The world of translation is not always clearly understood by the average Joe who doesn’t request translations on a regular basis. Most of my friends don’t even know what I mean when I say I work in the translation industry. “Ah so you’re a translator!” is the usual response. I say “I’m not” and then they run out of ideas. What else would you do if you are working in the translation business?

Right or wrong, translation has taken a path to commoditization over the last decade or two. Business literature often describes commoditization as “the process by which goods that have economic value and are distinguishable in terms of attributes end up becoming simple commodities in the eyes of the market”. We could…

The University of Illinois has claimed it is the first in the USA to launch a Mandarin Chinese-language commentary of its football matches During each match, the university broadcasts an online commentary of the match purely in Mandarin. Attendances have been falling at the matches, so the idea is to…