Month: February 2021

The Role of Translation in the Education of LEP Students in the US
23/02/2021

The Role of Translation in the Education of LEP Students in the US

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on The Role of Translation in the Education of LEP Students in the US

The importance of education is something we at Terra feel strongly about. Education can open doors and provide invaluable opportunities to students. From art history to math to literature, there is no shortage of knowledge worth discovering. Everyone deserves access to a quality education, which brings us to how translation can improve the education of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students in the US.

LEP students face boundaries that students from native speaking families do not. Let’s investigate what the role of translation in the education of LEP students in the US is and how students and their families can benefit from it. 

The Role of Translation in the Education of LEP Students in the US

Every fall, families sit down with their children to pour over their orientation packets, class syllabuses, and schedules. The influx of important information doesn’t stop in the fall, it continues all year long. Which is why it is essential that students and their families have access to these resources in accessible languages. 

Many families require vital education information be translated into their native language. In order to provide a fair and equitable education experience to LEP students, education translation services are of the utmost importance. By providing these resources, schools allow families to be informed about and to be actively involved in their child’s education.

Which Documents are Commonly Translated?

According to the U.S Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, schools are required to communicate information to parents with limited English proficiency in a language they can understand regarding programs, services, or activities that are called to the attention of parents. This information may appear in a variety of formats such as:

  • Enrollment and registration paperwork
  • Language assistance programs
  • Special education discussions or meetings
  • Parent teacher conferences
  • Parent’s handbooks
  • Student’s performance reports
  • Acceptance letters 
  • General communications via letters or emails
  • Testing materials
  • Brochures
  • Legal documents
  • Report cards
  • Schedules regarding the school bus or after school activities
  • Course descriptions
  • Class schedules

If schools do not properly translate documents such as those listed above, they risk harming a student’s learning or advancement opportunities.

How Students and Families Benefit

Both students and their families benefit greatly from translated materials. In the US, there are almost 62 million LEP students. Having access to education translation services can help students progress academically. These services assist families in navigating their children’s education and can aid them in understanding the academic needs and opportunities relating to their child, as well as the progress their child is making. A few examples of the benefits of education translation services are:

  • Providing clarity regarding a student’s academic development
  • Enhancing educational experiences for students
  • Improving the student-teacher relationship
  • Making educational meetings more productive

Who Provides Translation Services for LEP Students and Families?

Legally, the school is the party responsible for honoring a parent’s request to receive language assistance. This can be in the form of having an interpreter present at a parent-teacher meeting or having access to the written translation of documents. It is the school’s job to ensure that these services are provided by appropriate individuals, such as a professional educational interpreter or translation agency. A professional translator who has experience translating educational materials, as well as being a native speaker of the parent’s language, is ideal.

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Intended for Mobile Use: Subtitling of Vertical Videos
17/02/2021

Intended for Mobile Use: Subtitling of Vertical Videos

Posted on | by Marisol Pérez Laglaive | Leave a Comment on Intended for Mobile Use: Subtitling of Vertical Videos

When half of the world’s population owns a smartphone, there is an audience of billions ready to play, stream, learn and communicate via mobile devices. For this reason, a lot of media content is specifically intended and produced for smartphones. Vertical videos, in which the image is taller than wider, are an example of this. Their aspect ratio makes them fit naturally into the devices’ screen. To watch these videos, mobile users don’t need to turn the phone, which creates a more user-friendly experience.

If an app or platform that integrates vertical videos is going to be localized, the audiovisual material in it needs to be localized too. Translating vertical videos into different languages, as with any other media content, is crucial to expand the audience globally and create more committed viewers and, hence, customers. To achieve this goal, subtitling can be a very useful and versatile solution.

Mobile and Localized

Vertical videos are now part of social media apps, such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook. They are also utilized in streaming or video-based services, like Netflix’s previews or even YouTube, where some artists release their latest music videos in vertical and horizontal format. Lastly, we can find them on other kinds of mobile apps that have videos integrated, say delivery, mobile gaming or e-learning apps. These can include, for instance, advertisements, cutscenes or instructional videos in vertical format.

Subtitling can help localize all this content, with very favorable effects. First, subtitles in the same language as the audio are an accessibility resource for hard of hearing users. They also allow viewers to watch the video without sound, which is a common practice among mobile users. On the other hand, translated subtitles help content and products reach a global audience; they make content available to many more viewers around the world.

But to take the best advantage of this media localization solution, it’s worth noting some format considerations.

