Medical Translation Insight

"Broken English is the language of the world", as a friend of mine used to say. And it's true: As the world's lingua franca, a smattering of English is often enough to communicate.

Aside from Great Britain's colonial power and U.S. economic influence, it's surprising to see the world embrace such a difficult-to-use language. One of those making this point (about the difficulty of English, not the surprise of English being the lingua franca) is Philip Seymour of Dundee University.

English is toughest European language to read provides a look at a study conducted by Seymour and his team. The study found "that those learning Romance languages such as Italian and French progressed faster than those learning a Germanic language such as German and English".

In Finnish, which Seymour found to be the easiest European language to learn to read, the relationship between a letter and its sound is fixed.

However, in English a letter's sound often depends on its context within the word. For example, the letter c can sound soft (as in receive) or hard (as in cat). Many words like "yacht" don't seem to follow any logic at all.

The article also goes on to ponder if "Seymour's findings might explain why more people are diagnosed as being dyslexic in English-speaking countries than elsewhere".

While it's easy to learn a bit of English, English grammar makes it difficult for non-native English speakers to get a full command of the language.

Want to read more about this subject? Take a look at some of our other articles on English:

• 10 reasons why English is so difficult to translate
• English as lingua franca around the world
• Language fact: British vs. American English
• British English A to Zed
• Sometimes English is not sexy but stupid

ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to drug and device companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

The current issue of Regulatory Focus [login required] contains interesting articles on regulatory pathways around the world.

"Regulation of Medical Devices in Australia and New Zealand", for instance, summarizing the state of affairs in Oceania. Since 2002, the fundamental principles underlying device assessments in Australia have been based on those developed for the European Union. The article does a nice job highlighting the similarities and differences.

If you are a RAPS member, take a look at Regulatory Focus. Otherwise, contact the authors (Judy Bingham and Philippe Robertson, both of Kendle) for more information.


ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to medical device companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

Welcome to the underbelly of the pharma business.

In response to an article [subscription required] in The Wall Street Journal on a case between Bayer AG and India's chief drug regulator, the In the Pipeline blog questioned the use of drug patents, in India if not globally.

Noting that "intellectual property" and "India" are no longer mutually exclusive (the country changed its laws to recognize chemical substances and process patents in 2005), the article questions "what the Indian courts are up to (other than protecting their own generic industry and forcing down the price of drugs, of course)".

The two articles generated a lot of heated comments. The discussions at both the WSJ and In the Pipeline sites quickly strayed from the topic at hand to moral, economic, and social issues.

The articles as well as the comments are highly recommended reading. They provide a fascinating look at the globalization of drug manufacturing and the seedier side of the pharma business.

Here are a couple of choice excerpts from the discussions:

As for other questions about "Western" values, what about Malta (in the EU region, but with no patent laws.....)where the Italians (Dynamit) are manufacturing fexofenadine which goes into the "approved" generics (as it is a different manufacturing process)?

And:

Switzerland's chemical and pharmaceutical industry rose to such a level because they initially refused to recognize German patents. The Japanese, when their economy began to industrialize, were primarily known for copying everything. There's no reason why India wouldn't take the same path.

And finally:

The patent system is enacted to support the lifestyle of developed world at the expense of developing world while keeping the delta unchanged. ... Drug companies, with their deep pockets, have become expert in manipulating the patent laws to keep their patents alive by making minor changes to product and/or process.

Fascinating...

[A big thank you to FiercePharma's Twitter feed for the tip!]

Makes you want to read more about India, doesn't it? Well, we're happy to comply. Check out these past posts:

• India enlists European Union in fight against bio-piracy
• Medical device regulation coming to India - finally
• Languages in India - a detailed look
• Clinical Trials: Why is India Irresistible?

ForeignExchange translates patents and other IP for medical device and pharmaceutical companies into 40+ languages. Ask us for a detailed proposal on your next translation project.
 
 

I came across a good post on marketing to existing clients. 5 online marketing tips to get more from current clients starts with:

Your current clients are probably your number one fans. But all too often, they can be forgotten about once they’re on-board.

This is applicable to most businesses, and it certainly rings true in the translation industry.

