is pivotal for fostering client retention.

Although there is no specific date to place the birth of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (or whorfianism), it is fundamentally associated with the 1920s to 1940s. It gets its name from the linguists Edward Sapir, who originally formulated it, and Benjamin Lee Whorf, who further developed it. The theory asserts that the structure of a language has an indelible impact on its speakers' worldview, as well as their cognition.

In life, like in business, you need to know who you are. Your strengths and your shortcomings. But in business, it is quite amazing when your historic clients know you and your work, and choose you day in and day out. This constitutes an unbeatable business card, and is a great advantage to add to your sales efforts.

Among many other things, AI brings us opportunities to learn. We can learn new stuff or discover concepts, methodologies, and parts of science that have been around for quite some time. This is one of those chances we are offered.

This new dawn brought about by AI can open as many doors for your translation projects as you dare to imagine. Our platform offers a complete infrastructure to leverage LLM and AI. Below you can learn more about how to combine the best of both worlds, and change the way you process your language related endeavors.

I am a child of the eighties. Born in 1975, all the contents I consumed were 100% dubbed into Mexican Spanish. I was born and raised in Argentina and, as you probably know, all Spanish varieties are quite different. That is why my childhood friends and I used to play and imitate our favorite TV shows, and speak in Mexican Spanish. It is not a criticism of the era or the culture of those times (I could not love them more), but a mere observation on the social relevance of dubbing. Clearly, localization was a futuristic idea in those days.

New beginnings open myriads of new doors. Innovative developments many times reinvent existing technologies or methods. This is the case with DTD. Not door-to-door, not deal-to-deal. Bear with me and let us delve into the world of DTD.

A portal into a whole new world. This past February I took a weekend off of everything and everyone, and I went to Montevideo, Uruguay. Quite a lovely weekend, I might add. Of course, I am still craving real time away from stress, and a proper holiday in a chosen dreamy location. Therefore, I considered that weekend as a tiny appetizer.

Life is constant learning. If you think otherwise, allow me to disagree. And learning can take many forms. It should not necessarily be in an academic environment. We learn from every single event, good or bad, every single being around us, even every object. The secret is to be ready.

Almost nothing in human history has ever moved at this frantic pace. AI and all its related fields, gadgets and trinkets that is. It is absolutely mind-blowing. If it is eerily swift to watch its progress from the USA, imagine what I feel while seeing it unfold from the tech remoteness of Argentina, South America.

It is fairly evident. Most contents in social media today, both personal and professional, are created and transmitted in English.

Clearly, money has always been important. No huge discoveries there. Uncountable deeds have been committed in its name. Money and love. But that is material for another article. Leaders, international borders, and thrones have fallen due to money, or in the pursuit of even more money. In any case, we know by now, that all things in this physical world can be used either for good or for evil. Nothing is completely 100% good or bad.

There are no isolated industries at present. Regardless of the branch to which they belong, all human interests are somehow linked worldwide. If they are not, they surely will be in no time. Global health communications are no exception to this.

I have already managed to accept and embrace this latest tech revolution. We cannot fight windmills. In any case, we cannot defeat them. A Spanish anti-hero taught us that in an old book. Remember printed books?

Traveling can be marvelous. But it is better not to take things for granted. It might as well become a freakish nightmare. Believe me. I have been there. It can be an overloaded nightmare, if service providers and customers do not speak the same language. So, beware of monolingual counterparts when you offer tourism services. Your reputation could be at stake here.

I am still not used to this new paradigm. Or the complete lack thereof. Doing my best to adapt, and somehow stay relevant, and above water. And my speed is a joke. I am a rheumatic snail painfully sliding backwards, in a silky road of high speeding Ferraris or whatever car is the fastest this year. The truth hurts sometimes, but it cannot be helped. For sure.

The key to successful e-commerce is engagement. That comes even before prices. You need to engage your potential buyers in the source language.

The beauty of human art lies in imperfection. That is the catch. That is human nature, after all. Fun is in the glitches. When trying to translate written art into Spanish, there is virtually no way to produce a mirror version of the original. In fact, there shouldn’t be. Something is, not lost, but transfigured in translation.

Writing can take many forms. There are numerous writing genres, and many distinctions when it comes to style and traits.

