Next Monday and Tuesday (December 6 and 7), Avantpage will be at the Health Industry Collaboration Effort (ICE) Annual Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco, CA.

ICE a volunteer, multi-disciplinary team of providers, health plans, associations, state and federal agencies and accrediting bodies working collaboratively to improve health care regulatory compliance through education of the public.

Last year's event was an extremely informative and engaging experience, so we're looking forward to participating again.

If you're at this great event, stop by our booth to learn about the translation solutions we offer and get a complete view of Avantpage and the excellent language services we can provide for your company.

We look forward to talking with you!

Last month, I read a fascinating article in The New York Times* about the discovery of a new language, spoken by a remote group of about 1,000 people in India. There are approximately 7,000 recorded languages in the world, yet many are rapidly disappearing. On an expedition to record and preserve endangered languages, a team of linguists traveled to a remote area of Northeastern India, in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. They were interested in the Aka language, spoken by approximately 6 to 10 thousand tribal villagers. These people live near the borders of China, Tibet and Burma, and subsist on hunting and farming, raising pigs and growing rice and barley. Small villages consist of bamboo houses set on stilts.

In the tiny mountain village of Kichang, the linguists heard villagers speaking a language that did not sound like Aka. The new language was Koro, with words, syntax and sounds that were entirely different from Aka. Although the Koro speakers live in close proximity to the Aka speakers, they had a completely different language, which had never before been recorded or identified. Researchers are not entirely sure how Koro has survived as a language, as its speakers presently number only about 800 to 1,000.

Why is it important to preserve languages that are in danger of becoming "extinct"? Why should we attempt to document and recognize them, when they are spoken by so few people? Language represents a people's history, its culture, its place in the world, and sometimes, its future. It is critical that these languages are preserved, recorded, and studied, for understanding a culture's language is how we eventually understand the people as well ... how they think, how they behave, how their society is structured, how they use and process information. By documenting and attempting to understand threatened languages, we can explore a small glimpse of living history.

* "Hunting One Language, Stumbling Upon Another" John Noble Wilford, The New York Times, October 11, 2010

In the wake of the recent federal health care regulations that went into effect on September 23rd, 2010, it's now more critical than ever to make sure that client health care information is distributed clearly and in a timely fashion.  

As more people become eligible for health care under the new laws, health care organizations and insurance providers will find that they are faced with greater challenges regarding language access. And as these reforms become part of our legal fabric, new and updated information must be prepared and distributed to everyone--proficient  English speakers, non-English speakers and  limited English speakers alike. 

How Can Avantpage help?

Avantpage has highly qualified translation teams in place consisting of certified linguists who are trained specialists in threshold languages including Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian (Khmer), Chinese, Farsi, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. We offer the most competitive pricing in the translation industry, and our AvantFlow online translation management system, experienced project managers, translation memory tools, and experienced linguistic teams ensure that our translation services consistently exceed industry standards and requirements. 

To meet increased workloads due to the health care regulations, Avantpage has recently ramped up our translation capacities, improved processing volume and timelines, and enhanced our quality control and service abilities. Whatever our clients' needs, we will deliver--swiftly, accurately and within budgetary constraints.

Questions, confusion and misunderstandings are bound to be common offshoots of these sweeping regulatory changes. It's critical that you have procedures in place - including accurate, high-quality translation services -to help alleviate frustration and ensure that your clients understand the wording of these changes, how they will be affected, and the timing of all the different reforms. Written materials, websites and electronic correspondence must all be kept current, reflecting new information as it is made available by the government.

We're Committed to Keeping You Informed

Avantpage is scheduled to attend a number of important conferences that will address these latest issues. 

• October 18 - 20: we will be attending the 25th Annual California Association of Health Plans Conference in Indian Wells, CA. 
• October 18  - 21: our Avantpage representatives will be exhibiting at DiversityRx 2010: The Seventh National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations, in Baltimore, MD.
• December 6-7: we will be exhibiting at the Industry Collaboration Effort, Inc. Annual Conference 2010 in San Francisco, CA.

