PGLS Pulse: September 2024

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the PGLS Pulse: your source of timely and thoughtful news about the language services industry.

PGLS: Celebrating Growth and Success

It was recently announced that PGLS made the Inc. 5000 list for a 3rd year in a row, so we want to take the opportunity to look back at our growth and success. Since PGLS was founded in 2013, we have achieved significant milestones, including multiple acquisitions, opening a swanky new headquarters in Virginia, and earning industry recognition. Notably, PGLS recently soared to No. 245 on the Inc. 5000 list, marking three consecutive years of rising rankings—a testament to our commitment to quality and innovation. 

Our growth reflects our dedication to connecting people and businesses globally, and we’re excited to continue this journey with our incredible community. 

Check out Mohamed's Story - Founder & CEO of PGLS  to learn more about our founder's vision and journey, and see a few of our other key milestones below: 

• 2013 - PGLS is founded. We're coming up on our 11th anniversary later this month! 

• 2015 - First multi-year contract awarded 

• 2019 - Recognized as Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise 

• 2020 - Acquired Dictyon Language Solutions 

• 2021 - Grand opening of our new headquarters in Virginia 

• 2021 - Acquired Spokane International Translation 

• 2022 - Debuted on the Inc 5000 for the first time 

• 2022 - Acquired The Language Banc 

• 2023 - Recognized in WBJ Diversity in Business Awards, DCA Live's Red Hot, GovCon Fastest Growing Companies, and Inc 5000 again 

• 2024 - Recognized with VA Black Business Leaders Award, and earned the No. 245 spot on the Inc. 5000 list

Industry News

How Popular is Machine Translation Post-Editing

On July 25, 2024, OpenAI announced the prototype version of SearchGPT, available only via waitlist. The move to asking an AI and getting an answer directly instead of a series of links to probe is very attractive. Whether the answer is correct or not is another matter. 

A lot of content showing up in search results is AI-made. OpenAI says SearchGPT’s answers will include sources, so will it be indirectly referencing itself?

Read more here.

Canada to Invest $227.9 Million in Official Language Minority Communities

Canada’s official language minority communities (OLMCs) are people whose preferred language doesn’t match the official language in their province or territory, specifically anglophones in Quebec and francophones outside of Quebec. In a recent move to bolster the vitality of OLMCs, the Canadian government has committed a significant $227.9-million investment over the next five years. This funding aims to enhance the availability and quality of essential services offered in the minority language.

Read more here.

New Study Challenges LLM Dominance with Specialized Medical Translation Models

While large language models (LLMs) are quickly replacing neural machine translation (NMT) models, as Unbabel’s CTO João Graca mentioned in a recent podcast, in certain niche fields NMT is holding out.

Following a December 2023 study from Logrus Global, Ocean Translations, and the University of Manchester, which found that fine-tuning small-sized language models in the clinical domain produces significantly better translations than LLMs, a new study was published on July 26, 2024.

Read more here.

For Linguists

Piedmont Academy – Community Interpreting Certification - Classes Start September 16th

Piedmont Academy will be starting another 40-Hour Virtual Community Interpreting Course on Monday September 16th! If you’re a novice interpreter, a bilingual individual with no formal interpreting experience, or if you have no formal training in interpreting protocols and standards of practice, then this course is for you!

Register here.

Irreplaceable Interpreters: Standing Out in the Age of AI

Hosted by Linguist Education Online, register for this webinar with Andrea Henry, a veteran interpreter and researcher. Discover essential strategies to highlight your unique skills and ensure your relevance in the rapidly evolving language services industry. This 90-minute interactive session includes a 60-minute presentation and a 30-minute discussion and Q&A session moderated by Bruce Adelson.

Register here.

International Translation Day 2024: Translation, an art worth protecting

UNESCO and Translation Commons are organizing a joint virtual event to celebrate the International Translation Day (30 September, 2024) with special emphasis on Indigenous Languages. At the 71st session in 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 288 (A/RES/71/288, para 2), recognizing “the role of professional translation in connecting nations, and fostering peace, understanding and development”, and declaring 30 September to be International Translation Day.

Register here.

Job Opportunities

We are always looking for talented language professionals. If you are a translator, interpreter, or language instructor, PGLS wants to work with you! Explore our open roles here.

PGLS News

• While going back to school is on a lot of our minds; is your school district prepared for a new influx of Multilingual Learners (MLs)? Here's an overview by the numbers of Multilingual Learners in K-12 Schools!
• Check out our blog, "Improving Language Access in Healthcare: Conducting a Gap Analysis to Enhance Patient Care," for a guide to conducting a thorough gap analysis to improve your language access plan.

•  ICYMI: We've launched two podcasts!
• Tune in to The Language Access Lectern, a PGLS Podcast focused on promoting language access in K-12 schools!🎙 In the first episode, our host Mark Byrne welcomes Almeta Radford, Director of Public Communications at Manassas City Public Schools.
• Don't miss The eLearning Lounge, a PGLS Podcast that explores how technology is reshaping education and training worldwide!🎙 In the first episode, Joshua Sternlicht welcomes David Rubenstein, Professor of Law at Washburn University. Professor Rubenstein offers insights into how AI is transforming the classroom and the ethical considerations we must keep in mind as this technology evolves.

• Check out Brett's key takeaways from his time at the North American Refugee Health Conference in Minneapolis!

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