The British Queen Elizabeth II, who weathered war and upheaval, died at 96

Queen Elizabeth II was the UK’s longest-serving monarch. She died at Balmoral aged 96 on September 8, 2022, after reigning for 70 years.

She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral, her Scottish residence. Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world. King Charles, aged 73, became head of state in 14 Commonwealth realms.

A state funeral for the Queen is expected in the next two weeks.

Thousands of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace after the death was announced.

Queen Elizabeth II died after seven months she marked the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne. During her long reign, she saw and impacted the transformation of the British empire: Britain modernized from a war-weary declining imperial power into a modern multi-cultural state.

Elizabeth ruled over the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms and became one of the most recognizable women ever to have lived.

The Queen was last seen in public last Tuesday. She formally appointed Liz Truss (on the photo above) as the UK’s new prime minister. A photograph from the audience showed the monarch smiling. Truss is the 15th – and the last – British Prime Minister to be appointed by Elizabeth.

This news shocked everyone. It feels like our world became lonely, like orphans without parents. But our Homeland Language Services team decided not to finish this material sadly. We found some warm words about the Queen from her interpreters.

Here is special condolence from Lamin Dampha, Lecturer at the University of the Gambia. He claims his grandfather was Queen Elizabeth’s Gambian interpreter.

“My late grandfather was the official interpreter during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Gambia, which was part of her Royal tour of West Africa in December 1961. In the early 1990s, Queen Elizabeth II invited Second World War veterans to London for an award of medals. My late grandfather was part of the three-man Gambian delegation to Buckingham Palace.
On behalf of my uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters, I extend my condolences to the family and people of the United Kingdom for the death of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Dampha said.

Chinese translator Kevin Lin recalls his memories of Queen Elizabeth II.

The news about Queen’s death is very sad for countless people around the world. But let’s remember her as a wise woman with a great sense of humor. This video will help us to do it:

Thank you, Queen Elizabeth II, for 70 years of reign, for the epoch in world history!

 

Blog
, ,

Basic lifehacks for interpreters

Being an Over-the-Phone or Onsite Interpreter is very challenging. An interpreter can help people communicate. Especially, interpreters must help patients to get proper medical treatments or legal advice. However, interpreters need lots of things to learn. They improve their skills and knowledge all the time.
We expect a lot from the knowledge of the second language, but it doesn’t give us the right to call ourselves interpreters. Experienced interpreters remember the lifehacks that helped them at the beginning of their careers. Here are some of them:

1. Get ready before meeting

When you check the details and get prepared before a meeting or shift, you feel more confident.
If you are an onsite interpreter, always get the address where the meeting is held, and where you should work. Check the time for a trip, places for parking, or opportunities to use public transport.
If you work online, check the platform for conferences, webinars, meetings, or calls. It is always a good idea to make a test call to be sure, that your camera, microphone, and headset work properly.
Take some time to refresh the vocabulary that can be used during your interpreting session. More information before you have about subject, speakers, companies or organizations – more effective will be your job.

Such details in preparation will save you time, money, and nerves.

2. Analyse previous experience and improve it

Make time to analyze your previous experience. It will help you to make conclusions about how to improve your job in the future. Don’t focus only on weak places and mistakes. Always take into account your strong skills and difficult cases where you performed successfully. This “homework” will help you to discover your strong characteristics and make them stronger, together with that you will see your weak places and improve them as well.

3. Ask for detailed instructions and follow them

When you are working for the agency, language provider (such as Homeland Language Services, for example), or even for an individual client, be sure that you know everything about your job position. Each of them has its own “rules of the game” and you should be ready to follow them. For example, agencies can ask for special reports or shifts, individual clients can provide the timetable of the meeting and vocabulary for it. You should be 100% aware of your responsibilities to get the work done.
Moreover, don’t forget to discover all the questions about your contract: salary, weekends and vacations and other vital conditions for you.
This way you will be on the same page with your employer or client initially.

