A year of translation projects in review

As we start 2023, we look back at the translation projects we have completed over the last twelve months, contributing to our best ever year. Of course, not only have we completed document translation projects, but a whole range of interpreting, subtitling and voiceovers, software localisation and transcreation projects.

Business Optimism

There is no doubt that it’s been a tumultuous year for many reasons, but the level of business has remained relatively consistent, and in fact the number of translation and interpreting projects we’ve completed has grown significantly. This trend is backed up by the international business report we conducted in 2022, which found a degree of optimism from UK companies trading abroad.  From translating codes of conduct, process documents, technical translation of datasheets/manuals and transcreation of press releases, brochures and social media, our team has helped companies in many different industries navigate the world of multilingual document production. Social media translation has figured prominently this year, with translations for brands in such different sectors as food and drink, audio visual, financial and engineering companies.

Website Translation

As ever, website translation has been one of our most frequently requested services, with notable projects from clients in the technology, engineering, logistics and manufacturing industries requesting the translation of website content. We even translated a website for a wedding management company! With CMS integration possible with many content management systems, we can establish right workflow for any website translation project. What’s more, we can offer multilingual SEO for any website translation project you may have to manage, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch for more information.

Software Localisation

In terms of software localisation, we recently worked on an e-learning translation in 23 languages on the theme of data security, training staff around the world on the key aspects of data protection, which is a key topic for many businesses. Other projects have included software strings for clients in the financial sector, the manufacturing industry and a flight management system. With software localisation, working in native formats is key to ensuring a streamlined process. Our team is able to take the native format and ensure that only the translatable content is accessed by the translators, leaving coding intact for the subsequent re-import. With software translations in particular, checking the work after it has been re-imported is particularly important to make sure that text fits neatly into buttons and there has been no other form of character corruption. Please read our blog on 5 tips for stress-free localisation of your software for more information.

Interpreting and Live Captioning

We’ve also worked on many interpreting projects this year, both virtual and face-to face. One key project was a 3-day European Works Council interpreting project involving a number of European language languages, where our interpreters finally got back to doing a face-to-face event, with soundproofred booths and all the other specialist equipment needed for this kind of event. We’ve also worked on virtual interpreting projects for a number of not-for-profit organisations, usually meetings with government officials to define budgets and key actions to be taken. We work with a number of interpreting platforms, such as our remote interpreter platform, but we are also happy to work on Teams and Zoom, as required by our clients. We’ve also seen an increase in live captioning requests, where audio in meetings is transcribed (either by a specialist AI solution or by human captioners) and then translated instantly by machine translation. It’s clear that live captioning – which is a more cost-efficient way of running multilingual meetings – will be a service used by many in the future, especially as transcription and machine translation technology continues to develop and deliver better results.

Video Translation

Video translation, for which we supply subtitling and voiceovers, has continued as a major trend in 2022. From promotional videos for brands that are marketed on an international basis through to training videos, our team has helped many companies create multilingual videos for a variety of purposes, including video translation projects for high end bicycles, an international insurance company and a global beauty brand. Working with technology solutions to aid the transcription process, as well as with talented and experienced translators and voiceover artists, we deliver high-quality translated videos for every occasion. A related service to video translation is multlingual transcription and many clients, particularly in the healthcare and medical and public sector, have benefited from this service this year.

Machine Translation

With companies looking for slicker and more cost-effective options for translation in general, we’ve bolstered our machine translation offering considerably, and now manage a number of projects using this technology, always with the post-editing stage by a specialist linguist that is so crucial in order to ensure the translation is fit-for-purpose. Not all projects are suitable for this approach, however there are certain document types and languages which do work particularly well, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss options for this service. Alternatively, read our blog on different quality levels for different scenarios for more information.

This is just a little insight into what life was like in our translation agency in 2022 and we look forward to an even more exciting 2023, especially in light of the new investment from Mobeus.  For more information in what we do, please contact us!