Florian and Esther share an update on the impact of Coronavirus on the language industry, zooming in on contingency plans communicated by SDL, ZOO Digital and Keywords Studios in their recent updates to investors, as well as the UK’s newly unveiled financial aid package for self-employed people.Esther unpacks a recent study on machine translation evaluation, published by leading academics from Zurich, Dublin City, Carnegie Mellon and Groningen universities. The study found that previous claims of ‘human parity’ are linked to flaws in the way that MT output is being evaluated. Florian discusses the ongoing TransPerfect-Lionbridge lawsuit, as a judge rules that eight of TransPerfect’s ten claims against Lionbridge can go to discovery.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:*SlatorPro* Media Localization: ZOO Sees This Bright Spot as Production of Originals Slowshttps://slator.com/financial-results/media-localization-zoo-sees-this-bright-spot-as-production-of-originals-slows/*SlatorPro* Keywords Says Demand Outstrips Capacity Near-Term as Clients Reappraise Productionhttps://slator.com/financial-results/keywords-says-demand-outstrips-capacity-near-term-as-clients-reappraise-production/SDL Cuts Costs in Anticipation of Revenue Declinehttps://slator.com/financial-results/sdl-cuts-costs-in-anticipation-of-revenue-decline/How to Fix the 5 Flaws in Evaluating Machine Translationhttps://slator.com/machine-translation/how-to-fix-the-5-flaws-in-evaluating-machine-translation/TransPerfect Case Against Lionbridge Proceeds to Discoveryhttps://slator.com/industry-news/transperfect-case-against-lionbridge-proceeds-to-discovery/

In this week’s SlatorPod, Florian and Esther discuss the collective responses of more than 40 LSPs to the Coronavirus pandemic, from remote working to cloud-based services and business continuity plans. Esther talks about the results of a recent survey published by the CIOL — Chartered Institute of Linguists — which revealed a significant degree of dissatisfaction around translator and interpreter pay, but a healthy overall fondness of the profession. The two discuss localization at Airbnb, where the team has doubled the number of languages available to more than 60. Airbnb human-translated more than 100 million words in 2019, and used third-party machine translation for huge volumes of user generated content. Lastly, looking at an industry that may be boosted by the current climate, Esther shares some highlights about the trend for multilingual podcasts.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:Language Service Providers Respond to Coronavirus Lockdownshttps://slator.com/industry-news/language-service-providers-respond-to-coronavirus-lockdowns/As Stock Markets Crash, How Are SDL, RWS, Appen, Other Listed LSPs Faring?https://slator.com/financial-results/as-stock-markets-crash-how-are-sdl-rws-appen-other-listed-lsps-faring/Translator and Interpreter Pay: CIOL Finds ‘Significant Degree of Dissatisfaction’https://slator.com/industry-news/translator-and-interpreter-pay-ciol-finds-significant-degree-of-dissatisfaction/How Airbnb ‘Human Translated’ Over 100 Million Words in 2019https://slator.com/features/how-airbnb-human-translated-over-100-million-words-in-2019/Podcasts Are Going Multilingualhttps://slator.com/demand-drivers/podcasts-are-going-multilingual/

Capping off a hectic week with a Friday 13th special, Florian and Esther unpack the state of the language industry as Coronavirus goes global. From reports of demand surges for video remote interpreting and from some retail and e-commerce customers, to slowdowns in IT, e-learning and multimedia translation requests, how are the world’s language service providers faring in the face of the pandemic? The two discuss localization at asset and wealth management firm Fisher Investments, where the in-house team of five linguists, one project manager and one localization manager have shifted from outsourcing 70% of language tasks to handling more than half internally.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:The State of the Language Industry as Coronavirus Goes Globalhttps://slator.com/industry-news/the-state-of-the-language-industry-as-coronavirus-goes-global/At Fisher Investments, Localization Drives Revenue Through Client Retentionhttps://slator.com/features/at-fisher-investments-localization-drives-revenue-through-client-retention/

Esther gives a short briefing on the AILIA conference she attended in Ottawa last week. The two discuss how the ongoing economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus are impacting the language industry and freelance linguists. They review the ranking of the fastest growing language service providers of 2019 and wonder about a recent RFP published by US Department of Homeland Security, which is looking to procure a quasi-magic translation and interpreting device for less than a million US-Dollars.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:The Slator 2020 Language Service Provider Indexhttps://slator.com/data-research/the-slator-2020-language-service-provider-index/US Coast Guard Opens RFP to Replace ‘Human Translator’ with ‘Portable Translator’https://slator.com/technology/us-coast-guard-opens-rfp-to-replace-human-translator-with-portable-translator/Here Are the 20 Fastest-Growing Language Service Providers of 2019https://slator.com/data-research/here-are-the-20-fastest-growing-language-service-providers-of-2019/

