Translation Innovation: The Emergence of Online Translation Services

Picture this: It's your first day in Mexico City for a business meeting, and it suddenly dawns on you: You left your Spanish guidebook on the plane. Fortunately, you speak a few phrases of broken Spanish, so you assure yourself that you'll be fine. Jet-lagged and exhausted, you then decide to take a short nap before your business dinner at 7 p.m.

However, after you wake up, you realize something's terribly wrong: It's already 6:30! You only have 30 minutes to shower, get dressed, and trek 10 miles across the city! Channeling your inner Speedy Gonzales, you quickly primp for the meeting and ask the hotel concierge to hail you a cab. Relax, you tell yourself, it's only 6:55. As soon as the cab driver rounds the corner, you eagerly jump in and tell him the name of your restaurant. But, nothing could prepare you for what happens next. Suddenly, the driver starts gesturing wildly and rattling off unintelligible Spanish phrases. The only part that you can make out? The restaurant's name, which he keeps repeating loudly. Gee, you muse, it would certainly be nice to have a personal interpreter right now!

Crisis Averted

For many international travelers, this scenario is all-too-realistic. However, thanks to the recent emergence of over-the-phone translation services, crises like this can be averted. Now, if you discover that your conversation is getting lost in translation, you can use your cell phone to call a 24-hour interpretation service. You can relay your problems to the bilingual interpreter in English and then pass the phone to the person you need to communicate with. The interpreter will explain the dilemma to the other individual in his or her native language, and voila! You're now able to understand one another.

Although interpretation services can be utilized in a variety of circumstances, they're especially beneficial in the following three situations:

• Restaurants: Aren't you interested in knowing what you're actually ordering for dinner?
• Hospitals or doctors' offices: These services are especially necessary if you get sick overseas and need to receive medical treatments. Although most international hospitals will have at least one English-speaking staff member, you don't know how strong their translation skills will be. Remember: It's always better to be safe than sorry.
• Dilemmas involving personal documents: Whenever you encounter a problem involving personal documents - whether it's an issue with your passport, credit cards or driver's license - you should consider utilizing an interpretation service.

And, according to an article appearing recently in the Wall Street Journal, business is certainly booming for these services. "The industry saw $700 million in sales in 2007, and is expected to grow to $1.2 billion by 2012, according to Common Sense Advisory, a research firm specializing in business globalization and the language-services industry," Wall Street Journal writer Sarah Nassauer says.

Different Translation Options

Although there are various over-the-phone interpretation services available, below are two providers the Wall Street Journal recommends:

• Language Translations Inc.: Based in the United States, Language Translations Inc. translates from English to approximately 150 other languages. Additionally, this mid-priced service runs about $2.20/minute for users outside of North America.
• Language Line Services: Another U.S.-based provider, Language Line Services interprets from English to more than 170 other languages. However, this service will cost you: It charges callers outside of North America approximately $3.95/minute.

So, have you ever used an over-the-phone translation service? If so, would you recommend it to other OfficeArrow members? Please share your stories!