Minneapolis, June 7, 2021: INGCO International, a leading translation and interpreting company, today announced a global partnership with KUDO, an innovative, multilingual web conferencing platform, to facilitate complex global meetings. KUDO’s innovative technology enables INGCO’s expert linguists to simultaneously interpret meetings across multiple languages, providing every person with equal access to critical information.

Clients now have one global provider to manage all aspects of broadcasting their global meetings – whether in person, hybrid, or remote – so they can focus on the content itself and on engaging stakeholders in the event. As one of a select few KUDO partners in the United States, this “one-stop shop” is a unique benefit INGCO provides its clients.

“Our clients have a lot to manage when putting on global meetings,” said Ingrid Christensen, INGCO International president and founder. “INGCO International is one of the only ‘one-stop shops’ in the United States that can take web conferencing technology and simultaneous interpreting off our clients’ plates, thanks to our partnership with KUDO.”

KUDO’s technology is designed to be intuitive and accessible across 100+ languages, making it a great way for U.S.-based companies to foster inclusion. The platform itself is fully multilingual so attendees access all features and functionality – not just the meeting content itself – in their native language.

Access more information on the INGCO-KUDO partnership and contact Andy MacGregor to discuss how to streamline your next complex global meeting.

About INGCO International

INGCO International is a leading translation and interpreting company that gives every person equal access to communication through translation and interpreting services. INGCO’s expert team of linguists are proficient in more than 200 languages and help clients of all sizes clearly communicate to the audiences that matter most to them.

I recently came across an article in Fast Company, Why People With Multicultural Experience Are More Creative, and it struck me as quite truthful. Well, parts of it at least.
The opening line, “A person who has immersed themselves in another culture has the openness and cognitive flexibility to make your organization more creative.” is dead on. I do believe, and have seen in the past 16 years of working in an international environment, that individuals that are open to more than one way are thinking are indeed more creative in their problem solving skills. I don’t know if all people with multicultural experience are by nature “more creative,” and I’m not sure how one would actually measure creativity. Yet I do appreciate the author’s point of view.

The written translation profession requires a lot of creativity and problem-solving skills. Translators are messengers. They must understand all the nuances of a message, implied or not, and recreate that message in another language without losing any of the details. Translators are like artists, and scientists. Language as we understand it lies in the eye of the beholder. How I understand a concept is very different than how you understand a concept. Even as I write this blog I am trying to put myself into your brain (and I don’t really know who you are!) and guess how you are reading this and how you are understanding this. Now multiply that into another language. The written language translator must do the exact same thing, except he or she now needs to think about how a reader that is potentially across the globe will read and understand the piece. But translators are also like scientists. Science is exact and precise. Translation is exact and precise. The professional translator cannot embellish, add, omit or otherwise alter the meaning of a message. The meaning must be exactly the same for all readers, regardless of their language.

In my opinion, it’s the art plus the science that makes people with multicultural experience more creative.

Ingrid Christensen is President and Founder of INGCO International, a professional language service provider located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Ingrid’s brings more than 16 years of experience as an on-site language interpreter and document translator to the company which she founded in 2006. Please get in touch with us if you are interested in more information regarding our translation, interpreting and global marketing services in 200+ languages across the globe. Contact us today.

Best Practices for Interpreters Serving the Karen Community: Establishing culturally competent interpreter services in health and human service settings.

While this interpreter training is designed specifically for Karen interpreters, it will also benefit community members concerned with mental health access for all residents. There will be a variety of presenters including representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health, Ramsey County Human Resources, The Center for Victims of Torture and The Wilder Foundation.

The Karen interpreter training is FREE but advanced registration is required as space is limited. Register now!

Questions? Contact Choua Yang

When:

Friday March 20th, 2015

8:00 am  – 12:00 noon

 

Where:

Ramsey County Plato Building – 1st floor conference room

90 West Plato Boulevard

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55107

Learning Objectives:

• Identify best practices in delivery of interpreter services within various health and human service settings.
• Understand the complex dynamics involved in the interpreting process when serving refugee communities.
• Understand specific concepts, models, definition of terms within health and human service settings.