While the title talks about "online" marketing, each of the five ideas is easily applied in the "real" world. Wherever you are in the translation service delivery chain, take a look at these items and think about how you can apply some of them with your clients!

For more ideas about customer service, take a look at the following articles:

• 10 ways to scare off clients
• Helping clients reduce translation costs
• Know thy customer
• So you say you're customer-service oriented?

The ForeignExchange team is obsessed with customer service. If your device or drug company values measurable translation quality and specialized medical translations, be sure to contact us.
 
 

It's always been understood that a carefully negotiated clinical trial agreement will protect a bio-pharma and medical device company. But as clinical research is increasingly being conducted overseas, sponsors need to be much more aware of local laws and regulations.

The Negotiation and Development of a Clinical Trial Agreement was pPublished in The Journal of BioLaw & Business and pays heed to the growing importance of well executed clinical trials:

"With clinical trials playing an ever increasing importance in the life and valuation of a biotechnology company, the Company must insure that, through the clinical trial agreement, it maintains the appropriate management and ownership of the data and publication, control of confidential information and ownership of the intellectual property, while securing the needed relationship with the Institution and Principal Investigator."

The article goes on to highlight global clinical trial challenges in the areas of:

• Publication and confidentiality
• Intellectual property
• Indemnification and insurance
• Termination, and
• Survival

Best of all, the article provides an entire sample of a clinical trial agreement.

Reprints or online versions of the article may be hard to find. If you are interested in reviewing it, contact the author, Peter Finn, directly.

For more information on global clinical research, visit the following links:

• Global clinical research - unethical or business necessity?
• Increased focus on clinical trial insurance
• Site saturation (or lack thereof) is a big driver for global clinical research

Find out more about ForeignExchange's specialized medical translation services for international clinical trials.
 
 

Last week, The Eagle's Nest Blog ran an article on Final Submission QC. It discussed challenges and ideas around ensuring final quality of an electronic submission. For medical translators, there are a couple of interesting tidbits here.

First off, medical translators - especially those who translate regulatory submissions - need to know what their clients are doing after the linguistic piece is done.

Second, it's interesting to note that much of the QC is done manually. There are file viewers and such but QC staff use good old checklists and manual checks.

For another look at how to compile an effective eCTD submission, take a look at SOPs to Adequately Cover an eCTD Based Compilation and Submission Process [PDF link].

[Tip of the hat to Kathy Clark!]

If you want to keep reading, here are three related articles:

• eCTD translation
• QA vs. QC
• Preparing files with untranslateable content

ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translations for electronic as well as paper-based regulatory submissions. Contact us to find out more.
 
 

Sure, it's easy to make fun of chinglish signs. After all, how good would our Chinese be if we had to speak or write in Chinese?

Nonetheless, English signs from China and around the world do provide a chance for some lighthearted fun as we have shown here and here.

Now the LA Times is getting in on the game too. The paper's web site has an extensive and growing photo gallery of Horrible Translations from around the world. If you have some time to kill, head on over there and have a laugh or two.

And if you want a daily fix, check out engrish.com and its brog.

[Thanks to Elizabeth Sánchez for pointing out the LA Times photo gallery!]


ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to drug and device companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

Searching the Internet for information on double-byte languages recently, I came across the following question about Chinese keyboards:

"Seriously, do they have letters or symbols? And if symbols, are there a ton of keys?"

Intrigued, I searched a bit more and found a general sense of curiosity - but also a lack of real information. When curious minds inquire about Chinese keyboard layouts, "answers" often come in this form:

"They have normal keyboards, sometimes a couple extra buttons"

But hidden amongst the dribble, I found four good resources:

1. The Explainer at slate.com has a good overview of how people in China type on computers.
2. Wikipedia's explanation is short and gets to the point.
3. eHow.com provides an alternative description of how Chinese keyboards work.
4. Help in typing pinyin with tone marks

Take a look at these resources and get ready to impress your friends, family, and clients with your nerdy knowledge!

Want to give your inner geek some free rein? Check out our posts on the life and times of a typeface, a binary translator for communicating with your CPU and nerdy friends, and the ever-popular periodic table of typefaces.


