translation services

Tips for linguistic accessibility

30.1.2025 by Delingua

In June 2025, the Act on the Provision of Digital Services and the European Accessibility Directive will be extended to cover online stores and audiovisual services, among other things. What should you know about the amendments to the Act on the Provision of Digital Services and how can a translation agency help with the linguistic accessibility of content?

Accessibility means that everyone has equal access to services. The EU has introduced the Accessibility Directive. In Finland, its requirements are included in the Act on the Provision of Digital Services. The current Act on the Provision of Digital Services takes into account the accessibility requirements that have so far mainly applied to the public sector. In summer 2025, however, the accessibility requirements will be extended to cover also the private sector.

New requirements of the Act on the Provision of Digital Services

In June 2025, services covered by the Act on the Provision of Digital Services must meet the general accessibility requirements and obligations laid down in the Act. The Act on the Provision of Digital Services covers services intended for consumers, such as online stores, e-books, audiovisual services and communications services. The services must comply with the accessibility requirements after the transition period, on 28 June 2025.

The aim of the accessibility requirements is, in particular, to improve the ability of a website or mobile application to be used with different devices and assistive technologies. However, in addition to technical accessibility requirements, clear and understandable language must also be taken into account.

Tips for linguistic accessibility

More and more services are consumed online, which is why the accessibility of content has become an increasingly important criterion. In other words, accessibility is becoming the norm, which is why every online company should plan its digital services to be accessible both technically and linguistically – and a translation agency can help in this.

1. Do not ignore linguistic accessibility

The most important thing for accessibility is clear and comprehensible language. Technically well-executed content is of no use if it is linguistically clumsy or unclear. The text may be unnecessarily difficult to read or written with incorrect language. A website is easy to use when there are no technical challenges and the content is easy to understand.

The easiest way to produce linguistically accessible content is to write it in clear standard language, that is, in easily understandable language without jargon. Clear language is not the same thing as plain language, which is language where the structure and the vocabulary have been adapted to make it easier than standard language. The content and the target group are decisive factors in determining if plain language is needed.

2. Subtitle videos

It is a good idea to subtitle videos even if the law does not require it, because many people watch videos without sound. The text format is not precisely defined, but the most user-friendly method is adding captions that can be easily followed at the same time as watching the video.

At the moment, accessibility requirements do not require videos to be subtitled in other languages. In other words, the guidelines mandate that a Finnish video be subtitled in Finnish, a Swedish video in Swedish and so on. However, having the content translated strengthens the multicultural dimension of accessibility.

Services must also be accessible to those who speak a language other than the language in which the content was originally published. In Finland, public services are designed primarily for speakers of the national languages; however, in the light of accessibility, there is an increasing need to reach immigrants as well. With the help of translated subtitles, you can also reach a wider, international target audience.

3. Transcribe audio content

In audio recordings, such as podcasts, accessibility could be improved by transcribing them as written text. The accessibility requirements of the Act on the Provision of Digital Services require that audio-only broadcasts, such as podcasts, must also be accessible. According to the legislation, organisations affected by the requirements must provide a text version of the recording within two weeks.

For podcasts, this usually means a transcribed text version of the audio recording. As the text version must fulfil the requirements of accessibility, a simple script or summary of the podcast is not sufficient. In practice, the entire content of the recording must be provided in text form, including background sounds, and the text must also indicate who is speaking at any given time.

Creating a text version of the podcast ensures that everyone can enjoy the podcast. In addition, not everyone has time to listen to a 60-minute podcast, for instance: reading the text version is much faster.

If you are reaching for a larger audience, use a translated transcription, in which the podcast is transcribed into another language. You can also use a voiceover to do the entire podcast in a different language.

Corporate language strategy

A company’s language strategy means you decide on which languages will be used, in which channels and how. This raises a few important questions: is all content available in only one or several languages; which language is used on social media; is your website available in Finnish, English or both; and, in addition to Finnish and English, do you need other languages? In addition, the question of who writes, translates and maintains the foreign-language content is also an integral part of the language strategy. Corporate communications should be linguistically consistent, that is, logical. Choose a language strategy and stick to it.

Accessibility is in everyone’s interest. Issues such as the equal treatment of customers, a better user experience and access to a wider market should interest each company and organisation. Accessibility is a key advantage for a company!

Is there room for improvement in the linguistic accessibility of your company’s content? Contact us and let’s find the best solution for your needs!

Validation – high-quality translations are a joint effort

16.12.2024 by Jari Herrgård

Successful translations require teamwork. Although the key person in the translation process is the translator and their tools, they alone are not able to achieve ideal quality. In the translation process, the best possible result always requires input from the translation agency’s other employees as well as the customer. Validation is perhaps the most important tool for assessing the linguistic quality of translations.