Please stop by and visit us at any of these conferences if you're available. We'd love to meet with you, and outline what we're doing to keep our clients informed of these critical developments in the health care field. We plan to report back with our impressions, observations and perspectives after these shows, so we will be in contact with you then.

For Laura Kujubu, working at Avantpage has been rewarding, challenging and exciting in more ways than she can count. "There's always something new to work on, discover or learn about in this business." A born "people person," Laura's friendly, outgoing personality quickly puts clients and co-workers alike at ease. When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Laura says that "getting to know the customers, building long-term relationships with them, and solving their problems has been most rewarding for me."

A graduate of UC Berkley with a degree in Mass Communications, Laura spent time as an editor and writer before joining the Avantpage team. From project management to customer relations to sales and marketing, Laura has worn quite a few "hats" at Avantpage. Her current position as VP of Operations and Customer Relations has her working closely with Avantpage's various departments as a liaison, trouble-shooter, and all-around go-to person known for figuring out solutions to critical issues in a flash. Laura ensures that processes and procedures run smoothly and efficiently, and that all projects meet or exceed the company's high-quality service standards.

When asked where she feels the translation industry is headed in the future, Laura said, "What first started as a luxury for some organizations has now become a business necessity. Regulatory compliance in the health care and education industries is only one aspect of translation. As more and more non-English speakers become a part of the fabric of this country, shrewd businesses are realizing that if they aren't communicating in other languages, they are going to lose out on market share."

A Sacramento native, Laura is third-generation Japanese, and a trip to Japan two years ago was an exciting, eye-opening experience for the whole family. Immersed in Japanese culture, language and art, Laura discovered "parts of me that are really Japanese" and also realized that every generation of Japanese Americans sadly gets further and further from their Japanese roots.

Laura's two elementary school-age daughters keep her on the go - from soccer games to play dates to school events. Hiking, running ("not nearly as much as I would like to") and just hanging out with her family and friends are what keeps Laura grounded and happy.

To reach Laura with questions or to ask how Avantpage's translation services can help your business, contact her by email or at 530-750-2040, x3.

Did you know that from September 15th through October 15th, America celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month? This observation began in 1968 as a celebratory week under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. 

This month-long celebration marks a way for Americans to honor the contributions, culture and history of U.S. citizens whose ancestors hail from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. September 15th was chosen as the start of this celebration because this date is the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 17.

Throughout the country, people of Hispanic descent will be celebrating this year's theme:  Heritage, Diversity, Integrity and Honor:  The Renewed Hope of America (Herencia, Diversidad, Integridad y Honor: La Renovada Esperanza de America). Classrooms, museums, art galleries, government programs, and the media will offer a chance to explore Hispanic history, culture, art, literature, humanitarian contributions and more.

The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. On the 2000 Census form, more than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino. Population growth  trends show that by 2050, Latino populations are expected nearly to triple. In California, the Hispanic population is expected to grow by 16.5 million people in the next 40 years.

Read more about how Spanish translation can help you reach these prospective buyers in their own language, on their own terms, or call 877-ANY-LANG or email today!

At Avantpage, we use glossaries and translation memory to save time in the long run, saving our clients money, as well as provide consistency within a translated document and among all your translated documents.

Custom glossaries are built for each client, so that their preferences are recorded for future use. For example, if a client prefers the word "team member" instead of "employee," that's the word that will always be used. Using glossaries, any of our translators will be able to pick up material related to the same client, and have fewer questions about the way certain terms are to be translated.

Working along the same lines, translation memory (TM) software helps us build on the previous work of our translators to save time in the future. Once a document has been completed and reviewed for quality assurance, it is converted to a TM file. When it's time to complete a new translation for the same client, we can analyze the new document against previously translated documents. The application helps decipher which words and phrases have been repeated and indicates how they were previously translated.

Even though these technologies do not rely on computers to make the translation, they do make the translation process much more efficient by building on existing work. In the end, it's always an educated human translator that makes the final decision, as we strongly believe it should be.

Are you aware that Avantpage is a minority-owned business? We are proud of our MBE status, and today I'd like to take just a moment to expand on that a bit ...