Who came in top? Who grew fastest? Who struggled? Florian and Esther discuss the newly released Slator 2020 Language Service Provider Index (LSPI), featuring 130 language service providers on first release. Breaking down the landscape of providers into four segments: Super Agencies, Leaders, Challengers and Boutiques, the two analyze some of the best performances across each of the categories, and look at factors that influenced growth.The fasting growing segment was the Leaders, at 14.85%, which outpaced growth across the three other segments through a mix of organic and acquisitive growth. Growth across the 130 LSPs who participated in the LSPI was around 15%. Stripping away acquisitions, LSPs are growing in the mid-single digits, Florian estimated.

Florian and Esther share a sneak peak of 2019’s LSP results ahead of publishing the Slator 2020 LSPI next week. Get an exclusive look at the top 10 language service providers by revenue in 2019, as Florian and Esther discuss language industry Super Agencies and Leaders, and reveal which media localizer made it into the top 10 for the first time. What could go wrong? As several US airports have taken to using Google Assistant Interpreter to help foreign travellers interact with airport staff, Florian live-tests the software on air with German to English! See how it fares (and whether Esther understands) as Florian tries out some tourist lingo.Esther talks about Capita plc’s planned sale of its translation and interpreting business (Capita TI), along with eight other “specialized services” businesses, which come with a total price tag of GBP 200m plus for the lot. UK outsourcing giant Capita plc is offloading its sideline translation and interpreting business as part of its efforts to refocus on high-margin digital and software solutions.Florian unpacks the information shared by game localization provider Keywords Studios during its recent Capital Markets event, highlighting how the company plans to use machine translation (through recently acquired KantanMT) for its player support operations. Links to the stories discussed in this episode:Capita Plans to Sell Translation and Interpreting Business, UK Media Reportshttps://slator.com/ma-and-funding/capita-plans-to-sell-translation-and-interpreting-business-uk-media-reports/Keywords Studios Updates Investors on M&A, Media Loc, and an Intriguing Use Case for KantanMThttps://slator.com/financial-results/keywords-studios-updates-investors-on-ma-media-loc-and-an-intriguing-use-case-for-kantanmt/After Watchdog Fine, Norway’s Police Opens Bidding for Nationwide Interpreting Contracthttps://slator.com/demand-drivers/after-watchdog-fine-norways-police-opens-bidding-for-nationwide-interpreting-contract/

SlatorPod #8! Esther shares details about localization at US-based coaching app BetterUp, which works with enterprise customers across 62 countries and 30 languages. BetterUp’s Localization Program Manager, Ella Pętlicka spoke to Slator about localization operations at BetterUp including the Trans-Adaptation workflow — Florian and Esther discuss this and other workflows (e.g., transcreation and linguistic validation) that aim to deliver hyper locale-aware content. Florian runs through the latest financial results for Japan’s largest translation company, Honyaku Center, and unpacks Straker Translations’ recent acquisition of New Zealand’s oldest company, NZTC International. Esther talks about new subtitling standards in Finland that seek to promote consistency across streaming platforms. The two discuss online language provision for Indian languages, and how Oxford Languages (a division of Oxford University Press) is driving better access and experiences for India’s internet users through wordlists, dictionary entries, bilingual lexicons etc. in 12 major Indian languages. Datasets for such low-resource languages can be used to improve machine translation, voice recognition and speech-to-text solutions and more.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:Why BetterUp’s Localization Process Starts at Content Creationhttps://slator.com/features/trans-adaptation-why-betterups-localization-process-starts-at-content-creation/Shares in Japan’s Largest Translation Company Slide on Declining Revenueshttps://slator.com/financial-results/shares-in-japans-largest-translation-company-slide-on-declining-revenues/Straker Translations Pays USD 1.1Million for New Zealand Rival NZTChttps://slator.com/ma-and-funding/straker-translations-pays-usd-1-1-million-for-new-zealand-rival-nztc/Finland Introduces Subtitling Standards for Consistency Across Platformshttps://slator.com/demand-drivers/finland-introduces-subtitling-standards-for-consistency-across-platforms/How Oxford Languages is Transforming Indian Language Internet Users’ Online Experienceshttps://slator.com/sponsored-content/how-oxford-languages-is-transforming-indian-language-internet-users-online-experiences/

