The world of translating and interpreting is going the route of many of today’s professions–specialization.

The Los Angeles Times just published an article by Tina Susman regarding how translation and niche specialization can play an important role in the world’s needs today.   Here’s a link to the article

It highlights a woman who specializes in the German language and waste management–“The Trash Lady”–and it illustrates how detailed and complex a translator’s job can be.  It also highlights how being a specialist is key to nailing down the finite details of the translation job.

Nicholas Hartmann, President of the American Translators Association, whose convention I just attended in New York, made excellent points about the need for professional competent human translators rather than using a machine or the native-speaking guy you have in your office.  He gave fascinating examples of embarrassing errors that have occurred recently even on the international level where due diligence was missing.

Translators who know their stuff are priceless when it comes to enabling accurate communication. 

Clearly, translation and interpretation aren’t going away any time soon.  So long as people must communicate with one another, Eloquence will be your language bridge. You can depend on us not to “trash” your job!