If you are a customer, you may be asking why you should contribute to the process – it’s our job, after all. You are correct and, as a customer, your involvement is not obligatory. But if you want the best result, it is in your best interest to participate in the process – especially through feedback.

To some extent, language is a matter of opinion. We are all fluent in at least our own native tongue, and many of us also know several other languages. Therefore, we all have a lot of opinions about language. This is especially true in work contexts if language plays a central role in our work and we put a lot of thought into how a message should be conveyed. We know how we want to address the reader, and perhaps the organisation we work in has even defined common rules for what kinds of images we should evoke.

Even if these rules are self-explanatory within the organisation and come naturally to you, they may not be self-evident to the translator. The translator is always a bit of an outsider and depends on what they are told about your preferred language and its nuances. This is where teamwork comes into play: the ideal translation process involves cooperation to ensure that the translation matches the customer’s communication needs as closely as possible. By providing feedback on the translations, the customer can ensure that each translation is better than the one before and closer to the customer’s ideal.

Validation as a tool

One of the most important tools for the process described above is validation. This means a review by the customer after the translation has been completed. It may often be carried out by an expert whose main work tasks do not include translation. The expert is responsible for checking, in particular, the terminology and style, and assessing whether they are in line with the customer’s brand. Other review work can also be done at the same time.

Validation in itself is a simple step, and there is no doubt about its usefulness, but it is still often skipped altogether. Typically, validation is carried out by sending PDF or DOCX files to vendors or technical experts, for example. The expert will use the comment or track changes functions to add their own comments and corrections to the document. These will be included in the final version and imported into the translation memory by the translation agency. This process is quite laborious and may complicate version control, which are the main reasons why it is often skipped.

Validation with system support

At LanguageWire, workflow and translation work are based on a shared platform used by customers, translators and internal project managers. Using a single platform has many benefits, especially in terms of translation project communications and transparency.

The validation step also takes place entirely on this platform, which makes the process quick and efficient. Usually, the validation step is added as soon as the project is created.

Validation takes place after the translators have done their work. The experts assigned to the project will receive an automatic message from the system and, by clicking on the link, they will be forwarded to the right project. There is no need to search for the project or upload any files, and the expert can start working in their browser right away.

Validation is done in the same tool that the translators use, and the validator has access to all the same information. This means, for example, that they will automatically be able to view the correct terminology if there is a glossary attached. This helps to avoid situations where outdated or otherwise incorrect terminology is used in the text during the validation phase. The validator also has access to other tools, such as proofreading and translation tools. Our user-friendly interface ensures that you do not need to be a professional translator to benefit from the translation platform. Everything you need can be done with basic browser skills.

In addition to possible corrections, the validator can also communicate with the translator, which helps to quickly solve potential dilemmas. Since everyone works in the same digital environment, all corrections are also saved directly in the translation memory, and they do not need to be separately exported at the end of the project.

In order to ensure the best possible translation quality and that the translator and proofreader learn as much as possible, a language specialist will check the changes made by the validator at the end. This ensures that all changes follow the customer’s own standards and, of course, the general rules of the language.

Would you like to discuss your organisation’s language needs? Contact us via email at contact-fi@languagewire.com for further information!

Financial period ends – how can we help you?

14.11.2024 by Delingua

For many companies, the financial period is a calendar year, which means that the financial period ends at the turn of the year. At the end of the financial period, companies must remember to provide their auditor with, for example, receipts, possible loans, investments or changes in the activities of the company as well as to carry out an inventory.

The new financial period also brings certain things to remember. At the beginning of the year, an annual report on the previous year will be drawn up and a meeting of the Board of Directors and an annual general meeting will be arranged. It is a good idea for companies operating internationally to prepare the annual report in all of the languages used in the company to allow owners and investors to get acquainted with the figures and events of the previous year. If the company has foreign owners, it would also be advisable to arrange annual general meetings in such a way that everyone attending them understands what is being said. In such cases, professional interpreting is justified.

We are happy to help when you need to have the annual report translated or interpreting arranged for the annual general meeting. From us, you can order a translation of your annual report and interpreting for the annual general meeting. We have compiled a few tips below to keep in mind when the annual report and the annual general meeting are topical.

Tips for having an annual report translated

When ordering a translation of the annual report, it is worthwhile to get in touch early enough. Annual report projects are ordered and scheduled well in advance, and professional translation agencies will be busy in the first months of a new year. Be sure to be on time, allocate enough time for the translation and involve the translation partner already in the planning phase of the annual report.

Reference material makes translation easier, and annual reports are no exception. You can provide your translation partner with previous annual reports or other material in the target language, for example. This gives the translator an indication of the company’s terms, specialised terminology and style of the translation.