ForeignExchange provides medical translations to medical device and biopharma companies - in Chinese and dozens of other languages. Ask us for a detailed proposal on your next medical translation project.
 
 

By virtue of the fact that Canada borders America, it is often assumed to be an extension of the U.S. Manufacturers who import into Canada's French-speaking provinces find out quickly that this is not the case.

Provinces such as Quebec, New Brunswick, and Manitoba offer vast opportunities for manufacturers but there are a important considerations with regards to product labeling and packaging before products can be sold across Canada.

Plush Text Communications recently posted an overview of Canadian labeling issues. The post pointed out that Quebec has some specific rules about translating the content and information that appears on your products and packages. Under the Quebec Charter of the French Language, most of the information on the product itself, the container (including product labels), outer packaging, and any accompanying warranties and technical manuals, must be included in French before the product can be sold to retail consumers.

This creates significant challenges for marketing and packaging professionals. When it's time to consider bilingual packaging, there are at least five areas to look at beyond government regulations:

1. Aesthetics
2. Consumer alienation
3. Intellectual property
4. Market expectations
5. ROI

(See Cloverview for more details on the six items.)

On the regulatory front, Plush Text Communications' blog post mentioned a handful of items to keep in mind:

• In Quebec, wholesalers are exempt so the language requirements only apply to the retail market.
• In Quebec, product labels may also appear in English or another language, as long as French has equal or greater prominence in comparison to any other language.
• Certain types of products may be exempt from the language laws, including pet food, cosmetics, certain test market products, and some feeds, seeds, fertilizers and pest control products.
• Food, drug-related and other products may be managed under different federal statutes, such as the Food and Drugs Act or the Textile Labelling Act, and manufacturers should double check the language requirements for these products separately.

Getting back to intellectual property, it's no wonder that this is an area of big concern. The Consumer Labelling and Packaging Act provides that a product must carry bilingual packaging and labeling if a product will be sold in an area that has a Francophone population of more than 10%. Moreover, where a logo contains the trademark and the generic name of a product, the description of the product must appear in both languages. In Saccone & Speed v Registrar of Trademarks (1982), Justice Cattanach provided some explanation of language and trademark issues:

"The label was revised as a direct necessity to comply with the provisions of the Consumer Packaging Act and the Regulations thereunder. The additional verbiage added to ensure compliance therewith is to be disregarded. The addition of the additional wording necessitated a modification of the design to accommodate the language required to be added. This was done but in doing so the appellant exercised care to preserve the dominant features of its trademark."

A further consideration for potential branders is the fact that bilingual trademarks must be utilized in both languages. In Gariepy Marrcoux Richard v Promotions Cobelli Ltee (1994), the owner had a bilingual trademark PASSEPORT EPARGNE/SAVINGS PASSPORT. However the English version of the trademark had never been used commercially and consequently the bilingual mark was expunged for lack of use. The decision reflects the reasoning that a bilingual trademark must be fully utilized.

In response to these challenges, Managing IP suggests that brand owners register trademarks in English and French separately, to comply with the Act and avoid any difficulties that could arise from a lack of use.

Despite the difficulties involved, it is important to realize the goodwill that accrues to manufacturers. The Canadian francophone population (just like everybody else) appreciates packaging, signage, and trademarks that incorporate its native tongue. Well, unless they're translated poorly, of course.

For further reading, take a look at:

• The 50-year history of language laws in Quebec
• The Office québécois de la langue française maintains extensive information concerning commercial documents (catalogs, directories, brochures, etc.), signage, and software
• Daryl Wisdahl offers insight and advice specifically for medical device companies

ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized translation services to drug and device companies - in Canadian French and dozens of other languages!
 
 

In today's highly competitive, cost-focused business world, translation buyers all struggle with the same mandate: do more with less.

For most translation service providers, this is an awkward and new situation. By and large, translation companies have been used to working on easy street. Clients would find them and there was so much business to go around, that translation companies didn't worry about educating clients or distinguishing themselves from other translation suppliers. What a difference 18 months make...

