Month: March 2022

Piedmont Global Language Solutions Ranked as Industry Leader

Posted on by Piedmont Global Marketing

Slator 2022 LSPI & Nimdzi 100 Released

Piedmont Global Language Solutions (PGLS) makes its debut, appearing on two major industry rankings, the Slator 2022 Language Service Provider Index (LSPI) and the Nimdzi 100 Ranking of Language Service Providers (LSPs). PGLS received the Leader designation, landing in the top 50 on the Slator 2022 LSPI, and ranked in the top 75 on the Nimdzi 100.

At PGLS, every word matters. As an industry leader, we provide unique, innovative, and scalable solutions that advance the global missions and interests of our trusted partners. We are proud to be a minority-owned company making swift progress to improve language access and remove language barriers. We value our important work and are honored by the recognition of our efforts by Slator and Nimdzi.

Slator is a leading provider of news, analysis, and research for the language services industry. The Slator LSPI is a ranking, by order of revenue, and index of the world’s largest LSPs, and segmented into four groups: Super Agencies, Leaders, Challengers, and Boutiques. The 2022 LSPI included more than 300 companies.

Nimdzi is a market research and international consulting company. The Nimdzi 100 concentrates on ranking LSPs with $10 million or more in total revenue (not specific to language services). Nimdzi estimates that the language services industry reached $60.5 billion in 2021, and at a CAGR of 7.0%, is projected to be $84.9 billion by 2026.

“I am thrilled to see the industry growing and grateful for the positive contributions of our PGLS team, clients, partners, advisors, and friends. This momentous designation was made possible through the dedication of these exceptional and talented individuals who consistently help to bridge communication gaps around the world every day. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.”

Mohamed Hussein, Founder and CEO of PGLS

PGLS is a leading provider of global language and business solutions dedicated to unlocking the full potential of communication – empowering our clients to achieve growth, enhance experiences, and transform information into actionable insights. Committed to innovation and excellence, PGLS offers a range of services designed to meet the evolving needs of our diverse clientele. From language and communication solutions to market intelligence, staff augmentation, and growth advisory, PGLS is redefining the landscape of global business and communication, empowering organizations to succeed in a dynamic world. 

The Importance of Translation in the Public Sector

Posted on by Piedmont Global Marketing

With more than 6500 languages spoken in 195 countries throughout the world, each represents a population with its own unique customs, laws, and political wants. This, coupled with the fact that there are 350+ languages spoken everyday in the United States; means it’s never been more important to be able to conduct public sector translations from the community safety announcements we’ve been seeing from governors and officials across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic to important and often sensitive diplomatic translations to the highest standard possible.

The work of public sector translators is crucial to ensuring smooth international relations, the availability of clear communication both between governments and to all citizens affected by the outcome of decisions.

 

The History of Diplomatic Translations

The work of government and diplomatic translations has been around for centuries.

The advancement of human civilization on a global scale would never have been possible without effective diplomatic translations. The oldest recorded international relations between Egypt’s Pharaoh Ramses II and King of the Hittites Hattusili III were performed through Acadian, the diplomatic language of choice at the time. Since then, shifting political powers have led to changing lingua francas, from Aramean, to Greek, to Latin during the Roman Empire and then French during the beginning of the 20th Century.

Today, English is said to be the language of business in the 21st Century.

However, interestingly, there is no longer an accepted lingua franca for government and diplomatic relations, instead, we rely on numerous methods to ensure efficient and exact communication. These range from the use of an agreed third language for communications between two countries, each country communicates in its own native language for translation by the receiver, or each country communicates in the language of the intended recipient country. Whatever method is used, the requirement for flawless translation remains, and the stakes, arguably, never greater.

 

Diplomatic Translations: Mistakes with Grave Consequences

The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand is an example of what can happen when diplomatic translation fails. According to the Maori version of the treaty, their people were gaining a new legal system and governance from the British to help with social and criminal issues arising from the increase of convicts, sailors and tradesmen wandering through their lands. This version of the treaty allowed the Maori people to retain their sovereignty and right to rule themselves.

However, in the English version of the treaty, the Maori people were effectively giving up their own sovereignty to “cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty.” This mistranslation had grave consequences and is still being sorted out today.

Similarly, during the Cold War a misunderstanding between Russia and the United States could have turned deadly when a Russian announcement that they would live to see (Capitalism) the US buried, which in itself isn’t exactly friendly, but this was mistranslated into ‘We will bury you’ and was thus understandably taken to be a direct threat by the American government at the time.

 

Translators with Great Responsibility

To work as a diplomatic translator, a linguist will be held to a much higher standard of translation perfection than those working in less critical sectors. None of us want our government officials miscommunicating with each other, this could have disastrous consequences for not only the parties involved but entire country populations. Likewise, if government translators made a mistake when translating important public safety information for US residents, the consequences can spell the difference between life and death.

Government translators not only need to be excellent linguists with great command of language, but they also need to be very familiar with government protocols and regulations within both the source and target languages and countries. Their solid understanding and experience of often complex governmental procedures, allows them to translate accurately each and every time.

Needless to say, government linguists must also have an incredibly strong work ethic and be able to work with absolute confidentiality and to exacting ethical standards, with what can be extremely sensitive information with far reaching implications. So, the next time you see a press briefing discussing diplomatic affairs or hear a public service announcement in a language other than your mother tongue, remember, it’s these public sector translations that keep the world, as we know it, turning.

At Piedmont Global, with more than ten years providing government translation services, we have extensive experience with all aspects of public sector translations from official diplomatic correspondence, intelligence collection and analysis, on-site interpreting for international conferences and legal proceedings and many more. Get in touch to learn more.