On Saturday, May 6th, we will be celebrating the coronation of the UK’s new King, King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The office of Comms Multilingual will be closed on Monday 8th May.
Sue Orchard
Sue is the President/CEO and founder of Comms Multilingual, which she set up in 2003. She has a degree in German and Russian and also speaks Spanish and French. She is a member of several professional organisations, including the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the International Test Commission (representing Psychometric Test Publishers). She has a great interest in the area of assessments and has a great deal of expertise in the translation, localisation and adaptation of exams and assessments.
Happy Easter to Customers, Providers, Staff
Happy Easter to Customers, Providers and Staff from Comms Multilingual. Please note that the office will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Happy 20th Birthday to Comms!
At Comms, we are very proudly celebrating our 20th birthday. An awful lot has happened since I set up Comms in February 2003. Having worked for a company that produced Psychometric assessments, I had developed a real understanding of how such assessments are put...
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Translation
As a President and CEO of Comms Multilingual, I was one of the presenters at a workshop at the I.C.E. Exchange conference entitled “Diversity and Inclusion throughout the Test Development Lifecycle and Candidate Journey”. The conference took place in Savannah,...
Queen Elizabeth II (21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022)
It was with deep sadness that we learnt about the passing away of our Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday, September 8th 2022. This marks the end of 70 remarkable years on the throne, a time which has been characterised by Queen Elizabeth’s deep sense of duty and...
Extolling the Virtues of Language Learning and of Linguists
At Comms Multilingual, we are passionate about languages, and we were delighted to see the following article, published in the journal “The Linguist” (produced by the Chartered Institute of Linguists), extolling the virtues of language learning and of linguists...
Comms Multilingual & COVID-19
In the face of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, and on the advice of the UK government, Comms Multilingual has moved to all staff working from home. There is currently no change to existing service levels.
Translating Verbal Reasoning Tests: How difficult can it be?
It can be quite a skill to translate a verbal reasoning test, and there is plenty to watch out for. In this blog post, we look at some of the complexities.
Situational Judgement Tests (or Seriously Jeopardous Tasks)
Situational Judgement Tests (or SJTs) are in widespread use and a well-constructed SJT can provide invaluable insights into a person’s attitudes and behaviour in the workplace. However, translating SJTs into other languages needs to be handled very carefully as there...
The Importance of Glossaries in a Quality Translation Process
Here at Comms, we recommend putting in place glossaries or term lists before high-stakes translations such as certification examinations or credentialing programs are translated. This week, we've gone into a little more depth as to why we feel this is so important.
GDPR – An Interim Statement
Comms Multilingual Ltd places great importance on the correct, lawful, and fair handling of all personal data, respecting the legal rights, privacy, and trust of all individuals with whom it deals. The GDPR gives more rights to individuals and more obligations to us...
Comms Multilingual and ISO 17100
At Comms Multilingual, we were very happy to have been certified recently under the ISO standard for translation, ISO 17100:2015. This underlines our commitment to quality in everything we do. I would like to explain a little bit about ISO 17100 and what it means in...
Christmas Traditions at Comms Multilingual
As we have people from various nationalities working at Comms, we asked some of them to tell us about the Christmas traditions in their own countries. We've written about the days that some of our staff will be celebrating over the Christmas period.
E-ATP Conference 2015 – Closing thoughts…
We recently attended the E-ATP conference 2015 in Dublin. Read a little about the keynotes, as well as our CEO's team, Team Yellow, which won this year's certification 'hackathon'! If you work in the assessment or testing industry, E-ATP should definitely be on your agenda!
Which language(s) should I choose?
Of the world's 7.2 billion inhabitants, only 30 million people speak English as their first language. That amounts to a mere 6% of the total. So you have now made the decision that you would like to expand your offerings to cover non English-speaking areas. Where will you get the greatest “bang for your buck”?
Translation of assessments for different audiences
Translation of assessments for different audiencesHow do you carry out translations of assessments for children and for people whose knowledge of English may be limited? This was a question that was posed to us at a SIOP conference. When doing translations, it is very...
SIOP 2015 – Post Conference Thoughts
We have now returned from what was a very busy and productive SIOP conference in Philadelphia. There were over 4,200 delegates and they enjoyed a packed programme with a wide variety of presentations on different topics. Cicek Svensson and Sue Orchard were present in...