4. Be a professional

Take one minute to think about what characteristics a professional interpreter should have. Add to them:

– improving the knowledge of Protocol
– continuous training
– development of emotional intellect and hard skills
– gaining certifications
– joining industry associations

best certified interpreter services, Blog
, , ,

The Department of State Hospitals – Napa started a partnership with Homeland Language Services

This year Department of State Hospitals – Napa started a partnership with Homeland Language Services. We became a reliable partner providing Over-the-Phone interpretation services for the patients and staff at the Department of State Hospitals.

Interpreters at Homeland Language Services are ready to assist immediately on an as-needed basis 24/7. Every day our language specialists provide comprehensive interpreting services in 200+ languages.

The Department of State Hospitals’ vision is “Caring today for a safe and healthy tomorrow”. They aim to provide evaluation and treatment safely and responsibly, by leading innovation and excellence across a continuum of care and settings. To do it appropriately, they need a dependable language partner, because some patients of Department of State Hospitals speak different languages, but English. More than 2,000 employees at the Department of State Hospitals – Napa need language assistance to provide care and services twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The clinical staff includes psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, psychiatric technicians, and registered nurses. Our professional Over-the-Phone interpreters became their helpers to provide patients with high-qualified support and treatment.

Interpreting services are a bridge for non-English speaking patients and medical staff in Napa. Despite new pandemic rules, modern technologies help provide interpreting services when needed when face-to-face contact should be minimized. Over-the-Phone interpreting services are easily accessible via phone. Homeland Language Services has a great team of world-class interpreters. With successful experience and continuous training, they provide our clients with the best telephone interpretation.

Our client, the Department of State Hospitals – Napa, can be sure that all the information is interpreted accurately. Moreover, Over-the-Phone interpreting allows limited-English patients to feel confident and safe that their conversations with doctors and nurses are handled consistently.

best certified interpreter services, Blog, Certified Translation Professional, Certified Translation Service
, ,

Note-taking tips for medical interpreters from interpreters in Homeland Language Services

The job of a medical interpreter requires a good memory, but it is still difficult to remember all the important details, especially when the speech for interpretation is long. The good news is that there are useful tips for effective note-taking, which can help a medical interpreter to catch all the details. 

  1. 1. Use keywords and abbreviations. 

It is better to focus on the KEYwords and phrases, instead of writing full sentences. You will save time and demonstrate a good speed of your interpreting. If you need to remember a complete sentence, use the abbreviations where possible. But you need to learn them and keep your glossary updated. Find one of the examples here.

  1. 2. Write down the keywords and terms in a particular order.

Try to write important terms and words in the order of a timeline. This method will help you to keep  track of the conversation and circle back to smaller details, those mentioned earlier in the conversation.. 

  1. 3. Use pictures and symbols.

If you can draw sketches and read them for interpreting, definitely use this method! Doodling improves memory, so it is an additional benefit for you. 

Moreover, with the help of symbols and  highlights you can indicate the main points of the conversation.

Our Arabic-English interpreter invented his own style of sketches. Ahmed AbouZekry from Egypt makes the illustrations from his notes for medical interpretation. Have you seen such notes before?

  1. 4. Group main ideas.

It is a good way to write down the main idea of the conversation or a part of it, and then to add supporting ones. This way you can create word clouds that will help you see all the information you need  at the same time. 

  1. 5. Use the “Subject, Verb, Object” method. 

The Subject, Verb, Object (or SVO) variant is part of a note-taking  method  first introduced by Jean-Francois Rozan in his 7 principles. It is performed exactly as its name describes..

On a piece of paper, write down the subject, verb, and object of each sentence you are listening to in descending order, diagonally to the right. Each new sentence or topic is separated by a horizontal line on a page.

Writing the main parts of the sentence, and in a way that shows their hierarchical relationship to each other, will help you better remember what was said.

 

Note-taking is one of the best tools that you can use during consecutive medical interpretation. Now you have tips on how to help yourself during the interpreting of medical calls. Try to practice them! You need some time to make it a habit and to use it in your daily work routine, so keep your head up and try to do this every day!

If you need interpretation or translation services, send us your request. 

In case you want to work at Homeland Language Services, check our Career portal. 

best certified interpreter services, Blog, Interpreting Service, Language Interpreting Service, Medical Translation Services
, ,

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, gave lots of work for translators

On July 20 Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, gave lots of work for translators.