Over that time, I have noticed an increasing number of translation companies offer discounts, announce its intent to increase sales by providing free content, and provide tips to (potential) clients on how to reduce their translation spend.

I am not sure about the effectiveness of discounts or press releases without specifics on the offer being made, but it's terrific that translation suppliers are getting more savvy about marketing. It's the last category, where translation companies pretend to be concerned about clients' translation spend, that's really getting my goat.

There have been tons of these pieces recently, and they all carry similar names. Here is a sampling:

• 10 Ways to Reduce Localization and Translation Costs Without Sacrificing Quality
• Reducing cost by reducing words
• Cost cutting Tips
• Top Tips for Reducing Your Translation Costs

So, what's wrong with these efforts to educate clients? I'm glad you asked... It's the following three things that irk me about these pieces:

1. They are one-sided
None of the suggestions made in any of these articles is about the translation supplier. None. Ever.

"Suggestions" are always directed at the client/prospect. "If you really want to spend less, then you must ..." The client is supposed to figure out how to reduce source text, write more consistently, improve in-country reviews, etc. etc.

What about contributions from the translation provider's side? Why not propose specifics on how they help clients with the suggestions? Even better: Why not take on some of the burden by outlining specific paths to volume pricing or offering value-added services or even just supporting clients' efforts by providing management reports and metrics?

Well, I know why not. Because that would involve actual work...

2. They are not realistic
Sure, a lot of this depends on the company and industry of the translation buyer. In general, though, harping on authors needing to be consistent in their writing isn't helpful.

Mergers and acquisitions have resulted in cobbled-together organizations that don't share common history or terminology. Yes, it's possible for even those companies to organize their authoring and translation management. But for every company like Philips Healthcare that is successfully tackling this, there are a hundred companies that are hopelessly stuck in different silos and geographies.

And yes, there exists an opportunity for translation suppliers to help their clients. But not by simply repeating cliches and trite statements.

3. They are self-serving
Because of #1 and #2 above, these pieces are not helpful to clients. More sophisticated buyers of translation services already know about the suggestions being made. Less experienced companies wouldn't event know how to get started with them.

"Single sourcing content" is a good example. Only the largest medical device companies have the resources, budgets, and clout to put in place a content management system. Smaller device firms simply have no means to do this.

Similarly, regulatory submissions at pharmaceutical companies encompass hundreds of thousands of words but most of the content gets written specifically for the submission and isn't used again afterward.

These articles don't provide actionable advice to clients. Instead, they are all about appearances. These pieces are designed to make the authoring service providers look like they are doing something when in fact they're serving up the same old, tired platitudes.

Being helpful to clients is possible but, as I mentioned, it requires real work. I know because we try to do some of these with our clients. It's not easy. Here are some examples:

1. Listen to clients - It really starts with this. Until you understand a client's pain point, goals, and area of influence, you're just stabbing in the dark. Translation service providers could tell clients how their client teams are organized, how they report progress to clients, how they make it easy for clients to communicate with the supplier's team, how clients benefit from this approach.
2. Propose specifics - You can't do this unless you understand your client. But once you do, the translation supplier's team can make specific proposals to a client: "We will reduce turnaround times by X days over the next quarter. We will do this and this and this. To make this feasible we need that and that and that from you."
3. Measure and report - It's easy to talk about consistency or text re-use or quality but unless have objective metrics, it's just talk. Clients need prove. Heck, translation suppliers need proof too. Without it, you don't know which course of action to take and whether or not the results warranted the investment in time and resources. Why not advertise and discuss your data measurement and reporting facilities and outlining how clients benefit from these efforts?
4. Stay committed - Translation suppliers and clients alike suffer from high staff turnover. That makes it difficult to manage improvements over time. We have found that it helps to organize teams, on the client's side as well as ours. This enables everybody to keep the momentum going when a team member is reassigned or leaves. Clients would be interested in hearing about translation suppliers' account teams enable continuous improvement efforts.
5. Educate clients - It's been great to see more and more translation service providers utilize education tools like blogs, audio conferences, and webinars. But the ranks of companies utilizing these tools are still woefully thin. And there is really no reason for this. Even the smallest translation company can publish valuable information in a newsletter or on Twitter. Granted, audio conferences require more expertise but even this has become a lot easier. The point is: Translation buyers yearn to be educated and informed. Answer their call for help!