Did you know?

The Karen (pronounced Ka-REN) are an ethnic group from the mountainous border regions of Burma and Thailand, where they are the second largest ethnic group in each country. They have long been subject to persecution and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese government, and many have been living in refugee camps in Thailand for years before being resettled to Minnesota. There are approximately 6,500 Karen living in Minnesota with an additional 500 refugees from other ethnic groups in Burma. Saint Paul currently has the largest and fastest-growing Karen populations in the U.S. Other communities in Minnesota with a large Karen population include Worthington, Willmar, Austin, Albert Lea and Faribault.

Register now and please share with anyone that would be interested in participating!

Thanks to partners Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, Ramsey County and Minnesota Department of Health.

Questions? Feel free to reach out to us regarding our translation, interpreting and global marketing services in 200+ languages across the globe!

Love of languages is why we love what we do; we are so lucky to work with over 200 languages on any given day and we love working with people all over the wold. The diversity of working in multilingual communications with translation, interpreting and global marketing projects across the globe is thrilling. This Valentine’s Day we wanted to learn a little more about the word “love” and how the world around us relates to love.

“Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80, Greek three, and English only one. This is indicative of the poverty of awareness or emphasis that we give to that tremendously important realm of feeling. Eskimos have 30 words for snow, because it is a life-and-death matter to them to have exact information about the element they live with so intimately. If we had a vocabulary of 30 words for love … we would immediately be richer and more intelligent in this human element so close to our heart. An Eskimo probably would die of clumsiness if he had only one word for snow; we are close to dying of loneliness because we have only one word for love. Of all the Western languages, English may be the most lacking when it comes to feeling.” – Robert Johnson, “The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden“

Robert Johnson perfectly sums up what we do every day; translation is not about replacing love with love, or replacing any other word with the same word. Translation is about taking the meaning of a message, sometimes a word, sometimes a whole paragraph, and making it make sense in another language. This is not merely the art of translation, but the art of localization. The art of localization is truly an art, a craft. It requires the translator to dive deeply into the content to truly understand the nuances, the depth and richness of the message and translate that for the reader. Imagine the translator is translating a love poem into Sanskrit — which one of the 96 words will she choose? That decision lies in the heart of the artist.

Interested in learning more about our multilingual communications team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota for your translation, interpreting and global marketing in 200+ languages across the globe? Get in touch with us now!

Subtitling 101: What You Need To Know

Subtitling services place a transcript of what is spoken onto a display on the bottom half of the screen. The subtitle display follows along with the spoken content so that viewers that speak languages other than what is spoken and viewers that are hearing impaired can view the video. Subtitling services are complex and should be produced by a professional with technical experience. INGCO International offers subtitling services in over 200 languages worldwide for all of your video subtitling and captioning needs.

INGCO International offers subtitling services in over 200 languages for numerous platforms including:

• Broadcast
• Theatrical
• DVD
• 3D
• Mobile
• Video
• Online Platforms

Our technical team is trained with the software skills necessary to apply subtitles to nearly every format including time-cueing and positioning of subtitles. Subtitling challenges the translation team because subtitles are limited in space with about 37 characters per line and typically a 2-line maximum per screen. Some languages expand as much as 40% in length so it means that our translation team must be very creative and work closely with our technical team to make sure that the subtitles make sense.

Another challenge is time — subtitles usually only have about six seconds to stay on a screen. These challenges mean that our translation team must be really good at their job! Sometimes we need to craft messages to fit within the constraints of the subtitles. After the translation, edit and revision of the original text is complete, our technical team is tasked with carefully timing the subtitles to ensure they are placed at just the right time. We make sure that the subtitles match up with what is shown on screen.

Subtitling requires precision and creativity; just like any art, it is a craft that takes a lot of training and practice.

In addition to the challenges of creating and applying subtitles, there are basically two different ways of producing the final subtitled product.

“Burning” Subtitles

One method of producing subtitles is by “burning” the subtitles onto the video. This method means that subtitles cannot be turned on or off; they are always present and become part of the video. “Burning” means that only one language can be placed on a singe file. It is however possible to create different versions of the same file with different language subtitles “burned” into the video.