Boris Johnson signed off his final appearance as prime minister in the UK’s House of Commons by offering advice to his successor and declaring his mission is “largely accomplished.” His legendary speech spread to the majority of news portals all over the world, together with Twitter and Youtube.

But why do we mention the job of translators together with Boris Johnson’s speech? We made some small research on it. We tried to watch the video of his appearance in the UK Parliament with subtitles in different languages.

We noticed that the automatic translation in subtitles is not as accurate as it should be. And we can understand that – just listen to the last sentences in his speech. From the first try, it is difficult to understand what he is saying. That’s why even English subtitling looks a little “confused”.

It is very important to work with such valuable speeches together with professionals. Professional certified translators in translation agencies are used to working with translating or transcribing speeches of varying complexity. They have specific knowledge for each industry and special skills to work with audio materials. Their ears are trained specifically to hear all words exactly in different languages, with different tones of voice and accents.

Homeland Language Services can surely help you with such important translations. We can be your reliable agency for translation services. Find more information about our translation services on our website.

best certified interpreter services, Blog
, , ,

Happy Independence Day, America!

The 4th of July is a federal holiday in the United States of America since 1941, but Independence Day celebrations go back to the 18th century and the American Revolution.

The story was the following: on the very beginning of July 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. After that on the 4th of July delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. This historic document was drafted by Tomas Jefferson. That’s why from 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence.

It is a great holiday with festivities, fireworks, parades, and concerts. Also, it is a traditional day for family gatherings and barbecues.

As usual, we found some interesting facts about this day. We believe interpreters and translators should deep in the history and culture of countries, which languages they are using for their job.

So, did you know?

– The first effective celebration took place in 1776 in Philadelphia. There was the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, and the ringing of the Liberty Bell.
– The first celebration in the White House was held in 1801.
– In 1938, Congress formalized Independence Day as an official paid federal holiday.
– In 1960, the current 50-star flag debuted after Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959.
– That one American president Calvin Coolidge was born on the 4th of July in 1872.

And some non historical facts here:

– There were only about 2.5 million people living in the United States in 1776. This number is dramatically different from the 332 million people that live in the USA today!
– There is a popular myth that Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol, but it was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who recommended the bald eagle.
– Americans consume a lot of hot dogs on July 4th. About 150 million, to be exact. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Los Angeles residents alone consume about 30 million pounds of hot dogs on July 4th.
– There are other countries that celebrate America’s independence on the Fourth of July. Countries like Denmark, England, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden all take part in hosting commemorations for the holiday. This is in part to honor their many citizens who emigrated to the U.S., but also as a move to attract tourists.
– There are 31 towns in the U.S. that contain the word ‘liberty.’
The largest town is Liberty, Missouri, with a population of 32,865.

best certified interpreter services, Blog, Certified Translation Service
, , ,

Interpreters VS Translators: Why are they different?

Both interpreters and translators help our world to live and develop. They are bridging the gap between different languages, countries, and cultures. Thanks to the work of language specialists the world economy, the medical industry, and the legal sphere work like a clock. 

We are constantly talking about two job positions: interpreters and translators. It is time to define the differences between them!

So,

Interpreters do the talking.

Translators do the writing. 

But let’s dig in more.

Interpreter talks. 

Interpreters work with spoken or sign languages. They convert speech from a source language into a target language and vice versa. Interpretation also has different kinds, such as Over-the-Phone, Onsite, and Video-Remote interpretation. 

Interpretation is far more than having a decent knowledge of two languages. The language specialist should be aware of the cultural features, be tolerant and keep a calm tone of voice. 

Interpretation in two directions:

Nowadays, most interpreters work in two directions. That means interpreters transfer information both to and from the target and source languages. It is more common for Over-the-Phone, Video Remote interpretation. Meanwhile, Onsite interpretation can have only one direction. For example, Conference interpreters interpret from the source language to the target language and that’s it. 

Main types of interpretation:

Simultaneous interpreting is a type of interpretation when a language specialist listens to and comprehends the source language and simultaneously provides an interpretation in a target language. 