Also, decide in advance on the file format of the annual report. If possible, translations should be made directly in the original file format. The translation partner should also be informed of any exceptions, for example regarding the figures.

The annual report is often a highly confidential file and should not necessarily be delivered for translation by email. The file can be delivered over a secure connection through the translation agency’s ordering portal, for example. If the company does not have a written agreement with the translation agency, it is advisable to sign a possible non-disclosure agreement well in advance of the start of the translation project.

You will find more practical tips in our annual report guide (in Finnish).

Tips for interpreting for the annual general meeting

If international participants are attending the annual general meeting, they should be provided with professional interpreting. Conference interpreting, which practically means simultaneous interpreting, is the most suitable method of interpreting for an annual general meeting. In simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter interprets at the same time as the speaker speaks. The speech to be interpreted is transmitted to the interpreters’ headphones with the aid of interpreting equipment and interpreting is then transmitted by microphone to the listeners’ headphones. Interpreting can be arranged on site, as a hybrid model or entirely remotely. Interpreting can be arranged whether all of the participants or only some of them are physically present at the meeting or whether the meeting is held remotely.

When planning interpreting arrangements, the following factors, among others, must be taken into account: which languages the meeting will be interpreted into, what the main language of the meeting will be, and where and when the meeting will take place. It is also a good idea to provide the interpreters with advance material that will facilitate successful interpreting. Advance material may include the schedule as well as the documents and presentations of the meeting. Any other material in the target language also helps the interpreter to maintain terminological consistency.

Interpreting for foreign-language participants makes them feel that they have genuinely been taken into account in the arrangements of the meeting. We have prepared guides on interpreting for an event (in Finnish) and on remote interpreting. The guides will provide you with comprehensive information on what to take into account when arranging on-site and remote interpreting.

Delingua helps you at the end of the financial period

Now is a good time to order a translation of the annual report and arrange (remote) interpreting for the annual general meeting; we are happy to help. Contact us via email in matters concerning translation and interpreting; we promise to get back to you as soon as possible!

AI translation or machine translation: what’s the difference?

1.11.2024 by Delingua

While AI translation represents a significant leap forward in the field of machine translation, it shares common ground with its predecessors. At its core, both AI translation and traditional machine translation methods aim to facilitate cross-linguistic communication by automatically converting text from one language to another.

However, what distinguishes AI translation is its utilization of advanced neural networks and deep learning algorithms, enabling it to surpass the limitations of earlier approaches. This article explores the evolution of machine translation, highlighting how AI translation builds upon and enhances the foundations laid by its predecessors to redefine the way we break down language barriers in the modern world.

AI translation vs machine translation

AI translation and machine translation are terms that are often used interchangeably in discussions about automated language translation technologies. However, there are nuanced differences between the two, primarily in terms of the technology and methodologies they employ. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for appreciating the advancements in the field of language translation and the capabilities of current technologies.

Machine translation (MT)

Machine Translation refers to the use of software to translate text or speech from one language to another without human intervention. Historically, MT has evolved through several stages, each marked by different approaches and technologies:

Rule-based machine translation (RBMT)

This approach relies on a comprehensive set of linguistic rules and bilingual dictionaries. It translates by analysing the source text based on these rules and then applying the corresponding rules in the target language. While RBMT can be highly accurate for languages with a limited scope and well-defined rules, it struggles with the complexity and variability of natural language.

Statistical machine translation (SMT)

SMT models translations based on the analysis of large amounts of bilingual text data. It uses statistical methods to predict the likelihood of certain words or phrases being a correct translation. SMT marked a significant improvement over RBMT, offering more flexibility and better handling of languages with less rigid structure. However, it still faced challenges with context, idioms, and linguistic nuances.

AI translation

AI Translation is an advanced translation technology. It incorporates artificial intelligence, especially deep learning, and neural networks, to model the entire process of translation in a way that mimics human brain functions.

Here are the key features that distinguish AI translation:

Contextual understanding

Unlike its predecessors, AI translation can consider the entire context of a sentence or paragraph, rather than translating piece by piece. This holistic approach allows for more accurate and natural translations, especially in complex or ambiguous situations.

Continuous learning capabilities

AI systems are designed to learn and improve over time. By analysing vast datasets and learning from corrections, AI translation models continually refine their understanding of languages, idioms, and cultural nuances. This self-improvement aspect is a hallmark of AI technology.

Adaptability

AI translation models can be adapted and specialized for different domains (e.g., legal, medical, technical) much more effectively than traditional MT systems. They can learn the specific vocabulary and stylistic preferences of a field, leading to higher quality translations in specialized areas.