Video Re-authoring

Video re-authoring is a more sophisticated method of applying subtitles and allows subtitles of multiple languages to be embedded in a video. This format requires different channels to be created as different streams on the disk of the video. The viewer chooses through the menu which language he or she would like to view the subtitles in.

There are many different file formats for subtitling and they all affect the way your text file is formatted. It is important to know which format of subtitles your authoring tool will accept. Our technical team will guide you in selecting a subtitle file that will work with your video and software. Some files are better at handling right-to-left languages like Arabic or Hebrew. Some are better at handling Unicode for exotic scripts like Thai or Amharic. There are languages such as Hungarian or Polish that use extended versions of the Latin alphabet. It’s best to work with our technical and translation teams to ensure that your finished product is seamless and professionally created.

Subtitles are derived from either a transcript or screenplay of the dialog or commentary in films, television programs, video games, and the like, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard of hearing to follow the dialog, or people who cannot understand the spoken dialogue or who have accent recognition problems.

It all started more than 15 years ago, when Ingrid Christensen had a dream to facilitate communication between people and countries with an entrepreneurial twist – a dream to speak to the world. A creative and business-minded person, and a language lover herself, she established a translation agency based in Saint Paul, Minnesota offering interpreting, translating and global marketing services.

Find out more about us.

Website translation services include:

• Localization of all user interface details and content
• Image recommendations
• Translation of multimedia and downloadable components
• Quality control process

Often we are asked about website translation pricing. While every project is different, here are some of the variables we look at:

• Number of words and pages
• Source (original) and target (language translated into) languages
• Subject matter
• Quantity and make up of images, videos, etc.
• Design, development and publishing platform
• Database
• Content management system (CMS)
• Quality control and testing

The majority of newly developed websites are developed with a content management system (CMS). This allows the website to be designed and updated from a central system and allows different authors to work on the website simultaneously. INGCO International provides website translation services in a variety of CMS systems.

The upload process of the translated content may include any combination of the following:

• INGCO International directly uploads the translated content to the CMS
• The client receives content from INGCO International in an Excel table (XML) format or other format and uploads the translated content
• Use of a 3^rd party or proprietary “connector” between the CMS and a global content management system

Web Site Translation services are required in order for the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh (ca. 2000 BCE) into Southwest Asian languages of the second millennium BCE.

It all started more than 15 years ago, when Ingrid Christensen had a dream to facilitate communication between people and countries with an entrepreneurial twist – a dream to speak to the world. A creative and business-minded person, and a language lover herself, she established a translation agency based in Saint Paul, Minnesota offering interpreting, translating and global marketing services.

Contact us today.

INGCO International President Ingrid Christensen to take on the Double Dog Dare

Up to 100 brave souls will perform a death-defying rappel down the EcoLab Headquarters in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Friday the 13th of September.

The event is a fundraiser to support the Northern Star Council which represents the Boy Scouts.

“When do you get to dangle yourself from the roof of a skyscraper and rappel down 22 stories?” remarked Christensen.

Wait, what, you’re not scared, are you?  We dare you, we Double Dog Dare you.  It’s the thrill of a lifetime for a great cause

www.craziestfundraiserever.com

Christensen is excited to participate in the Double Dog Dare: “I like doing things that take me out of my comfort zone…It makes me a better leader and sets a good example for our employees.” INGCO International is committed to supporting community organizations that work with children and provide opportunities for them to experience new challenges.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton completed a trade mission to Europe which included stops in Germany, Norway and Sweden. Governor Dayton travelled with a consortium of business leaders to Europe in June of 2013 in an effort to promote Minnesota exports and attract foreign direct investment into the state. During the trip, Governor Dayton announced that a foreign trade office representing Minnesota business interests would open in Dusseldorf, Germany. Dusseldorf is located in the North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) region and is the “Twin City” to Neuss, Germany. Neuss and Saint Paul, Minnesota have maintained a strong Sister City relationship since 2008. Germany is centrally located in Europe and serves as a hub for many industries. In addition, the strong German economy makes the location an excellent choice for expanded international presence.

