Renewed ISO9001 Accreditation for Alexika Ltd

Following a rigorous assessment, we are pleased to announce that Alexika Ltd has renewed accreditation as an ISO9001 quality assured firm. Ever since the company was established in 1998, delivery of high quality translations has been central to everything that we do. We find that formally setting out our quality procedures – and regularly reviewing them - is a positive process and we believe that our clients will benefit in years to come. We are grateful again to the British Accreditation Bureau for their help in preparing us for assessment.

NO! They don't all speak English...

Thought from Mark directed at UK exporters....

I love this job - but it can be hard to explain to others in social situations sometimes! 2 recent illustrations: an acquaintance at an evening class, on hearing that we are a translation company, said "they all speak English on the continent don't they!" Secondly pub landlord comedian Al Murray on hearing that a member of his audience was a Spanish translator quipped: "they all speak English, you're surplus to requirements you are mate!!"

NO! I'm travelling to Germany this weekend. According to some latest figures, approx. 56% of the population of Germany can speak English to some degree as a second language - a Eurobarmoter survey from back in 1994 gave the figure as 35%, so maybe there is a trend there. In the Spain the recent figure is 27% and the 1994 figure is 13%. Whilst these figures are not particularly scientific, there may be a trend to more people speaking English as a second language - and clearly this ability does not extend to the majority of the population in many key European markets.

So the key questions for UK exporters are: do the people receiving my communications speak and read English, and then are they more likley to purchase from me if I communicate in the receiver's language? The answer to the second question is very probably yes: people are more likely to buy in their own language.

The graph below is taken from Wikipedia, and shows the approximate percentage of the population that speak English as a second language in each country.

P.S. According to figures released recently by fellow ATC members LTC, the UK translation industry is now worth between €636 and €641 million.

Translation, coal and cricket

There has been much talk* recently of the Jevons Paradox of 1865. The 19th century saw great technological advances, particularly in the efficiency of the steam engine. This meant that each steam engine needed less coal so it was expected that demand for coal would fall......except that new technology meant that there were more applications for steam engines and the demand for coal actually rose. Counter-intuitive at first - but that's also what is happening to translation on the web. The translation industry is becoming more efficient every year, technology means that words can be translated more efficiently, it is becoming cheaper and easier to publish content on the web - and the demand for translation continues to grow.


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And the link with cricket? Well, it was the contrast that struck me as I gave a presentation recently including the above thought at Marylebone in London, first home to the MCC. The MCC, the preeminent cricket club in London, has now moved to Lord's cricket ground, where it can cost up to £100 to watch an international cricket match. Is this an extreme example of inelastic demand? Or will pricing soon be out of reach of supporters causing demand to collapse? It seems the former at the moment.....


*We think that the debate was started by http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/ - well done to them!

Announcement of New SDL Trados training dates coincides with launch of SDL Trados Studio certification program

Alexika has announced the latest dates for SDL Training courses for translators and translation project managers through to April 2010. The announcement coincides with SDL’s launch of the SDL Trados Studio certification program – a set of exams which graduates from the training courses take online. We thoroughly recommend the scheme as a means for linguists to prove their professionalism to their clients.

After passing each level of the certification, translators are entitled to display the corresponding badge on their professional communications. The badges now come in both electronic form and as pin badges.

European Day of Languages

26th of September was the European Day of Languages and Alexika celebrated with a trip to school – Directors Mark and Sabine Robinson went to Addingham Primary School. Mark gave an assembly presentation to the 270 pupils about Germany and the German language, and Sabine spent the morning in classrooms answering questions about Germany and making potato salad German style. Mark has spoken to secondary schools over the years but this was the first time speaking to the age range of 4-11 years - and the level of enthusiasm was very stimulating!

Alexika speaking at ATC Conference

Alexika Director Mark Robinson attended the conference of the Association of Translation Companies, and was guest speaker at the seminar about the SDL Partner Programme. The conference found the industry in positive mood – demand for languages services around the world is said to be growing at 4.5% per annum despite the financial crisis.