SIOP 2015: What to consider when translating I/O assessments
We have a great deal of experience in translating, localising and adapting assessments into other languages, so just what needs to be considered? We recommend that a review of assessment items be carried out prior to any translation project to ascertain whether all the items could be used in another country.
What else needs to be translated?
We have been looking at the whole area of translation, localisation and adaptation of tests, certifications, assessments and exams. However, it is not just these materials alone that will need to be translated. We have listed several of the most important aspects which you may wish to consider in parallel with the actual assessment itself.
Language is one thing, culture is another – what requires localisation?
It is all well and good translating a text for someone who speaks another language, but adapting it to reflect their culture can be critical to the success of a project. We look at some of the areas which might require attention, from the more simple names of people to units and measures.
What are the advantages of translating, localising and adapting your tests?
In previous posts, we looked at what localisation and adaptation mean and discussed whether certifications and assessments should be translated. We will now consider the advantages that you get if you do decide to translate, localise and adapt your tests, assessments...
Should you translate your tests, assessments and certifications?
In our previous post, we looked at the translation, localisation and adaptation process and the fact that it is very important to get all three steps right in order to ensure that your assessment will work in another country and for another culture. How are testing organisations actually coping with different sensibilities and cultures in addition to translation?
What do localisation and adaptation actually mean?
There are many things to be considered when putting an assessment or test into another language. Translation is just one part of the equation: localisation and adaptation are also key elements in the process. This will ensure that your assessment or test is meaningful...
Rebranding – from our own experience
For any organisation, it is a good idea from time to time to have a look at your branding and image and to make some changes. However, this can be a big project with a lot of things to consider, so we thought that we would share with you the re-branding process that...
Translation and Localization for the Whole Credentialing Body: Presentation at the ICE Exchange conference
The ICE Exchange conference took place in a freezing cold San Antonio, Texas, from November 11th – 14th. This is the annual conference of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. Comms was represented at ICE by our President, Sue Orchard, and Vice President for...
Top tips for translation and voice-overs – Part 2
Continuing from our previous post, here are some more hints and tips to help you with your voice recording projects. Determine your voice: Decide the feeling you want to convey (happiness, professionalism, etc.) and the market you want to reach in order to choose the...
Top tips for translation and voice-overs
Audio-visual translation is an art form of its own, which is subject to a series of constraints: spatial, visual and audio. With the right preparation, you can ensure a great outcome for your voice-over recordings. In this blog and the next one, we will be providing...
Comms Multilingual presents at the 2014 ICE Exchange Conference
Following on from our previous two posts, we would like to draw your attention to a final presentation from the ICE Exchange conference in San Antonio, Texas, from November 11th – 14th. This is the annual conference of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. Our...
ICE Exchange presentations – Part 2
As we mentioned in our previous blog post, we are preparing for our next trade show, which will be the ICE Exchange in San Antonio, Texas, from November 11th – 14th. This is the annual conference of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. Here is some information...
ICE Exchange presentations – Part 1
At Comms Multilingual, we are preparing for our next trade show, which will be the ICE Exchange in San Antonio, Texas, from November 11th – 14th. This is the annual conference of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. There are some very interesting presentations...
Contributors
Liberty Munson
Director of Psychometrics for Microsoft Worldwide Learning
Sue Orchard
President/CEO and Founder of Comms Multilingual
Alina von Davier
Professor at University of Iowa & Fordham & President of IACAT
John Weiner
Board of Directors for the Association of Test Publishers
Cheryl O'Donaghue
Author & Founder and CEO at Emotional Intelligence Leadership Resources,
Ivan Karadzhov
Marketing Executive at Comms Multilingual
Sonia Sala
Operations Director at Comms Multilingual
Dania Eter
Chief Credentialing Officer for the HR Certification Institute
Graham Morris
Director at Comms Multilingual
Laura Serantes
Senior Project Manager at Comms Multilingual
Cicek Svensson
Former Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Comms Multilingual
Sam Whatley
Former Sales Manager at Comms Multilingual
Jesse Dupré
Former Project Coordinator at Comms Multilingual
Marten Roorda
Chief Executive Officer of ACT
Christine Yoshida
Managing certification programs for Apple, Intel, Microsoft, LinkedIn
Dr Robert McHenry
Founder and Executive Chairman of OPP