AI translation is machine translation evolved

While machine translation laid the groundwork for automated language translation, AI translation has significantly advanced the field. The key differences lie in AI translation’s ability to understand and translate text in context, learn from interactions, and improve over time. These capabilities make AI translation a more dynamic, accurate, and effective tool for overcoming language barriers, especially in professional and specialized setting.

This article was originally published by LanguageWire Company (Verity Hartley).

AI-powered subtitling, dubbing and interpreting

28.10.2024 by Sofia Väänänen

Video is becoming the dominant form of communication and will transform the way we produce and consume content. Learn more about how video is revolutionising global communication and how AI-powered solutions such as subtitling, dubbing and interpreting can improve global reach.

Data shows that 89% of customers want to see more videos from brands, and 90% say that videos influence their buying decisions. Videos help consumers visualise and simplify purchasing processes and understand the different features of products and services, increasing their confidence in making choices. (The State of Video, HubSpot 2024)

But is video more than just advertising? Yes, it is! Video is a powerful tool for creating engaging content that catches the eye, but it also provides a great solution for simplifying complex subjects and introducing new processes. Video can be used for things such as internal communications, onboarding and training – you name it.

Video is here to stay – how can LanguageWire help?

Today’s fast-paced communication environment requires adaptability. It is evident that video is becoming the dominant form of communication and will change the way we produce and consume content. But the best part? You don’t have to navigate this shift alone!

Let us walk you through three of our AI-powered video solutions that can increase efficiency and break down language barriers to reach a broader, global audience.

Solution 1: AI-powered subtitling

Studies show that 85% of people watch social media videos on mute. Unfortunately, this often leads to videos losing their meaning when a lot of information is missed. Media consumption is booming, and the flood of information is huge – how do we stand out?

That’s where LanguageWire‘s unique value proposition comes in: AI-powered, human-refined subtitling solutions that blend together the best of two worlds. They seamlessly localise video content across multiple languages and diverse audiences, whilst maintaining accuracy, quality and brand consistency.

Our Smart Editor offers an innovative approach to subtitling. It simplifies complex video localisation workflows for global enterprises and combines the best of AI and human expertise to generate high-quality, contextually accurate subtitles. Smart Editor integrates with your existing linguistic assets, like Translation Memories and Termbases, and ensures that your subtitles use the correct terminology and tone throughout the video.

Learn more about our AI-powered subtitling solutions.

Solution 2: AI dubbing

If you want your video to reach every potential customer, you have to speak their language. Due to increasing demand for multilingual content, the AI dubbing market is expected to grow exponentially in the upcoming years.

AI dubbing is the automatic translation and replacement of spoken audio with synthetic voices in other languages. AI dubbing uses technology like machine learning, speech recognition and AI voice generation to create a voiceover that matches the timing, tone and message of the source video. The content is reviewed by our experts and post-edited to ensure quality and accuracy.

AI dubbing eliminates language barriers and makes content more accessible, engaging and personalised. For brands, this means faster and more affordable localised content with a consistent brand voice.

Solution 3: AI interpreting

The demand for remote interpreting solutions has increased significantly in recent years, and studies show that AI-related services, including AI interpreting, are expected to expand massively. The AI remote work market is set to grow annually by 18% from 2024 to 2033 (Slator interpreting report, 2024).

AI interpreting, also known as AI speech translation, is a technology that provides a fully automated and real-time translation of live speech. From speech, AI interpreting starts with automatic speech recognition, moving into speech-to-text and machine translation, and then finally into speech synthesis.

Thanks to hybrid and remote solutions, interpreting is easy and affordable and can effectively reach participants across geographical boundaries. AI-powered interpreting opens the doors to a multilingual audience and offers flexible solutions tailored to the customer’s needs, according to the type of event, budget and schedule.

Let us help you take the first step!

AI is breaking barriers for multilingual content production and the shift from text-to-video isn’t just the future – it is happening as we speak.

New tasks for Delingua staff

22.10.2024 by Delingua

translation services

New requirements of the Act on the Provision of Digital Services

Tips for linguistic accessibility

1. Do not ignore linguistic accessibility

2. Subtitle videos

3. Transcribe audio content

Corporate language strategy

Validation as a tool

Validation with system support

Tips for having an annual report translated

Tips for interpreting for the annual general meeting

Delingua helps you at the end of the financial period

AI translation vs machine translation

Machine translation (MT)

Rule-based machine translation (RBMT)

Statistical machine translation (SMT)

AI translation

Contextual understanding

Continuous learning capabilities

Adaptability

AI translation is machine translation evolved

Video is here to stay – how can LanguageWire help?

Solution 1: AI-powered subtitling

Solution 2: AI dubbing

Solution 3: AI interpreting

Let us help you take the first step!

What does this mean for you as our customer?

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