Slator - Language Industry News

  Almost two years after the first formal petition, Spain once again pushed for its three co-official languages, Catalan, Basque, and Galician, to be added as official languages within the  European Union  (EU). On May 27, 2025, the EU postponed any decision on the matter for a second time. The first time the proposal was rejected was in September 2023, a little over a month after the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares,  requested  for the Council of the European Union to include the languages.  At the time, Spain presided over the EU government, which communicated that  it had discussed  the matter but needed more information, and deferred making a decision on whether to bring it to a vote. This time, with Poland in the presidency, the EU has once again postponed any decision on the matter after at least ten countries, including Finland, Italy, and Germany, threatened to reject the proposal if it was brought to a vote. Swede...

  The term “Language Solutions Integrator” ( LSI ) was first introduced in the  Slator 2025 Language Industry Market Report  and is a term used to describe organizations whose core offering is to deliver fit-for-purpose multilingual content solutions by integrating language technology and AI with human experts as part of a fully managed solution. While LSIs use technology — including AI — as part of the multilingual content production process to gain efficiency and reduce overall costs, they are ultimately responsible for the final outcome of multilingual content, as their value proposition includes the involvement of expert linguists and quality specialists. These experts-in-the-loop ( EITL ) are typically deployed and managed directly by the LSI to ensure that outcomes meet the specific requirements of each buyer. Examples of LSIs include  TransPerfect ,  LanguageWire ,  RWS ,  Lilt , or  Boostlingo  — to name just a few among the thousands...

  In a May 4, 2025  paper , researchers at IIT Bombay introduced a new approach to  speech-to-speech translation  ( S2ST ) that not only translates speech into another language but also adapts the speaker’s accent. This work aligns with growing industry interest in accent adaptation technologies. For example,  Sanas , a California-based startup, has built a  real-time AI accent mo d ification tool  that lets users change their accent without changing their voice. Similarly,  Krisp  offers  AI Accent Conversion  technology that neutralizes accents in real time, improving clarity in customer support and business settings. While Sanas and Krisp focus on accent adaptation alone, the IIT Bombay researchers explore how accent and language translation can be combined in a single model. “To establish effective communication, one must not only translate the language, but also adapt the accent,” the researchers noted. “Thus, our problem is to...

On May 6, 2025, open source technology consulting firm Quansight  announced  that it had acquired Cobalt Speech and Language, a provider of  automatic speech recognition  (ASR),  transcription , natural language understanding, and other voice technologies in multiple languages. The deal closed April 10, 2025.  According to Quansight CEO Travis Oliphant, the purchase was for cash, earn-out, and equity in Quansight portfolio companies.  “Quansight builds  AI  systems and has key developers who know how to build the tools behind AI ( PyTorch ,  JAX ,  Tensorflow , and NumPy),” Oliphant told Slator. “Cobalt builds language systems that use these tools.” Oliphant said that Quansight decided to acquire Cobalt, rather than build its own speech technologies in-house, based on the strength of Cobalt’s team, which could help maintain a certain speed of development. Of course, he acknowledged that the prospect of acquiring Cobalt’s customers w...

  A June 2024 meta-analysis published in   BMJ Quality & Safety   was recently brought back into the spotlight by Dr. Lucy Shi, who discussed its findings in   an article   for   The Hospitalist . The study, conducted by Chu et al., examined the link between language discordance and unplanned hospital or emergency department (ED) readmissions. US Study Finds that Language Discordance Increases Risk of Hospital Readmissions The researchers also evaluated whether  interpretation  services could help reduce disparities in these outcomes between patients who speak a non-dominant language and those who do not. Their analysis was based on a literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar, initially conducted on January 21, 2021, and updated on October 27, 2022. Extensive research has shown that patients and families with non-dominant language preferences often face challenges in communication, understanding medical information, and accessing...

Florian and Esther discuss the language industry news of the week, breaking down Slator’s  2025 Language Service Provider Index  (LSPI), which features nearly 300 LSPs and reports 6.6% combined growth in 2024 revenues, totaling USD 8.4bn. Florian touches on a surprise USD 10m donation from private equity executive Mario Giannini to  launch a new MA translation and interpreting program  at California State University, Long Beach. The duo talks about  McKinsey’s State of AI report , which continues to classify translators as AI-related roles and shows that hiring them has become slightly easier. In Esther’s M&A corner,  TransPerfect  announced two acquisitions, Technicolor Games and Blu Digital Group, further expanding its presence in gaming and media localization. In Israel,  BlueLion and GATS merged  to form TransNarrative, and Brazilian providers Korn Translations and Zaum Langs  joined forces  under the Idlewild Burg group. Me...

Amid growing uncertainty about translation careers due to AI advancements and sensationalized headlines, one California university is celebrating a transformative donation. On March 11, 2025, California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) announced that Mario Giannini, Executive Co-Chairman of private equity firm Hamilton Lane, has gifted $10 million to establish a Master of Arts program in Translation and Interpreting. The program is set to launch in the fall of 2026. This isn’t Giannini’s first significant contribution to CSULB. In January 2017, he donated $1.75 million to establish The Clorinda Donato Center for Global Romance Languages and Translation Studies, named after its current director. CSULB Center Expands Translation Studies with Additional $5.25M Gift Housed within CSULB’s College of Liberal Arts, The Clorinda Donato Center for Global Romance Languages and Translation Studies serves as a hub for both pedagogical research and instruction in Romance languages. Students c...