Lost for words

The sons of Adam weren’t yet able to make it up for the shattered Tower of Babel. No TV, no World Wide Web, no globalisation or any other cultural strategies proved to be capable of ironing out human diversity. Translation, as an activity, has been a task performed since very early times. The first known translation was the Septuagint, a collection of Jewish religious scriptures, into Common Greek...

Proofreading may seem minimal at the first glance, but its importance is overriding nowadays. A blunder in a corporate leaflet may sink a company's reputation...

Typesetting is the process of presenting textual or graphic material on paper or some other medium. From metallic characters to keystrokes, the typesetter’s remit has always been...

The number of worldwide internet users has reached the staggering figure of 1,262,032,697. Leading in absolute terms, with 30% of total internet users, English is overwhelmed by those...

Though the collapse of the bubble has led to a difficult period for the bits-and-bytes industry, it has now returned to stable and sustainable growth coupled with vibrant innovation in many departments. The coming years promise to be exciting as the software industry, once again...

Perhaps the most demanding of the breed, simultaneous interpreting is a setting where the linguist talks at the same time as the speaker, usually in a conference or meeting. Interpreters are normally provided with relevant reference documents beforehand...

Telephone interpreting, also known as remote interpreting, refers to interpreting services provided via telephonic links (occasionally with video links as well), in which neither the interpreter nor the...

Voiceover is all about action. The end result of a performers’ action is a reaction from the audience. A successful performance leads the audience to buy the product or to get involved in the action...

The quality of a simultaneous interpretation depends largely on the working conditions and equipment provided to the interpreters. Poor sound insulation and visibility on the booths, defective microphones and headset systems for the delegates can all contribute to undermine...

Global economic growth remained robust in 2007, but the outlook for the future is considerably less favourable than in recent years. According to the World Bank, Global GDP growth is now estimated to have slowed to 3.6% in 2007 from 3.9% in 2006, and is projected to moderate further ...

The 'dark satanic mills' are a thing of the past: modern industry is playing an increasingly important role in both the economy and in the everyday lives of people. The structure and size of the...

The Legal Services industry is expanding at a fairly solid pace, driven by the increasing legal requirements of corporations. According to The American Lawyer, Clifford Chance were the market leaders worldwide in 2006 ($1.85bn in gross revenues with 2,912 lawyers) and...

Worldwide, the healthcare sector is one of the fastest expanding industries. The US accounts for 43% of the world healthcare expenditure (16% of the GDP) compared to 11% of Japan...

The global entertainment and media industry has entered a solid growth phase and will increase at a 6.6 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to $1.8 trillion by 2010, according to PwC...

Software localisation and internationalisation are processes of adapting applications to a non-native background, namely other nations and cultures. Internationalisation involves...

The current TV broadcasting landscape, at an European and global level, is undergoing two important changes. First, the development of multi-channel digital television and...

Everything started some 500 years ago with a certain Johannes Gutenberg and the world's first printed book – the Bible. Today, book publishing is responsible for around $80 billion every...

Despite being the lingua franca of diplomacy and international affairs, English is full of pitfalls and can be difficult to master for a non-native. Intonation and stress present particular downsides...