What is an MBE? 
An MBE - Minority-owned Business Enterprise - is defined as a for-profit business which is owned, operated and controlled by minority group members who are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American. At least 51% of the business must be owned by a minority to qualify, or, if the business is publicly-owned, at least 51% of the stock must be owned by one or more members of a minority. Also, the management and day-to-day operations of the business must be controlled by minority group members as well.

Many large corporations actively seek to do business with MBEs, and often have internal programs in  place to contract services with a certain percentage of MBEs, in addition to their other suppliers. If you are interested in choosing a translation company with MBE status, Avantpage is certified by The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).

What does MBE status mean to our clients?
There is actually a two-pronged advantage to Avantpage's MBE status. First, because we are certified as an MBE by the NMSDC, we are eligible to register with major corporations in their supplier diversity programs. And that means exciting opportunities for Avantpage to gain valuable experience with new corporate clients, improve our industry recognition, expand our services and grow as an organization. 

Secondly, there is a more "intangible" benefit to our being designated an MBE.  In the translation industry, we deal closely with minority issues in regard to language barriers. We understand sensitive language issues, cultural differences, and diversity concerns, because our company was founded and built by minorities. 

Avantpage constantly seeks to further our understanding of and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of other minority businesses and individuals. While our MBE status is another advantage to working with us, our work stands by itself due to its quality, service and competitive cost.

In today's unsteady economic climate, efficiency is a major buzzword on everyone's lips. How can businesses maximize resources while continually improving their quality and remaining competitive?

Improved technology is a frequent answer to this question. In Avantpage's case, we've been using an enterprise-level online project management system called AvantFlow for the past several years. It's helped us communicate easily with clients and gives them the freedom to access projects 24/7, from any remote location with Web access.

Like any good software, AvantFlow deserved an upgrade, and we're proud to say that the newest version of AvantFlow is more powerful than ever, with features that make it incredibly easy to start, supervise, and pick up translation projects.

How does it work? Each new user gets a secure account. Here you can log in to request a new project, monitor ongoing work, change specifications if necessary, view previous projects, and download finished files. Our system is designed to handle even the biggest desktop publishing files.

When working with your translator, you can assign due dates, ask for a project quote, and upload your source files. Best of all, all of your activity is automatically tracked within the system so you can see who's been doing what with your project. There are no more emails to search through, and you can be confident that all requests are seen and handled in a timely manner.

Need a quick demo on AvantFlow and how to use it? Contact us and we'd be happy to schedule a ten-minute meeting and/or e-mail you our Quick Guide User Manual.

Avantpage is pleased to join the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), a multicultural health advocacy organization, at their event next week: Building Quality and Equitable Health Care Systems.

Sponsored by The California Endowment, this convening is an important opportunity to celebrate and share with one another our advances in eliminating health disparities through language access, cultural competency, and workforce diversity, and to work together to move the field forward, especially with the recent passage of national health reform.

If you're in Los Angeles June 6-9, consider joining this important meeting. Avantpage will report back after the event with our impressions--we're committed to staying abreast of all changes in policy as it relates to translation and keeping our clients informed!

Being a technologist myself, I always look to the advances our scientists and engineers make with awe and wonder. As a society, we owe much to them.

I also know better than to give absolutes like "Machine translation will never replace human translators". Human capacity and ingenuity knows no bounds as of yet.

That said, we need to remember that as we apply machine translation to medical information, there are legal implications and, most importantly, the basis for medical choices and treatments. Mistakes and inaccuracies with medical information are simply not acceptable.

In our medical translation workflow, the legitimate role we have for machine translation is for terminology research, and to see how others have translated text that is new for us. Please note that this is more than in the past, but still quite limited.

Otherwise, because of legal, contractual and ethical requirements, we do not have or see any other role for machine translation in a medical context at this time. We will continue to follow the development of the technology, and as it evolves, evaluate how it can improve quality, lower costs and reduce turnaround time for our human translators.

Luis Miguel, CEO
tel: 530.750.2040, ext. 1