As a precursor to Governor Dayton’s trip in June, a group of 26 Saint Paul leaders representing a cross-section of businesses travelled to Neuss, Germany in support of the Sister City relationship and it’s long standing ties between Minnesota and Germany. A large group of Saint Paul young professionals from the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce  joined the trip. The young professionals support and inclusion in the trip was perhaps instrumental in strengthening the ties between the two cities. “I decided to go on the trip because I believe in the power of international networking…and I know that the relationship between Saint Paul and Neuss is so powerful.“ states Ingrid Christensen, one of the trip participants.

The presence of a foreign trade office is very powerful and leads to increased business opportunities. An office represents a willingness to engage in import/export endeavors and opens up options for global competitiveness. For example, the state of Pennsylvania invested $6 million in 2011 to open 11 foreign trade offices producing $831 million in export sales.

Investing in actual office presence reflects the seriousness of both parties to engage in increased global trade activities. The investment in opening an international office is expensive yet the Governor realizes that the benefits outweigh the risks. For example, Minnesota opened a similar office in Shanghai and exports to China increased by 71% in the first year.

Germany is Minnesota’s 5^th largest trade partner with a value of $728 million in sales. This is a huge opportunity for Minnesota businesses focusing on international expansion. Going global is on the forefront of most Minnesota businesses and Governor Dayton’s support in international expansion reflects that movement.

“What’s in a name?” We have heard this saying many times. One can pretend about not being serious about a name but we do get frustrated when our name is not pronounced correctly (maybe unintentionally) and immediately try to correct it.

So, if a mere pronunciation can irritate us then how problematic can a different meaning of a name be? One assumes that it would be a major problem and more so if it were a celebrity child because the whole world knows about it. The fact is that human beings are inquisitive by nature. If we come across a person who has a different name then the first thing we ask him or her is “What is the meaning of your name”? This question alone proves that it does matter “what is in a name”.

Suri Cruise is a celebrity daughter and whether she likes it or not and wants it or not everything about her will be a headline. In the era of 24/7 entertainment and news channels, the paparazzi need something new to keep their viewers interested. And if they are able to find something as sensational as a different meanings of a celebrity daughter’s name then nothing better than that. They will try to extract as much as they can from this point and try to increase their ratings.

Yes, the same word can have different meanings in different languages. Some might be funny and some might even be derogatory. A good example is the English word “Madam”. In British English Madam is used as a sign of respect for women. But the same word can have a different meaning all together in American English. Does that mean the word is wrong? The word is neither wrong nor right. Just the context in which it is used is right or wrong. In the same way Suri means “princess” in Hebrew and “pickpocket” in Japanese.

When translating or interpreting it is important to recognize the context in which a word is being used and who the audience is.  Here at INGCO International we pride ourselves on understanding the message that our clients are trying to convey.   We care about your success and we know what you mean.

Then I moved away from the grass-is-always-greener Minnetonka. After some time out of the country, around the country and in the country, I decided to purchase a home; a real home with walls and windows and a strong roof to keep me warm and safe. And I knew for sure that South Minneapolis was the place for me. It had great neighborhoods, amazing bars and restaurants, close to biking and running trails. Perfect for me, a young professional. But alas, the homes in South Minneapolis weren’t exactly in my price range, and I was not moving to the suburbs. So I ventured into Saint Paul and fell in love.

Saint Paul is a world-class city on every level. Our public schools represent over 48 different languages spoken and graduate world and thought leaders. Our colleges and Universities are among the best in the world, attracting students from across the globe. Our parks and recreation facilities are top-notch and abundant. Our restaurant scene is award winning and diverse, offering gourmet cuisine to local ethnic gems. Our music and theater scene is among the ranks of Broadway. Our retail opportunities are creative and unique. Our businesses, small and large, are the driving force of the Twin Cities. We have every detail that a young professional is looking for. I heard it best described as the “European” version of a Midwest city. And what a perfect way to describe this amazing mecca. So why not give it a try? If you are a young professional looking for a place to call home, consider Saint Paul, Minnesota. You won’t regret it.