ASIST Translations

Language Facts: Central Ohio

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:39 +0000

According to the 2002 U.S. Census Bureau report, a language other than English was spoken in more than 9.0% of households in Franklin County, Ohio. About 8.0% of its residents are foreign born. Franklin County’s foreign-born population has tripled during the last 15 years and is projected to reach nearly 12 percent of Franklin County’s population by 2010. (For example, between 1990 and 2003, this number increased from 32,235 to 56,628. An average of 9,000 immigrants make Franklin County their home each year.)
Columbus, Ohio is home to the second-largest Somali population in North America. There are at least 17,000 Somalis in Franklin county. However, some sources cite current figures in the neighborhood of 40,000.
Per a 2006 census report, 35,526 of Franklin County’s population (3.26%) identified themselves as Hispanics as of July 2005 and most of them speak Spanish at home. This is the second-largest Hispanic population among all Ohio counties.
At least two-thirds of Franklin County’s Hispanics are of Mexican origin.
The number of Chinese speakers throughout Ohio increased by 66.10% between 1990 and 2000, while the number of Spanish speakers increased by 53.13% during the same period.
The population speaking many other languages, including Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic, French and various African languages, is also growing. Given the diverse population in Central Ohio, the need for trained interpreters, translators, and professional translation agencies is expected to increase steadily.
ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world…

www.ASISTtranslations.com

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Spanish Translation: Columbus, Ohio

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:37 +0000

The Spanish-speaking, Hispanic population in Columbus, Ohio (Franklin County) has increased dramatically over the past few years. Accordingly, the area’s hospitals, healthcare providers, medical suppliers, courts, legal offices, government and social services have met the challenge to ensure that Spanish translations, Spanish interpreters, and culturally appropriate communication is available to the community.
Another article in this blog provides detailed information about the Spanish-speaking and Hispanic population in Central Ohio, based on the most recent information available from the US Census Bureau.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, data for 2007 shows that the Hispanic population in Franklin County had increased by 74% over the 2000 figure (approximately from 24,000 to 42,000)—and doubled from 2% to 4% of the total county population.
For much more detail about the Hispanic population in Ohio and the rest of the United States, visit this page on the Pew Hispanic Center’s site.
ASIST Translations is among the region’s top providers of Spanish translation, interpreting and media production. But we also translate to almost any other language, not just for clients in Ohio but around the world. Our 25 years of experience. state-of-the-art translation tools and systematic approach to quality control ensure that your multilingual communications are professional and effective.
ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

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Symbols in Foreign-Language Translations

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:35 +0000

You need to be very careful how symbols are treated in the source text you provide for translation to other languages. Here are a few common issues:

#

Not everyone associates this symbol with “number.” In many languages, some sort of text abbreviation for the word “number” is used (for example, Nº or núm. in Spanish).

ʺ

This abbreviation for inches should usually be avoided in translations. While it may be recognized in regions familiar with English usage (Canada, Spanish speakers in the USA or Mexico), it is better to use the standard abbreviation in the target language. Of course, unless the item being described necessarily comes in inch sizes—like a nut, wrench or pipe fitting, for example—it should usually be converted to metric system anyway!

&

To most speakers of foreign languages, the ampersand does NOT represent the word “and.”

@

The “at” sign is ubiquitous in e-mail addresses, of course. But many languages use a distinct term for this symbol, that doesn’t suggest the word “at” to speakers of that language at all. Consequently, creative constructions like “Work@Home” don’t translate.

/

American English frequently uses the slash symbol to represent the idea of “or” or “and.” To minimize ambiguity in your source English text for translation, it is recommendable to actually use the words “or” or “and.”

$

When the dollar sign is used in Spanish, to avoid confusion this should be the version with a single vertical bar — not two vertical bars, which is used for the peso in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Cuba.
ASIST Translations can help you prepare your source text for translation to a foreign language, to ensure that your original content is as universal and unambiguous as possible. Feel free to contact us about effective communication in today’s multilingual, multicultural environment.
ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

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African French Translation

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:33 +0000

Quick, name the continent with the most French speakers in the world…
That’s right… it’s Africa!
French is spoken in 31 African countries. Out of a population of nearly 900 million, up to 115 million people throughout Africa speak French as their first or second language (compared to 53 million in France, 7 million in Canada, 4 million in Belgium, and 1.5 million in Switzerland).
African French varieties are grouped into 3 major categories. The largest is that spoken in west, central and eastern Africa (75 million), followed by Maghreb French (Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia; about 36 million), and a variety spoken by less than 2 million Creoles in the Indian Ocean.
Like Arabic in northern Africa and the Horn of Africa, and Swahili in southeastern Africa, French is an important lingua franca among people from western, northwestern and central African countries.
African French varieties have many differences in pronunciation from European and Canadian French. The differences in vocabulary are even more pronounced, including loan words from other languages, terms that acquire different meanings in African French, plus a wealth of colloquial and slang expressions that, like pronunciation, vary from one region to another.
After Paris and Montreal, the third-largest French-speaking city in the world is Kinshasha (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
African countries with the largest number of French speakers (a majority of these speak French as their second language):