OK, I will get off the soap box now and ask you: Am I being to harsh?


To catch all of our rants and raves, follow ForeignExchange Translations on Twitter at @fxtrans.
 
 

Nature, the prominent scientific journal, has released an iPhone app to bring its scientific news and articles to the mobile platform. The app provides full text of all articles, search and reference tools, as well as access to abstracts at PubMed.



To promote the app, Nature is making all the news and articles available for free until April 30. Beyond that, "personal and institutional pricing options will be available" later this year.

Load up your iPhone and grab the nature.com app from the journal's new mobile app page.

[Thanks to Medgadget for the tip!]

To see how iPhones are becoming tools of the trade, check out:

• Our look at when cell phones become medical devices
• Translation applications for smartphones
• One physician's use of iPhone applications in a clinical practice
• Where there are apps, there are reviews - check out iMedicalApps.com for the latest and greatest around medical apps for the iPhone

ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

For medical translation service providers, it is critically important to stay abreast of the latest regulatory developments. The regulatory complexities that permeate the industry have made it critical for translators, account managers, and project managers to have a rudimentary knowledge of these matters as well. However, many medical translation providers are not well-versed in the essentials of approval processes and the regulatory hurdles of the post-approval period.

Sure, we offer almost daily audio conferences around regulatory, clinical, and quality topics. But sometimes it's nice to go out and mingle with colleagues and industry experts.

American Conference Institute's FDA Boot Camp has been designed to give attendees a strong working knowledge of core FDA competencies. The conference will take place on March 24 and 25, 2010 in New York.

A faculty of top FDA regulatory experts will share their knowledge and help attendees:

• Master the basics of the application and approval processes for drugs, biologics, and devices;
• Comprehend the structure of the FDA and the roles of the three major agency centers: CDER, CBER, and CDHR;
• Develop a practical working knowledge of clinical trials for drugs and biologics and the clearance process for devices;
• Learn how devices are classified, monitored, and regulated;
• Appreciate the complexities of pharmaceutical IP and the regulatory balance between brand name and generic products;
• Recognize the pivotal role of labeling in the drug and biologics approval process;
• See the importance of cGMPs to the post-approval regulatory process; and
• Navigate the protocols of adverse events monitoring, signal detection, product withdrawals, and recalls.

The registration fee for this conference is $2,195. Yes, it's expensive but for two packed days of learning and networking, the fee seems reasonable. And if you register by February 19, 2010, you will receive a $200 discount.


ForeignExchange's METRiQ quality system provides medical device and pharmaceutical companies with measurable, known translation quality. To learn more, contact ForeignExchange Translations.
 
 

OK, this one is seriously off-topic. But 5 Minutes Before The Crash is just too great not to pass on.

The brand-new tumblr blog highlights the unique strangeness that happens in our airports and planes. "Regular" ones, you know, and not the ones that involv the TSA or full-body cavity searches.

If you fly a lot, make sure you contribute your own absurd/beautiful/unusual images. If you have sworn off flying, you can live vicariously through 5 Minutes Before The Crash.

Either way, enjoy!


OK, back to work now! ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to drug and device companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

Buyers as well as providers of medical translation services rely on ForeignExchange's audio conferences for expert insight and advise on the kinds of daily challenges faced by regulatory, clinical, quality, and translation professionals. We produce 15 events every month to educate professionals in the medical device and pharmaceutical sectors.

Once a month we take a look at our most popular audio conferences. In January, the top five educational events were... (drum roll, please):

1. Regulatory Framework to Support Biomarker Development: EU & the USA


2. Are You Ready for MDD Amendment Directive 2007/47/EC?


3. Clinical Trials: Why is India Irresistible?


4. WEEE and RoHS Revisions: Implications for Medical Device Manufacturers


5. Proof-of-Concept Clinical Trials: How to Maximize the Chances of Your Drug Demonstrating Benefit

If you have any suggestions for audio conference topics, send us a note!

