Slator - Language Industry News

An  article  on the Android Authority site from March 2025 states that the instant translation function could soon be available as a permanent feature within “Circle to Search.” Android’s Instant Translation Gets Enhanced in ‘Circle to Search’ If enabled, users will be able to translate whatever they select on the screen using Circle to Search on the screen into a device’s supported languages (this varies by device brand and model) without navigating out of the search function. Back in March 2024,  Google  announced the rollout of Language Translation Technology in the “ Circle to Search ” function for Android, which allows users to circle or tap text or an object on their mobile device screen and automatically search for it without switching apps.  So far, users have been able to translate things like menus on photos or PDFs by long-pressing the home button or navigation bar, and then tapping the translate icon.  Google’s  Android XR , the opera...

The  United States  government has issued an unusual  RFP for translation  services: The target languages are all indigenous to the US. The contracting agency is the Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED), which falls under the Bureau of Indian Affairs that governs programs concerning federally recognized American Indian Tribes. OIED has allied with the Department of Agriculture, or USDA, in this contract. This will provide a means whereby diverse agencies can request translation into Native languages. The  RFP  features a  set-aside for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises , meaning that only companies meeting certain revenue and ownership requirements may apply. OIED would prefer to award a single contractor work for all four languages. "This is a one-year project that will respond to federal agency requests for ongoing...

As 2024 comes to a close, it is time to reflect on the most popular stories, trends, innovations, and themes that made the Slator headlines throughout the year, highlighting key developments in the language industry. Here is a selection of stories that attracted the most attention and engagement from our readers around the world. Will Large Language Models Edge Linguists Out of the Language Industry? One of Slator’s  most-read stories in 2024  detailed a May 2024 paper from the  University of Zurich  and Georgetown University that explored the role of linguists in the evolving field of  machine translation  (MT). The entrance of  large language models  (LLMs) has reduced the reliance on linguists for grammar and semantic coherence while designing a system.  However, the authors concluded, there are a number of points in the process where linguistic expertise is still essential. These include building parallel corpora for MT; developing techno...

Stoquart, an language services provider  based in Belgium, has acquired Brussels-based ETC Europe, which holds the status of being a translation agency accredited by the European Union and other governmental and international organizations. The transaction was closed on 24 October 2024 after Stoquart's takeover of French competitor Version Internationale in 2023 . The founding managing director of Stoquart Translation Services, Dimitri Stoquart, found contact person ETC Europe General Manager Angelina Janssen due to meetings with the Belgian Association of Translation Companies or BQTA. He stated that Janssen suggested Stoquart form a consortium with ETC Europe and another language service provider, VerbiVis, to respond to the European Commission's TRAD23 RFP . This resulted in Stoquart achieving second place for English-French translation. In 2024, he mentioned that Janssen wanted to step back and suggested that Stoquart assume control of ETC Europe. Before the acquisition, ...