Democratic Republic of the Congo (24 million)
Algeria (19 million)
Côte d’Ivoire (13 million)
Morocco (10 million)
Cameroon (7 million)
Tunisia (6 million)
Guinea (6 million)

African countries with the highest proportion of French speakers (as first or second language) among their population:

Gabon 80%
Mauritius 73%
Côte d’Ivoire 70%
São Tomé and Príncipe 65%
Tunisia 64%
Guinea: 63%
Seychelles 60%
Republic of the Congo 60%
Equatorial Guinea 60%
Algeria 57%

This Wikipedia article provides some fascinating information about French speakers in Africa.
ASIST Translations regularly provides translations in European French, Canadian French and African French—as well as other languages from Africa, Asia, Europe and elsewhere.
ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

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Spanish Voice Recordings

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:31 +0000

First question: Where is the recorded audio going to be used? In the United States, Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Central America, South America… or some combination of the above? Choosing an appropriate accent is extremely important. Audiences can easily be distracted when a narrator’s accent seems “out of place,” and this impairs effective delivery of your message.
Obviously, when the destination is a single Spanish-speaking country, making voice talent selections with appropriate accents is simpler. However, when a voice recording must be used in multiple countries, ASIST will help you select voices and accents that will be most acceptable to the greatest number of listeners. Accordingly, our discussions will include questions about destination countries, and which of them represent the largest proportion of the audience.
For Spanish-speaking audiences within the United States, the issue of accents is more complex—as is the selection of target Spanish dialects during the translation process itself. Specific geographical areas may have very high concentrations of a particular Spanish variety—Mexican speakers in parts of the southwestern US, or Cubans in Miami, for example. Another article in this blog presents current facts about the Spanish-speaking population in the USA. More than half of this country’s Spanish speakers do cite Mexican origin; but that still leaves a huge number of people who speak other Spanish varieties. People from other countries may not understand some vocabulary that is specific to Mexican Spanish . Often, ASIST will suggest providing multiple terms for certain items, to ensure that your “US Spanish” is as inclusive as possible; however making this flow smoothly in spoken Spanish is an art in itself. In short, you want your recorded Spanish narrations to sound “good” to the largest number of people, and to be understandable by everyone, no matter what variety of Spanish they speak.
ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

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7 Myths About Spanish Translation for the United States

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:29 +0000

ASIST Translation Services Inc. has been translating to and from Spanish for the US market for over 25 years (as well as other Spanish-speaking countries around the world, of course!). Among the frequent topics of conversation with our translation clients are the many myths and misconceptions about the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Accordingly, the Spanish translators at ASIST have helped compile a list of the “Magnificent Seven” myths about English-Spanish translations for the US market.
MYTH: Spanish spoken in the United States is “Spanglish.” It includes many English words and incorrect Spanish grammar.
FACT: This observation is true in relation to some of the colloquial or “street” Spanish one might hear in the United States, but it would never apply to a professional English-to-Spanish translation. Educated Spanish speakers surrounded by an English-speaking culture do indeed incorporate a higher proportion of loan words. In Spanish-speaking cultures around the world, borrowing words from other languages is more readily accepted when an exact (and brief!) equivalent doesn’t exist in Spanish. Even when translating to Spanish for other countries, it is not uncommon for our translators to include an original English term in parentheses if they are concerned that the Spanish version might otherwise be unfamiliar or ambiguous.
Despite all this, when ASIST creates formal Spanish translations for use in the United States, all conventional rules of Spanish grammar and punctuation apply and English words would never be gratuitously included in Spanish text. When “US Spanish” is designated as the target language variety, this in no way implies indiscriminate use of anglicisms, non-standard grammar or slang vocabulary that combines English and Spanish.
Among US Hispanics, in many cases their Spanish-language education may be interrupted or incomplete. This accounts for much of the “Spanglish” that Spanish speakers outside the United States always find so remarkable. Our professional Spanish translators are well aware of these issues, and work with ASIST clients to identify the appropriate educational level for the target audience.
MYTH: English-to-Spanish translations for the United States can be Mexican Spanish, because they represent the majority.
FACT: According to the US Census Bureau (2007 American Community Survey), only about 64% of the Hispanics across the United States (including many who speak little or no Spanish) identify themselves as being of Mexican origin. So, if you produce a translation that is specifically Mexican, without verifying its usability for other Hispanic groups, this potentially alienates over a third of your target audience!
These percentages vary widely from one US city to another. For example, census bureau data (ACS 2003) about Hispanic populations in metropolitan areas (without taking into account their native language, or Hispanic residents in their surrounding counties) tells us that:

In the city of San Francisco, less than half of Hispanics are of Mexican origin.
Within the city of Cleveland, 82% of Hispanics are of Puerto Rican origin.
In Philadelphia, 76% of Hispanics are of Puerto Rican origin.
Less than 5% of Hispanics in Boston are of Mexican origin (Puerto Ricans, at 27%, represent the largest Hispanic group in that city.)
Within the city of Columbus, Ohio, 59% of Hispanics are of Mexican origin.
In New York City, only 8% of Hispanics are of Mexican origin. (Over 30% of Hispanics in that city are of Puerto Rican origin, and slightly over 2% stated Cuban origin.)
However, there are many cities with large Mexican majorities among their Hispanic residents. For example, about 67% of Hispanic residents in Atlanta are of Mexican origin, 73% in Chicago, 76% in Denver, 81% in Las Vegas, 89% in Dallas, 90% in San Diego.

MYTH: Spanish is Spanish. There is only one correct version. The principal Spanish dictionary is that of the Real Academia Española; therefore, the Spanish spoken in Spain is also appropriate for all other Spanish speakers in the United States and Latin America.
FACT: Many varieties of Spanish exist around the world. The formal written and spoken versions used in various countries or regions are equally legitimate. Just as with English, the fact that a language may have originated in a one country, or has a greater number of speakers in another, doesn’t make any given variety “better” than others. Certain vocabulary and grammar used in Spain can be unfamiliar for many American speakers, and in spoken Spanish the accents from regions within Spain can be hard to follow. Each translation must be tuned for the target audience, and when there are significant differences, the knowledge and creativity of the translation team will address this issue.
MYTH: “Neutral” Spanish translations will be equally comprehensible to Spanish speakers from anywhere in the world.
FACT: There is no such thing as “neutral” Spanish! Well-known grammatical differences include the use of vosotros the second-person plural form of address in Spain, and the use of vos to mean “you” in many South American countries. (In some countries, vos is less formal than the tú form, and in others, it is more formal.)
Even more problematic, however, are the thousands of minor differences in vocabulary and usage from one country to another. Words used for even commonplace objects—especially, clothing, food, plants and household items—can vary widely. Experienced, professional translators have interacted with many Spanish-speaking cultures, and are aware of these differences. This informs their decisions about which terms to use, and whether alternate terms need to be provided in order to produce the most inclusive translation possible. (Indeed, there are occasions when two separate translations are required.)
MYTH: If the Spanish translation is for Florida, it should be Cuban Spanish.
FACT: Even in Miami, census data (ACS 2003) tells us that only about 54% of the Hispanic population in that city is of Cuban origin. In Orlando, a mere 5% of Hispanics state Cuban origin, in Tampa about 35%, and about 13% in Jacksonville. It is interesting to note, however, that half of our nation’s Cuban-Americans reside within Miami-Dade County.
MYTH: In Spain they speak “Castilian,” and in the rest of the world they speak “Spanish” (español).
FACT: Another article in this blog explains how Castilian, Spanish, castellano and español are all synonyms for the same language. To avoid confusion, the language spoken in Spain can be referred to as Peninsular Spanish or European Spanish. (Occasionally, Spanish speakers in the Americas use the word castellano to mean “good” Spanish; i.e., not regional or slang. But that is a colloquial expression, not a linguistically accurate description.)
MYTH: Because the metric system is used in Spanish-speaking cultures, all measurements should be converted to metric units.
FACT: Spanish speakers in the United States are immersed in a culture where “English” measurements are the norm. Accordingly in US Spanish translations, these units appear first—commonly followed by the metric conversion in parentheses). When ASIST creates Spanish translations for use in other countries, the order of measurement units is usually the opposite, because elsewhere in the world, the metric system is the norm. Exception to this rule are made when approximate metric conversions would be misleading or cause problems; for example, plumbing fittings or wrench sizes.
While we are on the subject of numbers, it should also be noted that, in Spanish, the use of commas and points to separate thousands and decimals is opposite from English. That is, they would write 1.000,01 instead of 1,000.01 as in English. This is the norm in the Spanish-speaking world, except in Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico… and the United States.
ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service interpreting and translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, studio voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

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Sign Language: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:27 +0000

Sign Language: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

ASL (American Sign Language) is one of the most widely used languages in the US. Many people are not aware that there is no single version or universal dialect of sign language. Actually, there are more than 100 types of sign language.