Interested in other popular educational events? Take a look at our top audio conferences for December and November.


For a detailed proposal on your next clinical, regulatory, or marketing medical translation project, contact ForeignExchange Translations.
 
 

I always had a soft spot for Norwegians and the Norwegian language. Not for any important reason, mind you, but simply because like the Swiss very few Norwegians speak the way a text is written.

Norwegian is a North Germanic language. Approximately 5 million people speak Norwegian. Beyond Norway, Norwegian speakers can be found in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Spain, Canada and the USA.

History
Early Norwegian literature, poetry, and historical prose was written in Old Norse and flourished from the 9th to the 14th centuries. After Norway came under Swedish and, later, Danish rule, Norwegian continued to be spoken but Danish was used for officials purposes as well as a literary language and in higher education.

After Norway separated from Denmark in 1814, Danish continued to be used in schools until the mid-19th century. The movement to create a national language stemmed from nationalistic fervor and the fact that written Danish was so different from spoken Norwegian, making it difficult to learn.

There was considerable debate about how to go about creating a national language and two languages emerged: Landsmål (national language), based on colloquial Norwegian and regional dialects and Riksmål (national language), which was primarily a written language and close to Danish. In 1929, Landsmål was renamed Nynorsk (New Norwegian) and Riksmål is now officially known as Bokmål (book language).

Today's Norwegian
Today schools can choose to teach either Nynorsk or Bokmål and civil servants are expected to be fluent in both forms. The indigenous Sámi people have maintained their own official written language.

For a while there was a movement to create a single standard language to be called Samnorsk (Union Norwegian). Politicians liked the idea of unifying the Norwegian language, while everybody else thought it a bad idea and a waste of time. The Samnorsk project was officially abandoned in 2002.

Going back to my comparison to Switzerland, for Norwegians the dialect makes up an important part of their identity, and by listening to a person's dialect we can in most cases determine with good accuracy from which part of the country s/he is from.

Also, Bokmål and Nynorsk are not classified as different languages where you have to learn the other as a foreign language. A text written in Bokmål is perfectly understandable for a person using Nynorsk, and vice versa.

Want more?
To learn more about Norwegian, check out the following links:

• Wikipedia has a detailed look at all things related to Norwegian language.
• Want to learn Norwegian on the go? Luckily, you can choose from dozens of Norwegian apps for your smartphone.
• Conducting Exploratory Trials in Scandinavia takes a look at the pros and cons of running clinical trials in Norway and its Scandinavian neighbors.
• Norwegian regulation # 1690 states that, for all medical devices approved for sale and use in Norway, all instructions for use, labels, and packaging must be in Norwegian.

For expert medical translations of regulatory, clinical, and marketing content in 40 languages - including Norwegian - request a detailed proposal from ForeignExchange Translations.
 
 

European regulatory agencies have been busy these last few months. The eCTD Summit has a good roundup of notices and guidances that have been issued across Europe recently.

One thing that stands out is an announcement (translated via Google) by the Bulgarian Drug Agency that all types of procedures must now be in electronic format (eCTD or NeeS).

As of January 1, 2010, eCTDs are mandatory for all centralised procedures. Many national authorities, including the Bulgarian authority, also accept electronic submissions of marketing authorization application dossiers, either as an eCTD or as a NeeS.

Just a couple of years ago, Bulgarian officials sounded a cautionary note [PowerPoint link] regarding electronic submissions. Some of the issues included basic and far-reaching challenges like:

• Delay / lack of communication between the local representative and the head office
• The contact persons for the procedure, based in Bulgaria are not trained to deal with technical issues during e-submissions
• Lack of financial resources and staff of applicant

But all of this seems to have gotten resolved and forgotten. Welcome to the electronic-only part of Europe!



(Click on thumbnail for larger version; source=02-06_EFPIA_presentation.pdf)


ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translations for electronic as well as paper-based regulatory submissions. Contact us to find out more.
 
 

Despite having existed for less than four years, the EuroTermBank project looks poised to succeed where many others have failed: Making a business case for terminology management and terminology sharing.