Vertical Fit

Technical specifications for subtitling vertical videos are mostly the same as for regular subtitles. Line breaks rules, subtitle duration or reading speed parameters don’t vary within image width. However, subtitles for vertical videos should fit in a more narrow screen. Because of this, the subtitler must evaluate the safe area and make adjustments accordingly. A safe area is a portion of the screen where subtitles are safely displayed. In that space, the whole text shows properly on the screen, allowing comfortable reading. In order to achieve this, subtitles for vertical videos can have a reduced character per line limit: from the standard 37-42 to 32-37 characters per line. Also, it’s possible to use smaller fonts to fit the text into the more narrow aspect ratio.

How a long line for a vertical formar doesn't fit on a screen.

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Globalization _ Internationalization What Role Does Each Play - Portada
12/02/2021

Globalization & Internationalization: What Role Does Each Play?

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Globalization & Internationalization: What Role Does Each Play?

We live in a complex world. One where almost 7,000 languages are spoken. Thanks to collaborative efforts and new technologies, there is no reason that language barriers need to stand in the way of scientific, medical, or cultural progress. The translation industry in particular has stepped in to help expand borders and break down barriers. Two such ways this is accomplished are through globalization and internationalization (i18n). These two terms are easily confused, but each holds an important place in the translation industry and across almost all other industries. 

What is Globalization?

The term globalization has not one, but two meanings. On one hand it can refer to the globalizing economy or business activity. However, in the field of translation and localization, globalization centers around business activities that relate to marketing either a product or service in various regional markets. Globalization can take a local or regional phenomena and transform it into a global one. 

The globalization process stems around bringing cultures, economies, and people from different regions closer together. This allows organizations and businesses to connect stronger with their consumers or business partners from across the globe. Consumers can benefit from globalization as much as companies can, as it can provide them access to transformational advances. 

When it comes to the translation industry, globalization focuses on the product development cycle. A few examples of where globalization is applicable are:

  • Date and times
  • Currency
  • Calendar months
  • Decimal separators
  • Cultural connotations

What is Internationalization?

Internationalization (also known as i18n) falls under the general umbrella of globalization, as does localization. The process of internationalization helps adapt a product to a specific market easily. Internationalization is a strategy used in business to make a product or service adaptable so that entering different national markets is more seamless.

In order to go about the internationalization process properly, subject-matter experts, technical experts, or people with a level of international experience may be called upon. In general, any products intended for use by consumers across multiple languages will undergo the internationalization process. Some areas of product development and usage that internationalization can apply are:

  • Time zones
  • Currency
  • Addresses
  • Postal codes
  • Social Security and social insurance formats
  • Telephone formats
  • Assembly instructions

The Main Differences of Globalization vs Internationalization

When it comes to differentiating between globalization and internationalization, it is essential to remember that internationalization is covered under the umbrella of globalization. Internationalization is typically viewed as a strategy, not as a task to undertake at a later date.

Put simply, globalization is a process used by a company to bring its business to new locales, whereas internationalization refers to the act of designing a product or service in a way that makes the expansion into international markets a simpler process. 

Globalization and internationalization go hand in hand. Both should be used if a business plans to expand a product to multiple national, and sometimes even regional, markets. Ideally, a business will plan for these processes before a project begins, which will allow them to design products or services that users across different cultures and languages can utilize.

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Everything you need to know about localizing voices!
09/02/2021

Localization Moves to the Studio: About Voice-Over Services

Posted on | by Marisol Pérez Laglaive | Leave a Comment on Localization Moves to the Studio: About Voice-Over Services

Content is king and the localization industry offers multiple mediums to serve it. From translation to transcreation, from subtitling to dubbing, language service providers have fitting solutions to localize audiovisual materials. Throughout marketing campaigns, streaming platforms, and e-learning courses, just to name a few, translation is crucial because audiences and markets flourish when content is available in the users’ languages.

Media localization solutions have different outcomes, workflows, schedules, and budgets. For example, subtitling or captioning can be cheaper and faster than recording voice-over tracks, since the process of producing and reviewing it doesn’t require studio sessions. However, localizing voices with native talents can result in a more engaging experience for the audience. This is why voice-over services are sometimes the ideal ally for campaigns, videos, or courses.

Off-screen narration

Voice-over is the simplest way of localizing audio recordings. It’s mostly used for documentaries, e-learning courses, and instructional and institutional videos when there is an off-screen voice. The process deliverable is an audio track recorded by a voice talent, that can be male or female, depending on the client’s preference. 