Florian talks about DeepL’s claims of making yet another “breakthrough” in what they call “AI translation quality”. Esther unpacks a recent survey of UK gaming professionals by industry association ukie, which finds that localization workers in gaming are better educated, and less depressed and anxious than their counterparts in other functions. According to the survey, game loc professionals are also the most diverse bunch in gaming: if looked at in terms of gender, nationality and ethnicity. Esther and Florian also discuss the Slator Job Index, which rebounded from a dip in January to reach record highs, +9% above the benchmark of July 2018.Florian talks about Straker Translations’ latest quarterly results and how the strategic shift to serving enterprise customers impacts results.Esther shares news of a debate that’s developing in Mexico around the idea of increasing the use of dubbing in Mexican movie theaters. Pro-dubbing campaigners, including voice actors, want all foreign-language films to have dubbed versions. In the other camp, film purists want to protect what they see as the audience’s right to experience film content in its intended form. Lastly, Florian highlights a small acquisition in Switzerland by LSP Apostroph Group, which acquired Swiss rival boutique provider USG - the fourth M&A deal Slator covered in 2020.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:Localization Pros are Best Educated and Least Depressed, UK Gaming Industry Survey Findshttps://slator.com/industry-news/localization-pros-are-best-educated-and-least-depressed-uk-gaming-industry-survey-finds/Slator Job Index Rebounds in February 2020, Hits Record Highhttps://slator.com/industry-news/slator-job-index-rebounds-in-february-2020-hits-record-high/Straker’s Growth Slows as Enterprise Shift Subdues Third Quarter FY 2020 Resultshttps://slator.com/financial-results/strakers-growth-slows-as-enterprise-shift-subdues-third-quarter-fy-2020-results/Pro-dubbing Senator Sparks Debate in Mexico Over Foreign-Language Film Proposalhttps://slator.com/demand-drivers/pro-dubbing-senator-sparks-debate-in-mexico-over-foreign-language-film-proposal/Apostroph Group Tucks in Boutique Language Service Provider USG in Switzerlandhttps://slator.com/ma-and-funding/apostroph-group-tucks-in-boutique-language-service-provider-usg-in-switzerland/

SlatorPod #6! Florian Faes and Esther Bond unpack ASICS’ localization strategy and weigh up the benefits of centralized and local procurement strategies. The two also discuss when to use a vendor-agnostic (pureplay) translation management system (TMS), or one offered by an LSP. Florian analyzes the acquisition of US-based video interpreting provider Stratus Video by healthcare service giant AMN Healthcare for a whopping USD 475m, while Esther shares highlights from the UK Association of Translation Companies (UK ATC)’s newly published manifesto on public sector translation and interpreting. Links to the stories discussed in this episode:How ASICS Runs Localization: Insights on Vendors, Processes, Technologieshttps://slator.com/features/how-asics-runs-localization-insights-on-vendors-processes-technologies/AMN Healthcare to Buy Interpreting Provider Stratus Video for USD 475 Millionhttps://slator.com/ma-and-funding/amn-healthcare-to-buy-interpreting-provider-stratus-video-for-usd-475-million/UK ATC Manifesto Tackles Issues in Public Sector Translation and Interpretinghttps://slator.com/industry-news/uk-atc-manifesto-tackles-issues-in-public-sector-translation-and-interpreting/

SlatorPod #5! Florian Faes and Esther Bond discuss the 1,500-strong interpreter strike in the Netherlands. Florian talks about Amazon’s foray into automatic machine dubbing, which combines machine translation, text-to-speech, and audio rendering models. Esther unpacks the 2019 financial results for two Super Agencies — SDL and TransPerfect. TransPerfect’s acquisition of no less than seven media localizers in 2019 made it the most acquisitive LSP in 2019, just one of a number of highlights Esther shared from the recently released Slator 2019 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report.Links to the stories discussed in this episode:We’re On Strike: Dutch Linguists Oppose the Use of ‘Less Qualified’ Interpretershttps://slator.com/industry-news/were-on-strike-dutch-linguists-oppose-the-use-of-less-qualified-interpreters/Machine Dubbing: Amazon AI Opens New Chapter in Automating Media Localizationhttps://slator.com/technology/machine-dubbing-amazon-ai-opens-new-chapter-in-automating-media-localization/SDL Expects 2019 Revenues of Roughly USD 488mhttps://slator.com/financial-results/sdl-expects-2019-revenues-of-roughly-usd-488m/TransPerfect Revenue Climbs to Record USD 764m in 2019 but Growth Slowshttps://slator.com/financial-results/transperfect-revenue-climbs-to-record-usd-764m-in-2019-but-growth-slows/Slator 2019 Language Industry M&A and Funding Reporthttps://slator.com/data-research/slator-2019-language-industry-ma-and-funding-report/