I am running this business of translation and localization services for past 5 years and I notice this has been an issue of concern both internally and externally. Internally I see my colleagues discussing bigger companies participating in RFps and quoting lesser than our price and many times this comes to me as a surprise. How they can quote lesser by cost or time?. Externally I have seen even smaller companies are asked for RFP’s and SOP’s by big clients.

How do we grow in mid of such big competition?

As we watch our business progress, we also monitor and take into consideration the advantages and the disadvantages of a big companies against smaller companies and we make sure to implement our strategies accordingly.

The only constraint that I see from a smaller company’s perspective is resource constraint; larger companies have deeper pockets to invest and continue with business.

In a large multi-national corporation, it is really hard to feel like you are having a big impact on the business. I have noticed in recent times as the markets failed to respond positively, bigger companies in our industry simply couldn’t foresee and prepare themselves, as the impact was not immediate. In smaller companies you will be quick to prepare alternates as the recession hits your business as most of your expenses will be direct. We survive in such bad market conditions only because the cost is direct. This helps you to gain or retain your position. Only small companies have this advantage.

Sometimes projects can take a long time to move forward at big companies. Large corporations take the extra time to do. Time is also required to communicate, educate and get approvals from senior management of various functions within the company. Small companies are typically fast to act, and can quickly make decisions and take the next step.  Overall, forward progress can happen much more quickly at small companies.

So, we are able to compete with big companies and still grow because we try and keep our cost direct, keep the organization lean and scalable and investment in technology and tools that helps outsource and still meet deadlines and keep our cost competitive.

In reality most serious providers of translation services fall somewhere in between the two in as much as they mediate resources but also provide added value through project management, document engineering and additional quality control. For the sake of practicality we refer to both as translation agencies

It is unrealistic for an agency to have resources for checking every translation that it handles particularly since translation is such a cost-led business. Thus the responsibility for translation quality control usually lies with the translator unless agreed otherwise even though the agency is responsible directly to its customers for the quality of the deliverables. The purpose for which the translation is made will determine the level of quality control. In extreme cases a back translation is made into the source language is to compare this with the original text but this is usually prohibitive in terms of time and cost. It would be better to ensure that an appropriate translator with the right skills is engaged from the outset

whatever the truth about tharoor’s protestations of innocense and the cirticism voiced by his opponents, the fact remains that the KOCHI IPL franchise is the first IPL entity in which a sweat equity component was discovered and discussed openly.

i think many will follow…

Language educators have since long used the concepts of four basic language skills namely:

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing

The skills are related to each other by two ways; mode of communication, whether its written or oral and the direction of communication, whether it is the concept of receiving or producing the message.

Well, let us take writing for example; it is the productive skill in the written mode. It is more complicated than it seems at first, and often seems to be the hardest of the skills, even for native speakers of a particular language, as it involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way.

In almost every field of work, there is a need for language, not for just one specific job, be it native or English. Just to name a few occupations where language is involved is with IT professionals, journalists, market researchers, personal assistants, recruitment consultants, technical help desk et cetra where languages are used in the majority of jobs. But language skills all by itself may not be as significant in the above mentioned jobs, but when it is combined with a specific qualification or expertise, it enhances your career options.

Sometimes, it so happens that when applying for a post where language skills are not as significant, it is quite important that you avoid emphasizing on your language skills but use it as an addition to your other skills. Also keeping in mind that it would act as an impressive tool when it is required to be used to handle different kinds of situations.

Employers are demanding candidates with languages, and that having these skills can really give young people entering the jobs market the edge. Languages are vital for the success of the general economy but for young people themselves they can also have tangible benefits, as just having a language on your CV could be the key to getting your foot in the door and employers look for those that are capable of communicating with foreign customers or breaking the ice with a few phrases at a meeting.

Language skills can be refreshed in various ways. Maybe you could enroll yourself in to evening classes at a local college, or at home with your family if your mother tongue is not English, or enrolling on a university course.   Another sure shot way of learning is time spent in a country where the language is spoken. Companies and organizations dealing with overseas business, customers or links offer the most opportunities to people having language skills and that can give jobseekers an advantage over other candidates trying for a position in the present climate, giving yourself the edge is very critical, whether its through work experience or language skills. This also applies to companies that are collaborated with foreign companies or web based or foreign owned.

However with the ever expanding EU and migration of skilled workers between member states there are just as many opportunities within the public sector. In the UK alone over 300 different languages are spoken – English is very often not the mother tongue. According to an estimate taken, the UK alone have 300 different languages out of which, English is very often not the mother tongue. Local government roles today need people who can speak different community languages to provide better service and also ensure access to equal opportunities. Governments encourage this since communicating internationally is a vital point, to bring in new investments or to work in a partnership with other regions in Europe and around the world.

Author
V R Sasidar
Founder & CEO
Lyric Labs India Pvt Ltd
An ISO 9001, EN 15038 certified translation services company. Works with more than 1500 translators for 142 languages worldwide. Lyric labs translated documents, software and websites into any language of preference. For more details please visit: www.lyriclabs.com

The Nilgiri Tahrs are stocky goats with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. Males are larger than the females, and have a darker color when mature. Both sexes have curved horns, which are larger in the males, reaching up to 40 cm for males and 30 cm for females. Adult males weigh 80–100 kg and stand about 100 cm tall at the shoulder.  Adult males develop a light grey area or “saddle” on their backs and are hence called “saddlebacks”. This rare variety can be found only in Eravikulam National Park, Rajamalai in India. I was told you don’t find this variety of tahr anywhere in the world.