One of the reasons is that EuroTermBank (ETB), the "one-stop gateway to optimised term bank and top European terminology resources through a consolidated interface", is funded by the EU. This has allowed it to amass millions of terms covering a broad spectrum of subject fields and industries, spanning a multitude of languages, and coming from a wide range of terminology providers.

Similarly, ETB has done a good job focusing on technology to make its database usable. Rather than forcing users to employ a proprietary tool, ETB released an add-in for MS Word. Similarly, ETB links up with existing tool sets, like Kilgray's MemoQ.

It's also impressive to see ETB's robust business model that doesn't try to be all things to all users. The consortium that leads ETB has done a terrific job defining its target users. For a look at ETB's strategy check out this presentation from the 2007 LISA Forum Asia [PDF link].

Most importantly, though, ETB seems to have figured out how to manage terminology quality. Much of this looks to be the result having more and better user participation. For instance, by solving copyright issues, contributions are more frequent and of higher quality. Leveraging international standards also makes use of ETB and easier "sell".

EuroTermBank is well on its way to be become indispensable to all of us. As Jost Zetzsche said: you'd be silly not to use it.

[Thanks to Ruben de la Fuente for the Word add-in tip!]

Terminology management is such an important topic, and we regularly discuss processes and tools. Here is a recent sampling:

• Terminology management at Medtronic provides a real-world glimpse at how a large medical device companies manages multilingual terminology
• Low-cost terminology management makes the point that glossary management doesn't have to be complex or expensive
• TERMIUM is another large (and free!) terminology base

ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to drug and device companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

Thanks to the folks at Duncan Bucknell, we recently found out about CIELA. This "China IP Litigation Analysis" database contains close to 7,600 cases from 13 Chinese IP courts.

The tool's premise is straight-forward and useful:

CIELA is a free-to-use ... website enabling IP owners and their counsel to evaluate IP litigation venues across China. Users can obtain statistics on IP rulings for the whole of China or focus on specific courts. With CIELA it is possible to quickly see which Chinese courts award higher damages, or conclude cases more quickly compared to other jurisdictions.

Access is free of charge, and customized reports are reasonably priced. $500 buys a basic statistical report (with charts) giving details of particular cases or courts. Report with statistics on particular cases or courts, with commentary from a qualified practitioner, or with copies of reference judgments will run between $1,000 and $2,000.

If you are involved with IP in China, take a look at CIELA!


Looking for more Chinese intellectual property news? Check out some of our past posts:

• Chinese patent office launches new English website
• Massive new Chinese-English technical patent glossary from TIPO
• Patent translations - inherently risky?

ForeignExchange translates patents and other IP for medical device and pharmaceutical companies into Chinese and 40+ languages. Ask us for a detailed proposal on your next translation project.
 
 

It is hard to believe that one month of 2010 has already gone by. Here are our articles that got the most attention in January:

1. Sometimes English is not sexy but stupid - A word of caution to companies who think that English slogan will be universally understood
2. Terminology management at Medtronic - It interesting to see how large medical device companies manage their translation efforts
3. Crowdsourcing will hurt software localization firms - Are we seeing a fundamental shift away from software localization companies?
4. The world's worst interpreter? - Reason # 3,762 that it's not smart to skimp on professional interpreters (or translators)
5. Of email and cultural differences - Interesting...it turns out that email customs aren't universal

Looking for more great content? Take a look at our top articles for December and November. Happy reading!

Translation service providers are fundamentally in the project management and customer service business. If clients wanted to, they could take care of getting IFUs, clinical reports, and regulatory submissions translated themselves. Instead, drug and device companies contract with translation companies because they want to be able to focus on their core skills.

Newsfactor published Top 10 Best Ways To Scare Off Your Customers. While it was not written for translation services specifically, it might as well have been:

Unfortunately, customer care is still regarded by many as a costly activity or a burden on resources. Some organizations have already recognized the importance of customer care, and a few are very advanced in its practice. But often it seems that companies just don't care enough about their customers after the sale has been made.

Head on over to the article and make sure that you address these ten items.

For more advice around customer service, also take a look at Know thy customer.