Such type of interpretation is widely used in the court, international meetings, and television news broadcasts. 

Consecutive interpreting allows the language specialist to listen to several complete sentences in the source language and then interpret them in a target language. Consecutive interpretation is the usual method of communication for OPI, VR interpretation, and small and face-to-face meetings. 

Specialization in interpreting:

To be effective, the accurate majority of interpreters choose their specialization. They often specialize themselves in certain areas like medicine, law, business, finance, technology, government, social services, or culture.

To provide high-quality services, the interpreter should always improve his or her knowledge in both languages he or she works with. 

 

Translator writes.

Translators work with written text, converting a message in the source language into a message in the target language. It is far more than replacing one word with another. The translator should see and understand the context, the cultural characteristics, moreover the translator should save the style and the tone of the incoming text. 

One direction, but a good knowledge of both languages:

Translators get the text in one language and translate it into another one. In most cases, they have one target language and it can be their native one. But sometimes, the translator can work with several languages, for example, he can work in such language pairs as English-Spanish and English-Portuguese. 

Specialization in translation:

The same as interpreters, good translators also have specialization in definite niches. This way they can continuously improve and deepen their knowledge in terminology and communication features in the languages they work. 

That’s the major difference between these two language jobs.

When you are searching for an interpreter near you or a translator near you, pay attention to their experience, specialization, and feedback from clients. Or you can consult with a specialist or a language provider about what type of specialist you need. For example, Homeland Language Services managers will be happy to find the best solution for you personally, or for your business. 

If you are a translator or interpreter, who is reading this text and searching for a job, please, follow our Career portal link and apply for your new career stage!

 

best certified interpreter services, Blog, Certified Translation Professional
, , , , , , ,

A Good Translator Should Be Passionate About His or Her Job

It is widely thought that speaking a foreign language gives you the ability to be a translator, but this job is not as easy as it seems. We gathered a list of qualities that a good translator should have, as well as a story from one of our personnel who created the meaning of a new word.

So, the question is: what are the characteristics of a good translator?

  1. 1. Passion and curiosity: Professional translators are passionate about what they do and try their best to deliver high-quality projects.
  2. 2. Skilled in linguistics and rich in vocabulary: Certified translators at Homeland Language Services have undergone extensive education and have considerable experience. Our professionals are constantly trained, gathering new knowledge to provide the best services.
  3. 3. Accuracy and honesty: Providing accurate information is essential for translations. The goal of professionals is to express the source text as clearly as possible without ambiguity.
  4. 4. Appreciation for other cultures: Diplomacy is their motto. They break down misconceptions, stigmas, and other language barriers, so as to prevent misunderstanding between different cultures.
  5. 5. Time management skills: Tight deadlines are part of the daily challenges; every minute can make a difference. Our certified translators cope with high-stakes situations when major projects need to be completed in a record time, which is usually in the medical and social industries.

 

At Homeland Language Services, we are proud of our translators, who possess these great qualities. Fortunately,  Ahmed Ali — one of our Arabic-English interpreters from Egypt— has shared with us the story about his translator experience:

“During my college days, I’ve had two major military translation projects. The first one was when my professor chose three of my colleagues —who had top scores in the exams— and myself to assist him with a military translation for a training project report between Saudi and American Air forces.

It was a challenging project, as it was a new field of translation for me and it was the first time I had a deadline to finish my share. Additionally, it was a classified document, so we could only work in our professor’s office with him.

The second project I’d worked on was my graduation project, where he asked us to translate a book in the military field that had not been translated before. I managed to find a book about Military siege tactics across history up to the modern ages.

One of the main challenges I have ever faced was a new word that was not found in any dictionary. After researching in vain, I informed my professor who advised me to fashion a new meaning out of the context. After he approved it, he decided to add it to his own Dictionary, which he was about to release.

Later on, I managed to put a glossary together after I finished translating the book. As a glossary was extra work and I was the only one who included it, my professor gave me the highest score and I managed to graduate with excellence.”

Blog, Certified Translation Professional, Certified Translation Service, Certified Translation Service in New York, Document Translation
, , , , , ,

World Refugee Day in 2022

Can you imagine that you need to leave your home, your country, and flee to another? And it wasn’t your choice. Every minute 20 people undergo this awful experience and become refugees.