Most voice-over projects don’t require major audio editions. But sometimes the audio track needs to be synchronized with scenes or other tracks, such as music. Because of this, and in order to ensure high-quality results, a skilled audio or video editor supervises the recording process.

Furthermore, the translation of the script for voice-over tracks must beware of sentence length, since ideally, the target text should be of the same extension as the source text. If not, the translated audio may be longer than the original material, and the talent would need to read it with increased speed.

Voice and acting

Other audiovisual materials, like movies, series, video games, or advertising, need more detailed audio localization. In those cases, dubbing is a more appropriate solution, because its outcome enables immersion by recreating the original audio. An expert translator adapts the script, taking into account actors’ lip movements and line duration. Moreover, voice talents are actors or are specialized in dubbing. 

Given that the audio should be adapted to the actor’s expressions and actions on screen, dubbing implies a very thorough process of edition and revision. A reviewer checks the final product line by line to ensure the text fits perfectly into movements or scenes. 

Quality-driven

It may seem at plain sight that voice-over and dubbing services only involve recording sessions. But it’s actually a process that also entails localization and several instances of revision. For example, once translated, reviewers, check the script extensively before recording to avoid introducing errors in the voice track. Furthermore, audio editors revise the material and verify compliance with any technical requirements. And finally, the recording is checked for errors in pronunciation, syntax, or audio edition.

With all these factors in the scene, one thing is for sure. The right media localization solution combined with a quality-driven workflow will secure optimal translated content for the audience out there.

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A Look at VR and a World of Possibilities Amid a Pandemic
02/02/2021

A Look at VR and a World of Possibilities Amid a Pandemic

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on A Look at VR and a World of Possibilities Amid a Pandemic

Slowly but surely, virtual reality (VR) is starting to become a more noticeable presence in our lives. Especially in the workplace. When many people think of VR, they think of fun recreational applications, but they don’t expect VR to transform their careers. Companies are finding the current reality of VR and potential future applications can play an important role in the workplace. 

When it comes to integrating VR into the workplace, the possibilities are endless. However, there are a few key benefits that companies are currently experimenting with that are worth considering. 

Improving Corporate Training

One main benefit of using VR in the workplace, is that employee training and onboarding can benefit greatly from these applications. There are many ways VR can play a role in corporate training, from making basic training materials more engaging to allowing them to practice vital on the job skills in a safe environment. VR applications to e-learning can help increase information retention, can create low stakes practice opportunities, and can allow employees to fully visualize what certain work assignments and environments will look like. 

Collaborating in Interactive Virtual Rooms 

Remote teams can greatly benefit from the connection potential that VR can offer. With more and more employees working remotely than ever before, they may be struggling to communicate in their new digital environment. For example, some employers are embracing collaborative and interactive virtual rooms that utilize 3D visualization features enabled by VR to provide a better replica of in-person meeting experiences for remote employees. These rooms use spatial computing technology to help foster staff collaboration in a more realistic office environment and can allow them to perform more typical in-person teamwork activities, such as writing on a virtual whiteboard like they would in a real life conference room. 

These 3D conference rooms can give employees the option of adding photos, videos, sticky notes, and text to a virtual white board in a way that feels collaborative and engaging. In these virtual rooms, employees may be able to see a 3D representation of an upcoming product design and they even have the potential to add notes directly to the 3D model in real time. These are just a few examples of how VR can make certain aspects of remote working feel less remote.

Creating Virtual Events

Example of virtual events.

With countless in-person events cancelled in 2020 and with so much uncertainty about the future of large gatherings, VR provides a unique opportunity to overcome social distancing barriers. Those who run professional conferences in particular are eager to resume operations and VR can allow them to convert an in-person conference into a fully interactive virtual event. 

Virtual avatars allow attendees to network digitally in a way that feels personal but also doesn’t require physical social interaction. Panelists can host sessions from simulated, 360° rooms where viewers watch and submit questions from the safety and comfort of their own homes. Conference hosts and guests can host in-depth technical tutorials, can present new products, and can initiate thought provoking conversations all with the help of VR.

Satisfying Social Needs

While working from home has its perks, there is no denying that it can get a bit lonely from time to time. VR provides a socially receptive environment for employees to interact with their colleagues by providing the possibility to feel like they’re in the same room together, even though they are in different locations. For most, the biggest struggle to adjusting to working remotely was missing the consistent social interaction a job can provide. Luckily, VR is ready to rise to the challenge of making working remotely feel more social.

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