I have shot photos of this rare animal which is only few in no’s. officials say there will be a maximum of 40-50 of them only. Its worth seeing them…

I don’t see this isolated incident, I see this happening very often, Customers fail to see the certifications, reference, etc, they says we are running out of time…ultimately the vendor ran out of business…

I also see another peculiar thing happening in our industry, eg.  once individual calling a company in the past 3years have changed his company name 3 times. As they get black listed, they keep changing their names. Our industry works on outsource model, any job that you undertake has to be outsourced, there is a risk for the resource to work, as collecting money from these so called companies will prove to be more expensive. By saying this I also confirm that, I have not seen anyone who has grown from an individual’s stature to an organized company, they should realize there is more money and satisfying work when we get organized and work towards our promises.

A lot of individuals either a journalist or a translator comes to know about the potential in the industry. Its easy to find the potential as you interact with companies like Lyric or Lion bridge you will know the potential one works on, Than investing on the facilities and expertise, these individuals go to get orders, and when the order comes in with money, they are nowhere in the scenario….in some cases the individuals try to do the job, but fail to understand the domain, requirements and its usability, this again puts the customer in trouble.

At least in Lyric, we find it very difficult to cope up with such a situation when a customer narrates his problem like the one mentioned above.

One thing I can tell you guys there is more money in our Industry if we stand by what we promise in our website, the customer is ready to participate in our growth, they know translation is as critical as marketing to their products and services

Good Luck

Honestly the roads are bad, not just bad its horrible, if you are driving from mysore, till upto Kusal Nagar the roads are too good, then after..its bad, i think nobody wants to go to Coorg, atleast the guys incharge of roads.. my suggestion is dont go till you hear that the roads are good to travel.

Me, Priya and Arjun went from coimbatore to Mysore and then to Coorg after spending a brief time in Mysore palace, samundi temple, etc we headed to Coorg.  In Coorg we stayed in a Coffee plantation about 9kMs to the capital Madikera, its a lovely thing, if you are going to Coorg, stay in a Coffee Plantation estate, you will get to smell the real life of the coorgis. Kids will love it.

People suggested me to see  some places like the abby falls, raja seat, etc. honestly you dont expect these from a hill station or rather my expectations where different. the best thing that i liked is the “thalai Kaveri”. the heart of South India. i wanted to go here, as i personally have a traveled to a lot of places where kaveri flows and i use to get thrilled with it and here i had a chance to see where it all starts. you have to travel about 40KMs from Madikera, to “thalai Kaveri”. it worth. the roads are not that good. people also travel to “Thadiyandamol” you can do trekking. i have also listed a few places to visit when you go to Coorg. they are Omkareshwara Temple, Abbi Falls, Talakaveri, Bhagamandala,  Dubare Elephant Camp,  Raja Seat, etc

We bought some honey from the market, believe me one of the best i have tasted and all other hill station items like the pepper, coffee, etc.  you stay in Coorg in a coffee plantation for a family will cost you only INR1500/ night, which is a steal..right. good ones.  and the food is as cheap as India would have had in 1970’s. it is that cheap. two days in Coorg, its was too long for me…

We went to Wayanad from Coorg, roads where OK, good places to see including the “tholpetty” wildlife sanctuary, there is one more called the “nagarhole” near kota. we only went to “tholpetty” as we where heading to “maggi” from wayanad.  If you are planning to visit a wild life sanctuary my suggestion is please visit “tholpetty”- wayannad. its a 28KM drive inside the forest in your own vehicle with a forest guard, its adventures. you will never forget. i have been to Bandhipur, masangudi sanctuaries earlier, but tholpetty is truly a thrilling experience.

From there we went to “Kurva Islands” in wayanad. it was late evening when we finished “Kurva Islands” this is not a great place, wish i avoided this and headed to Kannur where we want to stay for the night, we  couldnt reach Kannur, could only make it “thalassery”. we  stayed in a hotel called ” parks residency” a decent two start hotel, and started in the morning to the near by beaches and then to Maggi. Thalassery has the long scenic coastline. you have plenty of beaches on your way to kannur or if you are going to north Kasargoad, your camera will love these places.  we made it to few beaches near Dharmadam, kabad, etc and came back to calicut for that day night.  In calicut, i had two options to consider for stay, one is Asma towers and the other one “the malabar palace”. i decided on Asma towers as it was near the downtown area so we would walk around to see the places. The hotel is worth for INR1700/. a night with a complementary breakfast.

In the morning, we went to the calicut beach  aquarium, it is a “Must Watch” for kids and elders too, where in our lives we can see such varieties of fish. it is breath taking. I have only seen such fish varieties in the text books. We visited Pazhassirajah Museum and an art gallery where the Raja Ravi Verma paintings are displayed very close to Pazhassirajah Museum.

After a couple of hours shopping in calicut, we finished our lunch and started to coimbatore.  i realized that we are travelling for more than 5days when Arjun asked me “to which are we heading now from here?” i said we are going back to heaven….Coimbatore

All this is forgotten, people want the same congress to continue…some say the financial muscle power of congress could have bought the poor Indian votes. For them terrorism is very easy to forget, but to earn food and shelter is the biggest challenge.

write to me at sasidar.r@gmail.com

A show worth watching, which otherwise is not possible through our mainstream media…

do you follow Diego Bunuel….write to me at sasidar.r@gmail.com