Localization Today

Historically, English speakers have referred to the Ukrainian capital city as “Kiev,” but you’ve likely seen a different spelling — “Kyiv” — in most of the recent coverage of the war in Ukraine. 

ZOO Digital, a Los Angeles-based language service provider specializing in localization for the entertainment industry, has announced the launch of its Korean hub, following an investment in the Seoul-based LSP, WhatSub Pro.

Worried about imploding markets and the long-term effects of the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine, LocLunch founder Jan Hinrichs came up with the idea of a Ukrainian Language Pledge to pool localization industry resources and help the Ukrainian linguists affected by the conflict.

All language uses symbols for representation and classification, just like names. But these symbols' meaning can rapidly evolve, and the Russian Z launched during the invasion of Ukraine is a perfect example of such dynamic language significance.

Belsat, a Poland-based television channel that primarily broadcasts news in Polish, Russian, Belarusian, and English has announced that it is adding Ukrainian to its slate of languages this week, in a response to the fighting in Ukraine.

Translit, an Ireland-based language service provider (LSP), has announced that it will be donating its services to the roughly 100,000 Ukrainian refugees expected to enter Ireland over the next few months.

The recent passage of House Bill 22 (HB 22) on March 1 will allow New Mexico to pinpoint weak spots in the state’s language access services, in an effort to continue improving them. The bill will go into effect beginning July 1.

When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Maria Malykhina and her colleagues at Technolex Translation Studio were determined to continue their work by all means. MultiLingual staff writer Stefan Huyghe spoke with Maria this week, who’s a localization production manager based in Ukraine.

The Russian government has threatened to ban the Russian-language Wikipedia site for its inclusion of “illegally distributed information” about the ongoing war in Ukraine on its page.

Last night, MultiLingual Live had the exciting opportunity to host Kateryna Rietz-Rakul in conversation, the Ukrainian interpreter who went viral this week on social media after breaking into tears while interpreting a press conference by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The result was a revealing, charming, and open discussion that sheds new light on the role of interpreters during wartime.