[Hat tip to Jim Rooney's Twitter feed]


For a detailed proposal on your next clinical, regulatory, or marketing medical translation project, contact ForeignExchange Translations.
 
 

The current edition of Multilingual contains an interesting article. "Real costs of quality software translations" [PDF link] takes a look at how to improve the quality of software localization while, at the same time, reduce total localization costs and time line.

Henk Boxma, who wrote the article, knows a thing or two about software localization. After spending five years in Medtronic's software development and localization organizations, he now helps translation service providers and software developers improve their software localization practices.

So, we pay attention when an expert like Henk advocates that developers and service providers abandon the old time-quality-cost triangle ("you can have any two but never all three"). He makes a compelling argument for the inefficiency of this approach. Henk points out that due to limitations of the per-word localization pricing model, in-house testing by the customer represents a necessary and expensive part of the process, because:

How can someone deliver a good software translation quality when the inputs are not optimal? The only way to deliver quality in that situation is to expend an enormous effort on testing. You will literally need to test the quality into the product.

It's nice to see an article that contains specific recommendations for going beyond the time-quality-cost triangle. And it's always nice to see an article that echoes ForeignExchange's views on quality.


ForeignExchange's METRiQ quality system provides medical device and pharmaceutical companies with measurable, known software localization quality. To learn more, contact ForeignExchange Translations.
 
 

The translation business has been relatively spared by the current recession. But "relatively" is, well, relative. For every translation company like ForeignExchange that is growing, there is another company that is unable to pay suppliers or laying off staff.

The persistent job cuts among companies focused on translations for sectors of manufacturing or software development have some people looking for the bright side. Yes, hundreds or even thousands of employees are set to lose their pay. But that doesn't mean that the sky is falling - or does it?

Leaving aside the obvious silver-lining hope (i.e., shrinking companies will be more efficient and can deliver higher returns to their shareholders and improved security for their remaining workers), the following view points have been bandied about, trying to make lemonade out of translation lemons.

By some measures, the folks getting the axe weren't strong performers. One common argument says that longer-term, employees who got laid off will be better off because they will find careers that allow them to perform better. (As true as that probably is, it still reeks of a convenient justification.)

I have also heard it argued that job cuts in mature Western markets are enabling staff increases in emerging economies. But that's the challenge with globalization, isn't it? While some countries/regions may benefit, this doesn't give much hope to those who are losing their jobs in the U.S. and Europe.

Could it also be that layoffs will lead to new translation start-ups? It is but a tiny step to go from translation PM to translation company - a web site and a phone, and you're in business. Could today's layoffs usher in tomorrow's competitors?

It used to be that the "rising tide" of globalization lifted all translation company "boats". Not any longer. As clients look to do more with less, an increasing number of translation companies are feeling the heat.


ForeignExchange Translations provides specialized medical translation and software localization services to medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Contact us to learn more.
 
 

Today, we have a three-fer of resources for you:

First is a pitch for the Watercooler. Andrew Bell runs this community site. He does a great job staying clear of the controversies that have frustrated users of translation groups and forums at Proz and LinkedIn. If you haven't been to the Watercooler, check it out today. Registration is free, of course.

The second resource is for medical translators specifically. Andrew made the following dictionary available via the Watercooler's Medical Translators group:

ITI MedNet, the ITI Network of Medical and Pharmaceutical Translators and Interpreters, of which I'm a member, has kindly agreed to let me use their database of medical abbreviations. This list runs to over 400 pages and the acronyms and abbreviations include alternative definitions in other languages (Romance languages and Germanic only). This is a highly useful resource, and thanks go out to Rob Williams for updating this, and for permission to publish it here.

As with any terminology list, you need a baseline knowledge to use it effectively but at first glance, this looks like a veritable treasure trove!

And that gets us to the third resource: Be sure to check out ITI MedNet. Membership is extremely reasonable and the organization provides good value. Well worth joining!

So, that's it for the three resources. But if you are looking for more medical terminology help, listen to this podcast, take a look at these glossaries, and sign-up for the medical word of the day.


ForeignExchange supports clients' medical translation needs with comprehensive terminology management services and technology. Contact us to find out more!