It is very important to support refugees. But how we can do that if we even don’t know about them? Today the topic of refugees is more spread and visible in daily news due to the war in Ukraine. Russian invasion highlighted lots of world problems and the problem of refugees is among them.

The concept of seeking a place to save a life dates back as far back as Ancient Egypt was. But the international efforts to protect refugees started only at the beginning of the 20th century. The High Commission for Refugees was founded by the League of Nations in 1921. Again it was intended to help people escape the Russian Revolution.

During the past century, people have fled terror and oppression all over the world, from such countries as Armenia and Germany, Spain and Turkey. In recent years many refugees were displaced from Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria. At the end of 2021, there were 70 million displaced people all over the world, and now this number increases enormously.

The ultimate goal for refugees is to return to their home country when it is safe for them to do it. Unfortunately, often it is impossible for years. Meanwhile, refugees aim to integrate into their host nation. Frequently, people, who leave their native country don’t know foreign languages. So their adaptation process becomes even more complex.

It is a simple practice when refugees use language services. Moving to another country people often need translation services. They need to translate their documents, and application forms. Moreover, lots of countries require personal presence to apply for refugee status in special organizations. and this is the case when refugee needs interpretation services. Nowadays, it is a great opportunity to get different interpreting services. The refugee can choose the onsite interpretation, so the interpreter will be next to him, or Over-the-Phone interpretation, so the refugee will receive interpreting services in any place he needs.

The integration process in a new country is difficult and lengthy. The basic needs: food and shelter are covered the first of all. At these locations, volunteers work, and often they know the native language of refugees or are bilingual. Such practice for interpreters and translators is a priceless experience, considering what a great job they are doing. After refugees are accommodated, social and cultural integration starts. It depends on the mental and physical state of the refugee, so the process can also be long and not so easy.

Interpreters and translators at Homeland Language Services have huge experience in working with such sensitive situations. They all worked with clients on social issues, the healthcare and insurance sphere, and career-building. Moreover, they can be a confidential helper during the legal processes too.

Language specialists together with social and medical workers, volunteers, and government officers like no one else know the painful issues for refugees and can advise them partially.

best certified interpreter services, Best Document Language Translation Services near me, Blog
, , , , , , ,

Tips for interpreters: exercises to improve short-term memory

Memory exercises should simulate the interpretation as best as possible since the intention of these exercises is to improve memory for interpreting purposes. However, this kind of exercise should not involve bilingual activities, since these lead to different problems that the mind tends to focus on. It is highly recommended that the exercises be done alternately in both of the interpreter’s languages.

 

Exercise 1: shadowing

The exercise of shadowing involves repeating what the speaker says, word for word, in the same language. For this exercise, the texts used should be relatively small but may increase gradually in size. If you work alone, record a text or use a speech on the television or radio. If you work in a group, one may read the text while the other repeats it.

 

Exercise 2: vizualisation

There are speeches that invoke visualization naturally and the interpreter should be able to identify them and use visualization to retain and recall them. For example, court interpreters often have to interpret descriptions that were described by a witness (a place, a suspect, etc.). These descriptions are ideal for the use of visualization to improve memory. Images should be visualized step by step and in sequential order, helping the interpreter recreate a whole scene.

 

Exercise 3: listening

Attentive listening requires identifying a speaker’s key points. You should be capable of listening to a short narrative or a descriptive text and answering the key questions “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?”. In this exercise, any descriptive or narrative texts may be used and you may record the text if you’re practicing alone, or you may ask a colleague to read it if working in a group.

 

Exercise 4: segmentation

This exercise is based on the concept that it is easier to retain a number of limited chunks with information than just one or two larger dense chunks. Segmentation involves breaking a larger chunk of information into two or smaller ones. This exercise can be performed using both oral and written texts. You should be able to read the sentence only once and, then, segment it. The texts should contain long sentences and dense information.

These exercises can be used by Over-the-Phone interpreters, Video Remote interpreters, and Onsite interpreters. This is a great way to keep fit the professional skills of a language expert.

Blog