While the US and the UK share English as a common spoken and written language, ASL and BSL (British Sign Language) vary greatly. The two languages are not even mutually intelligible.

ASIST Translation Services in Columbus, Ohio is a leading provider of ASL interpreting services for more than 25 years. We offer on-site interpreting and video interpreting for those in need of ASL services. For more information regarding the services provided by ASIST please visit, http://www.ASISTtranslations.com. We’re happy to answer your questions about our interpreting and language services!

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Esperanto: A Language with a Cause

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:25 +0000

Esperanto is the international language created by Dr. Ludwik Zamenhof from Poland. The goal of Esperanto was to allow all people to communicate with one another. Dr. Zamenhof published the first brochure about the Esperanto language in 1887. Esperanto, which means “he who has hope”, was thus born.
Since its creation at the end of the 19^th century, Esperanto has developed into both a written and spoken language. Esperanto’s vocabulary is primarily derived from Western European languages, while its syntax is based upon Slavic languages. Due to Esperanto’s simple and logical grammar, its ability to form an infinite quantity of words from just a few roots as well as the international character of its vocabulary makes it a relatively easy language to master.
According to a study conducted by the Academy of Esperanto, there are between 200 and 2000 native speakers of Esperanto, which includes businessman George Soros and Daniel Bovet, winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for Medicine. Esperanto’s uniqueness lies in the fact that it is not the language of any single culture or of any single country. The aspiration of Esperanto is to facilitate communication throughout the entire world.

ASIST Translation Services in Columbus, Ohio is a full-service agency, offering translations, interpreting, multi-media productions services, and DTP/page layout for over 25 years. For a free estimate for translation, interpreting, localization, or audio-visual services, visit http://www.ASISTtranslations.com/ and click the “FREE Quote” button.

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DIRECTV Launches New Spanish-Language St

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:23 +0000

DIRECTV Launches New Spanish-Language Streaming Entertainment Experience ‘Yaveo’ http://ow.ly/Gxkf3

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Do You Know the Law for Providing Translators and Interpreters?

Austyn Buchanan — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:14:20 +0000

Do you know the law when it comes to providing translators and interpreters for your business?
Unfortunately, many individuals, businesses, governments and non-profit agencies are unaware of the state and federal regulations dictating just when and where such language support services are required—for both hard of hearing customers as well as those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
And that can lead to big problems.
Take, for example, the Florida judicial system, which last year faced a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. The complaint alleged Florida courts violated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to provide free, qualified interpretation services in court related functions. For any programs that receive federal financial assistance, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin. The complaint claimed that Florida courts were not properly providing interpreters for people with LEP, and that such negligence was a form of national origin discrimination.
Then there was the federal case against a Virginia school system that failed to provide interpretation services and written materials to the mother of a student being disciplined. As a result of the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, the school system has now changed many of its policies and procedures to better serve non-English speaking students and their parents.
In the past, many businesses and organizations would request, or expect, that someone who speaks another language would bring their own interpreter along with them—usually an untrained friend or loved one. This approach has obvious drawbacks, such as the friend or family member not having full command of the language themselves, or not being impartial in certain situations. And too often children have been thrust into the delicate role of interpreting for their parents. Such practices are becoming less acceptable, and in some case are prohibited altogether.
As our country grows increasingly more diverse and multilingual, cases like the two above are occurring more frequently. But the outcomes are essentially the same. The United States Supreme Court ruled long ago that failure to offer access to LEP persons constitutes discrimination.
But discrimination complaints are not limited to foreign language situations; many discrimination cases are filed on behalf of clients who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it illegal for any business, building or other place that is open to the public to discriminate against people with disabilities. These places of “public accommodations” include restaurants, hotels, theaters, hospitals, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, retail stores, law firms, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, voter polls, social service agencies and day care centers, among others. Even companies interviewing a deaf individual must provide sign language interpreting. Unless businesses and organizations can show that an undue burden would result from providing such services (i.e., extreme expense or difficulty), they are expected to follow the law. Failure to comply can result in financial penalties of $75,000 or $150,000 for either first or second time offenders, respectively.
So whether it’s the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act or the myriad other federal and state guidelines prohibiting discriminatory practices, make sure you know your legal obligation when it comes to interacting with existing or potential customers. In many cases it’s not a choice—it’s the law.
For further details, visit the U.S. Department of Justice’s websites regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act.

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