MultiLingual is the leading source of information for the language industry and businesses with global communications needs. Published eight times a year plus an annual index/resource directory, it is read by more than 10,000 people in 87 countries. Information and current news are also provided by www.multilingual.com and the free electronic newsletter, MultiLingual News.
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Back Issue
December, 2010
Departments
Business
Perspectives: The pillars of professional ethics
Betty Galiano, Federico Ramos & Luciana Ramos
Ethics as a standard of behavior depends on the cultural environment; it dictates what is right or wrong based on reason. Ethics came into existence only when human beings started to reflect on the best way to live. ...
Ethics and compliance e-learning course
Andrea Edmundson
Web-based learning modules have become a common tool used to educate employees worldwide on matters of ethics. In what ways do e-learning courses need to be adapted to ensure that learners are not alienated, master accurate content and achieve the desired learning outcomes? ...
Randall Stieghorst & Monica Marcel
When, if ever, is it acceptable to take a human life? Some may respond never. Others may respond with statements such as "only in self defense," "only if you are engaged in a military battle," "only as punishment ...
Ethics training for translators and interpreters
Jo Drugan
Translators sometimes see ethics as a luxury they can't afford. As one anonymous contributor to a recent LinkedIn discussion on the topic put it, "I would currently translate anything as long as I know I'm getting my price and will not end up on a watch list or get arrested." For others, ...
Personal ethics and language services
Terena Bell
If Blackwater asked you to translate assembly instructions for an automatic rifle, would you do it? What if they told you the document's target audience was teenagers in the Sudan? This is not a hypothetical, but a real dilemma ...
Survey results: Ethics in Localization
Idalina Gomes-Taylor
How do localization professionals perceive ethics in our industry? Can ethics be defined, described or regulated? Is there anything that makes it different than in other ...
Richard S. Paegelow
One Valentine's Day several years ago, we received a call from a prospective client who wanted our company to translate a poem he had written for his girl friend. When informed of the cost, the potential client was surprised that we would actually charge ...
Columns and Commentary
Post Editing: The quality of ethics
Katie Botkin
Business ethics may be tidy on paper, until your own humanity hits the page. Capital vices flit through our business psyche daily, be they in the form of gluttony (if I take these delicious free cookies, does that obligate me to actually care about this product?), pride (my talents are better than that guy's, right?), greed (can't I pad my bonus just a little?), sloth (will anybody notice if I call in sick?), wrath (do my colleagues have any idea how frustrating it is when they act like idiots?), envypad my bonus just a little?), sloth (will anybody notice if I call in sick?), wrath (do my colleagues have any idea how frustrating it is when they act like idiots?), envy ...
Kate Edwards
Next to the aspects of language and ethnicity, religious beliefs and objects reflecting a faith are a fundamental identifying aspect of cultures throughout history. Religious systems have been both a uniting and dividing force within specific cultures, as well as between cultures. For most people working in localization and content development, we ...
John Freivalds
The United States of America has been in frequent states of war, armed interventions or struggles for over 200 years, and this mentality has altered Americans' views of different cultures, languages and even the English spoken in this country. As columnist Charley Reese writes, "it's no wonder that militarism is always just beneath the surface of our culture, even in times of peace." And all this now costs ...
Point/Counterpoint: Rest in peace, Tina Wuelfing Cargile
Erin Vang
My collaborator in "Point/Counterpoint" columns for MultiLingual magazine, Tina Wuelfing Cargile, passed away on September 5, 2010, after a long illness. Her time on this planet was too short, and my time with her was way too short, so even writing a decent bio is beyond me. Those of you who knew her, ...
Perspectives: Business ethics and the language industry
Teddy Bengtsson
Envisage the scene: Customer: "Our projects are really complex. We'd like to ensure your project managers have the right capabilities to handle them." Supplier: "Sure, but we did outline our processes and the fact that our project management service is person-independent. We have a strong team, and any individual will be supported by the wider knowledge ...
Takeaway: Is your LSP tech-savvy?
Benjamin B. Sargent
In the spring of 2010, Common Sense Advisory conducted a survey of hundreds of language service providers (LSPs) from across the globe. Our data showed that LSPs with a gung-ho approach to technology grew at an average rate of ...
Reviews
Madeleine Lenker
In his review of the Plunet BusinessManager in the April/May 2010 issue of MultiLingual, Richard Sikes mentioned the possibilities that exist for several CAT tool integrations such as SDL Trados TM Server, Across Language Server and MultiTrans from MultiCorpora. One of the most recent integration additions is ...