Customer support sounds almost painful. Both to the party offering support, and to the one receiving it. We know. It does not need to be. We assume there are countless people who enjoy working in customer support services.

Historical dates are meant to teach us. To remind us of what is really important as countries, and communities. Human values should not disappear into the unreal web of social media, and ultra-speed communication. There is much more to human life than cold-hearted tech.

Let’s start at the beginning. A product manual is a technical document that provides detailed information about how to use, operate, assemble, install, and maintain a product. We agree on that much. They can be quite straightforward, and sometimes a bit confusing. When translation comes in, confusion should fly out the window.

There is no such thing as perfection. Not entirely. Not, at least, in any human endeavor. And translators have been hated for centuries, because translation is not perfect either.

Environmental content has always been relevant. Today, it is more than vital. You cannot afford the luxury of a weak translation. The target text must be as compelling, clear, and impactful as the source. Your translated text needs to be as moving as the original, if not more. Let us hope the original has what it takes.

First things first. To translate, you need to know your subject matter. No exception, no excuse. So, remember that a user manual is a technical document. It indicates how to correctly use a product. A user manual includes detailed instructions, features, warnings, safety procedures, maintenance, and troubleshooting. All translations need to be precise. When personal safety is involved, accuracy is a must.

Art is tricky. Tricky to create, tricky to grasp freely, and trickier to translate into another language. Art is slippery and whimsical. And if the translator is not good enough, a work of art could turn into a garbage disposal tutorial. Just as easy. Of course, we need those as well, but not when the original text was written by Oscar Wilde. And no one would even care to read it.

This might sound a bit dusty. We are not talking about Victorian letters with quill and all. Sometimes in business, letters sent by email are a necessary evil. You will not get jail time for writing a letter. Promise. There is a sense of relevance and personal intimacy in correspondence. Even if it is business related. You take the time to consider someone else. You need to be engaging and honest.

Globalization went way too far. Constant media communication does not equal connection. In the rush to sell, thousands of US companies clearly missed the mark. Prejudice and misconception are not new. For US companies interested in the Spanish-speaking market, a Chilean entrepreneur speaks,needs, and feels the same as an Argentinian e-Commerce businesswoman, seeking to expand her blooming company.

This language pair is the most widespread all over the planet. We do know. That does not guarantee flawless translations. Not quite, not always. Sometimes taking content for granted is actually the worst mistake you could ever make.

There is no such thing as an “easy translation”. Perhaps there is for AI, devoid of self-conscience and eagerness to thrive as a professional linguist. Not interested anyway. Just like there are no “small parts” for good actors, but only bad actors.

The flight was delayed for the second time. The hotel had to change a reservation, and now there is no crib for one of your top customer’s six-month old baby. This passenger has a weird, but real, allergy to poultry, and all there is to eat on the plane is chicken. One of your newest employees canceled a transfer to Napa Valley, and the CEO of a major corporate customer will definitely miss the visit to her favorite winery.

Calling a Helpdesk should not be an ordeal. But it often is. Speaking the same language does not guarantee mutual understanding. Imagine if you did not speak the same language, and your whole computer system had just gone berserk. Despair 101.

Let us divide and conquer. There are several types ofmanuals. Our interest here are technical manuals and their translation. Theyprovide detailed information about a product or system.

It is common knowledge. There are countless similar tipsto the above and counting. What makes ours better? Step in and find out. We areflooding in content, swarmed with job searches, and stepped on by heartlessrecruiters. You need to state your uniqueness.

The term base is not to blame. Not always. Sometimesthe culprit is the TM. Many other times, it is the lack of updates in humanhands, too busy to step in. Regardless, glossary detailed compilation andperiodical maintenance are smart choices. It is also a professional approach tocontent management in translation.

Translating medical contents is a multiple edged challenge, that comes with a professional responsibility bonus. This particular task involves many aspects beyond technical differences between source and target languages.

The Power of Conviction: Saint Jerome and Sor Juana

Scary stuff, especially if you are choosing a translation service for the first time. Even more so, if you are trusted to choose the team that will be responsible for elevating your company’s contents, values and industry power to the rest of the world. No need to panic. Many have done this, and most of them have survived. Now, in order to really strive and have a true shot at becoming an “international” company, there are a few pointers you might like to remember, if and when the time comes.